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Okay maybe I’d accidently hit accelerate on that one.
She rubbed her head, wincing but laughing. “I was joking. I was just trying to grab your attention. What are you really, like mid-thirties?”
That eased my heart slightly and I was embarrassed by my fragile ego.
“Forty-two,” I found myself gritting out. Why did my age and appearance even matter? “What are you like sixteen?”
Her laugh filled the truck, twisting a confused knot in my stomach. It was light and carefree and perfectly suited to this woman I barely knew anything about. And yet I felt like this was her most natural state.
“You’re funny,” she teased. “I’m twenty-six.”
Twenty-Six. Shit, she was young. Sixteen years younger. Wait—funny. I don’t think anyone had once described me as funny.
“You know where I come from everyone gets lots of stuff done to their face so everyone’s practically ageless. You never see wrinkles or crow’s feet or any of that stuff. Just everyone looking half their age.” She seemed to find that amusing.
I found myself self-consciously looking into the rearview mirror again, assessing the few wrinkles Lori had kindly pointed out on my face last year. I also had a consistent scowl that was stapled to my expression. I had the urge to touch my wrinkles. I’d had supple skin like hers at her age, hadn’t I? And then I quickly grew grumpy again. Why was I even worried about this?
We slowly crawled to a stop the moment the headlights hit the cabin. Two deer peered up, quickly dashing off into the woodland.
“Wow!” Cassidy grabbed my arm and pointed. I stared down at her small hand now wrapped around mine, feeling too warm. “Did you see that? Those are like real deers!”
Shadow barked as if in agreeance. I stared over my shoulder at him. Traitor. Her smile was bright and genuine until she realized she was clinging on to me. She pulled away as if I burnt her. And the feeling had been mutual. Yet I felt almost disappointed the moment she pulled away. My mood couldn’t have been any fowler.
“Oh sorry, I get excited quickly,” she nervously laughed.
One night, I thought to myself. That’s all it would be. Surely, I had enough patience and restraint for one night. And how presumptuous of me to even think this little bombshell would be attracted to me? Not that I’d ever had any woman complain and I’d never struggled to take women to my bed. I internally cursed myself. Why was I thinking with my dick in this situation?
I suddenly realized the dread on Cassidy’s expression. A little muscle in her neck was strained as she kept a tight appreciative smile staring at the cabin. I’d never met anyone with such transparent and honest expressions. The cabin certainly wasn’t the five-star hotels she was surely used to but it wasn’t a beat-up shack either.
“I just want you to know I’ve sworn to celibacy,” she blurted out, quickly facing me, expression dead serious.
I was so taken aback by the ferocity and sheer determination that I couldn’t help the slight tick of my mouth, a smile daring to break free. Well at least I hadn’t been the only one thinking about it. She also seemed serious. Was she so used to men only expecting one thing from her? With a body and face like hers though, I imagined she could have any man she wanted.
“Cassidy, I’m not using your body as currency,” I said cautiously, unsure as to what past this little transparent snowflake was running from. “I’m offering you one night to stay until the road is cleared up and you can continue passing through town. I’m not going to touch you. And besides, you’re not my type.”
Her eyebrows knitted together. Either in confusion that I’d admitted she wasn’t my type or because I wasn’t after her body. She slowly nodded and threw her long blonde curls over her shoulder before weakly opening the door and jumping out.
When I opened the back door, Shadow lunged out and began his usual inspection of sniffing the trees. Shadow must’ve found a trail because he meant serious business. Maybe the deer. I watched him, making sure he didn’t stray too far as I emptied Cassidy’s suitcase she’d pointed out onto the snow. She’d limited herself to only one out of the three.
“How did you put these bags in here yourself?” I asked Cassidy. There was a ridiculous weight to them, and I highly doubted she’d be able to lift them past her shins let alone into the car. She had no chance of dragging them out of my truck considering her height only came up to my chest.
She tucked back part of her hair. “Well, I didn’t, I had help.”
Ah. I imagined a woman like her always had help. She wrapped her hands around herself self-consciously, that pink marshmallow-looking jacket clearly doing nothing to keep the chill away. “C’mon,” I instructed with every intention of setting up the fireplace so she wouldn’t freeze to death. Then I really wouldn’t hear the end of it form Lori and my brothers.
It felt strange inviting someone into my space. This little retreat I’d created for myself for over a decade now. No one else had been welcome. And welcome was a stretch even now. It was just one night. I could babysit this little snowflake for one night.
Chapter 5
Cassidy
There were so many rolling hills, cliff edges, and woodland. Completely in the dark and stranded with the biggest male I’d ever seen in my life. The tension on the way up here was palpable. I was an inconvenience to him and although this wasn’t my ideal situation to be in, I certainly didn’t have the sense he’d hurt me. It was simply how much he unnerved me that put me on edge.
And despite that, I only had one night to figure everything out. What would I do tomorrow when the tree was lifted? I was completely broke—worse then broke. I was jobless. Homeless. And stranded in a town that didn’t even have a dot on the map. Issobelle and Clover would’ve been better suited in this situation. They were more versatile than me. I, however, was certainly not cut out for nature and wildlife.
And what would I do, call them after only one night away to express the dilemma I was in? There was no way I could do that because then I’d have to come clean about everything and that was something I refused to share. I was too scared, as if the very mention of my parents and him would manifest the situation. I’d just lay low for a few months and they’d give up—surely. But then again, they’d never cut off my credit cards before.
No, I could manage one night with this real-life-looking barbarian.
