Chapter 5

Five

A rms extended, Drake wrapped himself around her fragile body and tucked her close like a football. Skidding along his back, pure momentum carried them across the unforgiving ledge until a rock wall graciously stopped their progress.

He roared in protest. That would hurt for a while. Never mind, he could take the pain. The rumbling continued for another thirty seconds or so before cutting off the main source of light and their only exit.

This just went from bad to worse. The sun already dipped close to the horizon. In another half hour, it would be dusk.

With snow covering the slits in the stone ceiling, darkness fell over them.

Drake stiffened when the bundle in his arms flailed. Elbows, knees, fists and kitten claws.

Mmm. Sexy. A right hook to the ribs—or was that another knee?—forced out a huff of air.

Every weapon the woman had she used. Small, muffled grunts and moans brought on other ideas and sounded like angels and bells to his ears. He wanted to shred her clothing with his bare teeth and ravish her until she gave herself up to him in gratitude she was alive and not buried under enough snow to kill her.

Palms pressed against his broad chest, her fingers began to tighten around large clumps of clothing as she pushed up. Wide-eyed and flushed with anger, Esmeralda looked down at him and his heart clamored before coming to an abrupt stop.

"You big brute. You oaf. What the hell was that? You big overbearing..." Fury, rage, fear... it all rushed at him and worked its way into her words enough she didn't realize her surroundings. Or the fact she pounded her fists into his chest.

Now, this was the Esmeralda he remembered. A fiery woman with a sassy mouth that tempted him closer for a taste. Not the sweet, talking corporate big-city woman he saw earlier.

Drake shook her loose and pushed to his feet, effectively bumping Esmeralda to her plush little ass and ending her tirade of expletives. He kinda liked it when she got all worked up, but she needed to conserve her energy. God, why had she left the safety of town?

No telling how long they would be here. Her lips thinned and she stared back at him, her brows pinched together with a frown.

She scoffed, but he doubted she could feel anything given how many layers of pants she had to have on under her outer snowsuit. Come to think of it, how the hell did she even move in that many layers? He made a mental note to ask her as he peeled off each layer. And he would. Undress her that was. He was hungry for a taste of his woman.

Drake stood over Esmeralda and puffed a hot blast of air in her direction before he pushed his massive weight through the narrow entrance leading deeper into the den. Or at least that had been his plan. Had it gotten smaller since their last time up here?

He turned abruptly and caught her off-guard as she went to follow him.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" he offered up cautiously, taking a step closer. He knew he needed to get her deeper into the den away from the ice wall at their back, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Couldn't pull away until he knew if she was hurt.

As much as he tried, he couldn't break the mesmerizing hold as she locked her gaze on him. Like honey to his senses, she lured him closer, whether she knew it or not. Standing this close to her if he leaned in a took her mouth with his, there would be no stopping from going fucking crazy in lust for her until he had her back in his bed and coming every which way he could think of. Then doing it all over again until he had her convinced to stay with him.

He bared his teeth with a smile, silently loving the way her attention darted between to his lips.

Irritated or not, the lust that swirled around them and brushed against his senses told a story of its own. Her gaze riveted farther south and his cock twitched under her heated attention.

"Oh, God. Your clothes. They're ripped to shreds. What did you do? Fall down half the mountain or something getting here?"

"Or something." That damn unforgiving rock face did do a number on his clothes and he could feel a few scratches on his face, too.

"You need something to wear. Those gashes won't do anything to protect you from the cold. You'll freeze. There's a tarp and some other stuff. But by the looks of it…" Esmeralda paused midsentence long enough to draw her eyes to his, "...nothing on you appears affected by the cold."

He smiled. The bulge in his pants did stand out, and he wouldn't be doing any apologizing for it either.

She pursed her lips and crossed her arms as if to keep from reaching out, and it made him want to pin her against the wall and see if she still tasted like honey in the springtime.

"Come here, baby. Don't worry about me." He reached for her and felt a deep-seat relief when he wrapped his arms around her.

