I don’t know if it’s the exhaustion, or the drugs, or the wild Arctic air I’ve been breathing, but I have the oddest dream.
At first, I don’t even know I’m dreaming. I’m still lying on the boys’ couch, curled up in their blanket. I’m dozing, halfway between asleep and awake, when Eli steps into the room. His green eyes are shining. He smirks at me, then grabs the bottom of his shirt and pulls it up over his head in one smooth motion, letting it crumple to the floor. I feel my mouth drop open. He’s covered in hard, cut muscle. My eyes trail across the strong pecs, the tight abs, and down to the tapered V of muscle leading below the waistband of his pants.
“Like what you see?” He smirks, coming to kneel between my legs. Heat slams through me as he tips up his mouth and starts pressing kisses up my thighs. “I want to taste you, sweetheart,” he murmurs against my skin. “Want to fucking bury myself in you. Suck you and kiss you until you fucking burst all over my face.”
My mouth falls open. “Oh,” I whisper.
His mouth trails up, and up, sending tingles shooting through me, until his lips come to rest a few millimetres over my slit. He touches his lips to my clit, so feather-light I’m not a hundred-percent sure I’m not just imagining it. Heat pools in me, and I give the tiniest tremble, letting a soft sigh slip from my lips. He smiles against me, and leans in, licking a hot, firm stripe between my lips. My breath hitches gently, a soft sound of pleasure, and I wrap my fingers in his curls. He licks me again and again, pushing his face in deep. Warmth sinks into my skin, like I’m being dipped into a hot bath. All of my muscles weaken, and I slump back against the couch, feeling my cheeks start to flush as my breathing gets heavier.
The door opens again. Riven steps inside and comes to sit by me. For some reason, even though Eli’s mouth is currently between my legs, it doesn’t feel weird to have him so close.
“Daisy. You look flushed,” he says with a frown, and starts running his hands across me with his gentle doctor’s touch. Eli’s tongue traces through my folds, nudging at my clit. An ache starts up, deep inside me, and I twitch involuntarily, shifting my weight to get the pressure right. Riv’s frown gets deeper. “Let me just check that you’re okay,” he says quietly, bending to lift up my shirt. I try to protest, but before I can, my shirt and bra have disappeared. He stares at my naked tits, his dark eyes hungry. Slowly, he lifts a finger and traces it around my nipple, lifting goosebumps on my skin. I cry out as he gently pinches the hardening nub, tugging it away from my body.
Between my legs, Eli slips his hot tongue inside me. All of a sudden, the dull heat inside me bursts into flame. My eyes widen, and my hips start to move helplessly as I try to rub out the building ache. His tongue wiggles in deep, and feels good, so good I’m struggling to get air in, but I need more. Fuck, I need so much more. I’m throbbing and hurting, my breasts aching, my pussy clenching. I claw at the sofa cushions, a whine building in the back of my throat. Riv seems to understand, and starts kissing my neck as he alternates between squeezing and pinching my nipples, twisting and teasing until it feels like my nerves are on fire. My body writhes, rubbing against itself as it tries to relieve the tingling pricks of arousal. I feel myself building towards a shivery, full-body orgasm. Oh, God. God. I can’t take it anymore. My hips jolt once, twice—
“I’m going to—” I whisper breathily.
“No.” A heavy hand lands on my shoulder. “Open your eyes, girl.”
I do, and see Cole standing over me in just his underwear. “Oh, God,” I breathe, still rocking my hips desperately over Eli’s face. Him, too?
My eyes widen as he pushes down his boxers. His cock is huge and hard, stiffening slowly as he runs a hand across it. My mouth waters when I see the smooth, delicate skin. I want him in my mouth. I want to taste. “Please,” I choke out.
He reaches down and touches my bottom lip gently. “I want you to take it all.”
I stare at his long, thick cock. “I don’t think—”
“You can take it,” he says roughly. Between my legs, I feel Eli start to suckle at my clit. My head tips back on a gasp, my mouth going slack, and Cole pushes gently inside. I wrap my lips around the head of his cock, feeling him shudder deliciously as I start to lick up his warm, salty taste, groaning in pleasure.
Riven suddenly pinches my nipples, tugging them hard. At the same time, Eli flutters his tongue against my clit. I cry out, spasming. Shivers hurtle down my spine, wracking through me. I can’t handle it anymore. I twist my hands in Eli’s hair, closing my eyes as I start to come, every muscle in my body shaking helplessly with release as wave after wave of pleasure shudder through me—
“Daisy?”
I jolt awake, sweating, with my hand between my legs. Tingles are rushing over my skin. I’m hot and trembling, and there’s an ache low in my belly. For a few seconds, I don’t know where I am. I look around me, wide-eyed, taking in the wooden walls, the beams on the ceiling, the big oak dining table. Eventually, my eyes land on Eli, and my stomach flips. He looks just as hot as he did in my dream, in a white t-shirt that clings to his biceps, and a loose pair of sweatpants. His curls are damp and sticking to his neck, like he just got out of the shower.
He smiles at me. “You okay, sweetheart? You were squirming around a bit. Thought you might be having a nightmare.”
I look down. I’m covered in a blanket, thank God. I pull my hand away from my crotch. Fuck, I’m actually wet. I can feel the cold stickiness clinging to my thighs.
I don’t even remember the last time I had a sex dream. Let alone one I woke up wet from. I swallow, wiping my hand slyly off on my thigh. “No. No, I’m fine.”
He frowns. “Hey. You’re all pink, babe. Did you catch a cold out in the snow?” He reaches over, and his fingertips brush my forehead. I jerk back, heart racing. I don’t think I can handle his hands on me right now. The image of his head between my thighs slaps over my vision, so vivid I have to blink it away.
