by Katie Ford
The only thing I hear in response is silence.
My heart starts thudding again, but this time it isn’t because I’m standing next to a gorgeous guy. No, this is different. This feels scary – my palms are sweaty and my thighs are trembling in fear as I spin in a slow circle, staring at the trees.
“Travis!”
There’s still no answer and I take a big gulp of air. Shit.
My water bottle.
How am I supposed to refill my water bottle if I can’t find the falls? The idea of running out of water is absolutely terrifying – almost as terrifying as the idea of Travis not coming back.
And that’s when it hits me. Travis isn’t coming back.
He’s left me all by myself.
All alone. In the middle of the woods, with no cell phone reception, two sips of water, and a packet of convenience-store trail mix.
It explains everything. Suddenly, I get why Travis looked so annoyed with me when we were still hiking. He was annoyed because he doesn’t actually like me. He was just trying to hustle me as deep into the woods as possible.
In fact, this whole thing must have been nothing but a joke to him.
When the tears come, I’m almost shocked by the force of my own sobbing. I fall to the ground, barely even noticing the sharp pain in my knees as my body hits the earth. Hot tears stream down my face and I take big gasping breaths of air as desperation floods my body. I have no idea what to do – I can’t even figure out which direction we came from. I’ve been spinning around in a blind panic for so long that I’m totally lost.
But I can’t stay here. It will be dark before long, and the chilly woods are going to get even colder. If I want to survive, I’m going to have to get moving.
With a sigh, I pick myself up off the ground, dust the dirt from my knees, and begin to walk.
Chapter Two
Damien
I’m an animal. A predator, a beast – the thing that lurks in the shadows.
And nothing can ever change that.
I’ve been away from civilization for a long time, and I don’t intend to go back. My hours are filled with doing what I need to survive. There’s not a lot of time for mindless thought, and I like it that way.
Tonight, I’m outside chopping wood. The sun is sinking low in the sky and the air is filled with the scent of dew. I guess it’s the time of day where most people are sitting around at home with their families.
I don’t have a family.
I like things that way, too.
The wind shifts and I hear the sound of bushes rustling.
Silently, I make my way closer to the woods. A branch twitches in front of me and I freeze in my tracks. And that’s when I see it. Inch by inch, a small, pink sneaker sliding from out of the trees.
The sneaker is connected to a lovely, shapely leg. The thighs are thick and creamy, just how I used to like them back in the days when I wasn’t a hermit.
My axe falls to the ground with a dull thud as a young woman peeks out from the bushes.
She’s young – nineteen or twenty at best – and the fear in her eyes makes her look younger still. Her brown curls are tangled and rumpled and her velvety-soft brown eyes are staring at me in fright and curiosity. She’s got a killer body, too – big, lush curves that are barely concealed underneath brand-new athletic clothes. Just the sight of her is strange and yet somehow wonderful.
My mouth suddenly feels dry.
“Oh my god!” the girl squeaks, freezing in her tracks. I can see her taking in my appearance and growing even more alarmed. With my big, bushy beard and long hair, I know I’m a formidable sight.
Before I can even think about what’s happening, the girl breaks into a run. She barely makes it three paces before tripping over my axe handle and crashing down to the ground. Her tits bounce as her giant ass lands on the earth and she moans in pain, reaching for her ankle with sweaty hands.
“Don’t move,” I growl sternly. “You’ve twisted your ankle.”
“It hurts,” she whimpers. “I think it’s broken!”
I stare at her for a long moment, wondering what to do. On one hand, I don’t like people. I go to great lengths to avoid a single interaction with them.
But on the other, she’s clearly hurt. And she’s not dressed for serious hiking: it’s obvious that something is wrong here.
The girl looks up at me in fear. She’s panting for air and her massive chest heaves with every breath.
Suddenly, I know that she’s terrified of me.
I walk closer and stare down at her. Her big brown eyes are wide with fear and she gulps as I approach. I roll my eyes in response – I’m a scary guy, but she’s behaving like a little kid.
“It doesn’t look broken,” I say gruffly. “I think it’s just sprained.”
In response, the girl bites her lip and bursts into tears. I can hardly keep from rolling my eyes again as she hunches over and sobs into her small hands.
“Stop crying,” I say sternly.
She cries harder, rocking back and forth with gusto as the loud sound of her sobs fills my ears.
