Page 27 of All Snowed Gin

“We can call him.” He points to his insane monitor setup, settling himself in the desk chair, like it should be the most obvious thing in the world. “Send him a text and tell him to be ready to accept a call from Adams Moneypenny Investments. It’ll likely come over as the company name, rather than a number.”

“Do you have some magic trick to making texts go through? Because I think I’ve managed like two since I’ve been here thanks to the reception.”

“Wi-Fi?”

“You have Wi-Fi?”

My voice is incredulous which, paired with the stupefied look on Pierce’s face, makes us quite the pair. He’s looking at me like I’m crazy, but he told me there was no Internet when I got here, so unless he pulled that out of a hat without my knowing, I’m not the crazy one here.

“Have you not been connected to the network for the last three days?”

“Network? What network? You said there was no Internet.”

“Yeah, because of the storm.”

I shake my head in disbelief. That was not what he said. Such a man thing to do. “That is not what you said. You said there was no Internet. As in period. None. Not because of snow.”

Pierce shrugs, like there wasn’t much of a difference. “How’d you think we watched the movie? Or I do my work?”

I stop, mouth open, ready to argue, but I can’t. I suppose that he could have owned the movie—that wouldn’t have been too much of a stretch. Working, however…he had me there. I snap my mouth shut, suddenly feeling rather dumb. I can’t believe it didn’t occur to me that he could have meant there was no Internet in the moment, or to even ask after the fact. He and I didn’t communicate all that well at first, so it shouldn’t be surprising that we had a baby misunderstanding.

“Clearly, I was not thinking about any of that.”

Reaching out, Pierce places his hands on my hips, tugging me into him. I step in between his open legs, this gesture of affection sending butterflies through my veins. It feels easy, natural, like we’re any other couple, standing here talking. Slipping my arms around his neck, I lean into that feeling, letting it settle around me. Because it’s wonderful. Even if it is only temporary.

Pierce tightens his grip, pulling me closer, until we’re only a whisper apart and he can kiss me. It’s soft, gentle, and matches that easy naturalness that I’m already relishing. When his tongue meets mine, those butterflies turn to puppies, every part of my body alert and pushing each other out of the way to try and be the next one to get attention.

I moan, ready to give in and mount him right here, but he pulls back. I miss him instantly—the feel of him, the heat of his body, all of it. I mask it though, not wanting him to think that I’m only in this for his dick.

Which, fuck, might be the best one I’ve ever encountered.

Focus, Rose…

“Give me your phone, and let me get you connected. Then we can text your brother.”

I hand Pierce my phone, watching as his fingers fly over the screen, connecting me to the Wi-Fi. My phone comes alive with dings and trills from all the notifications I’ve missed over the last few days. The high-pitched racket makes me realize how nice it’s been without all that. Maybe I need to take an unplugged weekend more often.

Fifteen minutes later, after Cary has responded to my text, the computer is dialing and Pierce is shuffling me into the spot he’d been sitting in. My heart is beating a million miles a minute, the rest of me so nervous and excited I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Which sounds ridiculous. This is my family. Considering not even an hour ago I was having a pity party that I couldn’t see them on Christmas, this is the best thing that could ever happen.

“Hello?” Cary’s voice says, the camera taking a moment to engage. A split second later, he appears on the screen, his handsome face and dark hair overwhelming me. Cue the waterworks. “Rosie! There you are!”

“Hi!” I exclaim, waving wildly. “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas.”

“She there?” Tizzy asks. The picture wobbles and I bite back a laugh. It doesn’t take a genius to know that she’s wrestling the phone out of his hand. “Rose! OMG, girl, you okay?”

“I’m fine. No, more than fine. I’m great. I got to go sledding.”

“Seriously? I’m officially jealous. I’ve never been. Tell me all about it!”

I launch into the story, starting with my snowman, moving on to the kayak, and finally arriving at the real sled that Pierce busted out. I tell her all about our many runs, and how much fun we had. I leave out the part about the panty-melting kisses though. At least for now. I’ll tell her all about it once I’m back in Hickory Hills. But for now, with my brother there, not a chance. I also know my mother, father, and potentially my grandparents are also circling around like vultures, waiting for their turn. And I most certainly am not making the details of last night known to them. The idea that I responded to the command of “on all fours, on your back, or on top” with “all fours” is not information that Grandma needs to know.

Tizzy passes the phone to Mom, who gushes over how rested I look. My cheeks turn warm, and I look away, locking eyes with Pierce. He smirks back, like he can read my thoughts. Because again, it’s all thanks to him.

“Is the nice gentleman who helped rescue you there? Can I meet him?” my mother asks, her thick southern drawl slicing through the air.

Nice gentleman. If you only knew, Mama…