corner. “What do we have here?” he cried, spot-lighting a large pile of wood.
“Where would the wood come from?” Smell or not, Isabel was warming up to the idea of spending the night in this cave.
“When we were kids, we used to have parties here sometimes. My guess is local kids still use it.” Passing the flashlight to Isabel, he started dragging wood to where the remnants of the last fire were still visible on the rock floor.
Isabel watched as he moved competently to start the fire. Within minutes, he had a strong fire going. He was in complete control and she found she liked him this way. It gave her a different outlook on this beautiful boy she’d found. She didn’t know what she would have done if she’d been lost on the mountainside on her own. When she’d been hunkered down inside her pitiful lean-to, she’d been terrified that she might have to spend the night there alone.
She had very little experience in the outdoors. When she was younger, she and Chet had tried camping, but with two small children it had seemed like an awful lot of trouble. They’d gone car camping, pulling into a campground where they would park right beside their neighbors. Even worse was having to endure Chet’s curses and impatient mutterings while he struggled to put the tent trailer up. Meanwhile, she’d have her hands full with two tired and hungry little girls. She’d never understood the appeal.
Now, in this cozy cave, safe from the storm, with a man who looked like he just dropped in off the cover of “Rugged Outdoorsman”, she thought there might be something to the camping thing after all.
CHAPTER TWO
Tray had the fire roaring and arranged a small pile of wood close by to keep it going. From the pack, he’d pulled the blanket from the picnic and the left over food, water, and even a little wine.
Tray’s magical bag. She was certainly glad he knew what he was doing in the mountains – she would have come walking today with a couple of crackers in her pocket.
“How long will the storm will last?” she asked, settling in beside him on the blanket.
“Hard to say.” A smile tugged the corners of his lips upwards. “You have an appointment you don’t want to miss?”
“No,” she laughed, playfully punching his shoulder. “Just curious. Now that we’re snuggled away in here, I could stay all night.”
“Oh, there’s no question there; we’ll have to stay all night. It’s already dark and I don’t think the snow will stop for a while. We should be able to make it down in daylight.”
Isabel pulled closer to the fire as a shiver ran up her back. It wasn’t the cold, it was the excitement. She hadn’t felt this alive in years. Her day to day life of going to work, making dinner, doing laundry and then doing it all over again the next day didn’t include being stuck on mountainsides with handsome men in howling snowstorms.
She wondered if she could design a seduction scene here in the cave, realizing it would have to be a little primitive.
She studied Tray’s face as the shadows of the fire danced over it. The set of his jaw made her heart race and she was surprised at how secure she felt tucked in here beside him. If someone had told her a few days ago that she’d be spending the night in a cave, she would have laughed out loud. This was just what the doctor ordered, she thought, even if she was the doctor that had ordered it. Aside from great sex, just stepping outside of her normal routine was doing a world of good. And she was so far outside her comfort zone that she knew it would have long-lasting effects. She leaned into Tray and exhaled a deep sigh.
“Tired?” he asked.
“Just… decompressing, I guess. Were you scared coming down that mountain? I mean, when I was out there putting together that lean-to, thinking that we’d be sleeping out in the middle of the storm…” Isabel trailed off at the thought of what might have happened to them.
“I was
“Where would the wood come from?” Smell or not, Isabel was warming up to the idea of spending the night in this cave.
“When we were kids, we used to have parties here sometimes. My guess is local kids still use it.” Passing the flashlight to Isabel, he started dragging wood to where the remnants of the last fire were still visible on the rock floor.
Isabel watched as he moved competently to start the fire. Within minutes, he had a strong fire going. He was in complete control and she found she liked him this way. It gave her a different outlook on this beautiful boy she’d found. She didn’t know what she would have done if she’d been lost on the mountainside on her own. When she’d been hunkered down inside her pitiful lean-to, she’d been terrified that she might have to spend the night there alone.
She had very little experience in the outdoors. When she was younger, she and Chet had tried camping, but with two small children it had seemed like an awful lot of trouble. They’d gone car camping, pulling into a campground where they would park right beside their neighbors. Even worse was having to endure Chet’s curses and impatient mutterings while he struggled to put the tent trailer up. Meanwhile, she’d have her hands full with two tired and hungry little girls. She’d never understood the appeal.
Now, in this cozy cave, safe from the storm, with a man who looked like he just dropped in off the cover of “Rugged Outdoorsman”, she thought there might be something to the camping thing after all.
CHAPTER TWO
Tray had the fire roaring and arranged a small pile of wood close by to keep it going. From the pack, he’d pulled the blanket from the picnic and the left over food, water, and even a little wine.
Tray’s magical bag. She was certainly glad he knew what he was doing in the mountains – she would have come walking today with a couple of crackers in her pocket.
“How long will the storm will last?” she asked, settling in beside him on the blanket.
“Hard to say.” A smile tugged the corners of his lips upwards. “You have an appointment you don’t want to miss?”
“No,” she laughed, playfully punching his shoulder. “Just curious. Now that we’re snuggled away in here, I could stay all night.”
“Oh, there’s no question there; we’ll have to stay all night. It’s already dark and I don’t think the snow will stop for a while. We should be able to make it down in daylight.”
Isabel pulled closer to the fire as a shiver ran up her back. It wasn’t the cold, it was the excitement. She hadn’t felt this alive in years. Her day to day life of going to work, making dinner, doing laundry and then doing it all over again the next day didn’t include being stuck on mountainsides with handsome men in howling snowstorms.
She wondered if she could design a seduction scene here in the cave, realizing it would have to be a little primitive.
She studied Tray’s face as the shadows of the fire danced over it. The set of his jaw made her heart race and she was surprised at how secure she felt tucked in here beside him. If someone had told her a few days ago that she’d be spending the night in a cave, she would have laughed out loud. This was just what the doctor ordered, she thought, even if she was the doctor that had ordered it. Aside from great sex, just stepping outside of her normal routine was doing a world of good. And she was so far outside her comfort zone that she knew it would have long-lasting effects. She leaned into Tray and exhaled a deep sigh.
“Tired?” he asked.
“Just… decompressing, I guess. Were you scared coming down that mountain? I mean, when I was out there putting together that lean-to, thinking that we’d be sleeping out in the middle of the storm…” Isabel trailed off at the thought of what might have happened to them.
“I was
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