Marshmallows and the Snow [Sweet Snacks: 1] (3 page)

When nothing happened, Ruben lowered his hand and found Aleks’ gaze still fixed on him. He looked... stunned? Mesmerized? Nahh. Ruben was making up things again.

“Sorry to disappoint you, little one, but I’m not a hatchet murderer.” One side of his mouth lifted into a wickedly handsome smile. Then he added, “Unless you’re a fish, of course. Which you’re not. Obviously.” Then he did this peeling-away-clothes-with-his-eyes-thing again.

“So, man from London, what’s your name, if you allow the question. I can’t go on calling you the crazy burglar, can I?” he teased.

“Uh... Ruben. And I’m not a burglar.” Ruben stomped his bare foot on the wooden floor in an act of defense. His bratty display of temper gained him a quiet chuckle.

“That’s good to know, Ruben. Otherwise I would’ve been forced to handcuff you and keep you till the police arrived.”

What?
Ruben’s eyes grew round and he took two steps back from the bigger man. Handcuff him? Oh, damn. And if that mental picture didn’t make him hot as hell. Dumb, dumb, dumb. He didn’t know this guy. In addition, he’d broken up with his boyfriend only yesterday. This was so not the right time to search for a new one.

Aleks probably wouldn’t be interested in a skinny guy like him. The man could pick up everybody. Hell, he probably wasn’t even gay. To top it off, Ruben would return to London in five days and never see the handsome man again. Why thinking about his departure sent a jolt of pain through his chest, he didn’t want to analyze any further. It was merely bad luck he met a wickedly handsome, sexy, and big guy for once in his life and had to leave again in such a short time. Life was unfair!

“Ruben? Are you okay? You’re pale. Do you want to take a seat and tell me more about you?” With those words, Aleks reached for the hatchet again and that was the point when Ruben lost it. Quite spectacularly.

Tears sprang to his eyes and he sobbed, wrapping his arms around his middle. This situation was completely messed up! Here he was, half-naked and faced with a sexy stranger who could turn out to be a real prick, but he was lusting after him nevertheless. Because, let’s face it, he was a young guy with lots of hormones raging through his nearly celibate body. He wanted to have sex and he wanted to know how it felt to be freshly fucked through the mattress. Now this goal was out of his reach because his dumb boyfriend had to go and fuck the hotel staff instead.

And the handsome man in front of him was out of his reach, too, because—

Ruben gasped as his body made contact with a bigger, harder one. Suddenly, Aleks wasn’t out of reach any more. In fact, the man tugged Ruben against his muscled chest and wrapped his arms around him. Why? Oh... right. Ruben had a nervous, teary breakdown and Aleks was hugging him to comfort him. That’s what people did. Nothing special about it.

But it felt very special. Aleks’ big hand caressed from his nape down to the small of his back, lingered to draw lazy circles, and then went up again to knead his neck. It was equally soothing and arousing and Ruben melted against the hard body holding him.

“Shhh... it’s all right, little one. Let it out,” a deep voice murmured. To prevent him from stepping away, Ruben climbed the man like a tree, wrapping his arms and legs around him. Aleks’ sole response was a short grunt. He then strode the few steps to the sofa in the open living room and flopped down on it.

They sat in this position for a while, Ruben sobbing, hiccupping and totally sogging the man’s shirt, and Aleks holding and stroking him with gentle caresses. In the end, Ruben calmed down enough to breathe normally and pushed away from where his face had been squished against Aleks’ chest.

He blushed, but Aleks’ face showed concern, no pity.

“Sorry. I think yesterday just caught up with me and I... I...” Ruben broke off and felt his chin wobble. Oh no, not again!

Two strong, callused hands cupped his face in a surprisingly gentle gesture, and raised it till his brown gaze met a glacier one.

“I understand. You were nearly frozen when you found my house yesterday and when you thought you were safe, I threatened you with a gun. I’m so sorry.” Aleks looked honestly crestfallen.

Ruben closed his eyes and turned his face into the palm holding it. He wanted to purr like a cat and in fact uttered a tiny sound of contentment.

“I didn’t cry because of the creepy way we met yesterday. Not only, at least.” He opened his eyes again, trying to catch Aleks’ reaction to his next words. “Yesterday was a shitty day, even before I lost myself in the woods.”

“Tell me.” Aleks’ deep voice brimmed with curiosity, his thumb brushing over Ruben’s cheekbone. It was such a tender gesture and Ruben guessed Aleks wasn’t aware he was doing it. He didn’t look the cuddly type.

