Snow Angels by Sabrina York

pants, hair, and boots. She was soaked.
    She shot him a glare. “Beast.”
    He found that funny too, although why, she couldn’t say. But she did love this side of him. Playful, funny…happy. She loved his smile, the spark in his eyes, his hair. She loved….
    Oh.
    Dear.
    Her frantic brushing stilled as the realization flooded her.
    She’d always been attracted to the sexy model in the photo on her calendar. She’d always felt a connection to him—though it was a ridiculous notion.
    But now that she knew the man, now that she’d glimpsed his soul….
    Oh dear.
    Something in her expression snagged his attention. His grin faded. His expression firmed. Their gazes met and clung. A moment, an eternity, hung between them.
    Then he took that last step, pulled her into his arms, sealed them together, and he kissed her.
    It was unlike any kiss she’d ever known. It was wild and free and unfettered and wet.
    She was oblivious to the trickle of melted snow creeping down her back. Oblivious to the cold, the wind, and the fact that fat white flakes had started drifting down once more. She was oblivious to the incessant barking by her side.
    Well, maybe not completely oblivious.
    But the kiss was magnificent. A merging, a melding of spirits. A transcendent mingling of breaths, tongues, and essence.
    He tasted…happy.
    Happy to hold her. Happy to have her. Happy to be.
    He lifted his head and then kissed her again as though he couldn’t resist. “It’s getting cold,” he said. “Let’s go inside,” he said. And he lifted her into his arms and carried her off, her hero, just as she’d always dreamed.
     
    ***
     
    They spent the night making love. Wild, passionate love, and slow, sleepy love. Lyssa wasn’t sure which she preferred, but was glad she didn’t have to choose. Wade gave everything when he pleasured her, and she gave everything right back.
    She gave him another massage—in the middle of the night, when he’d mentioned he was hurting—and then was annoyed when it put him to sleep. But she liked watching him sleep, and he deserved his sleep, dear man, so she didn’t wake him.
    And she watched him. Watched his chest rise and fall. Watched him snuffle and groan. Watched his lips purse in a dream.
    She didn’t know how it had happened so quickly, but she knew she loved him with all her heart.
    It was truly a pity he couldn’t love her back.
    Because he was still in love with Sam.
    She knew it. She’d seen it in his eyes. The adoration. The longing. The grief.
    There was some pain she couldn’t take away.
     
    ***
     
    Wade awoke to warmth. The warmth of body, certainly, with Lyssa curled around him, snoring delicately, her head on his chest. But warmth of spirit as well.
    It would never be easy, thinking of Sam, but the weight on his soul, the sharp claws of guilt, had eased. Now, when she crossed his mind, it was the happy times he remembered, the laughter, the teasing, and the loving. The anguish and regret he’d carried with him for years was gone, and he felt worlds lighter for it.
    And it was all due to Lyssa. Her healing touch, her insight. Her courage.
    It amazed him that she didn’t care about his scars, she wasn’t repulsed by them. In fact, last night, when he’d mentioned how much he hated them, a whisper into the shadows, she had traced each one, kissing them lovingly, over and over again. It was as though her touch had swept them away, the way a wave erases tracings in the sand on a beach. He wondered if she knew how much power she held in that gentle touch.
    He cradled her closer and closed his eyes, reveling in the peace of the moment. The warmth of the woman.
    He could lie here forever, he thought. Forever and a day.
    And then his stomach rumbled.
    He hoped it wasn’t loud enough to wake her.
    Last night they’d finished up the last of his food, and while he worried about it, he hadn’t worried too much. Last night he’d been hungry. Besides, she had more food in her car, and he’d