Stranded: A Mountain Man Romance

by Piper Sullivan

  Then he saw me. His eyes widened; I could tell he appreciated the costume. But at that moment, someone came up and claimed his attention, and he looked away. After that, I managed to merge into the crowd, making sure that I always moved away if he got too close. It wasn’t that hard amongst so many people, all wanting to speak to him.

  Then the scavenger hunt was underway. Groups had been formed, and the ghostly lanterns given out, along with clues. George had made sure that the paths were lit as well, but only just enough; he wanted the darkness for atmosphere.

  As people set out, laughing, with their lanterns held high, I took the opportunity. The kids needed to go to bed, even though they had begged me to let them participate. On this point, however, Zane had been insistent. The kids had their own entertainment, and this was for the adults. He didn’t want the little girls suffering from nightmares.

  As I helped them remove their costumes, still chatting excitedly thanks to all that sugar, I couldn’t help feeling sad. I was going to be leaving them, very soon. It made my heart ache. I had grown to love them in the short time I had been here, despite the teething problems I had with them. I would miss them.

  “Thank you for Halloween,” whispered Harper sleepily, as I tucked her up in bed. “It was the best ever, Bianca.” She reached out and stroked my hand. I had to blink away tears.

  Poppy kissed me goodnight, and even Max gave me thumbs up sign as I turned out his bedroom light. With a heavy heart, I left them.

  I returned to my bedroom. The house had suddenly grown silent; everyone was out hunting. I could see the light from various lanterns bobbing in the darkness outside, and shrieks as a group discovered some spooky display or felt ghostly hands upon them. George had dressed up a few staff as ghosts and mummies, crouching in the darkness at various spots.

  I sighed. Should I just undress, and go to bed? But the night beckoned to me. I would be leaving, soon. I sat on the side of my bed, thinking.

  Then, suddenly, I knew what I was going to do. It would be a fitting good bye to Birrimba, and a very apt gesture on Halloween. The night when the spirits of the past walked the earth.

  I went back into the kitchen, finding a little jam jar, a small candle, and a box of matches. Luckily there were a few lanterns leftover. I grabbed one, turning it on.

  Then I set out into the darkness, joining the sea of lights bobbing in the night.

  I passed groups of vampires, werewolves and other creatures as I made my solitary journey, holding the lantern high. I remembered the way. Despite myself, I felt a small fission of fear.

  At last. The old graveyard. George had made sure there were a few lights around, and some Halloween decorations for added ambience. He needn’t have bothered; the deserted graveyard was scary enough in the dark. I could hear people in the distance, but no one disturbed me. They were elsewhere, at least for the moment.

  I set myself down at the old headstone, holding my lantern high so I could read it, again. Florence and Violet, sleeping together for eternity in the red earth. What a tragic story; I felt again the sadness of Florence’s words in the journal, and pictured the faces of her and her daughter in the old photograph.

  I set the lantern down, then lit the candle, putting it into the jam jar so that it would be protected against the wind. Then I placed it down. It flickered slowly in the night. I felt an overwhelming sadness; not just for these long-gone people, but for myself. For the fact that I had given my heart away to this forlorn place, and I would leave it here, battered and broken.

  “Bianca.”

  I almost jumped out of my skin, rearing around so quickly I almost lost my balance. It was Zane. He reached out and steadied me, kneeling beside me.

  “What…are you doing here?” I could barely talk, he had frightened me so much.

  “I followed you.” His voice was soft, carrying on the breeze. “When I couldn’t find you, I went back to the house. I saw you leave by yourself.”

  “Shouldn’t you be with your guests?” I turned away, towards the headstone. Tears had formed in my eyes.

  “They’ll wait.” He reached out and took my hand. A shiver went through me, at his touch. “The hunt is over, anyway. They are all heading back to the house. This is more important.”

  “What is?” I cursed my voice. It was trembling. Keep it together, I told myself fiercely.

