Chapter Six

Calla

Fate was a cruel bitch. I was stuck in a cabin, far up in the mountains with no one around, but that wasn’t the cruel part. The cruel part was that I was stuck with a man who had left me with some very vivid memories. The type that made me wet anytime I thought about that one night together. He didn’t seem to be pleased to be in my company, which was the really cruel part.

Looking at him now, it was hard to see the clean-shaven, bright-eyed young man I had met in a bar so many years ago. Back then, he had been exactly what I needed and wanted. I had been young, too young to even be in that bar legally. The man sitting across from me today looked like someone I would see gracing the cover of an erotic romance novel. This man was eye candy, the kind of candy that would leave you addicted and wanting more.

“This is kind of crazy, huh?” I asked, not really expecting him to answer.

His mouth opened and then closed around the spoonful of soup. I imagined that mouth closing over my nipple or better yet, my clit. The thought made me shudder in my chair, slivers of electricity sliding over my body with the mini-fantasy.

“Crazy is one word for it,” he muttered.

“I bet you didn’t think you’d ever see me again after you left that morning?” I asked, infusing a little sauciness in my tone.

He shrugged one of those massive shoulders. “I think that was the other way around.”

I smiled, “We knew what it was when you bought me that first drink. We both wanted sex and nothing more.”

“I didn’t know you weren’t old enough to be in the damn bar, though. I’m only glad you were legal age. I’ve learned from my mistakes.”

“It wasn’t really a mistake, was it?” I asked softly.

He looked up at me, his gaze piercing. “Maybe not, but a year earlier and I would have been hauled off to jail for sleeping with a minor. I’m glad you were legal.”

“Barely,” I shot back with a wink, letting him know I was teasing. It had literally been days after my eighteenth birthday. I had just graduated from high school and was getting ready to head off to college. As a last hurrah, my friends and I secured fake IDs and headed for the bar with one goal in mind—to get laid.

“You done?” he said in a gruff tone.

I nodded, hoping I hadn’t brought up an unpleasant memory. The look on his face was worrying me, like he had just sucked on sour candy. I knew it hadn’t been bad, and remembered him shouting in intense pleasure. His yells drowned out my screams of ecstasy. Thinking about that night had hot liquid pooling between my legs.

Quickly, I jumped up from my chair and headed for the couch. Thank God, his sweater was long. I did not want the evidence of my arousal to be on display. If I had been a man, I would have had a raging hard-on.

It was stupid. Ridiculous and completely inappropriate. I had no business thinking about him like that, but my sex-deprived body had other ideas. It had been too long since I had really enjoyed a good orgasm. The kind that curled your toes and made your back arch to the point you feared your spine would snap.

I took another long look at Jake and realized fate may actually be working in my favor. Being locked up with a man who looked like a Viking God was too good to pass up. I wanted him. I wanted him in the worst way. The idea of another one-night-stand with him made me very excited in every way. The possibilities of what that man could do to my body left me weak in the knees.

“Warm?” his deep voice floated over me, the timbre of his voice felt like he was caressing my overheated skin.

“Yes. Very,” I answered honestly, breathlessly.

Would he be interested in a fun night? He was a man after all and if he was anything like the man I remembered, he would be up for anything.

I had to play my cards right if I wanted him to want me. If he knew my secret, or about Blake, he wouldn’t come near me. We all had secrets. It wasn’t like we were going to get married. I could keep my secrets and get laid. Win-win.

Watched him, I felt like a tigress watching her prey. He squatted down in front of the woodstove, gave his dog a little scratch behind the ears and then added another log to the fire. The smell of the wood smoke was far more romantic than I would have expected. Of course, it could have been the fact I was horny as hell and anything would turn me on in my current state.

He stood and turned to look at me. Had he felt me staring?

“You sure everything is okay?” he asked, with what looked to be genuine concern.

“Everything is perfect. This place, your home, it’s so cozy.”

He smirked, “I don’t know if cozy is the term I would use, but I like it.”

“Your dog,” I motioned to the large animal still laying on my jacket. “What’s his name?”

“Casper.”

“Like the ghost?”

He nodded. “When I found him, he was nearly dead. I almost called him Shadow, but Casper felt right.”

“What kind of dog is he?” I asked, realizing the way to get this man to be more open to what I had planned was through his dog. His dog held a special place in his life. That much was obvious.

“A mutt, but the vet thinks he’s part lab, part husky and maybe some other large dog breed.”

I giggled, “Well, he is very cute.”

He raised an eyebrow as if the word was an insult. “I need to use the bathroom. You can use the toilet, but we’ll have to manually flush without power.”

I watched as he slid his boots on. “Where are you going? It’s dark,” I asked, a little afraid he was going to leave me all alone.

