Stranded

by Noelle Stevens

  “That’s it,” he murmurs as he continues sliding in and out of me. After another moment he comes as well, then he collapses on top of me.

  We stay that way for a while, then he pulls out of me, unties my hands, and holds me against him. I’ve never had such mind-blowing sex before, and I relish the feel of his strong arms around me.

  After a while the afterglow begins to fade, and that’s when I begin to worry that after I leave, I’ll never see Drake again. The thought is incomprehensible, and now I remember why I was resistant to doing this in the first place, and I know I’m falling for Colton Drake. Hard.

  We’re both naked on his bed, and he props himself up on one elbow and gazes down at me. “You’re a beautiful woman, Ashley.”

  I stare back at him, trying to memorize his face, knowing no man will ever be able to make me feel the way he’s made me feel, but he has a girlfriend. He didn’t hide that fact, and yet I still allowed myself to get caught up in the moment. And now I’ll only have myself to blame when my heart aches for him, and my body yearns for him, and I’m not able to fulfill the longing that will surely haunt me.

  He reaches out and strokes my breasts, igniting my desire anew. As much as I want to turn away from him and forget I’ve ever met him, the strength of my want is too powerful, and I give myself to him once again.

  I sleep with him that night, his body wrapped around mine, but I wake frequently to remind myself of the way it feels to be in his arms.

  When the sun rises, he is ready to make love again, and I am only too willing to comply. He takes his time, and when we are through, I am more captivated by him then ever, and I never want to leave this place.

  Chapter Twenty Five

  “We should call the tow truck company,” he murmurs against my ear.

  Why is he so eager to see me go? Of course. I was only a pleasant diversion for him on a snowy weekend. “Okay.” What else can I say? He clearly has no interest in anything beyond what we’ve done. He conquered me. He can add a notch to his bedpost. And now he’s done with me.

  A sick feeling grows within me and I wish I’d spent the previous twelve hours in the bed he let me borrow—alone. Not in his bed, where I’ve surrendered not only my body, but also my heart.

  He slides out of bed, and my gaze sweeps over his naked body. The body that I still crave, but know I will never see again after this day. I hear the shower turn on, and a few minutes later he walks out in a pair of jeans, his chest bare, and his hair damp.

  I am still naked in his bed, the sheet covering me against the morning chill, and I am reluctant to get out of bed and end the fantasy that has taken hold of me. The fantasy that says Drake is mine, that he wants me, that he might even love me.

  “You should shower,” he says, ending my fantasy with completeness.

  I throw back the covers, revealing my body, and his eyes hungrily rove over my curves. I like the way he looks at me, and hope he’ll relent on his demand that I rise.

  His gaze goes to my face. “We need to get going.”

  Why is he in such a hurry? Yes, the storm has stopped, but it’s Sunday, still the weekend. Why is he so eager for me to leave? But I know why. He has gotten what he was after, and now he is ready to move on.

  I slide off the bed, then pick up my panties from the floor and trudge out of his bedroom and down the hall to mine. After tossing my panties onto the chair, I sink onto the bedspread and put my head in my hands. Stupid girl, I berate myself. Stupid, stupid girl. Why am I so weak? I shake my head, disgusted with myself for letting my body’s desires get the best of me, when I knew it would be a mistake.

  Sighing, I rise, knowing there is nothing I can do about it now. The mistake has been made and life must go on. I drag myself to the shower and let the hot needles pound against my skin, washing away the lovemaking that I now wish I could forget. I scrub my skin raw, then dry off and dress, putting on the panties that are now stiff with the remnant of my need. They are uncomfortable, but I wear them anyway, to remind myself of my stupidity, then I walk downstairs.

  The lovely aroma of bacon drifts to me from the kitchen, and I go there to face Drake. He stands at the stove, scrambling eggs, and when I enter the kitchen he turns to me with a smile. “I’ll bet you’re ready to get back on the road.”

  Why does he think that? I shrug in reply.

  “My Internet is back up,” he says. “I called the tow truck company. They’ll be in the vicinity of your car in an hour.”

  I push a smile onto my lips. “Good.”

  He nods, then places the cooked eggs into a dish and carries it, along with a plate of bacon, to the table. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starved.”

  My appetite is gone, as often happens when I’m stressed or upset, but I take a small serving of eggs, and one slice of bacon. No reason to let Drake know how devastated I am that I’m leaving. He’s eager to see me go, and I refuse to let him know that he’s begun to mean much more to me than a one-night stand.

  He eats with gusto, while I barely manage to eat the small amount I’ve put on my plate, but I force myself to pretend that all is well.

  After we finish eating, I offer to clean up, and he leaves me alone in the kitchen. I wash the dishes, then scrub the counter, trying to delay the inevitable.

  “Ready?” he says as he walks into the kitchen.

  “Yeah, sure.” I follow him as he walks back into the living room. My coat is laid neatly over the back of the couch, and he picks it up and holds it out for me to put on. I slip my arms into the sleeves, then wrap it around me like a shroud. I pull my boots on over my socks, grateful that my ankle seems to be back to normal, then sling my purse over my shoulder.

  Drake opens the front door, holding it for me, and I walk out into the cold morning air. He steps onto the porch behind me, then closes the door. I see that he’s already scraped off his truck—I guess while I was cleaning up from breakfast—and the engine is running. He walks with me to the passenger door, and when he helps me inside by steadying my arm as I climb up, I feel the heat of his touch straight through my coat, although I know it’s all in my mind.

  He shuts the door behind me, then gets behind the wheel. He’s attached some sort of contraption to the front of his truck that looks like it will clear the snow in our path, and as we slowly move forward, large piles of snow form on either side of us.

