Heat

The night was cold, but the bed was nicely warm. Six hours without electricity was definitely annoying, and still the blizzard howled outside, the rapid winds sweeping over and around the small house. This was why I had not wanted my husband to accept the job transfer, even though the accompanying raise was definitely what we would need to have a good start on our child's college fund.

To his credit, Daniel was prepared with everything except a generator. From his many backpacking and camping experiences as a teenager, he had enough food and water and supplies so that we could eat and drink and keep warm and see at night for more than a week without requiring outside assistance. Having been born and raised in southern Arizona and having rarely ever seen snow with my own eyes, the northern winter climate had been terrifying in theory, and was proving a little less than terrifying in practice.

Having done his final check of all the windows and doors to ensure they were properly sealed and that the pipes had not frozen, Daniel returned to the bedroom. "Everything's fine, hon," he assured me, setting his flashlight atop one of the dressers. "Are you naked?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but I still don't understand why we need to be naked in a blizzard."

"Body heat," he countered as he began to undress. "Without the clothes, more body heat will be trapped within the blankets to keep us warm."

"That'll help for all of... what, two degrees of heat?"

"In my opinion, two degrees is better than no degrees. At least you'll be sharing body heat with me, not with a skinned mountain lion."

He actually had the gall to laugh at my disgusted expression. If not for the fact that I loved him and almost certainly needed him and his winter survival knowledge to get through my first blizzard and its aftermath, I likely would have forced him to sleep on the couch.

When Daniel pulled back the covers, the rush of cool air sent shivers through me. When his bare leg touched mine, the flash of cold instantly settled in my nipples.

Then, without warning, he took me into his arms and held me fiercely.

"Shit!" I yelped, his cooler skin such an unexpected contrast with the previous warmth of the bed that I shivered against him. "Get away!" I beat his shoulder, trying to push him back, but he held me firmly, not allowing me to escape as I struggled to get away from him.

"Just think of me as a swamp monster molesting a nubile young woman who ventured into the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Not helping!"

His chuckle was infuriating as he squeezed me even more firmly against his chilled form. But soon my body heat warmed him, and although he was still cool compared to the previous warmth of the bed when I was by myself underneath the covers, his presence transformed from maddening to calming.

"Is this better?" Daniel asked softly into my ear.

I simply nodded, finding that my hand was roaming his warming flesh. My caresses caused him to stir against me, and then I recognized another reason to be naked in bed during a blizzard.

"You just wanted us to be naked tonight so you could fuck me."

He chuckled again, but this time it was not such an infuriating sound. "That's one of the fringe benefits of sharing body heat like this with someone you like."

"Only like? Three years of marriage and two years of dating before that equals 'only like?'"

He silenced me with a kiss, a slow, heartwarming kiss which did much to further dispel the coolness of his bare body. As he warmed, so did I - in more than just body.

"No fucking," he whispered, maneuvering me to my back and sliding atop me as my thighs naturally parted for him. "Only lovemaking tonight."

He prepared me with his fingers, kissing me and swallowing my soft mews of delight as I stroked him to maintain his readiness. And when at last the moment arose, he pressed into me with great care, as if entering me for the first time.

We made love, generating still more heat underneath the thick, weighty covers. Unheard was the swirling wind. Forgotten was the immeasurable snow. Unfelt was the numbing cold. All that remained was a loving couple slowly working toward a perfect moment of intimate unity, and when my voice pierced the air, he ground against me to prolong my release, keeping me full as he tugged at a nipple, riding my pleasure until he could no longer contain his own.

My husband was still inside me as I drifted into slumber, and when I awoke, it was to the sound of the furnace engaging to provide a more mundane heat in the bedroom.