Chapter Five
Maggie
Well being awake is a good sign or maybe not since he’s scoping the room out.
When his hand touched mine a spark shot through me, like a static sharp sting, and it startled me. How can my body have such a response to a stranger? He shouldn’t have this kind of effect on me. Not after what I saw those hands do tonight. He’s a killer, but I still feel… something.
I exit the room and walk toward the kitchen. I need a drink.
“You always feed strangers you find bleeding in the woods?”
I turn toward his voice, meeting his dark eyes sitting on the couch watching with a cocky little smirk on his face.
“Only the half-dead ones.” I let out a nervous laugh while I pour myself a glass of wine.
His mouth twitches, creating a faint smile.
Glancing away, my eyes land on Brutus, who sits beside me, alert but relaxed.
However, he continues to watch the man since he’s still a threat in our home.
The stranger moves stiffly, pain visible in every line of him, but even injured, he shows such a high resistance and strength.
He picks up one of the knives I left on the end table a couple days ago, and starts running it through the sharpening block.
I catch myself watching how his jaw tightens, and the way his eyes are so focused on the blade.
There’s something raw and dangerous that hides inside him but he keeps it under control.
“ Can I ask why you have a knife in your living room?”
“You should rest,” I say softly. “You lost a lot of blood. Whatever you need to finish out there…” I point over my shoulder toward the door. “Can wait until you can stand without falling over.”
His eyes meet mine. “Some things don’t wait and answer the damn question. Why do you have knives in your living room with a sharpening block?”
A shiver runs down my spine, yet I hold his gaze. “Well Mr. Nosey ass.” I shrug, keeping my gaze steady. “I live alone on a mountain. A woman has to be prepared.” I snap.
He sits there still sharpening the knife but his eyes are glued on me like he is trying to figure me out.
He can study me all he wants. He has no clue this home is fully loaded in hidden spaces.
There is one pistol hidden in one of the rocks, my panty drawer, a taser, bear spray hidden in my bathroom in an old body spray bottle, and so many more things along this cabin.
I might be little but my pawpaw taught me well how to keep myself safe.
I walk back to the living room taking a sip of wine taking a seat on the edge of the fireplace.
For a few seconds, the only sounds are the fire popping in the fireplace and the wind crackling against the cabin walls.
The storm outside worsens and the snow covers the pines like a blanket from the window as I watch it.
He sets the knife back on the block and leans back on the couch, eyes drifting toward the window.
I look at him, giving him a soft smile, letting myself linger on for a moment.
He might be this big, dark, burly man, but I can also see the tenderness too.
He could have turned that knife on me and ended me but he didn’t.
I take another sip of wine watching the large white flakes fall silently from the dark sky and for one moment the chaos outside feels far away.
The fire burns low, and shadows flicker across the walls.
Minutes passed, maybe longer but not for sure I was just enjoying the wind down.
I catch myself glancing back checking on him, his eyes are closed, his chest rises and falls slowly.
I'm just checking on him. The bandage needs to stay clean. Someone needs to ensure he’s not bleeding through again.
That’s all…but I like having someone else here.
I gather the empty dishes and carry them to the sink. The clink of ceramic echoes loud in the quiet cabin. For a moment, I pause at the window, watching the black sky and snow, trying to ease these confused emotions bubbling inside me.
I glance back at him. He’s half-asleep on the couch, shirt lifted giving me a glimpse of how sculpted he is. My eyes wander down a little more. Holy shit. He’s packing. The outline of his cock pushes through his pants. Damn, is it that big half chub? Get your head out of the gutter, Maggie.
I stroll and kneel next to him, taking a look at the bandage. No fresh blood. Not hot to the touch. A sigh of relief escapes.
I grab the edge of the covers and begin pulling it to his chest.
Out of nowhere, his hand shoots out, grabbing mine.
I quickly pull my hand out of his grip, but I don’t feel fear.
I don’t think he will hurt me, it’s just the way my body feels when he touches me is not something I’m used to.
I lick my dry lips and take a step back as he stares up at me. Did he feel something too?
The previous man I let into my life burned me from all of them. Since then, I’ve been cautious, guarded, and defensive. But this dangerous dark stranger has butterflies in my belly.
“I could have hurt you,” he says, running his hand through his hair.
How I wish that was my fingers running through his hair while he eats me like I was his last meal.
I swallow down the lump in my throat. “I’m so sorry to startle you. I was just checking on your wound before I head to bed.
His gaze pins me, unreadable. We’re only a few inches apart, and my pulse skips. A single reach, and my palm could be pressed against those rigid stomach muscles I’ve been trying not to stare at.
