An Escape to Love (2 page)

She sighed and shook her head. “Not really. My friends left early in the morning and I was planning to leave after one last round of skiing. They probably think I’ve gone home.”

“What about your hotel here? Surely they’ll notice you’re missing and launch a rescue operation or something.”

“Ugh! I checked out of the hotel. They won’t be looking for me. I think you’ll have to drop me off in town in that little car you have parked behind the house.”

Jake gritted his teeth and got off the sofa to place the defrosted steaks on the oven grill. He plopped frozen French fries in the oven to bake along with the steaks. “About that…the car’s having some trouble with the brakes so that’s not really an option on these icy roads.” His mind worked overtime to solve the problem when the perfect solution hit him. “A chopper is due to arrive in ten days to take me to the ski lodge. You’ll have to stay here until then.”

“Ten days! Oh god. I’m stuck in this hell hole for ten days?” she cried, exasperated as she let her eyes rove over the luxurious, well-furnished living room. “No offense, of course.”

“That was a bit harsh,” he joked, sitting back down on the couch, a smile spreading across his face.

She smiled back at him and a dimple dented her cheek. The sight caught him off guard and he couldn’t take his eyes off her face. She was beautiful in the perfect, can’t-find-any-flaw kind of way. He was sexually starved after four years of being locked up, and if he was honest with himself, he knew that even a plump, unattractive woman would appeal to him in his current state of physical starvation.

What made matters worse was that Leona was neither plump nor unattractive. She was far from it. Instead, she was probably one of the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes on. Her dark skin shone with health and her features would were perfect.

“What do you study Leona?” he asked suddenly, trying to keep his mind off her ample cleavage showing throw the deep V-neck of her sweater.

“How do you know I’m in school?”

“Well, you look like you’re just barely out of high school, so I took a guess. How old are you, anyway?”

She giggled nervously and realized for the first time how attractive he was. “That’s an inappropriate question. Isn’t it, Mr…?”

“Jake. Just Jake. We’ll be here for ten days, we might as well just skip to being on a first name basis.”

She smiled again and the irresistible, deep dimple made his groin tighten.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
He chided in himself in his head
. She’s just a kid.

“I’m twenty-one. And to answer your first question, I’m studying law at Harvard.”

“Harvard? Wow that’s impressive. Why’d you decide to become a lawyer?” He was suddenly enjoying the casual, normal banter. It had been ages since he’d had the opportunity to converse with anyone who wasn’t doing time for murder, grand theft auto, or robbery.

“Well, I belong to a whole family of lawyers. My father is actually a Supreme Court Justice. Benson Davies?”

Jake tensed, every fiber in his body telling him that this was the worst thing that could happen to him. He had begun to think Leona was sort of a gift from God, someone to keep him company and give him one last chance at normalcy before he was doomed for eternity. But now he knew. She was just another one of his cruel tricks.

“Benson Davies is your father?” he cried out.

“Yes,” she said, her brows furrowed. “I usually get the most insane reactions from prospective boyfriends, but yours kind of tops the list.”

He chuckled nervously, his hands clenched into fists as he got up to check on the steaks. “Dinner’s ready in five minutes. If you don’t mind, could you please carry these plates and cutlery to the coffee table? We can eat in front of the TV.”

“Oh. Sure,” she said, getting up and following him to the kitchen for the dishes.

Jake was numb after the shocking revelation about Leona’s father. If she was reported missing, it would only take seconds before cops arrived on his doorstep asking questions. If the police arrived, there would be problems for him and Leona. The last thing he wanted was for her to get caught in the crossfire.

Chapter Four

“So, what are you planning to do while you’re here?” Leona asked as they sat down to eat the steaming steaks with fries.

Jake bit his lip to keep a scathing reply from escaping his lips. “I was hoping for some peace and quiet,” he said instead, and her fork stopped midway to her open mouth.

“I kind of ruined your plans, didn’t I?” she said quietly, and he cursed himself under his breath.

“It’s not a problem. I’m preparing for some major events in my life and I was just counting on the alone time here to kind of…sort my head out,” he said.

“Do you know what you need? You need some fun, outdoor activity. I’d die if I had to stay here for a while, cuddled up on the couch with absolutely no physical activity.”

Jake chuckled. “If you’re looking for some physical activity, you can have plenty right here, inside the house.”

She stiffened. “What do you mean?”

Jake stared at her, watching her face change pallor to a deathly shade. Realization dawned, and he saw that she had misunderstood his statement to mean something sexual. “Oh! No, no, no! That’s not what I meant. I meant there’s a fully equipped gym on the first floor if you want some exercise.”

Leona relaxed and laughed a little. “I’m sorry, I misunderstood. You seem like a decent enough guy.”

Jake’s bite refused to slide down his throat at her statement. Here he was sitting with a beautiful girl talking and having dinner, but if she found out who he really was, she would run away screaming. “I’m not that decent,” he said softly, and she smiled.

“Oh, stop being so modest, I only meant it as a joke. I don’t really know you at all, do I?”

He smiled back. “No, you don’t. Not at all.”

“So what do you do?” she asked, taking a small sip of wine from her glass.

“I, uh, own a small company,” he said and he regretted starting the conversation. All this talk about decency and work was depressing him, reminding him of what his life used to be once upon a time.

“And what does your company do?”

“We buy run-down businesses and invest in them to make them thriving businesses.”

“Oh. That sounds good and boring,” she said jokingly and he laughed aloud.

