Ablaze: Erotic Romance (3 page)

“
What do you want to
know?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. What do you like
to do for fun?”

That was an easy answer. “I love to ride.
I’m a rancher’s daughter, there’s nothing I love to do more than
take a horse out of the stables and go out into the world. It’s the
only time I’m free.”

“
Free? Cheyenne, you’re
part of the richest family I have ever come across. You have more
financial freedom than anyone I’ve ever known, how is that not
free?”

I looked down at the hair around my finger.
No one had ever taken an interest in me like this. Luke made me
feel exposed, but in a natural sort of way. I wanted to tell him
how I really felt about my life. For some reason I knew he would
understand.

“
Just because you have
financial freedom doesn’t mean you’re free. It means you’re held to
a higher standard, you don’t get to make your own choices. My life
has been planned out for me ever since I can remember. No, Luke,
I’m not free. To be honest this is the freest I’ve ever been, out
here with you.”

He nodded. “I guess I never really thought
about it like that. I just always assumed that all you rich folk
could do whatever you wanted. I’ve always had to work to stay
afloat. My family didn’t really take care of me like yours
does.”

“
Depends on who you ask,” I
countered.

We sat there in silence for a moment,
perhaps in reflection of our discussion, when suddenly we were
plunged into darkness. The only light remaining was that from the
small fire which Luke had created.

“
Luke!” I screamed. I can
handle a lot, but the one thing I am afraid of is the dark. As he
came over to the couch, I could already feel some of the heat
leaving the room from the electricity. The wind was really blowing
outside and there was a draft coming in.

He sat down on the sofa and gingerly put his
arm around me. “Shhh, it’s all right. You’re fine, it’s just the
power. I’m sure it will be back on soon.”

His words were comforting, but I knew they
weren’t truthful. If we had lost power we weren’t getting it back
on. I sat cradled in his arms, realizing in the short time that I’d
known him Luke had become a huge comfort to me. As I started to
fall asleep to the rhythm of his heart, I prayed that he wouldn’t
unlatch his arms around my shoulders.

When I awoke the next morning, Luke had a
frying pan over the fire and had managed to make some scrambled
eggs and bacon. My stomach gurgled in anticipation of the great
smelling food. I stood up and stretched from the couch, and Luke
turned to look at me. It was then that I realized he was only in
pajama bottoms. I didn’t know whether to avert my eyes or react at
all, but instead I just stared at his well-formed muscles, raising
my eyes slowly to meet his. When our eyes locked, Luke didn’t turn
away. Instead, he stood and walked toward me. He stopped just a
foot short of me and said, “Good morning. Ready for some
breakfast?”

I sighed deeply. “Smells amazing. Where did
you get the pajamas?”

He winked. “Another survival trick,” he
laughed, “they were in my pack.”

He turned around to pick up the frying pan
with an oven mitt and walked over to the kitchen table, which was
set for two.

Luke picked up a bottle out of the sink.
“How about some champagne to go with our meal?”

“
Sounds great,” I said. He
poured me a generous glass and I knew our conversation would flow
easily with some alcohol pumping through my blood.

I smiled as he served me a delicious
breakfast and we sat and chatted for hours by the light of the fire
and a single candle that was placed on the table between us. There
were moments where the magnetism could not be denied, knuckles
would brush against each other reaching for the syrup, or the
moment when I touched his hand when he made me laugh. My feelings
couldn’t be ignored; Luke was sucking me into every piece of him,
and I couldn’t get enough.

“
So, tell me more about
you. You couldn’t have just been out hiking in the woods all this
time.”

He shook his head. “Nah. Like I said my
family wasn’t really there for me so I started looking for work
around the age of fourteen. I finally settled at this one old
lady’s house and she helped homeschool me so I could graduate high
school. She’s used to say there is nothing as important as an
education.” He laughed. “If she could only see me now. I haven’t
picked up a book in years. She was so good to me. And when she
passed away and left me most of her fortune, I decided to go hiking
for a few months. The rest is history as they say.”