"I missed you and let's be honest, you being here, seeing you again. It's stirred up feelings for the both of us. You feel it too, don't try to lie." He had her face in his palms and refused to let her look away when she tried to hide from him.

"I don't feel anything but cold."

Drake dragged off a glove and captured a wisp of hair that fell loose around her heart-shaped face to brush against her plump lips. Gently, as not to spook his snow bunny, Drake traced the back of his knuckles along her jaw, tipped her head up and breathed in the deep sigh she released.

"Liar," he accused in the same hushed tone he remembered always affected her.

Fire blazed in the depths of those green eyes and it mirrored the heat need that burned in him. An inch, maybe less, and he could have her lips pressed against his. Her body moving over him, his tongue delving within the warm lushness of her delectable mouth.

She would reject him, though. Like she had the last time he stood this close and begged her not to leave him.

"Are you going to eat me with your eyes or are you going to kiss me, Drake Savage?" Her words came out breathy and raspy with need. How many nights had he dreamed of her saying his name one last time? Stroked his cock and jacked off to the vision of her cemented in his memories?

He glided closer. She'd lost weight since he'd seen her last by the way her cheeks hollowed as she spoke. She'd had sweet, ample and feminine curves that were perfect for his larger size. He'd loved how she molded against his body. She wasn't taking care of herself the way he would care for her if she was still his.

He would fix that.

Wedging his thigh between her legs, he caught her waist with one hand and hauled her close with his other pressed to the back of her head.

She would leave again, but not without knowing the truth. Knowing that they were intended for one another. He knew it like he knew his name and she did too, only she let money or her old many—maybe both—control her.

Gasps and moans melted into his mouth as he claimed her plump, parted lips. Heaven. Sweet, delicious fucking Heaven. The first taste of divinity after five years of tasteless fruit nearly brought him to his knees.

Soft palms pressed against his chest and right then he didn't care how cold it was. He wanted nothing between them.

Their surroundings melted away. Adrenaline jacked up his heart rate and hammered against his chest. He'd lived on this mountain all his life and tolerated the cold better than most. He stripped off the ripped jacket and tossed it on the floor of the den, leaving only his long-sleeved shirt. With the avalanche covering the mouth of the den the cold winds had no way in and the inside was far warmer than he expected. Cold, but manageable for him.

With nimble fingers, he slipped the elastic band that held her long masses of sable hair away from her face and relished the way the silken strands slipped through his fingers. She'd grown it out. He tightened his grip around her thick, luscious hair and sank deeper into his siren's heady taste.

Hot pre-cum spilled from the tip of his dick, and if she were to lower his zipper she'd find his boxers wet and his hungry cock ready for her. With the softest of touches, she glided a single finger up the length of his thickened cock through his pants. To his surprise she slipped a hand past the band and swirled the pad of her thumb over the fat head, making him growl.

"Fuck, Esme." Steel bands wrapped around his gut and it took all he had not to rip her clothes off and fuck her long and hard.

For a fragile second, just one, he wanted to fall to his knees and beg her to stay.

He ground his back teeth and let his head fall back, breaking their kiss. As each of her fingers encased his length, the tighter the cords in his neck drew. Damn, she was killing him. All he could think about was dipping his cock between her legs and coating his shaft with her juices. If she stroked him from tip to base one more time it was over.

Need boiled over. His control slipped. With every second she touched him the harder it became to keep a level head.

Fuck her. Claim her. Don't let her leave.

If she did it would rip him apart for good this time.

"Don't." He reached between them, eyes squeezed shut. "Not unless you're willing to take me, Esmeralda. And this time, you'll not need a condom." Damn. She robbed every last coherent thought from him. "You want that? You want me to fuck you and take everything away from you, because I'm ready?" Arms stretched out, he offered himself to her.

In mere seconds he witnessed Esmeralda blink back the heat and longing until uncertainty clouded her eyes.

"I didn't think so."

Her fingers were still wrapped around his pulsating cock.

