We made our way in silence across the runway. We parted ways as we approached the limo that was parked and waiting. James and his co-pilot bid their goodbyes and ran off in the direction of an open hangar while Dana and I loaded into the limo. It wasn’t the one I was used to but was a weather-equipped Hummer style limo that could get us through the storm.
Once the door of the limo closed, I sighed and sunk into the cool leather. I was so glad to be back safely on the ground.
The reality of our situation began to sink in. We were some place far from home and both had busy lives and responsibilities to attend to. I knew that I probably should have called home to check on Olivia, but I was going to put that off for as long as possible.
Instead, I began to busy myself with finding a hotel for us to stay for the night. It had been a very long day and I was beyond ready to get some shut eye. I pulled out my phone and called my assistant. I told her where we were and that we needed a place to stay for the night. I hung up, sat back, and closed my eyes.
I could hear Dana on the phone with her parents. Her voice was light and airy. She made it sound like our landing was like winning the lottery or something.
Her voice took on a softer quality when she asked, “Can I speak to Scott?”
Once he came to the phone, her voice dripped with maternal love. It was like each syllable was a warm hug that she passed through the phone. When she hung up, her entire demeanor fell. Just then, my phone began to ring. It was my assistant.
“Talk to me,” I said.
“Okay, so I checked everywhere in town and even on the outskirts of town. Every hotel is booked due to the storm. Apparently, it derailed a lot of traffic that would usually keep on going on the highway, but people had to get off the road and find a place to stay and ride out the storm. Normally, it’s a quiet town, but not this week.”
“Lucky me,” I sighed, getting an unfavorable response to my earlier question about whether things could get worse. They could, and they were.
“But,” continued my assistant, “there is one room available. It’s a quaint cabin in the woods, called Stay Inn. It’s owned by a local couple who turned their home into a resort-like property for people who enjoy traveling to remote locations to ski, hunt, and fish. It seems like it would be right up your alley.”
Even though it was much like a place that I would have hand selected for a getaway, I was largely uninterested in the festivities and activities. All I cared about was getting somewhere where I could recharge my battery and get onto my meeting.
“Go ahead and book it,” I told her.
“Done,” she responded, half a second later. I gave our driver the address and he tapped it into the GPS.
Once that was taken care of, I made the dreaded call to the nanny to let her know what had happened. She sounded very stressed, like she was mentally and physically exhausted. Her report about Olivia’s further behavior after leaving the school explained it. It turned out that, not surprisingly, not much had changed and Olivia was still being more than a handful.
She asked me if I wanted to speak to Olivia. It was less asking and more begging. She wanted me to say something that would tame the beast that was my daughter. Unfortunately, I had no such words. I quickly rushed her off the phone, promising to call back before bed time. Maybe I’d feel better once we got to where we were going.
I broke the news to Dana about the cabin, in case she hadn’t overheard the conversation. She nodded slowly, like she was processing everything. I could only imagine how she must feel. This was her first day on the job and the plane all but fell out of the sky. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had quit. Disappointed, but not surprised.
I could see the worry etched on her face and could feel the nervous tension in the air as we drove on the dark road, passing endless rows of fir trees.
The cabin came up on our right so fast that Ron, our driver, slammed on the brakes, put the limo in reverse, and backed up. He had a hard time maneuvering the long, luxury vehicle into the narrow driveway, but somehow, he did.
When we got out, a cheerful woman with curly brown hair came running out to meet us, as well as she could run through the snow, while wearing fur boots and a long winter coat. It was more like clomping through the snow. She greeted us like we were long lost friends, not complete strangers lost and in need of shelter.
“You must be the Roberts,” she said, but before I had time to correct her, she just kept talking. “Welcome to Stay Inn. Come in, come in!” She clutched Dana and me by the hand before we had a chance to object.
We walked through a solid, oak wood doorway and stood in a foyer with high, vaulted ceilings. The candles scattered along the walls and on tables gave the home a very charming look and feel. It was bigger than I’d expected, but it really reminded me of the many luxury cabins that I’d visited with my family.
Dana gasped as we entered, impressed by the beauty of the inn. Under normal circumstances, it looked like a fun and romantic place to visit.
“This is my husband, Tom,” said the woman, presenting a man that had an impressively imposing frame, a slightly round, friendly face, but very few words. He nodded hello to us and shuffled off.
“I’m Maggie,” announced our hostess. “Let me show you to your room. And I’m sure you’re hungry, so I’m going to fix you a nice, hot meal.”
It was at that moment that I was truly grateful to have ended up in this sweet cabin in the middle of nowhere. I might be stranded in the mountains in a fucking blizzard, but at least I was getting a hot meal. And, as I caught a glimpse of Dana’s cute ass as she wandered around in front of me looking around the cabin, some great company, too.
Chapter 6 – Dana
The steaming pile of roast beef with potatoes and vegetables that had been brought to our room smelled absolutely divine. I took a huge whiff, savoring the smell before diving in. I felt like I was in heaven with the first bite. It was seasoned to perfection.
