The wind howled all through the afternoon, whipping the snow and dropping heavily laden branches to the ground. Corie napped for a while knowing that she had to recharge her body or fall victim to the consequences.

A couple hours of uninterrupted sleep had done wonders for her. While eight hours or more was what she really needed, the invigorating nap brought her back to at least a functional state.

She tiptoed into Alek’s room and noticed he didn’t look as flushed with a fever as he did before. Reaching over she felt his forehead and smiled, the fever was gone. Her diligence and care had worked. Corie tucked the covers in around him and left the room with a smile. As nervous as she had been the previous night about who this stranger was, she had a feeling there was a lot more to Alek than met the eye. The temporary notion that he could be dangerous was pushed back. She figured it was a product of her overactive imagination.

Even though he didn’t look like he should have been driving an expensive car, maybe she had been hasty to have judged him the way she did. Sure, his hair was long, and he was dressed totally wrong for the weather, but that made him stupid, not a danger. Corie had looked at his leather jacket and boots. Since she wasn’t sure if he had anything else to wear in the car, she hung up the jacket to dry and noticed that it was from a very expensive designer. She wondered, not for the first time, who Alek really was.

Sitting on her sofa watching the fire blaze in the hearth, Corie imagined what type of hero Alek would be in one of her novels. He could be one of those self-made billionaires traveling around without a care in the world. Maybe he got the jacket at a thrift shop, but that wouldn’t explain the rented Mercedes. Most people rent more moderately priced cars. Or what if he was royalty from some little country and he was trying to find out what life out of the spotlight was about. Corie ignored the fact that he spoke with a British accent. “Didn’t they all talk that way in those Hallmark movies anyway,” she giggled. Corie let her vivid imagination run with Alek being a runaway prince. Doesn’t the prince always fall in love with the lowly commoner and whisk her back to his castle? She grabbed the notebook she always kept handy and started jotting down ideas for another book.

Late afternoon came around, and Corie was curled up on the sofa reading by candlelight when she heard a voice calling out. She popped up off the couch and walked softly to her office. Alek was sitting on the side of the bed wrapped in a blanket.

“Hey, you’re awake,” she said with a smile.  “How’re you doing?”

“I’m alive. I feel like shit, but I’m still here. Why’s it so cold?” he asked pulling the blanket tighter around him.

Corie tossed a couple more logs on the low fire. She already had to go outside to stock up on wood twice so far. “We lost power a long time ago, so the fireplaces are all we have for heat. I have a generator, but for some reason, I can't get it to work. It figures the one time I really need it, it won't start.”

“At least you have these to help keep the house from getting ice cold,” Alek said as he nodded towards the fireplace. “Would you have anything for a headache?” Alek hated asking her, but his head was pounding.

“Sure. Do you feel strong enough to come out into the living room?”

Alek wanted to get up, stretch his legs and move around. He wasn’t used to being idle for so long, but there was also one small problem. “Yes, I will come out there, but…umm, do you have my clothes?” He was wanted to get out of this room for a little while, but he was only in his underwear, and he remembered putting on some sweats that she had given him. “Didn’t I have more than just pants on?”

Corie was confused for a minute because she knew she had cut the sweats off of him. He didn’t have pants on. “Ah, you don’t have any pants on. Your jeans are still wet, and the sweatpants you started with got too sweaty with the fever, so I had to cut them off,” she said blushing. Yes, she just admitted that she had seen this strange man in his underwear.

He chuckled to himself. “Sorry, Luv. Pants are underwear where I come from. You wouldn’t happen to have another pair of sweats I could use?”

“I’ll run upstairs and look. Give me a minute.” Corie flashed Laz a smile and headed out of the room to see what she could find for him. She was just glad that he didn’t say anything about her seeing him almost naked.

Alek sat there in the quiet of the room trying to get his head around what had happened. Somehow, he ended up in the middle of a snowstorm with the rental car into a tree. He knew he had no business driving in that weather. Hell, he hated to drive when it just rained. It rarely snowed in London, so what did he know about driving in it?

While he was still tired, he was feeling better enough to finally have a somewhat clear head. Alek had gotten his first good look at his rescuer just now. Even though she was in baggy clothes and her hair was in a messy bun, he could tell that she was still gorgeous. She piqued his curiosity, and he wondered what she was all about.

