by Lia Lee
But I respected her choice to run. My situation was very different from hers, but I understood what she was going through. I could understand the risk, and I knew it took a strong person to do it.
I had known from the start Anna was a strong person.
“You should throw the phone out of the window, now,” I said when we were in the middle of nowhere. The cabin was still some distance away, and we had left the town behind us.
Anna did as I suggested without asking questions. The cold air blew into the truck when she wound down the window, and she threw the phone out, looking back as the phone hit the snow.
“No one will be able to track it, now?” Anna asked.
I shook my head. “I doubt it. The battery is out, and the wet snow will cause the phone to short out if anyone does manage to switch it on. You did yourself a favor by keeping it off the whole time instead of leaving it on.”
Anna nodded. She had been keeping the phone off purely because there had been no reason to have it on without the cell service. I wasn’t sure if they had tried to track her before she had called, but if they had, the phone being off would have made their job that much harder.
I reached across for Anna and put my hand on her thigh. She glanced at me, taking my hand before looking out of the window, again.
“We’ll figure this out,” I promised.
Anna only nodded.
Chapter 15
Anna
I stood under the hot water in the shower, letting it run over my body, letting it wash away everything that had gone wrong as if it was dirt I could clean off my body.
I couldn’t believe my dad had gone to Lizabeth. I hated that he knew her, that my best friend had been put in danger because my dad was a raging lunatic who did whatever he wanted, no matter at what cost to others.
What if he’d hurt her? I didn’t know if he would do that. Lizabeth was my best friend, and my dad had known her since we had started spending time together as teenagers, but if it was about getting what he wanted, I couldn’t say for sure she was safe.
That I felt that way about my dad said something about the kind of person he was, and it made me feel heartbroken that I was related to someone that would hurt people for the smallest reasons.
How had I turned out so normal?
I soaped the loofah sponge and ran it over my body, washing myself. When I ran it over my breasts, I realized my nipples were sore. They were sensitive and painful when I pressed against them. This happened sometimes when my period was on its way, but it had never been this bad.
Maybe it was because of Luke sucking on them as often as he did. I smiled at the thought.
When I ran my sponge over them again, I flinched. They were really sore. Maybe it was a combination of Luke and my period.
Which in itself was worrisome. I didn’t want to have to deal with my period while I was here at the cabin with Luke. I would be bothersome to have to worry about tampons, and I was having a great time sleeping with Luke. But I couldn’t stop my period from coming. It was part of being a woman. It was better that I was prepared because knew it was coming, if nothing else.
The roads were set to be cleared tomorrow, the broadcasts had said. Luke and I had switched on the radio before I had come to shower. If we headed into Dillon, I could buy tampons and take care of my business.
That was if the roads stayed open. The forecast had been positive, but Luke had warned me that we were in the Rocky Mountains and that anything could happen. The weather changed almost instantaneously out here, Luke had told me. We couldn’t make set plans to go to Dillion, but he had said he would take me there if it was important.
It was.
I had been with Luke for a week and a half, now. In some ways it hadn’t felt nearly as long—in others, it had felt like a lifetime. Being isolated in a cabin in the mountains had been odd at first, but I was really starting to enjoy my stay.
I really liked Luke. Everything about him was amazing. He had a great personality, he was very caring and that he knew how to survive out in the wild was attractive. At the same time, he was well versed in a lot of things, not to mention that he was drop-dead gorgeous. He had this sexy Mountain Man thing going and it was wild and rugged and a hell of a turn on.
Even though he was the full package, perfect in almost every way, I didn’t know if there was a real future for us. I didn’t doubt that Luke felt something for me, too. The way he looked at me was more than just lust, and I found that I liked it. But if we were going to look at doing this long-term, a lot of things would have to change. We couldn’t make a living out here in the cabin forever. I had to make money somehow, and I knew whatever reserves he was working from would be depleted at some point, too.
Besides, I was on the run from my dad. It wasn’t the type of thing that just blew over. My dad wouldn’t one morning wake up and decide he wasn’t going to come after me anymore. What kind of a prospect was I when I lived my life on the edge like this? I wanted to be able to settle down, not hide the whole time, and it wasn’t a life I wanted Luke to be involved in. Although, Luke wasn’t exactly innocent, either.
I knew his stay here wasn’t just a hiatus of some kind. He had told me he was out here to find himself and relax, but I didn’t buy it. There was more he wasn’t telling me. From what he had told me, I had started piecing an image together about his backstory, and I was sure he was running from something, too. When he talked about his family, he didn’t look angry or bitter about what they had done to him. Instead, he looked remorseful and nostalgic. Maybe even homesick. Someone who had been disowned by their parents didn’t act that way.
Even though I had a hunch he was hiding this from me, I wasn’t going to ask. It was important to me that Luke came out and told me about his life himself. If there were aspects of his life he wanted to keep secret, it wasn’t for me to decide. I wished he would tell me, but Luke seemed like the type of person that played his cards close to his chest.
