Jared watched as Ann did her best to ignore him after their dinner conversation. She was being so causal about the whole thing that it was clear that she hadn't any deeper feelings for him. He felt as if the walls of the cabin were closing in on him, smothering him. He needed some fresh air, he thought and he jumped up so quickly that his chair scraped along the floor.
He didn't bother to see if Ann noticed as he quickly exited the cabin. He needed to clear his mind and do some hard thinking, he thought as he walked briskly to his car and started to rearrange the equipment he had there.
Where had the warm woman that he had fucked a few hours ago disappeared to? Now he only saw the bitch that he had met when he first came here almost a week ago. Suddenly the warm person that he had come to enjoy and perhaps even love had vanished completely.
Maybe it would have been better if he had just gone along with her plan and ignored the questions about the future. Maybe then they would have been able to go their separate ways with a smile on their face and never meet again. But he couldn't do that.
He had to know where he stood and it was better this way - better to know where he stood instead of spending the next few days hoping and wishing for something that would never happen. He wanted to just pack and leave right away. He could probably pack his equipment in half an hour and be on his way.
No, he wouldn't give her the satisfaction to learn that she could chase him away with a few hard words. If so, he would give her the impressions that he cared - cared too much about her and their relationship. And she would be right. He cared far more than he wanted to admit. He had come to enjoy the easy bantering as they lay naked in the bed - believing that he had finally met someone that he could talk to about all and everything, while still being as sexy as hell and making him feel hard just thinking about her.
Oh well, hard was good. He could always say his erection was caused by him being turned on by her body. To admit that he loved her, or cared deeply for her, now that was something completely different. For all the years he had known her, he had always had a soft spot for Cade's younger sister. Maybe because she reminded him so much of his own sister.
But as the time went by, Ann had gradually become more than just a friendly face. Instead she had turned into a woman that he watched and longed to know better. Cade would murder him if he had known, and so he had kept his interest to himself while he dated lots of other women and tried his best to forget her. And he had almost succeeded – until Cade arranged this holiday.
What he had discovered since then was that the woman of his dreams was even better in real life – or at least he had thought so until now. She held his interest even in his sleep and he enjoyed being in her company. And now the whole thing was going to end. He longed to hold her in his arms again and to hear her say that she would always stay with him.
Instead, it seemed that the spoilt sister of Cade was just that: spoilt and used to getting new toys all the time. He had really thought that she was different than that. He had seen her struggle to keep up with him on their hiking trip and she even seemed to enjoy the experience once she got the hang of it.
Could he have been so wrong about her? Was she really doing all that just to get him to bed? Before kicking him out when she had tried him out? If so, then she was not the person that he had believed her to be.
Something irked at the back of his mind but he couldn't quite point at what was wrong with the picture. His gut feeling told him that she was just a better actor than he had thought her to be. But what part was she pretending? To be the brave little warrior that enjoyed being with him, or the little tease that played with his mind? Which one was the real her?
There was really only one way to figure it out: he had to confront her one more time and this time he would get the answers that he sought. After that he would at least be certain that he had done what he could.
***
The opportunity presented itself later that same evening as they were drinking coffee outside the cabin. Jared had packed most of his belongings in his car. He would head home early next morning, he vowed as he looked at Ann sitting quietly. She seemed lost in her own thoughts. They had barely spoken since dinnertime. Not until she had offered him a cup of coffee and he had accepted it.
In just a few hours the atmosphere had changed completely and he felt as if they were complete strangers to each other. Where had the warm woman from this morning gone? She seemed to have disappeared into thin air and erected thick walls between them. He wondered what he had said wrong to make such a mess of it all. He decided to fling himself into the fire, and assured himself that he had little to lose.
"Why do you think Cade placed us here at the same time?" he asked as casually as he could.
"Most likely he forgot that he'd lent the cabin out twice," Ann finally answered as she seemed to have rehearsed the answer before giving it to him.
"You really think so?"
"Or he thought we would get along just fine since we use the facilities so differently."
"Do we?"
"Yes, with all that hunting and fishing of yours you're barely here."
"You don't think he had any hidden agendas?"
"Like what?"
"Like making an item of us."
Ann laughed heartily, or so it seemed to Jared as spikes seemed to penetrate his body one at a time as her laughter drifted through the air.
"I doubt that Cade will ever be accused of being a matchmaker. It simply doesn't suit him."
Jared just murmured something unintelligible as he let the conversation rest.
***
As the darkness fell, the room seemed more chilled than it had done in the previous days. Ann occupied herself with reading a book and Jared seemed totally focused on repairing a fishing rod. Still, Ann felt him cast several glances her way, but whenever she tried to meet his eyes, he was again focused on his task.
It felt so strange that they had been lovers not so many hours ago, and now they seemed like strangers sharing a cabin. She had to give it another try before she let him escape. But how could she reveal his thoughts without revealing her own feelings in the process?
At last now that they were barely talking, she had to admit that she missed him already. Missed the easy bantering and the fellowship that came from experiencing things together - walking up the same mountain and sharing a fish fried on the camp fire. How would it feel like when he was actually gone from her presence if it felt so bad now?
"So, you're leaving tomorrow?" she heard her voice croak.
"Yes, it seems to be the best," Jared answered without even lifting his eyes from his work.
"Are you sure I can't persuade you to postpone until Sunday?" Ann suggested boldly. That got his attention and the smouldering eyes of Jared suddenly met hers straight on.
"And how would you accomplish that?" His voice sounded like a mixture of sexual teasing and dare.
"I thought that I might make you some dinner, perhaps?"
"Is that all?" He sounded a little disappointed suddenly as his voice had turned flat.
"Well, you did say that you liked home made cooking, so why not?"
"And, in return, what would you require me to do?" Jared suddenly sounded angry.
"Why, nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Well, if you insist you might clean the cabin and pack my things but I wouldn't expect you to," Ann said teasingly.
Jared just stared at her as if she was speaking nonsense, and indeed she was, she realised. She was nervous as to how to approach him with her wishes that the words just tumbled out of her mouth.
"So milady requires a servant?" Jared asked in a voice that was freezing with spite. "Are you sure that there isn't any other task that I would be required to do as well?"
"No, what would that be?"
