21. Holly

Chapter 21

Holly

When I woke, cuddled up with Lucas, this time, I didn’t panic. Instead, I tightened my hold around him, kissing his hair. My knee wasn’t throbbing, my head was clear, and the muffled sound of the snowstorm outside made everything feel… perfect. Our little hideaway was a bubble of warmth and quiet, tucked away from the world. There was enough food in the freezer to last us a while, as long as we didn’t open it too much. Lucas’s suggestion to use the snow outside as a makeshift freezer made a lot of sense.

But right now, the call of my bladder made me ease Lucas off my lap. He slumped to the side, rubbing his eyes as he woke.

“We never had that shower,” I exclaimed before he could say anything that would make me emotional.

“ You didn’t,” he corrected, a smirk playing on his lips.

I grinned back. “We should use it together… save water.”

He chuckled. “It’s a small shower,” he reminded me, though I could see the gears turning in his head, probably running through the same scenarios as I was. The idea of a hot, soapy Lucas was already racing through my mind.

“The shower at my place is bigger,” he said, and I couldn’t stop myself from imagining what we could do with more space. “Only, it’s down the mountain and on the other side of the snow bank.” He laughed, adding, “But yeah, my bathroom has a two-man shower. Rainfall shower head, low lights, and…”

I groaned inwardly. Great. Now I was hard… again.

“How long will we be here?” I asked, yawning as I stretched, glancing at the dark window. The snow was still falling, but it had slowed. The storm was starting to ease up, but I had no idea when we’d actually be able to leave.

Lucas shrugged, leaning against the wall, his eyes on me. “Could be another day or two. Hard to say.”

I nodded, feeling an unfamiliar twinge of excitement at the thought of being trapped alone with Lucas for that long.

With the fire banked and enough hot water, I had the quickest shower known to man, in and out in a few short minutes. This time, I remembered to grab clean underwear, so I was dressed in sweats and a Harriers T-shirt. A shiver ran through me as soon as I walked out, the cool air hitting my still-damp skin. When I glanced at Lucas, I saw him staring at the logo on my shirt.

“Do you miss hockey?” he asked, his voice quiet.

I paused, looking down at the Harriers logo stretched across my chest. I didn’t know how to answer for a second, but then I shrugged. “The longer I’m away, the easier it gets. I haven’t stepped on the ice since… jeez, since forever. Maybe I miss it, but I don’t miss being the team captain.”

Lucas nodded thoughtfully, his eyes still lingering on the logo. “When we get into town, you should skate at Kai’s rink. I know Connor asked you in the cafe, and the kids there would be all over you.”

Horror gripped me at the thought of strapping on skates again, the image so vivid it made my chest tighten. I shut my eyes, breathing through the rising panic, and anchored myself by reaching out, my fingers brushing against Lucas, solid and real.

“You’re okay. Breathe with me,” he whispered, and I focused on his voice.

I opened my eyes, but I still felt shaky. “I don’t know if I’m ready to be Holly, the former NHL star.”

He smiled at me, reassuring, gentle. “How about Paul, the moderately good skater on the pond?”

I remembered the skating pond from when I’d visited before. It had been one of the few places where I felt I could breathe. “I could be Paul,” I admitted.

“We could do the family skate,” Lucas added. “It’s the night before the parade, and I hope the snow eases up soon. If these snowbanks don’t shrink, I’ll have so many problems getting everything set. Ten days until December 1st.”

“You think we’ll still be stuck here that long?” I asked, feeling a weird mixture of warm and unfamiliar. I couldn’t help but blurt out, “We’d end up with cabin fever and hate each other.”

Lucas raised an eyebrow at me. “That’s some imagination you have there.”

I grimaced.

“What’s that look for?”

“Nothing,” I mumbled, trying to shake off my conflicting emotions. I didn’t want him to hate me. I wanted him to like me.

Like me a lot.

Maybe.

He leaned over the side of the sofa and pulled out a brightly colored box. “Found this,” he said, flipping open the lid to reveal two decks of cards and a bunch of plastic chips. “Wanna play poker?”

I grinned, feeling the competitive spark light up inside me. “We used to play on the team flights all the time—I always won.”

Lucas smirked. “And I’m the family champion. Well, after Bailey—his poker face is insane.”

“Cute, sweet Bailey?”

Lucas pretend-shuddered. “Behind all those curls and that cute, he’s a card shark.”

And just like that, the tension melted away, replaced with something familiar. Something easy. It was on.

We sat across from each other at the small kitchen table, the game in full swing. The plastic coins were stacked before Lucas, while my pile was pitiful. He was winning—no, destroying me—and I couldn’t even blame my lack of skill. The truth was, I couldn’t focus on shit.

Every time Lucas leaned forward, his shirt stretched enough for me to glimpse his collarbone. Now and then, our toes would touch under the table, sending an electric jolt straight to my cock. I felt like I was coming out of my skin, constantly aroused and unable to think straight. All I could focus on was how beautiful Lucas looked, how much I wanted to lean over and kiss him again, feel the warmth of his mouth on mine.

He dealt the next hand, his fingers quick and precise, but I was only half paying attention to the cards before me. All I could think about was him.

“You’re not even trying,” Lucas teased, his lips curling into that damn smile that made my heart race.

