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In the hazy early morning light, the snow glittered on the ground outside the tiny window above the sink. The quiet beauty of the landscape wasn’t lost on Deputy Tayen Quick. Hell, it was one of the things that brought her to Hope County in the first place.She’d spent the previous day reconnoitering in the Whitetail Mountains before getting caught by the weather. The snowfall the night before kept her from leaving the cabin she stumbled upon high up in the valley. Not wanting to trek out and get caught out in the woods if the storm whipped up bad, she’d opted to hunker down for the night.By the time the sun rose, Tayen was shivering and almost as tired as when she found the place. The threadbare blanket and lumpy mattress did little for her exhaustion; nor did the fact that the fire went out in the middle of the night. Thankfully, that morning she had found a tin of coffee; otherwiser the whole day could have gone to hell before the sun crested the mountains.The old percolation pot took its sweet ass time, but her impatient waiting eventually paid off. She held the mug in both hands, leaning over it as if she might be able to inhale a caffeine buzz from the swirling steam that could not warm her the way she hoped for. A cautious part of her was almost afraid to ingest it. Just how long had that stuff been up here? The thought swirled around her head as she weighed the choice. It wasn’t really a choice, she realized. She needed it.Tayen lifted the mug and took a long sip, careful not to burn her tongue. Her nose wrinkled, but she could swear she felt the jolt of caffeine flooding her system. It might have been all in her head, even so, it worked. And the heat of it even seemed to steal a bit of the chill out of her bones.She was pouring a second cup when she heard the snow crunch outside the cabin. Instinct thrust her hand to the pistol on her hip as she crouched below the windows. A muttered curse told her that whatever skulked around outside wasn’t of the wildlife variety, which just got her hackles up.“Damnit.”A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth at the voice. She’d know it anywhere, but what the hell is he doing up here?Tayen peeked up and saw Sharky moving toward the rear of the cabin. She sneaked out the front door intent on surprising him. Stepping with care, she moved nice and slow. Once she turned the corner, she grabbed a handful of snow and packed it quick. She didn’t give him a chance to react if he’d heard her ammo up; Tayen launched it at his back.“Sweet monkey Jesus!” Sharky yelled. He stumbled when he tried to turn and find out who attacked him, landing in a heap in a healthy drift of fresh powder.She grabbed another handful of snow and packed it, pelting him once more. “You scared the hell out of me, Sharky!”“Didn’t mean to.” He sat up in the snow and stared at her with those sweet blue eyes of his. “I just thought I’d come up here and make sure you didn’t freeze to death.”“How’d you know I was here?” Her hands landed on her hips and she shot an incredulous look at him.“Guessed,” Sharky replied with a shrug. He started to stand, but Tayen bent and took another shot at him. The snowball burst against his chest and sprayed white flakes into his face; they stuck in his mustache and goatee. The sweet look took on the mischeivous tinge that made her knees weak and he licked his lips. “You’re gonna pay for that.”The peek of his tongue almost convinced her she’d gladly sign up for that kind of torture, but the competitor in her wasn’t about to let him win. “Wanna bet?”“Hell, yes!” His matter of fact tone ignited something beneath her skin. He shifted quick, grabbing handfuls of snow, and tossing them in her direction from his knees.Not expecting quite that rapid a response, Tayen chirped and dove over the banister, not that widely spaced slats could provide much cover. She retaliated, popping up and taking her shot before ducking back down again to reload. Sharky clamored out of her line of sight. Tayen took the bait and scrambled back onto the porch and, with a snowball in each gloved hand, crept toward the corner of the cabin. Before she could even peek out, he grabbed her. With a howl, she slammed the snowballs on his head. Undeterred, he lifted her up and then tackled her into a snowbank.Leaning over her, he started to bury her in snow, quickly shoveling it atop her from both sides. Tayen cackled, holding up her hands, as if that would block any of the flakes flying at her. “Stop! Stop,” she called out between hearty laughs.“You give?”“Yeah, yeah. Fine. I give,” she sputtered with a shiver, still laughing.Sharky grinned at her in triumph, even striking a celebratory Superman pose, with fists on hips as he towered over her.Tayen pushed him into the snow next to her. “Ass.”