Ablaze: Erotic Romance (2 page)

“
Luke!” I called. “We
should get going. I feel like the temperature’s dropping. I don’t
want to get stuck out here.”

He trudged back to the snowmobile. “I’ll
make sure you get there safe, don’t worry. I wouldn’t let anything
happen to you.” He met my eyes this time and we lingered for a
moment. I watched our breath rise in front of us before I turned
back to the machine. What he didn’t realize is that I wasn’t
worried about myself, I was worried about him.

Almost another hour later we arrived at the
cabin. Luke insisted on going first to check for any disturbances.
I allowed him his moment of chivalry and waited outside, anxious
for Collin to arrive. I took off my helmet and shook out my blonde
hair, the wind whipping it close around my face. Linda had been
right; there was definitely a storm approaching and some small
snowflakes had started to fall. Luke waved me in and said that the
coast was clear. I crossed the snow-covered path and entered the
small cabin with one of my bags. Luke walked past me to retrieve
the rest of my things, brushing my shoulder slightly as he made his
way back to the door.

“
Sorry,” he said, his eyes
not meeting mine.

I dipped my head down so that our eyes would
reunite. “You don’t have to apologize, you know. I know an accident
when I feel it.” I attempted to speak gently, almost as if I would
scare him off had I been harsh. Luke was such a mystery to me. I
didn’t know him well on the ranch, but out here in the wilderness
there was something curious about him. It was like he was watching,
all the time. Something happened to this man. I found myself
yearning to find out just what was so different about him from
everyone else I had ever met.

I had gone to college and dated my fair
share of boys, but I knew that after graduating I would be moving
back home to be with Daddy, Fred, and Linda. That was just the way
things were and I accepted it long ago. I went to school for
business hoping that one day I would take over the ranch, wanting
to keep a piece of my independence. While at school I guess you
could call me a serial dater, but it was only because I knew that
my fate had already been determined. Collin and I had met in middle
school, and from then on our families had become close. When
families became close, in our world that meant somehow they would
be joined together eventually. Two children around the same age
were a pretty easy target for an arranged marriage. We don’t call
them that of course because it’s too old school, but that’s really
what it is. Collin was a great guy and he knew what type of person
I was. He accepted the fact that I wanted to be a business owner
one day and I didn’t think he would stop me. Collin wasn’t
necessarily interested in a trophy wife, but I did get the feeling
that he liked control. His mother was extremely poised and demur,
just the way his father liked it, and I expected he’d want me to
act similarly. When I married Collin I would lose my independence,
but I would take this long weekend to convince him to allow me keep
some of it.

Luke finally spoke, breaking into my private
train of thought about Collin and I. “I just don’t want to upset
you,” he said.

“
Upset me?” I laughed.
“Hardly, it’s more like I’m worried I’m upsetting you.”

He smiled. “Not at all, miss. I’ll get the
rest of your bags and leave you to your weekend.”

He went back out to the snowmobile, and as I
watched him I noticed the snow was falling at a much more rapid
pace. He brought back my supplies and put everything on the dining
room table for me to go through.

“
Would you like me to put
these things away for you?”

“
No, Luke. I’ve got it,
thanks.”

He nodded and walked to the door. I turned
back to look at him when I didn’t hear the door open and close. He
was staring straight at me.

“
There something I can help
you with, Luke?”

He looked down at his shoes and took a deep
breath. “I was just really hoping that your friends would be
arriving before I left. I don’t feel comfortable leaving you here
alone.”

I bit my lower lip, feeling his honest
concern for my well-being. It was sweet. “I promise you, Luke, I’m
fine. You go before the snow gets too deep and you can’t get back.
Thank you, though, for your concern. I do appreciate it.”

He nodded and turned to leave. I felt the
cold wind reach me as he shut the door and I realized that I was
entirely alone.

I began to unpack some of the food that we
had brought with us, just some basics like milk and bread. We
brought eggs for breakfast and champagne for late nights.

