by Rose, Amelia
“It was nice to meet you.” Clara replied back, nodding. She might have caught on to Melinda’s intimidation methods, but she was not letting it show.
When Melinda nodded and stalked away back toward the front of the house, Shad knew that she would be back. The fact that Clara had not cowered in front of her was almost like declaring a challenge to his sister.
*
Clara’s heart was still pounding in her chest after the encounter with Melinda. She’d made sure to not show any sign of weakness or fear, but that was far from how she felt. If Melinda started digging too much, she might uncover the false convictions the stalker had created. When Melinda marched back toward the front of the house, Clara felt herself deflate a little. She had gotten carried away with Shad, and that was not something she could let herself do.
It was hard to remember to stick to that when he turned back to her with those dark green eyes. She could still feel the heat coiled inside her, burning even lower, and she knew that her body would betray her if given a chance. She was determined not to let that happen.
After all, she would be forced to keep moving once her truck was repaired. She couldn’t let herself believe that her stalker couldn’t find her out here. He’d managed to find her in remote locations before.
But when she looked into Shad’s eyes, she realized how much she was tired of running.
“Now where were we?” he asked, a small smile spreading over his face.
While she wanted nothing more than to slide back into his embrace, she distanced herself and walked back to the files.
“I think we’d gotten a little derailed from the conversation about you making lunch,” she said, watching him to gauge his reaction. While the corner of his mouth did drop a little, his eyes still seared into her.
“So we had. But I guess if a storm’s coming, I should table that so I can help get the animals and equipment in.”
He nodded a little, picked her letter off the desk, and left her alone in the office. She continued to sort through the paperwork, trying to categorize her emotions along with the files and store them away. Each time a file slid into place on the shelf she knew she was failing miserably. She could still feel his hands burning a trail across her flesh, fantasizing about the way he had responded to her on such a primal level.
“Stop it,” she whispered to the empty office. Staying would only put him in danger. She had only been at her brother’s for a few weeks, and in that time, his life was nearly destroyed by the hacker. She shuddered, remembering the first five word email HE had sent to announce his presence and intentions. She had originally dismissed it as a prank, but over time, the words had become ingrained in her subconscious:
Your Life Belongs to Me.
*
That night, as she was getting ready to take her shower, she found herself thinking about their kiss. She hadn’t seen him since. She figured he had spent the rest of the afternoon avoiding her by getting ready for the storm that was now rolling in. The air seemed to be dancing with electricity as the lightning moved from cloud to cloud and then back to the ground.
She’d watched the sparks dance back and forth out of her window earlier. The way they lit up the darkening sky was beautiful. It was desolate country out here, and while some people might not appreciate its quiet beauty, it was something that called out to her. Maybe it was because she was as lonely as the plains that stretched out in front of her window.
Standing under the steaming hot water, she felt her muscles starting to unwind as she let the water trail down her head and back. Just as she was beginning to think about shutting off the water and getting out of the shower, the lights went out.
He found me, she thought as the water tapered off, leaving nothing more than a trickle running down around her. After staying with her brother she knew that most farms ran off well water, and without the electrical pump, it couldn’t be pulled out of the ground.
She turned the knobs off so the water wouldn’t come back on later like her brother taught her and reached around the glass door to grab a towel. A surge of fear and adrenaline started to clog her throat, and she fought it back down. It wasn’t like it was completely unexpected for the power to go out during an electrical storm. In fact, the candle she had lit just in case still flickered on the countertop where she had left it.
Even so, she was still unprepared for the raw emotion being plunged into darkness brought with it. In the early days, the stalker had found it fun to toy with her by hacking into the electric company’s computer and shutting off her power. For weeks, she would find herself being plunged into darkness purely for his enjoyment. When she first came to the ranch, she had looked at the electrical meter to assure herself it was one of the older ones that did not come with remote access.
Knowledge was power, and she was attempting to use that knowledge now to dissuade her fear from latching hold. Grabbing the candle, she moved out of the bathroom and into the sitting area. But the lone candle wasn’t enough to protect against the encroaching shadows, so she slipped on the robe she’d found in the closet and headed into the hall.
Although she had been safely and easily navigating the jumbled maze of hallways for two days, the fear that was now pumping through her system made it much harder. She turned down another hallway that led away from her room and toward the center of the house and almost collided with Shad as he rounded the corner. He bumped her arm and the candle went out, causing a strangled cry to escape her throat.
Shad’s hand reached out in the darkness and grabbed Clara’s arm, steadying her. “It’s okay. I was just coming to check on you.”
She took a couple of deep breaths. “I think I was doing the same thing before I got lost in your hallway maze.” Clara laughed, trying to make light of her fear.
“Well then, let’s go back to the kitchen. I just finished brewing a pot of coffee before the lights went out. I’m sure it’s still warm. I was gonna watch the storm through the big window off the enclosed porch. Would you like to join me?”
Clara had a brief thought of going back to her room to grab some clothes, but she didn’t want to be alone in the dark house any longer than she had to. “That sounds wonderful, actually.”
