Love at First Blizzard Bonus Scene
Alex
SEVEN MONTHS LATER
The next few months after Maksim’s proposal fly by. There’s our wedding, more performances, and plenty of time spent training and working with the huskies. Sierra Husky Rescue holds its most successful annual benefit ever (with live classical music, of course!), which means we can hire on an additional full-time employee, freeing up time for more travel.
A couple of seams opened up on my cello after the blizzard, causing a nasty rattle, especially on the G and C strings. It had to go to the luthier for repairs while I borrowed another instrument. But thankfully, it’s back to sounding as gorgeous as ever. Maybe even more so.
And, of course, there are the logistics of moving to Rough & Ready. My parents weren’t happy when I first told them I’d be doing more teaching and less performing, but they’ve come around to the idea now. Despite getting off to a rough start, it helps that they adore Maksim, “the perfect Russian boy,” as they put it. It doesn’t hurt that he’s related to one of Russia’s most celebrated composers, giving me a last name they consider musical royalty.
Maksim felt some initial trepidation about what all this means, but he’s stopped trying to talk them out of it. When it’s all said and done, he’s an all-American mountain man who wears cowboy boots and hats during the summer. But if his taste for sauerkraut scores extra points with my family, he’ll take it.
Thanks to my parents’ insistence, I’ve kept my symphony contracts, which only require playing a handful of concerts a year. I’ve also taken up a residency at the Lake Tahoe Summer Music Camp and started teaching at a local university. Maksim still hates big cities, but he always comes to see me perform. And he always finds a way backstage to greet me with flowers and chocolates.
Building this new life with Maksim has been good for my playing. Lawrence Foster, the music critic, may still be a jerk, but he can no longer claim my playing lacks passion. And other critics have declared my post-blizzard performances sizzling. Considering how much Maksim figures in my thoughts while I play, I’m not surprised.
Maksim’s dad raised him right. Between door opening, buckling my seatbelt, and carrying my cello, he spoils me. There’s nothing sexier than seeing my giant mountain man carry a cello around like it’s a fiddle.
Our wedding ceremony took place at Maksim’s dad’s ranch in October, and it was incredible finally having thirteen of his brothers and his dad meet my parents and extended family. Wyatt, his dad, is an old cowboy who’s woven his family from love, patience, and plenty of discipline. And the respect and admiration he’s earned from his boys glows in their faces.
All of Maksim’s brothers stood up for him, which meant a lopsided wedding. Even with my cousins and friends, there were only six bridesmaids on my side, which made for an interesting ceremony. Luckily, my best friend Jess kept everyone in order and on time, and she obliged multiple trips down the aisle with two groomsmen at a time uncomplainingly.
She also stuffed dog treats in the pocket of her dress to ensure Kaya, our ring bearer, made it all the way down the aisle. It proved an amazing feat, especially with the distraction of so many people and live music, thanks to Frederick’s string quartet. But Kaya proved just as good at helping her parents tie the knot as leading sled teams and saving lives. She also looked adorable with a white and purple flower wreath for a collar.
Frederick gave a memorable toast, “When Alex first told me about her mountain man. Well, I was a little skeptical … to say the least. But from the flannel to the beard and the cabin, she wasn’t lying. I wasn’t sure how you’d both make this thing work. But I can honestly say I can’t imagine two opposites more perfect for each other. I don’t know anyone who deserves to go on this adventure more than you, Alex, and I wish you both a happy and long life together with many cello-playing mountain babies!”
There was also Maksim’s brother, Logan, who took credit for our love story. “Brother, you’ve always been a royal pain in the ass. Where do I start? Blowing up barns, nearly setting the house on fire, hot-wiring cars. Shit, I thought Pop was a patient man before you showed up. But, boy, did you show us. Anyway, I always knew it’d take a saint to settle down with you. Dammit, now that I think about it, Alex is probably hiding wings and a halo under that gown. But after all is said and done, I couldn’t be prouder of you, brother. And I know you’re going to treat this girl like the angel she is. Alex, I don’t know how you put up with Maksim sometimes, but he’s as loyal and courageous and tough as the sled dogs he rescues. And while we’re on the subject of sled dogs, let me remind you that I’m the one who trained Kaya for avalanche rescue. In other words, Maksim, you owe me. Big time.”