Frustration tore from him, and he pulled away with a deep growl reverberating off the walls. Maybe it would loosen the damn ice wall that held them locked in here and they could get off this fucking mountain. Being this close to her killed him every minute he couldn't have her.

Ire knotted deep in the pit of his stomach. He shoved his discomfort down with a tight grip and straightened to his full height. Peering down at his little snow bunny all dressed in white, he spoke slowly.

"I see nothing has changed, sweetheart." Looking at her, he reached out and thumbed the red blush that stained her cheeks. She wore her heartbreak on her sleeve, and it tore a growl from him. Why did she let the past rule her happiness now?

"And why would it? Last I checked you're still a Savage and I'm still a Morgan." The need in her voice broke through, but her words served as an impenetrable wall.

"That's your father speaking. Not you. Or it didn't use to be. Maybe he changed your thinking. But the last time my name was on your lips you were begging me to fuck you hard, faster and deeper."

"Your father drew lines because he couldn't stand my father giving him competition. He wanted it all for himself."

He sighed with disgust. To Drake, it didn't matter where you came from. Love was just that—love. Nothing else mattered. Then again, he grew up in a family that believed everyone should be loved and lines had no place or business when it came to the heart.

But Esmeralda. His poor Esme grew up with a man whose heart turned blacker than coal.

"Tell me, has he? Did he manage to make you hate the Savage name as much as he does?" He stroked the tip of her chin and brought her gaze level with his. "Forget it. You know what I really want to know? I want to know why you left without saying goodbye? After what we shared, I deserved that much." He walked them back until he had her pinned to the stone wall of the den and slid between her thighs.

"We were young."

"And?" Lowering his head, Drake inhaled as he ran his nose from her breasts to her mouth for emphasis. "You know now as you did back then, that we belong together." Hands pinned above her head he looked into her eyes. "Can't exactly lie about that, can you? Answer me, do you feel the need to have my cock in you and my mouth licking and kissing every inch of your body? Because I do. The need is so fucking strong I feel almost wild with it."

Her gaze darkened. "You know why I left. After Mom died..." She turned her face away and let her words trail off on a huff without answering him. "I'm not going to argue with you, Drake."

He leaned in a little and took the lobe of her ear in his mouth and sucked before working his way down her throat and over to her other ear. "What you feel. The need building inside you. It's like a thousand wires of electricity tapping into every blood cell in your body and pumping your libido with amazing amounts of adrenaline, isn't it?"

Her lashes brushed against the tops of her cheeks, "Yes."

He pulled off her gloves and intertwined their fingers. He slowly drew her hands close to rest on his chest. "And no one is arguing, sweetheart."

She turned back to face him. "You're right, you know. Father pulled us out of here after the rangers found Mom's body so fast I didn't have a choice. I wasn't even eighteen yet. What would you have me do?" In the dim lighting filtering in through a few cracks above, he saw the slight smile she tried to hide the pain behind. "Would you have wanted me to fight my father after he lost his wife? You know he blames your whole family for that day. How could I have told him I wanted to choose you over my own family?"

"Your mother's death is not on my family or my father," he said quietly. "My father wrestles with that every day. She was the one determined to make the climb by herself. She didn't want to listen to reason and got killed for it." He hated to be blunt sometimes there was no other way.

He watched tears well behind those perfectly beautiful lashes of hers and his heart broke a fraction more. God, he was a fucking asshole.

"You know my father didn't see it that way. Your father was the one sent to bring her off the mountain and in his eyes, your father failed. My father went to his grave believing yours could have saved her if he hadn't given up."

He narrowed his eyes and grunted. "Like I could have stopped you today? You are no different from her, you know. Determined and stubborn as the midnight sun."

She rested a hand on his chest. "I didn't say I believed him or think he was right."

Drake stood there, silently staring down at her, and inhaled softly. Maybe it was time to take off the kid gloves? "Esme, I never expected you to fight your father. What kind of asshole would that make me? But I did expect you to fight for me the way I did for you."

She sealed her lips and her expression turned frozen.