Ruben took a deep breath and unveiled his story. “I’m on vacation with my boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend!” he quickly added when Aleks’ gaze darkened dangerously. “I was skiing yesterday but broke my glasses during a fall. I went back to the hotel to fetch other ones. Toby... he stayed at the hotel to use the spa. But when I came into our room...” Ruben sobbed again and pressed his face into the crook where Aleks’ shoulder met his neck. A big hand cupped the back of his head, gently ruffling his black, wild curls.

“
Oh,
engel,
I
’
m so sorry.
He cheated, didn’t he?” Ruben bobbed his head in response to Aleks’ gentle, whispered question. “Then he’s neither worth your time nor your tears.”

“I know,” Ruben whined the word out extending it. He pushed closer and breathed in the other man’s intoxicating scent. “But he’s my first boyfriend—wait! Did you call me angel?”

Aleks blinked for a moment, those cheeks above his blond stubble pinking. “Yes,
engel
is the Norwegian word for angel. Sorry. It’s those curls, I guess.”

Ruben used his cuff to wipe his nose—sexy as hell, he knew—and grinned. “Thank you. That’s the nicest compliment I ever received from another man.”

Aleks smiled and brushed his hand through Ruben’s curls. “So, this Toby douche is your first boyfriend you said?”

Ruben frowned and nodded. “He was my first boyfriend, as in
in the past.
We’ve been dating for four months and I thought he liked me. You know? Like...
liked me.
”

“I understand what you mean, Ruben. But he didn’t like you that way?”

“Don’t know.” Ruben shrugged, surreptitiously ogling the bigger man’s marvelous chest. “If he loves me, the feeling is not strong enough to keep his dick in his pants. Bastard. I hoped he was the right one.” Aleks shot him a surprised look. “What?”

“Aren’t you a tad too young to search for the one? Don’t get me wrong but—”

Ruben rolled his eyes and huffed. “What is it with you older guys thinking we young ones don’t know what we want? I want a boyfriend, okay? One who wants to keep me for longer than a few months. I want... to fall in love and feel cherished and happy.” With a deep sigh, Ruben melted against Aleks’ chest once again.

The man continued rubbing his back as he whispered, “I’m sorry, Ruben. I didn’t want to hurt you or imply you don’t know your own mind. Of course you deserve to be loved.” A kiss was brushed on top of his hair and Ruben felt himself snuggling deeper into the embrace.

“Thank you. And just so you know, when I said I thought Toby was the right one, I meant the one to help me get rid of my virginity,” Ruben said as casually as he could. Not that he felt remotely casual, discussing such a topic with Aleks. The guy would think him a total loser.

And indeed, he stiffened—not in a pleasant way—and held Ruben a foot away from his body, with a more than alarmed expression on his face.

“Ruben... how old are you?” Taking in the panic in his voice as well as the rigid stance of his shoulders, Ruben understood the bigger man’s concern.

Ruben smiled, patting his broad chest. “I’m nineteen. Don’t worry.”

Aleks breathed a sigh of relief and let his head fall back onto the rest of the sofa. Ruben giggled, playing with the open buttons at the man’s neck.

“What? Did you think I was a minor? I don’t look
that
young. Why do you care in the first place? Are you...” Ruben swallowed the rest of the sentence and bit his lower lip when glacier eyes snapped open to meet his. The intensity in those eyes equally frightened and excited him.

Aleks’ big hands moved to his hips, working their way under the hem of the loaned shirt, and coming to rest on the waistband of his boxers.

“Don’t tempt me, Ruben.” Aleks’ bearish growl was sexy as hell and Ruben had to giggle again. Aleks sucked in a deep breath and let it out through his nose in short, slow puffs, probably trying to calm down.

“Ruben,” the man croaked. “I’m only a man, okay? And you sitting in my lap, all cute and sleep-ruffled and disappointed about your first relationship, is the perfect starting point for one hell of a debauchery. Which would be the wrong thing to do.” He shot Ruben a stern look when his eyes lit up and he rocked his hips in Aleks’ grip.

“Stop it!” A slap to his ass had Ruben sticking out his bottom lip in a pout. Damn. Okay, he understood where Aleks was coming from. Ruben was hurt, a tiny bit desperate, and hungry for attention. Plus he barely knew Aleks. He wasn’t in the right state of mind to decide if this man was a wise choice for his first time or not. But... oh, fuck that! Ruben was young and horny.