  “You.” He stood up, pulling me to my feet. I could just see his face in the light of the lantern. He reached out and stroked my face. I choked back a sob.

  “Bianca, I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I haven’t reached out to you, since that night. It was just…”

  “You don’t need to explain.” I turned my face away. “It’s obvious, Zane. You are still in love with your ex-wife. What happened between us…well, it was just sex, wasn’t it? I was stupid.” The tears that had been threatening finally fell. “I’m leaving Birrimba, heading back to the States. It’s just too difficult.”

  “No!” He grabbed me, pulling me towards him. “That’s not going to happen! I won’t let you go!”

  I wrestled in his arms, trying to pull away. “I can’t stay here! Not like this!”

  “Like what?” he hissed. His face was so close to mine, I could feel his breath. “Like the nanny? I don’t want you here as the nanny, Bianca. I want you.” He feverishly started kissing my face, as he pulled me closer. “I’m not in love with Jo anymore. I was just finding it hard to let go. It’s you I’m head over heels in love with.”

  “You love me?” I gasped. I closed my eyes, not believing what I was hearing.

  “I love you,” he whispered. His lips came down on mine, warm and sweet. “My God, how could I not? You are the most amazing woman that I have ever met. You have settled my children back home, which is no mean feat. All the effort you have made, for this night. And you have shown me that you love it, here. You have connected with the place, in a way that Jo never did. Birrimba is my heart, Bianca. It runs in my blood.”

  “I know,” I whispered. “I can feel that connection. Oh, Zane, is it possible?” I looked up at him, his eyes glimmering in the soft lamp light. “I’m in love with you, too.”

  He let out a whoop, echoing in the night air. He picked me up, twirling me around.

  “Let’s go back to the house,” he said. “I need to get rid of the guests, so I can take you to bed.” His eyes narrowed as they looked at me. “You look so beautiful in that dress, I’ve barely been able to take my eyes off you all night.” My body warmed at his words.

  He took my hand, then reached for the lantern. I looked back at the candle, flickering on the grave.

  I heard the last car leave, snaking its way down the dirt track. All was silent. There would be a lot to clean up tomorrow, but it could wait.

  My bedroom door opened. It was him. I shivered.

  “Everybody gone.” He crept into my room. Then he stood looking at me, as if his eyes drinking me in. “What a night.” His voice wavered with tiredness.

  “Do you need to sleep?” I whispered. He looked at me as if I was crazy.

  “Sleep is the last thing on my mind,” he growled. “Stand up and turn around.”

  I stood up. I had managed to get the lace dress off, but the corset was another matter. I hadn’t wanted to ask Mrs. Price to unhook me.

  He let out a slow whistle as he looked at me. “That is the sexiest thing I have ever seen,” he said. “A Victorian corset. Wow.” He shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe it.

  He put his hands around my waist, feeling the stiff boning. “A six-inch waist?” he murmured, pulling me to him. Then he spun me around, slowly unlacing me. I felt the corset give away, and then his hands snaked around, finding my breasts, kneading them.

  “My lady,” he whispered, in my ear. I saw our reflection in the full-length mirror. “May I make love to you?”

  I nodded, weakly, my head falling back against him. He had found my nipples, and was pulling them into peaks. Desire tore through me, as I fe
lt his hardness against me.

  Suddenly, he pulled my panties down, and bent me over. He entered me, swiftly. I gasped again at the pleasure of having him inside me. He was watching us in the mirror, as well. I could see him behind me, his eyes closed as he gently thrust. I backed against him, lost in the moment. I could feel it building, and could see by his face that it was close for him, too. Watching ourselves was an added thrill.

  He gripped me, straining. My climax shuddered through me, unspooling like a ribbon of light. I couldn’t help it. I groaned, softly. He shouted as he reached his peak, gripping me tighter still.

  We collapsed onto the bed, breathing heavily. At that moment, the first rays of the new day suddenly started streaming through the curtains. He turned to me, stroking my face.