I climbed out of the shower and changed into warm clothes. It was freezing cold out again after the last storm. Luke built a fire every now and then, but even so, it felt hard to keep the cabin warm.
I brushed my hair and dried it with my hairdryer. It was much too cold to walk around with even damp hair.
When I emerged from the bedroom, Luke stood at the door with his rifle again. This was a bad sign. I tiptoed up next to him and looked out the door.
The mountain lion was back, and it was closer than it had been before.
“Oh, no,” I breathed.
“I’m going to have to get rid of it,” Luke said.
I shook my head. “You can’t hurt him. This is his land, too. Please, try scaring him off again.”
Luke glanced at me. “I know you’re serious about animals. I can see that. But this animal is wild, capable of killing us both, and I want to take him out before he does that.”
“Please, don’t kill it,” I pleaded.
Luke pulled up one shoulder. “Fine,” he said. “I won’t shoot it unless I have to. But if it comes any closer, when it continues to threaten us, I’m going to have to take that next step.”
I didn’t like it, but I knew Luke was right. We couldn’t afford not to kill the big cat and then have it kill us. But the mountain lion was a beautiful creature, and I hated to think that Luke could kill it without much provocation. It was only an animal, though, and if it came down to animals and humans, I would choose humans. Of course, I would.
Luke lifted his gun and aimed with one eye, squeezing the other shut. He breathed out, and there was a moment of silence before he pulled the trigger. This time, the bullet snapped into the snow so close to the mountain lion it backed up with a strange sounding growl before it ran off between the trees.
“First shot,” Luke said. “It was much easier, this time. Maybe it will stay away now.”
I hoped so. I didn’t like the idea that a mountain lion was prowling around the cabin.
“What do we do if it comes ba
ck again?” I asked. I felt like we had to consider the possibility. It had already come back one time.
“Then we do what we’re doing now. If it doesn’t work, we take the next step.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
Luke pulled up his shoulders. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. I don’t want to have to kill the animal, but when it comes down to it, I’ll do what I need to do.”
I nodded. I understood where Luke was coming from. He wasn’t heartless, willing to kill the animal for sport or because it was easier. But he was realistic, and he would kill the animal if that was what was necessary to keep us safe. I respected Luke’s approach, and I appreciated his outlook. I had grown up with people who cared nothing for any life other than their own and wouldn’t have thought twice before killing the animal purely because they had felt like it. Luke wasn’t like that, and it was refreshing to be with someone who had nothing to do with the Mafia.
Luke closed the door and put away the gun.
“When do you think we’ll be able to go to Dillon?” I asked, changing the topic. “I need a couple of things.”
Luke looked out the window and at the sky. There weren’t many clouds.
“We can go now if you want. The roads should be open, and we’ll make good time and be back in time for dinner.”
I agreed, and Luke and I got ready to leave. Heading out to the truck was nerve-wracking, knowing there was a mountain lion around. Luke wasn’t panicking when we walked out of the cabin, but I noticed he was looking around, alert. As soon as we were in the truck and moving, I relaxed. It would be much harder for the cat to get us when we were in the truck and safer.
At the store, I left Luke to pick out a couple of groceries while I walked to the toiletry aisle. I picked up tampons and maxi pads before heading back to Luke. I was embarrassed to put my things in the basket. I tried to put other things on top of it so he wouldn’t notice right away. Once we paid for our things he would see it, but I was hoping he would overlook it.
“What are you doing?” he asked when he watched me try to stack the other products on top of my tampons. “Are you trying to hide that?”
I didn’t answer Luke. It was exactly what I had been doing. I felt silly, blushing, and I didn’t know where to look.
Luke chuckled. “You know, you don’t have to hide that stuff from me. I may be a man, but I know what it is.”
I felt even more embarrassed. Luke was so open about everything, and he looked at me with eyes that were still laughing at me. It would have been best if I didn’t have to buy it at all, but with my period on the way, I would need it and I didn’t have a choice. Luke was being very sweet about it. Other men often felt uncomfortable and felt that tampons and pads and period pains needed to be kept private and away from them. But it was a part of our lives, and it was nice that Luke didn’t think it was strange or irritating. He treated it like it was normal, and it was.
After we established that he didn’t care about the female product in the basket, we walked to the deli section. Luke stood before the glass display case, looking at the different precooked meals.
“I think it would be nice if we get something we don’t have to work hard for, tonight.”
I looked at the food Luke was studying and nodded my agreement.
“What about chicken? Do you like that?” Luke asked.
“I love chicken,” I said. “I could make a salad with that.”
Luke shook his head. “I don’t want you to do anything, tonight. Tonight is my treat. I’ll get the ingredients and take care of it. Why don’t you go choose us a nice bottle of wine?”
I nodded, giving in. I liked the idea that he wanted me to sit back and put my feet up. I would choose a wine that went with my mood. Something happy with an aftertaste of in-love.
