Back to present day and a year on, nothing had changed. Miles would regularly turn up on her doorstep, begging her to take him back. It was quite ridiculous considering he wasn’t really in the wrong. But she calmly kept telling him that it was over.
****
Back in the real world and the coach pulled under a large wooden sign, which looked like it had been bitten and scratched by some large wild creature or other. Stevie hoped and prayed that this was simply for effect only. It read Wild Front Here. She rolled her eyes at the play on words as their vehicle began to travel up a long dirt track road surrounded by yet more trees.
The place was miles from anywhere. Miles from a supermarket, miles from a chemist, miles from a Starbucks, miles from…Miles. In fact, miles from any civilisation at all. Who’d have thought you could be so remote in the UK?
The crammed bus finally stopped in a clearing and the driver announced their arrival. The teenagers on board erupted into whoops and cheers, and David did his best to get their attention so he could calm them down. She climbed down from the bus and made her way over to the petite blonde woman in khaki shorts, who was waiting with a clipboard.
“Hi! Welcome to Wild Front Here.” She gestured her arms around them with a flourish. Her green eyes smiled.
Stevie wasn’t in the mood for the over-enthusiastically jovial greeting. “Erm…yeah. Thanks. Can you tell me where the toilets are, please?”
The greeter deflated a little. “Oh right…yes…over in that direction, through the trees. Watch your footing though. Lots of branches and things.”
“Thanks.” Stevie headed off in the direction that the woman had gestured. As she walked, her phone rang in her pocket. Checking the screen, she realised it was her mum doing her usual have-you-arrived-safe check. She truly believed the woman still thought she was a child. But she humoured her regularly without too much complaint. Ever since she was eighteen, things had changed. It was as if Dana constantly expected her to go off the rails or have a meltdown. It was infrequent that she snapped, but today—after the seemingly endless journey she had just endured—could well be one of those days depending on the tone of the call.
Stevie sighed. “Hey, Mum.”
“Hi, sweetie. Did you arrive safe?”
She was about to bite back with, “Do I sound like I’m dead in a ditch to you?” Instead she took a deep breath before replying. “Yes…I’m fine. Can’t talk long though as we’ve only just arrived.”
“Yes, no worries, honey. Just checking you’re okay. Speak soon, love you.”
“Love you too, Mum. Bye.” She ended the call feeling somewhat relieved that it had been brief and relatively calm and painless for once.
The cabin housing the toilets was built from rustic looking logs, and she half expected to see holes in the floor to pee in. Thankfully, she was pleasantly surprised at the modern and clean facilities that greeted her. They even smelled fresh. Bonus.
After using the conveniences, she exited the log cabin and stretched out her back. Sitting on a coach for so long played havoc with her muscles, and she hadn’t been able to get to the gym this week thanks to preparing for this wretched trip. Science club and parent consultations had taken up two further evenings. She inhaled the fresh Scottish air into her lungs enjoying the lack of exhaust fumes and traffic noise.
Movement in her peripheral vision and a grunting noise caught her attention through the trees to her left. Being inherently inquisitive—okay, extremely nosey—she made her way over to have a sneaky look at what was causing the commotion.
A stunning sight greeted her, and she gasped quietly, appreciating the view before her.
He was naked from the waist up, and his tanned skin was glistening with sweat as the sun’s rays beat down on him. The muscles in his back rippled and flexed when he lifted an axe above his head and brought it down with great force on the huge chunk of tree trunk. He grunted fiercely, a raw and almost carnal noise, as the axe made contact with the wood, splitting it right down the middle. An involuntarily twinge tugged between her thighs.
The man had a large tribal tattoo beginning on his left shoulder that reached part way down his back, and another that she couldn’t properly make out but looked like some kind of script, that stretched down the right side of his torso. His hair was around collar length and almost black due to its dampness. The top part was scraped back and secured with a band, no doubt to keep errant strands from his eyes whilst he wielded the sharp weapon in his grip.