I worked diligently unpacking the saddlebags
as I heard the snowmobile rev and take off. I looked out the window
and watched Luke’s silhouette fade into the trees. I secretly
wished he hadn’t left, but I didn’t want to worry about him in the
weather. The snow was really picking up; there was already an inch
or more of fresh snow on the six inches we already had.

After unpacking some first aid supplies and
wishing that I had asked Luke to start a fire, I realized that the
only way to warm up would be to take a nice hot shower. Turning on
the hot water created steam in the small bathroom, so I could
hardly see myself in the mirror as I stepped into the glass box.
Being alone was starting to scare me, and I hummed a tune while I
washed my body, allowing the warm water to cleanse me.

I had just put on some
sweatpants was about to blow dry my hair when I heard a knock at
the door.
Collin is way
early
, I thought to myself as I crossed
through the living room and made my way to the door. When I opened
it I was shocked to see who was leaning on the door frame. Luke was
standing, shivering in the cold and covered in snow. His lips were
blue and he had icicles on his eyebrows.

“
Luke! What are you doing
out here? What am I saying? Get in here!”

I pulled him in by the arms; my fingers
burned with cold where I touched his frost-covered coat. “Oh my
God, you must be freezing. What happened?”

“
Th-the s-sn-nowmobile ran
out of g-g-gas,” he said through chattering teeth. “I’m s-so-sorry,
I had to walk back.”

“
You don’t apologize! Of
course you had to come back. Here, you need to get out of those
clothes.”

I started to remove his jacket and take off
his hat, and some of the color was coming back into his lips. I had
only ever seen one other person be this cold before and they got
hyperthermia. If that happened to Luke now in this weather, no one
would be able to come save him.

He tried to remove his gloves, but his hands
were shaking so badly that I had to assist him. I grabbed a blanket
off the bed and wrapped it around him.

He pulled the blanket tightly around him and
sat down on one of the kitchen chairs, rocking back and forth. I
grabbed a teakettle and filled it up with water. I turned on the
stove, hoping that some warm tea would help him regain some of his
body heat. As soon as I turned on the stove the phone started to
ring.

“
Hold on, Luke. I’ll be
right back, okay?”

He nodded slowly, still huddled in the
blanket.

When I answered the phone it was the person
I least expected it to be.

“
Cheyenne, its Collin. I’m
sorry, sweetheart, but I can’t get out there. The snow is way too
thick, the snowmobile’s just sinking through it. Is there someone
you can call at the ranch who can come get you?”

I didn’t get it. He wouldn’t come get me,
but he wanted someone at the ranch to risk their life for me? What
the hell was his problem? This was not the Collin I knew.

“
No, Collin, there’s no one
who can come get me. Why didn’t you call me earlier? Before the
storm got so bad?”

I heard the wind howling outside and noticed
that there was hardly any light coming in from the windows anymore.
This wasn’t just a storm, this was a blizzard, and Luke and I were
stuck here together.

“
Listen, Collin, I gotta
go. When you figure out what you’re doing, let me know. Until then,
have a nice weekend.”

I slammed down the phone and went back to
the living room to see how Luke was doing. His chin was tipped onto
his chest and he looked as though he was sleeping. I knew that
could be a bad sign. I couldn’t let him become unconscious.

“
Luke! Hey, wake up. No
sleeping right now, okay?” I shook his shoulder and he lifted his
head slightly.

“
Good, no more falling
asleep on me,” I said as I checked on the tea on the stove. It
would still be a couple of minutes before it would be hot enough to
warm him up. I turned back to examine him again and I realized that
his boots were soaking wet from the snow. I bent down on the floor
and began untying them as his eyes fluttered open.

“
What are you doing?” he
asked groggily.

“
Taking your boots off.
Luke, you’re in trouble. We’ve got to get you warmed
up.”