“But a fine ass,” he replied with a waggle of his eyebrows and that shit-eating smirk that made her want to punch him and fuck him all at the same time.Renewed, her bright laughter peeled around them. He shifted to his knees next to her and got to his feet quick, then he held out a hand to the icy deputy. She took it, and he pulled her to her feet. Much of the snow just sloughed off of its own accord as she rose. Brushing off the snow, Sharky decided to give her a well placed hand, dusting off her cleavage and her thoughts.She reached out and smacked him on the rear. “I’d agree with that statement.” Instantly, Tayen took off toward the porch once more.“You just keep pressing your luck, chica,” he taunted, giving chase.Her footing slipped and she landed against the doorjamb of the cabin hard and rebounded through the doorway. Sure, it stung like hell, but her amusement and the cold numbed the pain of it when she landed on the floor.“Damn, Taye.” His frantic footfalls shook the floorboards as he dashed the length of the porch. “You all right?” he asked entering the cabin like a person with some control over their own limbs. The door shut behind him.“I’m fine,” she laughed, looking up at him from where she landed on the dusty floor of the tiny kitchen area. “Just a klutz.” Embarrassed or not, all she could do was laugh raucously at herself.“A lucky one.” He crouched near her, pulling off his gloves and brushing some of the snow out of her raven hair.She reached up and pulled his hand to her cheek. It was warmer than she expected it should be and Tayen pressed her face into his palm. “You’ve been traipsing up this mountain and your still hotter than hell.”The smirk that twisted his mouth told her she was in for a smart aleck retort before it even reached his lips. Grabbing the collar of his hoodie with her other hand, she yanked him forward and pressed her mouth to his, silencing whatever he might have been planning to say. He didn’t seem to want to argue the point. He held her frosty cheeks in his warm hands, and his tongue traced her cold lips until she parted them. Tentatively, at first, he tasted the tip of her tongue before greed and need took over.Tayen laid back on the hard, wooden floorboards, which creaked under the weight of them. She pulled him over her like the perfect man-shaped blanket. Wrapping her arms around him in something akin to a tight hug allowed her to tug off her gloves in the process. Sharky slipped his arm beneath her head, cradling it as he kissed her deeper, while she slipped one leg over his hip in order to press herself against him. Eventually her frozen fingertips slippe under his coat and his sweatshirt.Sharky hissed, breaking their kiss. “Shit. You’re freezing.”“Sorry,” she apologized sheepishly.He moved and knelt over her, taking her hands in his—he rubbed them between his and planted kisses on her numb fingertips. “We need to get you warmed up.”Tayen sat up when he shifted, inching closer. “I thought you were doing a fine job of that.”“Yeah?” he asked with a crooked smile.“Oh, yeah,” she replied with a smirk of her own. Leaning up, she pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. “Just ignore the hands for a bit. Might take a while for them to warm up.” The warning didn’t steal the shock of it when Tayen pressed one against his warm tummy.Sharky hissed again, but did just that. His hands wound in her dark hair and tilted her face toward him once more. His pyromania extended to her as well, and in no time she felt like she was burning up. Their deep kisses broke only to pull off her sweater and his trademark green sweatshirt. Clumsily kicking off half unlaced boots, they skittered across the room and fell onto the ratty sofa that sat under a large window that looked out on the glistening snow-covered hillside.Tayen, astride Sharky’s hips, pressed her body close to his and kissed him with abandon while his fingertips blazed a trail over her skin toward the clasp of her bra. A small struggle ensued between man and pesky lingerie, but once again, he outsmarted Victoria’s Secret. His nails scraped her arms as he pulled it off her, as if revealing treasure or the grand prize at the county fair.His gaze fell on her, like it always did once he got her undressed. There was a reverence in the way he looked at her, like he was trying to commit every inch of her to memory before he touched her. It made her skin tingle and a blush paint her cheeks every time; mostly people couldn’t see past the myriad of scars that mangled her tawny skin, but Sharky didn’t seem to notice them. At least she never noticed his gaze concentrating on the ragged patches of rough flesh.