She went back to work at her steak and his eyes kept darting to her face. She had beautiful eyes, almond shaped, big and black. Her long, wavy hair framed her gamin-shaped face and full lips practically begged for a man to kiss them. He struggled to pull his lustful gaze away from her, so he stood up to get some ice. He took longer than necessary to get the cubes out of the tray, and his thoughts veered in various directions, making him lose focus for the first time in years.

Ever since he had gone to prison, he was constantly on high alert. You couldn’t turn your back on an inmate anyway, and he had the double task of planning his escape while going along with the normal routines of a prisoner.

Leona was making him lose that focus. She was destroying the sturdy calm he had relied on for ages. It was his driven concentration that had made him a free man right now, albeit a fugitive. He couldn’t go back to prison, under any circumstances, so he had to stop fantasizing about the beautiful girl in the living room, and work instead on his own survival.

Chapter Five

The next morning, Leona awoke to the soft humming sound from a blender. She shifted on her pillow, her eyes adjusting to the unfamiliar furnishings and surroundings. She groaned as she remembered she was trapped in a house in the middle of nowhere, and got up to wash her face.

Her face looked fresh in the mirror and she was glad for the comfortable bed. It was way better than frozen solid snow, which would have been her bed if she hadn’t found this place.

I should thank him
, she thought to herself as she removed the nightshirt she had borrowed from Jake. She took a quick shower and washed her hair before dressing in the same emerald green sweater and jeans from the day before.

She had none of her cosmetics, or anything else for that matter, so she scoured the medicine cabinet for some Vaseline. She rubbed some on her lips and surveyed her reflection in the mirror above the sink.

She had always thought she looked good once she had the usual moisturizer, blusher, and mascara in place. Since she didn’t have any of those things, she felt dowdy and boring. She wanted to look nice, and then her mind brought her back to earth.

Jake was just her host, and an unwilling one at that. She couldn’t believe the direction her mind was taking and she absentmindedly slid her fingers through her hair.

Would it be so wrong if I did make a move on him?
she thought quietly to herself. After all, he was a handsome devil, all rugged and tough-looking. Her father wouldn’t approve of him. Jake had something he would call un-refinement. That thought just made him all the more enticing and she smiled to herself as she thought over the situation.

She was still here for nine more days, and it wouldn’t hurt to engage in simple, pleasurable flirtation.

The atmosphere of the house was having an insane effect on her senses. The house was in the middle of nowhere with snow banked all around the place, the fireplace casting mellow lighting. Knowing that they were probably the only two people on the whole mountain made it even more enticing.

She shrugged the thought away. They were alone on this mountain, and any flirting could be taken to mean they’d have sex. Leona knew she couldn’t be that bold, so there was no point even thinking of the possibility. Pushing her heavy mane of thick, brown hair off her shoulders, she walked out of the guestroom and stopped in her tracks as she saw Jake standing at the window. He looked so incredibly handsome, his hair wet from the shower again, a new camel colored sweater accentuating his insanely broad shoulders.

“What are you looking at?” she asked casually and he glanced towards her.

She saw a moment of pain in his eyes before he hooded the expression and smiled, “Nothing. Was just thinking about someone I knew. It’s the anniversary of her death today,” he added softly.

“Oh! I’m so sorry,” she said.

“It’s alright. It was a long time ago.”

“Was she a friend?” she asked softly, walking closer to him and tilting her head upwards to stare into his eyes.

Jake was about to lie when he realized he wanted to talk about Jessica. His chest ached with her memories, and he wanted to discuss her with someone.

“She was actually way more than a friend.” he said, looking outside the window again, clearing his throat to soothe the ache of unshed tears clogging it.

She stood there, not saying a word, and her hand came to rest on his forearm. Jake tensed, his whole body tingling with sensations from that simple touch. He was suddenly so glad Leona was here in his hideout with him. Whatever the future held for him, he was thankful for the company he had during this time.

She took her hand away and walked into the kitchen, pouring two cups of coffee and bringing one to him. Her hand brushed his and Jake couldn’t believe the current that flowed through his blood stream. His cock had tightened to harden and surge in size and he wanted to pull Leona against his chest, crush her breasts and feel her body underneath his palms and lips.

His eyes fell to Leona’s and she was already looking at his face. Their eyes locked for a mere second before she pulled hers away and walked over to the couch, lifting the remote to switch on the TV. Jake walked swiftly to the sofa and took the remote from her hand, switching to HBO before she decided to watch the news.

“Guess I’m making breakfast then?” she asked, chuckling softly and getting up.

“Seems like you are,” he replied casually, and gave her a wide, cheeky smile that made her laugh.

Leona was halfway into the kitchen when Jake heard the unmistakable sound of a helicopter slicing the air. He jumped over the back of the couch and reached his bedroom, sliding his hand under the mattress to grab his gun. He walked out and Leona had a smile on her face. “There’s a chopper outside. Maybe I could wave or...” she stopped abruptly, her eyes on the gun in his hand. “What happened?” she asked in a little voice, her eyes wide.

Jake grabbed her arm, pulling her through the back door in the kitchen. Cold, biting wind hit Leona and she shivered, her teeth chattering and her heart beating insanely. He kept looking skyward, the gun in hand while his fingers dug into her flesh.

“What are you doing? You crazy freak!” Leona screamed at the top of her lungs, but Jake didn’t hear her, he was too concerned with keeping her safe.

Chapter Six

If the chopper was here to take him back to prison, there was going to be shooting, and he didn’t want Leona to die. If anything happened to her it would be his fault, and then he couldn’t even plead innocence to himself.

He pushed her down into the bushes and she stared back at him with angry, wild eyes. “Stay down!" Jake screamed to be heard over the sound of the chopper, and she was about to give him a scathing reply when her teeth began to chatter uncontrollably.