He almost spit out the words, intended to deter Daisy from indulging another fantasy about this place. About him living there. Yes, he was finally manifesting his dream. He liked being reclusive and foresaw the day people would call him a local rancher, because he managed to succeed. The idea still intrigued him inexplicably and he could not say why he sought to have it for so many years.
“It’s okay for me to like your ranch without wanting to live here. Why can’t I just be happy for you, and proud that you found the perfect place and lifestyle that you wanted? Right now, I am all those things. Just let it be.”
“But—”
She set a hand on his mouth to stop his reply. “Let it be.”
He smiled at the oversized-gloved hand that covered half his face. Mumbling around the deep, cushy material, he said, “If I did that to shush you, I’d be cursed by all things feminist.”
She released her hand, throwing her head back and laughing with all the exuberance and joy he came to know of her. “We have to abide by a double standard; that is so true. I’d have ripped your hand right off.” Her eyes glowed and so did his.
She stepped closer, leaning against him. Their bare skin was buried under all the layers of clothes, so he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. Sighing, he asked, “You really think it’s that pretty?”
She tilted her head up, smiling, and replied, “I do. I think it’s one of the most unspoiled places I could ever imagine still existing on earth.”
How could he argue with a description like that?”
“Pity we have to run our sleds everywhere and destroy all that perfect, pillowy, powdery, untouched snow with our insatiable insistence on having fun.”
“We have to, huh?”
“I’m afraid we must.” Her head was still resting on him. She spoke with ease as she smiled up at him, her eyes twinkling. He took off his glove and touched her face. It felt frozen to his toasty hand.
“Damn it, Daisy, it’s impossible not to like you.”
She stared up at him, her smile dimming, and her eyes getting brighter. “You do like me, huh?”
Leaning forward, he planted his warm lips on her cold ones. “I guess I do.” Then he physically turned her and started redressing her. “But I also don’t want you to freeze to death, so let’s bundle you back up, and shield those bright, blue eyes I love to look at.”
She obeyed him, putting on everything but the helmet. Only her eyes were visible. He found her adorable as only she could be. Standing beside his sled, which he straddled, Daisy watched Asher put his helmet back on and readjust his massive glove. It was specially designed to withstand blowing wind and snow, as well as frigid, blizzardy, below-freezing temperatures and single-digit windchill factors.
After a moment, Daisy said, “I love you, you know.”
Startled and slightly shocked, Asher nearly fell off the sled and his mouth popped open. Daisy could not see it. There was no looking away or fidgeting or ignoring what she said. Daisy was just being her honest self. Speechless, Asher could not find any words to reply. After itemizing all the facts and realities blocking their future together, and clearly illustrating the obstacles right before her eyes, that was her response? So typical of her. So Daisy-ish.
“It’s barely been a month,” Asher replied absently. A whole month of sex. Spending all their time together like this. Just a month? It wasn’t enough time for that. No.
But she said it.
“It’s been years for me, Asher, as you know. This month just proved I’m always right.”
Anxiously unsure how to answer that, he fidgeted, his ass squirming on the sled. “Daisy, so many things stand between us, not just the actual miles…”
She stepped closer and set her hand on his biceps, but he could only sense a slight pressure through all the layers. “True. Can’t argue that. Doesn’t mean I don’t feel love for you, right now, today. And you matter to me very much. Today matters more to me than all my future tomorrows and what they might hold.” Releasing her hand, she stepped back, crunching her boots on the snow. “I just wanted to tell you that. The honesty we agreed upon? There it is. Nothing expected in return.”
She turned and started for her sled. His heart hammered when it beat and hurt his chest. All at once, he panicked. He had to reply to that. It was important even if he did not know the reason. Finally, he said, “Daisy, goddamn it, I think I love you too. Why can’t you just leave well enough alone?” His tone grumpy. He must love her. What else could create the warm, swirling, wonderful things he got in his chest whenever she was around? Only love. Why did her voice, coming to him from all the various electronic devices last autumn, become the only thing he lived for each day? Why did her calls to him become the only event that gave him real joy? Daisy’s words and tone and laughter were his reward at the end of every day, and he hoped it would last for the rest of his life.
He leapt off the sled and reached her in three huge steps. The fresh snow crunched and sank under his weight. She stopped beside her sled and stared at him, eyes wide with surprise. He ripped off his helmet and tossed it dramatically to the ground. He took hers from her hand and grabbed her closer to him, tugging the layers of garments to pull her. His head came forward and their lips locked. It was a long, deep, sloppy, hasty, mutually eager kiss. She shook her gloves off and buried her bare hands deep in his hair as he did the same. They massaged their scalps as their lips wrestled blissfully. Her chilled lips grew moist and warm under the tender cushion of his.
The profound depth of the kiss forged a knot in Asher’s stomach. Joy. Hope. Nerves. Want. Hunger. He needed her. In all ways. It scared him. He thought of how long they’d been together. What they meant to each other. And how their diverse lifestyles could allow them to be with one another indefinitely. But his thoughts swiftly faded into the atmosphere. Poof. Gone. All that mattered now were wet lips and hot tongues. Skin-to-skin contact. Love for this woman. He loved how she felt in his arms.
Finally, the urgent kiss gentled, ending with tender nips and sucking. Asher licked the seam of her lips and pressed a light kiss in the corner of her mouth, then her cheek, her temple and finally on her forehead and scalp. She collapsed against him. Yes, her favorite cuddle was a warm, long, tight hug. Her head fell against his chest and her breath steamed around them. They were nearly panting until they eventually started to calm.
“My heart is racing,” she admitted in a whisper. The land was dead silent. Isolated. Only the sounds they made. But her whisper was loud.
He squeezed her. “Mine too.”
She lifted her face up and he glanced down. Her gaze studied his face. “You meant it.” It wasn’t a question but a clear, sure statement that only Daisy would say. No skirting the issue. No pretending or demanding clarification. She knew what she evoked in him. She knew him better than anyone, even himself. So of course, she had no doubt he loved her but was afraid to say so until she did. Nodding, she smiled and felt satisfied.
“That’s it?”
“That’s everything. What more could I need in this moment? This day? This life? You and I love each other and here we are showing each other that.”
He hugged her and kissed her head again. The beautiful, calm, joyful, life-affirming logic that tumbled from Daisy’s mouth was endearing. The girl he fell in love with. He ignored every reality that could destroy all that. This moment. This day. Their lives together were precious to him now. How to prevent it from ever decreasing? “We are. We’re doing just that,” Asher conceded before letting the subject be. Today. This moment. Right now. That was her greatest gift.