Winter Peril

by Pinder, Victoria

  If everything was horrible, perhaps she could climb down the mountain herself and go somewhere else.

  As she chose from the selection of books, she hoped to find the book most read. Her heartbeat jumped. Maybe if she read it, then Gabriel would talk to her.

  Wuthering Heights caught her eye. She had seen the movie. Perhaps the book was good.

  She picked her book and settled on the couch, then her body numbed. What if something happened to him? It had been a long time since she’d last seen him. What if when he left her bed, he left? The questions tore through her.

  Tears formed in her eyes. She’d be stuck all alone.

  ***

  A few hours later, she returned to her room. The snow didn’t glisten outside her window, but a howl rattled in the air. She ransacked his house and piled supplies in her bedroom. Tomorrow, she’d have to find out how to survive snow-covered mountains and trek her way to safety. He had never found her. She found too small boots, rackets to attach to the boots, though she’d add her dried sneakers into a backpack, and a ski suit. The tight-fitting black outfit would keep her warm. Tomorrow, she’d face nature. It would be better than being ignored. She zipped the bag she’d borrowed containing her supplies and rubbed her arms together.

  She needed to talk. As she changed out of her clothes and into a nightgown again, she turned and expected to see someone staring at her.

  Naked, she held her nightgown to her body, and called out, “Hello?”

  Her door creaked open and revealed a half-dressed Gabriel. She made the sign of the cross, then smiled at him. She let out a sigh. “I thought something happened to you.”

  His dark eyes held a deep, intense fire in them as he held himself together. “You made me dinner. It was good. Thank you.”

  “I forgot about that.” Warmth near him sent her heart a thrill. She had so much to say, but instead of everything else, her mouth answered of its own accord. “You’re the only one I have to talk to here. I need to see you more.”

  His entire body didn’t move from the door before he averted his gaze. “It’s not a good idea. I’m not a good choice for you.”

  She lifted her chin and stared. “I decide that for myself, Gabriel. I’m an adult.”

  His eyes lifted and stared hard at her. She noticed the hunger in his eyes. She stopped for a moment, then added, “I missed you today.”

  “You shouldn’t.” His intensity was palpable and far more intense than food. “I’m not good for anyone, especially someone good like you.”

  Good was nondescriptive. Little girls were good or bad. She held back that thought and asked the question she needed an answer to. “What happened to you?”

  His eyes were almost black now. “There is much you don’t know, and I can’t tell you.”

  She lifted her chin. “I need a reason.”

  He shook his head. “It’s better for us both if you accept that I’m not someone you can bring home or fix.”

  Yes, he was. Something inside her refused to believe and leave things as they were. He had saved her, and he deserved to leave this house too. Whatever happened to him was in the past, and if he opened up, they could both have something deeper and more meaningful in their futures. She licked her lips. “Wherever you do during the day, I want to go with you.”

  He shook his head again. “You’re safe here.”

  In a bold move, she dropped her nightgown and inhaled a deep breath. His jaw dropped, and he stared at her. If she had to go, then she needed one more night of heaven. “I want you with me.”

  “You’d tempt a saint.” His eyes grew warmer. She lifted one shoulder. He stared at her and walked across the floor. Every footstep made a small noise in the wood. Close now, he claimed her lips in a kiss.

  She wrapped her hands around him and refused to let him go. The rough skin of his hands warmed her silky arms. His hands went around her back, and her entire body came alive.

  The electric storm he brought out in her had to be enough to keep her safe. He picked her up and laid her on the bed without another word.

  This was it.

  Tomorrow, she’d leave.

  Chapter 8

  Erica checked her bags one more time before she zipped up her ski jacket. She rubbed her chin. The rackets she found would help her keep the snow out of her boots.