  “Bianca,” he whispered. “Don’t ever leave me. Will you be my wife?”

  “Yes,” I whispered back, joyfully. “Oh, yes!”

  We lay in each other’s arms, softly stroking each other. Birds started twittering; I could hear Harper’s bedroom door open and close, as she went to the bathroom. Another day was starting, at Birrimba.

  And I would be here, to greet it. With Zane, and the children. Just as I planned to be here, forever. I couldn’t think of a place I would rather be, than here with this man and this family.

  I looked over at the old lace dress, hanging on the back of a chair. Thank you, I silently said. It felt like the spirit of Florence had guided Zane to me. Maybe she wanted one of her family to live happily ever after, content in this beautiful house in the endless, open desert.

  THE END

  Hope you enjoyed Bianca & Zane's story dear reader. If you would like to read another Austrialian Romance, Finn & Amber's story is also included in this book. Check out the Table of Contents for Nanny's Aussie Billionaire

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  Witch Bride

  Chapter 1

  Arabella

  My head throbbed excruciatingly as I started to regain consciousness and for some reason opening my eyes was nearly impossible. It felt as if my eyelids were glued together. I was also well aware of the fact that I was not in my own room, in my cosy bed, with my cat Silvester. My stomach turned and I tensed nervously. If I was not home, and this was no dream, then where was I? Fending off the sudden sense of panic threatening to hijack my mind, I took a few deep breaths to calm myself.

  “Hello?” I asked in a croaky voice knowing it was a weak attempt at drawing attention. Just as expected, there was no answer. The silence that shrouded me was deafening, something was horribly wrong.

  I managed to push myself off the hard slab I was laying on and then dropped to my knees. The cold concrete floor beneath me was rough and as I slowly crawled forward, I kept feeling ahead for anything of substance. Barely a few feet ahead of me was a wall and with trembling fingers I felt my way up against it, using it as leverage to stand on my own two feet. There had to be a door or a window, unless I was in some sort of a pit. A nauseated feeling clenched around my insides, but I forced myself to move.

  “Hello!” I cried anxiously, hoping that someone would hear me, and although I had no idea where I was, or who would come to my aid I knew that just the mere presence of another living being would be comforting, in some strange way. But what if…no, no, no, I could not allow myself to panic. Just stay positive Arabella, I encouraged myself, because I knew the moment I lost heart, I might as well kiss my backside goodbye.

  As time slowly ticked by I started to feel a sense of normality return. The hazy fog that wrapped around my mind and limbs started to subside slowly and soon enough I managed to open my eyes. Although things around me were still very blurry the room started taking shape. On the far left was a single bed, a basin to the right and a toilet, very similar to that of a prison cell. I kept hunting through the recesses of my mind to figure out what happened, but I came up blank. The locator spell, that’s what I was doing before I lost consciousness, I must have been trying to locate something of relevance, but what was it?

  The sound of footsteps drew my attention as they got closer and closer, but my sense of relief was short lived. My good old friend panic reared its ugly head. Whoever locked me away in this cell was definitely not friend, but most likely foe, and I clearly had something they wanted.

  The door glided open and my heartbeat drummed loudly in my ears. Immediately, I backed away from the door and stood with my palms turned upwards, ready to call on the four elements to ward myself against the impending threat.

  Two larger than life men stepped into the cell, both wearing some sort of a uniform. And the deadpan look on their faces, made the hairs on my neck stand up. With my trembling heart I focused on the two men and willed the power of the elements to ward them off, but to my surprise the warm glow of magic dissipated like a candle lit in a drafty room. What the hell?!

  “You’re magic won’t work here,” the taller one of the two said as if he could read my mind and reached for me, but I jumped back and flattened myself against the wall.

  “Where am I and who are you?” I asked them raising my fists to shield myself, ready to strike if I had to, and by the look on their faces, I was not intimidating them at all. In fact, it looked like they found me more amusing than frightening.

