onto my shoulders. “These aren’t Christmas gifts, sweet—”
“Call me ‘sweet’ anything. I dare you.”
“You admitted to not buying me anything for Christmas. I’ll refer to you as any variation of sweet this entire day. Complain all you like.” His hands drag down my back, claw into my ass.
“Hmmm, I’m to infer that I’ll pay dearly later.”
“You may like getting that ass spanked. I’ll love it tremendously, Bella.”
Folding an arm over the loosening towel to inhibit Santino’s view of my breasts, I snatch up one of the boxes. “Where were these gifts, anyway?”
“Not gifts. You shower long enough to fill an entire pool. I had ample time to pick up a few things.”
Although I concur, a smirk creases my lips. My fingers tear into the lustrous wrapping paper. In the end, laid before me, is a pearl-white snow outfit, with a cable beanie, from The North Face.
“Okay, Santino, let me analyze this. Days ago, I attempted to evade you, with an inexplicable belief that you intended to kill me.”
“Gina,” he groans.
“Full disclosure, this is kind of creeping me out right now. Now, you want me to head outside? You know I get cold!”
Smiling at me, Santino drops a kiss on my nose. “Should I dress you?”
Santino pulls his truck into the lot at the base of a snowcapped mountain. Gray skies whir above. The sun’s fighting a losing battle. Outside, not a single inch of green earth is exposed due to the thick flurry blanketing the ground.
“I’m freezing,” I murmur, engrossed in the scenic sight while opening the door.
“Keep talking. I’ll have you on your knees soon enough.”
“Oh, hush, I’m not complaining. Nevertheless, I like where your head's at, me on my knees. Maybe I will gripe.” I step out of the truck in the Thermoball button-up boots. The snug, comfortable feeling causes me to stop, close my eyes, and moan. “I may never wear high heels again.”
A cold wind blows, and my fingers clutch under. Santino cups my hands against his mouth and blows warm air on my freezing fingers. His face lingers inches away from my mouth; then he reaches inside for the new gloves. I smile at his thoughtfulness and how he hadn’t missed a single necessity.
Far ahead of us, dots of varying colors are along the snow-white trail, where others are hiking. Santino’s placing a royal blue backpack on.
“Where’s mine?”
He tilts his head, and I laugh. Soon enough, tiny puffs emit from my lips as I hike alongside Santino.
“Hey, is there supposed to be a river somewhere around here?”
“I think so.” He winks.
Sometime later, we headed off the beaten path, trudging through snow. Drinking hot cocoa from a canister, my ears perk.
“I hear the rush of water,” I murmur. I stop walking as I come upon an icy cavern. Light glints off the iridescent bluish walls, slick with ice. As we step into the icebox, I can’t take it all in fast enough. Santino places a hand at the small of my back. “It’s so beautiful.”
“Slow down, baby. We have all the time in the world, Gina.”
“Humph, I’ll take a side of sexy accent later. I’m not getting frisky here, no matter how alluring you sound.”
With the shake of his head, he laughs. “Your insubordination will not go unpunished. But for now, I have something else that’ll warm you up.”
He pulls out a bottle of my favorite wine, sets it on the ground. “Let it chill a bit.” Then he’s rummaging through his bag again. I stare at the wine, mind far away.
“Gina, don’t tell me you have a new favorite?”
“I just remembered something,” my voice trails off. “I was so mad at you, Santino, when I saw Gabriella’s video—”
“I’m over that.”
“Trust me, this isn’t about that. I was livid, like murder-you livid. Santi, you aren’t the first person who was unfaithful to me. Granted, you had no intention of cheating. I had an entire silver cart of food in a suite, and I rationalized how madly . . .”
I start to backpedal. Dayum, Gina! Last night while watching an action flick, I was obsessed with how to express my love in words. This is worse!
Santino rubs his square jaw. “Bella, are you saying, madly as in . . .”
“Yes, madly.” I gulp, incapable of saying the forbidden four-letter word. “When I wasn’t sleeping, I was shoving food in my mouth like a little piggy. All because you had once calmed my restless soul and made my flesh stir-crazy. Even with you here, I can’t figure out