by Conn, Claudy
“Very funny. I think I can handle it. Bet I’m even better than you, Ms. Ice Queen.”
“Oh cute! You have come up with a name for me, Mr. Original. But, we shall see. If you have a problem, though, call me. Not only have I had years of experience in the winters here, but my Volvo XC70 has front and rear skid pads and hill-descent control.”
“Now who is talking like a commercial?”
Their business luncheon with their boss had gone from bad to worse that afternoon too, ignited, no doubt, by that exchange. He made her inner brat come out, and there were times she annoyed herself. No more name calling, she promised herself, immediately rolling her eyes at the lie. It had become a disease. She blamed him. He brought out the worst in her in more ways than one.
Rachael looked back into her car. Yes, she was a single woman, at twenty-seven years of age, and drove a wagon, but she thought the Volvo sleek and sturdy. Practical to a fault, the space in it let her carry endless samples from companies, and all the presentation boards and stuff she needed for work. It wasn’t a bad car. Built like a tank. It made her feel protected, and that made it all worth it.
She spotted his reverse lights on as she backed up behind his car and pulled out of the parking lot first. A mature, confident woman on the outside, but inside she let her child play when it came to prevailing over him in any situation.
Chapter Two
Blizzard Like Conditions Cause Traffic Chaos
In her rearview mirror, Rachael saw Aaron’s new car slide a little to the left when he pulled onto the road. He had easily regained control, no doubt the car. Some part of her suddenly felt sorry for him, remembering her first time driving in the snow. It had been scary, but she’d practiced in a parking lot having gotten stuck at school during a big storm. There had been moments of sliding that she’d contemplated spending the night in her car. Had to be hard for a blow-hard like himself to feel real fear.
“Get a grip there, Mr. I Can Drive Better Than You In The Snow. Show me how well you can dent up your shiny, new car.” And, already, there is another name. You made it a whole few minutes there, Mrs. Mature. She sighed audibly.
She didn’t wish him any harm, just humiliation. Yeah, humility on the man would be really hot. Her body hummed just thinking about it. She imagined how it would feel to rub in how bad his winter driving skills were, while rubbing up against him. Now, that is just wrong on so many levels. Focus! It’s cold, but you don’t need him to heat yourself up. You can always watch one of the holiday movies with a sexy hunk in it, and then sit on Santa’s lap in your mind, big, glass dildo in hand.
With the rest of her night mentally planned, Rachael glanced back at his car once more through her rearview mirror. She knew he would follow her until the city roads gave way to more rural ones. So, she gripped her wheel and intended to show off her bad weather driving skills. By the time they were a few feet from his turn off, the usual twenty minute drive had taken them fifty minutes. She rolled her neck after she brought her car to a slow stop.
Easing her foot off the gas as the light turned green, Rachael had barely moved the car a few inches before she heard tires spinning in the snow. The idiot coming toward her slid his car into hers. The sides of the two vehicles hit, metal shrieking as they rubbed together. She braced herself, feeling her car being pushed toward the ditch. There was no recovering from the push, no way to turn the wheel in the direction of the slide or any other trick to get her car to stop now. The front of her car crunched against a tree, sending her body against the steering wheel and then back against the seat with a breath-stealing thud. A branch from the tree broke through her window just before the airbag deployed in what she thought might have been a defective tad too late. She’d felt the rush of cold air at the same time she’d felt something hit and scrape the side of her head, then she’d face planted into the pillow full of air.
When everything came to an eerily silent stop, her face felt like someone had hit her with a rubber ball and she felt a sharp pain at the side of her forehead. Instinctively she put her hand up to the worst of it, and met with warm blood. In response to the of-course-this-would-happen-to-me twist of fate, Rachael sighed in righteous indignation, and thumped a fisted hand into the air bag, now just a useless object in her way.
“Rach! Rach!” The voice cut through the pulse thumping against her skull, echoing the hand pounding on her door. “Rach, unlock the door!”
Without looking, she fumbled for the button, sucking in a deep breath at the sound of the mechanism popping, seemingly louder than normal. This time a gust of cold air rushed through the car as Aaron yanked the door open, stealing the breath from her lungs again.
“Rach, are you okay?”
“Yeah, the other guy?”
“Asshole bounced off you, slid back and forth a little, regained control, and continued on down the road. Come on, let’s get you out of the car. Mine is still in the middle of the road. If it doesn’t get hit too, we can get back into it.” His smile appeared hard, forced, setting the lines of his mouth at an odd angle.
Her nod caused fresh waves of pain to ripple through her skull.
“God, you’re bleeding!”
“Not so loud, please. I’m fine.”
“Branch or glass?”
Rachael just looked at him, one eyebrow up.
“Sorry, stupid question. Doesn’t really matter at this point does it?”