Chapter 16
Luke
Ever since I had moved out of my parents’ home, I had lived alone. I’d never had a roommate, and I had done everything myself. Which meant I knew how to cook and clean and make a home. It was so nice to be able to share living with someone like Anna, someone I was willing to share my space with.
Tonight, I treated us. We got the chicken and wine, and it was easy to get the food on the plate where I had been making an effort to cook for us every night.
“It smells amazing,” Anna said.
“Will you open the wine for us?” I asked. “You deserve a break, a nice meal, and a good wine after being cooped up in the cabin for so long.”
Anna nodded. “It’s something to get used to, I’ll say that much. I’ve enjoyed it, but it’s strange to be out here in the mountains and not be able to enjoy the outdoors.”
“The winter makes it hard. In the summer this place is amazing, and I love going out into the woods and enjoying the fresh air and the wilderness.”
“I can imagine,” Anna said.
I had always been a city boy. I had grown up in a city with my parents and moved to New York when I had dropped out. But I had loved the outdoors since I was a little boy. I’d loved learning things from my dad about survival. Being out here was something I felt I had been born to do. And it helped me feel connected to my dad even though I couldn’t speak to my parents.
I missed them so much.
We ate our dinner together, and it was comfortable and easy. I hadn’t known Anna for very long, but we fit together like it had always been this way. Anna fit perfectly into this life with me, and it was so easy to forget why we were both here, that we were both running from something and this wasn’t a break from reality.
I watched Anna as she told me about something that had happened when she was younger. She was beautiful when she talked and laughed about the past. I wanted to kiss her whenever she spoke about things she was passionate about. Her spark, the life inside her, was so magnetic. I was ridiculously attracted to her, and I knew that it meant I was in trouble. Someone like me, someone on the run, someone with a past with the mafia, didn’t deserve a woman like Anna. The moment she found out who I was, I was sure she would disown me.
Perfect women like her didn’t date scumbags like me, even if I had left that life behind. She wouldn’t understand who I had been and that I had chosen to be a different person, now. I didn’t want to tell her who I was. I didn’t want her to know about my past. I loved the way she looked at me, her dark eyes full of admiration and attraction and even lust, and I liked it. I didn’t want that look to change to one of disgust or disappointment or even horror.
Most of the time I pushed the thought of my secrets away and lived in the surreal bubble Anna and I were stuck in. It was only sometimes that I thought about the possibility of a future together and what it may mean. But I knew that it would never happen, and it was better for me to let it go rather than gripe about what I couldn’t have in the long run.
When dinner was over, I cleared our plates. Anna poured more wine into our glasses. She was getting tipsy. She became giggly with the wine, and it was endearing. I was feeling it, too. My body felt light and airy, and all my problems slipped further and further away as if they were put behind stained glass and I couldn’t see them except through the colored plates.
I sat down with Anna again, and we clinked our wine glasses together in a toast.
“To weathering the storm together,” she said, and we both took a sip. Her words had a double meaning, and it was very clever.
I watched her, taking it all in. Her dark hair was long and loose over her shoulder, and it framed her face perfectly. Her eyes were large and drowning deep. When she looked at me, the glint in her eye made my body tighten, and I wanted her. Everything about her turned me on and made me want her. Not just sexually but her personality intrigued me, and her mind was amazing.
I hadn’t expected to feel this strongly about her. I hadn’t ever fallen for someone like this, and not so soon, either. But Anna was different. Everything about her fit into my life, and it made me feel like she belonged with me. My feelings for her were so
strong it was staggering, but I didn’t want to deny what I was feeling. Because it was so new and so rare I didn’t want to ignore it like it didn’t exist. To feel something like this for someone was rare and I wanted to explore it, to find out where we could go with this.
Even when I knew that it wasn’t safe—that it might not even be possible.
I realized Anna was looking at me and the look on her face was different than it had been a moment before. Her eyes were filled with hunger, desire thick in the air, and I felt my cock stiffen in my pants. I wanted her. I wanted to touch her body, explore it, taste it. I wanted to fuck her.
No, I wanted to make love to her.
The moment I thought it, it was like a shock to my system. Love? Was this where it was headed?
Anna didn’t let me think about it for too long. She moved closer to me, putting her hand on my leg and sliding it up my thigh. She moved closer and closer until her hand was on my crotch through my jeans, scalding despite the material. Climbing onto my lap, she put her legs on either side of me and her arms around my neck. She had been a virgin when she’d come here, and she had been shy before, but tonight she was forward, taking the lead, and it was such a turn on.
I kissed her. I pulled her closer to me and pushed my hand into her hair. She rolled her hips, grinding her body against me and she drove me crazy. I slid my hands up and down her back and around her body feeling her breasts. She had such a hot body. Her breasts were perfection and her waist tiny before widening out to her hips and her fantastic ass. She had the classic hourglass figure, and there was nothing on this earth that was hotter.
I pushed my hands under her shirt, feeling her skin. She was hot, her skin soft under my fingertips. God, she was such a turn on. She ground herself on my cock, aware of what she was doing to me, and I loved that she was such a tease.