"Whoa, sweetheart," Hunter hissed, grabbing a stick of wood that threatened to tumble out of his arms. "What did you find?"
"The stone! The reason that Sebastian is after us. It was in that passage you left off at," she grabbed a couple of the pieces of wood off the top of his arms and hurried over to the wood box to stack them with the rest. "Come on, dump the wood and come here."
Hunter stared at Angel for a moment, his feelings in turmoil. If she found it, then there was really no reason for them to stay at the cabin any longer, unless this snowstorm dumped a huge amount of snow on them. But the thought of being safe, of having Sebastian out of their lives was too tempting by half. He sighed, stacking the rest of the wood up. "I have to go get another load, save that thought until I get back in."
He almost ran, going out the door, leaving Angel to stare at him in surprise.
The air outside was almost silvery with cold, stealing his breath even though he'd been expecting it. It burned against his cheeks, the wind ruffling his hair. Stomping over to the woodpile, he took his time, stacking the wood into his arms, his thoughts seeming to run in circles in his mind.
He didn't want to lose Angel, that's what it all came down to. He didn't want to drop her off in Michigan with a kiss on the cheek, and a maybe we could get together again someday. He didn't want her away from his side, period. The thought of her in Michigan and him in Texas almost sent a thrill of panic through him, as did the thought of never seeing her again.
What right did he have to ask her to stay when his life was in such a complete mess right now? "Fuck," he sighed, the condensation from his exhale rising like a plume around his face. Shivering, he turned back towards the cabin door, shaking off the gathering snow. He could pray for a blizzard, which would give him a couple more days at least with his beautiful cabin mate.
"Wow, it's really coming down out there," Angel said, brushing the cold snow off of his shoulders as he stacked the wood in the box. "It doesn't look to stop anytime soon either." She looked up into his eyes that were the color of the snow clouds outside, dark gray and temperamental. "Are you all right?"
"Fine," he said, brushing away her concern and her hands as he walked over to the door to shed his coat and boots. He held his cold hands out to the fire. "So tell me, what did you find?"
"Oh, yeah," she said, her green eyes sparkling. "It was right after that spot you read to me, right before you got in the mood to sell off some swamp land," she laughed, making him grin despite his mood.
]
"Hey, you were pretty interested in buying, so don't complain."
"Was I complaining?" She went to the kitchen to stir the pot of soup she'd decided to fix when she'd realized how cold it was outside. "You won't hear a peep of a complaint out of me," she giggled, shivering when he came up behind her and laid his cold hands against her warm abdomen.
"We could take this and make it dinner in bed while we talk over 'conditions of the sale'?" he whispered into her ear, his cold fingers pulling on her nipples and making them stand out like hard little thimbles under the tight thermal shirt she wore.
She turned in his arms, reaching up to wrap hers around his neck, holding him to her. "You seem to want to distract me from the journals, Hunter. Is something wrong?"
He sighed, and would have let her go and walked away but she held on tight until he relaxed against her. "Dammit, I enjoy having you here with me and don't want to see it end, okay?" he growled, wrapping her against him tightly.
He felt her smile against the skin of his neck, heard her chuckle quietly.
"Well, you don't have to be so mad about it," she teased him.
He flushed, realizing he was being an ass but still at a loss about what to do about it.
"I'm sorry, Angel. This place has been like a little oasis away from our problems. I know we can't stay here forever but...would a few more days be a bad thing?"
"No, a few more days would be wonderful," she said, reaching up and letting her lips caress his. "But only if I can do that thing where you can't touch me again," she murmured against his lips.
He growled, hauling her up tightly against him, his mouth turning almost feral as he kissed her. "Hmm," he groaned. "Too bad we didn't bring those shackles with us. I kind of like the idea of you in nothing but chains, mine to do with as I please."
Angel burst out laughing, hearing him chuckle also as he let his forehead rest against hers. "I have this picture of that outfit Princess Leia was wearing in one of those Star Wars movies. You know, the gold bikini thing," she grinned.
"Oh God, my adolescent fantasy come true," he sighed, closing his eyes. "She looked so hot in those chains."
"Pig," she laughed at him.
"If I can find the outfit, would you..." his voice trailed off as he gazed down at her with a playful but hopeful look in his eyes.
"Hmm, maybe," she said, laughing when his smile grew and he picked her up in his arms. "Hey!"
"What?" he asked, not stopping as he headed back toward the bed.
"Dinner? The soup I've got going on the burner, any of that sound familiar to you?"
He turned, not letting her down and flicked the off switch on the stove before turning back to the bed. "Happy?" he asked.