He didn’t think she had recognized him either. When Corie asked his name, he gave her the one that only his parents called him – Alek. Everyone else on the planet called him Laz. It only took a brief moment for him to decide that he didn’t want her to know he was a famous rock musician. He wanted her to get to know him for him, not who he was, how much money he had or what he could do for her. He wanted to be just a nobody for a change, and this was his chance.

It didn’t take too long before Corie reappeared in his room with a bundle of clothes. “Okay, I have a sweatshirt and socks that will fit, the pants are debatable, but they are all I have. I’ll leave you to try them on, while I’ll go fix you something to eat to go along with the ibuprofen for your head. Come out into the living room when you are ready,” she told him. 

Alek nodded his thanks and watched her close the door behind her. He slipped off the blanket he had wrapped around him and instantly felt the chill. Tiny goose bumps covered his body as he quickly changed into the clothes she had given him.  The thick sweatshirt fit fine, but the pants were another story. They were way too short for his six-foot frame and too tight. He could get them up, it was just the fact that he looked ridiculous in them. Well, if he didn’t wear them he had no other trousers to put on, and he couldn’t go around that way. It was just too cold.

He pulled the blanket back around his shoulders once again and stood up. The room started to spin so he quickly sat down again. He felt as weak as a newborn. After a minute or two, he tried it again, and it was better, but he wasn’t as clear-headed as he would have liked. Slowly, he headed out of the room he had been in since Corie saved his life. Alek looked around as he made his way to the living room. Even though the room was somewhat dark, the glow from the fireplace let him see that this was not some old farmhouse. It had a high-end, yet comfortable décor.

The warmth from the roaring fire felt good, so Alek stood in front of the hearth and felt the heat seeping into his cold body. He wasn’t sure he would ever be warm again, but this was a start. Alek held his hands out in front of him, so they were closer to the fire. He had been so worried about them in the snow. If anything had happened to them, it would have devastated him. Playing guitar was his life.

 

 

“Hey, you made it out here. Great,” Corie said as she came into the room. He was taller than she thought when she saw him in front of the fire. “C’mon sit down. I have soup and a sandwich. I hope you don’t mind peanut butter and jelly. It’s the best I can do for now.”

“At this point, I’d eat anything, Luv. But that is fine,” he told her.  

Corie drank a cup of tea as Alek practically inhaled the food she set down on the coffee table. She was dying to ask him questions. Why was he driving in a blizzard? Where did he come from? Was he single? Her eyes got big and round as that last question popped into her head. Sure, he was handsome. Corie could tell that even with the bruising he had on his face from the accident. His clear blue eyes that were no longer cloudy with fever seem to look right into her soul. He could be dangerous to her she realized, not physically, but she knew she could fall for a man like him very easily. She did it every single time she wrote one of her novels, and here he was in the flesh. His hair was definitely longer than she usually liked on a guy, but it worked for him. Everything worked for him. Maybe, it was the accent and the flirtatious way he had, but Alek had her thinking of things she hadn’t thought of in a long time.

“Thanks, Luv. That was good. I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to go back and rest a bit. Maybe later I can get to know my savior.” Alek smiled at Corie and then stood. He was still a bit unsteady on his feet. Was it two or three nights ago that he was onstage playing guitar for hours and now he was as weak as a babe.

“Go take a nap. That will help you heal. I’ll have something more filling made for dinner whenever you feel like it.” Corie watched him slowly walk back to her office but realized she needed to add more wood to the fire to keep him warm. “Alek, I’m coming with you. I’m sure the fire has burned down and could some more wood.”

“I can get it,” he told her as she joined him. 

“But you don’t have to. You’ve been very sick, so you just rest, and it will take me just a minute to do it. It’s no problem, I assure you,” she told him as he sat down on the bed. She watched him carefully lie back down holding onto his ribs.

“Haven’t had anyone take care of me in a long time. Thank you,” he whispered as he pulled the warm blankets over him and fell almost immediately asleep.

Corie gazed down at her mystery man. Her worry that he could hurt her was long gone, but who was he? They hadn’t had enough time for her to ask him the questions she wanted to…the ones she needed to. She was determined to get her answers the next time he woke up.

While Alek napped on and off the rest of the day allowing his body to start to recover from the trauma of the previous few days, Corie tried to keep the house as warm as possible, loading up the fireplaces with wood. It gave her something to do to keep her busy. She tried the generator again, but it still wouldn't start. It figured the one time she needed it the machine wouldn’t even turn over.