“I’m trying,” I mumbled, knowing it was a lie. How the hell was I supposed to concentrate when he looked like that ?

Lucas raised an eyebrow, amused by my distraction, but said nothing. We played a few more hands, and he kept winning, his pile of chips growing while mine dwindled. I kept losing because every time he shifted, my gaze went to how his muscles moved under his shirt and how his hair fell messily across his forehead. I couldn’t stop staring.

I was down to my last few chips when Lucas went all-in. He sat back, confident, his eyes glinting with amusement as if daring me to make a move. I glanced down at my cards—three of a kind. It wasn’t the best hand, but it wasn’t terrible either.

Screw it.

I matched his bet, pushing my remaining chips into the center. Lucas flipped his cards over—two pairs. My heart leaped as I realized I’d won. Finally.

“Yes!” I jumped up, pumping my fists in the air. “I finally beat you!”

Lucas chuckled, watching me with a mix of amusement and something else, something warmer. But I was too busy celebrating. I couldn’t help it—I’d been losing all night, and the small win felt too good. So good that I turned around and did a little victory dance, shaking my ass, probably looking ridiculous, but I didn’t care. I was on a high.

“Uh-huh, that’s right!” I boasted, shimmying in place. “Look who just won!”

I was so caught up in my moment I didn’t even notice Lucas had stood up until I felt him grab my wrist, tugging me back toward him. Before I could say anything, his lips were on mine, cutting off whatever nonsense I’d been about to spew. The kiss was possessive, and all that pent-up energy I felt had an outlet.

His other hand slid up my back, tugging me closer. The kiss deepened and heated in seconds. I melted into it, letting his taste flood my senses, the poker game long forgotten. My hands found his waist, pulling him flush against me as I kissed him back hard and hungry. Every touch, every press of his lips, felt like fire.

I wanted this: what I’d been aching for all night. My head spun with the intensity of it, my pulse racing as he held me tight.

He eased back just enough to catch his breath, his lips brushing mine. “You think you’re that good at poker?” he teased, his voice low and rough.

I grinned, still breathless. “I just beat you, didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Lucas whispered. “But I think I win this round.”

And as his lips claimed mine, I had to admit—he wasn’t wrong.

We made dinner together, exchanging kisses, hugging, being all kinds of cute and stupid, and now we were cuddled up on the sofa.

The fire was still burning low in the stove, casting a soft glow around the cabin, and the reality of the situation hit me again. There was only one bed, and it was time to go up.

And bed meant… more.

Would he want me to go upstairs with him again? Was us a thing now? We’d kissed, hugged, and stopped to touch at moments during the day. Hell, we’d kissed every time he dealt a hand like it was a thing we couldn’t help but do. We’d kissed as we made lunch, then again while we made dinner, the warmth between us growing with every touch.

He’d said he was falling in love with me.

I felt so much for him, so much affection and happiness and warmth where my icy heart used to be.

I glanced at him, my mind spinning, but he just looked back at me, calm and steady, as if he was waiting for me to make the call. His presence was comforting, but an unspoken question hung between us. Did he expect something more? Did I?

I swallowed, my throat tight. “So… about the bed,” I mumbled, trying to keep my voice light but failing miserably.

Lucas raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching in a half-smile. “What about it?”

I rubbed the back of my neck, suddenly feeling awkward. “Uh… I mean, we’ve been…close today. Really close.”

His smile softened. “We don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for, Holly.”

“But what if I wanted to? What if, for the first time in forever, I actually wanted to do something, and it’s with you, and I started falling for you a long time ago, I mean not when we were eighteen, but way before the wedding and?—”

He kissed me to stop me from rambling. “Let’s go.”

The laughter came first, loud and unrestrained, as Lucas grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the stairs. The tree lights flickered behind us, casting soft colors across the cabin, but I wasn’t thinking about that anymore. I was thinking about him—his hand in mine, his smile, the way his blue eyes sparkled as if they held secrets I wanted to know.

When we hit the stairs, it was a scramble, a mess of limbs, and awkward angles as we tried to navigate upward without letting go of each other. My sweatshirt was the first to go, tossed carelessly over the railing, and then his sweater followed, landing somewhere on the steps. We kept bumping into each other, laughing at how ridiculous we were, but it didn’t matter. Not when his mouth found mine halfway up the stairs, stealing my breath and replacing it with something electric.

“Bed,” Lucas murmured against my lips, his voice low and breathless.

“Right,” I managed, though my hands were already tugging at the hem of his shirt, sliding it over his head as we stumbled into the loft. The air was cool against my skin as it joined the growing pile of clothes, but his warmth was all I could feel.

We tumbled onto the bed in a heap, his weight solid against me, his laughter vibrating through my chest. My hands found their way to his face, cradling it as I kissed him, deep and unhurried, as if I had all the time in the world to savor the moment. And I wanted to remember how he smiled against my lips, and his fingers skimmed my sides, leaving a fire trail in their wake.

“Slow down,” he said, his voice a mix of a laugh and a gasp as he pulled back just enough to look at me, his eyes soft but teasing.

I grinned, my breath hitching. “You started this.”

“And I’m finishing it,” he replied, his lips curving into a smile that made my heart stutter.

The world outside the loft, the cabin, the snow—it faded away. All that mattered was him, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I let myself fall entirely into the moment.