A Sanctuary for Elle

by Anna Jane

  Chapter 1

  'Idiot,' Elle muttered as the expensive, sleek sports car whizzed past her sensible ford focus. She was travelling down a winding country road in the heart of North Wales. The bends were harsh and yet foolish drivers like the sports car seemed hell bent on getting there just a little bit faster. Ridiculous men with their fast cars and 'nothing can hurt me' attitude. Well, if he wants to break his neck, so be it, Elle thought to herself.

  Elle's heart caught as the tree laden roads gave way to an expanse of mountainous terrain, so beautiful it made her breath catch. What a wonderful peaceful place this seemed, well except for the idiot drivers driving like sheer maniacs.

  Snowdonia National Park stretched its way through the winding valleys and roads. The journey seemed endless and Elle found herself tired and emitted a huge yawn. It had been a long week. Losing her beloved Grandmother the previous week had been not only heartbreaking but a wake up call for Elle. It was time to stop trotting around the globe in search of something she never seemed to find and to think about her family and becoming settled herself. Something she suddenly felt desperate for.

  Large signs suddenly warned ARAF, SLOW the English version explained. Elle eased the car to a crawl as she saw the temporary traffic lights up ahead. 'Ha,' Elle muttered as she came to a halt behind the very same car which had overtaken her minutes before, 'not so far ahead now, eh?'

  The lights remained red for a long time. A stream of cars came from the other side and then everything went quite and still again. After several minutes the red still had not changed. The lights of the brakes in the sports car ahead suddenly went off and the door opened. A man in a suit eased himself out of the car and pushed his sunglasses onto his head.

  'Oh. My. God,' He was a god. He was beyond a god. Simply gorgeous. Wow. Elle stared at the man as he frowned in the direction of her car than started towards her. Her mouth must have fell open dumbfounded as she suddenly found herself clamping it shut. Pull yourself together, Elle, you've been surrounded by male models for the best part of ten years and here you are gawking at some handsome stranger!

  Squaring her shoulders, Elle prepared herself for the man himself as he approached the car. He reached the window and gestured to her to open it. Elle opened the door as she had a few words for this man/god who stood before her.

  My oh my, the man was even more of a god up close. Classically handsome with dark wavy hair, expensively cut. Eyes so velvet brown that you could drown in their silky depths. A strong straight nose and a healthy natural tan that only a man who spent hours outside could acquire. He spoke and his full, sensual lips aroused her as his words flowed.

  Elle raised her eyes from the man's lips to his eyes and realised he was looking at her as if she was one spanner short of a toolbox. Oops, what had he said?

  'Sorry? I missed what you said'

  'I said, there seems to be a fault with the lights so I'm going to go slowly down past, if you want to follow me down it..' His tone was pleasant and kindly. Elle let go of the desire she was experiencing to give him a few choice words.

  'What on earth do you think you were doing?' Elle began angrily.

  'Excuse me?'

  'I said, what were you doing overtaking me like that?'

  'Overtaking you?'

  'Yes, damn it. Why are you repeating everything I say?! You overtook me, not five minutes ago. On a bend. At speed. I repeat, what on earth do you think you were doing?' Elle's eyes blazed with fury but to her annoyance the man only looked ever so slightly amused by her tirade.

  'Well I seem to have upset you. I have to say, I had no intention of that at all. You were going pretty slowly and I know these roads well. I didn't feel it was a risk.'

  'Not a risk! It was on a bend, on the side of a mountain. We're driving through Snowdonia on winding, wet roads. Not a risk! You need a wake up car mister!'

  Mister! Mark chuckled inwardly knowing that to laugh out loud would only provoke her further. She was really riled up. This beautiful little creature was seriously cross with him and all he could think about was what her lips would taste like. She was the kind of stunning that you only came across in magazines. Long dark hair, expertly styled. Dark eyes with long flowing lashes. Creamy skin, clear and glowing with pink heat in her cheeks. Her mouth, oh god her mouth. It was pert and pouty as she glowered at him, perfectly puckered and ready to be kissed. He found it hard to take his eyes of it.