He puts his hands up. “Sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean to spook you.” He points a thumb back to the kitchen. “I’m making pancakes. You want one?”
I clear my throat. “Yeah. Yeah, a pancake would be great.”
“Great. They’ll be about ten minutes, so you’ve got just enough time for a shower. I left a towel out for you.”
“Thank you,” I squeak, sliding off the sofa and hobbling towards the bathroom. My little pink suitcase is in the hallway, so I stop to grab some clean clothes before shutting the bathroom door behind me.
I look around. I was in here just last night, but I was so freaked out, I didn’t even notice the shower. It’s built to look like the inside of a sauna; the walls are made with light-coloured wooden planks, and there’s a little bench built into one side. I find the water knob and turn it, gasping under the burning hot spray. Powerful jets of water pummel me, beating away the tension in my body. I close my eyes and just stand there for a moment, basking in it, then look around for something to wash with. There’s a little shampoo rack fixed to the wall, lined up with three bottles. One black, one white, one green. I’m sure Eli wouldn’t mind me using his; I just have to work out which one it is. I pick up the black one and pop the cap, smelling it. The scent is hot and musky, like whiskey and spice. I close my eyes, inhaling. It’s fucking delicious, but it doesn’t seem like Eli’s thing.
I try the white bottle. It smells fresh and clean, like sheets and soap. This one’s a possibility. So is the green one, which is scented like fresh-cut pine. I stand there for almost a minute, holding the bottles and deliberating under the hot flow of water, before I manage to shake myself out of it.
Jesus Christ. What the Hell is wrong with me? Is it something in the air? Is there less oxygen at this altitude, or something? Why on Earth am I standing in a strange man’s shower, huffing his shower gel?
I squeeze a bit out from the black bottle, wash myself down, then get out and dress quickly. When I step back into the kitchen, braiding my hair, Eli’s standing at the stove holding a sizzling frying pan. The sweet, buttery smell of pancakes hits my nose, and my mouth immediately starts to water.
I finish tying off the end of my plait. “Can I help? Do you want me to set the table, or something?”
“Don’t worry about it, babe. Just sit down.” He tosses me a sideways look. “How are you feeling?”
I rub the back of my stiff neck. “Okay.”
“Still hurting, huh?” He flashes me a grin. “If you’re gonna lie, you should get better at it. We have plenty of experience dealing with Cole. The guy once got bitten by a moose and didn’t tell us until two days later, when he literally started dying from blood poisoning.”
I roll my shoulders. “Kinda sore,” I admit.
He licks some batter off his thumb. “You know, that massage is still on the table.”
“Dream on.”
He laughs easily. “Oh, trust me, I will. Hey, check it.” He shuffles the pan a couple of times, then flips the pancake high in the air, catching it neatly. I watch his big bicep flex under the sleeve of his t-shirt.
“Very nice,” I manage.
He tosses me a bright smile, then turns back to the food.
“Morning,” a low voice rasps. I look up to see Riv standing in the doorway, his dark hair rumpled. He’s wearing thick-framed glasses and a tight white t-shirt that practically glows against his black skin. I didn’t realise just how built he was last night. He’s even more ripped than Eli. The muscles in his arms are like ropes. He pours himself a mug of coffee, slaps Eli on the shoulder, then comes to stand by me. I jump when he stoops, taking my neck carefully between his hands.
“Wha—”
He slides his thumbs under my jaw and gently moves my neck to each side. I’m suddenly surrounded by the scent of him; clean and fresh, like crisp linen straight out of the drier. It makes me want to bury my face in his shirt.
“I thought you gave me the all-clear?” I say weakly, as he turns my face under the light.
“Double-checking never hurts,” he murmurs. As he pulls back his hands, I could’ve sworn his thumb brushes my cheek. “Here.” He presses two more pills into my hand.
“Um. Thanks.” Eli slides a plate of pancakes in front of me, tugging at the end of my braid. “Thanks,” I say again. “Really. You two are being so kind.”
I say the two quite pointedly. Eli snorts, sitting down next to me. I start wolfing down my food.
Riv goes to the stove to make up his plate. “I radioed down to the nurses in town,” he says over his shoulder. “Apparently, the snow is forecasted to stop by this afternoon.”
I perk up. “That’s great!”
Riv winces. “It’s not as simple as that. Even though the storm might have passed, it doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to travel.”
Eli nods out of the window. “We’ll have to dig ourselves out, first. And then wait for the roads to be cleared.”
“Down in the city, they have snowmobiles, but all the way up here, the government just pays farmers to use their tractors,” Riven adds. “God knows when they’ll get to it.” He takes a deep sip of his coffee. “It does mean that cell phone reception should be back up, though. There must be so many people worried about you.”
I poke at my pancakes. “I doubt it. No one even knows I’m here.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Not even your family?”
“They stopped speaking to me.”
“No friends?”
Not anymore. I smile grimly. “Nope.”
“No boyfriend?” Eli asks lazily. We both look at him, and he shrugs. “Just wondering. It seems like important information.”
“No. I don’t have a boyfriend.”
He sighs. “You poor thing. If you ever want to fix that—”
“Shut up,” Riven says, closing his eyes.
Call me, Eli mouths, winking. I snort, using my last piece of pancake to sop up the leftover jam, then sit back in my seat, fully satisfied.
“So, what happens now? What do you guys do when you can’t leave the house?”
Eli leans forward, meeting my eyes. “How do you feel about Uno?” He asks very seriously.
