Chapter Eight

Iwake up the next morning feeling happy and light, like I spent all day yesterday being pampered at an all-inclusive spa. When I shift in the bed, all my muscles protest in pain. They remind me I did not spend my day relaxing at a spa—I spent all day hiking and chopping wood. The exact opposite of serenity and relaxation.

I'm naked and my chest is still a little sticky, but I don't care, because I've never come so hard in my life. Not even with my handy-dandy vibrator. I always thought mind-bending, toe-curling orgasms were a myth. Now I know why human women flock to demons. Even though we're different species, demons know all the cheat codes, which combination of buttons to press and how to toggle us down there until we're arching off the bed in pure pleasure. I can't believe other women figured this out and didn't think to share the secret!

Tsk, tsk. That's not very feminist of them.

The deep tug in my abdomen returns, and I roll over, ready to ask Az if he's ready to complete the second half of the bargain because I don't think I can wait any longer—

The side where he was sleeping is empty. My skin may feel warm—actually the whole room feels warm—but inside I'm suddenly cold.

Freezing, actually.

I glare at the empty side of the bed. Did I scare him off? I know he's skittish, but this is ridiculous. I thought we had a connection. I guess I was wrong. This is why I've stayed off dating apps. I have a hard time compartmentalizing my emotions, especially when sex is involved.

I groan, burying my face in my pillow. Maybe if I cut off enough oxygen to my brain, I'll be in a coma for the rest of the trip, so I won't have to face him and deal with the awkward tension. I can only hope he ran for it and he's hiding out in an igloo until they can dig my car out of the snow.

I sigh into the pillow and accidentally catch a whiff of Az. My eyes roll back at the delicious scent. I'm hyper aware of his dried cum on my chest. It may be gross, but at the time I found it very sexy and feral, like he was trying to mark me as his. But now I just feel stupid.

Hey, maybe before jumping to the worst possible conclusions you check the kitchen first? Or the outhouse? Only then do you have my permission to freak out.

As I roll out of bed and find my discarded bra and leggings on the floor, I realize belatedly today is Christmas. If Azgoran really did abandon me, I guess I would be getting my wish to spend the holidays alone.

That silver lining doesn't make me as happy as it should. As much as I try to trick myself, I don't want to be alone. But I can't seem to keep people in my life, either. What a predicament. Maybe I need to get a dog or a cat. The only companion I can think of that won't let you down when you open your heart to them. I mean, not unless they run away when you accidentally leave the door open or die in ten to sixteen years.

Too bad I'm allergic to both.

After quickly pulling on some clothes, I open the door to the main room and brace myself for the worst.

Here we go.

"Morning," Az says over his shoulder as I shut the door and take one small step inside. The fire in the hearth is roaring, and that explains why the cabin feels like the inside of a brick oven this morning. There's a new pile of wood stacked neatly next to the fireplace.

I open my mouth to ask Az if he chopped wood on his own this morning, when I catch something big and green in the corner of my eye. I turn my attention to the other side of the room and let out an audible gasp. Next to my Charlie Brown tree is a lush, proud Christmas evergreen. It's so vibrant I can't even believe it's real. There's a bread-crumb trail of pine needles leading from the tree to the front door.

"Everything okay?" Az asks, turning to look at me. His horns drag across the top of the ceiling, and he grimaces as he dodges a falling ceiling tile. "Shit, not again."

I nod, unable to find enough air to make words. The sound of grease popping in a frying pan catches my attention and my stomach gives a long, mournful growl.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm okay." I pause long enough to give my brain enough time to catch up to speed. Yes brain, the Christmas tree is real. It's not a hallucination you conjured up. I point my finger at the tree as if Az hadn't noticed the giant evergreen that's taking up one third of the room. "What is that?"

He blinks slowly. "A Christmas tree? Did I get the tradition wrong? I thought humans prefer Christmas trees that are big and green."

"We do, but how did it get here?"

His confused look deepens. I can't read minds, but I have a feeling he"s wondering if I did hit my head during the avalanche. "I got it? I thought you said decorating trees was your favorite Christmas tradition. Sorry if I offended you. We can decorate your little tree if you'd like—"

I stride across the room and wrap my arms around Az's waist, cutting him off with a squeeze. He stands there for a moment, still confused, but finally relaxes and returns the hug.

"Thank you," I say softly, raising my chin to smile at him.

His face dips down to look at me, and he frowns. "I offended you, didn't I? Your eyes are leaking."