  Resisting his instinctive urges, Mark lifted his gaze to hers again. 'Consider this 'Mister' well and truly scolded then Miss. I apologise and I will say I will think more carefully before I overtake anyone like that again. Okay?'

  Slightly mollified and ever so slightly wooed by his charming manner Elle uttered 'okay,' in response.

  'So, are we going to drive down past these broken lights then?' At that point he paused and looked to the sky as a strange and eerie creaking noise echoed through the valleys.

  Elle's eyes were already sky bound as the noise she had just heard registered in her ears. 'GET IN MY CAR! NOW! DO IT NOW!' Elle grabbed at his arm, wrenched at his body and yanked him inside, over her body which was sat in the driving seat and over past to land slumped in the passenger seat. Elle grabbed at the door and pulled it just as the world caved in from above. The sound of falling rocks echoed around them in an almighty roar. Loud bangs and crashes pounded at the car, denting the metal and smashing the windscreen as the rocks fell. As the windscreen exploded in on them the man yelled, 'Get in the back! Go!'

  Elle scrambled over the seats into the back, the man followed then huddled into position beside her offering the comfort of another person in a life and death situation. Loud thuds and bangs echoed all around them, heavy stone landed on the metal roof of the car and dented it severely. Elle and Mark cowered as they feared being crushed in the natural disaster. Without realising it, they had attached themselves to one another. Mark's arm held Elle around her back and Elle's hands gripped Mark's waist in a death clasp. She was terrified. Her knuckles white from clenching, her mouth tense and strained as she lived through the ordeal. Desperate for it to end, desperate to survive. Mark was scared too, the pounding of falling rocks above made him fear for their lives. He turned to the woman who was attached to him like a limpet. She was absolutely terrified, could see it in the whites of her eyes. She stared blankly, open mouthed as their only protection caved and bent around them. He had to do something, had to help this distressed woman in some way.

  'HEY! LADY, IT'S OKAY, ITS GOING TO BE OKAY.' Mark had to shout to be heard above the cacophony of sound around them. The woman looked up at him, huge brown eyes swelling with tears and to his horror she burst into huge heaving silent sobs. She didn't wail and cry, she just crumpled into his shoulder and cried quietly, his only clue to her distress, the frequency heaving intakes of breath her crying created.

  Mark was torn. He had known his fair share of crying females but this one upset him. He was scared himself, but how to help this woman from falling apart escaped him.

  One final crash and then the rumbling of rocks abruptly stopped. Elle lifted her face from his shoulder, looked to the car's roof and exhaled. Mark looked down at her and their gazes met. Emotions flooded between their gazes. Hope, it had stopped, fear, they were trapped, astonishment, how had this happened? And then, attraction. It hung in the air around them. Their gaze held and lingered.

  Elle and Mark took stock of their situation. They were stuck. There had been a landslide. She had saved his life. He had saved hers, one crash had been a large rock which had fallen through the open windscreen into the drivers seat. They owed each other. Big time.

  'Are you okay?' Elle looked blankly at the man as he questioned her.

  'Are you okay?' he repeated, reaching
to cup her elbows. The touch jerked Elle out of her stupor.

  'I, uh. What just happened? Are we? Am I? Am I going to die?' Elle choked out on a pitiful sob.

  'Hey, its going to be okay. Look there's clearly been a landslide. It looks like we're stuck for now. But hey, we're in Snowdonia. Landslides happen here all the time. The rescue services will be here to help us. We're not going to die. You're not going to die. The worst is actually over. Okay?'

  'Okay,' Elle murmured hypnotised by his steady, reassuring gaze. His eyes were in fact a deep pool of violet up close. Deep and welcoming, complimented by his darkly tanned skin. He was stunningly handsome. In Elle's job she was surrounded by handsome men but this male had a charisma she had never encountered before. Energy and chemistry arced in the air around them as they held each others gaze. His hands still cupped her elbows and the skin there felt hot and burned under his touch.

  ''What's your name?' His gaze still didn't falter.

