Snowed In

Chapter 3

I woke in the morning tangled in him feeling refreshed and renewed. To my surprise, he was already awake. He gently ran his fingers through my hair and sighed. His breathing was even and soft paired with mine.

"Time to wake up?" I asked him sleepily as my fingers found their way to his chest. I hadn't opened my eyes yet. I didn't want to. More often than not I'd fall asleep in his arms and wake up peacefully in them and not want to move. That morning wasn't any different. It all felt like a dream, being able to stand by his side, to play with his hair, to listen to his fingers dance on the strings of his guitar or his voice ring soft and smooth through his house. I didn't want that dream to ever end. He twirled my hair with his fingers.

"Not yet, Little Love. Not yet." His voice was deeper, far deeper in the morning. It rumbled through his chest and me. "Close your eyes." He almost sang. I relaxed into him and pulled myself closer to his side. I forgot that we were naked under the covers. His warm body reminded me. I did my best to ignore the warm sensations that I felt buzzing through my body at the contact. His little hiss of breath told me that he was trying to as well. "Not enough time." He answered the question I thought to ask before I could even voice it. So I lay there wrapped in his arms and drifted back to sleep as his fingers played in my hair and his other hand traced designs on my bare shoulder. When the alarm went off I woke alone. Confused, I wondered how he had managed to get out of the bed without waking me. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his long bare back to me. I reached up and put my fingers against his spine. He leaned back into my touch then turned and smiled.

"You ready?" His eyes wandered over the sheets I had pulled over my body then back to my eyes and my messy hair. His was still up neatly in the braid I had put it in the night before. "You are so beautiful. Why would you want to hide from me?" He reached for the sheet and slowly pulled it away from me. He turned shifting his body so that he could crawl back into the bed beside me. He smoothed my hair and let his eyes and fingers explore my face. His smile was slow and soft as he gently shook his head and let those eyes, followed by his fingers, wander down my body. He stopped over my tummy and brought his eyes back to mine. I didn't know what he was thinking, the look in those eyes was new to me. He moved his hand over my hip and leaned in for a tender kiss. "Not enough time. There will never be enough time for loving you." His lips touched mine and fire moved through my soul. My mind was blown. What had he just said? He kissed me tenderly. He kissed me quietly. He kissed me senseless. His hand grew heavy on my hip as he pushed me back to the bed and lay his body over mine. There wasn't enough time.

Eventually, the alarm sounded again, and he startled awake. We got out of bed and showered quickly washing the morning's tryst off our skin. He unbraided his hair only to find a mass of dark silky waves that he could not contain or leave down. So I pulled it up for him into a mess of a bun on the top of his head after getting the death glare for suggesting he could just wear a hat. We put the last of our essentials in their respective bags, grabbed our carry-ons and headed to the garage. I paused and then shook off the strange feeling I got when I saw my handprints in the dust on the hood of his car. I must have paused too long. He apologized again. I just kissed him and hugged him before walking to my side of the car.

The trip to the airport didn't lead to any real conversation as he had turned the music up and focused on getting us to where we were going, and I watched the street lights outside the window and fought off the sleep that threatened to take me. The wait at the airport was short. We sat side by side and waited to board the plane. His fingers grazed my hand and he smiled softly as he spoke quietly about the last time he was in the airport. It was the most touching we ever did in public until he surprised me by taking my hand briefly in his. He let me go as a young fan approached him. He stood in front of me, shielding me from her view and her from mine. He talked to the young girl and the few others that had gathered around. When the call came to board the plane he politely excused himself, apologized and gave the last of the hugs that were requested then joined me in line. He took his bag off my shoulder.