Winter's Heat by Tami Vinson Page A

arms and made his way up the great stone steps that lead to the massive front door.
    “ Eric, you don’t have to—” She protested slidding out of his arms.
    “ Winter.” The quiet command in his voice stopped whatever protests she might have continued on with as he gently clasp her tear-stained face in his hands and made her meet his intent gaze.
    “ Sweetheart, don’t ask me to stand here and watch you struggle. Whatever you’re dealing with right now, I promise you that we will deal with it together.” Eric prayed that his words got through to her.
    Winter closed her eyes tightly as his words seeped in. She knew she had to get a grip if she was going to pull through this and pushing Eric away was not gonna help matters.
    Right then and there she made a conscience choice to replace every moment of terror she’d spent at Randy’s hands with her absolute and unshakeable love for Eric.
     
    Sighing, she found herself easily accepting the sure strength of his body against her own again. And when his arms instinctively closed fully around her, she felt the pull exhaustion move through her as she finally let go of all the negative emotions of tonight’s trauma.
     
    Sensing the change in her, Eric turned to unlock the door and guided her inside the familiar surroundings of his home. His goal was to just get her inside and make her as comfortable as possible.
    While he typed in the code of the security system, Winter stood looking around the familiar entryway she hadn’t seen in two weeks. As her eyes were caught by the hallway mirror, the sight of her own reflection in the dimly lit foyer shocked her.
    At first she didn’t even recognize the reflection of her slightly swollen tear streaked face. It was like watching another version of herself as she reached up and touched her face to connect with what she was seeing. The sight made tonight’s episode all too real along with the aches and pains she’d gained while she’d fought with Randy. She quickly turned away not wanting to give it anymore thought and walked in the direction of the dining room.
    Soon after walking into the room, she knew something was up. She slowly made her way around the elegantly set up table staring intently at the detail display before her.
    The beautifully carved table she had cleaned countless times was set up with a beautiful floral arrangement of vividly colored flowers whose delicate scent gently teased and soothed her. Slowly reaching out to touch the soft petals of the perfect blooms, her eyes fell on the delicate crystal wine glasses set for two with unlit candles strategically placed beside them.
    Tears filled her eyes as she figured out what the romantic setting meant.
    She was seeing Eric’s plans that had fallen through. Wiping the tears now tracking down her cheeks, she ran her hand over cream colored table cloth.
    Oh Eric.
    She wished so much in that moment that she would have come here straight from the airport. The ending to this night would have been so different if she had.
    Except for one thing…Cheri. Would Cheri’s fate have been any different? Her heart hurt at the thought. There was no way she would ever know. That question would haunt her for some time to come.
     
    Eric came up behind her and soothingly rubbed a hand on the tense muscles of her back in comfort. He could feel the tension and sense the shift in her thoughts as they both stood looking at the elegantly set table before them.
    “ It’s gonna be okay, sweetheart.” He said trying to put her at ease.
    “ I want to believe that so badly right now…”She said trying to find the words to express all the jumbled up emotions she was feeling.
    “ Don’t do that to yourself. The most important thing is that you’re safe now.” He said trying to not let her follow the destructive train of thought.
    “ I know.” She sighed running her hand over her brow.
    “ I just need to get— oh hell. I didn’t bring any clothes with me…” Winter was once