Trapped in Temptation Box Set Read online

  I wrapped my coat tighter around myself and looked down both sides of the road. There was nothing but the softly falling snow and the ghostly trees for company. The feared night fell as I waited, and my heart lifted when, in the darkening gloom, I saw Frost's shadow emerge from the cabin. He hurried back to me with a smile on his face and his clothes soaked to the skin.

  "It's dry in there. We'll pack our supplies inside and wait out the storm," he proposed.

  I rubbed my arms and shivered. "Sounds better than staying out here."

  He looked me over with a careful sweep of his eyes. "You're sure you're okay?"

  I managed a smile and nodded. "Yeah, just-well, everything's pretty quiet out here," I admitted.

  Frost grinned and a teasing look slipped into his eyes. "Well, I'll keep talking while we pack our supplies into our new home."

  I snorted. "I don't know about you, but I'm not looking forward to dining on my underwear."

  He chuckled. "I have something that doesn't have as much fiber, but it tastes better."

  I raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

  He nodded at the rear of the truck. "Let me show you."

  CHAPTER 3

  Frost led me over to the truck and pulled down the tailgate. I peeked inside and noticed some short boxes stacked on top of one another on one side, and a box labeled coffee beside them. He nodded at the stack. ""I hope you don't mind donuts, and the coffee powder with water was supposed to help them slide down."

  I snorted. "Have you looked at me lately?"

  His eyes swept over me and so did that familiar warmth that came with the look of admiration in his gaze. "That goes without saying, but I must warn you they are delicious."

  I turned to him and pointed a thumb at the supplies. "So what exactly are you doing with a bed full of donuts?"

  He sheepishly smiled and shrugged. "I was supposed to be hosting a conference about now, but the blizzard had other plans."

  "And they desperately needed coffee and donuts sent over the pass?" I wondered.

  "The lodge is notorious for skimping on their coffee powder, and the donuts are the best in the state," he told me. He looked up at the dark sky. "Maybe we should save any other questions for after we get settled into the cabin. Otherwise we won't be able to tell the difference between a donut and a bolt."

  A chill wind blew past us and swept through my aching, stiff bones. "Good point. I'll get the bags and you grab the grub."

  I grabbed my essential bag and his, and he managed to pile the donuts into his arms with the box of coffee on the top. Frost led me down his path to the cabin and I caught a better rear view of his-well, rear. It was even cuter up close. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't exactly horny, but it kept me warm admiring his assets.

  We reached the cabin and squeezed through the door. Emphasis on the squeeze part for me. I wasn't exactly thin and the door wasn't exactly a two-lane highway. I wiggled my jiggle and inched into my new abode. My first look told me it almost wasn't worth the effort. The cabin was a single room with a large stone fireplace at the rear, and fourth-hand furniture close around the hearth. One the left side was a kitchen, if you could call a rusted sink and a table with four chairs a kitchen, and on the right was a single large wooden double bed. On the same wall as the bed were stacked a half dozen cots for the poor saps how drew the shorter straws. The whole place was covered in dust and smelled of bug repellent. The only source of light were the windows at my back.

  Beside the fireplace was a stack of dry wood and kindling. Frost strode over to those. Draped over a couch that stood in front of the hearth was a warm-looking woolen blanket. I dropped the bags behind the couch, snatched the blanket off the back and was doused with a healthy dose of dust. It flew into my face and stuck to my wet clothes.

  Frost turned at my coughing and choked on a laugh. "I guess the hunters don't believe in tidying the place up for the winter," he mused.

  I dropped the dusty blanket and waved my hand in front of my face to dispel the dust cloud around me. "I don't think they believe in tidying the place up, period," I retorted.

  He snatched a flint lighter from the mantle and knelt in front of the dark fireplace. "No, but they know wood when they find it. I should have a good fire going in no time," he told me.

  With the dust cleared I watched him pile sticks, and stuff them with kindling and paper. "So you get stuck on mountaintops often?" I wondered.

  He paused to look over his shoulder. His eyes swept over me and there was a sly smile on his face. "Not often, and never in such fine company," he returned.