With frustration on his face, he gave me a look of disgust. “Taking a piss like I said.”

He stomped across the floor and headed for the door.

“Outside!” I shrieked, fearing the cold could ruin my plans. I needed that beautiful piece of flesh in good working condition, not shriveled from the cold.

“Yes, outside,” he grunted.

He slammed the door behind him. I looked at the dog who was steadily watching me. “Well, like I knew people peed outside when there was a perfectly good toilet in the house.”

I pushed the blanket off and went for the bottle of whiskey, adding a healthy dose to my cup of coffee. I tested it with a small sip and shuddered as the whiskey hit my tongue and then slid down my throat, leaving a trail of fire.

“Perfect,” I said, taking another drink.

My cup of coffee was more whiskey than coffee now, which was fine by me. I needed a little liquid courage. I wanted Jake to fuck me and that was going to take a little effort. He hadn’t made a pass at me, which was a little insulting, but kind of a turn on. He didn’t want to take advantage of the situation, which I absolutely adored, but I wanted him to take full advantage.

I looked at the couch and debated stripping and sprawling naked on the couch to give him an open invitation. Any other man probably would have jumped at the chance. Not Jake. I didn’t think that would work in this particular situation. No, I needed finesse.

I was standing in front of the woodstove, enjoying the heat when Jake returned.

“Do you go outside all the time?” I blurted out, my goal for finesse forgotten.

“When there isn’t power, I usually do. Conserves water.”

I felt like an idiot, but I didn’t get it. “Does the water freeze?”

I saw him drag in a deep breath. “No. I mean it can, but I have no power, which means there is no power to run the well pump. The pump gives me water.”

“Ohhh,” I said, nodding my head in understanding. In the back of my mind, I filed away the information to use in the book I was going to be writing.

Everything about this night was research I told myself. I was getting some great stuff, too. I couldn’t wait to craft the story I knew my readers would eat up. A cabin in the woods, a raging snowstorm, a veritable hunk and a horny woman, seriously, what more could a writer ask for?

He kicked off his boots again and picked up a book that was sitting on a shelf. From my position at the woodstove, I could easily watch his hulking body move around the room. It was a very good view. I watched his long legs move and the muscle in his arm jump as he grabbed the book.

“You read?” I asked, sounding like a complete moron.

“Yes, I read. I’m not an idiot,” he growled, sitting down on the opposite end of the couch from where I’d been sitting earlier.

“I didn’t mean it like that. What kind of books do you enjoy?”

He shrugged, “True crime, biographies, things like that. I don’t like fluff.”

I smiled and nodded. “Not a big fan of romance novels?”

He looked at me as if I had two heads. “No! Who reads that shit?”

“Probably the same people who write that shit,” I said, with a cheesy smile.

“Don’t tell me you’re a romance writer?”

I shrugged and returned to my seat on the couch. “Yes, kind of. I like to write a little suspense and mystery in with my romance.”

“Is that even a thing?”

“Have you never seen a Tom Cruise movie or any other movie for that matter? There is always a hot girl, a hero—the hot guy who saves the day, and snippets of hot sex to fill in between the action.”

He looked horrified, “You write sex stuff?”

I nodded my head slowly, “Yes. Hot, steamy sex scenes that make either man or woman very excited.”

“I doubt that,” he scoffed.

“Trust me. I would let you read one of my mine, but I didn’t exactly pack along a library when I set out for my walk this morning.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” he mumbled, opening the hardcover book in his hand.

I stared at him. I had nothing to do.

“Do you want to play a game or something?” I asked, feeling rather daring. It could be my raging hormones or the influence of the whiskey. Being daring would hopefully lead to my satisfaction.

He closed his book and released a long sigh. I felt like a child, bugging their parent to entertain them. I was bored, but mostly, I was hot and wanted some action. I wanted his attention.

“I don’t have games. I have cards. We could play a card game I suppose,” he said, with resignation in his voice.

I wrinkled my nose. That was definitely not what I had in mind. “I’m not really a fan of cards. A little slow for my taste.”

“Slow?”

I licked my lips. “Ya, slow. I like a game that moves much faster and is exciting. Cards are not exciting.”

“You don’t know how to play any card games do you?” he asked, with a knowing look.

“Not really,” I answered honestly. “I never cared to learn.”

“Well, I don’t have any board games. What other games are there?”

I looked into those blue eyes and felt a burst of courage. “How about a game of Truth or Dare?”

His eyes were suddenly heavy-lidded. I watched his nostrils flare with a sharp intake of breath. Mission accomplished. I had prodded him just enough. With a little luck, he would be prodding me with what I knew to be a very substantial dick.