Caught by the Blizzard: A romantic winter thriller (Tellure Hollow Book 1) (12 page)

I nodded as I headed for the kitchen. “No, it’s alright,” I said waving her away. “Noah? Can I talk to you in private for a sec?”

He turned, a bottle of open wine in his hand, a single empty glass sat on the counter. His expression was tight, sizing me up. The bruise on the side of his face had faded to a sickly brown. “Sure.” How he managed to fill so much sarcasm into one word was beyond me, but I stamped down my annoyance. He returned the bottle to the counter with a sigh and headed towards me.

It’s amazing how personality accounts for so much of a person’s attractiveness. If he’d been kind, his brown eyes might have seemed warm. If he’d smiled more, his face wouldn’t have appeared as harsh and angular. I pushed the thought from my mind, leading him into the hallway.

I forced myself to look him the eye. “We didn’t really get started on the best foot, did we?”

Noah gritted his teeth, obviously biting back some snarky comment. “Not exactly.”

“I was kind of hoping, if you want, we could start over.” If it meant keeping the peace, I was willing to play the coy little girl for him. Guys like Noah enjoyed feeling superior to women. “I know if you give me another chance, we’ll be friends. Kayla and I are practically sisters and I know you love her.” I gave him my best smile, tilting my chin down and gazing up through my eyelashes.

“I wouldn’t say love…” His expression hadn’t changed, but I could tell his resolve was weakening.

“Please? I’ve really hated the tension between us. It’d mean a lot to me.” The way he looked at me made me want to shiver, like I was a bug underfoot, but I held fast. I didn’t bat my eyelashes at him but I wasn’t far off. Finally, the mask cracked and he smiled.

“Of course. Nothing would make me happier.” Noah offered his hand which I took demurely. He lifted it to his mouth, twisted my arm around so he could kiss my wrist. Every instinct in my body screamed in disgust. He glanced up at me as his lips touched my skin. I let it happen, a stupid, fake smile plastered to my face. I think I was in such shock, I didn’t know what else to do. “Do you drink wine?” I nodded in response, at a total loss for words. “I’ll pour you a glass.”

As I watched him disappear around the corner, something my dad had always told me popped into my head. He’d always told me that men fell into one of two categories. Some men are bulldogs; hot-blooded, quick to anger, quick to cool. Bulldogs can be fiercely loyal and unless you mistreat them, they’ll never turn on you. According to my dad, the men you had to look out for were the snakes. These cold-blooded creatures would plot, hide their anger, plan their strike. Snakes have no allegiance but to themselves.
He’s a snake if I’ve ever met one
, I thought, looking at the back of Noah’s head.

Kayla and Noah were talking when I returned to the kitchen. He poured the deep burgundy wine into a glass and handed it to me while he spoke. “So, do you like to party, Liz?”

Kayla chuckled and glanced at me. “Depends what you mean by party.”

“Coke, molly, you know, fucking party.” He took a sip of wine, making a gross smack as he swallowed. “I swear, I wouldn’t have been able to finish my MBA without my roommate’s Ritalin prescription.”

Ever since Rick had gotten busted, even talking about drugs made me feel so uncomfortable. It was a world I’d been thrust into so quickly my head was still spinning. Kayla simply saw it as another business opportunity, a product that had a demand, and she was willing to distribute.

“Lizzy hasn’t touched the stuff in a year and I don’t do coke, but you know me. I love MDMA if the mood’s right.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder with wink.

“We’ll have to make sure our guy has plenty for tomorrow then. We’ll have a big candy dish of it for everyone.”

I shimmied up onto the counter, my heels whacking against the cupboard doors. They seemed happy to trade drug stories while Kayla made dinner, allowing my mind to wander back to Bryan. My heart leapt with excitement as I realized the party was essentially our first date. Unless the lesson could’ve been it? That was supposed to be his apology…but then I went and kissed him. Having drinks in the lodge, was that a date?
Shit, how does anyone keep track of this stuff?