  I blushed under his scrutinizing gaze and my hands fidgeted in my lap until I told them to knock it off. "I-I suppose a skinny girl would have gotten blown away in that blizzard."

  He chuckled and returned to his reenactment of a cave-man movie. "Probably. It's going to be a bad storm before it's over."

  I felt the color drain from my face. "You mean it's not going to finish any time soon?"

  Small popping and crackling noises came to my ears, and there was a faint glow in front of him. He blew on the glow, and flames erupted. He leaned back and the flickering light shined on his smile. "That should do it. We can change out of our wet clothes and hang them here to dry," he suggested.

  I felt the color drain from my face. "But there's no other room to change in," I pointed out.

  "I would suggest outside, but it's a little cold," he teased.

  I whipped my head left and right. Nowhere to run or hide. I returned my attention to my decidedly male companion. "You have to promise to look away."

  Frost stood and crossed his finger over his heart. "And hope to die," he swore.

  "All right, turn around." He turned so he faced the mantle. I grabbed my bag and ruffled through it for my extra pair of pants. In a thrice I whipped them out, unbuttoned the wet ones I wore, and slipped them off me. My eyes watched my companion, but he only rocked on his heels and whistled. "You're not helping," I scolded him.

  "Hmm?" he returned.

  "By whistling," I explained.

  "Oh, sorry."

  I hopped into one pant leg and then another. A quick button and zip, and I was done. "All right, you can turn around now."

  He turned and walked around the couch to his bag beside mine. "Now it's my turn."

  "No looking, right?" I teased.

  Frost paused and tilted his head up to grin at me. "Only if you don't want to."

  I blushed and spun around so I faced away from him and at the lone bed. "I-I'm fine," I replied.

  "Suit yourself," he quipped.

  I heard rustling behind me. My imagination conjured up images of sexy, flexing muscles slipping out of his tight jeans and shirt. I felt heat pool between my legs as my mind's eye ran up and down his lithe, naked body. His body rippled with sweat and he would wrap his arms around me-

  "Whoa there, Crystal. . ." I whispered to myself.

  "You say something?" Frost asked me.

  "Just-um, just talking to myself," I replied.

  "Oh? Mind if I join the conversation?" he teased.

  "Yeah, it's-well, it's ladies only," I told him.

  "I see."

  He resumed his clothing, and I resumed my curiosity. After a few seconds I couldn't take it anymore. I had to know. I slowly leaned to one side and changed a glance over my right shoulder. He faced the back of the couch and stood in only his tight briefs. That left little to my imagination, and my eyes gobbled up all the sexy muscles I saw. There was the perfect ass, nice and tight, and the strong hips, perfect for thrusting.

  I whipped my head away. There were those thoughts again, the ones that didn't have a chance in hell of happening.

  "All right, I'm finished," Frost told me. I turned to him and slapped a strained smile on my face. He nodded to the food he'd placed on the kitchen table. "Now what about dinner?" he asked me.

  "Sure, but how much can we eat? I have to worry about surviving on my fat?" I insisted.

  He stood and brushed the du
st off his pants. "Probably not. Besides, I happen to like you the way you are."

  I blushed harder and turned away to stare at an interesting knot in the wood floor. "You're the only one. . ." I mumbled. I started back when a hand interrupted my vision. It was held out for me to grab. My eyes followed the arm up to his smiling face and teasing blue eyes.

  "You look hungry. Let's see if I can make as good a coffee as a fire," he suggested. I blinked at him, but took his hand. He pulled me off the couch and over to the kitchen area. There was an old coffee kettle on the counter, and he pushed a box of donuts towards me. "You start on these, I'll start on the coffee."

  I munched away on a large claw of a bear while I watched him dole out copious amounts of ground coffee into the kettle. "Do you generally drink your tar like that?" I asked him.

  "I usually have a machine to do it for me so I'm not really sure of the quantities," he admitted.

  I stuffed the rest of the donut into my mouth, and snatched both the coffee and the kettle from him. "I'd better handle this before we choke to death on a drink," I suggested.

  He stepped away from me and bowed at the waist. "I will accede to your demands, my lady."

