27. Cassidy

His free hand slides past my ear and tangles in my unkempt waves. Cradling the back of my skull, he holds me close enough there isn't room to take a full breath. And he's kissing me like I'm his sole source of oxygen.

The hair at the nape of his neck is soft under my fingertips. As is the skin under his shirt, when I slip my hands underneath it to stroke his stomach. His groan catches in his throat, and his hips grind into me. I'm pulled closer by strong hands on my ass until his thigh is tight between mine. Pressing into me with each gentle rock of my hips, but not giving quite enough friction to satisfy my craving.

By the time we break apart, my fingers are beet red from the cold and my lips tingle. The buzzing, roof-mounted space heater isn't doing nearly enough to keep my extremities from turning into popsicles. And I'm numb down to the bone—except for the fire deep in my core, which is telling me to fuck Chase in the barn and worry about frostbite later.

"Sweetheart, we should get out of here. You're shaking like a leaf, and your teeth are chattering." His hands vigorously rub my arms and shoulders, lips pressing softly on my forehead.

I don't want to go home. More than anything, I want to stay here. Hell, I'll even sleep in his Boy Scout Camp bunkhouse if it means not leaving him. "C-can I stay with you? I'm tired and it's a long drive and the roads are—"

"Obviously you're staying here." He smiles, then kisses the cold tip of my nose. "Even if things hadn't gone the way they did just now, there's no way in hell I'd be letting you drive home tonight."

"Yeah, right. Where would I sleep? I don't have the heart to kick Denny out of his top bunk."

Chase laughs, keeping a tight grip on my waist as we move toward the barn door, practically joined at the hip.

"You realize we all have separate bedrooms… with normal beds, right?"

"Damn, that's boring." My tongue catches between my front teeth in a cheeky grin. "Bunch of hot guys all sharing a room sounds more fun… more erotic. I'd pay good money to see that. In fact… think we can convince the guys to make some videos for the internet? We're sitting on a gold mine here."

"Jesus, woman. A month without a good dicking and this is the sick shit you think about?"

"Good dicking is a bold statement." I shrug impishly, then shriek as he grabs my shoulders and pushes me up against the barn door. Even through my winter coat, the cold wood chills me to the bone. His hands move to either side of my head, caging me in. His predatory gaze pinning me in place. And that only makes me want to tease him more. He's worried I'll view him as violent or mean or aggressive. But I want the fire in his eyes and tick in his jaw. If I weren't pregnant, I'd run just to see if he'd make chase. Find out what happens once he catches me.

A frozen breeze flutters through the crack in the door, making even Chase's body tense. "We should get you somewhere warm."

"I think I'd rather stay here, frozen and catching wafts of horse shit, over finding out what your bunkhouse looks and smells like."

"The girls keep it clean, actually. But, anyway, I want you to myself tonight. Cecily's old cabin is empty. It might not be much warmer than here, but I'll start a fire." He grabs my hand and flicks off the barn lights, pulling my hood up over my head before tugging me into the snowy night.

It's so cold, the air feels frozen in place. A stillness has settled over the ranch—the sharp crunching of our feet down the compact pathway the only noise. I thought my world was the only one tipped upside down tonight, but a light snow is falling as if the universe flipped Earth like a snow globe. Swirling, dancing, meandering snowflakes float through the air like specks of glitter before settling on our heads and coats, gathering in clusters on the frozen ends of my hair.

"I'm just gonna grab an armload of firewood," he says as we approach a towering pile of split timber. Hesitantly letting go of my hand, he begins to pile wood into his arms.

"Let me help." I follow suit before he can argue, grabbing as many pieces as I can, afraid I'll drop them because I can't feel a single thing. Whether the numbness is from the cold or the emotions surging through me, I'm unsure.

Arms loaded, our steps fall perfectly in time as we continue past our vehicles, past bunkhouses, to a small log cabin. Chase steps ahead to clear snow from the porch steps with a sweeping foot movement. Then he swings open the door and leads me inside.

He was right. It's not much warmer than the barn. Not that it would matter—I'm frozen inside and out. It's game over for me. I'll thaw when spring comes. Though it's not warm, the small one-room cabin has the potential to be cozy.

"Get comfy." Chase holds a steady grip on my shoulders and sits me down onto a vintage, well-loved couch. Evidently aware I'm too cold to do so myself, he snags a thick wool blanket from a basket on the floor and wraps it around me. "I'll get the fire going and it'll be warm in here shortly."

Within minutes, there are vibrant flames dancing in the stone fireplace, casting an orange glow over the small room. He turns to me with a proud smile, his shoulders sitting a tiny bit taller than they were in the barn. "If we're lucky, the heat tape on the pipes is working—which means running water. We could take a bath and warm up?"

