Free In the Firelight by Sibylla Matilde Page A

flowed through her. “Maybe it is the challenge.”
    The vulnerability she suddenly felt was terrifying, and Shea reached for her drink again. Liquid courage . Finishing off the drink, she looked back up at him, steeling herself enough to speak. “I need to go home.”
    “You’ve drank five of those drinks in about thirty minutes. You shouldn’t be driving.” Rhys brushed his fingers along her cheek as his hooded eyes met her gaze. “Give me your keys, and I’ll drive you home.”
    “You?” Shea put both hands out and pushed him back. Without his support, she weaved a little and stumbled back against the bar. Damn, her motor skills were not at their best all of a sudden. “I can’t trust you to drive. You’ll get my pickup stuck in the snow. Are you forgetting how we met? You’ll never make it all the way to my cabin.”
    Rhys reached into her coat pocket and snatched her keys playfully, stepping back and holding them up out of her reach. “Then I’ll take you to mine.”
    Shit. Not quite the answer she was looking for.

    By the time they made it to his rental cabin, Shea’s head was literally spinning from all the booze. She didn’t drink often and was a little perturbed that she’d poured the shit down her throat tonight like she had. Especially now. Now that she was here, with him, at his cabin. Part of her figured she should run like hell. That this was not going to end well.
    Shea glared at Rhys suspiciously across the cab of the truck.
    “Well,” he threw a challenging smile back at her, “hop out.”
    “I shouldn’t be here,” she frowned and looked out the passenger-side window into the dark.
    “Then you shouldn’t have been chugging that rum at the bar,” he chuckled and opened the driver door.
    With a heartfelt sigh of defeat, Shea opened her door and took a step out into the snow… and slipped and fell on her ass with a thud. God! Could she truly embarrass herself any more tonight? She flopped back to lay flat on the frozen ground and closed her eyes, willing the world away until she heard a crunch in the snow beside her. There stood Rhys, in all his super hotness glory, looking down at her with an entirely too amused grin on his face. She threw her arm over her eyes.
    “Fuck,” she muttered.
    “Would you like a little help, sweetheart?” His rich voice sent a ripple of longing through her, and every muscle deep inside her clenched tightly. Yeah, way too much rum. Maybe she should just sleep out here, in the snow. It would likely be safer than being in an enclosed space with him… all alone.
    “Nope,” she mumbled, her voice thick from the booze, the embarrassment, and the tingling of lust deep inside her. “I think I’ll just hang out here for a while.”
    A deep chuckle reverberated through him as he reached down and lifted her easily, cradling her against his broad chest.
    “Sorry, Shea. You didn’t leave me in the snow, I’m not going to leave you in the snow either.”
    The scent of pine and fresh air instantly enveloped her senses as her head lolled on his shoulder. Taking a deep breath, she tried to infuse the aroma into her brain. Dammit. Why was this man so appealing? She was normally so much better at keeping her distance, but he drew her in, pulled her with an invisible thread that was so fine, yet so strong.
    Swinging the door open, a blast of warm air hit her as they entered the small cabin. Rhys flicked on the light switch which illuminated one of the lamps sitting on the nightstand. As much as she had been troubled by his close proximity, she immediately mourned the loss of his strength and heat when he put her down. He set her softly at the foot of the bed, his hand still around her back to steady her as she swayed slightly in the upright sitting position. His other hand reached up to dust some snow from her hair.
    The low, warm light caressed his features, and his concerned eyes caught hers. Nervously, her tongue instinctively ran along her lips, drawing his