As nightfall fell, the wind seemed to calm down. It no longer shrieked through the heavens, thrashing heavy tree branches against each other.  The house was filled with flickering light from the many candles Corie had lit throughout the living room and kitchen. She had defrosted some frozen venison stew she had in the freezer. In fact, she had moved most of her frozen food to a cooler on the back enclosed porch to stay frozen the afternoon after she found Alek. There was no sense in losing food that she didn’t need to. She heated some of the stew for herself, but Alek never emerged from his room to eat. Corie figured his exhaustion from the ordeal he had gone through won out over eating.

The sofa offered Corie a peaceful night’s sleep with the fireplace still heating the room. Once, she got up to throw some more logs onto the embers before sneaking into the office to add more there for Alek. That fire had burned down so low, that she needed to add a bit of kindling to get it going again. A glance over to the daybed showed just a bundle of blankets with a body somewhere underneath. The fire would help keep him warm.

When the new day finally dawned, it was filled with brilliant blue skies and a snow white landscape. It had finally stopped snowing.

“This is a lot of snow even for Maine,” Corie thought. “I wonder how long it’s going to take to get the power back on and plowed out?”

She wrapped a warm blanket around her as she rekindled the fire in the living room. Her next stop was to check in on Alek and the fire. However, when she cautiously looked into the room, she saw that the fire was going nicely and Alek was sitting on the side of the bed.

“Good morning,” she said softly. “You’re looking much better.” Even though his face was still bruised and his eye swollen, Corie could tell that he was stronger. The fatigue that had been etched all across his face was practically gone.

Alek turned slowly to where Corie was standing in the doorway. “Morning Luv, it’s wonderful what a good night’s sleep will accomplish.” He flashed a devilish smile that unexpectedly made her quiver. “I’m looking forward to getting up and around today.”

“That’s great news, just don’t overdo. You are still recovering from the accident.”

“No worries, I’ll do just enough to keep me and my nurse happy,” Alek laughed.

“Okay…good…umm, I’m going to put some…umm, water up for tea, do you want some?” she said stumbling like a school girl over her words.

“Any chance for coffee?”

“No, sorry. The Keurig requires electricity, which we don’t have, yet. I tend to drink mainly tea, but keep coffee around for guests. You’ll have to wait until we get the power back for coffee,” she apologized.

“Then tea it is. I’ll meet you in the kitchen in a few minutes.”

Corie dashed away, feeling uncertain and foolish at the same time. What was it about him that suddenly made her heart pound and her mind go haywire? She liked the clean-cut, business suit wearing guy, never had she ever looked at someone that looked like him. This wasn’t her type of man. Yet, he was so handsome. And that accent was simply to die for. She had taken care of Alek when he needed her the most. Actually, she had probably saved his life. Was this like a reverse Florence Nightingale syndrome where instead of him falling for her because she saved him, she falls for him?

She placed the tea kettle on the gas burner. Maybe it just was the intensity of their situation that was getting to her. "That’s it,” she mumbled to herself. “I’m just reacting to the close quarters and craziness of the past few days. He’s definitely not my type.”

“Who’s not your type?”

Corie jumped startled by Alek’s words. How did he get into the kitchen without her hearing him?

“Umm…a…umm…character in a plot I’m working on,” Corie replied thinking on her feet.

“Plot, what type of plot? And do we have anything to eat? I’m starving.”

“I’m a writer, and I was working on ideas for a new book.” She hoped that would satisfy his curiosity.  “I could make eggs or do you want something more substantial?”

“Eggs are good. Can you scramble them?”

“I can. About some bacon too?” she suggested.

“You can do that?”

Corie removing the whistling kettle from the burner and poured the boiling water into two mugs, “Yeah, that’s easy. Most of my food is staying cool on the porch, and I haven’t used the eggs I got from the girls the other day, so we have plenty. “

“Girls?”

“My hens. I need to get out to them today, but I have a coop with chickens that keep me supplied with fresh eggs. One of the bonuses of country life,” she told him placing his cup of tea in front of him.

 “So,” Corie started to say as she flipped some bacon. “What were you doing driving that car in a blizzard?”

Alek chuckled. “That’s not even my car. I rented it. I was in Montreal and felt the need to get away.”

“You don’t sound Canadian.”

