by S. K. Yule
He was such an asshole. He was probably scaring the living hel out of her. She was out here alone, blind, and abandoned by her dumbass boyfriends with a stranger. Boyfriends. That word again. But this time, that simple word made his blood boil with jealousy. His claws threatened to pop through the ends of his fingers, but he shoved the wolf back. It was the first time since he was a young pup that he could remember nearly losing control to his wolf.
“I didn’t mean to frighten you. It’s just been a long drive, and it’s extremely cold.”
“Oh my. I’m sorry. Would you like some coffee?”
“If it wouldn’t be a bother.” He wasn’t cold. He ran several degrees hotter than a human, but he wasn’t going to explain that to her. Besides, a hot cup of coffee sounded like heaven at the moment.
The drive had taken twice as long and had been helish even in Baby. He was doubting that Baby would get him back home, as the storm had continued to rage on, not letting up for a second. He shook his head. Who the hel did he think he was kidding? He wasn’t going to leave her alone now anyway. She was his mate, and whether he decided to act upon that or not, he’d protect her with his life.
Leaving her stranded in the middle of nowhere was inviting danger.
“I’l find the panel now and get the generator going.”
“Thank you.”
He found the panel down the halway and flipped the switch over so he could start up the generator.
When he made his way back to the kitchen, he stopped and watched her, admiring the way she deftly put on a pot of coffee without so much as spiling a drop. Her blindness might be a handicap in certain situations, but he could see that she was more than capable of taking care of herself.
He cleared his throat. “I’l be back in a couple of minutes.”
He went outside, around the house, and breathed a sigh of relief when the generator kicked in on the second pul of the rope. Most of the places up here had the same type of generator as this one because they were vacation homes and not often visited in the wintertime. At his place, he had a self-contained unit that was hard wired into his house. When the power went out, it automaticaly kicked in. He didn’t have to do anything other than keep it ful of gas and do regular maintenance.
He usualy lived up here year round, though. With the electricity being iffy at best during the winter, the generator he’d instaled had been wel worth the time and money for the convenience.
He squeezed his eyes shut. Why in the hel did he have to meet Georgia now? Why couldn’t he have met her before? Before Connie. Before al the others.
He laughed. What made him think she’d be any different in the long run? Don’t be an idiot. Georgia is nothing like Connie.
But was that reasoning because it was the actual truth, or because he wanted it to be the truth? Was there a woman out there that could spend a lifetime with a man with scars such as his? There had to be, but he hadn’t met one yet. Maybe you just did.
Yeah. And maybe you’re a blind idiot. He sucked in a sharp breath. Suddenly, under the current circumstances, that analogy seemed degrading.
True, blind idiot was a simple saying he’d used for years. He’d never actualy been suggesting that al blind people were idiots. But somehow, now that saying seemed derogatory. If anyone said that in front of him, in front of Georgia, he’d take offense to it.
Funny how one didn’t realize something that was said out of habit, no matter how harmless the intention was, could be hurtful to others until the truth smacked you right in the face.
He was puled from his daunting thoughts by a loud crack behind him. The heavy snowfal was beginning to take its tol on the trees. He had a feeling it might be taking a tol on the roof as wel. His roof had been reinforced to withstand such conditions, but again, his house wasn’t the norm for up here. He noticed a smal shed about twenty feet away and found a snow shovel inside.
There was a ladder as wel, and he carried it to the side of the house before propping it against the cedar siding. Luckily, the pitch on the roof wasn’t too steep to impair his job, but had a good enough angle to alow the snow to slide off and onto the ground with some gentle nudging. After he got the majority of the weight off the roof, he put the ladder and shovel back in the shed and headed inside.
Chapter Six
Georgia was sitting in the living room floor putting a new bandage on Lucy’s paw when her visitor came back. She had to ask him his name so she could stop referring to him as her visitor in her mind.
“I pushed the snow off the roof after I started the generator. You should be good to go now.”
“Thank you. How long do you think the power wil be out?” How the hell long do you think I’ll be stranded here? was what she realy wanted to ask, but he wouldn’t know that so why bother?
“Power is unpredictable in a storm like this. Could be a few hours, could be days.”
“I thought it was supposed to be sunny and clear this week.”
“It was.”
She jumped when the man’s voice came from close beside her. How did he get so close without her hearing him? “Can I ask your name?”
“Yes. I should have introduced myself. I’m Kish.
Kish Frahm.”
Her stomach knotted. That was the name of the man from her dreams. Not only did he smel like her dream man, now he had the same name. Only a coincidence, Georgia. A strange, eerie one, but nevertheless, a coincidence.
She swalowed past the lump in her throat. “That’s a nice name.”
“Who’s this little lady?” Kish’s hand brushed hers when he patted Lucy.
“This is Lucy. She stepped on a piece of broken glass earlier. That’s why I didn’t end up going to town with Henry and Joey.”
Kish went silent for a few minutes before asking, “Can I help?”
“I would appreciate that.”
She pet Lucy while Kish worked on her paw.
