Eva.
“We’re almost there,” Oak says, nodding up ahead.
“Almost where?” I ask.
He smiles at it is one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve ever seen. “You’ll see.”
“Wow,” I gasp as we come to the edge of a stream with a waterfall that is entirely encased in ice. It’s one of the most breathtaking things I’ve ever seen, frozen in time as it was flowing over the rocks.
Oak nods. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
I nod and then look at him. “I thought you said you don’t have time to venture into the woods. So, how did you find it?”
“I may have told a little white lie.” There’s a glint in his eyes. “To be honest, you drove me so crazy I just wanted you to stop talking.”
I punch him in the arm. “That’s not very nice.”
He grabs my wrist and yanks me against him. “Not because I didn’t want to hear you speak, but I was hard around you from the day we fucking met.” His warm breath falls on my face as he closes the gap between us. “Everything you did made me want you more, Eva, especially after I’d had to help you get dressed in that fucking hospital.”
I whimper at the strength and warmth of his body against me. “I wanted you so badly that day,” I admit.
Oak’s eyes move to my lips, and then he covers them with his own. His mouth is hard and demanding as his tongue probes at my lips, forcing them open.
I groan as I feel his cock hard between our bodies. It’s crazy how our desire for each other seems impossible to quench. “We are supposed to be admiring the beautiful natural wonder,” I murmur against his lips.
“I am,” he breathes, pressing kisses to just below my ear.
“Oak,” I moan his name, feeling the icy wind chill my skin as his warmth sinks into my flesh. “Is it possible to be cold and hot at the same time?”
He chuckles and removes his lips from my skin. “We probably shouldn’t stay here too long.”
I grab his hand as he turns to look at the frozen waterfall again. “We should come back here when it’s thawed out,” I say.
Oak nods. “Yeah, spring break, I guess.” There’s a sad edge to his tone, but I know after he cut me off earlier, not to mention the dilemma we’re in. “Unless you’re bored with me by then,” he jests.
I shake my head. “I think it is the other way around.”
The serious look on his face surprises me. “That could never happen, Eva.” He cups my face in his gloved hand and rubs his nose against mine. “Never, do you understand?”
I swallow hard, wishing I wasn’t falling for this man so fast. We’re star-crossed, forbidden, yet my heart yearns for this to be permanent. “Let’s walk back,” I say, my throat aching as it feels like every day I fall deeper in love with him.
He squeezes my hand and nods, leading me back the way we came. A branch snaps up ahead, making both of us freeze as we search for the source of the noise. My heart skips a beat as I notice a large black flash of fur between two trees tugging gently on Oak’s arm.
“What is it?” he asks.
I nod up ahead. “A black bear.”
His brow furrows. “They don’t normally venture this close to the school.” He tries to push me behind him, but I stop him.
“It hasn’t seen us,” I whisper, shaking my head. “We’re not in danger, as long as we don’t startle it.”
Oak tenses beside me as the bear walks away from us, but it’s an utterly breathtaking sight to behold. I’ve wanted to see bears in the wild, and there one is, happily going about its own business in the forest.
“Let’s go that way slowly,” I whisper, nodding in the opposite direction to the bear.
Oak leads the way, and we slowly back toward the second path away from the bear, thankful when it disappears. “Shit, that was close,” he says, shoulders slumping in relief.
I tilt my head. “Don’t tell me you were scared,” I say, nudging him.
He raises a brow. “Weren’t you?”
“No, it had no reason to harm us unless we threatened it.”
We walk the rest of the path in silence back to the cottage. I shudder when I see the smoke rising out of the chimney, longing for the warmth of the fire. “It’s so cold,” I say, hastening my steps toward the cottage.
He hastens them too, shoving the key into the door and opening it for me.
I shudder the moment the warm air hits me. “I’ll tell you what I need right now.”
“What’s that?”
“Hot cocoa. Would you like some?” I walk toward the kitchen.
He nods in reply.
I get out the milk and heat it over the stove before adding the cocoa and sugar. Oak stares at me with a strange look.
“Could you find me two mugs?” I ask as I grab the pan off the stove.
Oak stands and grabs two mugs, setting them down on the counter. “Let me,” he says, taking the pan out of my hand and tipping the contents into the two mugs.
He also turns on the oven and grabs the huge turkey off the counter, placing it into the center. “I might have got a too big turkey for two people.” He shrugs. “They didn’t have anything smaller.”
I pass him his mug, which I’ve now added cream on top and chocolate sprinkles.
“Thank you,” he says, sitting down on a stool and yanking me to perch on his lap. He nuzzles the back of my neck with his nose, inhaling deeply. “I think this is already the best Christmas I’ve had in years.”
“Me too,” I say. I feel the ache return deep in the center of my chest as I sip my hot chocolate and enjoy the warmth of his body against mine.
This feeling of being protected, but importantly, the sense of belonging he makes me feel, is what I’ve longed for my entire life. Oak gives me everything. I wish the rest of the world would fade away, leaving us alone in this fantasy forever.