“Born and bred Brit. I was touring with my…ahh, mates around North America and I needed a break. Guess I chose a wrong time to do that. We don’t see snow like this in London,” he explained leaving out some vital details about himself.

“This is even a lot of snow for us. Did your car skid off the road? And why were you here in the middle of nowhere? It’s not like I’m near a big city or anything. I live on the outskirts of the small town of Ashland.”

“That’s called getting lost in the middle of the night. I left Montreal, and the weather was fine, but once I crossed the border, the snow started, and somehow I ended up on that bloody awful road. I couldn’t see, and then the car began to slide stopping only when it hit that fucking tree. When I came to you were touching my shoulder.”  He was so damn lucky. He could be dead now and would have no one to blame except himself. “How did you know to look for me?”

Corie picked up two plates filled with delicious smelling food that had Alek’s mouth watering and placed them down on the table. “Sheer luck and maybe someone was looking out for you. I noticed my barn door was swinging open and I couldn’t let all that snow inside. So I bundled up and went out in the storm to close it. I found the old latch had come apart. When I turned to head back to the house, I saw a light. That got me curious as I knew nothing belonged there. It was the headlights from the car and….the rest you know.”

Alek dug into his hot food. “I don’t know how I can ever repay you. You saved my life at the risk of your own. You not only gave me a place to stay but are feeding me too. And you took care of me while I was sick. I owe you everything, and I will find a way to repay you, Luv. I promise.” Alek placed his hand on top of hers. It was a simple gesture of thanks, but what they didn’t count on was the instant connection that soared through them both. The surprised look on Alek’s face told Corie he felt it too.

She couldn’t speak for a brief moment. His touch sent this crazy current flowing through her that she had never experienced before. Corie couldn’t explain it. She had touched him countless times when he was sick, and this never happened. A quick look into his deep blue eyes confirmed he felt it too. She was drawn to him, more than she had ever been to any other guy before.  But who was he? Corie knew it would be stupid to get involved with a guy that wasn’t even from this country. She wasn’t the type who did flings, but maybe it was time to just have some fun. His touch had her thinking about doing things that she had never considered before. “Pull yourself together,” she chided herself. 

Corie removed her hand out from under Alek’s on the pretense of continuing to eat her breakfast. “I’m just glad that you are okay. There’s no need to repay me,” she told him.

“This wasn’t a small favor you did for me, you saved my life,” he told her. “Someday, I will find a way…you have my word.” He flashed a brilliant smile that even with his face bruised from the accident, was still devastatingly handsome.

It took all of her willpower not to throw herself at this gorgeous man. Corie had no idea when they would get plowed out, it could be up to couple days, and she was going to have to try to resist her attraction to him. It was going to be hard, as she wasn’t sure that she really wanted to.

 

 

Alek was surprised by his body’s reaction when he laid his hand onto Corie’s. He knew he felt drawn to her in a way that was confusing him. He had never felt anything like that before. Was it because she saved his life or was it because she simply was a stunning woman? When she had started to get their breakfast ready, Alek had watched her from where he was sitting at the table. He was incredibly grateful that she risked herself in that storm to save him, as he very well could have died of exposure trapped in that car. Even though he said he would repay her, how does one do that? It wasn’t like he borrowed money from her, she saved his bloody life. 

 He stared at her while she was at the stove cooking. Corie had no makeup on and was dressed in heavy warm clothes, but the attraction to her was undeniable. It was something he hadn’t felt in a while. Lust, sure. He always felt that with many of the women that threw themselves at him, but this was different and he couldn’t put his finger on it.

There was a vivaciousness about her that went beyond her willingness to risk her life for a complete stranger. Alek was curious why she lived so far out in the country by herself. He hadn’t seen much of her home, but what he had he could tell was renovated and high end. But what was interesting Alek the most was the light he saw in her green eyes. She intrigued him and made him want to get to know her better. He didn’t remember the last time a woman affected him this way. Yeah, suddenly he did. It was Caroline.

He was younger and so naïve. He had fallen head over heels for her after he saw her backstage after their show in Charlotte. Midnight Steel was still an opening act for the bigger more popular bands, but they were not going to be there for much longer. Their rise to the top was about to skyrocket with the release of their first album Hard as Steel. CD's were still the way most fans got their music back then. Once word spread about this new British rock band, the stores were having an impossible time keeping the CD in stock.