“You playing with fire, angel?” His voice drops low, rich and rough enough to make most women flinch, but for me, it sets fire in my veins.
I swallow hard, and my tongue feels very heavy. “ Maybe…I like a little danger.” I admit.
I’m not prepared when he grabs the back of my neck, pressing my face close to his.
His warm breath brushes the side of my cheek, a scent of wood and musk that sends a shiver down my spine.
His lips hover over mine, barely touching, and the heat radiating off him makes my body feel like it’s on fire.
I’m leaning over his body on the couch, every nerve screaming and every thought drowned in the pull between us.
Then slowly he closes the gap, his lips pressing against mine firm and commanding.
At first it was hard, tasting of raw desire and danger.
Then his strong hands roamed down my shoulders, tracing both sides of my body, pulling me closer.
All I could do was release the tension coiling inside me and surrender to his touch.
But I can’t let myself get lost completely. With a shiver, I pull back, pressing a hand against his chest to create a smidge of space.
He tilts his head slightly, eyes dark with amusement, and lets out a low, smirking laugh. “Pulling away already, angel? Or just testing me?”
I flash a wicked smile, “ Maybe I just like to keep you guessing.”
I turn and walk away, I already ache from the warmth of his lips, and the memory of the way his hands glided down my body. My pulse quickens just thinking about having his hands all over me again. Shaken my head I push those thoughts away and make my way to the kitchen to grab the pain medication.
When I come back, I hand him two pills from the bottle, followed by a glass of water. "Here, take these. You need to sleep. These will help you rather than just grinding your teeth all night.”
He looks at the pills as if they’re poison and I can’t help but laugh.
“If I wanted you dead,” I say calmly, “I wouldn’t have bothered stitching you up.”
He lets out a deep chuckle and shakes his head, taking the pills, swallowing them dry, then leans back. His eyes close. “Thanks,” he mumbles.
I nod. “Get some rest.”
Within minutes, the medicine starts to take effect. His body relaxes, and the firm lines on his face soften. Brutus lifts his head once to gaze at him, then settles back by the fire.
I spend more time checking him out. The amber light moves across his face.
Strength lies in him. It’s dark, tightly coiled, and dangerous.
Yet under the flames of the fire, he looks innocent.
I always was fond of the bad boys at school but never acted on it but after enjoying this stranger I think I want more from this villain.
I dismiss the thought, turn off the lamp, and stroll the short hallway to my bedroom. The storm makes the cabin creak, and through the windows, the snow is piling higher outside. This Christmas will be a Winter Wonderland for our small mountain town.
I pull my blanket and slide into my favorite flannel sheets. I lie there tangled in my soft sheets, my mind racing from tonight's events.
There is a killer in my home that I saved.
His eyes held no regret or fear. But underneath all that, warmth, gentleness, and loneliness shines.
It isn't right why I was feeling this tug to him. I can’t stop thinking about our explosive kiss.
His facial features are carved so perfectly, with his high cheek bones, his chiseled jaw, and most of all the sexy chin dimple.
He’s dangerous, but does that matter? I don’t know.
And it doesn’t matter how many times I’ve told myself to stop thinking of this dangerous man inappropriately, my inner cougar doesn’t give a damn.
She thinks that it’s been too damn long since a man has touched me, but I can’t help that most men are shit.
Images of the man on the couch, walking into my room and leaning against the door jam fill my mind. What would he do if he saw me exposed like I am now? Would he turn away and apologize, or would he walk into my space and take me just how I want it?
Slowly, I drift my fingers across my naked torso and dip them under my panties.
I’m soaking wet already at just the thought of being fucked.
The hold this man has on me is not fucking healthy.
But I push those thoughts away and focus on what I want him to do to me instead.
His casual walk would get closer, pushing the boundaries with every step that he took, until he was standing over me.
I imagine him slowly reaching out to wrap his hand around my neck and tightening his grip until my eyes widen.
With his free hand, he follows my movement, sinking his hand into my panties and pushing two digits inside my pussy.
A moan nearly escapes my mouth as I bite back the pleasure from sticking my own fingers inside of me.
The man starts to rub his calloused palm along my clit, and when I do the same, my hips buck off the bed. “That’s right, be a good girl and cum for me.” His raspy voice would whisper close to my ear before he nibbled on my neck and squeezed my throat tighter.
Pleasure erupts behind my eyes as my orgasm rushes to the top, and with one long stroke of my clit, I fall over the edge. My legs are trembling, and my pussy is tightening before I release the breath I’m holding and let out a soft moan.
Pulling my hand from between my legs, I stare up at the ceiling in horror. I just came to the thought of that man doing unthinkable things to me. What the fuck is wrong with me?