With all the working that I’d been doing lately, I couldn’t remember the last time that I’d had a home cooked meal. I was incredibly grateful and told Maggie as much when she came around to collect our plate, which we’d all but licked clean.
“Thank you for the delicious meal and your warm hospitality,” Kurt said, almost voicing my thoughts exactly. “You have to let me pay you extra. And I’ll even go out and hunt and fish tomorrow to replace what we eat.”
I looked at him, thinking he must be joking, but his face registered no sarcasm. It appeared he was completely serious.
Waving him off, Maggie said, “You’ll do no such thing. I am happy to do it, especially for such a lovely couple as yourself.”
I shifted uneasily at the second reference made to Kurt and I being a couple. He didn’t correct her, and I wasn’t about to, either. Kurt just thanked her and started unpacking his suitcase. I hadn’t brought one because the plan had been for a quick flight. I thought that I’d be home in time to put on my pajamas and fall asleep in my own bed. Obviously, that wasn’t happening now.
“I see you didn’t bring in a bag, dear,” Maggie said. “Can I bring you some clean clothes? I have some that will probably do. They might be a little big, but they are clean.”
I graciously thanked her again and watched as she scurried out of the room.
“You can take the bed,” Kurt said. “I’ll sleep in this recliner, if that’s okay.” I hadn’t thought about our sleeping arrangement. He had already done a lot by making sure that we were comfortable and safe. I felt bad at the thought of me sleeping in the plush, giant bed while he sat up in a chair, especially after the long, stressful day that we’d had. And I told him as much.
“I can’t think of anything better than you being able to get a good night’s rest. Especially after all you’ve endured on your first day working for me,” he insisted. “I am really embarrassed, and I will make sure that you are fully compensated for the inconvenience.”
I could tell that he was used to throwing mone
y at his problems. When you had as much as he did, though, it was understandable. His words were soft and soothing, drawing a slight smile to the corners of my mouth. What he called an embarrassing inconvenience was turning out to be more like a relaxing vacation. I almost felt guilty for enjoying it so much, especially since it meant that I would be away from Scott longer than I’d expected.
Maggie returned with an armful of clothes, told us to come get her if we needed anything, and wished us a good night. As I started sorting through the clothes to find something that I could fashion into nighttime clothes, Kurt picked up the phone next to the bed and dialed. I heard him speaking with his nanny and, after a few minutes, he asked to speak to his daughter.
The fatherly warmth seeping from him was endearing. It sounded like she hadn’t been on her best behavior, so he scolded her for it. But his scolding sounded more like joking banter between the two. It was amazing to hear their easy conversation, ending with him commanding respect lovingly, telling her how much he loved her and wishing her to have the sweetest dreams. I was more and more intrigued by this man.
“So, you hunt and fish?” I asked him, curious about this multibillionaire turned outdoorsman. He didn’t seem like the type to be into any outdoor activities. It seemed like something that he’d pay someone to do, even while on vacation.
“Yeah,” he answered. “I have since I was a young boy. It was what my father and I would do together. He would take me on these spontaneous hunting and fishing trips and wouldn’t tell anyone that we were leaving or where we were going. We would just fall completely off the radar and be one with nature. He taught me how to survive on those trips, how to live off the land. I grew up very wealthy, so that was his way of helping me to understand the value of our plush lifestyle while building character on our trips. I got good at it and grew to love it. I would take our family on hunting and fishing trips, too. Well, before…”
His voice trailed off and he got a sad, faraway look in his eyes. I couldn’t help but wonder why.
Turning his back to me, he unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it aside, revealing the most chiseled muscular back and shoulders that I’d ever seen in person. I hadn’t expected that.
He looked even better in person than he had looked in my fantasy I’d had about him playing with my pussy. Remembering our imaginary foreplay made heat begin rising from my loins. I knew that I was going to need a long, cool shower to extinguish the excitement that was welling up inside me all over again.
He turned slightly towards me and I could see a tattoo on his chest, which surprised me. A bad boy billionaire who liked to hunt and fish? This man was full of surprises.
I wondered if he was married. I saw a wife in many of the pictures that I’d found when I Googled him, but I hadn’t heard him speak of a wife or have any loving conversations on the phone like a man would have with his wife. I heard him talking to his nanny and his daughter, but that was it.
I concluded that his wife must not be around. Or maybe that was just my own wishful thinking. I almost felt bad for being happy at the thought of him being single, but I felt even worse at the thought of his little girl not having her mother in the picture. Every little girl needed her mommy.
I became more curious to find out his story. But I couldn’t help but remain very turned on, wishing he would take me right here, right now in this cabin we’d ended up stranded in together. I knew it was wrong to even think like that about my boss, but so many crazy things had happened today that us getting together didn’t even seem as if it was outside the realm of possibility.
Maybe stranger things have happened in a secluded cabin in the woods. Maybe, I thought, as I felt my pussy dripping wet for him, something could happen between him and me on this unexpected trip.
Chapter 7 – Kurt
“Your wife must be very understanding of your busy travel schedule,” said Dana.