“Henry and Joey your boyfriends?” His voice was low.
If she wasn’t mistaken, he sounded a bit agitated.
He couldn’t be upset with Lucy because she was being a perfect angel. Maybe he didn’t like animals.
Or maybe . . .
“Did Henry or Joey do something that upset you?”
“No. Why would you ask that?”
She shrugged. “I pick up things in people’s voices that aren’t as easily recognizable to others.”
“Ah. Yes. I’ve heard that when one of your senses is gone, the others compensate for the loss.”
She smiled. “Something like that. Yes.”
“There. Lucy is al bandaged. The cut isn’t al that deep, by the way. I think she’l be fine by morning.”
“Great. I hate to think she’s in too much pain because of my clumsiness.”
“Your clumsiness?” he asked.
“Yes. I’m the one who knocked Joey’s cup off the counter and broke it. Then almost tripped over Lucy.
She was scrambling to keep from causing me to fal when she cut herself.”
“Hmm. I don’t picture you as being clumsy. Could it be that Joey put his cup where it didn’t belong?”
Kish was astute. She liked that in a man. She shrugged then started to stand when a big hand caught her by the wrist and gently tugged her upward.
Her skin tingled. He was warm and she had the sudden urge to touch him. She eased her hands toward him, but stopped before she touched his chest.
“May I touch you?” she asked.
“Yes,” he finaly answered after a few silent moments.
Her fingers traveled over the smooth fabric covering his chest, and just like in her dream, he was big. His shoulders were wide, and every muscle was defined as if chiseled from stone. She let her fingers glide over the tops of his shoulders and to the thick column of his throat, but before she could reach his face, he stiffened under her touch. Déjà vu tickled her brain again when he circled her wrists with his hands, effectively stopping her progress.
The déjà vu continue
d when she felt the rougher skin of his right hand, and she sucked in a smal gasp.
“Did I hurt you?”
The concern in his voice was evident to her ears.
“No. I-I think I might have had some weird psychic vision or something is al.”
Oh. Was that al? A psychic vision? Good Lord.
He must think she was a freak show or something for that statement.
“What makes you say that?”
He said it in a way that made her feel as if he knew exactly what made her say that, which added more strangeness to the situation.
“I think I dreamed of you last night.”
“I think I’m flattered.”
“You are?” she said.
She couldn’t imagine a man such as he would be flattered that she’d dreamed about him. After al, her little sneak peek of him with her fingers told her that he was one hel of a yummy man, and she, after al, was nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, she probably was a bit too curvy for a man like him. If the rest of his body matched his chest and shoulders—and she’d bet it did—she doubted he had trouble getting whatever woman he wanted. That included the tal, thin, model types who ate a grape for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
She was not that type of girl. She liked her sweets and a juicy steak now and then. She didn’t go crazy with food, but she didn’t deprive herself. When she was depressed or sad—which wasn’t often—she wasn’t opposed to putting a candy bar or two down to soothe her nerves. She had nothing against tal, thin women. She simply would never be one.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be flattered by a beautiful woman dreaming of me?”
Heat rushed to her cheeks. She was blushing like a schoolgirl talking to her crush. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d blushed, and he made her do so with ease. She had to fight back a nervous giggle. Jeez. Cool the hormones already.
“Thank you. You aren’t bad yourself.”
He snorted.
“What?”
“I don’t think you can make that type of judgment with the information you have.”
“I have enough.” She grinned at his playful banter.
Yet her stomach knotted and a whip of flame shot low and settled in her bely. Something in his voice drew her to him, something she couldn’t quite place.
“How is it that your boyfriends left you stranded up here al alone?”
His finger slid under her chin and tilted it up as if she could look into his face. This was one of those instances when she yearned for her vision.
“They aren’t my boyfriends. They are my best friends. In fact, they are boyfriends.”
This was the second time he’d referred to Henry and Joey as her boyfriends. If she was naive, she’d swear he sounded jealous. But why would he be? He had only just met her. He wouldn’t care if she had a boyfriend or not.
“Then there won’t be a problem if I do this.”
Or would he?
He cupped her neck and started puling her slowly to him. He was going to kiss her. She was going to let him. Hel, she wanted him to, but before his lips could touch hers, a loud crash ripped a screech from her throat.
“What was that?” she asked.
“Not sure. I’l go check.”
She paced until he returned a few moments later.
“Wel?”
“A tree fel from the weight of the snow, which by itself wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”
“But?”
“It fel on your generator. It’s toast. Worse. Part of it fel on your roof and ripped a hole in it.”
She’d been so frightened by the commotion, she hadn’t noticed the fridge had gone silent again.
Seemed a lot of things were going unnoticed by her since she’d met Kish.
“Oh no. What am I going to do now?”
“The only thing you can do. Get your things together and I’l take you to my place.”
“I can’t. If Henry and Joey show up and I’m not here, they’l be sick with worry.”
“They aren’t showing up anytime soon. If this snow doesn’t let up, I’d be wiling to bet it wil be at least three days before you see your friends again.”
