31 Days of Winter (46 page)

‘Dan, I … come with me,’ I pleaded. ‘Come back to
London, get a job down there and we can see each other and just see how it
goes. We don’t have to rush anything, you can just adjust in your own time.’

‘Ellie,’ he sighed as he stopped walking.

‘I know, don’t tell me, you can’t. You have your
thing, and you won’t tell me what it is or why. You tell me to stop lying to
myself but I think it’s you, you lie to yourself. You’re the only one holding
you back, you choose to hide up here and cut yourself off from civilisation,
you’re too scared to move on from whatever’s holding you back,’ I blurted out.
I saw a cloud pass over his face and steadied myself for the worst, I hadn’t
meant to push him but I was so frustrated. We could be amazing together and he
wouldn’t even give us a chance, or tell me the reason why not.

‘Don’t you dare judge me when you don’t know what
you’re talking about,’ he snapped.

‘That’s your choice Dan, you don’t want to tell
me. You obviously prefer living in the past to taking a chance on your future.
How can anyone help you if you won’t share?’

‘Don’t ruin a perfect day, Ellie,’ he sighed as he
rubbed his hands over his face. ‘I want to remember this, to keep me going.’

‘This is a bubble you’re living in Dan, another little
world where nothing ever intrudes. Life goes on outside while you sit here
stewing over whatever it is that you mope about the majority of the time. I’m
leaving soon, I’ll go back to reality and after a bit of time I’m going to
start dating, I’ll start having sex with someone else, maybe fall in love and
get married and have a family. I’ll move on, I’ll hopefully have hundreds more
perfect days, while you’re still here looking back at this one, always
wondering what could have been. That’s not living, is that what you really want?’

‘You know it’s not,’ he snarled as he yanked me to
him. ‘I told you, I don’t want you to date or have sex with anyone else. You’re
mine, you belong to me now.’

‘I’m not your possession Dan, you can’t dictate to
me how I’m going to live my life when I leave this island. I’m a person with
feelings, a job and friends. I want to date someone who’ll be open and honest
with me, who’ll want to get married and have a family. You’re obviously not
that guy, I’ve known it for a while and you obviously have too, so like you
said, you’re just my winter fling, nothing more.’ I swallowed as I lied, I
did
want all of that, but I wanted it with him, I couldn’t explain why, but it
hurt so badly to know that he wasn’t in that place with me. I tried to turn and
walk away, but his strong arm held me too tightly.

‘If we’d met four years ago Ellie, things would’ve
been so different,’ he advised as he tilted my face up to his. I looked up at
him confused, he seemed so sincere.

‘Well we didn’t, did we? It is what it is.’

‘So stop fighting me and just enjoy what we have
now,’ he ordered as he kissed me again.
What choice did I have?
I
wondered as I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him back, then laughed
as a tree dumped its heavy load of snow on top of us. ‘Here, put my hat on or
you’ll freeze again,’ he advised as he removed it and dusted the snow off my
hair before pulling it over my head. ‘I’m still hungry, let’s head back, it
will be going dark soon anyway.’

‘Ok,’ I nodded and let out a wince as I moved.
‘Shit, I feel so stiff.’

‘You and me both,’ he advised and I glanced down
to see he was hard again.

‘Are you sure you’re not a teenager with these
regular erections?’ I enquired with a smile.

‘I feel like one around you. They spring at will.’

‘Well, let me see what I can do to help you out.’
I shoved him back against the tree and reached down to unbutton his jeans.

‘Why don’t we head back and I can help you out at
the same time?’

‘You can help me out later. Right now I’d like to
taste you properly. I’ve had dreams of doing this to you.’ I hauled his jeans
and boxers down and let out a slight gasp as he sprung free and I dropped to my
knees in front of him. It really was a thing of beauty, Zac’s was much thinner,
no wonder I came when Dan’s was inside me. I always performed oral sex because
I felt I had to, but as I grasped Dan in my palm, I was eager. I wanted to see
if he tasted as good as he looked, if that masculine scent of sex that radiated
off him and had my insides watering would make me change my mind on the whole
oral thing. I gently pulled it down towards my mouth and heard him hiss, before
I reached out my tongue and slowly ran it up his baby soft skin, over his
bulbous head to lick away the evidence of his excitement already seeping from
his tip. He groaned and thrust his hips forward as he gathered my long hair in
his hands and tugged it back away from my face. I licked again and swirled
around his head before engulfing him, my eyes widening. I knew he was big, but
this was ridiculous, he could perform a tonsillectomy if he pushed too hard. I
took him as deeply as I could, trying to breathe through my nose as he groaned
above me again. I wondered if anyone had ever managed to take him all the way,
I certainly couldn’t. It would take a lot of practice, so much that I wouldn’t
master it in another six days, but damn, I was going to give it my best shot.
Dan had converted me.