  Gabriel had once again disappeared all day. She poked her tongue in her cheek. She had no time to wait for him. She picked up her bag and then decided to stop in the library. There had to be paper in the desk. She’d leave him a note. The last two nights had shown her that sex could be enjoyable. He was good at it, and if he weren’t so closed off, she’d be interested. More than interested, truth be told. Erica rolled her shoulders. She never chased men who were not interested in her, and she’d not continue down this path with Gabriel.

  The room grew quiet and no noise echoed.

  Something about Gabriel’s pained expression tore at her resolve. Erica closed her eyes and remembered his kiss. Her lips tingled again just from the thought. She had flutters in her stomach. She opened her eyes, and with all the layers of clothes she felt more like she waddled out the door instead of walked.

  Two feet into the hall, she started to sweat. The clothes were hot. She unzipped her jacket, but the ski pants stifled her. She’d have to be fast with that note. She continued her pace, stopped in his kitchen, and packed a few items to eat outside. Fresh apples, bananas, and granola bars would get her through. She placed her backpack on the table, took the items, then decided she’d leave her address in the note as well. She’d pay him back every dime and every item that she took. Constant work meant she wasn’t broke.

  Once done, she picked her bag up again and headed toward the library. Her vision clouded for a moment. Then she gazed directly at the desk and stilled. She had never written a good-bye letter. She had avoided good-bye e-mails as well. With her shoulders back, she brushed past her self-doubts. She dropped the bag on the sofa and continued toward the desk. Soon enough she sat down, found paper, and wrote.

  Gabriel,

  She tapped the pen to her mouth. She couldn’t decide what to say. Her thoughts were frozen. She closed her eyes, took a moment to reflect, opened her eyes, and then nodded.

  Finding your house saved my life. I owe you, and not just for the supplies. You are an amazing person.

  She sucked her bottom lip in her mouth. Perhaps it was too much. She needed to stop. If she sat here, tore up the sheet, and started again, she’d lose her nerve. She gazed at the white walls. No, she’d not stay. Instead she finished with good-bye, call me, and my address is.

  She threw the paper on the desk and sat up. She better not pour her heart out on a page. Erica Mira never needed anyone to complete her. She had always been fine on her own, and she’d not wish to be different.

  Gabriel had told her to stay away, and now, she would.

  Done. She stood up and went to pick up her bag. Halfway to the couch, she heard a muffled scream. Erica’s head rocked back and forth. She clenched her jaw. The sound had been so close. She gulped and realized the creepy house might have ghosts or something strange inside it. None of that mattered, because she was leaving.

  She took the last few steps, retrieved her bag, and headed out of the warm apartment into the frigid portion of the house. Her skin chilled, and she zipped up her jacket and fixed the scarf around her neck.

  Her car was a few miles downhill. It had to be easier to get down. The walk up had been hard. The only hills in Florida were trash heaps, and everyone avoided those.

  She opened the front door. The snow was piled as high as her the top of the door. She took a deep breath, then decided to step up. Her steps were heavy. Snow fell inside the lobby, but she pressed herself farther up. She was needed elsewhere, and Gabriel preferred his own company to hers.

  On the third try, it felt like small hands helped push her outside. Erica flew into the air and leaped out into the snow. What was that? Had she imagined a ghost’s help
?

  Her entire body shook, and she had tingles in her chest. The wind pushed her backward, and the bitterness of the wind made the cold unbearable. All she had in her favor was a bright sun and its reflection on the whiteness. She blinked to try to feel her face, but her eyes stung. Her fingers were ice cold. Perhaps this had been a mistake.

  She turned around to go back to the door, but the wind slammed it shut.

  Clearly the ghosts in that house wanted her to go. She swallowed. Her stomach roiled. She’d miss Gabriel’s arms around her.

  Perhaps that was a sign that she wasn’t wanted there, and that she could make her way back to her car and to civilization. She turned away and headed toward the wilderness and the mountain trail. She walked with her hands on her stomach.

  Every step took effort. She gazed everywhere, like something else stalked her as its prey. She had a sour taste in her mouth.