“
Wait, she left you her
fortune?” I asked, scowling.

“
Yeah, what of
it?”

“
Well, last night you made
all these comments about my life and financial freedom … you didn’t
happen to mention that you’re also financially free.”

He frowned. “No, I said she left me what was
left, which wasn’t much. Enough that I could live on for a few
months before I found a new job. Mostly what she left me were
books. I had read so many of them over the years that I decided
other people should enjoy them and donated them to the library. I
certainly couldn’t take them with me while I hiked.”

“
What types of books?” I
asked.

“
What?”

“
I said what types of
books? What types of books did you like to read with
her?”

“
Well, the last one we read
was
Moby Dick
.”

I was impressed; finishing that book was no
small feat. “You’re an interesting character, you know that?”

He laughed. “You’re fairly interesting
yourself, Miss Cheyenne.”

I paused for a moment, taking another swig
from my glass. “Are we going to get out of here, Luke?”

He looked at me with concern in his gray
eyes. “I’m sure someone will realize soon that I didn’t come back.
Fred is always on the lookout for me. He knew I should’ve been back
last night. I’m sure a search party will be sent out for me. And
that boyfriend of yours, didn’t he call anyone to tell them you are
alone?”

“
How did you know I was
meeting him?” I asked, blushing.

He laughed. “Lucky guess. Plus, you didn’t
pack any movies to watch with your friends.”

“
Well, he’s not really my
boyfriend.”

“
Oh, I just assumed since
you’re coming up here with him …”

“
We’re not really together
yet. But yes, I think he would’ve told my father that I was here by
myself.”

He smiled broadly. “Well then it’s settled.
I’m sure someone will be here by morning at the very latest now
that the snow has stopped.”

We both looked out the window. Sure enough,
the snow had subsided throughout the day and it finally stopped,
but there was at least ten inches of fresh snow since yesterday.
Luke was right; someone would come for us, but it wouldn’t be until
morning. We had one more night together.

I smiled at him. He stood to clear the
dishes and I stopped him with my hand.

“
No way, you cooked, I’ll
clean up afterwards. Why don’t you go relax in the bedroom? Most of
the heat seems to have retained back there, it’s pretty cozy.” I
had gone back to use the restroom during our meal and noticed how
much warmer it was back there.

“
Sounds nice, I think I
will, thanks.” He leaned in and gave me a sweet peck on the cheek
before retiring to the bedroom.

As I washed the dishes by hand, using what
was left of the hot water that Luke had made over the fire, I tried
to understand my feelings. Sure, before we got here I had an
innocent crush on him, but now that we were together in such close
quarters I felt like there was more going on than what I wanted to
admit. Again, I was spoken for and what I was feeling for Luke was
just because we were in this dire situation together. Or was it?
Whatever it was I needed to figure it out before someone came to
rescue us, because this could be my final time alone with Luke to
make my decision.

After finishing the dishes I walked slowly
back to the bedroom to find Luke sprawled out on his stomach,
sleeping. He looked so peaceful and calm, but the scars on his back
almost ruined the situation. There was something so deep and
emotional about them. Something about how newly formed they were
and how they had gashed his skin.

I turned around, taking a moment to collect
my thoughts, and found myself face-to-face with my suitcase. I
realized that I hadn’t changed since my shower and decided since
Luke was fast asleep he wouldn’t mind if I put on some fresh
clothes. I allowed my liquid confidence to help me choose an
outfit. As I pulled on a pair of jeans and T-shirt, I heard
rustling behind me.

“
You changed,” said a gruff
voice.

“
You were
sleeping.”

“
Damn shame, I would’ve
appreciated the view.” It was clear he hadn’t completely sobered up
yet, either. All the formalities of earlier in the weekend had
disappeared.

I turned to face him, and his eyes
immediately moved to my breasts where he realized I hadn’t put on a
new bra. I had made my decision. My previous innocent crush for
Luke had turned into a severe lust that I couldn’t control any
longer.

