Chapter 9

Dash

I left her for a moment to retrieve her backpack. I was riddled with conflict. I knew I needed to tell the authorities where she was, but I didn’t want to face any unwanted suspicion. Doing so would put my own life in jeopardy. She had to have people waiting for her; no one goes mountain climbing by themselves without someone knowing unless they had a death wish.

She clearly didn’t, she’d just made a massive error in judgment. My heart was also conflicted. She was remarkable, such an incredible beauty and brave. The lovely goddess in my bed was crazy enough to hike up a mountain by herself with a storm front brewing. She had to either be the most insane person in the world or one of the bravest. I opted for bravest. As I reflected on her beauty and bravery, my attraction mounted, and I found myself swelling with need.

My cock had been so long neglected it stood at attention the moment it came in contact with anything even remotely desirable. I had to settle my wild imaginings as all I could do was see myself lapping at her soft succulent skin. I wanted nothing more than to dive into her and feel the warmth of her core constricting against mine. I tried to shake away the visions of fucking her in every way imaginable, but they were hard to overcome.

I pulled her phone out of her backpack and looked at it. There were two small reception bars on the left side. It was more than I expected her to have up here. We only had a short window of time before she lost reception again. I should have offered my satellite, but I couldn’t take the risk.

I returned to the bedroom, where she lay peacefully like an angel in a light slumber. I dreaded waking her, but she’d made such a great effort to communicate her need to call whoever was waiting for her, I couldn’t let her down.

Then it hit me, what if her husband was waiting for her call? I nonchalantly glanced at her ring finger and felt a wave of relief as I didn’t see a wedding band. It still could’ve been a boyfriend though; my heart sank a little at the thought.

I shook her shoulder gently. “I have your phone,” I whispered, not wanting to startle her awake.

Her eyes drifted open. They were a misty green color, so lovely now that they were no longer lifeless and dazed with shock. Before handing her the phone, I sat down and took a deep breath. “I must tell you something important before you call anyone,” I tried not to scare her, but I had to be stern.

She nodded, her eyes wide and glossy. She was listening and growing more and more nervous as I spoke.

“I’m not at liberty to allow visitors here. I’ve never had any. It’s imperative my identity and whereabouts remain undisclosed. I have my reasons for this, reasons I’m not able to share with you. I promise, there’s nothing to fear. I’m not a wanted man, nor am I someone who’ll endanger your life, but my existence depends on your secrecy. I saved you because you would’ve died if I hadn’t. However, as soon as this storm lets up, I’ll drive you to a safe place where you can get a ride down the mountain. Do you understand? I can’t give you the phone until I know you understand how serious this situation is for me.”

Lending my voice to the words made me regret saying them.

So much could go wrong, I was giving her more power than I wanted over my life, but I just couldn’t figure another way around it.

“I promise,” she rasped, “I won’t mention you.”

She looked worried, even though I offered my assurances. I could tell by her expression that she was afraid. Well, good. If fear kept us safe, so be it. I gently handed her the phone and she called the first number on her contact list. For her sake, I hoped the reception would last long enough to let whoever she was calling know she was unharmed.

When an elderly woman answered the phone, I felt relief in a greater measure than I expected.

“Hi, Lydia!” I could tell she was making a great effort to sound happy, but her voice had a deep rasp, which was hard not to notice.

I could hear a loud frenzied pitch on the other end. I wasn’t sure what the woman was saying, as her voice was faint through the phone, but fear and stress were the impetus for her words. “I’m sorry, Lydia. The storm came in faster than I expected,” her voice was all but gone, “I was able to get an Airbnb up here on the mountain. It’s a cute little place and the owner lives on the property. There was no way I was going to make it back down before the storm hit. How are you? Are you okay?”

The woman on the other end of the phone talked for some time, however, all seemed to be well.

“I promise, Lydia when the storm lets up I’ll come back down. I love you too,” she said as she hung up and rested her head back on the pillow. “Thank you. My grandfather and his caregiver were worried sick. They live on the other side of the mountain,” she barely had a squeak left in her voice. “I’m glad you were able to get a hold of them. Now, you should rest,” I instructed as I gave her some more hot water.

I didn’t have to offer her water like a child, she was over the worst of the shock, but I suspected she was willful and if she didn’t continue to drink, she’d quickly become dehydrated. I took the phone out of her hands and laughed a little.