“Aleks—”

“No.” The harsh, determined hue to his voice made it clear Aleks wouldn’t back down. Not without the help of a whole lot of seduction. “Ruben, you’re on vacation. You’re hurt and you’re clinging to the first man you met after your breakup. Not that I mind you clinging to me, because you’re wickedly cute and sweet. But it’d be very selfish of me to take advantage of your situation. I guess there’s a reason why you waited for the right guy.”

Did the man have to act so reasonable and grown up? Ruben groaned and placed his forehead against Aleks’ shoulder. “Yeah. I want to be in love with the man I choose for my first time. I want it to be special.” His words were muffled against the other man’s flannel shirt.

“See? That’s a brilliant idea.” Aleks’ nose found its way between Ruben’s curls, breathing in their scent. It felt wonderful and more tender and caring than everything he’d done with Toby to this moment.

Aleks refusing to sleep with a young and willing guy who practically sat in his lap and begged to be introduced to the fine art of man-on-man love, showed Ruben the man was worth catching. He was one of those rugged, grumpy guys with a marshmallow core deep inside. Ruben was determined to find this core, and he had the right strategy.

“Aleks?” Ruben gave him his best wide-eyed, innocent look.

“Yes,
engel?
”

“You can probably bring me back to the hotel, right?” Aleks’ grip on his hips tightened—a good sign—and he nodded with a frown. “Thank you. I’ll still have to share the room with Toby for the last five days of my vacation though. I don’t think the hotel will give me a new room because I broke up with my boyfriend.”

Aleks made this growly sound again and wound his arms around Ruben’s waist. “No way. You’re not going back to that prick.”

Ruben smiled and shook his head. His plan was panning out good. “But Aleks, where should I stay? I can’t throw Toby out of our room. And I don’t have enough money to—”

“You can stay with me,” Aleks blurted out.

Ruben eyed him suspiciously. If he had the tiniest hint Aleks was inviting him against his will, Ruben would go. He wanted to seduce the man, not annoy him or cause him any pain.

“Are you sure, big guy? I don’t want to tease you. And you said we can’t—” A finger against his lips silenced him and Aleks shook his head.

“I said we shouldn’t.” Aleks’ sad little smile tugged at his heart. “Let’s see how it works out, huh? We’re both grown up and I’m more than capable of controlling myself. I don’t want you to go back and stay with Toby the bastard, honestly.”

Ruben smiled, proud that he’d won the first battle, and brushed a kiss to Aleks’ cheek. “Are you concerned he could try to lure me back into his bed? Not gonna happen,” he snapped when Aleks nodded. “He cheated on me and that’s the form of betrayal I can’t forgive. Never.” Then he cuddled against Aleks’ chest. “And thank you. I’d love to stay with you. But I don’t have many clothes aside from the ones I wore yesterday. The rest are still at the hotel.”

Aleks shrugged, rubbing his thumbs around Ruben’s hipbones in a very distracting manner. “No problem. I’ll pick them up for you if you wish, so you don’t have to see the bastard again. I have to drive to town as it is. We need more groceries with two of us.”

Ha! Ruben grinned against the man’s chest and barely contained his little victory wriggle. He’d managed to invite himself into Aleks’ home. He merely had to find a way to seduce him. For a man like Aleks, Ruben would even consider giving up London.

* * * *

While Aleks drove his SUV to town, he asked himself again and again what he’d gotten himself into. Why the hell had he invited Ruben—a man who had temptation written all over his tight little body—to stay at his cabin? For five days? He was so dumb. And obviously lonelier than he’d thought if having Ruben in his cabin could cause such a deep feeling of contentment and rightness to spread through his chest.

Aleks hoped he wouldn’t lose his heart to the little guy. Without a doubt, Ruben was a man one could fall in love with. Madly in love. But he’d return home soon, no matter what. His life was in London, with his job, his family and his friends.

Fact was, Aleks’ heart had hurt at the idea of Ruben returning to his bastard of an ex-boyfriend. No way would he allow the guy to weasel himself back into Ruben’s good graces. So he’d made the suggestion to share the cabin with Ruben for five days. Well, he’d make the best of it. Just because Ruben was staying with him didn’t mean Aleks would lose the battle against his libido and...
Ah shit.
Who was he trying to fool? If Ruben gave him permission again, he’d probably fuck him on the next flat surface.

Which was wrong on so many levels. Aleks had to respect Ruben’s decision to wait till he was in love before he made love. It was cute, actually. Also romantic. He didn’t want to ruin the younger man’s naïve view of the world by seducing him. Ruben would probably regret it when he was back home and searching for a new boyfriend to—