“They must be going nuts. I haven’t been able to get a signal on my cel to cal them.”
“Look, you can leave them a note. I have a landline at my house. Unless the phone lines are down, you can cal them from there. If they don’t answer, we can try the grocery store where I saw them.”
The thought of making sure Henry and Joey were okay was appealing. Being in a warm, dry house with someone who was wiling to help her instead of being alone was also appealing.
“Do you have food?”
He chuckled. “Lots of it.”
“How can I turn an offer like that down?”
“You can’t. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Um. No.” She shook her head. “I can get my things packed, but would you mind carrying them out for me?”
“Not at al.”
She bent and patted Lucy, who was trembling. She had been shaken up from the faling tree as wel. “I’m sorry, Lucy. You’re going to have to get your foot wet again.”
“No, she won’t. I’l carry her to Baby.”
“Baby?”
“My truck.”
“Oh. I see,” she said, tamping down the sudden urge to giggle.
“Don’t judge a man by his fondness for his truck.
She’s special.”
“I’d never do such a thing.” She fought the smile back that tugged at the corner of her lips. “I’l be back in a couple minutes.”
“Take your time.”
Lucy folowed her to her room and waited while she packed. She barely got into the living room when Kish took her bag from her. She jumped, startled by his closeness. “How do you keep sneaking up on me like that? No one has ever been able to do that.”
“I’m talented that way,” he said.
“Mm hm.” She suspected he was talented in other ways too.
For crying out loud. She was lusting after him again. What was wrong with her? What’s wrong with me? How about I haven’t been with a man for ages, and suddenly, I’m stuck in the woods, alone with a freaking GQ model. Can you say horny? Yep. That was playing it smart. Getting hot under the colar for a strange man in the middle of nowhere instead of being on guard like most normal women would be under the same circumstances.
Other than the first initial reservations she’d had about trusting him when he’d first shown up—of which reservations had quickly melted away—she found that she was comfortable with Kish. It felt as if she’d known him for years. But again, maybe her attraction to him was causing her to turn a blind eye to the situation. Heh. Blind eye. Nice one, Georgia.
“Wait here while I take your bag out.”
“Lucy’s bag of food is by the door too.”
“Got it.”
She found a piece of paper and pencil in the coffee table drawer and scribbled a note to Henry and Joey.
Just as she placed the note on the kitchen counter, an engine roared to life. Must be Kish firing up Baby.
She smiled again. Baby. Men and their vehicles.
Within moments, Kish was back.
“Wil Lucy be okay with me carrying her to the truck?” Kish asked.
“Yes.”
Georgia bent down to pat Lucy. “Lucy, let Kish help you out to the truck. I’l be right behind you.”
“I’ve got you, girl.”
Georgia got on her coat and zipped it up then fished a glove from each pocket and put them on.
She folowed Kish outside and puled the door shut behind her.
“Wait on the porch.”
“But—”
“I’l take Lucy to the truck and I’l be back to help you. The snow is over three feet deep. It wil be hard for someone of your size to maneuver around in it.”
“Someone of my size?”
“Yes. Petite.”
Petite? She’d never had a m
an cal her that before.
Actualy, if she thought about it, not many men had paid her compliments at al because most men avoided dating a blind girl like the plague. And petite was a compliment to her. She liked it, and she liked the way Kish made her feel. Good grief, Georgia.
He’s only being nice. It isn’t as if he’s trying to hop into the sack with you.
She nearly groaned at that image. She could only imagine how wonderful it would be to run her fingers over his hard muscles without anything between them.
Skin to skin. Suddenly, she didn’t think it was so cold outside. In fact, she was about to start fanning herself when Kish made it back to her.
She squeaked when he scooped her up. “I can walk.”
“If I let you down, I might never find you again in al this snow.”
Was it realy worth complaining about? No.
Instead, she linked her fingers behind his neck and enjoyed the rock hard warmth of his body pressed against her. He carried her as if she weighed nothing.
He wasn’t even winded. Dayam. He must be in serious shape. Yeah. And wouldn’t you love to feel that shape for yourself? Why, yes. Yes, I would.
That’s when she noticed he didn’t have a coat on.
“Where in the world is your coat?”
He cleared his throat. “It got wet when I was working on the generator and shoveling the snow off the roof.”
“Oh. Aren’t you cold?”
“Do I feel cold?”
“No. I guess not.” She frowned.
“Don’t worry about me. I promise you, I’m fine.”
Oh he definitely was fine, al right. She inwardly roled her eyes. She thought only men needed cold showers, but she was thinking she’d need one soon.
He helped her into the truck and fastened her seatbelt for her before getting in on the driver’s side.
“It’s going to be a bit of a bumpy ride, but don’t worry, Baby can handle it,” he said.
“O-okay.”
He chuckled. “Just warning you so you don’t get caught off guard.”
“Thanks for the warning, Kish. I think,” she muttered.
He put Baby in gear and began the drive back to his place.