Warming up and easing my aching joints in a bath sounds like a dream. Being naked with Chase does not. Regardless of how badly I want him to kiss me, touch me, and chase me through a wooded forest, then fuck me against a tree… He hasn't seen my body in a month. In normal life, that would mean absolutely nothing. A month during pregnancy—especially third trimester—is an entirely different story.

"Oh, no. I can't have hot baths." Good cover up.

"I know. I'm not trying to cook Little Spud. We'll keep it warm-ish. It's nicer than sitting here while we wait for the room to heat up. It'll feel good on your back and feet, too."

"I'm honestly good here." I give him a thin-lipped smile, pulling the blanket tighter around myself. My entire body convulses when an icy chill runs down my spine, and he cocks an eyebrow.

"Don't bullshit me. I know you like taking baths. If you don't want me to come, you can go alone…"

"It's not that I don't want you to." It's absolutely that I don't want him to.

"So then let's go." He grabs hold of my wrist, tugging until I'm forced onto my feet with a groan.

"It's that…" I draw wide, attention-grabbing circles around my stomach with my hands. "I'm pregnant."

"Shit, really? Who's the father? Somebody I know?" He snorts, a cloud of steam escaping his parted lips. "Jesus, Cass. Duh. I'm aware you're pregnant. What's your point?"

It feels both stupid and incredibly vulnerable, so I squeeze my eyes shut and let the question fall out. "A-are you still… um, physically attracted to me? You know… since I actually look super pregnant now."

"Cassidy." Chase grabs my hands, interlacing our fingers, and steps in so our stomachs are touching. I'm trying, and failing spectacularly, to focus on him, rather than the fact that my belly now sticks out farther than my boobs. "I am so fucking attracted to you. When you showed up here tonight, it took everything in me not to immediately start kissing and touching every inch of you. Every time I see you, I think you can't possibly get more beautiful. And you somehow keep proving me wrong… I told you before that I'll always find this"—his hands smooth over my stomach—"beautiful. I meant what I said. Your body is fucking perfect in my eyes. Pregnant, not pregnant. So, please come with me. I know you want a bath."

I reluctantly allow him to pull me into the bathroom, where there's an old clawfoot tub under a small window. The outside frost has tooled intricate designs in the windowpane. And he playfully insists we cross our fingers as he turns the hot water knob.

"Thank God!" He exhales dramatically when water comes pouring out, instantly creating swirling steam in the frigid air. "I would've been pissed with myself for talking you into this if the water lines ended up being frozen."

"Can we maybe not have the harsh ceiling light on?" I scrunch my nose. If he's really insisting on me being naked, the lighting and ambience need to at least be somewhat flattering. Preferably deceiving.

Without a reply, he leaves for a moment and returns empty handed. "Fuck, if I'd known you were coming I would've bought some candles or something. There's nothing in the cupboards." He pulls his phone from his pocket, turns on the flashlight, and sets it on the counter. "Best I can do."

"It's perfect." I pull him to me for a slow, explorative kiss. Now that I've had his lips on mine, I hate knowing I could've had this all along and chose not to.

Wasting no time, he's unzipping my coat. Shimmying my pants down. Delicately pulling my shirt over my head. Unclasping my bra. Until I'm wearing nothing but a shadow cast across the wall.

I gulp, watching him intently for any hint of disgust or disappointment. The slightest tinge of regret. Anything to confirm what the monster inside my head is telling me, that he won't want me anymore. I pushed him away and now, seeing me naked for the first time in a month, he'll realize it was better that way.

"You're a fucking dream," he says with a wanton rasp, eyes raking over me.

With his support, I settle into the tub—filled to the brim with water that's the perfect temperature to ease my muscles and warm my bones. It's squishy with us both in here, but he doesn't seem to mind me between his legs, my head laid back on his chest. And for a long while we sit in perfectly comfortable silence.

A sensation I'm sure I'll never fully get accustomed to lights a smile on my face. I grab hold of Chase's hand and press it firmly against my skin. Holding it flat on the cold part of my belly sitting just above the water. Within seconds, she kicks again.

"Holy shit, Cass. Holy shit. Was that?" His fingers spread wider automatically—trying to cover as much of me as he can.

"Little Spud. You were the first to feel it—like I promised. It's been getting hard to dodge hands on my stomach lately, but you deserved to feel her before anybody else. She goes wild every time I have a bath, so I was hoping you'd get this."

His lips press to the top of my head. Over and over. Soft kisses as his hand holds tight to my stomach. "Remember when you told me not to say nice things or you might fall in love?"

"Mhm." I stroke my fingertips over the back of his hand.

"We never talked about what'll happen when I fall in love with you."