  CHAPTER 4

  With a little help from some melted snow and the open, crackling fire I had a decent batch of coffee to go with our donut meal. We each took a cushion of the short couch and munched to our heart's content. The glow of the fire gave enough light so we could see each other, but dark shadows ruled the corners of the large room. The quiet was a little oppressive, so I struck up a conversation.

  "You said you were taking this stuff for a conference. What was it going to be about?" I asked him.

  "I was to meet with some investors who wanted to buy shares in my company," he told me.

  I paused in my dinner and raised an eyebrow at him. "You own a company?"

  He smiled and nodded. "Yes, quite a big one. I deal in pastries mostly. These donuts were made in one of my factories."

  My mouth dropped open and a little donut dribbled out. "You're the Nick Frost? The owner of Frost Frostings?"

  "Guilty as charged," he admitted.

  "Aren't you worth a billion dollars?"

  "Two, but who's counting?"

  "A bunch of accountants and your investors," I quipped.

  Frost chuckled. "I stand corrected, but now it's your turn. I've told you my deepest, darkest shame of being a billionaire, but I don't know anything about you except your name. Any boyfriend waiting for you at the end of the mountain trail?"

  I snorted and shook my head. "No, not even a hamster."

  "What do you do for a living?"

  I shrugged. "I'm an office worker at a department store. I pretty much push papers all day, go home, rinse and repeat."

  "Not the glamorous life you dream about?" he teased.

  "Only if you call glamorous when somebody comes in complaining about their paycheck being two cents off and threatening to sic the unions on us," I quipped.

  "It sounds like your job has its ups and downs," he returned.

  "More downs than ups," I admitted. I shook myself and leaned back against the couch. A bitter smile slipped onto my lips. "I must be boring you with my middle-class problems."

  He shook his head. "Not at all. Only a few years ago I was eating ramen and buying anything that had a coupon for fifty-percent off. Then Lady Luck smiled on me and I hit it big with a little cake shop I started with a friend."

  "Got any of that luck to spare?" I teased.

  He chuckled. "It's more than just luck. It's perseverance. You have to want something badly enough to earn it." I noticed his eyes swept over my when he said that.

  I blushed and turned my gaze to the fire. "So what about you and the end of that mountain trail? The Mrs. Frosting Queen didn't want to come up here with you?"

  "She would if I had one, but I'm still cooking for myself," he told me.

  "So no wife?"

  "No wife. Not even a dog."

  I looked back to him and noticed his gaze was focused on into the fire. There was melancholy in the depths of those beautiful eyes. "The ladies must be falling all over you," I mused.

  He pursed his lips and nodded. "Yes. They fall down hoping they'll trip me into matrimony, but I've seen enough vipers to know a snake when it slithers up to me." He shook himself and turned to me with a smile. "But here I am moaning about my lot in life when I've got a lot to be grateful for."

  I shrugged and sipped on my coffee. "Loneliness knows no tax bracket. Besides, I'm sure you'll find some girl not out to get your riches, you just have to look past the gold-diggers."

  He paused an his eyes swept over me with that careful, penetrating gaze of his. I could see how he could command enough respect to build a frosting empire. "I might just follow your advice."

  "Of course you should. It's my advice, and as you know I am never wrong," I quipped to cover up my nervousness.

  He chuckled. "That's a conversation always best left for another time. Right now I think we should get to bed."

  "Flip you for the bed and couch?" I teased.

  He set his coffee mug on a small table in front of the couch and shook his head. "No. As gallant as I should be with the bed I think we should sleep together."

  My eyes bulged out of my head. "S-sleep together?"

  "Yes, for the body heat. That fire won't stay lit all night and this cabin will probably feel colder than outside. We should gather our body heat to avoid much loss, as they say in business," he explained.

  "Oh! The body heat! Right! I know that!" I twittered. I juggled my coffee mug between my shaking hands and finally set it on the coffee table. "So, um, we go to bed now?"

  "Unless you want to keep talking about our love lives," he teased.

  "Right. Bed it is."

  I jumped to my feet and looked down at myself. I still wore my jeans and shirt. "I think I'll just stay in these clothes."

