part0012

After watching the dark cabin below mine for about twenty minutes, hoping to see a flicker of light from at least one candle, I became concerned. The storm had knocked out the electricity to all of the cabins on the mountain, according to the power company. I had called them nearly an hour ago to see how long we would be in the dark. The nice woman had told me she wasn’t sure, but she said they expected to have the power up and running by morning. Luckily, I had brought four LED battery-operated storm lanterns with me, and there were boxes of candles and matches in every room of my twenty-two-thousand-square-foot property. The guy who’d assisted me at the home improvement center had guaranteed my satisfaction with my emergency lighting selection if I happened to experience a power outage, no matter my location. And he was right. My cabin was lit up like fireworks, and the small fire I had started in the fireplace in the den was maintaining just fine.

I shook my head and stepped away from the window. The rain was still pouring down heavily, and the wind was showing no mercy to the trees. There wasn’t much lightning zipping across the sky, but the booms of thunder were steady. Unable to settle down, I returned to the window. I wondered how Natalie was doing. She hadn’t lit a single candle as far as I could tell, and I didn’t see any signs of a flashlight. I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t a fire burning in the fireplace to keep her warm. The thought of her stumbling around in the dark freezing troubled me a great deal. Why would such a young and extremely attractive woman be up in the mountains alone? And why so close to Christmas? It didn’t make sense to me.

I was on hiatus from my life—football . I didn’t want to hang around Munich while awaiting my fate with the league. The media would have harassed me nonstop. So, I came to the only place where I knew no one would recognize me and I’d be allowed to live in peace even if temporarily. Hayden Ellis, the German-American with family roots in Marietta, Georgia, was a nobody, but the German-born football player known as Viper Drachenberg was a world-renowned athletic superstar. He was adored by millions around the world. His life was good. But with the fame and wealth that came along with international sports stardom, there was also a not-so-pleasant side. There was rarely a private moment to enjoy the simple things in life, and it was difficult to build meaningful relationships. You never knew who was interested in the real you and would care for you even if you didn’t have a dime as opposed to the self-seeking groupies that only wanted to ride your coattails. So, it was just safer to be alone. That’s why I was hiding out in the Blue Ridge Mountains. What the hell was Natalie’s explanation, though?

Fuck it! I couldn’t take it any longer. I was going over there. Maybe I would meet Louis and Glock after all, but I didn’t give a damn. It was cold and wet outside and she was alone and probably freezing her cute little buns off inside a dark cabin. Oh, and her buns were cute. I wouldn’t mind palming each of them like an Adidas soccer ball and squeezing her into sexual submission. But that wasn’t what Natalie needed right now. She needed lights and heat, and I was going to make sure she got both.

I ran upstairs, grabbed an Adidas hoodie from my bottom dresser drawer, and slid it over my head and down my body. Then I returned to the den to collect a lantern, a box of candles and matches, and an umbrella. When I realized the only umbrella I’d brought with me was a Bayern Munich collector’s item, I growled and threw it across the room. I paused for a moment with my free hand on the knob before I opened the door. I didn’t want Natalie to shoot me or beat me to death with her bat, so I had to proceed with caution. My motives were pure, and it was important to show her just that. I slid the hood over my head and opened the door.

I left my cabin and jogged the few yards down the path and around to the front of Natalie’s dark cabin in the heavy downpour. I slowly tiptoed up the steps to the porch. I was a bit nervous because visions of Louis and Glock were stuck in my head. I didn’t move for a beat as I listened for movement on the other side of the door. With the exception of the wind, raindrops, and the occasional clap of thunder, I heard nothing. I knocked on the door with my fist.

“Natalie! It’s Hayden. I came down to check on you. I have a lantern, a box of candles, and some matches for you. I guess you know by now that the storm knocked out the power up here. Um, anyway, I’m going to leave everything on the porch right outside the door. I’ll check on you again in the morning.”

I stood still briefly before I turned and started down the steps. Halfway down, I heard the locks disengaging before the door creaked open.

The silkiness of her voice gave me hot flash. It was half angelic and equally salacious. I held my breath and took my sweet time turning around, and when I did, the sight before me caused my blood to simmer with raw lust and rush to my dick. But in my horny state, I felt a twinge of compassion. Natalie was cold inside her dark cabin. The bulky clothes she was wearing covered by a coat with a blanket draped loosely over her shoulders told me so. There was a cute, pink, wool beanie on her head, covering those untamed curls I loved. The matching mittens on her hands completed her Eskimo look.