He swiped at the blood running from her brow with his bare hand. Daring in this day and age. Color her impressed. A real go-getter when it came to rescues too, apparently. Given his timing in getting to her, he hadn’t hesitated a second before coming to help her. Once he got her out of her seat, she found her body tucked against his warmth. His jacket open, she’d slipped right inside it with him. It appeared he’d made sure of it. She’d go with calling it the sweet gesture of a hero, maybe even grant him a smile, if she could open her eyes all the way and not see spots. A blip of reality set in, or just maybe a moment of her usually clarity, and Rachael had to fight the pure instinct to push away. Regardless of his intent, she was in no shape to show her independence, and this frustrated her at the moment more than the state of her car or her body. Why couldn’t a cute stranger rescue me? You know, that sexy guy in a Santa suit, for real! On the other hand, Aaron touching me... No, I can’t go there, and yes, it’s problematic on so many levels.
A string of ripe names crossed her mind for the hit and run moron as Aaron’s grip tightened around her. She moaned inwardly as his hands grasped her body, squeezing her against him, and pressing a few of his knuckles against the side of her breasts, already squashed against his chest. Seriously, she would have taken anyone but him as her hero: her mom, who would have lectured her endlessly for not heeding the weather report, her BFF, who would scold her for putting work above everything, including her safety, thus sanity, even the bookworm-slash-video-game-geek she had gone out with last weekend would be better than her current knight in shining armor. And why? If she were honest with herself, because she seemed to like it all too much, and she hated herself for that. Get it together!
At this moment, reality dawning seemed more than over-rated. Rachael didn’t want him in hers. She didn’t need to start seeing Mr. I’ve Got You here to show up as one of her erotic fantasy heroes. Not again. Not if she could help it. That’s what movie stars were for. Even in her dreams, it was dangerous for her and Aaron to be alone, let alone touch. Although Rachael was sure his body, the solid mass moving along the left side of hers at the current moment, would be a good show, it could never happen. Nope, not ever, not if they were stuck together in darkness, freezing to death, under great duress or threat of death. Their feet slipped then, and he pulled her against him so that her side pressed against his entire package. All right, maybe she would consider it if they were dying, or just slightly in danger. See, this whole situation is bad, bad, bad! I can’t want him. Not now. Not ever. I hit my head. That’s all this is. A momentary lapse. She felt better for a
whole two seconds before her brain started raging at her again, moving about in each and every direction of thought, from those mean and nasty to those erotic and disturbing.
“Go slow. This is so—“ Her butt hitting the ground and his body hitting hers cut off her words. As her vision started going from seeing spots to fading to black, the last thought that passed through her head concerned the fact she had only Mr. Carolina to save her. It’s slippery out here, and he is going to drive! Hell has indeed frozen over.
***
The next thing she knew, she heard Aaron whispering her name. “Rach, please wake up.”
Opening her eyes a little, his face came into focus just inches from hers. “It’s Rachael,” she hissed softly, not sure why it suddenly mattered so much. Lots of people in her life called her Rach. For them, it was a term of endearment, a friendly pet name. On his lips, she had no idea what it meant, but she went to the place of being leery of it anyway. “Where are we?”
“My house. I got you into the car, and since my place was less than a mile away, I brought you here.”
His place! Oh, like hell buddy. You act nice, give me a nickname, rescue me and take me to your place! No way! Her head throbbed trying to figure out his angle. I’m not buying the sudden good Samaritan act, Mr. I’m Sexy Even With Snow In My Hair! Sexier. Damn it all. “Take me home,” she grunted.
“You can’t be serious. You live another ten minutes from here, and who knows how long that would take in this storm. The radio says they are calling out the National Guards to help stranded motorists. I’m not going back out there. The National Guard, seriously?”
“It happens here in this kind of weather. The Guard helps when all the others are already busy.”
“I know how it works. I just didn’t think it would get that bad.”
“I can’t stay here.”
“Why the hell not?” His raised voice rattled her skull.
“Wh…I just can’t. This storm is supposed to continue on all weekend.” Rachael’s pitch had increased to match his, slicing through her head. Thoughts flooded her mind and panic set in as her situation started to become clearer. Her work for the restaurant project had been left in her car. She was going to be stuck here, at his place, until the snow let up and the proposal was due. Her life was going to hell in a handbasket thanks to some damn snow. Prior to this moment, Rachael had loved the white stuff. She was going to be alone with him. Not just alone, but stranded. To think she had been excited about the first snow coming just hours ago. “I have work to do. You know that!” She glared at him as much as she could muster.
“You can stay, and you are. Forget work. You were in an accident, and I’m not risking either of our lives so you can get your work and get home. Now, let’s get you out of the car.” His tone commanding; a harsh vibration edged his deep, and extremely loud, words. He’d never spoken to her like that before. Who the hell did Mr. Dictator think he was, her boss, her father, her Master? Master! Ugh! Rachael quickly stifled the urge to hit herself in the forehead.
He came around to her side of the car, and started reaching in to help her out.
She was fuming by that time. Forgetting work was easy for him to say. He had his stuff. “Get back in the damn car and take me home. You have your work, so sure, you don’t care if I’m stuck here without mine. How lucky for you that…that car hit me! Now that account is automatically yours.” She’d opened her eyes all the way to make her point, and her vision was paying the price. Things were blurring together. As she closed her eyes, her head fell back against the seat. “Ouch!”