He wore khaki cargo pants that hung low on his hips so that the dimples in his lower back were just visible. His biceps bulged as he lifted the axe aloft once more. Interspersed with the muscles and tattoos was the dirt that clung to his sweaty, masculine body.
Her mouth watered and her heart rate increased. She dragged the back of her hand across her damp forehead, suddenly feeling rather feverish. Quite a strong reaction to quite a magnificent specimen of male.
No doubt he must have the face of a bulldog chewing a wasp or at least the personality of an ogre. She surmised. He couldn’t be that perfect, really. Could he? After looking behind her to ensure she wasn’t being observed in all her voyeuristic glory, she leaned in the direction of the hunk to get a closer look, squinting to try to make out the tattoo on his right side or at least get a glimpse of his face to prove her point.
She tried to step forward slightly, but her foot caught on a low branch causing her to lurch in the direction of the hunk and land on her hands and knees with a squeal. The sharp stony ground beneath her knees dug into her flesh as her eyes began to water. Biting down on her lip she tried to fight the urge to yelp even more and draw attention to her faux pas.
Her heart pounded in her chest, hammering at her ribs as if to make its own escape from the embarrassing situation she now found herself in, and she clamped her eyes shut. She quaked inwardly when she heard heavy footsteps rapidly coming toward her. She opened her eyes and stared down at a pair of dirty work boots.
A deep husky voice with a slight Scottish accent asked from overhead, “You okay down there?”
Feeling the heat rise in her cheeks, she wished that the ground would break apart beneath her feet and swallow her whole into its yawning chasm. “Oh…yes…sorry… I’m fine…I um…got a little lost.” She rambled and stammered her flustered words.
“Here, let me help you up.” A large calloused, dirty hand appeared in front of her face. She gulped down her shame and reluctantly grasped it, allowing herself to be pulled up to her feet. “You should be careful out here. Lots of things to…you know…trip over.”
She slowly lifted her gaze up from his toned stomach where his ridged abdominal muscles were clearly defined and a V disappeared into his waistband. Up…up to his pecs…hard as rock. She could now see that the tribal tattoo on his back continued over his shoulder and part way down his chest. His body was, of course, just as delicious from the front as from the rear. The smell of pure male was pulled into her nostrils as she inhaled a deep shaking breath. As her eyes raked upwards she noticed the line of stubble that graced his strong, chiselled jaw, and his full lips were pulled into a hard line. He was clearly not amused. Her eyes continued their journey northward as if in slow motion until she was gazing into the eyes of the man she had been ogling from her hiding place, deep chocolate brown eyes that she could happily melt into. Familiar eyes. Wait a minute… She gasped a sharp involuntary breath. Her eyes widened and her heart almost stuttered to a halt.
“Jason?”
Chapter Two
The puzzled look on the man’s face told Stevie he wasn’t quite sure who he was looking at. But his expression suddenly changed. Darkened somehow as apparent realisation dawned on his stunning features. A cold shiver travelled her spine, her stomach knotted and dizziness struck as she stepped back, almost falling again.
He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her against his hard body. “You need to be careful. You’re going to get hurt.” His voice was a low, husky rumble that fil
tered through his gritted teeth.
She snorted. “Yeah? Well, you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?” Placing her hands flat on his bare, damp, tattooed chest, she pushed him, struggling in vain to free herself from his vice-like grip. “Get your hands…off…me!” Her voice was a strangled sob.
“Not until you stop struggling. If I let you go now and you fall, you’ll be poleaxed by the huge, sharp branch sticking up behind you.”
She noted the difference in his accent and wondered why that was. She stopped struggling and looked directly into his now cold eyes. “Like you’d care if that happened.”
He grimaced at her and a line appeared in the middle of his forehead. “Of course I’d care.” He cleared his throat. “This is my livelihood after all, and I could do without the law suit, thank you very much.”