  'Elle. And yours?'

  'I'm Mark. It's nice to meet you, Elle.'

  'Mark. I know you said about the rescue and everything, but a lot of rock came down. What if they don't know we're buried underneath it?'

  The same thought had crossed Mark's mind but he said, 'They will find us Elle. It's standard procedure. They have to check for anyone-man or animal after a landslide has struck, in the hope of saving them.'

  'Well, if you're sure.' Elle didn't know the man but decided she would put her trust in this man as she had never been in a situation like this before. For now, he would protect her. He seemed like a strong, powerful man and eluded a presence of authority. That would surely help in a situation such as this.

  'We do need to get comfortable though Elle, we're literally stuck together for the foreseeable future. Elle, it's getting cold and late now. The fact is its going to get even colder. We're going to have to talk about what we're going to do.'

  'What do you mean?' she asked confused.

  'Well, we're going to get tired, when our bodies are immobile we're going to get cold, if we get cold we could get hypothermia.'

  'Right. Okay, well I may have some a few things that could help. In the boot is sleeping bag, some clothes in mu suitcase, a torch, water maybe a few snacks I packed.'

  'That's good Elle, especially the sleeping bag. Do you know how the seats release to lie flat?'

  'Yes, its this lever here.' Elle reached to the lever and pointed it out to Mark. After a few grunts and shoves, the release gave way and the seat moved. Her went to the other side of the car and released the other side. 'Okay, now we need to climb over so we can push the seats down to a flat position, they should fold over and down to allow us a complete flat section of back.'

  'Okay,' Mark and Elle clambered and struggled over seats and managed to manoeuvre themselves into the boot and push the seats into their flat position. They were left with a much bigger expanse of car than they had previously and also gave them access to the items Elle had stored in the boot. 'Aha! A sleeping bag! I am over the moon this is in your boot but what possessed you to pack it?'

  'I was given all the essentials of survival in the country by my best friend before I left. He was concerned for my welfare, out on my own, in strange new surroundings. I thought it rather funny when he turned up with a sleeping bag, compass and torch but now I'm just incredibly grateful that I actually bothered to put the things in my car!'

  Mark was bothered by the 'he' she referred to and wasn't sure why. He should have no concern over potential boyfriends she may have. They were strangers. It did though. She intrigued him, she was beautiful. He didn't want to think that she was not free for him to pursue and explore. He couldn't help himself. 'He?'

  'Yes, Matthew, my best friend. I couldn't have managed without him in the last few months. He and his partner James have been so supportive.'

  Ah! A wave of relief washed through him. A gay best friend he didn't mind at all. 'What happened in the last few months, if you don't mind me asking?'

  'I lost someone close to me. My grandmother. She was an amazing woman and I miss her dearly. Unfortunately she left a lot of things to sort and it fell to me. I have no other close family. Matthew was supportive and a shoulder to cry on through it.' Her gaze had become saddened and he felt for her loss. He couldn't imagine having so little family. He had a large, busy family which he loved and despised at times but he would never be without them.

  'Your Mum and Dad?'

  'Both have died. I lost Dad when I was young, a heart attack. Mum was killed in a car crash when I was 12. I lived with my Grandmother from that point on. Maybe you can see why she was sp important to me.'

  'I certainly can. And i'm sure she's looking down on you.'

  'Its a lovely thought. What about you? Do you have family?'

  'Yes, I actually come from a huge clan. I have Mum and Dad, two brothers, two sisters, loads of cousins and nieces and nephews. I'm the only one yet to have a family in fact. Something my Mum never stops going on about!' He said the last fact on a chuckle but she thought she could see a hint of regret.

  'Will you settle and have a family do you think?'

  'Yes one day. I would love to have a wife and kids one day. I just haven't felt ready yet. And there's the small issue of finding a woman I love and who loves me back. I'm not settling for second best. If I do it want there to be magic and stars and the whole nine yards.'

  'Wow, a romantic. I thought there weren't many of you left.'

  'There's nothing wrong with living life to the full and expecting the best that you can get.'