“Don’t like the dark much?” he asked as he started walking back toward the center of the house, using a small flashlight to illuminate their path.
“Not when I’m a rat in a maze.”
“You keep saying that. I’m beginning to think you don’t like my house.”
Clara smiled in the dark. “I like the house just fine. It’s the hallways I don’t appreciate.”
Shad had left two large candles burning in the kitchen, partially lighting the large room. He reached into the overhead cabinet and pulled down two coffee cups. “Do you take yours with cream and sugar?”
“Usually, but right now I think I want to taste the bitterness.”
Shad laughed under his breath.
“What?” she asked, eyeing him. He was wearing nothing but a pair of jeans, and she couldn’t keep from appraising his nicely molded chest and abdomen in the candlelight.
“Nothing, it’s just most people would rather drink their coffee the way they enjoy it.” Lightning struck outside, and the flash played across his features.
“I thought you said something about a big window?” she reminded him.
“So I did.” He studied her for a moment, and she felt the intensity of his gaze travel over her as she pushed her wet hair behind her ears. Just as he had stretched out the silence long enough for her to start fidgeting, he picked up one of the candles and walked toward the back of the kitchen. There was a small door to the right of the pantry she hadn’t paid much attention to while making herself a quick lunch earlier.
When they walked through, Clara uttered a small, involuntary gasp. The floor was the only thing not made of glass. Stepping into the room was like walking out into a garden without leaving the comfort of the house. Flowering shrubs and roses pressed up against th
e bottom of the glass and carefully manicured ivy trailed up the edges of the window framing it. In the center of the room, was an ornate porch swing that looked more like a small sofa with thickly padded cushions on top of a white carved wooden frame.
“Well, do you like it?” he asked.
“This was not what I expected.” She replied once she regained her composure. “But then again, nothing about this house has been what I expected.”
“It was my mother’s one request. She was sick a lot, and she asked that my dad build her a room where she could enjoy her garden without having to go outside.”
He motioned for her to sit on the swing, and as she moved to do so there was a lightning strike on the distant horizon. It illuminated the room with sudden blue brilliance that didn’t seem to be as blinding as it would have been if they were standing outside.
“A few years ago I added a special filter to help cut down on the UV rays. It apparently also works for lightning.”
She sank into the seat and nodded her head. “This is just…” she let her words trail off because she had nothing to describe or compare to this seat in the Garden of Eden.
He sank into the seat beside her as another lightning strike flashed. “We wouldn’t want to do this if the storm was too close, but it’s far enough back right now that it’s safe. There are lightning rods on the other end of the property to draw away stronger hits,” he assured her.
She turned toward him, and the instant she did, she found herself trapped in his direct gaze. He had set the candle on the small table by the door, and its light was reflected in his eyes. The storm outside was not the only one she had to worry about. She’d seen that same hunger in his eyes earlier and knew it was reflected back in her own.
Her robe had slid up a little when she sat down, and now the sensitive skin just above her knee was brushing against his jeans as they sat together. She suddenly felt very aware of her lack of clothing, but when she looked down to re-adjust the fabric his hand slipped under her chin and pulled her face back up to his.
“Don’t.” It was all he said, but that little word sent shivers of anticipation across her flesh. He ran his thumb along the line of her chin as his other found the gap in the robe and traced its edges by running his fingertips along her exposed flesh, but his eyes never moved from hers.
His touch was so stimulating she had to bite the corner of her lip to keep from groaning out loud. He saw that and deepened his smile, slowly pulling back the edge of the robe until it fell off her shoulder and exposed her bare skin from her breast to her thigh. She could feel the air circulating around her, and the tiny rivulets of water that trailed from her hair now slid down her skin, streams of cold and fire mingling together as they moved over her.
His hand flattened out and moved across her thigh, up her waist, and cupped her breast. When he ran the pad of his thumb across her nipple a small gasp escaped her and at that moment his mouth closed over hers, swallowing her excitement. His mouth left hers and skimmed along her chin and down to the nape of her neck, while his other hand pushed down the other side of the robe, binding both of her hands in the loose pools of terry cloth.
She leaned back as he worked his mouth across her collarbone, licking off the droplets of water as he found them and then gently nipping at the tender flesh underneath. Her breath now came in low, shallow pants, and the fire that had been building in her abdomen since he first touched her threatened to ignite.
There was a raw, basic hunger raging through her body, and when he pushed her thighs apart and dipped his fingers into her wet folds, she thought she would immediately be consumed by the fire.
Her hips arched against his fingertips, begging for release. Instead, he ran them over the sensitive skin, stroking and caressing, building her tension in increasing waves as she struggled not to scream. A flash of lightning flared across the room as he simultaneously licked at her nipple and thrust his finger into her. This time, there was no stopping it, she cried out into the darkness, begging him not to stop as she thrust against his fingers once, twice, before he pulled out. She inhaled sharply at the sudden absence of him, her body screaming for more.