She gasped in horror at his harsh, emotionless comment. “Well, we wouldn’t want that, now would we? Who knows the trouble you’d get into? You’d have to disappear to avoid all the hassle… Oh wait…you did that ten fucking years ago!”
He moved his face so that it was an inch from hers. Her breath caught again and her heart continued to pound relentlessly, almost painfully at her ribs. He glanced down at her mouth and then back into her eyes as he spoke through his clenched jaw. “You need to watch your mouth, there are kids around.”
He pulled her away from the protruding branch and let go of her. She stepped back carefully, straightening her clothing and smoothing down her hair. “I…I need to get back.” She turned to go back in the direction that she had emerged from.
Jason grabbed her arm and swung her around again. “Wait—why are you here? And how the hell did you find me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m here under duress…as a teaching chaperone with my school. I hadn’t got a clue you worked here. If I’d known that you did, I can assure you I wouldn’t have set foot in the place.”
Jason’s grin was one of disbelief. “Of course you hadn’t…and I don’t work here, sweetheart. I own the place. But of course you’d know that, wouldn’t you?”
Arrogant arse! “How the hell would I know that?”
He huffed incredulously. “Oh, come off it. It’s my guess that you’ve been looking for me. I guess you’ve been playing detective for some reason after all these years.”
“Yeah? Well I don’t care what you’ve guessed. Because the fact is you’re wrong. Now let me go. I need to get back. Goodbye, Jason.” She tried to free herself from his vice-like hold again but instead it tightened further.
“So you were just ogling me then? Through the trees? You were ogling someone who was, to all intents and purposes, a complete stranger, and on work’s time too. Tut tut. Is that common practise for teaching staff these days?” He chuckled but the laugh was laced with something dark and menacing.
She gritted her teeth. “Get over yourself, you arrogant pig. I heard a grunting noise and came to investigate. I’m with a coach load of teenagers and it’s my responsibility to ensure their welfare. That’s all.”
He laughed humourlessly. “Whatever, sweetheart.” He leaned into her ear. “We both know the truth.”
She shivered and scrunched her face in disgust. “My God, Jason, what the hell happened to you?”
He let go of her and scowled. “I had a big dose of life and reality, darlin’. That’s what.”
“Yeah? Now there’s something to be proud of, eh? I’m sure that all those people whom you left behind would be so delighted to hear about that. And I am not your sweetheart or your darling.”
He grabbed her by the arms again, this time with both hands, pulled her against his hard chest and bent so that his nose almost touched hers. “They will be hearing nothing of the sort because you are going to keep your mouth firmly shut. Do you hear me?”
Her chest heaved against his. He had changed beyond all recognition and not for the better. The smell of body wash mixed with sweat infiltrated her senses and clouded her mind. It was a heady cocktail that fuelled the lustful feelings she’d had when she had been oblivious to whom he was. Angry with her body for betraying her mind, she closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again her resolve was restored. “Or else what? You’ll run away again? Or do you threaten and hit women now to keep them quiet and get them to do your bidding?”
He recoiled, letting her go and staggering backwards as though she had struck him. His brow furrowed and he looked pained by her words.
She smiled sardonically. “You should be careful, Jason. Lots of things here to…you know…fall over.” She growled as she used his own words against him before turning and walking as fast as she could back to where the coach had parked.
The coach was nowhere to be seen, and suddenly she was overcome with emotion as realisation and the reality of her discovery began to sink in. Her rush to get away had left her winded and she bent double, resting her hands on her knees as tears stung behind her eyes. She gulped the fresh air deeply into her lungs trying her best to rein herself in.
Ten years he’d been gone, and of all the places she should bump into him, it had to be when she was completely out of her comfort zone, in more ways than one. The shock knotted her stomach, and her heart was forming a brand new erratic rhythm all of its own.