I removed both of his shoes just as the
teakettle started to whistle. Grabbing a mug, I filled it, putting
a black tea bag inside. I allowed it a moment to cool down and
steep while looking over my shoulder and assessing Luke. He was my
responsibility now and in this storm it was just the two of us.
However, as I watched him carefully over my shoulder for a moment
it crossed my mind that if I was going to be stuck here, Luke was
the person I wanted to be stuck with.

Luke drank the tea slowly, regaining full
consciousness as he did so. He shook his head as he watched me
sitting in the chair next to him, anxiously awaiting his
recovery.

“
I’m not usually this dumb.
This certainly isn’t my first rodeo. I don’t know what I was
thinking. Thank you, for everything.”

“
What are you talking
about?” I squinted my eyes at him, trying to decide if he was back
with me or if he was still in a daze.

He bit his lower lip before meeting my eyes,
I could see something was plaguing his mind. “I got lost in woods
once before. Actually, I was hiking and I wasn’t lost until a
mountain lion dragged me back to her den. When I woke up I had no
idea where I was.”

“
You were attacked by a
mountain lion? Oh my God! How did you survive?” I had read about
people in the newspapers dying from lion attacks. We were
encroaching on their territory and there had been a number of
attacks in the past few years.

He shrugged. “I’d like to say I knew my
stuff, but really it was just dumb luck. The mountain lion got
scared off by something before she decided to make me dinner. I
crawled out of the den and ran the best I could to safety. That’s
actually how I ended up on your ranch. Fred found me, and Linda
took care of me. Then they offered me a job. Getting attacked by
that lion was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” He took
another slow sip of tea.

“
Wow, I had no
idea.”

“
Well you wouldn’t, would
you? You don’t really ask many questions of the staff.” He eyed me
carefully, trying to determine my reaction. “I mean … not that you
should, it’s not like we’re friends or anything.”

“
That’s not true, I do care
about my staff. But you’re right, I’ve been raised to not ask
questions. I just assumed you were hired for your skills. As all
the other ranch hands are.”

He raised his chin up. “I do have skills.
I’m an expert rider, your father is going to even let me train some
of the yearlings this spring. I’m not totally useless.”

“
I never said that you
were. Someone of your stature couldn’t be useless.” I blushed as I
realized what I had said. I tried to backtrack, “And the calluses
on your hands, they show hard labor.”

“
You’ve been looking at my
hands?” He grinned slyly.

Dammit. Totally caught.

“
Whatever,” I said, rising
from my chair. “Clearly you’re feeling better. Maybe you should
take a shower and totally warm up. The bathroom’s just through
there.” I pointed at the back of the cabin.

He nodded and stood up,
slowly crossing the room. I noticed as he entered the bathroom he
forgot to completely close the door.
But
could I dare to sneak a peek?
No. Even
though Collin was being a complete asshole, he was still who I
wanted to be with. I wouldn’t risk that for a weekend fling with
one of my ranch hands. Totally not worth it.

However, as I passed by the open door to sit
on the sofa it was hard not to notice Luke’s beautifully tanned
back. His delicious muscles were marred by four large scars. So the
mountain lion attack wasn’t just a story, it was something he
carried with him. No wonder he always seemed so jumpy. He turned
around and I ogled his gloriously defined pecs and biceps. I had to
tear myself away before I saw anything more.

I sat on the couch and stared at the empty
fireplace. When I heard the shower turn off I made myself stay put.
Luke came out in jeans and a hoodie, looking much more comfortable
than he had in his snow pants.

“
I always carry a change of
clothes with me,” he said. “Guess it’s the survival instinct.” He
followed my eyes to the fireplace. “Ugh, I left you here without a
fire? Jesus, I’m a terrible man servant.”

“
You’re not my
servant.”
If you were, I’d have other
things for you to do.

“
Well, okay, then let’s be
friends. Tell me something about you.” He knelt down in front of
the fireplace and ignited a small blaze. Turning around, he sat
cross-legged with his back to the fire and all of his attention on
me. Suddenly I felt like I was being scrutinized, and I pulled a
long strand of hair around my finger and twirled it
absentmindedly.