‘Damn it, Ellie,’ he gasped in a strangled tone as
I slowly moved up and down on him, ignoring the cold as the snow dampened the
material protecting my knees. He tasted divine, so manly and musky, it was such
a heady mix. I heard him moan again and he tugged on my hair forcing my eyes up
to meet his. They were on fire, raw lust burned in them which only spurred me
on to suck him harder. He gently thrust in time to the pace I’d set and when
the thrusts speeded up, so did I. I could hear from the panting and moans that
he was close. I’d never been so excited to swallow someone. Even with Zac I’d
do my best to discreetly retreat to the bathroom and spit him out, but Dan was
challenging everything I’d ever known in a sexual relationship. I heard a low
growl start in the pit of his stomach, meandering its way up, before bursting
from his throat, then I felt him tense and quiver in my mouth. ‘Fuck … Ellie,
don’t stop, please don’t … stop.’

I thought I was prepared for his release, but I
wasn’t. The force of it took me by surprise and I repeatedly swallowed to stop
myself from choking on the torrent that spewed from him over and over. He let
out a long contented sigh as he gazed down at me through half closed eyes and
slumped back against the tree. I worked my way back up his shaft and licked it
clean before nuzzling into his pelvis and laying small kisses on his toned
stomach. ‘Wow, you come hard.’

‘Do I?’

‘Yes, I’ve never had to swallow so many times.’

‘Don’t remind me you’ve done that before, I hate
the idea of you having been with anyone else,’ he sighed as he tugged me up and
wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me.  ‘Promise me you won’t go back
to him?’

‘To Zac?’

‘Yes.’

‘I won’t, even setting aside his lying and
cheating, now I know what really great sex feels like, no way I’m going back
there,’ I smiled.

‘We haven’t had really great sex yet. First time I
was too excited, second time I was too desperate to see if it was as good as I
remembered the first time.’

‘And the third time?’

‘Hot fast sex before a well-earned breakfast. I’ve
yet to have leisurely sex with you Miss Baxter, or properly hard fucking, and I
aim to please.’

‘Lucky me,’ I grinned.

‘Hmmm. Let’s move before I’m tempted to fuck you
right here in the snow.’

When I moaned again and clutched my lower back,
Dan insisted on giving me a piggy back all the way around to the boathouse.

‘O my God, my mobile,’ I gasped as I pointed at it
glinting on the jetty. He let me slide off him and I stepped onto the wood to
walk over to get it and froze. A slow motion of me slipping and falling
backwards played out in my head and I jumped backwards onto the shore, my heart
pounding in my chest.

‘Stay there, I’ll get it. But when this snow’s
cleared we’re going to have to get you back on the jetty and out on the loch so
you don’t get fixated on your fall,’ he advised as he strode out to get my
phone. I watched with my heart in my mouth as he bent to pick it up and frowned
as he looked at the gap in the now thinning ice, where I’d gone through and
he’d come in after me. ‘You were very lucky, I need to check that cut on your
arm again.’

‘Ok,’ I nodded. ‘If I can use your stove I’ll do
us lasagne for dinner and use up the mince, but at some stage we’re going to
run out of food.’

‘I’ll try and text Pete the pub if I can’t get out
tomorrow and he can come down with his boat and clear a trail through the ice
for me.’

‘O, ok,’ I nodded. I had a horrible feeling that
if he could get out he would be back to his normal routine and I’d lose him
again. I tried turning on my phone, but realised it had been on when I’d
slipped and the battery had gone flat. I worried about Brooke, she’d be frantic
that I hadn’t been in touch, other than that brief text last night. I wished I
didn’t just speed dial and knew her number off by heart, if I did I could ask
to borrow Dan’s phone. I took my mind off it by busying myself in the kitchen
and preparing dinner while it was still light and Dan stoked up the fire. We
lit the remaining candles as we ate, then he pulled me onto his lap, straddling
him on the sofa as we spent some time kissing, before his hands were bruising
my hips they were kneading them so tightly and I was grinding against his
erection as our heavy breathing started to steam up the windows of the small
cabin. I broke away from his lips and gripped the hem of my jumper and hauled
it over my head, taking my t-shirt with it at the same time, my breasts
wobbling in their tight casing as his eyes roved over the edges of the lace.

‘Take it off,’ he ordered as his green eyes
reflected the heat of the fire and my own. I nodded and reached behind, keeping
my gaze on his as I unveiled myself, and the black pools in his eyes dilated
seconds before his lips surrounded one of my nipples and teased it to a stiff
point.

