Freya heard it too and rolled onto her back. “Go on. You can’t make poor Aries wait.”
He threw her a smile. “Does that mean you’re softening toward him?”
“I think I’m getting over my fear of dogs.” She smiled back.
He climbed out of bed. “I’ll only be a minute.”
At least he hoped that was the case and Aries didn’t find something to chase through the night. An ice pick of fury stabbed through Hunt’s chest.
Nobody would harm the woman he loved. He wouldn’t let anyone get close enough.
Chapter Twelve
Hunt was tired but content.
And starving.
After Aries took another of his runs through the forest, weaving through the trees on an invisible trail, Hunt finally settled the dog by the fire and climbed back into bed with Freya.
The woman turned into his arms, eager and needy again. He’d flipped her on top of him, where she rode his cock to screaming, panting completion. After that, they fell into a deep slumber, only to be awakened by the growl of his stomach.
She started to get out of bed, but he stamped a kiss to her mouth and told her to stay put. He’d fix breakfast.
The steam from the coffeepot and frying bacon had all the windows in the front of the cabin steamed up. He knew a fresh powder of snow covered the world outside, as it had been falling last night when he let Aries out. But he couldn’t see it through the fogged windows.
He fixed his stare on one corner of a window. Small marks were drawn there.
Abandoning his post at the stove, he drifted over to see what they were. He’d seen Freya standing there often, and now he spotted tiny lines, partially visible.
A snowflake. A smiley face.
A heart.
His own organ flexed in his chest, so hard that he closed his eyes to trap in the emotions rising inside him.
It might not mean anything. People doodled. But he couldn’t help but see the progression of the tiny images. Could they be a record of her feelings?
She didn’t want to leave him, and that was enough for now.
Joy echoed in his steps when he returned to the stove and lifted the bacon onto two plates. He poured them each a mug of coffee and then added a couple store-bought muffins he’d brought to the cabin days ago to the plates. Everything went on the tray, which he carried into the bedroom.
Freya’s grin greeted him and melted his heart just as much as seeing the smiley face and heart had.
He beamed at her. “Breakfast is served.” He settled the tray on the foot of the bed.
She eyed it. “That’s all? Judging by the sound of your stomach, you could eat all that by yourself and more.”
“I just might if you don’t hurry.” He picked up a piece of bacon and bit off a chunk.
She snatched a slice of bacon off the plate so fast that he laughed. After they settled to their food, she appeared more relaxed than he’d ever seen her.
“I like that you’re growing more comfortable with me.”
She paused mid-chew, eyes wide. “I guess you’re right. I didn’t realize it, but…I feel more like myself than I have in a long time. Maybe ever.”
The admission drew her brows together. He reached out to smooth the pucker with his thumb. “I’m happy to hear that. And I hope you’ll continue to grow more and more comfortable with me.”
“Even if I take your bacon?” She tugged the half slice right out of his hand and stuffed it in her mouth.
His jaw dropped. “You did not just eat my last bite of bacon.”
She swallowed and a mischievous smile stretched across her face. “I did. What are you gonna do about it?”
“I’ll show you what I’ll do,” he growled and lunged at her.
Her naked body molded to his, and he filled her with his stiff cock in one purposeful shove. A long hour of very thorough lovemaking later, they showered and dressed.
He tossed her one of his long-sleeved shirts. “Put that on under your sweater. We’re going into town, and your clothes aren’t nearly warm enough to spend a day outside.”
She caught the shirt and looked at him. “Outside?”
“Yeah. We’re going to the festival. I’m pretty sure I read that there’s a gingerbread house decorating competition on the calendar of events today. Also, a second performance of that play we missed.”
Joy filled her eyes, and she dove into his arms. He caught her, laughing but already growing aroused by her curves.
“Would you like that?” he rumbled.
She went on tiptoe for a kiss. “I’d love it.”
“I know you’ll beat me in the gingerbread house competition. I already got a glimpse of your drawing skills.”
She went still. “What?”
“You doodled in the fog on the window. When I cooked breakfast, it fogged again and I saw your art.”
She looked down, red creeping over her cheeks. “It’s just silly, mindless doodling.”
Using his knuckle beneath her chin, he lifted her head to meet his gaze. “Whatever it is, I think it’s a reflection of how you’re feeling…here…with me.”
She dragged in a ragged breath as if about to make a serious confession. “Happy,” she whispered. “Safe.”
“I’m so glad, Freya. Hearing that makes me the happiest man alive.”
His phone buzzed somewhere in the room, and he reluctantly released her to locate it in the pants he’d cast off the night before. While she slipped his too-big shirt over her head and knotted it at the waist, she watched him closely.
A missed message from Penn had him on edge. He held up the phone. “I need to return a call.”
She nodded and reached for her red sweater, which she’d washed out in the sink and he’d seen draped over the shower curtain to dry overnight. Hunt looked at her for a moment, torn between telling her the reason for the call and keeping it to himself a bit longer until he knew what was really going on.
They had a good day planned—he didn’t want to see fear in her eyes when they walked through the festival.
“I’ll only be a minute.” He grabbed his boots and carried them to the front door. By the time he had them on, Aries was standing there, ready to go.
“C’mon, boy. And no running off into the woods this time.” Aries vaulted down the steps and landed in the snow. He took a big bite of the fresh white fluff and wagged his tail in elation.
“I’m glad it’s so easy to make you happy.” Hunt chuckled.
He got Penn on the phone, but his pumping heart was far from the lightness he felt when speaking to Aries.
“Hey, Penn, what’s happening?” he asked without preamble.
“Mixed news.”
“I don’t like the sound of that.”
“The good news is the cops cracked into the phone’s history sooner than usual. The bad is that your instincts are spot on. Freya was receiving texts from a man named Colby.”
His stomach churned. “He’s stalking her?”
“It looks like it. Text after text of him saying things about them meeting up, seeing each other, bumping into each other at the grocery store. And the last one was pretty suggestive that he premeditated kidnapping her.”