Broken

I didn’t want to settle in and succumb to sleep so quickly but the sensation that coursed through me lulled me into a stupor, at first. I felt my body, almost against my conscious will, turn over as much as my bum leg would allow, curl up and settle under the covers.

The bed I was lying in suddenly felt far more inviting. It surrounded me in a comforting manner, easing me into a slumber.

However, soon after closing my eyes, allowing myself to be carried away by the sleep that the tea had made a far more convincing option, my eyes snapped open and I felt renewed with energy.

In fact, in that moment, all the pain from my ordeal left me and I felt rejuvenated, as though I had slept for days.

The feeling was freeing and, to my surprise, amorous.

When I looked around for the man, whose name I realized I hadn’t even bothered to ask for, I was confused. I could’ve sworn he was sitting right there next to me but in the darkness of the cabin, I only felt a chill of emptiness when my good leg felt for him at the edge of the bed.

I must’ve slept longer than I thought… I concluded, wondering if the tea was more of a miracle than I had realized.

Eventually, my eyes adjusted to the darkness and I could see him, sitting in the chair I had first noticed him in, rocking back and forth by the now smoldering fire.

I wondered if he might be sleeping but a few slight movements caused me to think otherwise.

I felt a rush of excitement flooding through me at the sight of him. I was always attracted to the manly type, but this mysterious mountain man had an allure that was immediately and overwhelmingly tantalizing.

I wasn’t sure if it had to do with the fact that he likely saved my life, or simply that I had an innate need to relieve the stress of my ordeal, but it didn’t take me long to realize that I wanted this handsome stranger, more than I had ever wanted anyone.

I normally wasn’t like this, of course. Lust for lust’s sake was usually out of the question for me. It never appealed to me and I was usually extremely picky about my partners and the intimacies surrounding lovemaking. However, right here in this moment, all I wanted, was this man; whom I knew nothing about.

It was almost an animalistic drive that led me to get out of bed and saunter toward him.

I had made it halfway across the room before realizing that my ankle didn’t hurt at all. I stopped and momentarily contemplated the thought that the man was lying. Perhaps there wasn’t anything wrong with my ankle. Maybe he had only said that to keep me from leaving.

While that was a creepy thought, it didn’t bother me all that much, since in this moment, all I wanted to do was stay here with him.

When I looked back toward the man, he was now facing me. The shadow of the dying fire illuminated a portion of his face, revealing a grin.

Even in the dim light, the way his beam lit up his expression, causing it to be far less ominous, caused my stomach to churn with a bout of attraction.

“Well, I see someone is feeling better,” he insisted, but didn’t seem alarmed in the least. If he was trying to hide something from me, he didn’t act like it.

“Yeah,” I answered, the word tumbling out of my mouth in an unorthodox fashion that made me feel stupid.

Yet, the man didn’t seem to mind.

“That’s great! We can head out in the morning, then.”

“Oh,” I answered, once again with my words sabotaging my intent.

“I mean, you don’t have to leave,” he insisted with a chuckle, “But if you stay up here, I bet people will start wondering where you got to.”

“Yeah, no. I know,” I answered, trying to recover but only seemed to dig myself deeper into the bumbling mass of unintelligent rambling, “I want to go home. It’s not that. I just think that…” I stopped to lower my eyelids suggestively and simper in a sensual manner, “I just thought I should thank you, that’s all.”

“You’re welcome,” he responded, either seeming not to notice my advancement, or not reciprocating.

“I was just thinking…” I tried again, stepping toward him, trying to catch the small spillage of light, so that he could better see my expression. “You’re up here all alone…It’s my guess you haven’t had a woman in a very long time…”

I stopped, hoping that he would give me input, but he silently watched me. I saw his eyes scour my body intimately, but he made no other movement. I tried to gather some intel from his eyes, but for as intently as he was taking in the sight of me, there was no reaction inherent within his gaze.

My heart was beating, and my body was throbbing. I hadn’t wanted anything before like I wanted this man right now. Something told me that rejection would hurt far worse than it should from a man I barely knew. However, if he rejected me, I wasn’t sure what I would do.

There was no cold shower that could mitigate the intensity of this yearning. At this point, it didn’t even seem like a conscious choice. I wanted to feel him inside of me. I needed him, not just a man, this man.

“You are the reason I’m not completely scarred for life, so, I thought maybe I could thank you.”