Free Cabin Fever by Alisha Rai Page A

“I read. Write. But mostly I spend a lot of time outside.”
    None of her activities included other people. It sounded so solitary. Alex was a social creature. Except for that dark time last year, he couldn’t remember when he hadn’t surrounded himself with a bunch of people. “That’s it?”
    “Movies. Do you like movies? I have a DVD player.”
    He wanted to weep with gratitude and a little bit of relief. Finally, a sign that Genevieve was a fairly normal young woman. “I love movies.”
    “Action, I’m guessing?”
    “Sure.”
    Alex watched her walk out the back door and return with a portable DVD player and a stack of DVDs. She set up the player without speaking. When she moved to rise, he stayed her with a hand on her arm.
    As soon as he touched her, electricity shot up his arm, and he knew it had nothing to do with magic. Just pure, old-fashioned chemistry. “Don’t you want to watch with me?”
    “It’s the middle of the day.”
    He smiled at her slightly askance look. He figured she’d react the same way to a suggestion of making love during the day.
    At first, that is.
    “You can’t watch a movie in the middle of the day? I mean, it’s not like you can go outside and do anything.” She was wavering, his instincts told him, so he pushed. “Come on. I’d love to watch with you.”
    She heaved a sigh and sat cross-legged next to him. He liked the position, since her jeans tightened around those round thighs. Mmm, that soft inner thigh which had been riding his… Oh crap.
    Queen of England. Naked. On a snowdrift.
    “Are you okay? You have a funny look on your face.”
    I’m trying to keep my dick calm, since there’s only my boxers and a comforter between it and your face. “I’m fine. Which movies?”
    She shot him a warning look, reaching for the stack of DVDs. “One movie. That’s about all you’ll be able to stand before your nap.”
    Alex gritted his teeth at the reminder of his invalid status. “Sounds good.” Good for starters, at least. He settled into his pillows, certain he wouldn’t be able to remember a single thing about the upcoming movie with Genevieve’s delicate floral scent wafting under his nose.

7
    “ I ’m bored with movies .”
    Genevieve rinsed the last dish from breakfast. They’d had fun watching four movies yesterday, breaking for meals and the chores she’d half-fabricated so he’d sleep. Normally she hated talking during movies, but the cheesy action flicks had lent to a teasing commentary running back and forth between them. After the second film, it had seemed easy to curl up next to his pallet. By the time the fourth movie rolled around, his arm had been around her shoulders. It had been a natural progression.
    It was like some sort of spell was over the cabin. She could almost believe the real world didn’t exist outside the snowed-in home. He wasn’t really the police chief; she wasn’t the town witch.
    She hadn’t even quibbled about sleeping in the same bed with him last night. As much as he might exchange sexual banter with her and touch her with easy familiarity, he was very careful to keep their touch platonic in bed. Until they fell asleep and their subconscious took over. Genevieve had found herself lying on top of Alex in the early hours of the morning, treating him like her very own mattress.
    She shook herself out of that pleasant memory when he spoke. “What can we do today?”
    Her lips quirked. The man was showing definite signs of mending. As much as she knew he’d enjoyed their film marathon yesterday, such a virile guy was not well suited to lying around in bed. “Here’s an idea…how ’bout you rest?”
    “All I do is rest.”
    “Stop touching your bandage.”
    He grunted behind her. “How do you know I’m touching my bandage?”
    She turned around as he dropped his hand away from his shoulder with a guilty look. “Lucky guess.”
    “Got any cards? Or board games?”
    “A little of both.”
    “Excellent. Bring