‘Uh, o my God,’ I moaned.

‘I could spend days worshipping this body,’ he
murmured as he lay kisses all across my chest and around my throat and neck, homing
straight in on that soft spot that made my eyes roll and everything south of my
navel tighten. ‘Days kissing, licking, sucking, stroking, caressing and
fucking. Hours upon hours until you were rendered hoarse from screaming my name
over and over. I want to ruin you, Ellie. I want you to think of me every time
someone even kisses you. I don’t want anyone to compare to how I made you feel.
I’ll be the one that you set your sexual standards by from this day forward.
Understood?’

‘Yes,’ I whimpered as he aggressively bit the side
of my neck and his fingers kneaded my tender aching breasts as I felt his rigid
cock writhing against the apex of my thighs, causing my knickers to dampen. He
suddenly stood up, taking me with him, his broad chest rising and falling
rapidly as he savagely kissed me while quickly undoing my jeans and shoving
them down my hips.

‘Jeans. Off. Now,’ he ordered as he tore away his
top layers exposing his magnificent torso. I kicked my jeans away as he fumbled
with his zip. Seconds later his jeans and boxers were down in one fluid
movement and an involuntary gasp escaped my lips to see his solid manhood set
free. ‘Do you want this cock inside you?’

‘Yes,’ I breathed.

‘How badly?’ he asked with an amused twinkle in
his eye as I trembled in front of him with anticipation.

‘Like you wouldn’t believe. I’ve never wanted
anyone more.’

‘It won’t be quick this time, Ellie. I’m going to
have to make you wetter than you’ve ever been if you’re going to keep up with
me. Understood?’

‘Yes,’ I nodded as my hands roved over his hard
abs. I gasped as he gripped my dainty lace knickers over each hip and pulled,
yanking the material up into my swollen flesh as he tore them apart. ‘Uh.’

‘
Now
I’m going to make you revise your
opinion on what really great sex is like,’ he advised as he crushed me to his
chest, kissing me to the point of orgasm as he walked me to the rug by the fire
and I nearly passed out with excitement.

Ellie

I woke up really early and
smiled as I felt Dan’s body curled around mine, holding me tightly. I couldn’t
believe what an amazing night we’d had. He’d kept his promise to show me really
great sex, using his fingers, lips and tongue on me, making me come multiple
times on the rug in front of the fire, then tried a number of different positions
before allowing himself to come. Then he’d woken me in the night and we’d done
it again, but that time we’d fucked, hard. I was sure I was going to struggle
to walk after all that, every muscle had been stretched and manipulated into
some positions I hadn’t even been aware existed. He was incredible, I doubted
any man could be more sexually aware and proficient than Dan. He made me feel
like he had a voracious appetite for me and had given me faith in my sexual allure
to the opposite sex again. I smiled and kissed the hand holding my shoulder and
heard him groan as he shifted slightly in the bed, then I closed my eyes and
fell back to sleep in a totally blissed out state.

I woke with a start to hear the roar of an engine
from outside and looked around to find myself alone. ‘Dan?’ I called. When I
got no answer I climbed down the ladder and grabbed his discarded blue and
white checked shirt off the floor, pulled it on and buttoned it up, turning up
the sleeves, before quickly tidying the rest of our discarded clothes from the
floor. I grabbed a mug of coffee and opened the front door and walked out onto
the veranda to find it was a bright sunny day. I squinted in the light and
shielded my eyes to see Dan at the edge of the jetty, dressed in his jeans and
a navy cable jumper, directing a large boat in. The engine purred as the ice
below it splintered easily and it made its way towards the shore. I checked my
watch, it was already eleven-thirty. Really great sex obviously made me tired.
I leaned on the bannister as I sipped my coffee and watched him guide the boat
in and a number of guys climb out with cables around their shoulders and large
toolboxes. Could that really be the electrical company’s men already? I felt a
twinge of disappointment. Being cut off with nothing else to do had definitely
helped Dan relax around me. Another guy jumped out and Dan helped him secure
the ropes, tethering the boat to the struts of the jetty and I straightened up
as they headed up towards me. Dan looked me up and down, raised an eyebrow and
glared. I shrugged, I had skirts longer than this shirt.

‘Ellie, please could you make coffees all around?
The guys from the power company are here to see if they can fix our line and
Pete’s going to cut a path to the shore for me so I can get out this
afternoon.’

‘Sure. How do you all take it?’ I asked. Everyone
was black, but for Pete who wanted it white with two sugars. Dan took the two
steps up to the veranda to stand next to me in one stride.