“Gorgeous,” he whispered, like confiding secret before his hands skimmed up her ribs to grasp her breasts, one in each. He squeezed them, held them tight as he dipped his face to each in turn. Teasing her nipples with a sharp suck and gentle bite, his beard and mustache tickled her flesh in a way that always excited her.Tayen hips rocked against him, cradling his head to her chest. A hint of a moan hung in her throat as he kneaded her breasts. Her head fell back, eyes slipping closed when he pressed slow kisses along the length of her sternum. His warm mouth crept up her neck, pairing hot kisses with sharp sucks. Tayen didn’t even care if those spots might show evidence of his attentions later.Sharky grabbed her waist, twisted, and pushed her onto the couch beside him. Following her fall, he captured her mouth as he knelt between her legs. His hands went straight to her belt, which jangled like a bell in the relative silence of the cabin—it was only the whistle of the wind, the crackle of the fire, and their heavy breathing that kept the utter silence of the wilderness at bay. Her zipper sang out when he lowered it, and her body tightened with anticipation of what she knew would be coming next.They’d only known each other a few weeks when he’d announced his prowess at cunnilingus, though she hadn’t immediately jumped at the chance to find out firsthand. He hadn’t said it with any hint of innuendo. They’d just been bullshitting, and it came out. Of course, it kept popping back into her head. And now, she better understood the pride behind his statement.He reached under her bottom and grabbed the waistband of her damp jeans. They came off in a purr of denim along with her panties; the motion concluded with a sharp snap. Sharky balled them up and tossed them over his shoulder in a lackadaisical movement while he stared down at her. Tayen couldn’t resist the way he looked at her; she let her legs fall open wider. His gaze started between her legs then swept over her from head to toe before those piercing sky blue eyes moved back to where they started.“Damn, Taye.”“Like what you see?”“Hell, yes.” His hands pressed up her inner thighs, then retreated with a light tickling touch. Slipping off the sofa, he lowered himself between her legs.Tayen bit her bottom lip hard when his lips pressed against the inside of her knee. A quivering breath shook through her; Sharky could be such a fucking tease, and she loved every second of it. Those sucking kisses he’d pressed along her neck were more intense as he crept toward the apex of her thighs. When he concentrated on one spot, inches from her core, she knew she’d have a purplish mark later. It would throb deliciously, she knew, reminding her of this little excursion for days afterward.He parted her with his thumbs, pressing a wide, lazy lick through her folds. Her hands tightened on the sofa cushions, hips rising. That response got a grin from Sharky, and earned another lick; this one probed a bit more deeply, then flicked at her clit.She had to give it to him; he was thorough, and she was addicted. He pressed his tongue into her, shallowly at first, just to tease. Then he thrust deeper into her, making her moan. It turned into an impatient whine when he shifted away. The distance was only far enough to push his finger into his mouth to wet it, but she still showed her disappointment.“Come on, now, shorty. You know I’m nowhere near done.”Tayen still pouted at him. She gasped when he eased his finger into her, touching her in the ways that made her most vocal. Sharky learned quick, at least in terms of what made her scream. Even better, he could be as impatient as she was. His mouth closed over her clit; the firm suck he gave made her throb between his lips.He didn’t have much to say after that, nor did she. He concentrated on his task, as did she, though with different results.The deputy moved in response to the way he touched her—slow rolls of her hips, her back arching, hands tightening in the nappy fabric of the old sofa. Sharky made her body sing, and she savored every shock and tingle.Her hand tangled in his short brown hair as best it could, but it wasn’t long enough for her to get any real, useful purchase. Besides the way he made her moan, it was just one more response she used to demonstrate just how exquisite he made her feel. The sensations racing beneath her skin intensified until the world exploded in wave of electricity that warmed her from the inside out.“Fuck. Yes,” she cried out. Her hips bucked beneath him as he played out every last note of her orgasm. Her breath heaved once his lips moved to press a kiss at the crevice of her hip. Creeping up her tummy, he moved slow, savoring the aftershocks that quivered through her body.“You taste like fucking candy,” he whispered against her breast before licking her nipple into his mouth again.Tayen chuckled. She knew that wasn’t true, but appreciated the sentiment all the same. Her hand stretched between them, pressing over his erection through his jeans. He growled against her. “There’s condoms in my jacket pocket.”