Thoughts of Bryan swirled through my mind, keeping me in my happy daze through dinner. I excused myself and retreated to my bedroom when Kayla and Noah started getting a little too touchy-feely. I’m not much for audience participation.

I switched on the shower, waiting until the windows were fully fogged before undressing. I stepped under the hot water as it cascaded from the waterfall fixture, letting it flow over me. I thought of Bryan. It soaked the chill from my bones and soothed my muscles. Muscles I never knew I
had
ached. At least, if I stuck with the skiing, my legs and ass would be fantastic. As I soaped up, I noticed a bright purple bruise spread across my hip, my punishment for landing on the orange jumpsuit kid.
Bryan
. I scrubbed the soles of my feet, up my calves, my fingers pausing between my thighs.
Bryan’s lips
. I thought about his hands caressing my skin.

I closed my eyes and remembered what his hands had felt like on my hips as we went down the slope, the way his fingers had guided me. It was a miracle we hadn’t crashed. Ugh, and then in the lodge. I’d slipped a hand against his stomach as we kissed, his hard abs sticking out even through the sweatshirt. I’d been ready to pull him out to the Jeep and strip him down right then and there. The desire in his eyes…

I groaned out loud, throwing my loofah across the shower. I didn’t understand how he could’ve gotten under my skin so easily. Sure, it’d been a long time since I’d had anyone in my life. Even then, Rick was more my pusher and pimp than boyfriend. I rubbed the muscles in the back of my neck, working my fingers deep.

To my credit, it wasn’t all sexual. When Bryan told me about his dad, it took everything I had not to climb into his lap and hug him. The pain was so plain on his face it was like seeing my own reflection. While it never gets easy, I’ve had a few more years to practice my ‘I’m okay’ face.

I switched off the shower and toweled down, squeezing the water from my hair. Not even a month had passed, and I was already falling for some guy I barely knew.

____________

Every muscle in my body screamed when I rolled over the next morning. I got dressed, grabbed my yoga mat, and padded out in bare feet to the living room. It was only 8 a.m. but I knew everyone was already at work. Shifting the overstuffed foot stool and coffee table out of the way, I unrolled my mat with a crisp snap.

Rocking my head side to side, rolling my shoulders, flexing my feet, I slowly limbered up. I loved doing yoga first thing in the morning, the groggier I was, the better. My mind remained calm, unfocused. I was free to move through the motions and gently wake up both mentally and physically. The serene world outside was a perfect view to look out on as I woke.

I stood at the end of my mat, toes spread. I took a deep breath, raising my hands to the sky. I bent at the waist, looked up, and folded in half. I jumped into plank position, surprised at how much my arms hurt from skiing. I guess I used my poles more than I thought. My back didn’t feel ready for cobra pose, so I rocked back into downward facing dog. My mother blessed me with flexibility, so yoga was another thing that came naturally. Planting my heels on the ground, I pushed through my hands, arching my tail bone to the sky. After a few deep breaths, I released, jumping my feet back to my hands and standing.

It helps me, especially in the morning, to keep my eyes mostly closed through the sun salutations. As the energy in my body grows and I start to wake up, I’ll begin to open them fully. This is why, on my third sun salutation just as I was easing into a deep down dog, I didn’t see Noah walk up behind me. I had no warning. Out of nowhere, two firm hands grabbed my hips and a hard cock poked at my asshole through my thin yoga pants.

I screamed and jumped away, nearly falling over myself as I spun to see what was happening. Noah stood there with his pants pulled down to his thighs, hard, veined cock pointing straight out. He actually looked shocked that I’d reacted in such a way but made no move to cover himself.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I screeched.

“I thought you said we were friends again,” he replied with a frown. He looked at me with dead, emotionless eyes.

It took me a minute to process that sentence. I probably looked like a fish gasping for water as I stared at him. “Friends don’t surprise each other with butt sex in the middle of a yoga session! At least, not any friends of mine.”

He reached down and grabbed himself, his fist encompassing the entire length of his cock. He actually gave himself a few strokes while saying, “I don’t really mind where it goes as long as it’s tight and wet.” His eyes traveled the length of my body and for a moment, I felt afraid. We were alone and he obviously didn’t like being told he couldn’t have something.