“It wasn’t a problem. Hey, if you’re cold, you can light a fire with those matches. There should be some wood stacked inside somewhere. Now that you’ve got the lantern, you should be able to find it.”

“Do I look like I know how to light a fireplace?” Her tone was dripping with sarcasm.

I couldn’t hold back my laughter even I’d wanted to. “No, but I bet Louis and Glock could.”

Her eyes fell to the wooden planks of the porch before they rose slowly and merged with mine. “Can you please light a fire for me?”

Hell fucking yeah, I’ll light your fire, babe! “I’d be happy to do that if you promise not to shoot me or bludgeon me to mush.”

“I promise to let you live if you behave.”

“I’ll only look for the firewood and pitch a warm fire for you and leave. You can even search me before I come inside.”

“Okay. Give me one minute.” She stepped back and slammed the door in my face. About forty-five seconds later, she opened the door again with a heart-stopping smile. “You can come in now.”

I walked toward her with my hands in the air. I side stepped the lantern and other items and stopped directly in front of her. She smelled so fucking good that I wanted to devour her whole, but I fought the urge with vigor. “Search me.”

I closed my eyes as she patted me down, more than likely how the police officers did in the movies she’d seen on TV or at the theater. Her petite hands were soft, exploring carefully over my hip and back pockets and down both legs. She was thorough in her search even as she patted my chest and arms. I was impressed and relieved that she had taken my suggestion for her safety. She was a smart young lady. I liked that.

“Come on in.” She stepped aside and gave me a clear path into the cabin.

I grabbed the lantern, candles, and matches before I joined her inside. “I’ve only been in this cabin once. It was one day last year when I met the owner and his family. They’re from Seattle, Washington.” I placed the candles and matches on the coffee table. Then I looked around the room, trying to gather my bearings. “If I remember correctly, the woodshed is in the back near the kitchen.”

I rushed to the back of the cabin, gathered a small stack of wood, and returned to the den. Natalie was sitting quietly on the sofa watching me closely. Damn ! The depth of her beauty under the illumination of the lantern was fucking intoxicating. My overwhelming desire to reach out and touch her…kiss her plump lips…taste the sweetness of her naturally tanned skin wreaked havoc on my loins. Out of respect, I suppressed my lustful thoughts and simply smiled at her before I grabbed the matches from the table, made my way to the fireplace, and got busy. It was important that I hurry before…

“You have a strong accent, Hayden. Exactly what part of Germany are you from?”

“I was born in Landstuhl on the U.S. Army base there. My dad was an American soldier. He met my mom, a native of Frankfurt who’d attended college in the States to study English, at a nightclub close to the base. Papa said it was love at first sight for him.” I laughed, recalling the many times my parents had told me their completely different versions of the story. “My mom said my dad was a real cocky son of a bitch. Arschloch , she called him.”

“What’s that?”

Natalie’s sexy giggle gave me a testosterone surge. The sound was mysteriously arousing.

“Evidently, she didn’t feel that way about him too long.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? She married the pompous bastard three months later, and I was born the following year. Twenty-nine years later, and they’re still madly in love—those two. It’s sickening .”

“What’s sickening? The fact that your mom and dad are still in love after all these years or their short courtship before tying the knot?”

“Both, I suppose.”

“Why?” Natalie pressed with a hint of displeasure in her voice. “Love is magical . When you meet the right person…you…you just know! And you don’t want to wait to give them your heart. You go with the flow, you know? Surely, you’ve been in love before, right?”

After the flames had spread across the carefully-stacked wood, I looked over my shoulder and got lost in Natalie’s midnight orbs. I swore her eyes could lure me into that “love flow” crap she was gushing about. I broke eye contact and returned my attention to the fire. “Nah, I can’t say I’ve ever been in love before. Relationships are much too complicated and messy. There’s not enough time in my life for that. I’m too damn busy for love. I have better things to do, my dear.”

“I have a very busy life too, but I’ll always make time for love. I mean the real kind . You know like when the man and woman are all into each other and they give their all to the relationship to make one another happy no matter what. He’s faithful to her, and she’s faithful to him and— ”