my stomach, and I went from being upright to over his shoulder. “Hey!”
He slapped a hand against my ass, and it barely registered against how numb my skin was, except for the fact that I heard the slap more than felt it. That might be bad. But still. I struggled to get my hands out of my pockets, but Jake was already marching over the snow and up the steps to the lodge—this gorgeous, oversized, sexy log cabin of my dreams.
Feet stomping, he slapped my ass again when I wiggled. “You’re freezing,” he gritted out through his teeth. “Inside, warm up, and put on some fucking layered clothes. Then you can play in the snow all you want.”
The heat hit me as we crossed the threshold, along with the scents of wood smoke, cedar, and that fresh, clean scent things get when they’ve been polished and dusted. I swore I could still smell the snow in there. The scent of coffee and sugar struck next, along with a rich scent of pine. The blood was also rushing to my head, but Jake didn’t slow in the front room or by the fire I caught from the corner of my eye.
Oh, was that a hand-thatched rug on the wooden floors?
He took the stairs two at a time.
“Dude!” Coop yelled after him.
“Of course he is,” Ian muttered.
I didn’t really catch the rest of it. Or see Archie for that matter.
Oh, the stairway was pretty. Someone had wound green garland around the railings, along with lights and bows. It was all kinds of festive. Not that Jake’s tight ass stopped long enough for me to enjoy it. I had one arm free, so I smacked his ass in retaliation as he strolled down the hallway, and he chuckled at me.
A minute later, I was flipped up and over, and landed on my back in the middle of an enormous bed.
Holy crap.
It was bigger than a California king. Pretty sure anyway.
Jake tugged one of my shoes off, followed by the other, and then he stripped down my wet socks.
“Hey,” I said, yanking my foot away, only to have him catch the ankle and haul me back to him. “I’m not five.”
“No, but your feet are blocks of ice, Baby Girl. So we’re getting you warm and then into warmer clothes. Strip.”
I frowned, then scooted to the end of the bed and glared at him. Jake motioned to me to stand up and then glared back when I didn’t move. Arms folded, I continued to stare at him.
“Frankie…”
“Don’t you Frankie me.” It came out more heated than I intended, but at the same time…nowhere near as angry as I really was. “I’ll grab a shower and warm up. If you guys would put my bags in here, I’ll also take care of undressing and redressing myself.”
He paused, eyeing me.
“But what I won’t do,” I continued, dropping my folded arms as I stood and poked him in the chest, thumping him once for each item on my list, “is be given orders, hauled around like a sack of potatoes, or be snapped at because I was having fun.” He backed up a couple of steps but I wasn’t done, so when he opened his mouth, I hurried on. “I adore you, but you are not the boss of me, nor do you get to just demand I comply because you’ve been looking after me. Thank you so much for everything, but I’ve got it right now. There’s the door. Don’t let it hit you in the ass on the way out.”
The last few words came out shaky, but my whole body was trembling, and I wasn’t sure if it was from adrenaline, the cold, or just me being pissed off. Either way, I needed a break. I’d been having a great time, and Captain Caveman here had gone too far.
He hesitated, and I tapped my chilled foot and tried to ignore the pins and needles sweeping through it as I glared at him. Movement in the hallway—the shuffle of a step—warned me before Archie stuck his head in. “We okay in here?”
I never looked away from Jake. The confusion wasn’t hard to read, but right now, I didn’t have it in me to explain what had ticked me off if he couldn’t see it.
“We’re fine,” I told Archie, trying to punch up my tone. “Everything is beautiful. Jake was just going to leave me to some time by myself while I shower before I put on