I can’t hide from him behind my hands, and there isn’t much room in the cabin to escape. But there is one place I can go that at least has a modicum of privacy. I get up from my chair, hearing it scrape back across the wooden floor, and run for the bedroom, to close the door behind me.
Only to find Aaron there in the doorway, blocking me.
“You don’t have to run away,” he says, letting the notebook fall closed and handing it back to me.
I hesitate before reaching out to snatch it from his hands. “You weren’t supposed to read it,” I mutter, my cheeks still flaming with heat. I can’t close the door with him there, but I can at least turn away from him and hide my face with my hands again.
This has to be the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to me. Imagine – the totally hot older guy you accidentally got stuck in a cabin with, and within the first few hours of meeting you tell him an explicit sexual fantasy in which he is the main star. One day I might be able to laugh at this, but definitely not today.
“It’s just a story,” he says, coaxingly. “The characters, the style – what made you want to write like that?”
“I don’t know,” I say. I shrug stubbornly from behind my hands. “That’s just how it came out.”
“It’s very noir,” he says. “And the sex scene – why didn’t you go into more details?”
I thought I was as red as I could possibly go, but the spreading heat across my chest is a testament to the fact that you can always feel more awkward. “I didn’t want to,” I squeak, even though I know it’s not exactly a satisfying answer.
“But that’s the style these days, isn’t it?” Aaron presses. I wish he would just stop, just go away and leave me alone to die of shame. “To be very explicit. Describing bodies, feelings, sensations in full detail.”
I could literally fall down a hole and die right now. “I just – I wasn’t – I didn’t want to do that,” I say. What other excuse do I have? The fact that I have no experience whatsoever with that kind of thing, and therefore I have no idea what to write?
“But you could, couldn’t you?” Aaron says. “I mean, I think it would make the story more intriguing. It doesn’t have to be fully explicit, but you could describe how she feels. The sensation of him inside of her.”
Oh god. Oh god, oh god.
“You know how it feels,” Aaron carries on. His tone is light, as if he assumes I really do know. “You can just add a little here and there. The way her muscles tense…”
I can’t take it anymore. “I can’t!” I blurt out. “I can’t do any of that!”
“Why not?”
I want to shrivel up into a tiny ball and fall down a hole somewhere. “Because I’m a virgin.”
There’s silence after my confession. Despite everything, it actually makes it easier for me to drop my hands away from my face at last. It’s still burning, of course – I’m not sure anything less than a fire hose would stop that – but the silence allows me to focus on something else, the uncertainty.
As in, why has Aaron suddenly gone quiet when he wouldn’t stop asking me questions before I said that?
I turn around to face him, even though every muscle in my body wills me to do the exact opposite. I was trying hard to get away from him in my shame, but now I need to read his face, to see what he thinks of me.
The trouble is, as soon as I turn to look at him, he does exactly what I did a moment ago he spins on his heel and stalks away into the open room of the cabin, so I can’t see his face at all.
“Aaron?” I say, my voice trembling slightly as I call out to him. I don’t even really know what I’m asking. I just want some kind of reassurance – that he hasn’t been completely put off by me with those few.
“Sorry,” he says. He runs a hand back through his short, dark hair, leaving it a little ruffled. He grabs his coffee from where he put it on the table and finally glances at me for one moment. His expression is unreadable, a total mystery. “I shouldn’t have read your work. That was rude of me.”
Then he walks away and resumes his seat outside the cabin, on the wood table and chair set that affords a view of the forest around us and the valley below.
And even if I fell all the way down into that valley, and then found a hole in the ground and kept falling into that, it wouldn’t be far enough away.
Now Aaron knows I’m a virgin – and he probably thinks I’m some young stupid kid who he shouldn’t be talking to about sex. Let alone thinking about doing it with me.
Even though we’ve only just met, I realize I have already started to really fantasize about him – not just for my story. And the thought that it will never happen – even though I never really believed it would – plummets my heart down to my feet.
I lay down on the bed with the door shut and my notebook over my face, and wonder how I could possibly have screwed this up any worse.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Aaron
It’s just like I thought. Olivia is a virgin.
That changes everything.
Not because I’m shocked or appalled – she’s a young woman, and she can do what she likes with her body. Hell, I haven’t been interested in any other women, so it’s not as though I’m going to be comparing her to the horde of Amazonian models I spend my time with. I don’t. That’s not the point.
The point is that her first time should be special. Something to remember. And if I’m going to claim her and make her mine, I need to do it right. So right that she doesn’t even think about it. No one else will ever compare. The time for ripping each other’s clothes off and mating on tables is for later. Right now, it needs to be more thought out, more deliberate.
I need to make this as special as possible – for Olivia’s sake. My needs can come later.
I try to focus on reading my paperback, but truth be told all I can think about is Olivia. I tell myself that the best course of action would be to let her be. To hold myself back. If she wants me, she can come to me. I don’t have to make a point of seducing her.
