by Sable Hunter
Crack! Boom!
Glory screamed when she heard one of the big oaks bowing to the force of the storm. All she could do was offer up a prayer as she jumped toward the door, trying to dodge the falling beam as a whole tree struck the room and the cabin began to cave in around her.
Across the way…
T-Rex sat on the covered front deck of his home, watching the storm come in. The weather report had warned the tropical gale might make landfall east of Grand Isle, which would put it right on top of where he was sitting. At first, the weather forecasters projected it would turn west and aim for the Texas coast, but a wall of high pressure had forced it to turn north and now they were expected to get a wall of water and winds near hurricane strength.
Normally, T enjoyed storms. He found their power fascinating. Today, however, he couldn’t get one little slip of a woman off his mind. If she was in that decrepit shack, she wasn’t safe. Maybe she’d had enough sense and foresight to take shelter in the bait shop or anywhere else. Next to his chair, Buford whined. “She’s not our responsibility, boy. We don’t need to get involved with her. There’s no future in it.”
T tried to put Glory out of his mind. Instead, he reflected on the job he was working on. This storm wouldn’t be kind to the people of the Isle of Jean Paul. With the Corp of Engineers, it was T’s mission to help save the wetlands of Louisiana. He and Revel had been assigned a project to study the impact of the flow of the Mississippi and the Atchafalaya on the wetlands. Hurricanes, climate change, and just plain ole erosion through lack of soil renewal and shifting silt due to dredging was eating away a football field of land per hour from the Louisiana coast. The water was literally rising and consuming the land.
Leaning back, he balanced the chair on its two rear legs. Sometimes when he thought of the task at hand, it felt like he was the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dyke. But they had to do something. He wasn’t alone. Revel and all the resources of the Corp were fighting to come up with answers to a problem that had taken generations to come to a head and would certainly not be solved overnight.
Not finding an answer to the problem wasn’t an option. The wetlands were the first line of defense against the encroaching ocean and the people of the Isle of Jean Paul were some of the first recognizable victims of climate change. The peninsula that constituted their home, used to be eleven miles long and five miles wide. At present, the visible land had shrunk to two miles long and a half mile wide. A government grant would allow the Corp to move them, but the people, understandably, were reluctant to leave their homes.
CRACK! BOOM!
T-Rex sat up and stared out into the darkness. Whatever tree had fallen; it had gone down with a bang. Keeping his eyes focused on the chaos in front of him, T let his mind wander as it had when he’d been a boy. Nights like this, when people’s attention was captured by things beyond their control, the Rougaroux would roam. All his life, T had felt a kinship with the monster. Hell, when he was small, he’d put out food for it. He’d been fascinated by tales of the creature who haunted the swamps and lowlands of Louisiana. Some considered it to be a werewolf, the loup garou. Others thought it was a person cursed by witchcraft, doomed to roam the earth as something other than a man. Still others thought a person could be so evil that their rage could transform them into a monster.
T jerked forward, a chill running down his spine.
This later explanation hit T-Rex hard. If there ever was a monster, it wasn’t the Rougaroux, it was Rex Beaumont, Sr. and T did not intend to follow any farther in his father’s footsteps than he already had.
Out in the storm…
Glory stood huddled in the shadows, drenched, and clinging to a tree. Her eyes were glued on the figure of the man who’d demanded she keep her distance from him. She shivered, her clothes ripped and torn from running through the underbrush to come near T’s home. Only yesterday, she’d discovered where he lived, coming upon his house when she’d been gathering firewood, thinking she would need it for the winter months to come. Now, she didn’t know what she should do. The cabin was badly damaged and Glory was lurking outside the home of a man who probably wouldn’t roll out the red carpet to welcome her.
Still…what choice did she have? She was too far from the bait shop to make it safely during the onslaught of the storm.
A flash of lightning followed by a tremendous volley of thunder made up Glory’s mind. She turned loose of the tree and ran toward the light, hoping she wouldn’t be turned away.
Woof! Woof!