She was still breathless and panting, her body aching for release as he continued to tease her at the edge of an orgasm. Her hands were still caught in the folds of the robe and the weight of her body, and when he leaned up, she managed to work one free. Drawn like a moth to the flame, she tugged at the edge of his jeans, desperate to feel the weight of him.
When her fingers connected with his flesh, he groaned and pulled her up completely, freeing her from the robe and laying her on the seat. Now he hovered just above her, his arm muscles rigid with the weight of his upper body. She slid her fingers under the edge of his pants, unbuckling his belt and sliding down the zipper.
He moved against her hands, urging her on as she slid his pants and underwear down, and he kicked them onto the ground. She held his throbbing member, rubbing her hands up and down his shaft, gently caressing him as he had her, laying a trail of kisses from his chin to his collarbone. He moaned and leaned into her, and she smiled against his chest.
A close lightning strike pierced the stillness as he slid into her, and she clamped her mouth around his, biting on his lower lip. She moved her legs up over his lower back and clamped her feet around him, rising and thrusting against him as he pushed into her. The air danced around them, and brief flashes of lightning continued to flare in the distance. When she was about to climax, he pulled away from her kiss and stared down at her, his smoky eyes taking in everything as she pulsed against him, her body shuddering with the weight of the orgasm.
Just as she peaked, he pushed back against her in one final thrust, his back arching, pushing even farther into her as they climaxed together, their eyes locked the entire time as they spiraled into oblivion. Outside, the storm raged on.
*
Early Sunday morning, Shad moved through the barn, checking the pens and turning the livestock out to pasture. Even though he knew he should be focused on his normal work routine, he couldn’t stop thinking about the woman he had left in his bed. There was a smile on his face and a spring in his step as he ran his final inspections on the fence line and the barn.
He waved as his ranch foreman rounded the corner and moved to meet him. Randy wasn’t much older than Shad, but he’d been around since he’d started working as a stable boy at fifteen.
“I’ve checked the barn and the fences, everything looks good. As far as I can tell, the storm did no major damage.”
“I didn’t find anything on my rounds, either.” Randy reassured him.
Just then, they heard a vehicle moving up the winding drive. They turned around to see a county Sheriff’s SUV with a bright orange truck following closely behind. Melinda jumped out and approached them.
“I got a man says he’s from the electric co-op. He was supposed to come out and check all the lines around the property. Apparently, they had a report of some major problems originating from the farm.”
“And he needed a Sheriff’s escort to come out here and check?” Shad joked.
“Well, he probably wouldn’t have, except his GPS kept leading him around in circles over by the cemetery. Guess he must be new to Jim’s crew.” She chuckled a little under her breath, straightening her smile as the man climbed out of his truck.
He was dressed in the typical jeans and company polo, but he was wearing tennis shoes instead of boots, which meant he probably spent most of his time behind a desk, or else he would have known the red mud would stain and ruin those shoes in less than ten minutes. They all watched as he pulled a small bag of tools out of the truck before he walked over. Tacked to his clipboard was a map with an electrical grid of the farm and a checklist. “Hello, Mr. Brandt, I’m Seth Farland. The co-op sent me out here to check everything over. It probably won’t take me longer than a couple of hours, if that’s alright?”
“Not at all.” Shad turned back to Randy as he spoke. “If Mr. Farla
nd needs any help, get one of the hands to assist him. I’m going to take the morning off, so you’re in charge.”
“You got it, boss,” Randy said. “You always work too hard, anyway.”
As he walked away, Melinda fell in step beside him. “I don’t suppose your taking some time off has anything to do with your new helper, does it?”
Shad stopped and looked directly at Melinda. She met his angry glare with a look of stubborn determination, and he knew she was not going to just let it go. “What I do in my house is none of your business, Melinda. Nor does it matter who I am doing it with. I understand you have some problems accepting I run things differently than Dad did, but you’re just going to have to deal with that.”
“Fine, but just so you know, I ran the name she is using through the database and it came back with—”
“You can stop right there.” He cut her off before she could finish. He saw the anger flare up in her eyes, but she held her ground. “I do not care what you found or think you found. If I ever decide I want you to intrude in my private life, I’ll ask you to do so.”
“I couldn’t care less about your love life, Shad. But she’s in there, tampering…”
“Filing,” Shad interrupted.
“…with paperwork for our family business.”
“If I remember rightly, you left me in charge of the ‘family’ business. You said you’d had enough when you decided to run for Sheriff. But don’t worry, I took out all the important papers and stored them in the safe a long time ago. She’s just going through the everyday stuff that gets piled in boxes. There aren’t even any bank records in there. The only thing she could do in that office would be to get paper cuts. Good thing you had to guide the poor lost soul from the co-op out here, or else I would tell you that you wasted a trip.”
Melinda continued to glare at him before turning on her heel and going back to her SUV. He knew she wasn’t through with her inquisition, but she wasn’t going to push the matter right now.