“
How’s the view?” I asked
as I dragged my finger down the line of my T-shirt.

He stood up, slowly walking across the cool
hardwood floor, and rested his hands on either side of my hips. It
was the first time he had purposely touched me in a way that made
my heart beat so hard I thought it would come out of my chest. He
watched the rise and fall of my breasts with every breath I
took.

“
You’re incredible, do you
know that?”

I didn’t know how to respond, but as he
pulled the thin T-shirt above my head I didn’t stop him. I didn’t
want to. My nipples were hard as he admired my curves. I knew what
would happen next, but I didn’t know how good it would feel. He
slowly dipped his head down so that his lips met my neck. He
trailed light kisses down to my collarbone and a small moan escaped
my lips. I willed it to stay inside of me, but I couldn’t control
my feelings any longer. The heat that spread from his lips down my
neck could hardly be contained. Within seconds it had spread from
my chest to between my legs. He drew his forefinger from my lips,
down my neck, and across my collarbone, stopping right above my
chest. Slowly his finger dipped between my breasts and down to my
navel where his hand greedily grabbed the front of my pants and
pulled me toward him. My head snapped back before my lips locked
with his. Heat radiated from our mouths, wet and juicy kisses
joining together. Everything about him was so forbidden and
mysterious, just the relief I needed from my perfectly mundane
life. I inhaled his woodsy scent, allowing it to take me away. He
was the freedom I wanted and now I would do anything to have
him.

“
Luke,” I said in a husky
voice. “Luke, take me.”

His eyes met mine for only a moment, while a
smile played on his lips.

I waited on baited breath, afraid to move.
My heart was beating so fast inside my chest that I considered
lunging toward him just to end my moment of discomfort. However, as
he rubbed his lips together I noticed that his breath increased
pace. He took his free hand and put it behind my head, weaving his
fingers into my blonde locks, and pulled me toward him. Our faces
collided, the air finally releasing from my lungs as our lips
converged. Heat spread through my body as his hand reached inside
of my jeans, becoming dangerously close to my already wet
mound.

His lips separated from my own and he moved
his delectable mouth next to my ear. “You feel so good, so warm,”
he whispered throatily. “I want you, all of you.”

I swallowed deeply, unsure if I could make
my lips do any of the talking I wanted to say. Instead, I nodded
slowly. He turned my head so more of my neck was more exposed to
him as he started slowly sucking on the side of my flesh. His hands
unraveled themselves from my body parts in order to undo the button
on my jeans, slipping the fabric slowly and stealthily over my
legs. As I stepped out of them he swept me up into his arms and
laid me gently down upon the bed. I thought back to the naughty
thoughts I had just one night ago, that were only dreams. I had
never imagined that such a short time later Luke would understand
my need for him. That he would take me into his arms and have his
way with me.

My skin felt cold against the sheet
underneath me, only the thin layer of lacy underwear left. His gray
eyes searched my body and his hands curved around my voluptuous
breasts. He studied them for a moment before slowly lowering his
head to suckle my left nipple. He teased lightly with his teeth,
his eyes looking up, attempting to catch mine. However, my eyes
began to close in ecstasy. He flicked the tip with his tongue and I
moaned for more. Thankfully, he obliged as his other hand reached
down between my legs. He traced small circles over my mound on the
outside of my underwear, but he could feel the wetness through the
thin fabric. He released my breast and I let out a frustrated
groan, not wanting him to stop. He stood and removed his own pants,
revealing what I knew would be a large cock bulging under his
boxers.

My confidence got the best of me. “Time to
take those off I think,” I said with a smile.

He laughed. “For someone who seemed so stuck
up, you’re damn good at letting loose.”

I licked my lips. “You make me good at it.”
I ripped his boxers down and my eyes took in the beautiful sight
before me. His tan muscles rippling in the candlelight and his
throbbing member standing erect, ready to enter me.