My cheeks reddened but I tried to ignore it, hoping she didn’t notice how uncomfortable I felt. It was never easy having a conversation about my ex, especially with virtual strangers. But, there was something about Dana that made me want to open up.
“My wife and I are no longer together.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
It was Dana’s turn to be embarrassed. She quickly turned her back to me and began busying herself with the heap of clothes that she’d discarded onto the bed.
“It’s okay. It was hard at first, but we are adapting. You know better than anyone what it’s like to have to adapt to less-than-favorable circumstances. Losing your husband and then raising a kid on your own can’t be easy for you, either.”
She nodded, not saying anything. I could tell it wasn’t really what she wanted to be talking about right now, so I didn’t press it. Her focus seemed to be on me. I felt flattered that she seemed so attentive. We sat in silence for a moment, a knowing comradery passing between us.
“And it doesn’t help that you have a boss who almost gets you killed on your first day,” I finally chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. She winced and then tried to force a laugh, letting me know that my bleak attempt at humor hadn’t gone over so well.
We sat and talked for what seemed like hours about everything: our lives before, our lives now, our families, our careers. And I couldn’t keep myself from staring at her pretty mouth while she talked. The way her breasts heaved up and down when she laughed made me start to get excited. She had an amazing laugh.
We both jumped when there came a light knock on the door.
“Hey, it’s Maggie. I have some desert for you.” I opened the door and saw Maggie standing there with two plates of warm apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream that was already starting to melt. I thankfully grabbed the plates and handed one to Dana.
“Thank you,” Dana told Maggie, and I echoed her.
“You kids have fun,” Maggie said, before nodding and leaving us again.
I chuckled at her reference to us as kids. Dana was clearly younger than me but neither of us were kids. I liked Maggie’s youthful spirit though, so in a way, it did feel like we were all younger than we probably were.
It was the best apple pie that I’d ever eaten. Dana said the same thing. It was the perfect ending to the night. I was starting to enjoy myself so much, I’d almost forgotten the circumstances which led up to our being here.
All of a sudden, it dawned on me. This was the first time in a long time that I had had a real conversation with a woman. Usually, I didn’t do this much talking with women who I planned on sleeping with. I thought that the less talking, the better. It would just give them the wrong idea when I wasn’t one for commitment or anything more than a casual hookup.
But, Dana was different. She was interesting. She made me want to know everything about her. And she seemed to be enjoying our conversation, too.
Even though my goal was not to get into Dana’s pants, I had to admit that that would have been nice, too. On top of being interesting, she was incredibly sexy. Every time she brushed her full, blonde hair away from her face, I wanted to reach out and touch her. I could smell her womanly scent fill the room and it was mesmerizing.
But, I reminded myself I couldn’t. She was my employee, and she had just started. Plus, there was something about her that made my cock so fucking hard and my stomach tie itself into knots. I just knew that if I gave in and claimed her, that I would want to own her, possess her, dominate her.
After she’d finished eating, I could tell that she was starting to get sleepy. She climbed into the huge bed and buried herself in the white, fluffy comforter, looking like a caterpillar in a cocoon.
“You know, this place is so beautiful. And romantic. It seems like the perfect place to get away for a couple. Which, apparently, Maggie thinks that we are.”
“Yeah. And I noticed that you didn’t correct her.”
Very true,” was all that I said. Then, I added, “You didn’t correct her, either.”
She smiled at me and we both laughed. I knew we were r
ather shamelessly flirting, and I liked it. I told myself I’d just tease her a bit. It didn’t have to mean anything.
We shared another silent moment, staring at each other. I wondered if she was having the same thoughts that I was.
“I feel bad about the pilot staying back at the airport. I know that he was already mentally exhausted from the day. He would have appreciated being able to rest in an amazing place like this.”
“And what? We were all going to pile into this bed together?” I joked. “James and me and you?”
She laughed, and I realized she hadn’t even flinched at my suggestion that any of us would lie down in the bed together.
“Well, it certainly is big enough.” She laughed again. Her eyes were so warm and inviting. She was picking up on all my signals and throwing them right back at me.
“Don’t worry about James,” I told her. “He wanted to stay back to make sure that everything got taken care of. I know that this wasn’t his fault, but I think that he feels responsible somehow. He wants to make sure that the plane gets fixed so that we don’t have to wait around and can leave as soon as possible. As soon as the weather gets better. I know it’s almost Christmas and you want to get back to see your son.”
Dana nodded slowly as if she understood.
“I’m sorry if I’m talking your ear off. I know that you must be tired,” she told me. “I just love to talk, especially with someone as interesting and easy to talk to as you are. Honestly, it’s just now dawning on me how little I actually share about my life. I have been so busy working and trying to hold it together or everyone else, I hadn’t realized how much pent up frustration I had been holding in.”
“No worries. I enjoy talking to you, too. And I really don’t share a whole lot about my life, either,” I told her. I couldn’t believe I was being so honest and open with her. But I couldn’t seem to stop myself. “When you are responsible for keeping a large corporation running, the only thing that anyone really cares about is you not letting your personal life get in the way of business. And I’ve gotten really good at doing that.”
Out of Line: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance Page 96