HOW TO CATCH A BAD BOY

“Morning,” she mumbled, giving him a sleepy grin that had his heart twisting painfully in his chest.

“Morning.” He leaned down to give her a kiss.

Elena scrunched her face adorably. “I bet my morning breath is lovely.”

“I don’t give a shit,” Chandler told her. With his thumb, he traced along her bottom lip. “These are worth it.”

In the bright morning light, it was a delightful discovery that Elena was unashamed of her nudity because she didn’t even attempt to cover her equally delightful breasts using the sheet draped around her waist.

“I hope Paul has Advil downstairs,” she said.

Chandler hummed. “You sore today, princess?”

“Wipe that smug ass grin off your face.”

His laughter had her smiling. The smile was the best thing he could have woken to. Not only was Elena not ducking out of bed, avoiding eye contact or explaining to him why it could never happen again. Explaining why she hadn’t been thinking when she’d let him do all sorts of filthy things to her incredible body.

Thump. Scrape.

Elena frowned, looking up over his shoulder. Her mouth fell open in comprehension. His palm slid up her arm and cupped the back of her neck. His fingers tangled into that hair and she finally looked at him with a sigh.

“The plows are out,” he said.

“So I hear.”

Which meant they’d have no problem getting back home. They both fell quiet, and her eyelids closed when the sound happened again. If he thought his heart pinched when she smiled at him, it was doing a veritable fist-pump at the disappointment on her face.

“Pancakes for breakfast?” Chandler asked her, smoothing a hand down the sleek line of her back.

Elena’s fingers traced the clock face inked on his chest. “Why a clock?” she asked,

Her evasion made him smile. “Time eventually runs out for everyone. Better make the most of it while it’s on your side.”

That lifted her head, and she stared at him so intensely that he fought the urge to fidget uncomfortably. Whatever she had turning around and around in that brain of hers, which, in truth, intrigued him just as much as all the other parts of her, had the power to ruin this little pocket of paradise they’d found themselves in. He found himself holding his breath at what she’d say next.

“What plows?” she said.

His brow furrowed in confusion.

“I didn’t hear anything out there,” she continued. “In fact, I’m pretty sure they won’t be coming until tomorrow morning.”

A slow smile curled his lips, and he not-so-gently gripped her hips and pulled her over him. Elena settled on his lap, the sheet pooling around her waist as she straddled him like a freaking dream he’d conjured.

“Is that so?”

She bit her lip and nodded. The picture she made was so tempting, he could only shake his head in disbelief. No woman, not a single one, had made him think about the future. About dates and anniversaries and popping out babies and rings and Lace. But after just one night with her, something had him cycling through every single one of those. It made zero sense, but damn if he would waste his opportunity while time was on his side.

“I didn’t hear a thing either, baby.”

The smile that spread over her face was victorious, and he sat up to take a taste of it with his lips. She kissed him deeply, tugging his hair with her hands.

They turned over, and he yanked the sheets back up over their heads, blocking out the world just for a little while longer. If she was going to give him this day, he’d take it without an ounce of guilt. And he knew, buried underneath whatever physical pleasure she was giving him, he’d give Elena a hell of a lot more than that if she wanted it.

__________

Elena and Chandler sat in the car and stared at Paul’s cabin. The snow had started melting, coming off the sharp edge of the A-line roof in a steady stream of water. There was no hiding anymore, no ignoring reality, no more excuses to stay. Plus, they’d just about cleaned Paul out of food. So, unless they wanted to start eating Agnes’s really expensive cat food, it was time to face the music anyway.

“Well,” he said quietly and glanced in her direction. “Shall we?”

The lump in Elena’s throat was about the size of an Island when she tried to answer, so she just nodded instead. He slid a hand across her thigh, fingers wrapping comfortably over the top of her leg so he could squeeze.

I’m right here.

It was so clear in her head that she could almost hear his voice. “Why is it so hard to leave this place?” she said. She’d hardly even made the decision to speak the thought out loud, but there it was.

Chandler sighed, removed his hand, and put the car in reverse, navigating through the plowed area that the truck had provided him to back up. “Because it’s nice to hide away every once in a while.” He paused again before he pulled out of the driveway, and she caught the way his eyes lingered on the cabin in the rearview mirror. “Forget about all the other bullshit we have to deal with.”

For some reason, his answer saddened her even further. He’d woken her up with kisses all over her naked back and hands roaming until she’d been panting his name, begging him to take pity on her. He had, hands clutching hers, his body hot and hard behind her as she found release again, her sounds muffled into the mattress.

Breakfast and packing up their stuff had kept the same tone, slow and sweet, lingering kisses and caresses, until they couldn’t prolong the inevitable anymore. It was time to go back. Her phone had been left unattended that entire last day, and when Elena plugged it in while she packed, she had to close her eyes when the notifications started rolling in.

Between Emily and Beth, her phone was blowing up with texts about when she’d be home. But still, she turned it over so she didn’t have to see. Not until she buckled herself into the car and one from Emily had her caving.

‘I swear, Elena, if you don’t answer me soon, I’m calling every police officer I know, and dispatching them.NôvelDrama.Org: text © owner.

Elena knew that she had to text back now.