“Such a Girl Scout.”“Always prepared,” she teased with a laugh.He knelt between her knees again, and every nerve in her body decried the distance from his burning skin. She sat up with him, unbuckling his belt as he dug the condom out of his wallet. Neither of them really went anywhere without them anymore—just in case they couldn’t resist one another at any given moment. Working in tandem, got him back into her arms faster than if she’d played the pillow princess. He leaned against the arm of the sofa next to where her head rested, kissing her; she could taste the muskiness of her own wetness on his tongue. With his other hand, he guided the tip of his cock across her sensitive flesh.Nothing pressing loomed; neither of them were in a rush; so, Sharky eased into her, taking his time, like he was savoring every inch of her tightness as his thick cock stretched her. His low groan echoed into her mouth as he bottomed out inside her.“Damn, Taye.” He rested his forehead against hers; their gazes locked. “You feel so fucking good.”“So do you.” She pressed a hand over his head, and tipped her chin upward to capture his lips.It was flattering how he always acted like he was entering her for the first time, discovering something glorious. She pressed her heel against the back of his thigh in encouragement as she rolled her hips beneath him. He moved slow at first, easing almost all the way out of her before inching back into her completely; their mouths moved the same way, with slow, exploratory deliberation, despite their familiarity.Sharky’s hands held her close and moved over her skin, plucking at her nipples and teasing the spots that made her squirm. Tayen returned the favor with firm pinches and scratches that she couldn’t stop herself from leaving across the expanse of his back once the pace shifted. The slap of their skin overpowered the other sounds echoing through the cabin, including the guttural vocalizations they each sank into. They devolved to creatures of instinct taking pleasure in one another. Sharky’s hand slipped between them, and she knew he had to be close.Like when he went down on her, Sharky prioritized her orgasm. He managed to keep his hand moving with purpose even as he cursed. She felt him swell and his hips jerked against hers as he came. Finishing, didn’t halt the motion of his hips, though it did take him a moment to pick his rhythm back up.Watching her face, he leaned over her, gauging her reactions. The short breaths and high-pitched moans told him he was on the right track. And not long after he had, she came, too. Crooning his name, she clung to his shoulder, pulling herself up to meet his lips.“Fuck, I love feeling you come. Just wish I could have got you off first. Coming with you is so fucking hot.”The blush that heated her cheeks, probably couldn’t be noticed with the flush of passion making her skin glow. It was only a tiny relief. “First. Last. Doesn’t matter to me,” she replied, breath still shaking in her throat. Her body still quivered, in part because he still shifted inside her, though she knew that was only temporary. Even so, she’d savor the connection as long as it lasted. Moments like this were too few and far between, she thought. “I wish …” she started, thinking out loud.Sharky flashed her a lazy smile while he waited for her to finish her thought. Silence bloomed. So, tilting his head, he asked, “What do you wish?”As if knowing what she would say, he slipped out of her, but still covered her body with his, keeping some semblance of the intimate connection they had been sharing.“That there was more of this, and less of the shit down mountain.” Her head tipped toward the window. He’d know what she meant.His thumb pressed over the arch of her brow. In his eyes, she could read his agreement with the sentiment. Then he gave her a smirk. “Who says we have to leave? I mean if it starts snowing again, we might have no choice, but to hole up here for a while. And like you said, you’ve got condoms in your jacket. Smells like you already found the coffee, too. And I brought a flask. So, by my reckoning we got the bases covered.”“What about food?” she chuckled.“You hunt like nobody’s business. I figure even in the snow you can find something worth an arrow or two.”Tayen’s amusement brightened, and she buried her face in the curve of his neck as she hugged him tight. “Threaten me with a brilliant idea.”“Just did.”“Shut up, Sharky.” She pulled his mouth back to hers, kissing him hard. Even if it was just a single day alone with him, she’d take it. Maybe she could manage it again soon—carving them out some alone time here and there. Maybe next time, she’d take him dancing; he’d told her early on that he loved dancing.