“What are you yammering about, Buford? You’ve seen storms before.” T picked up his glass of sweet tea and drained it. He’d had to scoot his chair back next to the wall, farther under the eaves to keep from getting soaked by the slanting deluge. Even after T’s admonishment, Buford didn’t hush. He kept on, barking like he was heralding the second coming.
Realizing, his dog was serious. T stood, walking out to the rail, even though in doing so he exposed himself to the full force of the storm. Focusing his eyes to peer into the darkness, T tried to determine what his dog was so upset about.
And then his eyes caught a movement.
At first he thought he was seeing things. Could it be? “Goddammit!” Glory Bee Hudson was out in this hell, running through the rain…straight to him.
Between Buford’s barking and the crash of lightning, his cursing and calling was lost on the wind. “What in Sam-hell are you doing out in this storm? Are you crazy?”
Seeing her coming, he ran back into his house and found a big beach towel, returning just in time to wrap it around her and get her inside.
“Thank you, thank you,” she panted. “I’m sorry to barge in on you this way.”
“I just bet you are,” he grumbled. “To what do I owe this unexpected invasion?”
Glory trembled. His voice was angry, but his hands were gentle as he dried her off. Every time she reached to take the towel from him, he ignored her and continued to stroke her body. “I’m sorry, T,” she repeated. “My house blew down. Flat.”
“Fuck!” T exploded. “You could’ve been killed.”
Yes, she’d thought about that. Perhaps she ought to be more upset. After all, she was now homeless. But having been through so much in her life, this didn’t seem so bad. “I’m puddling on the floor,” she apologized. “Could I borrow a shirt?”
“Shit.” T sighed. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Keep me?” she suggested hopefully with a teasing lilt to her voice.
T whirled around, needing to put his eyes somewhere besides on her body. The white T-shirt she wore was soaked and almost see-through.
And she wasn’t wearing a bra.
Lord have mercy! The woman was killing him.
“Follow me. We’ll get you something dry to wear and then you’re out of here the moment the rain stops.”
Glory followed him meekly.
“Did you hear me?” he asked loudly when she didn’t say anything back.
“The governor in Baton Rouge can hear you.” She placed a hand on Buford’s head as he stuck closely to her. “Don’t worry, T-Rex. I won’t attack you or anything.” Glory smiled, liking the way his LSU lounge pants clung to his fine ass. “I might try to seduce you. Do you think I have a chance?”
“Stop it.” T grated the words out. “I’ll allow you in my home for a spell, but you have to behave!”
“I’ll try,” she agreed. “I can’t help it because you’re all kinds of sexy.” Entering his bedroom, Glory looked all around, trying to read the room to learn more about the man. No photos. No personal effects. Rex Allen Beaumont Jr. either had something to hide or something he wanted to forget.
No matter. She loved a good mystery.
“God, you’re neat.” Everything was lined up alphabetically and by size, from his books, to his movies, to his shoes in the closet.
“Yes, I am. I like for things to be neat. So, don’t move anything. Don’t touch anything. Just leave everything alon
e,” T instructed as he dug in his drawer, throwing shorts and shirts to the left and right. What he needed to find was a burka, something that would cover this woman from the tip of her nose to those cute pink-tipped toes.
“To be so persnickety, you sure are making a mess.” Glory grabbed a garment from the floor where he’d tossed it. “This looks like it’ll work, T-Rex,” she said as she darted into his bathroom.
T ran a frustrated hand through his hair, then began to put his clothes back in order. Order made him feel more in control. And this woman was definitely messing with his control. “The shower takes a few minutes to warm up!” he called loudly.
He heard the water running, then an audible gasp.
“I told you the water takes a bit to get hot!” he yelled even louder.
“I need a cold shower!” she hollered back, her voice sounding as if her teeth were chattering. “You excite me, you know.”
“Hell and damnation,” T groaned. “What in the fuck did I do to deserve this?” He couldn’t find the will to move, and when she came out he groaned. His Save the Wetlands T-shirt had never looked so good. “God Almighty,” he moaned. “Kill me now.”