“You can’t be serious. Even you are not this much of a bitch. I will cut you some slack due to the fact you are hurt.” Rachael felt his large hands on her cheeks first. “This is not about work, but our safety. You can have the account. It’s yours. I’m not going back out there. And, you are coming in and getting that cut on your head looked at. By me! So get over it, Lady.” He slid his hands under her neck and legs, and lifted her out of the seat like a wounded child. One who weighed nothing, mind you. The heat of that fact swirled in her tight stomach, pulsed lower. Shit, my toes curled.
She grabbed for something to steady herself, but got only his coat.
“I have you.”
“I can manage,” Rachael hissed quietly.
“No, you can’t.” His voice softened, as did his stance. She was now nestled in his strong arms. “Some head injury you must have there. You are being more of a problem than usual, and I don’t think you have come up with a new name for me since you were hit. I think I miss them.”
Rachael had an overwhelming urge to cry, but mentally threatened to cause her eyes physical damage if they shed one tear in his presence.
The next thing she knew, he’d started walking and her head banged his chest; another thump against a rock hard surface. Her world went black. For a few scary moments, as he moved them through the house, she couldn’t see her surroundings, though, she could smell, hear, and even taste the metallic tang of her own blood in her mouth.
She’d become a damsel in distress in Mr. Carolina’s arms. His nice act had even spawned guilt she would regret when he started showing his true colors again. Her biggest rival served now as her rescuer, and Rachael was having a difficult time even contemplating the possibilities of this impending disaster. Words. She wanted witty words to throw at him, an ingenious name or two to call him if he liked them so much. Her only defense mechanism against the rush of feelings that clashed inside her in his presence silenced, she panicked even more. Instead of resisting, or coming back to her usual self, her body hung like ten-year-old tinsel over the firm branches of an evergreen tree. He was supposed to be wrapped in a bow in front of the damn thing! I was supposed to be the one in control. Tying him up in tinsel, tight, crossed her tired and confused mind.
Them alone in a house, his house, giving him the home court advantage on top of her being hurt, sent warning signals off all over her body. Danger lurked, unwavering, if the man continued to insist on being nice to her. It seemed her body was not out of it enough to avoid noticing the strength of the arms holding her. The promise of vitality and warmth, of him giving her tender loving care, crashed through her like a tidal wave. All she could do was pray there would be survivors.
Chapter Three
Epic Winter Storm Makes Heroes Of Many
After being jostled around as they made their way through his house, her body welcomed being placed on a soft surface. Daring to open her eyes again, Rachael only saw his face, right above hers. His eyes were big, and he held his mouth in a tight grimace.
“Anything besides your head and attitude hurt?”
“Cute. No.” Cute. Yes! It was just her dumb luck that worshipping her hero here could jeopardize her job. Making out with a co-worker was never a good move. Multiply the odds of something bad coming from the kissing and touching by ten when the employees getting it on were rivals, competing for the same accounts to keep their roofs over their heads. Don’t do anything stupid, she warned her anatomy, closing her eyes tightly.
“You okay? Something hurt? Shit, did I hurt you carrying you in here and setting you down. I tried to be gentle,” he said in a rush of words, deep and gruff but laced with a slight edge of fear.
Opening her eyes a little, she felt the need to relieve him, at least for now. “I’m fine. Thank you. You were quite the gentleman.”
“I can be when given half a chance. I’m glad you are okay. Stay here.” He moved, a graceful side step, one that would be killer on a dance floor, then came back and gently placed what looked like a hand-knitted throw over her.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” Her thoughts had just slipped out of her mouth before her brain had caught up to censor them. Her pot of gold seemed to be filled to the brim with conflicting affections. Lucky me. Cue heavy sigh of self-pity. My leprechaun looking more like a hunk should be a good thing.
“Why wouldn’t I be? Believe it or not, outside of our battles at work, I’
m a real guy. I’d like to think a nice one, mostly, if you ever took the time to find out. Here, so things feel a bit more normal, how about I tell you that once I get the fire started, so I don’t freeze my balls off. I will go grab a towel and some water and stuff so I can fix your stupid head before you bleed all over my carpet. Does that sound more in keeping with the asshole you expect me to be?”
“I guess.” Rachael was different outside of work, had a whole personality, in fact, that she never shared with him. It only made sense he would too, even though the idea of it hit her like a ton of bricks. She didn’t want to get to know that him, especially when they were all alone like this. It would compromise her competitive edge, to see him as human instead of a thing to beat, like an opponent in a boxing match, their jabs being words, their winnings work projects. She decided, then and there, on being cautiously gracious. With the pain and the blood and all, she needed his help whether she wanted it or not. So, she couldn’t continue to be mean, though that would take some doing given it had become rather automatic when it came to him no matter what she was thinking. Her mouth had been on fight or flight, well more just fight, for months now.
Her sad reality now remained that no one else was coming to her rescue. And, he seemed to be more than willing to take care of her. She wanted to damn him and thank him all at once, the circular thoughts only adding to her headache. As the adrenaline from the crash stopped pumping, that nauseated feeling, the fatigue, seemed to give into a new sort of stress, one built of lust, tainted by ego. Regardless, she wasn’t a bitch with anyone but him, and she owed him some modicum of decency for doing all he had already since the crash.