Page 21 of Undone

I dragged her into the dimly lit cabin shutting the door firmly behind us.

“You’re not ready to go to bed?” I smirked, playing dumb. She wrung her hands, eyes darting between me and the door. “Relax, there’s two bedrooms. But we do have to share the same shower.”

“I’m not tired.”

“What do you want to do then?”

“Not what you’re thinking.”

“That’s a shame. I thought drinking some wine by the fireplace after I lit it would be nice.”

“Why did you spend the day with me anyway?”

“Why did you really follow Devon to Springdale?” I countered.

“To meet someone like you,” she whispered faintly.

“I doubt that. I know I look like a damn Sasquatch.”

“Yes, you do,” she giggled. “But I don’t know… it has potential."

“Let’s get to know each other then. Come on, I won’t bite.”

“You do. And I have the mark on my neck to prove it.” She lifted her hair off her neck and there it was. I marked her when we were kissing and dancing. The small, red bite where my teeth scraped her skin made me want to do it again.

“Sorry. I lost my head. I swear, I’m not a guy who forces himself on a woman.”

“I know.”

Her eyes widened at the sight of her overnight bag on the floor.

“Rog wanted alone time with Dev. Some of the men are drunk off their asses, so you’re safer in here, with me than out there.”

“One night. What can happen, right?”

The answer was everything. Everything could happen.

And I wanted it to.

She slipped off her shoes and curled up on the sofa by the fireplace. I knelt by her feet, striking a match to the kindling already set up. Once it caught, I put a few logs on top.

“It gets chillier here than I expected at night.”

“We’re at a raised elevation. The temps drop by double digits after the sun goes down. The camp isn’t winterized. In a few more months this place won’t be useable. Tell me beautiful, why did your friend really move to Springdale?”

“It’s beautiful here. And to answer your question—Dev stayed in Springdale because she fell in love with it.”

“Springdale?” I snorted in disbelief.

“It’s true. She grew up in the city. Cars, buses, and exhaust fumes gave her headaches and Chicago is full of metrosexual men prettier than the women Springdale, was a breath of fresh air and after her last relationship, it was also the change she needed. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Actually, I do. I live outside San Francisco in Oakland. Coming up here to the mountains is the change I needed, too.”

“See? The two of you actually have something in common.”

“We do.” I smiled, moving to uncork the bottle of merlot I placed on the table earlier. But I’m still gonna keep tabs on the woman, for Rog’s sake. He’s falling fast. I wanna make sure the woman is trustworthy.

I handed Luce a glass while watching the flames cast shadows on her pale skin. After pouring one for myself, I sat on the floor with my back leaning against the couch. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, I felt her hand combing through my overgrown hair. The fire, wine and her touch, soothed me. I was the wild animal she was taming.

---