“Stop crying,” I repeat.
The girl whimpers.
“Did you get lost?” I ask.
No answer. The girl cries for a few more minutes, then pulls herself together and wipes her red nose on the bare skin of her arm. When I realize that she’s not wearing a jacket, I groan. It’s gonna be getting cold soon, and she won’t last long out here by herself. She’s hurt, and it’s already almost dark.
There’s no way I can ignore her now.
I have to help her – I can’t leave her to the dark of the woods.
“Get up.”
She looks up at me with wide eyes, then rolls onto her knees and gets to her feet. A small whimper escapes her rosy lips as she puts weight on her twisted ankle.
“Come with me.”
The girl hesitates and for a moment, so do I. Then I take a deep breath and sigh.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I tell her gruffly. “But you’re going to have to come with me. I have a cabin nearby.”
For a moment, I’m afraid the girl will burst into tears again. To my relief, she merely nods. I wait for her to walk closer, then I lead her across the field to my cabin. It’s not much – five rooms – but it’s mine.
And it’s home.
“I’m Emma, what’s your name?”
The sound of her voice startles me. We’re just at the door to my cabin when she speaks, and the shock is enough to stop me in my tracks. Her voice is sweet and musical – compared to my inner monologue, Emma’s voice sounds like honey.
“It doesn’t matter who I am,” I say gruffly as I push open my cabin door. I never lock it – there’s no use, since I’m all alone in the woods. Whenever travelers come close, I always scare them off.
At least, I did before she showed up.
Emma sniffles in response. I watch as she looks around the cabin with fear in her soft brown eyes. She’s inspecting every nook and cranny and I wonder what she expects to find. Manacles on the wall? A cage in the bedroom?
Emma paces warily over to the couch and sits down, curling one round thigh under her body. Damn, in the soft lighting of my cabin, her curves look even better. She’s got huge tits and creamy pale skin, and I just know that under that thin shirt of hers, her nipples are pink and stiff. God – she’s fucking gorgeous!
“Why won’t you tell me your name?” Emma asks softly. She flushes and laughs nervously. “Is it because you’re going to kill me?”
I roll my eyes at her. “No.”
“Then who are you?” Emma persists. “And why are you all alone out here? Is this like, your hunting cabin where you come for the weekend?”
“No.”
Emma sighs. She licks her chapped lips with an enticingly pink tongue. “Well, if you’re not going to tell me your name, can you give me something to eat? It’s been hours since I had food or water.”
I stare at her for a mom
ent. “You’ve been out all day, without food?” I narrow my eyes as my mind begins to work. This girl is no outdoorswoman – that’s clear from taking one look at her. It doesn’t make sense for her to be here in the woods, with no food, water, or supplies.
I can feel myself starting to become curious about her.
Her brown eyes are wide and desperately trying to avoid my scrutiny.
“Yes,” she says finally in a timid voice.
“Okay.” I’m relieved to have something to do other than keep staring at Emma’s luscious curves. The way her body looks is driving me crazy and bringing back urges that I thought I’d squashed a long time ago. It’s a relief to go into the kitchen and busy myself with prepping a couple of steaks.
I do all of my own hunting. When I first moved out to the woods, I had no idea what I was doing. I hired a guide for the first couple of years – I had to learn everything. But now, it’s almost like second nature. This way is better. This way, I don’t have to go out in public and think about why I left society.
With a sigh, I take two venison steaks from the fridge and set them out to warm. After melting some butter in a skillet, I throw the meat into the pan and listen to the satisfying sound of it sizzling.
Emma looks hungry, and I don’t think a girl of her size will be happy with just a steak so I take some stew out of the refrigerator and start to warm it in a pan.
“That smells so good!”
I jolt at the sound of Emma’s honeyed voice. Glancing up, I see her in the doorway. She’s standing there with her arms crossed under those heavy, luscious tits and her mouth open. I can tell that she’s practically drooling over the scent of the meat.
“I’m sorry that I startled you,” Emma says quietly. “But it smelled so good that I had to see what you were doing.” She steps closer and her scent washes over me – a little bit of sweat and something floral, like jasmine.
Breathing her in makes my cock twitch with lust and I have to suppress the urge to grab her plump thighs and press her against the counter. But I quash the desire and focus on browning the steaks in butter until they’re perfectly medium rare.