  The other, slightly shorter one, although not by much, chuckled and casually stepped forward, and as I punched towards his face, he gripped my wrist firmly in his hand.

  “Come now, you don’t actually think you’ll be able to fight us, do you?” he said mockingly.

  He was right. Damn! They were way taller than I was, and much bigger and without my magic I stood no chance, I was going to have to be crafty and play by their rules if I was going to see another sunrise. Feigning defeat I lowered my other hand and the tall one locked his big monstrous hand around my upper arm.

  “If you don’t struggle you won’t get hurt,” he said as they lead me out of the cell into a long dim lit passage.

  “Just tell me what’s going on.” I asked them, but neither bothered to answer me, they simply hustled me along.

  As we walked along the corridor, there were other cells, similar to the one I woke up in, if only I had the ability to see beyond those walls now, maybe that would give me an indication of where I was and what I was doing here. But no matter what angle I tried, I was powerless.

  We turned left and then right until we reached another set of doors, one of the men pressed his palm on the biometric scanner and the doors swished open. Half expecting them to chaperone me into the room, they remained outside, simply shoving me forward and then the doors closed.

  The interior of this room was so much different than the corridors beyond the large doors. To my left was a large indoor terrarium that contained plants, which, to the best of my knowledge, became extinct long before the fall of man. I was very tempted to study them, but too scared to make any sudden moves. I simply stood in one spot and glanced around the room, feeling like a bird, trapped in a cage.

  “Arabella Autumn, I wish we were meeting under different circumstances,” a deep timbered voice said from the far corner of the room.

  “I am Major Edmund Bernhard.”

  Startled, I looked in the direction of the disembodied voice, and even though my nerves were shot and my brain misfiring horribly, I managed to keep my composure.

  “W-well, so do I, what do you want with me?” I asked bitingly, “and why does my magic not work in this place?”

  “In due time all will be revealed, I just wanted to take this time to introduce myself to you.”

  A broad shouldered man, dressed in uniform similar to the other two men, stepped out of the shadowed corner of the room. From the amount of medals pinned to his shirt’s breast pocket he must have been higher up in rank.

  Although I felt intimidated, a strange, completely opposite sensation slowly unravelled in me. I tried
not to stare, and instead looked at everything except the man before me, but even that failed since my eyes kept darting back to him. His chocolate brown hair was short with fine golden streaks on each side of his head. His eyes were large and slightly slanted and thick dark lashes framed his intense amber eyes. The colour of his eyes reminded me of an orange moon, ominous yet beautiful, and in all my life, I cannot recall seeing such eyes. Everything about him was a tad overwhelming, not only did he have near perfect facial features; the rest of him was also rather distracting. He stood tall and proud, with his shoulders drawn back and by his posture, and the way his arms angled away from his body, it was obvious that he had physical strength as much as an air of aristocracy.

  “Focus Arabella!” I reprimanded myself, shaking my head mentally. I squared my shoulders and point blankly said, “Cut the crap, and tell me what’s going on.”

  Chapter 2

  Edmund

  For a witch that reeked of sulphur, she had real attitude. If I was in her shoes, I would tread carefully. She didn’t even attempt to avert her eyes when I looked straight at her. She just stood there, defiantly staring at me with lips sealed in a tight line. I’m sure she was expecting some sort of an apology from me. Or at the very least, an explanation. Nonetheless, I needed her. From across my desk I studied her and couldn’t help but wonder what secrets where hidden behind those dauntingly violet eyes, not to mention underneath those dreary layers of black cloth and filth.

  The world outside of these walls was a barren wasteland. All that was left of the once beautiful planet after the decimation of mankind was nothing but cesspools. The chance of survival for anything other than an immortal being was slim, even for a witch. Their magic can only take them so far, and without the essence of earth their power soon dissipates. Every immortal knew that there were only a handful of witches left that remained true to the Coven of the Labyrinth, and so they have become the most wanted individuals on the planet.