Chapter 4
He opened the door for me after knocking me backwards with a kiss I was not expecting and I just about swooned.
Swooned!
Me!
Can you believe that?
Because I can’t. I didn’t think I would be swooning at forty-two. But sure enough, he made me do it. And yeah, that expression that talks about swaying on your feet and feeling the ground move?
That was me.
I could have been bowled over with a feather.
That’s how amazed I was.
I followed him in, taking in the coziness of it, something else that threw me for a loop.
He was very much a homebody, and the fact that he was allowing a stranger into his home had me questioning not just his sanity, but mine.
“Did you pack everything in your car?”
“Just the things I needed. I had my friend take care of the rest.” I twisted my lip as I stood by his couch, my hands twisting before me. “I wasn’t sure…,” I started, then stopped and cleared my throat. “I wouldn’t know…” Once more I trailed off and he smiled.
“You didn’t know what would happen and I don’t blame you, Janelle.
” He sat on the arm of the couch and waved me over, to which I followed.
“The truth of the matter is that I wasn’t sure what I wanted either, or what I expected.
I thought I would run for the hills the first time you stepped in here, but honestly, I’m enjoying you being in my space, and that’s very abnormal. I also don’t have people in here.”
“Are you sure it’s okay, Christian? I can leave.”
“We discussed this. You have nowhere else to go. I do have to admit; you’re one brave woman.”
“And why is that?”
“Because it takes a strong woman to pack everything up and head to some place unknown.”
I couldn’t deny that. It was me being strong, but it was also me being stupid. Because he could be a killer for all I knew. He could have lied on his profile and lured me here and no one would have known.
“You’re cute,” he said, and it snapped me out of my dark thoughts.
“I’m not.”
“Yes, because your face just showed everything you were thinking. Your thoughts got all twisted and ugly and it showed. My friend knows we’ve been talking and that you might be coming. I’ll send him a text to let him know you’re here, if that would help your feelings.”
It was such a simple but thoughtful act, so I nodded. I wasn’t fully sure that I needed it, actually, but I felt like it might help him too.
He pulled out his phone and shot off a text then grabbed my hips and pulled me close. I grabbed his shoulders, locking my gaze with his.
“We have one more problem to talk about.”
“Which is what, Mr. Big and Bad mountain man?”
“I only have one room, so I only have one bed. Now, I can sleep on the couch-“
I quickly shook my head, cutting him off. I would never put him out like that. This was my deal, I did this, so I could sleep on the couch.
“You didn’t let me finish, Janelle. My mom taught me better; I would never have you sleep there. So, since we can’t come to a better conclusion, we can share the bed.”
A big gust of wind swept over the cabin, and I felt a shiver race over me. Although if it was from the wind, or the thought of sleeping next to this man, I wasn’t sure.
Maybe it was both.
And I wasn’t an old hag, and I certainly wasn’t a virgin.
But I was still struggling with this man wanting me in that regard.
Even with his hands moving over my hips and sides the way they were, I was still struggling.
Although, he was making it very convincing.
And by rights, we were due to be getting married, because I was a mail order bride.
So, yes, we could easily share a bed.
I wanted to share a bed.
And I couldn’t believe how badly my body wanted it, in fact.
“Let’s share one.”
“Pillow wall?”
I slowly shook my head because there was a thrill of being held in his arms all night long and I didn’t want to risk that.
“Just you and me, clothing optional,” I told him, making him chuckle.
“Careful on what you wish, it could happen.”
I wouldn’t even express how much I was hoping he would be game.
I grabbed her bag and led her back to the room, showing her the bathroom.
“Take as much time as you need. I’ll go grab the stuff from your car,” I told her. She spun around in the bathroom and shook her head.
“Oh, no, I can get that. You don’t need to trouble yourself.”
I leaned forward and pressed my lips against hers again. I enjoyed her kisses far too much and I knew that if I stayed in this bathroom, or even in the room, I would be far too tempted to storm into the shower and join her. And she wasn’t ready for that.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure I was ready for that.
I could lay in bed, I could hold her, kiss her, tempt her, but that’s about where it stopped. Because underneath that big ol’ facade she had, I could tell she was scared. And I would never want to put more fear into her if I could avoid it.
“I got it, Babygirl. Go relax in the tub. I’ll be back in a minute.”
She smiled, that blush back on her cheeks and I was determined to see how far it spread while I kissed every inch of these delicious curves.
She closed the door and I took a deep breath before making my way out to her car. The wind had picked up for sure, which wasn’t unusual, but I hadn’t seen anything about a storm coming in.
I frowned as I fought my way to the car, carefully opening the door because it was small and no doubt these gusts would whip it right off the hinge.
With a grunt, I grabbed what I could and loaded them in the cabin, then went out to grab the rest, knowing that if the wind kept up, we could be in for a big storm.
I locked up the house once I was in, then got some hot water going, figuring she’d like some tea before bed. Or maybe it would just soothe her enough to help her sleep.
After waiting thirty minutes I walked into the room, saw her in some pjs and had to smile. She was sitting on the bed, putting some lotion on.
“I made some tea,” I told her, setting it down on the nightstand.
“Thanks,” she mumbled. “Are you tired?”
“I am, are you?”
“Yeah.” She took some sips of the tea before crawling into bed. I went to the restroom, getting myself ready and then climbed into bed, facing her.
“This is new.”
“For me too,” I told her, wrapping my arm around her and pulling her close. “But it’s the start of many more.”
I felt her breath flutter across my chest and closed my eyes, following her into dreamland.
I awoke the next morning, feeling more refreshed than I thought I would. She rolled over onto her other side, and I slipped out of bed, still hearing the wind. I peeked out my window, seeing the way the trees were bending and figured that it couldn’t be good.
Getting dressed in some sweats and a shirt, I walked out to the living room and opened the door, not surprised to see that my driveway had massive trees down on it, blocking any outgoing or incoming traffic.
“Oh no,” she whispered from behind me. “Is that normal?”
“Not really. But we got some unexpected wind. In fact, it wasn’t on the forecast at all. Thank goodness we don’t have too many hikers right now or the calls would be going crazy.”
“Will we be okay for a few days?”
“Of course. I can’t lift those out or I would do it. But everyone would know about the trees being down and getting people out. If not, I can let someone know. Don’t worry,” I told her, wrapping my arm around her. “You’re safe.”
“What do you do when you’re stuck in the cabin?”
“Well, when I’m alone, I watch tv or read. Nothing big. It’s not a scary place. Sometimes I’ll just sit on my back porch and watch the world around me.”
She looked at me and lifted a brow.
“And now? Today?”
I let my eyes trail over her slowly, enjoying the view before me and smirked.
“I could think of a few things I could do with your curves over the next few days.”