I let out a watery laugh. "No! No! These are good tears. Sorry, I'm a crier. It's embarrassing." I raise a hand to wipe my face, but he"s too quick for me. He touches my chin and swipes my cheek so softly with his thumb, it makes my heart swell with a feeling I haven't felt in a long time. I won't be alone for Christmas, and I'm so, so happy I get to spend it with him.

Don't get too excited. You're only staying until they can dig your car out of the snow.

I squeeze him tighter, pushing the thought out of my head. I'll worry about that later. Right now, I just want to enjoy this moment.

Another thought occurs to me. "Wait, how did you chop firewood, bring it back to the cabin, and bring an entire Christmas tree back?" Considering the forest fire damage around the cabin and how long the hike was yesterday, there was no way he accomplished all that and still had time to cook breakfast.

He shrugs like it's no big deal. "I carried two trees with me."

Okay, lumberjacked demon mountain man of my dreams. A new sexual fantasy unlocks as I imagine Az—shirtless but still wearing jeans and suspenders—as he carries two giant logs down the side of a mountain. Every visible muscle sweaty and bulging. Merry Christmas to me—

Another realization pops into my head. I tip my head back to stare up at him. "What about the fire?"

"What about it?" he asks, quirking a brow at me.

"Did you use your power to light it?"

He gives me a short nod.

"I thought you couldn't . . . make fire?"

Az is quiet for a moment as he studies me with his dark, unreadable eyes. "I didn't say I can't make fire; I just chose not to. But you looked so peaceful this morning, I didn't want to wake you. So, I made an exception this one time."

There's no doubt a story there, but I'll wait until he's ready to tell me. "Can I help with anything?" I feel a pang of guilt that he did all that and is the one cooking breakfast. I want him to sit down so I can take care of him.

I step around him and reach for the spatula, but he grabs me.

"I got it," he growls, but there's a hint of affection in his voice like when you scold a rambunctious puppy for licking your face, but you also kind of like it because they're just so friggin' cute.

"Yes sir. Wait, is that eggs and bacon? What the hell, Az! You've been holding out on me!"

He gives a deep chuckle as he pushes me all the way to the small table and doesn't leave me alone until I'm sitting down.

"I have been holding out on you," he says, flashing me an apologetic look. "I stashed all my non-venison food items away in a secret hiding spot."

I roll my eyes. "And to think I was worried about stealing from your supply. You really are an azzhole, aren't you?"

He shrugs. "I was prepared to do anything to get a bad review from you. But I'm sorry. No more secrets."

I'll let it go. I'm too hungry to be angry at him. My stomach gives another impatient growl, but I ignore it. I'm too busy feasting on Az's cute butt to worry about hunger pangs. He's wearing his jeans and flannel, but it's so easy to remember how muscular yet soft his body felt. I can't wait to feel it again. I snort to myself at how much of a walking, talking contradiction this demon is—inside and out. His body is strong and soft at the same time. He's grizzled on the outside, but deep inside he's got a soft, gooey center.

"Can I make you some coffee? How do you like it? Black, right?" I ask. I hop up from my seat before I get my answer. As I move across the room to the kitchen towards the coffee maker, Az reaches out and hooks his arm across my waist. He jerks me into his side.

"Holly, I need you to sit down," he growls, sounding as if I'm dancing over his last nerve.

"Why? I feel so bad you've done so much for me this morning. I want to do something for you—"

He catches my chin in his hand and forces me to look into his dark eyes. "I know, little one, and I appreciate it. I really do. But for the first time in your fucking life, I need you to take a break. Let me take care of you, okay?" His expression softens as he runs the pad of his thumb along my jaw. I feel that shiver all the way to my cunt. "I know it's a big ask considering we don't have much time left, but if there's anything I want you to learn from me while you're here, it's this—it's okay to be selfish, and it's okay to be an asshole once in a while. Understand?"

My heart pitter-patters a little faster when he drags his thumb across my bottom lip. I grin. "I think you mean azzhole?"

He groans but doesn't remove his hand. "Yup. Sure. Be an azzhole. I don't care as long as you get there."

It's a big ask. I haven't been able to grow a mean bone in twenty-eight years. I doubt I will now. But Az is asking me to try.

"I can do that," I say, suddenly feeling emotional. My eyes start to well-up with tears. So embarrassing. I'm emotional but usually not this emotional. I think it's the culmination of everything—the divorce, the stress of the holidays, and the fact I get to spend my Christmas with this sweet man—that brings everything to the surface.

He frowns. "I don't care if you cry, but let me know if they're happy or sad tears? Please?"

I laugh. "Don't worry, they're still happy," I say, kissing the top of his hand.

