Trapped (Romance on the Go)

by Scarlet Fox

  Evernight Publishing ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2015 Scarlet Fox

  ISBN: 978-1-77233-437-1

  Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

  Editor: Katelyn Uplinger

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  I would like to thank all of the awesome people at Evernight who had a hand in making this story come true. From editor to cover artist—thank you! I would also like to show my appreciation to my family for their constant support. You guys are awesome!

  TRAPPED

  Scarlet Fox

  Copyright © 2015

  Chapter One

  Katie could not remember a time when she’d ever been more humiliated in her life. As she stared at her boyfriend of two years while he kissed one of his “friends,” she wondered how she could have been so blind. He and Erica spent so much time together. She’d never questioned them or felt the slightest bit of suspicion. It was testament to how naive she still was. Obtaining her master’s degree and graduating near the top of her class was not the same as world experience. That was quite evident in this moment.

  Hugging the tree in front of her, she watched as snow drifted down prettily around Erica and Zack. It was a picturesque scene–the snow falling, Erica in her skiing gear looking like some cute little snow bunny. It was also mortifying. They were here with Katie’s family. Most of the people she knew were here. Her brother, his best friend, and her cousins. How could she face any of them after this? She knew she couldn’t do it without bursting into tears and making a fool of herself. The betrayal stung too much to hold in.

  And as if thinking about crying summoned her tears, a sob burst from her lips. She pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to stifle the sound. Not wanting to be heard by Zack and Erica, she stumbled backward in the direction she’d come. She spun around to make a hasty retreat and nearly ran smack into her brother’s chest.

  Nathan reached a hand out to steady her, his eyes roving over her face. “What’s wrong, Katie? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  She looked behind him to find his best friend Lei and two of their cousins gaping at her as well. It was impossible for them not to have noticed the tears cascading down her cheeks as if she were a child.

  To make matters worse, Zack and Erica chose that moment to come waltzing out of the thicket of trees they’d been concealed by, hand in hand. Seeing them, Zack instantly dropped Erica’s hand, but the damage was already done. The entire group had already witnessed his obvious infidelity.

  “You son of a bitch!” Nathan growled. He took a lumbering step forward, and it was only their cousin Jacob holding him back that stopped Nathan from charging at Zack.

  “Mind your own business!” Zack snarled. Then it seemed as if he suddenly realized he’d been caught. He spun toward Katie, an apologetic expression on his face. “Katie …”

  She backed away. She couldn’t bear to hear his excuses. It was too much, especially with everyone watching. “I … I …” Her eyes flitted over each person in turn, panic welling up inside of her. Unable to take their pitying looks, she turned and ran. She had to escape from this. She could not have such a private moment played out in front of her family.

  The path before her was packed with solid snow, but she didn’t want to follow the path. She didn’t want anyone to find her for a while. She needed time to think; she needed time to reassess her life. As snow cascaded down around her, she veered to the left, tromping through higher snow. Her boots sank in the large drifts, and the icy snow came halfway up her calves. She didn’t care.

  Struggling, she pushed on. She forged ahead through the dense trees and thick precipitation. She walked until her legs began to ache and she didn’t know which direction led back to the path. It felt like she’d been walking hours and yet the betrayal that raced through her felt no less painful.

  “Are you out of your damn mind?”

  Katie jumped at the hollered question so close to her. Before she could react, someone grabbed her arm and spun her around. She came face to face with Lei, Nathan’s best friend. He was glaring down at her, his normally warm brown eyes nearly black with anger.

  “You,” she spat, unable to hold back her reaction. “Why the hell did you follow me?” Grief, confusion, and anger warred within her. She couldn’t fathom why Lei of all people would have chased her into the woods. She just wanted to be alone right now, not hounded.

  “I chased after you because Nathan didn’t want you freezing to death out here.” His eyes narrowed. “And seeing as he has a pregnant wife back at the lodge, it didn’t seem wise for him to go disappearing either.”

  That left her feeling duly chastised. Perhaps running off hadn’t been the most mature decision. She’d acted hastily in the moment without thought to the possible danger involved. “I just … I needed away. I couldn’t take everyone staring at me.”

  “And you thought freezing to death was the better choice?”

  She glared, not enjoying the tone of his voice. “I wasn’t going to freeze to death. I’m a big girl. I’m fine!”

  Lei waved a hand around him. “Really? Because this doesn’t look like fine. We’re out in the middle of nowhere. I lost track of the path twenty minutes ago, and the snow hasn’t stopped. You do remember our guide at the lodge telling us it was supposed to get bad this afternoon, that we weren’t to leave the path for any reason?” He glanced around them in agitation. “Where’s the path, Katie? Cause I sure as hell have no clue.”