“Are there any Airbnbs up here?” I asked as I set the phone on the nightstand beside her.

“There are now,” she whispered and smiled.

What was I going to do with this woman? I had a car hidden in an underground bunker, so I could take her down the mountain when the storm let up, but the problem was, the weather report anticipated the storm to last the rest of the weekend if not longer. There wouldn’t be any way to get down the mountain in that kind of weather. So, Airbnb or no, she was going to be my guest for a while, whether I wanted one or not.

“Are you hungry?” I asked, sure she must have been starving.

She nodded her head but didn’t open her eyes. I took that as my cue to leave. Being a doctor, I knew her stomach shouldn’t handle any harsh foods, so cheeses and smoked meats were out, but I had a lot of canned soups I could warm. Sadly, my cooking skills were mostly relegated to chopping, arranging, opening, and boiling. She’d have to suffer with what I had to offer.

When I returned to her room, she was in a much deeper sleep, but I took the liberty to rouse her awake. Her body was trying to recoup the energy it lost staying alive in the hole, however, she needed nourishment and liquid before sleep.

“You have to eat some of this, then you can rest,” I said and set a tray in front of her.She took a groggy spoonful of soup, almost spilling it.

My instinct was to feed her, but I kept my hands to myself. If I fed her, most likely then I’d also kiss her, then how was I going to keep away from her? I stayed near her side as she ate careful spoonfuls of soup, throwing me a smile after every few bites. I knew she wanted to talk, but I didn’t want her ruining her voice.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Now eat up and get some sleep,” I encouraged as I touched her shoulder and stood up, “I’m going to get something for your ankle.”

It seemed she was through the worst it, but I needed to ice her ankle to help the swelling so, I left to find my medical kit. Truthfully, seeing her so vulnerable was too much. I wanted to offer her love and affection. It was almost a primal instinct, and it was getting the best of me. My hardened cock was so engorged and ready to explode, it ached. It was acting like a teenage cock and it was driving me nuts.

I found a few cold compresses in my emergency medical supplies, so I took the largest of them to wrap around her swollen ankle. When I returned, she’d set her bowl of soup aside and was sleeping soundly. I stood there watching her breathe in and out. I’d forgotten what it was like to be in the presence of another person, especially such a beautiful one.

I carefully wrapped her ankle and confirmed her injury was most likely only a hairline fracture or a sprain, nothing that wouldn’t heal with a little rest. I immobilized the ankle with a ruler set flush against the back of her foot and bandages. It was a crude setting, but at least it would discourage her from using it, which would hinder her healing. She didn’t stir while I bandaged her injury, she must’ve been exhausted to sleep so deeply in a stranger’s bed.

Prior to losing Michelle, I was a busy man. I wasn’t unkind, but I had little time for things I deemed unimportant. Now, I had nothing but time and my life seemed to have little value, so it was the tiny moments like these, just staring at a beautiful woman in my bed, that held meaning. Sitting besides her watching her body rest was the highlight of my year. I tried to return to my work but found myself too distracted by my guest. The rescue had also taken its toll on me physically, so I ate the rest of the soup in the pot with some fresh bread which had been delivered with my order the day before and contemplated sleeping on the couch.

The living room was much colder than the bedroom as I had set the heating system to conserve energy. Especially now with the storm, the solar panels wouldn’t be as efficient as they were in full sunlight. I was going to have to go out and get us some firewood if the storm lasted as long as predicted. It was dangerous to light a fire under the usual circumstances as it would draw attention to the cabin and I preferred it be discrete. However, with thick storm clouds and dense snow, I was safe as long as there was a blizzard to hide in.

Since sleeping on the couch really wasn’t an option, and the Cal-king sized bed was plenty big enough for the both of us, I opted to sleep in my bed. It would take everything in my power to keep my distance from her as my raging cock was already scrambling my mind with passion. All I could think of was making love to her. I had to ignore my needs and focus on the fact I didn’t know the woman. I was already in so much danger having her here and I couldn’t forget that. I’d be warm, and I could keep an eye on her, that was of paramount importance. I needed to school my brain to remind myself she wasn’t a date, she was a lost traveler who needed to go. I’d explain everything to her in the morning, but as soon as the storm let up, she’d have to be on her way.