We set up a memorial table with photos of Maksim’s parents, and I couldn’t help but feel them, along with baby Anya, smiling down on us that day.
A lot happened right after the wedding. Stuff I’m still trying to wrap my head around. My bestie, Jess, ended up staying in Rough & Ready longer than I expected. And some of it had to do with Maksim’s brother, Logan.
I warned her the search and rescue unit lead was trouble. I mean, you don’t have to be in Rough & Ready Country long to hear about his reputation … and his past exploits. But then Jess has always been the kind of girl that goes looking for trouble. Nevertheless, she bit off far more than she could chew, and to be fair, Logan ultimately had very little to do with that. But he did help her get out of it, despite the odds.
Anyway, what more can I say? Love’s a strange and marvelous thing.
Because of everything that happened with Jess, Maksim and I postponed our honeymoon for a few weeks. Although people shook their heads when they heard of our plans to still go to Alaska in November, we had a blast. The trip was filled with ice fishing, dog sledding, snowshoeing, skiing, and hunting for the Northern Lights. Of course, the sexy cabin time was over the top. Maksim hasn’t stopped doing his research, and there’s nothing I yearn for more than being snowbound with my husband.
The eleventh month of the year can be hit and miss in America’s last frontier. The days are short and cold, and the snowpack isn’t always a sure thing, which can put a serious damper on activities. But we got lucky, thanks to early snowfall. Maybe I attract snow wherever I go? Maksim seems to think so. He’s even nicknamed me his “Snow Princess”—as if Sasha wasn’t enough!
Thankfully, everything worked out in the end, between the honeymoon and the situation with Jess and Logan. She’s safe and sound now and happier than I’ve ever seen her—even though I had trouble admitting it at first. And so is Logan. But that’s a story for another time …
Leaving the City came with some culture shock. But I’ve settled into the cozy, welcoming atmosphere of Rough & Ready Country with its expansive acreage punctuated by quaint small towns. I still play in Ophir City on special occasions although Hollister’s closer to the cabin.
There’s a great coffee shop there called The Human Being. Run by Delilah, she’s an eclectic red-headed artist who singlehandedly invented open canvas nights. I’ve attended a few of them, playing unaccompanied Bach to inspire the patrons, and we have such a good time. Best of all, she makes amazing lattes. So, I’ve got my little slice of city living, even in the Sierra Nevada backcountry.
It’s also nice knowing Maksim’s brothers live close by, always ready to lend a hand or celebrate family festivities. They’re preparing to enlarge our cabin under the guidance of Turner, the custom home builder. They figure it’s time our bedroom got a door, and they’ve also planned the addition of a nursery because they know how much Maksim and I both want kids.
It’s been slow going in that department, but not for lack of trying. There’s not a day that goes by without Maksim making me feel loved in every possible way. The doctor keeps assuring me that it can take up to a year to conceive, and until recently, I thought that would be the case.
Although our love happened in an instant, some things take more time …
Like round two of dog sledding with Kaya and our own fur babies. This winter has proven much lighter in the snow department, but we’re finally heading out in mid-January.
Bundled beneath blankets and furs, I watch the world fly by in a blur of white. Maksim promises he’ll teach me how to drive the sled. But for now, he wants me to get the full effect of the experience in the Sierra backcountry. It’s beyond exhilarating, especially thinking about how he saved my life less than a year ago.
We stop in a beautiful clearing with the icy sun high and distant overhead. Maksim stakes out the dogs and gives them water before diving under the blankets to cuddle with me.
Before I know it, his hands are struggling with the waistband of my pants, and his thick cock presses against my thigh.
“I need you, Sasha,” he growls in my ear.