  This grim statement finally made the reality of their situation sink in and caused her to think about something other than her treacherous ex-boyfriend. Shit. She really hadn’t been thinking clearly. Had Lei not caught up to her and forced her to stop, would she have kept going until she collapsed? That asshole Zack was not worth dying for, and she suddenly realized she was more upset about being lied to than her relationship ending. That was a sad truth—she’d never loved Zack. Contentment was not the same thing as love. “I’m sorry,” she finally whispered. “It wasn’t my intention to get lost out here.”

  “I know.” Lei let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his short black hair. “I know.” Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he began typing out a text message. “Thankfully, I’ve still got service out here. I’ll let Nathan know I found you and that we’re about to start making our way back.”

  Thirty seconds passed, and then Lei let out a grunt of displeasure. “Shit.” He lifted his eyes to hers. “Nathan said they closed down the roads coming into the lodge. It’s getting bad. Everyone’s buckling down for one hell of a storm.”

  Guilt washed over her. She’d put both of them in danger. She’d been so damn foolish running off like a child. “I’m sorry.”

  He shook his head at her apology. “Let’s just get back, okay? It’s not me you need to apologize to. Nathan’s the one freaking out. I’m just channeling his anger,” he said wryly.

  Katie cringed. She could only imagine how pissed her older brother was. He was overprotective on a good day. She was fairly certain she had a stern scolding in her future that was going to be anything but pleasant.

  Glancing around them, Lei turned to her with concern in his eyes. “Any clue which way the lodge is?”

  She shook her head. “No
.” She hadn’t been paying attention to where she was running. She’d just kept going. She’d veered around trees and not made an effort to stay on a straight path. They could be two miles from the lodge for all she knew.

  Lei let out a slow breath. “I guess we start in a direction and keep going. We’ll either find our way back to the lodge, or we’ll find our way to the road. This place isn’t that big. We’ll have to run into something eventually.”

  She nodded. It was a sound plan, better than anything she would have come up with. “Okay. You’re right. We’re bound to come across something. You don’t often hear of tourists freezing to death out here.”

  “There’s a first time for everything,” he said dryly as he started back through the tracks they’d already made. Unfortunately, less than ten minutes later, their old tracks were completely covered up by the falling snow. The trees were thick, enough so that staying in a straight path was impossible. Unfortunately, there was still enough space between to cover up their tracks.

  “We just have to hope for the best,” Lei said quietly. “We’re bound to run into something sooner or later.” With that, he fell silent, trudging forward through the thick snow, taking the lead on their trek.

  Katie was thankful his theory proved true. They’d been walking roughly another twenty minutes when a building began forming in the distance. She was more than relieved, as her hands were painfully cold and her toes felt numb. “Look there!” She pointed, excitement filling her. “A cabin! Maybe they can give us a ride back to the lodge.” She frowned, realizing the roads were closed. “Or at least let us inside until we can have Nathan come pick us up.”

  Though the snow made it nearly impossible, she took off running toward the cabin. She envisioned a warm, roaring fire, maybe a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup while they waited for the storm to quiet down. As her feet hit the wraparound porch, she rushed to the door and banged on it with her fist. “Hello? We’re stranded and we need help!”

  While she waited for someone to open the door, Katie wrapped her arms around her waist and stomped her feet to force some feeling back into them. She didn’t care if they had to spend an awkward night with strangers. Getting out of the blasted snow would be well worth it.

  Lei joined her on the porch, a frown marring his features. “I don’t think anyone’s here.” He glanced up at the large number five on the front of the cabin, and then peered into one of the windows. “I think this belongs to the lodge. It looks vacant.”

  “Do you think we can still get inside?”

  Lei pulled his phone back out of his pocket and began typing away. “Let me see if Nathan can ask the lodge. Maybe they have a spare key hidden somewhere so we can get inside.”

  She rubbed her hands together, waiting impatiently. “If not, I give you permission to break out a window. A cabin with a broken window is better than sleeping out here on the porch.”

  He glanced up from his phone and grinned at her. “Glad I have your permission.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him but chose not to comment. A minute later, his phone trilled out its notification that he had a text message. “So what did Nathan say?”

  Lei returned his attention to the phone. “Awesome! He said there’s a key up inside that hanging flower basket.” He waved in the direction of a potted plant near the railing. As Katie grabbed a porch chair and dragged it over to the basket that appeared empty from the outside, his phone trilled again. “The lodge says the cabins are fully stocked in case of emergencies like this. They’ve had bad weather before where people have gotten stuck out here. They said build a fire, eat some of the canned food, and settle in for the night. They’ll send someone for us once the snow tapers out.”

  “Fantastic.” She dropped back down to the porch with the key clutched between two fingers. “Let’s get inside then. Please.” While he sent out another text message to her brother, Katie tried to keep her hands from trembling so she could get the key in the lock. She finally managed to get it to click, and the door swung inward with a little push.

  Lei tucked his phone back into his coat pocket and followed her into the entrance of the cabin. “Wow,” he said with a little whistle.

