ELEVEN - ISOBEL

WE WALK SLOWLY THROUGH THE forest, enjoying the quiet. It is so different to what I thought I wanted. My mind is having to adjust. The stress of what happened in York fades away. I can deal with the consequences later. For now I just want him and the cabin.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

“Ash,” he replies. “You?”

“Isobel.”

We lapse back into silence and I continue thinking. What would have happened if he hadn’t appeared in the pub. I was trapped by those men and when one of them reached out to grab me, I didn’t think, I just reacted. But then it turned into a barroom brawl like something from an old Western. Would I have made it out of there without Ash?

Fate had played a part in bringing us back together. There couldn’t be any doubt about that. For me to fail to get the house, to lose all the money I sent, although the bank would hopefully claw it back, then to end up back here, by his side. It was hardly possible for it to have happened at all. But like so much in life, it has happened anyway. We are together.

We walk off the track and along the tiny narrow trail to the cabin. When we reach it, he steps aside and I enter first. I see the door is open through to the second room. The baby deer isn’t inside the cot. “Where did your friend go?” I ask.

“Outside being looked after by Ica.”

“Ica? Who’s Ica?”

“Another deer. She’s pretty tame since I rescued her from a trap a few years back.”

“And you call her Ica? How come?”

He frowns as if thinking hard then comes out with it. “Ica, after Jess.”

I realise. Jess. Ica. Jessica. “Who was Jessica?”

“My wife.”

“Oh, I-”

“She died,” he says abruptly, turning away and starting to deal with the fire. I sit looking at him. Is that why he’s shut himself away here? To deal with his grief?

“I’m sorry,” I say quietly. He doesn’t answer.

When the fire is going he stands up again and turns to face me. “It was a long time ago.”

We sit together in silence. He rigs up a battered old kettle and makes it sing within minutes. Once we’re drinking black coffee, he seems to relax. I look at him, unable to keep quiet any longer. “I’m glad you found me,” I say.

He scrapes his chair back and stands, looming over me. “I’m glad you came back.”

Those are the last words either of us speak for some time. He grabs me and before I know what’s happening, my clothes are on the floor. There is a rug by the fire and I’m lowered onto my back, the softness of the wool contrasting with the roughness of his hands as he starts to toy with me. I look up at him when he stops, watching him hungrily as he strips, tossing his clothes aside. He’s already hard, his cock pointing towards me. I want it in me and spread my legs, silently pleading with him.

He doesn’t reward me yet. First he plays with my body, running his hands and his lips over every inch, from my ears down to my toes. He turns me onto my front, rubbing at my back, his shaft nestling between my buttocks. I can feel the heat of it, hotter than the fire at my side.

All of a sudden, he’s in me. It happens out of nowhere and I let out a cry of surprise. His entire length slides through my wetness, burying itself all the way in me. I am crushed into the floor under me as he starts to thrust. He’s in control and all I have to do is enjoy the moment. I can barely breathe but enough air gets into my lungs for me to moan loudly as an orgasm reaches me in what seems like no time at all. When it hits, he is still for a moment before sliding out of me. I feel him nudging my ass and then he’s using my wetness to glide into there.

At first I am sure he is too big. He prods and probes but doesn’t give up as I rock in place, reaching back to spread my buttocks apart. Then he does it. I wince in momentary pain but it passes as he eases deeper, filling me in the most wonderful way.

My hand snakes under me, finding my clit, stroking it frantically as he starts to thrust harder. His hands are beside my shoulders, I can hear his breathing becoming laboured, the smell of him filling the air as he uses me for his pleasure. He grunts loudly as he gets closer and I’m almost there.

He comes just before I do. The feel of him spurting deep into my ass tips me over the edge and an almighty climax tears through me, leaving me not knowing what day of the week it is.

Afterwards, he slides slowly from me, turning me onto my back. I lay there as he strokes my clit to yet another orgasm, his mouth teasing my ear, kissing and nuzzling as I wonder what I’ve done to deserve such pleasure.

We spend the rest of the day by the fireside. I don’t dress until late into the night and only then to move across to the table while he cooks on the dwindling fire. The cold draws in but by then we’re snuggled up in bed together. At last he speaks, turning onto his side and whispering in my ear. “Stay.”

I do. There is not an iota of doubt in my mind that I’m doing the right thing. It might not have been what I planned, it might not have been something I ever imagined doing but I know it’s right.

I will tell my parents where I am at some point. I will deal with all the problems that life will throw at me. But for now, all I do is nod my reply and then kiss him. That is enough for both of us.