  The howl in the distance was definitely an animal. She froze and hoped the animal and she both had the same “steer clear” intentions. The goose bumps on her arms had to be from the cold. She wished time would speed up, but she held herself together and pressed on.

  Every step in the snow took even more tremendous effort. Less than half an hour into her trek, the chalet was still the biggest thing in sight, and her legs tingled. She was dizzy and her arms were shaky. She pressed her lips together and decided this had been a mistake.

  Her ears buzzed with a motor, but she didn’t see anything. Her imagination had Gabriel following her to get her out of this bitter wind.

  In Gabriel’s house he had a warm fire that invited her to sit. If he wasn’t interested in her, then he had plenty of books to entertain her until the storm broke.

  The noises of the house could be lots of secret passageways, but if the animals couldn’t get to her, then she was fine.

  A howl echoed in the air.

  Out here, the animals might see her as dinner. She rocked on her feet.

  The clouds darkened overhead, and the chill in the air grew. She turned around and stared at the house’s multiple stories. It was time to go back. She was big enough to admit she’d been wrong.

  She turned around, but then she froze. Something growled behind her, and whatever animal it was, its snarl grew louder. Her muscles tensed and understood the threat.

  Was it a wolf?

  She whimpered. Then she licked her lips and decided to get canned food out of her bag. Would a wild animal accept the food? Panic raced through her, and she turned back around.

  The yellow eyes in a white wolf stared back at her. Her hands jammed into her armpits. She stifled a scream, but the animal barked and jumped closer to her.

  Her adrenaline spiked, and her stomach was rock hard. She took a step back and waved her arms at it. “I’m going. I won’t hurt you.”

  The wolf growled, followed, and then pounced.

  She yelled as the animal tore through her clothes. She fell backward, and the beast tried to bite her. Her feeble hands fought back, and she twisted to get away from it. The rough of its fur fueled her. She pushed at its neck and yelled, “Get off. This is not going to happen.”

  “Erica.”

  Gabriel’s voice echoed in her ears. Her heart raced and almost exploded in her chest. She clutched her hands to strike harder, but then something whizzed past her. She jumped in that instant, and then the animal cried.

  “Don’t move,” he called out, and then her heartbeat became the only thing she could hear. She lost her ability to speak.

  She gazed at the wolf, which had a huge dart in its neck.

  Her shoulders were tight. More yellow eyes of animals came out from the woods. She stared at the certain danger and tried to breathe. She wanted to run toward Gabriel and hide. The wolf that just attacked her now slumped to its side. Gabriel must have tranquilized it.

  She stood. The crisp smell of the air was animals and pine. Her nose was almost frozen off her face. She tried to stay still and not engage the animals, but then she jerked the wrong way and lost her balance.

  She fell backward into the snow and blinked. The wolf that attacked her snarled as it laid in the snow and his legs tried to run though they weren’t pointed to the ground. She pressed her elbows to her side, but then stopped. On its back, the wolf was less scary.

  In the distance, its friends chose this moment to charge toward. “What do we do?”

  Gabriel revved up the engine to his snowmobile and reached out for her. “Give me your hand.”

  At least he could fly. She reached behind her. Her eyes widened. Gabriel picked her up and pressed her into his back. She grabbed her backpack and tugged it on tight. His warmth near the back of her neck calmed her despite her chest, which hitched. Her entire body was stiff but she complied with his every hand move.

  Then he pressed on the gas, and they flew past the wolves. She couldn’t see anything, but the wolves chased them. She yelped and gripped his chest as tightly as she could.

  Gabriel sped up, even faster. The wind broke like icicles on her face. She swallowed. Did all snowmobiles go this fast? She blinked and tried to understand. Her head was light at the moment.

  The blades of the machine flew through the powdered snow, and the mountain of white that grew from their race to the house hypnotized her. Gabriel’s strong, muscular arms clutched both some gear that controlled their every glide forward, and her. She was disoriented, but almost euphoric.