“I need you more,” I reply breathlessly as he dips his head beneath the covers.
“Maksim, what are you doing?” My voice rises at the end as I feel him crawl down my body, tugging on my pants some more. It takes no small effort on his part because he’s a big man and the sled isn’t really made for two. I pull up the blankets, looking underneath them to find him with his arms around my hips. He places a brazen kiss on the front of my pants at the spot where my legs meet.
“You know what I’m doing, Sasha,” he grumbles, finally making some headway with the button at my waistband and zipper. Triumphantly, he pulls my pants down to my knees, growling deeply in his throat as he buries his mouth against the front of my panties. What was already wet transforms into a drenched invitation as a deep, painful throb twists me in knots. I need release so badly, release only he can give.
But even the throb can’t override my self-consciousness. “Out here? In the middle of everything?”
“Out here, in the middle of nowhere, Sasha,” he replies testily, bringing his hands up behind me, to pull my panties down enough so that he can sink his mouth into the front of my pussy. “You’re not in San Francisco anymore,” he reminds me breathlessly, diving into my heat with his mouth, kissing it until he wrests a high-pitched scream from me.
I gasp, scolding, “But what if someone comes along? What if somebody sees us? Like one of your brothers?”
“I’ll shoot anyone who comes on my ten acres or gawks at me making love to my woman. That goes for my brothers, too.”
“You’re a madman,” I moan as he parts my pussy lips with his fingers, licking my clit with his hot, silky tongue. I jerk reflexively, letting out another sharp cry. “What if someone hears us, though?”
His tongue is buried in me now as he makes out with my pussy, and I cover my mouth with a hand, stifling a scream. My core tightens as his tongue relentlessly plays with my pearl, alternating between sucking, circling, and flicking it. He throws back the covers, looking up annoyed that I’ve interrupted his work. “What?” he growls.
My last question is a distant memory as I scramble to grab the edge of the blankets and cover myself back up. But the grumpy mountain man won’t let me.
“I need room for what I’m doing, Sasha. And I know you’re going to like this,” he promises, pinning me back down against the sled, his indigo eyes wicked with desire.
“You’re crazy!” I manage before he sinks a thick finger into me and my body tightens around him, instantly recognizing his flesh and what it means.
“Maybe crazy for you,” he snarls. “Now, quit worrying so much. Sit back and enjoy the way I please you. Before this is over, I swear, you’ll be the crazy one.” He finally breaks into an ear-to-ear grin as I let out an exasperated sigh, and he dips his head to devour me some more.
I cover my mouth, barely able to stifle my screams as my hips crash up towards him, begging for release. “These pants have to go,” he groans, pulling them down until they lie next to us in the snow. “And these, too,” he orders, removing my scarlet, lace panties and tossing them into the snow.
“Maksim,” I scold again. “I don’t want my panties covered in snow. What am I going to wear on the ride back home?”
He shrugs. “You can go home naked covered in blankets. After all, I’m going to dive back into you the moment we get through the door.” I gasp, and he smiles. “What? I’m just being honest.”
Free of the constraints of my pants and underwear, Maksim grabs my legs, parting them and putting them over his shoulders. I sit up on my elbows, scowling at him. “What if somebody sees us?”
“Sashenka, you’re killing me here. You and I are the only two people on this entire mountain, and I’m not stopping until you’re fully satisfied. So, relax. Enjoy.”
He sinks his finger back into me slowly, finding the rough bundle of nerves near the front that he knows sets me on fire. His hot mouth and soft beard graze over my pussy again, teasing me until I feel like a molten pool of desire beneath him. “That’s right, baby,” he encourages, stroking me with his finger mercilessly. “I want you to come all over my face.” He looks up between my legs with that boyish grin of his and says, “And then I’m going to make you come again.”
I’ve given up fighting my husband. Instead, I ride his hand and his face, screaming into the wilderness with abandon. But even after I convulse around his finger, covering him with my arousal, he doesn’t stop.
“Maksim, I need your cock inside me so badly. Please.”