  'No there's not. What if you never meet anyone amazing enough?'

  'Oh I will. I'll know it from the start too. I believe you can tell a lot from when you first meet someone.'

  mark busied himself with the sleeping bag, undoing it from the casing and lying it out along the back of the car. Neither had mentioned to each other how cold it had become, how cold they both were. Elle hugged herself without realising it, shivering slightly in the chilled air. Mark knew what they should do but was unsure how to go about it. In situations like this, the people involved should conserve body heat by stripping naked and them curling up together in a warm item like a sleeping bag. This was their bodies would gather heat and keep them safe from hypothermia. This was all good but when it came to two strangers of the opposite sex, attracted to each other also, it made it incredibly awkward to do.

  'Mark, I'm cold.'

  'I know. I was just thinking about what we should do.'

  'We need to get warm. And fast. We need to share the sleeping bag is we're going to stay warm enough. It'll be a tight fit but I'm sure we can do it. I'm going to get in first then you slide in after. You're not going to like it but I think we should take off our outer layers of clothes down to our underwear other wise we risk getting seriously cold and even the possibility of hypothermia.'

  Was he serious? Take off her clothes? 'You want me to do what!?'

  'Elle, I'm as uncomfortable about this as you are but we need to be practical. If we're going to get through this alive, and we will by the way, we will need to keep each other warm. Our biggest concern now is not the rocks, its the cold. We risk getting very poorly from hypothermia.' Elle looked into Marks' earnest eyes, he was deadly serious. She hadn't considered how dangerous the cold could be in their situation. Sure she felt cold but dying from it? No she hadn't considered that. A lot of women in her place would be enjoying this too. Getting up close and personal with this gorgeous man was something many would enjoy. Elle felt a secret thrill herself when she thought about it too.

  She suddenly felt more confident. Well, if he was game, why not!? Saves getting hypothermia she supposed and a bit of contact with the gorgeous Mark was not something to miss!

  Getting into the sleeping back proved more difficult than imagined. Two fully grown adults in one sleeping bag was not the most comfortable of arrangements. This one had only been designed for one adult person and it was going to be tight.

 
Mark went first stripping his suit and tie off until he was down to loin hugging shorts. Pale moonlight allowed Elle the treat of this occasion as she shamelessly watched him undressing. His body was tanned and muscular in all the right places and the tight little shorts he had covering his package..well, to say it was flattering didn't even begin to describe it.

  Mark shifted back and eased himself into the sleeping bag which was lain along the flat back section of the car. 'Its going to be a tight fit, Elle. I'm already filling most of this bag, we're going to be jammed together like sardines.'

  The funny thing was, Mark sounded more uncomfortable than she was. Getting up close and personal with him suddenly didn't bother Elle. She was quite looking forward to it! One glimpse of his tanned, muscular body had her desperate to feel him against her. Never before had she been quite this close to such a gorgeous man.

  'It's important we keep warm Mark. I'm fine with it, let me just get out of these clothes and I can squeeze myself in.'

  Mark couldn't help but watch as Elle swept the heavy wool jumper she wore over her head. The t shirt underneath was next which only left spectacular breasts encased in a black satin bra. Trousers came next as she bum shuffled where she sat and then eased them down her long, silky limbs. Small black panties covered her most intimate area and seemed to have very little to them. If it was a thong, he was a goner! Socks quickly followed and then she was ready.

  'How am I going to do this then?'

  'Uh, I think we'll fit in here better like spoons so if you try and get in with your back facing me then we'll see if that works.'

  Elle did as requested and eased her legs into the top of the sleeping bag. Mark got a wave of her scent as she was suddenly so close and he felt his gut tighten with the beginning of arousal. What followed was a wave of pure torment for Mark as she turned her hips and revealed a pert little bottom encased only with a tiny thong. She eased that bottom down past his face then came into contact with his chest, then his stomach before settling itself on his..Oh god! How was he going to stop..oh, he wasn't. No sooner had her butt connected with his manhood he felt the himself begin to harden.