I looked away, my expression filled with disgust. “Can you just get out?”

Noah frowned again, his hand dropping to cup his balls. I crawled backwards until I hit a chair and pushed myself up to my feet. Why was he just standing there like that? Was he that oblivious to my revulsion?

“I thought you said you wanted to be friends,” he repeated slowly. His chin tilted slightly towards his chest, giving him a menacing look. “From everything I’ve heard about you, I figured you’d like it.”

“Jesus, what? What have you heard about me?” I threw my hands up in the air, the back of my throat stinging with bile. “Fuck this.” I was on the opposite side of the living room, so thankfully I was able to leave without going past him. My legs were so shaky. I ran to my bedroom, hoping I had enough of a lead that if he decided to follow, I could lock the door in time. The slammed door echoed through the open house. I clicked the lock shut and backed away from the door until my legs hit the bed.

I sat there for a few minutes trying to figure out what had just happened. I mean yeah, I’ve been grabbed before. Every girl who worked in one of Rick’s strip clubs had horror stories of guys reaching up their skirts, but this was my house. This was different. I expected it when I was working, but this was my home, my safe zone. Noah’s empty face hung in my mind’s eye. Cold, distant, like he wasn’t aware of how bizarre his behavior was. And what had he heard about me? From who, Kayla?

When he knocked on my door a few minutes later, I was still so worked up, I screamed. Clapping my hands over my mouth, he knocked again. As he spoke, I scrambled to my side table and unplugged my phone.

“Liz, listen. I want to give you one more chance to make it up to me. I get how that might’ve been a little surprising, so I forgive your reaction. You looked so hot bending over like that, I couldn’t stop myself.”

I sneered at the door, my astonishment indescribable. He forgives me?

“Liz,” he continued. “You know who I am. You know who my dad is. You don’t want to make the wrong enemies in this town, do you? You only just got here. I like taking care of my friends as long as they take care of me. I can protect you.”

“And I suppose that means you want me to suck you off or something?” I spat at the door. I grabbed a pillow and balled myself around it, pulling my knees high into my chest. My knuckles were white, I was gripping my phone so tightly.

“I’d prefer a little back door action with that ass of yours, but I’d never turn down a hummer. Now, open up.” My heart pounded in my chest and I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was all a bad dream I needed to wake up from. Noah slammed his fist against the door, startling me. “Open the door.” His voice sounded artificially sweet, an edge cutting through.

I never let men intimidate me. Growing up with a Marine for a father and in a testosterone-fueled town, I knew how to handle myself. Noah wasn’t much bigger than me but it wasn’t his size that scared me, it was his demeanor. Any other time, if a guy whipped out his dick like that, I would’ve just laughed him out of the room. Noah was different. “Please, go away.” It came out little more than a whisper and I wasn’t sure if he heard.

After a few pounding heartbeats, he hit the door with the palm of his hand. “Big fucking mistake. Huge mistake.”

I waited to hear his footsteps echo down the hall before I called Kayla, my fingers trembling so badly I almost dropped my phone.

“Hey Lizzie, I can’t really—”

“Noah just assaulted me,” I blurted. I was up on my feet, pacing around my room, the shock flowing freely.

“Wait, what? What did he do? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said shakily. I quickly recounted what’d just happened. I’m not sure what I was expecting Kayla to do or say. Freak out? Call the cops? Rush home? What I didn’t expect, was the laughter I heard from the other end of the phone.

“Is that all?” she giggled.

I stopped dead in my tracks. “Maybe I didn’t explain it well enough. It was creepy. You should’ve seen his face and then he followed me back to my room.”

“So you didn’t do it?” she asked, the humor still in her voice.

“Of course not!” A thought occurred to me suddenly, the question coming out before it’d fully formed. “Wait, that’s why you’re fooling around with him?”

“Well…yeah. He
is
the owner’s son and it’s not like he’s ugly or anything.”