Author's Note: In case you haven't noticed, notawriter32 and I egg each other on while we write #AfterDark stories, so you should definitely be checking her stuff out as well. Because I think it's better than mine…
Also kudos to StoriesOfTheHeart for being a good friend and reading things you aren't interested in. And then liking them…
And of course to everyone who reads, comments, likes, anything - THANK YOU!
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This had not been a good idea.
She was currently slowly navigating the mountain road with a team of horses and her book wagon - it had required some stops and starts, but she had finally gotten the wagon built and working, enough books to stock it and keep the library replenished, and made connections with the families on the mountain to know when was good for her to head up there. She had made two trips already, as the leaves had begun to fall and the first chill of winter had blown in.
Today had been a great day - until the brisk February winds started picking up and the first snowflakes started to fall. And they kept coming, faster and faster.
Elizabeth knew that she couldn't make it home in this, but she also knew the hunting cabin that she and the children had taken shelter in all those years ago during the windstorm was still there, having double-checked its location on the way up.
She also knew that Nathan was going to have a field day telling her "I told you so." He had reminded her that weather on the mountain could change in an instant, but she had convinced him that she would be okay.
And she was okay. They were making slow progress, slower and slower as the heavy, wet snow packed down on the road, but she knew her horses could manage to the cabin. She was, however, looking forward to getting there and getting out of her wet outer layers and next to a fire for a bit.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed, and she knew she wasn't too much further from the cabin when she saw the flash of red peeking through black in front of her through the curtain of falling snow. She pulled back on the reins to stop the horses.
"Elizabeth!" He pulled Newton up beside the wagon and dismounted, looking up to her, removing his hat so she could see his face, "Elizabeth, are you okay?" He looked absolutely relieved that he had found her.
"I'm fine, just cold and wet. I was making my way to the hunting cabin for shelter. I figured you'd realize that."
"I did, but I just wanted to make sure that you were completely safe. One of Lee's men came down and was talking about how he thought the weather was shifting in the mercantile, so I left Jack with Rosemary and made my way up. I figured I'd intercept you and help manage the horses if you needed the help."
"It would be nice to put my hands in my pockets for a bit." She huffed out a laugh as she brushed some of the snow from her shoulders. "It has really started coming down."
"Let's get you to that cabin, warm you up." Nathan tied Newton to the back of the wagon, then came back to the front and nodded at her to scoot over on the wagon's bench.
He pulled himself up, and Elizabeth was struck by how very attractive her husband was in his winter peacoat with snowflakes trapped in his hair and eyelashes. She just stared at him as he got settled, and was startled out of her thoughts when she heard his voice.
"What?"
"The reins, Elizabeth. We can't go anywhere until you give them to me." He looked at her oddly, as she handed them over. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, sorry. Just….just thinking." She blushed as she turned her head to face the horses. "And cold. Let's go."
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They arrived at the cabin with no incident, Nathan expertly guiding the horses along the increasingly precarious road, far better than Elizabeth would have been able to.
"I'll get the horses squared away." He was very much in Mountie mode, she noted, all seriousness. "You go start the fire and take off your outer layers, anything that is wet. I was just up here last week making sure there was wood stocked, so you should have enough to at least get a fire started."
"You were here last week?" She questioned, confusedly.
"Ever since the windstorm, I've made it part of my rounds to check every two weeks to make sure there's enough supplies for anyone that might need it." Nathan looked at her pointedly, but quickly turned away to care for the horses.
Elizabeth shook her head, then turned and headed inside. Sure enough, there was enough firewood for at least a few nights.
By the time she got the fire going, took off her coat and started to shake the snow off of her hat and her hair, he had entered the cabin. His face was drawn, his brow furrowed. "Is everything alright? The horses…?
He was the one that seemed to have been startled this time. "What? Oh yes, yes, the horses are fine." He unbuttoned his peacoat and slipped it from his shoulders, walking it over to where the stove was so it could dry next to her coat. He took a second to crouch down next to the stove, warming his hands.
Elizabeth knew something was wrong, but she wasn't exactly sure what was going through her husband's mind. She walked over to him and placed her hand on his back. She felt his sigh and knew…what was it with this cabin and them?
He stood up to face her, but he couldn't meet her eyes. Head tipped slightly down, as if he knew what he was about to say was going to make her angry, he started, "Elizabeth, I can't let you come up here alone anymore, at least not during the winter." He finally met her eyes, and she could see the layers of emotions he was dealing with.
But it didn't matter. "Nathan, we aren't going to do this again. I am a grown woman, perfectly capable of taking care of myself, even in an emergency like this. I wasn't that far from here when you found me!" She rolled her eyes and turned back to the door to give herself some space.
