“But it’s just so wonderful!” Mrs. Castro sobs.
Oh, jeez. I leave them behind and dart for the Ice Girls’ dressing room. I can’t believe I met Jason’s mother in an ill-fitting Ice Girls uniform. Thanks, Daddy. Thanks a whole lot. Could this night get any worse?
It takes me twice as long to get dressed as it should, because my fingers are numb and slow. I have trouble zipping my jeans and buttoning my coat.
“Good job tonight,” Lydia rasps. “Bring food and a thermos of coffee next time, okay?”
“Will do,” I say between shivers. We don’t get a dinner break, and I didn’t know they’d try to freeze me to death. Live and learn. Lydia tried to share her food with me, but I wouldn’t take it from her. I’ll be fine, I kept saying.
Except I thought I could recover from this evening on Jason’s sofa, wrapped in every blanket he owns. But now I have to put on a cheerful face and greet the parents.
He’s worth it, I remind myself. When he spotted me outside the front doors, the look on his face is something I won’t forget for a long time. First joy, followed quickly by concern. He’d wrapped his long arms around me and held me close…
I hurry outside again now, because I want more of those hugs. “Here’s your jacket, sorry for the wait!” I babble when I find all three Castros waiting at the curb.
“No trouble,” Mr. Castro says. “We’ve got a taxi waiting. Hop in, young lady.”
I end up in Jason’s arms on the far side of the back seat, while his mother sighs happily on the other side. “Should we order in some food?” he asks me, then kisses my forehead. “You’re still cold. Did you eat dinner?”
“No. It’s a six-hour shift with no break. I’m starving.”
“Soup!” Jason’s mother shouts. “She needs soup.”
“Is the ramen place still open?” I wonder aloud.
“Matheus! Call the ramen place!” Mrs. Castro demands of her husband in the front seat.
“What’s it called?” he asks with a sigh.
“I got it, dad.” Jason pokes at his Katt phone. “What’s your order, Hot Pepper?”
“Oh! You have nicknames already?” his mother gushes.
He gives me a long-suffering look and smiles.
“I like the sh-shoyu.”
“I’m on it,” he says, pressing the phone to his ear. “Do you happen to know if we have beer in the fridge?”
“Yep,” I say. “Two six-packs.” I lean shamelessly into the warmth of his body.
“Wait—you bought the beer, but not my cookies?” he asks.
“There’s Silas’s needs to consider.”
He laughs, and his mother clasps her hands together. “You’re living together?” she breathes.
“It’s temporary,” I say quickly. Jason only chuckles.
My teeth don’t stop chattering until I finish the giant bowl of steaming soup at Jason’s kitchen table.
“I’m gonna have a word with the asshole that made you stand out there in the cold,” Jason says, his hand holding mine under the table.
“Don’t,” I say quickly. “He’ll retaliate. Rebecca will hear all about it from me eventually.”
“That uniform, though,” Jason growls. “Last year they had pants and sleeves, right? Am I crazy?”
“There was a uniform change,” I say, pushing my empty bowl away. Jason’s mother snatches it up and puts the spoon in the dishwasher. “I think it was the new guy’s idea.”
“A bad idea.”
“It’ll be okay,” I insist. “Let me handle it.”
Jason’s mom pats me on the shoulder. “You’re impressive. She’s a fighter, Jason. Not a spoiled rich girl.”
“Oh, I totally am,” I insist. “And hope to be again very soon.”
She laughs like I’ve said something cute, but of course I’m dead serious. And when I yawn again, she insists that I pack myself off to bed. “You need your rest after that long shift.”
“True,” I say. “Let me sort out the sofa bed for you, though.” I’m the last one who used it, after all.
“No!” she says, scandalized. “I’ll handle everything, honey. Off you go.”
It’s not polite to let Jason’s parents sleep on the sofa bed while I bask with their son in his king-sized bed. And it’s not polite to turn in before everyone else.
But—after grabbing all of my belongings from the living room—I do both those things, anyway. I need my rest, and I need it now.
First I take a nice hot shower in Jason’s luxurious bathroom. Then I blow dry my hair. And finally—finally—I’m truly warm again.
When I emerge from the bathroom wearing only a towel, I’m startled to find Jason sitting up in bed, his bare torso propped against the crisp white pillowcases. He gives me a sexy smile.
Certain parts of me are still conscious enough to tingle in response. But I walk right over to my suitcase and pull out a purple cotton nightgown and matching robe.
“Yes!” Jason says as I drop the towel. “Noooo,” he counters a second later when I pull the nightgown over my head. “I liked you better naked.”
“Shhh!” I scold him, hurrying over to my side of the bed. “Don’t say ‘naked’ with your mother one room away.” I slip into the bed and tuck myself in.
He shuts off the lamp and then slides down to meet me under the covers. “Do you know the best way to warm someone whose body temperature has slipped below the healthy range?” He pulls me closer. “Skin-on-skin contact.”
“I’m perfectly fine,” I insist.
“Let me just make sure,” he whispers, and then kisses my neck. “Mmm. Okay right here.” His lips take a sensuous journey across my collarbone. The loose neckline of my nightgown allows him to kiss his way across my chest. “Everything is looking good on this side, too.” His whiskers give me goosebumps as his kisses venture toward my cleavage.
As he ministers kisses to all of my available skin, I relax into the warm bed, and the tingles multiply.
“This is gonna be a very thorough once-over,” he whispers. “This is in my way.” He tugs on the nightgown.
Against my better judgement, I lift my hips and let him sweep it off my hips and over my head.
“That’s a good girl.” He chuckles quietly. “Aren’t you warmer now?” He covers me with his muscular body, his erection cradled between my legs.
“Oh.” I sigh under his hardness. “We shouldn’t,” I whisper. “Your mother probably has her ear against the door.”
He snorts and buries his face in my neck. “She’s nosy as heck, but only up to a point,” he promises. “Besides, I still haven’t verified that you’re okay.” He lifts his head and cradles my breasts in his hands. “Let me just see…”
When he begins dropping gentle kisses on my breasts, I know I’m not going to be able to help myself. My nipples tighten and my body cries out for more. “Those are very famous,” I say quietly. “They were on network television tonight.”
“Oh, I know.” His tongue does a slow circle of my nipple, and I feel my body soften and then tighten.
“Does that…bother you?” I ask, distracted by my own arousal.
“No,” he says, stroking a thumb through the slickness he’s created on my breast. “You can show them to whoever you want. Just as long as I’m the guy who gets to do this.” He drops his head and sucks my nipple into his mouth.
“Oh,” I gasp. The pull of his tongue is exquisite.
He lifts a hand to my mouth and settles his palm over my lips, reminding me to be quiet. And then his brown eyes bore into mine as he sucks greedily on my breast.
Oh my. I push his hand off my mouth. “You’re a very bad boy,” I whisper.
“Why?” he mouths.
I crook my finger, and he slides up to put his ear right beside my mouth. “Because,” I say so quietly that it’s almost inaudible. “It’s bad timing. And now I just want to be…” The rudeness of the word describes exactly how I feel. “Fucked.”
Jason presses his face into the pillow and lets out the world’s quietest groan. Then he rolls his face toward my ear. “Now you’ve done it,” he whispers, his mustache tickling the shell of my ear. “I’m calling in my reward. Don’t know if you were watching. But I scored. You know what that means, right?”
“I do.” I wrap my arms around his head and whisper into his ear, “I never go back on my promises. Just do it quietly.”