The guys were starting to live the rock and roll lifestyle as money they never had before started coming in. Women began to recognize them for more than their good looks, but also for the potential they saw in them. Thousands of women were vying not just to be the one night stand when they were in town, but the girl that traveled with Ethan, Laz, Tony or Davey. But the guys were having too much fun going from town to town and woman to woman to stick with just one. That was until Laz met Caroline.

One night while the first act was performing, he walked into the hospitality suite. Midnight Steel was going on next so he was just wasting some time. Caroline was the first thing he saw. Laz stood in the doorway watching her stare back at him. He had lost all rational thoughts when he saw her, or he would have figured out he was making a mistake. A big mistake. When she smiled at him, he was a goner.

Caroline had long auburn hair that hung in waves down to her shapely butt. Her full red lips smiled shyly at him before she looked away. He was at her side in an instant, and when she looked up at him, her dark greens eyes welcomed him into her life. He spent the half hour talking only to her. He begged her to wait for him while they played their set. When it was over, he showered as fast as he could and was at her side before the headlining act hit the stage. When the backstage crowd became too much for him, he took her by the hand onto the tour bus. They spent that first night cuddled up in his bunk as miles and miles of pavement passed under the wheels of the bus.

They didn't make love until two days later when they had an overnight in Pittsburgh. Laz got his own hotel room, and they never emerged until it was time for the next show. He even missed their soundcheck.  After that night they had sex everywhere and anywhere they could. Laz was obsessed with her to the point where even Ethan told him to take it easy. Laz listened to no one except his heart.

They were still together almost two years later, except now Midnight Steel was huge. Their third album had gone double platinum just like the first two. They were now the hottest touring band, and every one of their headliner shows sold out. It was the start of their fast ascent into being the kings of rock and roll.

It was in Cincinnati when Laz cut short a meet and greet with fans to head back to the bus he and Caroline shared with Ethan. She had told him that she wasn’t feeling well and wanted to go back to lie down. Since this wasn't the first time she felt this way in recent days, he was concerned about her. So he headed to their bus to check in on her. Maybe it was time for Caroline to see a doctor.

When he heard moans coming from their bedroom, he became instantly concerned thinking she was seriously ill. Laz opened the door to find her naked in their bed with her legs spread wide as the lead singer from their opening act was fucking her like there was no tomorrow.  Neither realized he was there until he pulled Remy off her and delivered a violent punch to his surprised face. Blood gushed out of his broken nose immediately.

The cocky singer stood up holding his nose but had the nerve to smile at Laz. "I was only taking what she's been giving out freely all tour, man. That pussy's seen more dicks than all the whores on Hollywood Boulevard. Ask anyone."

Laz told him to get the fuck off his bus, and when Remy laughed at him as he pulled on his pants, Laz got in his face instantly. "You just fucked yourself and your band. You're off this tour and believe me I will do my fucking best to make sure you don’t get on anyone else's, Remy. You're done!"

There was a momentary flash of panic in Remy's eyes as he realized Laz may have the power to ruin him. "Good luck with your used up whore," he yelled at him as he stormed off the bus.

Even though Caroline tried to say it was just a one-time mistake, and that Remy had basically forced himself on her, Laz knew she had been playing him. Things started to make sense to him. He had overlooked too much with her, but it never occurred to him that she was sleeping around.  He had been a fool. Laz told her to pack her shit and get gone. When he stormed off the bus, he found Ethan waiting for him. He had come out to see what was going as Remy was ranting about suing Laz for assault.

Laz rubbed his right hand told his friend what he had found on the bus, but he could tell that Ethan knew. And he did. No one wanted to tell Laz that Caroline was sleeping through the opening acts and roadies. He had been blind to it all and furious for being played the fool by everyone. When Caroline didn’t emerge from the bus, he went in and practically threw her out. Her clothes started flying out the door, and she scrambled to grab everything.

Ethan had a security guard stationed at the bus to make sure no one got on it except their driver Max, Laz or himself. That night wasn't one of their better shows since Laz was so angry and hurt. But as time went by he did his best to forget about her and became the king of one night stands. He vowed never to fall in love again.

Except he was. But he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Corie was not Caroline. Hell, she didn’t even know that he was Laz…lead guitarist for the best damn rock band on the planet. He was a multi-millionaire rock god and Corie had no idea.