Snowbound Hearts by Benjamin Kelly

do her best to forget about being snowed in with Stephen. If she could get him back on board, she’d make sure they enjoyed as much bliss as possible for as long the bad weather held out.
    ***
    The smell of coffee drifting into the bedroom woke Stephen. Audrey was seated at the table by the stove, staring at a cup with steam coming out. Stephen slogged into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and let it run to warm up while he got undressed. The door opened, startling him.
    “Hey!” he said, spinning around.
    Audrey raised a hand and waved at him. “Hey yourself.”
    Stephen glanced around, looking for a towel to cover himself, and realized that he hadn’t bothered to grab one out of the linen closet. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen him naked already; the situation just felt awkward after everything that had transpired. “What’cha doing, Audrey?”
    She cocked her head and sighed heavily as her gaze fell to some point below his abs. “I am going to take a shower. What are you doing?”
    “That’s kind of what I had in mind, seeing as how I have the water running and I’m standing here naked, but if you really want to go first, be my guest.” He stepped aside and motioned to the open shower curtain.
    Audrey closed the door and stood in front of it. She reached under the long T-shirt she was wearing, dropped her panties to her ankles, and stepped out of them.
    “Okay, that’s interesting,” Stephen said, suddenly aware of his thumping heart.
    She grasped the hem of her T-shirt, pulled it off over her head, and stood there, grinning.
    “ Um... ” Stephen paused, unable to formulate a complete thought. Light brown freckles dotted her pale skin. Her big pink nipples stood proud, accentuating her voluptuous breasts. A thin triangle of auburn fuzz adorned the uppermost portion of her otherwise bare pubic region. He couldn’t tear his gaze from her as she strutted right up to him.
    She placed her index finger onto his lips and slowly slid it down his chin to his neck, watching intently as it tracked over his throat, between his pecks, through his navel all the way to his pubic bush.
    She just as slowly returned her gaze to his. “You were saying?”
    Stephen swallowed hard. He allowed his gaze to slide down her body, absorbing every photon that bounced off her beautiful skin. From the moment she walked into the cabin, he had longed to see her body, and now that she was standing naked in front of him he couldn’t even blink.
    “Oh my God, you’re so beautiful.”
    She shrugged and frowned at him. “I’m not beautiful, Stephen, really. My skin is covered with blotches of freckles. I’ve got this damn orange clown hair. I look like a freak.”
    “Audrey”—Stephen placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye—”you’re the most beautiful woman in the world.”
    She blinked hard and looked away. “I can’t imagine why you’d think that, but thank you for saying it.”
    Stephen slid his fingers down her arm and grasped her left hand. “Doesn’t he tell you that?”
    She leaned her forehead against his chest. “Please don’t ruin the moment.”
    He kissed the top of her head, whishing he could see her eyes. “Didn’t we make an agreement to leave each other alone?”
    “Is that really what you want, Stephen?”
    “No, but this fantasy of ours will never work because of your commitment to him. You haven’t told me anything about him. I don’t even know his name. Honestly, Audrey, I’m beginning to think he doesn’t exist.” Stephen hooked a finger under her chin and coaxed her into raising her head. He examined her face for any indication that he was right about her fiancé, but she just closed her eyes and stepped into his arms.
    “Our fantasy doesn’t end until the snow stops. I gave this a lot of thought while I was lying on the sofa last night. I couldn’t sleep because I wasn’t in your arms. I don’t want to spend the time we have left apart. I don’t care about