Except, yes, I do. Even as I tell myself not to get too deep, I know that I already am. The thought of her leaving this cabin, going to college, and falling in love with some frat boy fills me with rage. The idea of his hands on her – no. I won’t allow that to happen.
Olivia is mine. I will claim her, and it has to be this week, before we’re forced to part ways.
That means I need to act, and soon. But it needs to be good – I can’t just throw something together and call it a day. So, what can I do?
I think about it for a while. I would check the time, but both my watch and my phone are inside. A glance at the sky has me guessing that it must still be early afternoon. That means I have time to pull something together, and today.
I’m known in business for being able to pull things off – unexpected things, things that my rivals would say might not be possible. I’m known for going all out to put a deal together, sparing no expense, really wooing my clients. I can’t be any different here.
I know what I have to do.
I sneak a glance over my shoulder, in through the cabin window. Olivia is nowhere to be seen. The door to the bedroom is closed, so she must still be in there. I get up stealthily and creep across the wooden floors to retrieve my phone, then back out to make a few calls.
The reception isn’t great out here. In fact, I can only get enough of a bar to make a call if I stand in a specific spot outside the cabin – just where I was standing earlier when I called the owners. If I stray any farther down the path, the trees block the signal – and any farther on the other side, I’d be wandering off the edge of the cliff. I settle for keeping my voice as low as possible, hoping that Olivia won’t get an inkling of my plan.
I leave it another hour, keeping my ears open. When the bedroom door creaks open to let Olivia out, I’m uttering a prayer up to whoever can hear it. I was worried she would still be here when they came. I was thinking about going in and knocking on the door, but now that sh
e’s out and about, I can make it more natural.
I wander casually in with my empty coffee mug, going over to the kitchen counter to refill it. Olivia, sitting at the table, almost flinches when I enter. I wince, but I will fix that.
“You know,” I say, trying to keep my tone light – yet still measured, in respect of the conversation we had earlier. I don’t want to act like it didn’t happen. “This is your first day here. If you really want some inspiration, you should go walk one of the trails.”
“The trails?” Olivia repeats, looking around at me. I’m glad she can bring herself to reply. I was worried it might have remained awkward for longer. “Is it safe?”
“Yes, so long as you’re sensible.” I gesture towards our well-stocked cupboards. “Take some supplies with you – snacks, a bottle of water, a folded tap just in case you get lost. It’s simple enough to follow the trail around the cabin. It runs in a wide loop around this area but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“What about the animals?” Olivia asks. Her eyes are wide. I gather she really is worried about running into something hungry.
“Just keep your eyes and ears open,” I tell her. “It shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours to walk the trail. If you run into anything you don’t want to face, then either turn back or rush on, depending on how far you’ve got. Do you have sturdy hiking shoes?”
Olivia nods. “I brought them in case I wanted to explore.”
“Then go explore,” I tell her with a smile. “Trust me. You’ll feel better afterwards. Fresh air keeps you fit, and there’s nothing like the real wild.”
After a moment, she nods. Inside, I sigh with relief. If she hadn’t agreed with my suggestion, I would have had to come up with some other pretext or just kept bugging her until she left. “I’ll go get my shoes,” she says.
I wait until she’s out of sight down the trail, admiring and appreciating the sway of her hips and ass as she walks into the trees, and then I get to work. There’s a lot to get ready, and I only have two hours or so to do it in.
CHAPTER NINE
Olivia
I start off along the trail uncertainly, glancing around into the trees, at every shadow and every hollow, wondering if something will spring out at me. I’m really not keen on the idea of exploring the wilderness on my own, but what am I supposed to do? I agreed to it, mostly because I couldn’t see many other options.
I should have yelled at him. After I confessed to being a virgin, the only thing he could tell me to do was go for a walk. Really? That’s his sage advice, coming from a position of years more experience than I could hope for?
It’s not like I don’t know that I have a bigger body. Of course, I know it. I own a mirror, don’t I? Not to mention the fact that I’m perfectly capable of looking down. He didn’t have to be so rude and suggest that I go out for a walk to try to lose some weight.
I can see the way it all connected in his mind. A young woman like me a virgin, huh? It must be because I’m too fat and no one wants me. I should go for a walk and get fit!
What does he know? Plenty of guys have wanted me. That doesn’t mean I had to go with them just because they wanted it. I’m my own person, and I have the right to wait for the right moment. The right man.
The sad thing is, on first impression, I had even started to wonder if he might be it.
Well, now I know. It’s not like he would ever be interested in me, anyway. I’m obviously not his type. I bet he likes the stick thin figure models that are all over social media, with their fake lips, breasts, and butts. I’m all real, and I’m not giving this up to just anyone.
I stomp along the trail, freezing when I hear a noise off to the left. I dart my eyes around, looking frantically for the source; when a squirrel runs quickly up a tree, moving from its camouflaged position on the trunk, I sigh in relief and keep moving.