‘Put some bloody clothes on, would you?’ he
hissed.

‘Someone got out of bed on the wrong side,’ I
observed and got another glare in return. I headed back in, made the drinks and
opened the front door, still in his shirt to find them all chatting on the
veranda. Dan immediately blocked me from stepping out and grabbed the mugs off
me.

‘I thought I told you to get changed.’

‘I need a shower first and I didn’t want to make
you wait for your drinks.’

‘Make a list of everything you need food wise.
I’ll get it when I go out along with extra torches and candles if they haven’t
got the power back on.’

‘I’d like to come.’

‘I’d prefer you don’t. I may be longer than
normal. If the power’s restored while I’m out, ring and let me know, but you
may as well move your stuff back up to the house. There’ll be no need for you
to share down here with me anymore if the heating’s back on up there.’ I
blinked up at him, determined not to cry as I realised that I was being brushed
off. I’d known it was coming, but this felt seriously harsh. Like he’d got what
he wanted and I was suddenly an inconvenience now he could get back to his old
life again.

‘Fine. Sorry to have got in your way,’ I bit back.

‘That’s my favourite shirt, make sure it stays
here.’

‘Sorry, I didn’t think it was a big deal. As it’s
obviously more important to you than my feelings here, you can have the bloody
thing now.’ I reached down and yanked it over my head and held it out to him.
He gasped as I stood there naked.

‘What the hell are doing?’ he uttered.

‘Making sure everything goes back to normal,
pre-power cut, isn’t that what you want?’ I spun on my heels and marched back
towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. ‘Stupid, stupid,
stupid
girl, Ellie,’ I muttered to myself as I turned on the shower and washed myself
vigorously, trying to rub any remaining scent of him off me. I could rub as
hard as I liked, but flashes of moments in front of the fire or in his bed last
night kept battering my senses. ‘You are not going to cry about this, you knew
it was inevitable, this is the Dan he wants to be and has
nothing
to do
with you,’ I said firmly as I forced the tidal wave behind my eyelids back.

Everyone had disappeared by the time I came out freshly
dressed, so I spent my time taking my mind off his sudden swing in temperament
by cleaning his fridge and freezer, ready for him to restock. I tried to settle
down with a book, but my eyes kept drifting up to his bed. I chucked the book
down and stood up, no way was I sharing with him tonight, power or no power, not
after the way he treated me this morning. I packed my bag, pulled on my boots
and made my way up to the house, surprised to find the guy I assumed to be Pete
fixing a new piece of glass into the front door frame.

‘Watch your feet, I haven’t had a chance to sweep
up yet,’ he warned.

‘How did you sort this so fast?’ I asked.

‘Dan text me on Saturday night asking me to source
the glass.’

‘But how did you know the dimensions?’

‘He’s an efficient guy, he has files on
everything. So how are you enjoying your stay? Power cut aside.’

‘I was having a great time,’ I smiled.

‘I heard about your accident. You were lucky.’

‘Yes, I really was.’

‘So you’re coming New Year’s?’

‘I’m sorry, what?’

‘The Hogmanay party at the pub, it’s an annual
tradition. I don’t drink so I have an old bus that I drive around the loch to
collect folk, bring them for the party then drop them all off in the wee
hours.’

‘I didn’t know anything about it, besides I’m just
here on holiday, I’m sure Dan won’t want me cramping his style.’

‘Well he’s already purchased two tickets,
besides,’ Pete looked around him quickly before looking up at me, one of the
thin nails he was using to reattach the beading around the glass hanging out of
his mouth, ‘he got two tickets as soon as you confirmed your booking.’

‘Then I’m sure he has someone else to take. Maybe
his girlfriend?’ I asked, taking the opportunity to fish for information.

‘Dan? A girlfriend?’ he laughed. ‘No, lass. Not
for the lack of girls in the village throwing themselves at him on the rare
occasion he ventures out, other than his daily trips to town. He seems smitten
with you though.’

‘You think?’ I grabbed a bar stool and dragged it
over to sit down next to him as he worked.

‘Aye. You can tell the way he looks at you. He’s
got it bad.’

‘I don’t think so, I think he’s just appreciated
having some long term company and someone to cook him some decent meals.’

‘I could do with you down the pub, if ever you’re
looking for a job, let me know.’

‘I have a job thanks, Pete,’ I laughed.

‘In London?’

‘Yes.’

‘Don’t see the attraction myself. All those folk
and traffic. What’s wrong with here?’

‘Nothing,’ I sighed. ‘It’s beautiful and peaceful,
but I have a job and friends in London, that’s where my life is.’

