Double Booked

Nora took the day to forget about the fact that the face of the NHL was in her cabin.

She visited the Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns and toured that. She stopped by the Prairie Berry Winery over in Hill City and took part in a wine tasting. She bought a bottle of their Rimrock, thinking it just may come in handy if Emily continued to ignore her calls. And, on an impulse, she stopped by a local bookstore and purchased two books: one on the construction of Mount Rushmore and another on the photogenic aspects of the Black Hills.

It was dusk when she descended the steep slope of the cabin’s gravel driveway. Her day had done its part in helping her forget about Sidney, and she found herself momentarily shocked to see the black SUV parked alongside the cabin’s west wall. Pulling her own rental alongside it, she hauled her shopping bags from the passenger seat and opted to enjoy her last few moments of pretending that she were alone.

“Honey, I’m home!” she called sarcastically, shouldering through the front door and setting her bags carefully on the counter.

The bathroom door opened and a dripping, dark head of hair peeked out. “Thank God,” he shot back, his voice mocking her sarcasm. “I thought I was gonna have to send out a search party.”

Nora sent a grimace his way and reached into the brown paper bag to retrieve her bottle of wine, thinking about how ideal a glass of it would be right about now. Or maybe two. Three, at most. “I’m flattered by your concern, but-”

Holy fucking hell. She fumbled her bottle of wine as Sidney stepped fully from the bathroom, donning nothing but a towel on his waist. Her jaw dropped and her eyes popped, every womanly instinct in her body taking over.

Abs. He was a wall of abs.

She forced herself to look away. “Get some clothes on.”

“Just be happy you didn’t come back sooner,” he noted, examining the bottle of wine she’d managed to set back on the counter through her stupor. “I would have had to charge you for that view.”

“Wow - the professional hockey player is cocky, too. Imagine that.” Her eyes were still darting everywhere but him. Anywhere but those abs.

“Comes with the contract,” he responded almost immediately.

With her stomach churning with butterflies, Nora knew a glass of wine probably wasn’t the best idea. Instead, she pushed it back on the counter and headed for the staircase. What she needed more than anything was sleep. And to get out of Sidney Crosby’s naked presence.

Pity.

“Good night, Sidney,” she called over the shoulder, gripping the railing to steady herself as she ascended the steps.

---

“Where do you think you’re going?” Sidney called, trying not to admire the way her jeans accentuated the delicate curve of her ass. He was just wearing a towel, and an image like that could mean some trouble.

Down, boy.

She paused on the fifth step, her heavy braid falling back over her shoulder as she studied him. “To bed?” she answered, her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

For a second, he couldn’t understand her - did she really think dominance was hers? “I believe it’s my turn to sleep in an actual bed,” he said, leaning back against the peninsula, careful not to let his towel slip. His suitcase was already upstairs; the only way to it was past her.

He watched as several expressions crossed her face: confusion, realization…and then bitter surrender. “Fair’s fair,” she sighed, stepping down from the stairs.

He was surprised - he’d been sure she’d have put up a good fight before giving in. He watched her dig a set of pajamas from her suitcase before heading for the bathroom. He told himself not to feel too bad about vanishing her from the bed; it was his turn for a good night’s sleep.

---

Drip

The cold splash of water drew Nora from her light sleep. “Go away, Sidney,” she mumbled, assuming the source of the water was him and resituating herself on the couch before focusing on sleep again. He was such a jerk, and she’d been so nice about taking the couch tonight. As she began to drift off again, she deeply considered going on a hotel search tomorrow; giving up the cabin sounded like the best choice at this point-

Drip

“What did I just-” she hissed, sitting upright only to find herself in an empty room. Just as she tried to make sense of it, a loud crack of thunder shook the little cabin. Her hand went to the top of her head as another drip of cold rainwater targeted her.

Just my luck.

Letting her eyes adjust to the darkness, Nora glanced around the small cabin, trying to find a place to relocate to since the couch was doomed to become a puddle at any given moment. Her eyes zeroed in on the two chairs situated across from the couch. Just as she began to figure how she could rearrange them into a bed-like mechanism, she heard a loud snore echo down the staircase.

Nora quickly determined her given options, taking into consideration the stiffness she was bound for if she went with the chairs. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered to herself, running a hand through her askew hair as another drop narrowly missed her.

Swallowing every last ounce of pride she had, Nora headed for the stairs.

---

“Sidney!”

Sid grunted and rolled over, but didn’t respond.

“Sidney! Wake up!”

This time, a light blow to his left arm accompanied the disturbance. “What?” he groaned, cracking an eye open. Nora was kneeling at the edge of his bed, her hair having long abandoned its braid and instead cascading haphazardly over her shoulders. What little makeup she’d been wearing had smudged beneath her eyes. And the little white tank top she wore made it obvious that the cabin didn’t have any heating.

Sexy, he determined tiredly, if not slightly reluctantly.

“There’s a leak in the ceiling,” she whispered, even though there was no one left to wake with a loud voice. “I kept getting dripped on.”

Sidney shot her a dead expression. “Where do I come in?”

“Well,” she mumbled, glancing expectantly at the empty space next to him on the bed.

“You can’t be serious.” He closed his eyes, trying to pretend that maybe it was a dream.

“Please, Sidney.”

As soon as she’d whispered his name, it was like a switch had been flipped inside him. There was an attractive woman begging to jump in bed with him and he was denying her? Maybe he’d let this vacation really go to his head…

“Fine,” he grumbled, scooting over to make room for her.

She cautiously slipped beneath the covers next to him, her icy-cold foot briefly brushing against his leg. Goosebumps instantly rose there, but they had nothing to do with her chilly touch. Sidney pointedly shifted away from her.

“Thanks,” she whispered, her voice almost too close for comfort. He was struck by how honest she’d sounded, but didn’t let it soften his response.

“Just go to sleep,” he grunted, glad she couldn’t see the small smile that had formed on his lips. He silently hoped she couldn’t hear it in his voice, either.

For a while, Sidney just lay there, enjoying the comfort of having someone there next to him, if only for the extra heat she radiated. Her breathing became his focus point, and he listened until her deep breaths turned to shallow intervals, which could only mean she’d fallen to sleep.

And soon enough, so had he.