Stone Cold Surrender - Brenda Jackson [34]
Stone and Madison took a quick tour of the place. The outside of the cabin featured an inviting wraparound porch. Inside, there was a huge living room with a fireplace, two bedrooms connected by a large single bathroom, and an eat-in kitchen with an enormous window that overlooked the stream out back. It didn’t take long for Stone to discover that they would have electricity once he fired up the generator and the linen closets had fresh sheets and coverings for the bed.
Stone sighed, grateful that they had made it to the cabin before nightfall. They still had a few hours of daylight left and he would use the time to feed and care for the horses and start the generator.
He glanced over at Madison who was silently standing beside him. Like him her gaze was on the two bedrooms and he could swear he’d heard her deep sigh of relief.
“I’ve got a few things to do outside,” he said, breaking the silence between them.
She nodded. “Okay and I can work to get the fireplace going. I have a feeling it’s going to be rather cold tonight.”
Stone met her gaze, deciding not to tell her that he would be more than happy to provide her with all the heat she would need. “All right, I’ll be back later.”
It was a full hour or so before Stone returned. Madison had taken advantage of his absence to take a shower. He inhaled the soft, seductive and arousing scent of her the moment he walked into the cabin and came to a dead stop when she walked out of the bedroom.
She had changed into a pair of sweatpants with a tank top; something she must have found more comfortable than jeans. No matter what the woman put on her body, it looked elegant as hell on her. Madison Winters was definitely one class act. Her hair was no longer pulled back in a ponytail but its silky, luxurious strands flowed in sexy disarray about her shoulders. He growled deep in his throat, resisting the urge to cross the room and pull her into his arms and get a real good taste of her; something he’d been dying to do all day.
She glanced up and saw him staring at her. She stared back at him for a moment without saying anything, then a nervous smile touched the corners of her lips. “Although I was tempted, I didn’t use up all the hot water. There’s plenty left if you want to go ahead and take your bath.”
“That sounds rather nice,” he said, his voice sounding hoarse. He wanted to take a bath and soak his tired, aching muscles but something had him rooted in place and he couldn’t seem to move from that spot.
He continued to stare at her while his insides ached, throbbed. A long period of silence suspended every sound, except for his breathing…and hers. They both jumped when a piece of burning log crackled in the fireplace. Stone shifted his gaze from hers to the fire. “It feels real good in here. Thanks for getting the fire started,” he said, although his mind was on another type of fire altogether.
She shrugged. “It was the least I could do while you were outside taking care of the horses and getting the generator started. And I took the liberty to unpack dinner. Mrs. Quinn sent a container of beef stew for us to eat. It’s warming now.”
Stone nodded and sniffed the air. There was the faint smell of the stew. He hadn’t picked up on it when he’d come inside. The only scent his nostrils had caught had been of her. “Smells good.”
“It should be ready by the time you have finished your bath.”
He nodded. “All right. I guess I’d better get to it then.” Seconds passed and he still didn’t move. He continued to look at her. Absorb everything about her.
“Stone?”
He blinked. “Yes?”
“Your bath.”
A slow smile touched his lips. “Oh, yeah. I’ll be back in a minute.” He crossed the floor into the other bedroom and closed the door.
As soon as Stone pulled the door shut behind him, he leaned against it and hooked his fingers into