“Nope, I want you alive and healthy.” She gave him a sexy wink. “I have plans for you.” When he just stood there giving her the evil eye, she pranced by him, pinching his tummy on the way. “I’m hungry, T. Will you feed me?”
“To the alligators.” T fell in behind her as easily as if she was leading him on a leash. His eyes were fixed on her rounded behind, mesmerized by the way the globes of her tush took turns for a prominent position – each pass promising untold delights. He was so focused, when she stopped and turned to face him, he barreled right into her.
“Whoa!” Instead of protesting, she wrapped herself around him like a clinging vine. “You didn’t mean that; I know you didn’t. I forgot something the other day.” Going on tiptoe, she pulled his head down to hers and kissed him chastely on the lips. “Thank you for saving my life. I don’t know how to repay you.”
When he didn’t immediately push her away, Glory took full advantage, giving him another gentle kiss and a dazzling smile. “But…I’ll try to think of something. If you have any suggestions let me know.”
T-Rex was paralyzed. Flummoxed. Those little pecks she gave him only made him hungry for more. The touch of her lips against his was paradise. The feel of her soft, curvy form pressed against his nearly drove him insane. Every cell in his body ached to yank her close and show her what a real kiss with him was like. Shutting his eyes, he prayed for strength, taking her by the shoulders to hold her in place and stepping back away from temptation. “You can repay me by refraining from throwing yourself at me. I’m immune to your charms.”
Glory didn’t flinch at his rebuke. She’d been analyzing his every expression, his every word for days and she’d made a decision. “Your bark is worse than your bite, Mr. Beaumont. But anytime you’d like to nip some part of me, I’ll welcome the feel of your teeth.”
With that feisty little comeback, she swiveled around and left him standing there with mouth agape and a rock-hard dick.
It took a few seconds to regain his equilibrium, and by that time Glory was in the kitchen. “I bet you’d like something warm and creamy. Wouldn’t you?”
T swallowed, trying not to think about what part of her was warm and creamy. “Glory!” he warned, as he moved toward the kitchen, stopping only long enough to throw her soiled clothes in the washer. A vision of her spread out on his dining table, legs spread, pleasuring herself hit him like a ton of bricks. “What the hell do you think you’re doing in there?”
When he rounded the corner, it was to find her bent over looking in his refrigerator. The shirt she was wearing, his shirt, had risen to mid-thigh, showcasing a wonderland of silky skin and shapely legs. “How about grilled cheese? I’ll fix both of us one, that way we can bond over supper.”
“Bond?” he growled. “I don’t need to be bonding with you. We need to keep this little slumber party short and sweet, with me sleeping in one end of the house and you in the other.”
“Hmmmm, okay,” Glory mused. Now probably wasn’t the best time to tell him that she sleepwalked. Really bad. The tendency came with her condition. When she was younger, her folks had locked her in her room just to keep her from wandering around the house like a ghost. She waved a couple of American cheese slices at him. “You want butter on your sandwich?”
“Yes,” he said grumpily. “I love butter.”
While she set out to prepare them something to eat, he allowed himself to indulge in the sight. Storing up memories. Teasing himself with ‘what if’s’ and ‘could have beens’. This is how it would be if he were different, if he could be trusted with someone so lovely…so precious.
“What time is it?” she asked, at the same moment that a huge crack sounded outside and the room was suddenly plunged into total darkness.
“Dark-thirty,” he muttered. “Great. This is just great.”
“That’s okay. The stove is gas. I can still make the grilled cheese. Do you have any candles?”
“Yea,” answered T, “I’ll get them.”
In no time at all, the room was romantically lit by candlelight, or at least Glory thought so. She was having a blast. Until this unexpected opportunity to spend a bit of time with T-Rex, she hadn’t realized how alone she’d been. It didn’t really matter that he wasn’t gung-ho about her being here, not many people in her life had been thrilled by her presence. She was used to it. In her heart, she just knew if he gave her a chance, they could have a good time together. Glory wasn’t after any more than that – maybe.