  “This snow plow was pricy,” he says. “But it’s days like today that make me glad I bought it.”

  I don’t reply as we move forward, eventually reaching the main road, where the snow has been cleared.

  We turn right, then Drake glances at me. “Let me know where your car is.”

  I look out the passenger side window at the deep drifts that line the road and wonder if I’ll be able to see my car, but after a few minutes I see the blue of the roof poking through the snow. “There it is.” I point out the window, and Drake stops his truck.

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Drake rests his hands on his steering wheel as he gazes at my car. “That’s going to be a pain in the ass to get out.”

  I drag my gaze away from my car and look at the man I’ve spent the weekend with. “But he’ll be able to get it out, right?” Now that I know Drake doesn’t want me around, I’m anxious to leave.

  Drake looks at me, and when our eyes meet, I feel exposed, vulnerable. He gazes at me a moment, then glances in his rearview mirror. “I guess we’ll find out.” He opens his door and steps out.

  I look out the rear window and see that the tow truck has arrived. I climb out of Drake’s truck and walk over to where he is talking to the tow truck driver. They are discussing the details of getting my car out of the snowbank. What it comes down to is, they will have to dig it out enough to attach the tow truck’s equipment, and then they can pull it out.

  “It’s going to cost extra if you want me to do the digging,” the driver says.

  “That’s fine,” Drake says.

  I’m not so sure that it’s fin
e. I don’t have much money, and what I do have I’ll need to keep me afloat until I get a job. I look at Drake, then at my car, then back at Drake. “Uh, maybe I can do it?”

  Drake looks at me. “What?”

  “I can shovel out my car.” My toes are beginning to go numb, and I’m already doubting my suggestion.

  “Why would you want to do that?” he asks.

  “I don’t want to, but . . .” I lean closer to Drake so the tow truck driver can’t hear me. “I don’t know if I have enough money.”

  Drake laughs. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it.”

  Not liking the idea of him paying for anything on my behalf, but knowing that I’ll get frostbite on my toes if I actually attempt it myself, I grudgingly nod. “Thanks,” I mutter.

  “Why don’t you wait in the truck,” Drake says. “You look like you’re freezing.”

  I am freezing. The numbness in my toes is beginning to creep into my legs, and though I don’t like the feeling that I’m being dismissed, I can’t say I’m unhappy when I climb into the heated cab of Drake’s truck. I take off my boots and let the hot air blow across my toes, and soon the numbness recedes.

  I watch from the cab as Drake and the tow truck driver work to get my car out of the snowbank and onto the road. It takes them a while, but when my car is finally sitting on the road with all the snow removed, a feeling of sadness washes over me as I know I’m about to drive off and never see Drake again.

  Drake waves me over, and after putting my boots back on, I climb out of his truck and walk over to where he and the tow truck driver stand.

  “Let’s see if it will start,” the driver says.

  I hand him my keys and he climbs inside and gives it a crank. Nothing happens. He tries jumpstarting my battery, but that doesn’t make a difference.

  “Uh,” I say loud enough for the man to hear me as he sits behind the wheel of my car. “After I ran off the road it wouldn’t start.”

  He climbs out. “Well, then, I doubt it will start now. I’ll hook it up and take it to the garage in town.”

  I’m afraid to look at Drake. He was in such a hurry to get me out of his house, and out of his life, I can only imagine how angry he is that I can’t leave just yet. I decide I’ll make it easy on him. “Great. Let’s go.”

  “What?” Drake says. “Where are you going?”

  I turn to him. “What do you mean? My car needs to be fixed, so I’m going with the tow truck guy to get it taken care of.”

  “How long is this going to take?” Drake asks the tow truck driver.

  “Depends on what the problem is. At least a day or two.”

  Drake turns to me. “Where are you going to stay?”

  “I’m sure there must be a motel in town.”

  His eyebrows crease. “A little while ago you said you didn’t have enough money to pay for him to dig out your car. Now you can afford to stay at a hotel for days, on top of paying for your car to be fixed?”

  Even though I’m secretly worried how I’ll get by, I have no desire to be his charity case. I force a confident smile onto my face. “Maybe I have a secret stash I didn’t want to tell you about.”

  It’s clear he’s not buying it. “Uh-huh.”

  I’m a big girl and I’m not going to let a man I’ve barely met take control of my decisions. Even if he is the hottest guy I’ve ever known. I turn my back on him and say to the tow truck driver, “Can you give me a lift into town?”

  He’s attaching my car to his truck. He looks at me with a smile. “Sure.”

  “Thanks.” I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn to see Drake scowling at me. “What?”

  He shakes his head. “You are one stubborn woman.”

  I cross my arms over my chest. “You just don’t like that I’m not obeying your orders.”

  His scowl deepens. “Is that what you think?”

  I scowl right back. “No. That’s what I know.” Even though I don’t know how I’m going to manage to pay for a motel and my car repair, I like the way it feels to defy Colton Drake. He was so eager to see me go, I don’t understand what he’s doing now.

  He sighs. “Fine. Do what you want.” His eyes narrow as he gazes at me. “I’m done helping strangers.” Then he turns and walks back to his truck.

  I watch as he climbs in, then turns on the engine. A moment later he pulls away, heading in the direction of his house. I feel a tug on my heart, sad to know I’ll never see him again. Sad to know that I won’t be able to forget him. I stare after his truck until it’s a small dot in the distance.

  “Ready, ma’am?” the tow truck driver says.

  I turn to him. “Yeah.” Then I follow him to his truck. A few moments later as we head toward town, toward the unknown, a mixture of dread and excitement sweeps over me.

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