The last thing she needed was to have to fabricate something on the spot if she was discovered in her current distraught state. Once she had gathered herself, she wiped her clammy hands down her jeans and made her way in the direction of the log cabins.
“There you are! I’ve been worried sick! I thought you’d been dragged off by a mountain lion or something.” David looked relieved.
“David, we’re in the Cairngorms, not the Yukon,” she snapped.
Her colleague raised his eyebrows. “Sorry…I…I was just worried.”
She softened her face. “I’m sorry. I got a bit…lost…but don’t tell the kids, okay? I’d never live that down.”
He smiled. “My lips are sealed. Hang on… Did you fall or something? Your knees are all scuffed and dirty.”
She bent and tried in vain to brush the dirt from her jeans. “Yes. I tripped over a stupid branch. I’m fine though.”
“Okay…if you’re sure… Look, I hope you don’t mind but rather than leaving it outside I took your bag into your cabin. Come on, I’ll show you the way.”
She followed him to a row of log cabin dorm rooms where their charges were happily unpacking their belongings. They were surprisingly quiet, probably exhausted from their long journey. David kept his hand at the bottom of her back, a gesture that seemed a little too familiar and intimate for work colleagues, but she let it ride for now, seeing as she was devoid of the energy to protest. He gestured to a small cabin at the end of the row, which sat opposite a cabin of the same size. “This is you, and I’m opposite.”
“Thanks, David.”
“No worries. Your bag’s on your bed. I drew the line at unpacking for you. Didn’t think you’d like me going through your smalls.” He grinned and blushed.
She shook her head without smiling. “No. I wouldn’t. I’ll just get unpacked. What are the arrangements for dinner?”
“Dorcas says there’ll be a barbecue in about an hour. She’ll come and collect us before that though, as there’s a briefing first.”
She scrunched her face. “Dorcas? What kind of name is Dorcas?”
“A biblical one,” David replied, looking rather proud for knowing that little snippet of useless trivia. “She was the little blonde girl who greeted us. She’s very sweet, and I think a couple of the boys already have the hots for her, so we’ll have to watch them. Anyway, I’ll leave you to it.”
He turned on his heels and made his way over to a group of kids who were messing around with cups of water and squealing like banshees. Turning her back on the ridiculous scene, she climbed the steps into her small cabin and closed the door. She walked over to the bed and sat, glancing around at her new surroundings. The cabin was simply furnished but comforta
ble with a single bed, bedside table, dressing table, and chair. There was a small en-suite shower room at the end too, which she was relieved to discover.
Inhaling a deep breath, her mind wandered back to the startling encounter that took place only minutes before. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and she would not have boarded the bus if she’d known that he would be here.
Or would she?
Ten years was a long time to nurse the wounds left after being abandoned by the man you thought you were going to spend your life with. Ten years and not a word. Not knowing if he was alive or dead. Not knowing if he was happy or if he had met someone else. Ten years without his touch, his kiss, his voice. Ten years that had left her a shell of her former self, unable to trust anyone.
The whole damned situation had caused her to lose her friends, her heart, her self-esteem, and her confidence, along with her faith in men; or the tiny shred that she’d had left. All gone. And here he was. Large as life.
Her immediate thought was that she wanted to leave, to get away rather than face this thing head on. It was one of those fight or flight scenarios she’d heard about. The trouble is, the more she played it over in her mind, the more she wanted to go with both. To slap him and demand answers, and to phone for a cab to take her back down to London. But duty wouldn’t allow that. She was trapped here.
Trapped.
For. A. Whole. Week.
And shit, he owned the damn place. There was no escaping him. At all. There was a knock on her cabin door, and she turned to face it, staring, as if by doing so it would reveal who was on the other side. Was it him? Oh shitty shit! Calm, Stevie. Calm. After a few moments, she stood and slowly, reluctantly made her way over to open it, fearing who stood beyond.
It was David. Relief washed over her and she smiled widely.
Reasons to Leave (Reasons #1) Page 3
