Chapter 6
Ava
Kade cradles me in his arms, holding me tight.
“I don’t want to escape. This is just perfect,” I tell him.
“It’s been a while since I was with someone.
I’m not usually a jump into bed on the first date, or…
” I gesture around the room, “whatever we want to call this type of person. Usually, it’s at least two glasses of wine and dinner,” I tease.
He smirks. “I’m flattered,” he says, removing the condom. “Why don’t we finish putting things away, grab a pizza and a glass of wine, and then we’ll get a good night’s sleep. I’ll take you around the lake tomorrow.”
I glance at him doubtfully. “Baby, it’s cold outside.”
Kade laughs. “Quit pouting. I’ll put you in the front of the snowmobile by the motor, and I’ll be right behind you. I’ll keep you warm, I promise.”
I can’t help but smile. “Well, then I’ll make you a pizza and even warm your bed tonight. I mean, if you want,” I say, my cheeks heating with embarrassment at how forward I just sounded. “That didn’t really come out the way I intended.”
He draws me in for another kiss. “No? It sounded perfect to me.” He helps me up and grabs his t-shirt, pulling it over my head and down the length of my body after wiping us both with my panties.
The shirt covers my ass and floats at the tops of my thighs.
“That will do for a while,” he says, pulling on his pants as I head for the bathroom.
“Let me freshen up and I’ll pop a pizza in the oven,” I call back, walking into the modest bathroom with a small glass surround shower, a white porcelain toilet, and sink.
Spotlessly clean but otherwise a no frills set up.
I find some towels and washcloths under the sink, but the water runs so cold it almost feels like ice.
“Is it normal for the water to be as cold as it is outside?” I call.
Kade laughs from the other room. “It’ll take a while for everything to warm up. I’ll bring you some warm water.”
He arrives a few minutes later carrying a pitcher of water and puts the drain plug in the sink.
“Microwaves have to be one of the best inventions,” he says, dumping it unceremoniously into the sink.
“That’ll have to do for now. The living area is warming up pretty nicely, and the rest will start warming up soon. ”
I wash up and hear the door open and close several times, and when I reach the living room, he’s stacking a load of firewood beside the fireplace. “I’ll bring some into the kitchen in a minute.”
My eyes narrow as I walk into the kitchen, expecting to see a fireplace of some sort instead of the wood burning stove.
I sense him behind me. “We’re cooking the pizza on this?”
Kade laughs. “I’ll cook and get the wine open. You pour and supervise.”
“My hero. Why don’t I get the rest of this stuff put away?
I’m pretty sure I can manage that and once you show me how to use the stove, I’ll be fine.
” I rummage through things to get a bottle of wine from the bags of stuff he brought in, hoping he remembered a corkscrew.
I take stock of the kitchen cabinets while Kade opens the wine.
“You really think mafia used to run up here and hide?”
He smiles. “I know they did.”
“Well, it’s a good thing they left it intact for us. Are there secret panels in floors and stuff?” I ask, scanning the old wood paneling on the kitchen walls.
“I can’t give all their secrets away, now, can I?” he tells me, smiling as I roll my eyes at him and pour each of us a healthy glass of wine. “Cheers. Thank you for saving me, and for such a nice evening. It’s something I’ll never forget.”
He clinks glasses with me. “I’ll toast to that because I’m not about to let you forget. I told you, there’s no escaping now.”
I give him a bright smile while butterflies dance around in my stomach, making me giddy before I’ve barely had a sip of wine. “Good,” I tell him, as he stokes up the wood burning stove and gets the pizza out and ready, while I find the ingredients to toss a salad.
“You’re from Chicago?” I ask, taking a sip of my wine as the pizza cooks and I plate up the salad.
He nods. “I am, but haven’t lived there for a long time. I have an apartment and just found a job. That’s about as far as I’ve gotten though.” He picks up a piece of bubbly, cheesy pizza and turns the pointy side to me. “Eat, you’ll need your energy if you’re going to keep my bed warm.”
My cheeks flush with embarrassment. “That was pretty forward of me, wasn’t it?”
“I like a woman who knows what she wants, especially if it’s me, in my bed.”
I take another bite of the pizza he holds out for me before he puts a slice on my plate.
The cabin warms as the fire crackles in the kitchen and the living room. “You think we’ll get a lot of snow tonight? It doesn’t look like it’s going to stop any time soon.”
He grins. “I hope not. The trails will be nice to ride on tomorrow, and when it’s snowing like this it’s not frigidly cold either.”
We finish dinner and another glass of wine in relaxed silence, just soaking up the ambiance and the newness of what we’ve shared. I push my glass in front of me and yawn. “I’m kind of a light- weight when it comes to alcohol. Two drinks and I’m in the bag.”
Kade smiles, walks over to me and picks me up just like in the movies, carries me to his bed, and sits me on it.
He lifts my shirt off and removes his own clothes.
“No clothes in my bed, that’s one of the many rules you’ll need to learn if you’re going to keep my bed warm,” he says, sliding in next to me and pulling me close.
“Oh, yeah?” I ask sleepily. “And what are the other rules? Do you have cuffs, and all kinds of other toys, too?”
“All of that and more. Now, sleep, it’s been a long day and I plan to wake you up early.”
I nuzzle into his chest, dozing as he strokes along the length of my neck and shoulder.
“I promise,” is the last thing I remember as I drift into a dream-filled sleep.
My brother is fighting off another gang with automatic rifles, and bullets ricochet through the doors and windows of our house, leaving what’s left of our family home in ruin.
Kade runs into the war-torn house and grabs me, takes me to safety in his car and then instead of starting the car, he turns his gun on me.
“Now, your brother will do whatever the fuck we tell him to.”
I scream at the top of my lungs hoping someone will hear, someone will help me, but no one can hear me and my voice is getting so hoarse.
A hand on my shoulder pulls me from the depths of my nightmare. “Ava, wake up, baby.”