‘Your life can be anywhere you choose lassie,
anywhere your heart feels at home.’

‘So where’s Dan? Has he already left?’

‘No, he’s lending some muscle to the power guys.
One of your poles came down with the weight of the snow, they should have you
back up and running in no time, then I’ll clear a path for his boat so he can
get out.’

‘Where’s he going?’

‘To town, he usually goes every day except for
Sunday.’

‘For his job?’

‘Job? No,’ he laughed. ‘He’s too busy with his job
here. Truth be told it’s cause for great speculation among the locals what he
does in that town every day. Regular as clockwork he leaves and returns, could
virtually set your watch by him.’

‘You really have no idea?’ I pried, wondering how
on earth Pete could think Dan was too busy looking after the house. Other than
ferry me about, chop logs and seriously piss me off sometimes, he didn’t do
anything.

‘No.’

‘And what about his boss?’

‘His boss?’ he looked up at me surprised.

‘Yes, the owner of this house and island.’

‘I … Miss Ellie, it’s well known that he is a
very
private man, it’s not my place to say any more than I already have.’

‘But you haven’t really said anything,’ I reminded
him.

‘And nor shall I. There, the door’s done, good as
new. Ask him not to throw any logs through it again, will you? He has no idea
what strings I had to pull to get that done on short notice over the festive
period.’

‘I’m sure you know Dan better than me, but I have
a feeling telling him not to do something is like a red rag to a bull, Pete.’

‘Aye, it is that,’ he laughed. ‘He does like
getting his way. Can I do anything else for you, Miss Ellie before I go start
up my boat?’

‘No thank you, I’m just glad the door is fixed so
I can move back in.’

‘Been staying in the boathouse with him, have
you?’ he asked with a raised brow.

‘On the sofa,’ I lied.

‘Aye, sure. And you’ll be telling me next that
wasn’t his favourite shirt you were wearing this morning,’ he nodded. I felt
myself blush. No wonder Dan was mad, I’d pretty much just signalled that we’d
had sex and if Pete were a gossip, pretty soon the whole of the village would
know it too. ‘Don’t worry your pretty little head lassie, your secret’s safe
with me,’ he winked as he tapped the side of his nose. ‘I’ll look forward to
seeing you Hogmanay, you’ll need to dress up, it’s the one posh affair we have
all year.’

‘Sure,’ I smiled, not wanting to disappoint him. I
wondered who Dan had asked to go and felt a pang of jealousy at the thought of
him dancing with his arms around someone else. Assuming he did dance that was.
I had no idea.

‘Bye then, be sure to keep warm,’ Pete winked as
he closed the door behind me. I blushed as I waved him goodbye then sighed and
got to work with the dustpan and brush clearing up the glass, before checking
the fridge. The eggs, milk and cheese were all fine, it was so cold in here
that it hadn’t spoiled anything. The bread was stale, so I threw it out, and
the steaks in the freezer section smelled fine, so I put them in the fridge
ready to cook later before cleaning the freezer out. I blew on my hands to try
and warm them up and went to light a fire. I’d just finished when I heard a rattling
and bubbling noise coming from the fridge. I went and opened it and smiled to
see a light on in there. I quickly flicked the kitchen light switch and the
spotlights beamed down on me, we had power again. I went to the utility room
and turned up the underfloor heating to full blast, to get the house warmed up
as fast as possible and sat at the island and wrote out a list of food requirements
for Dan to take with him. I made myself a coffee, before racing upstairs and
turning on my laptop then plugging in my iPhone and iPad to recharge. I checked
flights home first, determined I was going even earlier if I could, but there
was a notice saying the airport was still shut. I deleted a load of emails
instantly, including two from Zac and smiled when I realised that I hadn’t even
thought twice about it. If anything, my time with Dan had convinced me that Zac
definitely wasn’t the man for me. I was left with an email from John and three
from Brooke. I opened her first one sent on Boxing morning.

Hey Babes, so how was Christmas Day with the
stud muffin? Did you get to pull his cracker? I’m in all night, Molly’s with
her family up north, so please save me from an early grave from boredom by
facetiming me later. LYMY xx

The next had been sent Boxing night.

Where are you?? I’m facetiming you and there’s
no answer and you’ve not replied to my email. There better be a damn good
reason for you ignoring me. Multiple good reasons ;-) Haha! Email me ASAP
please. Salacious details required. xxx

The last had come in on Saturday lunchtime, before
she’d had my text Saturday night.

Now I’m seriously pissed. What’s going on??!!
Details or I’m coming up there on the next flight. Where are you again? Xx