When I’m done preparing the food, I pour Emma a bowl of stew and plate our steaks. I almost never eat at my table, and it feels strange sitting down there instead of on the couch. Emma sits beside me and as she lowers herself down, another gust of her sweaty-floral scent washes over me.
This time, I feel the lustful ache deep in my balls. God, this woman is so hot. The best part is that she obviously has no idea how beautiful she is. She’s completely unaware of the power her body has over me.
Why can’t I stop thinking about her? It’s starting to frustrate me.
“This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” Emma says softly as she dips her spoon into her bowl of stew. I look up to see that she’s already eaten half of it. She hasn’t even touched her steak, and there’s a drop of brown gravy on her pale chin.
I smile, in spite of myself. “I’m glad you like it.” Talking feels strange – I almost never do it now, and the words feel like marbles in my mouth. “I’m not exactly used to cooking for people now.”
“Were you a chef before?” Emma wipes her chin and dives in for more stew, eagerly licking and sucking at the spoon. Watching her pink tongue clean the shiny silver surface is making me hot and horny, and I have to fight another animalistic urge to grab her and bend her over.
“No,” I say shortly. “I was not. I was…” I trail off, not wanting to say too much about who I am or what I did before this. Emma’s young, but not too young to remember what happened if she’s the kind of girl who pays attention to the news.
It’s better she doesn’t know that she’s sitting at a table with a convicted felon.
“I’m a student,” Emma says brightly. She drops the spoon into her bowl and looks up at me. “I go to Park.”
I nod.
Emma sighs in exasperation. “Come on,” she says. “It wouldn’t kill you to talk to me.” She slices into her steak and then takes a huge bite. “Besides, it’s not like you’re used to having company here!”
I roll my eyes. “Fine,” I snap. “On one condition.”
“What’s that?” Emma asks, still chewing. “What do you want?”
“I’ll tell you my name if you’ll tell me what the hell you were doing out in the woods by yourself,” I say sternly. “Because that was a fucking stupid decision on your behalf to wander out alone with no food, no water, and no satellite phone.”
Emma flushes hotly and swallows. “Okay,” she says. “Um, well, a guy whom I liked asked me if I wanted to go hiking with him.” She squirms in her chair and bites her lip. “And I guess he thought it would be funny to ask me out and then leave me in the middle of the woods.”
“You’re kidding me,” I say in disgust.
“I wish.” Emma sighs moodily, then takes another huge bite of meat. “He’s a dumb frat boy. I thought he was cute, but now I don’t like him. I couldn’t like anyone who would do something so cruel.”
“It’s Damien.”
“What?” Emma cocks her head to the side and gives me a confused look. “Who is?”
“I am. My name is Damien Evercore. And that frat boy was a fucking idiot.”
A slow smile spreads across Emma’s face and she blushes.
Chapter Three
Emma
Damien is turning out to be a real mystery man. When I first saw him chopping wood, he looked like a beast. He’s got a big black beard and long black hair tied in a knot, with bright blue eyes that remind me of sapphires. His muscles are huge. And his voice is gruff and stern, like he’s cross with me for merely daring to exist.
But when he speaks, I can tell he’s well-educated. There’s something about him under the surface that’s polished and refined, something that I can sense but can’t quite make out.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say finally. “Why do you live out here all by yourself?”
Damien gets up from the table and takes his empty plate to the sink. He sets it down, then starts pacing about the cabin like a caged animal. Now that I’ve noticed how handsome he is, it’s like I can’t make myself look away. I’ve never seen a man like him before. Damien makes Travis look like a little kid.
“Can I have some more stew?” I turn to Damien and hold out my bowl. He nods gruffly and takes the bowl from my hands before refilling it and passing it back.
It’s crazy – I’ve never eaten anything as delicious as the stew in front of me. I’m used to fine dining, but something about this is just heavenly. I don’t know what’s in it, and part of me doesn’t want to, but it’s almost like Damien drugged it and I can’t stop slurping it down.
“Where do you live?”
“Umm, you know. With my parents. I’m a college student, but my father didn’t want me living in the dorms by myself.”
Damien comes back to the table and sits down. “And will they be worried about you?”
I shake my head. “No,” I say. “We’re not close. To be honest, they probably don’t even know that I’m gone.”