“Patience,” he moans in dark tones. “You’ll have me soon enough.” He swipes his tongue through my folds repeatedly, saying, “Fuck, you taste so good, baby. I could lick this pussy all day.” His fingers and tongue, which have now become expert at what they do, please me again until I’m begging and screaming and trembling under him. I stare up into the beautiful winter sky, watching the white puffs from my hot breath float above me until every part of me melts, completely sated, into the bed of the sled. I don’t feel like I have any muscles left, but I somehow manage to tilt my head up taking in my husband’s gorgeous blond face and beard as he kneels over me, unzipping his pants.
“Now, I want everything, wife. Total surrender. Without complaint. Do you understand?”
“I hardly think you can call what I said earlier complaining. I was just—“
He brings a finger to his lips shushing me and smiling seductively.
“You are so infuriating sometimes.”
He grabs my hips, pulling me towards him and sinking his thick, swollen cock into my pussy. “Infuriating,” he moans. “And what else?” he pants, pounding into me as his breath turns frosty in the air.
“Dimwitted.”
He takes me again. “Yes?”
“And a thief.”
“Not anymore. Not since I was a kid,” he replies, breathing hard and driving into me again. He changes the angle to deepen his stroke, and I hear my voice echoing through the trees.
Finally, I pant “You stole my virginity.”
He laughs deep in his chest. “Oh no, you gave that to me. Begged me to take it, actually.” I try to let out a frustrated sigh, but it sounds more like a moan of pleasure. I manage a scowl, though, and he adds quickly, “I demanded it from you. I’ll give you that. But I never stole it. What else?”
I shake my head.
“Nothing else?” he grasps my hips even more tightly, his rhythm more urgent and his face dark and dangerous. “What about a creep?”
“You’re no creep,” I cry, arching into him as I come again, throbbing violently around his unyielding rod. He crashes against me, letting out a throaty scream and pumping his heat into me. Scooping me up into his arms, he holds me. I wrap myself around him, breathing hard into his ear.
“Not a creep?” he questions, pushing the hair out of my face and claiming my mouth possessively for a long kiss.
“No, you’re my Maksimka,” I reply softly, cupping his bearded cheeks and watching his eyes swim with emotion.
“That’s right, Sasha, and I’ll always be all yours. Forever. I’m sorry I get so possessive, but I love you so much I can barely stand it. And Lord knows I waited long enough to find you.”
I swat at his shoulder playfully, and he turns carefully, figuring out how we can lie together on the sled before pulling the blankets back over us. My eyes gaze heavenward, through the snow-laced pine trees, soaking up the chirping of chickadees and the stillness of the mid-morning air. This is perfect. Enveloped in the warmth of his strong arms, I listen to the random barks of the dogs and his breath deepening into sleep.
“Tatko,” I whisper.
“Yes, baby, what is it?”
“That’s it,” I reply, my voice catching.
“What’s what?” he grumbles groggily.
“You’re going to be a tatko,” I reply softly.
His body tightens under me, and I wonder what he’s thinking.
“I’m going to be a dad?” He says the words slowly and emphatically like they’re the coolest ever. His arms pull me closer, and his hands go to my belly.
“We have our first doctor’s appointment in two weeks to hear the baby’s heartbeat.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, are you happy, husband?”
“I’ve never quit being happy since the day I dug you out of the snow. Thank you for making me a tatko,” he whispers, claiming my mouth ravenously before we sink back into each other’s love.
Everything about Logan, the handsome search and rescue unit lead that I meet at my best friend’s wedding says stay away. From his swagger to his ego, he’s a walking red flag.
And as for good looks? There’s only one word to describe him—smoldering.
Fortunately, I live in the Bay Area, and he lives in Rough & Ready Country. There’s little reason for our paths to cross again. But fate has other plans … plans hotter than the flames of a backcountry campfire.
If you love rugged western landscapes, a sexy alpha mountain man, and a headstrong curvy girl who gets her man, one-click now to cuddle up with Love at First Campfire.
