Max quickly caught her up in his arms, turning her around as he pulled her head to his and kissed her with so much tenderness she had to fight tears wanting to fall.
“Thank you,” he said in-between kisses, making her heart melt. She’d be thanking him if she could get words past her throat. He quickly cleaned them both, then pulled her from the shower, wrapped her in a towel and carried her to his bed. They laid there for several hours, touching, kissing, and talking as if they were long lost lovers. She hoped it would never end.
“Did you hear that?” Max asked. She looked at him, puzzled. She hadn’t heard anything, but then again, her head was against his chest, listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat.
“No,” she replied.
“Get dressed, I think our chariot may be here,” he said as he quickly climbed from the bed. She took a few moments to watch his muscled backside flex as he bent to grab his pants. She was disappointed to see her view quickly covered. He slipped his shirt on, and that’s when she heard a sound. It was a rumbling noise, and she had a bad feeling he was correct.
She slowly climbed from the bed and got dressed. If they were being rescued, being caught naked would certainly be embarrassing. She walked to the living room, where Max was near the front door, straining to hear. There was a loud scraping sound, and it was confirmed that someone was there, digging them out.
“Let’s move to the center of the room just in case a window gets hit by mistake,” Max told her. They sat on the couch, both of them not speaking. They realized the real world was coming for them, their time in the cabin officially over.
Cassie knew when they reached the front door because there was a window next to it and for the first time in days, light streamed through it. She felt like crying. A few seconds later there was a knock and then the door opened.
A couple men in military uniforms walked in, looking around, then smiled as Max stood up.
“We’re glad you’re okay, Mr. Anderson. We apologize it took so long to get you out of here. Cordova had a sudden and unexpected snowfall that buried the entire town. They called us in to free the residents. It’s been a huge disaster,” the man said.
“We understand. We’re just glad you were able to find us,” Max replied. They walked to the front door and looked out, shocked at what they saw. There was a roadway carved with huge snow drifts, higher than the house on either side of it, with several military vehicles dotting its carved surface.
“Mr. Anderson, we don’t want to rush you, but we’re afraid this storm is not completely over. If you can gather your things as quickly as possible, we’ve got a runway cleared at the airport and you can safely fly out. You only have a small window,” the soldier said.
Cassie wanted to tell the man no, that they’d take their chances. After all, Max had a business meeting to attend still. Although, she supposed with the current situation the meeting was most likely postponed. They had far more important things to take care of in the small town than a new merger.
“Yes, of course. Give us ten minutes and we’ll be ready to leave,” Max said, immediately stepping back into the cabin and heading for his room. Cassie had no other choice but to follow his lead. She went to her room and quickly packed. As they met in the living room to do one final check around, she once again had to fight her tears from falling. It was time to get back to the real world.
They’d been back in Seattle for a week. Neither of them brought up their time in Alaska, but it was obvious to Cassie they were done being lovers. He wasn’t cold, or distant, almost the opposite, in fact. He had a tendency to touch her whenever he entered the same room, or passed her in the hall. He’d been busy with work, and she spent most of her time away from his office, talking to personnel and family members.
He no longer seemed to mind about the interview, which was great, but at the same time it was all coming to an end and she wouldn’t have an excuse to see him on a daily basis. Maybe, that was a good thing. If she got away from him, then her heart could start to heal.
“I was expecting you at the company party last night. Where did you disappear to?” Max asked her, as he cornered her in the break room. You didn’t have another engagement to get to, did you?” he asked casually. Her heart broke a little more. He was speaking to her as if she was nothing more than a friend he was curious about. She wished she did have a hot date, not that she thought he’d care, anyway.
“I’ve just been fighting a cold, so I went home to get some rest,” she lied. It was late and time for her to go the grocery store, then home. Her house was almost completely out of groceries and she hated shopping, but knew she needed to. She walked from the room, and gathered her coat and purse, with him following right on her heels.
“You’re leaving early, again. I thought we’d go over a few things,” he said.
“I have to do some shopping before the weekend,” she trailed off. Normally, she jumped at the opportunity to sit down one on one with him, but she needed the weekend to give herself some pep-talks. She pretty much had all she needed to write an excellent article, she may have to give up her last week, because she just didn’t know if she could take being around him without falling to pieces.
“I have some shopping to do, also. We can go together, and chat while we’re at it,” he said, as if he’d come up with the perfect solution. She was trying to get away from him, not have him follow her. She didn’t want ordinary, everyday things, like shopping, to be associated with him.
“I’m sure you have far more important things to do, other than shop,” she said with what she hoped came out as a teasing smile, and not a pathetic one. When he used that smile on her, she wanted to fall at his feet. It was really difficult to keep her distance when the man used his charm. She could practically feel her toes curling, and her heartbeat was quickly accelerating. She’d never get over him if she couldn’t get control of her traitorous body.
“Nothing’s more important than working on your prize winning article,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “Plus, it’s getting close to my Aunt’s birthday, so I need to look around for a present. If she’s not treated like a queen on her birthday, my Uncle will have a coronary,” he added with a laugh.
“You mustn’t bring down the wrath of your Uncle,” she said, not able to keep her own smile from appearing.
“I’m glad you understand.”