After a delicious breakfast of fried eggs and perfectly crisp bacon, seriously, why does food always taste better when you're on a mountain? I sit in my chair, watching as Az cleans up. It pains me that I'm just sitting here on my duff not helping, but whenever I stand to try to wipe down the table with a wet rag or add another log to the fire, Az yells at me to sit down.

I want to say it's nice, but the reprieve is hard to enjoy with the clenched fist in the bottom of my stomach. All my life, I worked so hard to make all the important people in my life stay. But no matter what I did or how much of myself I sacrificed, they all ended up leaving anyway. So much for being nice.

"I know I'm going to regret asking this," I say, breaking the companionable silence between Az and me. "But could you show me where that lake is?"

Az places the last dish in the drying rack and turns off the sink. "Which lake?"

"You know the one where you took an ice bath? I know it'll probably give me hypothermia, but at this point, I don't even care if I lose a toe or a finger. I just really, really need a bath." As much as I'm down for roughing it, I don't want to gross Az out with my stench. He may not mind, but I do. It makes me think of people from the 1800s who only bathed once a month, if that. They really were getting down and dirty.

Az winces. "Right." He's quiet for a moment and then he gives a long, heavy sigh. "If I promise to show you something, you have to swear on your life that you won't tell a soul."

I'm nervous. What a plot twist this would be if Az turned out to be a serial killer, and he wants to show me where he keeps all his dead bodies. Of course the first decent guy I hook up with turns out to be a murderer. I knew he was too good to be true.

"Okay?"

He rubs the base of his horn. "No seriously. I need you to promise me you won't tell a soul. This would be very bad if it got out."

"Okay. Okay! I promise. Just tell me already!"

He narrows his eyes on me. Finally, he says, "There is no lake. I mean, there is a lake, but I lied about taking a bath in one."

I let out a small breath of relief. Okay. No dead bodies. So far so good. "And? What's your point?"

"I did, however, take a bath in the hot springs."

Hot springs?!? I practically melt at the idea that I may get to take a warm bath in the middle of the mountains. A freakin' dream come true. I give him a quizzical look. "Why is it so important to keep it a secret? We're in Idaho. It's a big state. Mount Winter Bliss isn't the only mountain with hot springs."

He huffs a laugh. "I know. I'm probably being overly cautious, but growing up in Winter Bliss, our town was pretty quiet. We'd get the occasional tourist on this mountain, nothing like the Emberlight Resort on Mount BZB. As a kid, I used to spend all day around here with my friend, Rom. We'd hike, swim in the lake, and relax in the hot springs. While the BZB is great for skiing, demons have always preferred Mount Winter Bliss. The hot springs are still our town's best kept secret. But now that tourists have caught word of all the great natural attractions, people have started flocking to the resort mountain. BZB was perfect as is, but they got greedy and started building their resort, and now it's no better than a strip mall. I worry it's a matter of time before these out-of-towners ruin this one too," he says, growling "out-of-towner" like it's the worst insult he can think of.

I never understood the collective Idaho hate for people moving here from different states, but now I do. It enrages me too. "Why change something that's already perfect?"

Az nods and gives a long, disheartened sigh. "We're lucky. Mount Winter Bliss has rougher terrain—geysers and lava pits—but the locals in the other cabins have agreed to try to keep the hot springs a secret. No matter how much we try to keep tourists off this mountain, it's inevitable. I'm just trying to put off Mount Winter Bliss's demise as long as possible."

Something clicks in my mind. "That's why you were so rude to me when I first arrived. Because I"m just another tourist."

He gives me a sheepish look. "You're not! And I"m sorry about that." He dries his soapy hands on the front of his jeans and crosses the space to me. He gathers me in his arms, standing me up from my chair and pulling me to his chest. My head reaches just below his pecs. "I thought I needed to make your trip miserable enough so that you wouldn't immediately leave but still give the cabin a one-star rating. Then, no one else would book here. But it looks like I came on a little too strong because you were out the door in less than fifteen minutes."

I press my nose against his flannel shirt and inhale. He smells like pine needles and campfire. My favorite scents. "Mmhm," I hum in agreement. "Thank goodness that avalanche stopped me, or I would have never found out you're actually a good guy."

He laughs, and I can feel the deep vibrations in his stomach. "I promise to make it up to you with lots of orgasms."

I smile into his shirt. "I'm holding you to that. Do we need to make another bargain?"

He smooths the back of my hair. I can only imagine how crazy I look right now, but Az doesn't seem to mind. "Only if you promise to take a bath as soon as possible because you really do stink."