  She nodded her agreement. The cabin was spacious and homey. A fireplace decorated the living room wall facing a plush-looking sofa. The floors were hardwood, the small coffee table black marble. It looked like a perfect romantic getaway.

  This thought had Katie blushing. Shit, this was uncomfortable. Though Nathan and Lei had been best friends since first grade, she didn’t think she’d ever spent any extended time alone with him. Now they were trapped in this cabin together for who knew how long. It was the awkward finale of a nightmarish weekend.

  As he made his way directly over to the fireplace, she wrapped her arms self-consciously around herself and forced her mind to concentrate on the important details rather than her discomfort. “Do you know how to use it?” she asked worriedly. She’d never had a fireplace before, so she didn’t know if there was more to it than just tossing in a log and lighting it up.

  “Yeah. My grandfather has one of these in his house. I can get it going.” He waved toward the front door. “I saw firewood stacked up on the porch. Can you bring in a log or two while I get this started?”

  Though she despised the thought of heading back out into the cold, he seemed to know what he was doing. And the quicker they got a fire going, the sooner the cabin would warm up. “Okay.” Trudging back to the door, she hesitated a moment before opening it up. The instant it opened, she was blasted in the face with a cold burst of wind and drifting snow.

  Shivering, she forced herself to step back outside. She made quick work of collecting the wood, piling three large pieces in her arms. When she returned, Lei was kneeling in front of a small fire, coaxing it into life. He had a few crumpled balls of newspaper shoved under some small kindling. The small fire was taking root, growing larger as it touched each small scrap of tinder. “That looks promising.”

  Lei looked up at her with a small grin of pride. “It’ll be even better once we get that wood on here.” He took each piece from her arms and added them slowly to the fire, making sure not to smother it. “That should start heating this place up.”

  Katie nodded, rubbing her hands together. Despite how cold she was, she slipped out of her jacket and let it fall to the floor. It was covered in wet, melting snow, and it now had chunks of bark sticking to it. She felt better off without it.

  The sound of her coat falling seemed to draw his attention. Lei’s eyes lifted to hers as he dusted his hands off. “So you wanna tell me what all of this is about? Why we’re trapped in an abandoned cabin because of some guy who obviously isn’t worth your time?”

  Wrapping her arms around her waist, she glared at him. “What do you care?”

  “What do I care? I’ve been dragged along on this wild ride, so I think I’m entitled to a little bit of frustration. What you did … it was damn childish. I thought you were smarter than that.”

  Anger welled up inside of her and she closed the small distance between them as he stood. “Do you have any idea how humiliating that was? Having my cousins, my brother, you witness the most embarrassing moment of my life? I’ve spent my entire childhood with you and Nathan making fun of me, laughing at me. I wasn’t going to be laughed at again.”

  “I haven’t been laughing for a long time.”

  There was something in his tone that instantly extinguished her anger. It hit something deep inside of her that brought panic racing to the surface. His voice had been thick and honest. Her eyes widened as they lifted to his, and her breath caught in her throat at the look she found in their depths.

  Lei’s dark eyes had also widened and they shimmered with uncertainty. “You deserve better than that,” he whispered, his voice shaking ever so slightly. “You deserve a man who gives a shit about you, someone who knows who you really are and what’s important to you. Not just some ass passing through.”

  �
�What are you saying, Lei?” Her brother’s best friend had always been larger than her. He was six-two with broad shoulders and classic Asian good looks. He’d always seemed imposing to her, but now he was downright intimidating. He towered over her, making her feel small and vulnerable.

  He didn’t speak. He answered by leaning down and pressing his lips against hers.

  Chapter Two

  Lei’s mouth captured hers with passion, hunger, and more heat than she’d ever experienced in her life. With a soft, helpless sound, she arched up into his hard chest. Her body pressed along his in a way it never had before, in a way she never would have dared before.

  She knew she should feel ashamed for kissing her brother’s best friend, but it just felt so right. She’d never experienced this sort of passion before. Not with Zack, not with anyone. Lei kissed her with desire that felt bone deep. He kissed her like he’d been longing for her well before this moment. It made her feel wanted and special. It made her feel desirable.

  She found her fingers fumbling with the zipper of his coat. She wanted it off. She wanted to be pressed against the warmth of his strong chest. She wanted to be wrapped in the security of his arms.

  They both fumbled to free him of his jacket, and the moment his arms were loose, he tangled his hands in her hair. He ran his fingers through her long, dark locks, stroking the silky strands between his fingers.

  Katie whimpered and tilted her chin up, giving him easier access to her mouth. As his tongue swooped in to dance with hers, she wondered how this had never happened before today. The fire between them was undeniable. It burned with an intensity she’d never known existed. It was like he was awakening her to what lust was really like.

  She shivered in his arms and he took it as a chill from the snow and not the tremor of arousal it was. He yanked his mouth away from hers and stared down at her breathlessly. “Here,” he gasped out. “Sit by the fire. Get warm.”