Once the food was ready and he’d found them both a cold soda in the fridge, they sat down across the table from one another. “When the electricity goes out in these parts, how long is it before they get it back on, usually?
“Days. Weeks. Depends.”
Glory frowned. “That doesn’t sound good.”
T took a big bite of the sandwich. Damn, it was good. Warm. Buttery. Gooey cheese. He hadn’t realized how hungry he’d become. A whine at his feet reminded him to feed Buford. Laying down his sandwich, he rose and filled the dog’s food bowl from a sack he kept in the bottom of the cabinet. “What are you going to do now? Go back where you came from?”
Glory giggled. “You wish.”
Returning to his seat, T felt a bit of guilt at how he was treating her. “I don’t wish you anything but well, Glory. I’m just not sure you belong in this world.”
Wham. Hit a girl when she’s down. Even though it was too dark for him to see, Glory shrugged. “I don’t really have anywhere else to go.” Taking a deep breath, she made him a promise. “Don’t worry, I have a plan. I’ll be out of here in the morning. Okay?” Hastily trying to cover over the awkward admission, Glory pulled an idea out of the blue. “You want to play a game?”
Taken aback, he stared at her, enjoying the play of candlelight over her pretty features. “I’m not sure I like your games, like those three wishes you gave me the other day. Silly stuff.”
“Not silly,” she countered. “Ill-timed. I’m hoping you’ll save the last two wishes until we’re in bed together.”
T grunted, a warmth climbing up his neck. “Not gonna happen.”
Glory ignored him. “This is different. We have time to kill. If we’re going to be involved, there are things we should learn about one another.”
Slowly, he was beginning to learn that making back at her about the nonsensical remarks she made wasn’t going to do any good. She seemed immune to his nasty disposition. T swallowed and took a drink before he said more. “This isn’t a party, Hudson.” Two or three seconds passed. “What kind of game?”
“Truth or dare.”
“Sounds dangerous.”
“No.” She wiped her fingers on a napkin, then stood to grab him another soda. “It will be fun. I’ll let you go first. Ask me anything you want, then say truth or dare. I’ll either answer or do what you d
are me to.”
“All right.” T finished his sandwich. “How old are you? Are you even legal?”
“Lame, T-Rex.” She picked up his dirty plate and placed it on top of hers. “I’m a woman full-grown. Twenty-two years old. So, you don’t need to worry that you’re breaking any laws.”
“I’ve broken enough to last a lifetime,” he admitted.
She chose to ignore his last statement, wanting to keep things lighthearted. “My turn!” She shifted in the seat, tucking her legs up under her. The candles flickering in the room made her feel adventuresome. “This is fun.”
T groaned. “I’m afraid of what you’re going to ask me. Nothing too personal. Okay?”
“Okay.” She agreed. “Do you want to kiss me?”
“Fuck.” He muttered. “Since I don’t want to hurt your feelings.” And he didn’t want to lie. “Dare.”
“Okay, I dare you to kiss me.”
Her request hit him like a ton of bricks. “I knew this wasn’t a good idea.” He stood to leave.
“Okay, okay,” Glory relented. “Just tell me why you don’t want to kiss me, then I’ll know and we’ll move on.”
T sat back down. “Okay. It’s not you, it’s me.”
Glory busted out laughing. “What a cop out!” She waved her hands. “Good enough. Your turn again.”
“Why won’t you ever take no for an answer?”
Glory considered asking for a dare, but she figured he’d dare her to return to the cabin in the midst of the storm. T was losing his patience with her, she needed to back off a bit. Give him room. Rome wasn’t built in a day. So, she told the truth. “I’ve missed out on a lot in life, due to circumstances beyond my control. Life is short. I made a vow a few years ago to go after what I want.”
“You must not want much if you’re hanging around these parts and chasing after me.”
“That’s debatable. I think this is an amazing place and you’re an incredible man.”
T-Rex didn’t know what to do with Glory’s forthrightness, all he did know was that he couldn’t give her what she wanted.