"And what would have happened if something did go wrong, like a horse slipped, or the wagon tipped, or you got lost? What then?" The anger in his voice rose with each potential threat.
"Got lost?" She whipped back around to face him. "You act like I have never been up here!" She could feel tears of frustration begin to form - he was treating her like a child.
"It doesn't matter, I'm coming with you next time. It's safer anyway to be up here with another person." He stated it with finality.
She turned away from him, so angry, and headed towards the supplies she had stashed near the door when she came in. "This must have been how Faith felt when you insisted on shadowing her," she said under her breath. "No wonder she ended things…"
Considering it was a small cabin, he heard every word. "You think Faith ended things with me because I was overprotective?"
Elizabeth turned back to face him, finding hurt written all over his face. "Well, everyone in town was talking about how miffed she was that you wouldn't let her go on her rounds without you."
He huffed out a sardonic laugh and rolled his eyes. "Unbelievable." He walked up to her, standing so close she had to look up at him. "Faith ended things because she knew I was still in love with you. Try as I might, she knew that was in the way."
Elizabeth pulled in a breath and held it, eyes widening.
"And at least she saw it, because I know you didn't," he finished in an angry whisper.
"That's not fair, Nathan. I was with Lucas, so of course I didn't see it. You weren't supposed to be in love with me anymore." She couldn't believe the turn this conversation had taken. She went to side step around him, but he caught her wrist, keeping her close.
He replied evenly. "I know. Do you know how much it killed me inside to see you around town with him? Wondering why on earth you chose him over me?"
Tears began to form in her eyes, as she tried to pull her hand away. He held on tight, not hurting, but just keeping her close, not letting her run from this conversation. "I told you why I chose him." She closed her eyes as one tear fell down her wind-burnt cheek.
He released her hand and took a step back, running his hand through his wet hair. "Elizabeth, you never told me why you chose him, except for the flimsy excuse about you trying to replace Jack with me. That, and that you were too scared - what were you so scared of?"
Elizabeth opened her eyes, and looked at him, tilting her head trying to figure out what was happening. "Nathan, why are we doing this? I'm married to you" She took a step forward, but he put up one of his hands and backed up a step.
"No. Answer me - we've never talked this out. Why did you choose him in the first place?" His voice rose with every word.
So she answered in an equally loud voice, practically yelling, "Because he wasn't the one who would break me into a thousand little pieces if I let myself fall in love with him." Her eyes widened as she realized what she had revealed.
His eyes widened as well, and they just stood there, staring at one another, in this cabin. The only place they had ever raised their voices to one another
She swallowed, and then she was the first to break the silence. "But I never fell. It was only ever you."
Without breaking eye contact, he rushed towards her, grasping her jaw with one hand and reaching around to pull her against him with the other, his lips crashing into hers without a second thought.
She responded instantly, her hands reaching up around his neck, weaving her fingers into the hair at his neck. She was the one who opened her lips, granting his tongue entrance to her mouth.
He slowly walked her back, kissing her constantly, until her back was up against the uneven wall of the cabin, narrowly missing the hooks where his hat was currently hanging. The hand that was on her back had joined his other in grasping her face between them, tilting his head in the opposite direction to kiss her deeper.
She pulled her hands from around his neck to the front, and began unbuttoning his red serge, first unclasping the hook from his neck, her fingers brushing his Adam's apple as she did.
At the contact to his neck, he pulled back from kissing her, resting his forehead on hers. "What is it with this cabin and us?" he whispered huskily.
She huffed out a small laugh. "I don't know, but I think I know how we can avoid arguing for the rest of the night." She raised an eyebrow at him.
He chuckled. "Yeah, I bet you do." He resumed kissing her, this time with a little more finesse rather than the raw passion that had gotten them into this position.
She made quick work of the rest of his buttons, her lips never leaving his, dueling for dominance. She ran her hands up his stomach and chest, still covered in his long-sleeved thermal henley, and slipped his serge off his shoulders, where it fell in a heap on the floor.
As for his hands, they had made their way, brushing down her sides until they reached the edge of the sweater she wore over her blouse. Breaking their kisses for only long enough to pull the sweater up and over her head, he threw it over his shoulder. This time, his lips found her jawline, blazing a path down her neck, as his hands returned to her waist, reaching for the back where her skirt buttons were.
She was just as busy, slipping his suspenders off his shoulders one at a time, then starting from the front, untucking his henley from his jodhpurs, as her skirt slipped to the floor in a quiet whoosh.
