Page 28 of Silent Snowfall

“Will do!”

The sound of her shuffling to the hall bathroom, the flushing of the toilet moments later, and the latch of her door sounded against my ear as I pressed it to the wood.

I was so focused on not being caught, that I didn’t actually comprehend what I’d done until the lamp blinked out. I gasped, but a solid presence caged my body against the door.

“Your new name is mine.”

Chapter 10 – Rosetta

Abolt of energy shot through me, and I tried to jump to the side.

Hands grabbed my waist. The moment the hard touch cinched around me, I knew there was no escape. Lips skated down my throat. A rough sound, more animal than human, hummed against my skin.

“I can taste your pulse, carina,” the masked man rasped.

Except…he wasn’t wearing the freaking mask!

That was his mouth, velvet soft, pressed against my throat. I shivered, and part of me surrendered. There was no more running. My plan to tease him with a strip show was gone like a flash. All because I didn’t want my grandma catching our game. The stakes were raised. There was no getting out of this, but it didn’t stop me from trying.

I stepped on his foot and moved to bolt to the side.

His grip only tightened.

“What are you doing?” I hissed, struggling and jerking in his hold.

His hands trailed up the material of my dress. “Taking my prize.”

My nipples hardened to achy, needy points. Heat sizzled through my body. I was a livewire, and one touch might just set me off.

“That wasn’t fair!” I protested. “My grandmother was going to catch us!”

“She wouldn’t have thought twice about seeing me,” he countered. “She knows I come over. It was no big deal that we were talking. You were the one who dragged me into your room. You invited the monster, carina. You wanted me in here.”

I shook my head as his fingers found the zipper at the base of my neck. “We can’t do anything! The kids are asleep. My grandmother is across the hall!”

“Adults need fun times too. The door is locked, and you’re going to show me how quiet you can be.”

The zipper’s teeth punctuated his words.

My hands flattened against the door. The material around my chest loosened, brushing against my sensitive breasts. Did I really want to put up a fight? We both knew I wanted this. I just…I didn’t think as a widow I would have a guy come over.

“Tell me one thing,” I demanded.

He pushed my hair over my shoulder and pressed a kiss at the base of my neck. “Alright.”

“If I ask you to stop, will you?”

The sleeves of the dress slipped off my shoulders and fell to my elbows.

“We both know you’re not going to.” His breath was hot against my chilled skin. It felt incredible. “But yes. If you don’t want this, you can tell me to leave. I won’t push you.”

That declaration was power. I trusted him. Knowing that settled the knot of unease, and I melted into the moment.

“Do you want me to leave, Rose?” he murmured.

“No,” I confessed, heat pulsing between my legs. “Sss-sstay.”

As I spoke, I dropped my arms. The dress slid off my body and fell to the floor. My body was bare. Exposed. There was nothing left to hide. Because I hadn’t expected him to enter the bedroom, I hadn’t bothered with underwear. Now, it was one less piece of clothing to remove.