  "If you want. I'm sure our combined body heat and some dusted blankets will let you wear anything you want. Or nothing," he mused.

  "I-I'm fine. Who gets the wall?"

  "I will," he offered.

  Frost stood and grabbed a few blankets that lay over the couch. He stepped outside and gave them a good shake to dust them. The blankets were spread over the bed with its single mattress and wood frame. Frost removed his shoes and coat, and climbed under the blankets.

  I stood off to the side and smiled at how he looked tucked under so many layers. "How's the water?" I teased.

  "Warm. Come on in," he returned.

  I took off my shoes and socks, and slipped under the covers. The bed was too narrow to avoid touching him, but I tried my best to lean over the side without falling off. "Very comfortable," I agreed as I clung to the wooden side boards.

  "You'll fall out that way," he scolded me.

  "I'm fine-hey!" He'd wrapped his arms around me and pulled my back against his chest. "Let go! I was fine!"

  "You were not fine and you're as stiff as a board. Relax, I'm not going to hurt you," he assured me.

  I squirmed in his arms. "That's what all the crazed murderers say right before they try to ax the heroine!" I protested.

  "Yes, but I'm the hero, remember? The murderer doesn't save their intended victim from a snow-bound car," he reminded me.

  I stopped my struggles, but glared at him over my shoulder. "You could at least not hold me."

  He grinned back. "But I'm comfortable."

  "Your arms are going to go numb," I warned him.

  "You're not as heavy as you think you are."

  "Maybe you're stronger than you think."

  "Maybe you need someone around to tell you you're beautiful more often than you tell yourself you're ugly," he scolded me.

  I turned my face away from him and stuck my lips out in a pout. "I tell myself that because it's true."

  He caught my chin between two fingers and turned my head so I faced him again. His eyes sparkled with mischief and something more, som
ething deeper and warmer. "It's not true, and I'm going to prove it to you." He leaned down and caught my lips in a passion-filled kiss. We meshed our lips together in a soft duel and I turned around to face him so I could deepen the kiss. He pulled me closer and my breasts pushed against his hard chest.

  After a few moments I broke the kiss and gasped for breath. "You. . .you do this a lot to girls you just met?" I teased him.

  He smiled down at me and brushed a wisp of my hair from my face. "Only the beautiful ones."

  He captured my lips in another searing kiss. My body ached with the tortured need I felt for him. I groaned and leaned against him. His hand slid down my clothed body and slipped beneath my shirt. He toyed with my bra before his fingers dipped beneath the flimsy cloth. He massaged my breast slowly, achingly slowly. I pushed my mound into his palm, encouraging him to feel me.

  Nick pulled away from me and pulled my shirt over my head. His deft hands unclasped my bra and my upper half was naked to him. I covered my folds of fat with my hands and looked away, too embarrassed by my imperfect body to show it to him.

  "Not that. Not with me," he cooed.

  He pulled my hands away and lay me on my back while he hovered above me. He leaned down and captured one of my buds in his mouth. His warm lips suckled me. My body ignited with sensual heat. It pooled between my legs and left me with a feeling such aching need that I clawed at his shirt. He tossed that aside for me and I reveled in the feel of his warm flesh in my hands.

  One of his hands slid down and unbuttoned my pants. His fingers slipped beneath the waistband and through the coarse hair to the folds between my legs. I jumped when he grazed my sensitive nub. Sensual pleasure swept over my body and left me with chills. I clutched his shoulders and moaned as he rubbed his finger against my nub, teasing me with promises of what he could give to me. My hips thrust in time with his finger and the ache inside me grew worse. I needed him inside me, one with me.

  "Please," I whimpered.

  He lifted his head from my breast and I could see he gasped for breath. His eyes were ablaze with a lustful fire, but he strained to contain himself. His voice was hoarse with his need. "Please what?" he asked me.

  "Please take me."

  That was the final key to unlock our demanding desire for one another. I don't remember how our clothes flew off, but in a moment we were both naked beneath the covers. He draped his body over mine and his member teased my hot, wet opening. I wrapped my thick thighs around his waist and squirmed. I wanted, no, needed for him to take me, to make me his.