It’s all Aaron’s fault that I’m even out here. I shouldn’t be. I should have staked my claim on my space. Told him to go shove his walk, that he could go and enjoy nature if he likes it so much. But I just agreed and left, partly because I was ashamed. I don’t want to be, but there it is. When people have spoken down to you about your weight all your life, you end up feeling a little self-conscious about it.
A bird flies across the trees in front of me with a flutter of wings and shaken leaves falling off a branch, making me scream in alarm. The noise startles even more birds to fly up out of their hiding places and begin squawking to one another, making my heart beat a million miles an hour. This is all Aaron’s fault. I shouldn’t even be out here.
I could turn back now – give him a piece of my mind.
No, that would be even worse. Then he’ll start thinking that fatty couldn’t take the walk. I’m so sick of the way people talk to me. Behind my back, or even in front of my face. I’m plenty fit. I can handle a two-hour or so trail without a problem.
I’ll make the walk, then I’ll confront him. And boy, is he going to get a piece of my mind when I get back. I’m going to let him know exactly what I think about his sly comments – and I’ll have the proof of my fitness to back it up, too.
If I don’t get mauled by a bear before I’m back.
As time goes on and nothing happens, I slowly start to relax. Maybe I can, after all, trust in the idea that nothing is going to attack me out here. The cabins are often rented out, so I guess the animals probably know that there are humans around. Maybe they stay away from here so that they don’t get trapped or killed themselves.
The small animals, however, are around here in abundance. I see plenty more squirrels and birds, and a few times little movements on the path ahead that could be rabbits or other small creatures. I start to enjoy the feeling of being in nature like this. The fresh air, the sun overhead, the heat diluted by the cover of the trees. It feels alive here, real and vibrant. Much different to anything I’ve ever experienced in a town or city.
Alright, so maybe Aaron was right about a walk being a great way to gain some new inspiration. That doesn’t mean I have to stop being mad at him. Not just yet.
I sit down and take a break after about an hour, finding a large and convenient rock that is just in the right position for me to take a seat without being too afraid of insects dropping on my head. I sit and absorb the smells of the forest and the sounds. This place is really magical. I know, now, I made the right choice coming out here. If I don’t make it out of here without a good story in my hands, then something big must have happened. Like, life changing big. There’s no other way I would be able to hold back the inspiration.
I get up and finish my walk, feeling a lot better for it already. Again, just like Aaron said. The fresh air in my lungs and the feeling of being a part of nature really does put a spring in your step. I don’t think I’m going to admit to him that he was right, however.
I finally emerge onto the path that leads to the cabin, a somewhat familiar sight already. Looking down at the ground, I could swear that there are deeper tire tracks here than what I remember from when I left. But that’s crazy. It must just be from the taxi that I took earlier. What else would have caused it?
Aaron isn’t outside, which makes me frown a little. It means that he must be inside, which means back to close quarters and no way to avoid each other. That might be fine, it will give me a chance to tell him what I think of him. Better to get it out of the way now before he thinks of pulling something like that again.
I push open the door to the cabin – and stop dead in my tracks.
Every surface is scattered with wildflowers, purple and yellow buds turning their heads towards the ceiling, green leaves and stems festooned amongst them. Everywhere the flowers leave so much as a tiny gap, a glowing light has been placed, artificial rather than flame, some kind of mood lighting that appears to be linked to a smart control device. I have no idea how the tiny generator can be handling all of this, but their dim power means they are only just visible in the late afternoon light.
That’s not what startles me the most, however. No, that would be the table – empty when I left, but now set with a beautiful dinnerware set. A platter of bread and two small pots of olive oil and what looks like balsamic vinegar are set out in the center of the table, and two white plates gleam invitingly in front of the chairs. Room service style platters line the surfaces of the kitchen counter, some of them issuing a very enticing smell.
Amongst all of this, standing propped against the far end of the kitchen counter with a glass of red wine in his hand, is Aaron. He’s changed into a more formal button down shirt, though the top few buttons below the collar are open, giving him a sexy undone kind of look.
“How was your walk?” he asks.
“Great,” I say absently, forgetting about my earlier resolve to yell at him until he realized the error of ways. “What is all this? And how did it get here?”
“That,” Aaron says, giving me a wink. “Would be telling.”
CHAPTER TEN
Aaron
“No, seriously,” Olivia says. “Was it all hidden away in one of the cupboards, or something?”
I smile at her. The truth is, I had my assistant come and deliver all of this, orders from restaurants at home flown in by helicopter, mood lighting bought from a store I have the number of, the wildflowers picked up on the way to the helipad. Then he drove them all over in the fastest possible time.
I had help. But really, I’ve spent my whole life working hard to get to a position where something like that is in my power. All I have to do is snap my fingers and wave a wad of cash in the air and I can get whatever I want.
Except for Olivia, of course. But this will help.
“I have my ways,” I say, to keep the air of mystery. I have a powerful and rich life – but I don’t want a woman who’s just interested in me for that. I need to know that she feels the pull, the connection between us, without it being about money. “Sit down, have some bread. We don’t want the food to get cold.”
His Cabin Obsession Wants Book 195) Page 3