He pulled back, stepping back as he did, brushing his arms down her arms to his hands. Stepping over the clothes strewn about, he pulled her further into the room, closer to the warm fire. If he was going to remove her warm petticoat and woolen stockings - he reveled in the idea - he was going to want to make sure she was warm.
Elizabeth on the other hand was plenty warm, but went willingly. He broke one hand hold and turned, walking the rest of the distance to the small bed that was along the far wall.
Turning back towards her, he sat down on the bed and pulled her close, still standing. His head reached just about waist level, and he nuzzled into her stomach, her hands reaching up to weave through his hair. He groaned in appreciation, and then in annoyance.
She pulled back, looking down, confused.
He rested his forehead on her hip. "I have to take off my boots, " he grumbled.
She laughed out loud at that, tipping her head back. Once she had composed herself a little, she asked "Poor thing, do you need some help?"
He looked up at her and rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "You don't have to."
She smirked. "I know. At least let me untie them." And she crouched down and untied the laces, loosening them enough, so that when she stood back up, he could pull them off without any issues.
Once the boots were set to the side, he reached for her. "Come here."
She grasped his hand and stood in front of him yet again, shivering as she watched his eyes rake down her body. She wasn't even undressed yet, and yet the fire in his eyes made her feel completely exposed. His fingers played with hers, brushing the smooth metal of her wedding band, as he finally looked up.
"I'm sorry."
A small smile formed on her face. "I'm sorry too."
No need for further elaboration.
He found the tie of her petticoat, and slipped the knot undone, as she unbuttoned her blouse, their eyes never breaking contact. He helped her step out of the petticoat after it slipped to the floor, and she shrugged the blouse off her shoulders, tossing it to a chair nearby. He could see her nipples straining through the light cotton of her chemise. He shifted his hips, adjusting himself within the confines of his jodhpurs.
"Something wrong, Constable?" She raised an eyebrow as she lowered the straps of her chemise down and off her shoulders, revealing her breasts to him one by one.
He tilted his head and gave her his trademark smirk as he took over, pulling the chemise down to the floor and again helping her to step out of it. He would never look at her putting on her woolen stockings again in the same way - she was exquisite standing in front of him in only them.
She decided that he was wearing too many clothes for her liking, so she reached down and pulled his henley up and over his head, revealing his muscular chest and arms. Her hands rested on his shoulders, as his hands reached behind to rest on her soft bottom, pulling her closer.
He placed a searing kiss on her hip, his teeth scraping the bone lightly, as he kissed his way down her thigh to the top of one of her stockings. He grasped behind her knee, and pulled her leg up to set her foot on his thigh, his other hand caressing the silky skin where his lips had already been. He hooked one of his fingers in the top of the stockings, and pulled slowly, revealing even more of her porcelain skin. As her knee was revealed, he placed a soft kiss on the kneecap. He looked up to her face - her head was tilted back with unadulterated pleasure written all over her face. He then brushed his fingers along the backside of her knee, knowing…
Her head shot down at him as she sucked in a breath, "Nathan Grant, don't you dare."
He raised his eyebrows and looked at her innocently. "What?"
"You know what." Her schoolteacher voice.
He was done for. He just stared at her, with her arms crossed, pushing up the soft mounds of her breasts, one single eyebrow raised. He swallowed audibly.
She bent over, uncrossing her arms, her breasts now at his eye level, but his eyes never left hers. "Don't. You. Dare. Tickle. Me. Got it?"
He nodded slowly.
She stood back up and stepped forward, straddling his legs, and settled herself onto his strong thighs. She draped her arms over his shoulders as she lazily kissed him.
The second her lips touched his, he was back in the moment, one hand running up and down her back, as the other brushed up her side to her breast, massaging it gently. He pulled his lips from hers to trail kisses down her neck and collarbone to the neglected breast.
She gasped as he wrapped his lips around the nipple, teasing it lightly with his tongue. She shifted on his lap to give him better access and the evidence of his desire for her was suddenly pressing up against her center. She shuddered in pleasure.
He could feel the heat of her through his pants and underwear. He released her nipple with a hiss, and rested his forehead on her sternum. "My God, Elizabeth. You drive me crazy."
She gently grasped his hair, pulling him so she could look at his face. "I know the feeling." Cupping his face in her hands, she kissed him without restraint.
Without breaking the kiss, he wrapped her legs around him and lifted her up and over to lie on the bed, her knees bracketing his hips, one stocking down to mid calf. He pressed his hips into hers, moving just slightly enough to increase and decrease pressure on her pubic bone, one of his hands palming her thigh and hitching her knee up higher.