  The scurry of animals sounded like they chased them, but Gabriel stopped the machine suddenly and turned them both around. She took a harder stare at his buttocks. What would he do now? Ice ran through her spine. The wolf had been stronger than her. Her skin tingled.

  Without warning, he straightened her back on his shoulder and held something above her. She closed her eyes, and thought it was the gun. She chewed on her lip. She held still until the air popped with activity. A cartridge that read “tranquilizer” dropped next to his snowmobile.

  Then he glided forward again, and she couldn’t speak. She leaned closer to him. They flew across the snow.

  Then he stopped, and the wind wasn’t at her back. He helped her off the machine to stand, and she rubbed her neck. She hadn’t seen this part of the house.

  She wobbled on her feet, and her head was light. He dragged the heavy machine and hooked it to a rope to bring it inside. She should help him, but her head was floating off her body. She took a step back to steady herself.

  He stood up, pushed a door open, shoved her inside the darkness, and closed the door in her face. “What were you doing?”

  Her lips parted. “Leaving. It was a bad idea.”

  All light was gone. She opened her mouth to say something, but then he shoved himself inside with her. The bang in her ears was from his skis, which he dropped somewhere. She tried to catch her breath, but he knelt down and untied her shoes. “Why would you risk your life like that?”

  She pressed her hand to her chest. Her mind cleared, and she told him, “I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

  “You were going to get killed.” He grunted and tugged her shoe off. Her foot was padded from socks she found, but her skin reacted to him like he’d brushed against her. “We’re trapped here, Erica. If I hadn’t found you in that second, you’d be dead. You’re going to have to be patient until the snow melts.”

  The image of the yellow eyes would haunt her for years. Her hand covered her mouth. Patience wasn’t a virtue she had, but she nodded. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t go and get yourself killed.” He shook his head. “I don’t want more trouble.”

  “What trouble?” She helped kick her second shoe off. He stood up, took her hand, and guided her down the hall. A wide smile grew on her face.

  He didn’t answer.

  She followed, but asked him again, “What sort of trouble?”

  He shook his head. How she saw that in the darkness made no sense, but he picked up their pace. “Women get strange up here. I wonder if it’s the thinner air.”

&
nbsp; “I’m not like your wife.” The hallway became clear, and the smell of freshly cut wood filled her nostrils. Then she sneezed.

  “No, you are not, but we’re not discussing her.” He held her hand in his grip and led her through another hall. Her head spun with how many ways they had turned, but then they were in the lobby. It was cold, and the picture of the blonde woman stared back at her. The blue eyes stared hard, and she swore they watched her every move. “This house makes me crazy.”

  Erica stayed still, but Gabriel opened the library door and dragged her back into the warmth. “I don’t know which part of this house is the source, but I will find it.”

  The crackle of the fire caught her stare, and she unzipped her jacket. She was back. “You will?”

  He kept his lips sealed. If Gabriel refused to talk to her the entire time she was here, she’d have to find out what he meant. He was hiding something.

  He took her backpack and headed out of the room.

  He’d be back. Their conversation wasn’t over.

  She undressed down to one layer of clothing and crawled to the rug next to the fireplace.

  Heat filled her face, and for the first time all day, she breathed.

  Once again, he’d saved her.

  Chapter 9

  “Erica, get undressed. I’ll get you hot chocolate.” Gabriel’s command reverberated throughout her body, though she was already half-finished undressing.

  She took off her hat and ran her hand through her matted hair. Her nose was runny and probably bright red. She was in no mood for sex at the moment. The best she could offer was to talk. Her cheeks alone felt like icicles as she brushed her static hair back behind her head. “I’ll take that hot chocolate, but I need to catch my breath.”

  His voice echoed through the rooms. “I need to clean your shoulder with alcohol, so you don’t get an infection.”

  Her shoulder? She glanced to her left and saw how her jacket and ski outfit were torn and she had deep scratches. The sting grew. She lowered her head. How had she missed that? Her hands clenched, and she yelled out, “Do wolves have rabies?”