She broke the kiss with a gasp. "Please, Nathan."
He stopped and looked down at her. Her hair formed a chocolate halo around her head, curls wild from the melted snow. Her eyes were closed and ecstasy was written all over her face. She was stunning. He was going to file this moment away forever. How lucky was he now that he had her?
After a few moments of his stillness, she opened her eyes. He was staring down at her with a look of such love and adoration. How did she ever doubt him? She smiled, which seemed to unlock his brain from wherever it was, because he got up and removed the rest of his clothes and returned with a blanket he wrapped over his back, trapping them within its warmth.
This time, they approached each other slowly, surely. He sprinkled kisses on her face, moving down her body, just enjoying the feel of her soft skin on his lips. Her fingers trailed up and down the rippling muscles of his back as she just enjoyed the devotion he was giving her body. One of his hands slipped between her legs, fingers dipping in and out of her center, slowly rubbing circles over her sensitive nub, making sure she would be ready when the time came. His throbbing length, solid against her thigh.
It might have been minutes, might have been hours when he finally eased into her, nipping slightly at her collarbone as he entered, both sighing together in unison. It didn't matter how many times they had done this, that first thrust always felt life-changing.
Knowing they had nowhere to be and that there would be no interruptions, just the soft whistling of the wind outside the cabin and the crackling of the fire, they took it decadently slow, building up, but pulling back just before they might fall over the precipice. Hands and lips everywhere, over and over, until finally he brushed his thumb over her center and she exploded in pleasure, her body clamping down on him, pushing him over that edge, emptying into her.
He collapsed to her side, wrapping his arms tightly around her and crushing her into his chest. "I can't lose you Elizabeth, you've got to know that."
It was her turn to rest her forehead on his sweat-slicked chest. "I know. I can't lose you either."
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They laid there and dozed for probably about an hour, and then Elizabeth's stomach rumbled.
Nathan snickered, "Hungry?"
A light blush colored her cheeks as she replied, "Yes. A little. I was planning on eating when I got here, but someone distracted me."
He chuckled as he got out of bed, and pulled his loose cotton shorts on. As he walked across the room to their supplies, he could feel the fire of her eyes on him. He crouched down into a squat to rifle through her bag and his saddlebags to find sustenance. He smugly returned to the bed, where she had sat up, blanket covering her modestly, tucked up under her arms that were draped over her bent knees. "See something you like?"
"Oh yes." She raised an eyebrow and gave him a smirk, but quickly turned her attention to the food he had brought over to the bed: dried meat and fruit, as well as some cheese. She dove in as he snapped his fingers.
"That's right!" He walked back over to his saddle bag and pulled out a flask. Then he walked over to the "kitchen" and grabbed two tumblers from a shelf, checking them to see if they were clean enough. Content with their cleanliness, he returned to the bed, where an intrigued Elizabeth sat, chewing on a piece of jerky.
He poured them each a finger of whiskey from the flask. "I always keep some with me in the winter. A quick swig warms me from the inside - just enough to warm me, mind."
She eyed him, "That might have been helpful before…"
"Before we warmed each other up?" He smirked again.
She rolled her eyes, but motioned 'give me' with her fingers. He handed her the glass as he sat on the edge of the bed, their fingers brushing much like they did that day in the library when the shelf collapsed. They froze again this time, eyes locking. It was amazing to her how even now, after the sheer physicality of what they had just done, that a simple brush of his fingers on hers could stop her in tracks, a jolt of electricity channeling up her arm.
The moment passed, and she grasped the tumbler in her hand, resting her arm back on her knees, waiting for him to grab his own.
"A toast." He raised his glass up to her.
"A toast? To what?" She looked at him somewhat skeptically, but smiling as she did.
He laughed. "A toast to our first real fight as a married couple, and the ensuing makeup."
She giggled, resting her forehead on her arm. He could see the blush traveling up her shoulders as she lifted her head back up and clinked her glass with his.
He took the first swig, nearly emptying his glass. She took a more demure approach, bringing the glass up to her lips slowly, never breaking eye contact with him. She tipped the glass and took a sip, a small grimace gracing her face as it burned down her throat, but it was gone in an instant. She just as slowly brought the glass down, her pink tongue peeking out as she licked the remnants of the whiskey from her lips.
He just watched, enthralled. "If that's how you drink whiskey, you need to drink it more."
She raised her eyebrows and grabbed his glass from his hand and set both down on a table next to the bed. She rolled onto her knees, blanket falling, food forgotten. She gently grasped his jaw and pulled his lips to hers.
He could taste the mixture of the whiskey and her.
Well, maybe he could let her get lost in the woods again…