This one is for the Valentine's Day Contest, so your votes would be very much appreciated, and of course any comments you'd like to make. Since I think the idea of getting stranded in a storm by a fire is a really hot idea for a story, this is another take on that...
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Ellie Sanders shivered as she got out of the shower, convinced she had goosebumps popping up on her goosebumps, the air was just so cold. Her teeth chattering as she reached for the bath sheet to wrap herself up, she could feel herself shuddering all the way to her toes. The wind was really howling outside, so the cabin wasn't exactly warm, especially in mid-February. And the tiny space heaters were almost useless. And since she'd never learned how to light a fire, at least one that would stay lit, she knew she'd have to bundle up to try and keep warm till everyone else arrived.
But at least if the lights went out, which they kept threatening, with how they were flickering off and on, at least she had the light on her phone to see her way around, along with her book light, that she never went anywhere without, being such a voracious reader.
So, she knew she'd be fine. At least she hoped.
But some Valentine's weekend this was turning out to be. She blew out a frustrated breath, as she reached for the hairdryer to blow out her long, unruly red hair that insisted on curling down her back in heavy waves, no matter how hard she tried to straighten it. Her brother Jack and his fiancée Mandy had planned a fun couple's weekend at the family cabin, and since Ellie didn't have a man in her life, her sister Carrie had invited her boyfriend John's brother Charles, to join them, to even the numbers, undoubtedly so she wouldn't feel like such a geek, seeing the rest of them paired off and all happy as could be.
Of course her sister swore that Charles would be perfect for her, since he'd just graduated with a master's degree in English literature, which she assumed would mean he'd have his nose buried in a book for the entire weekend, and would barely even notice her. Lost in that depressing thought, she jumped when she heard her phone ping with a text.
When she picked it up, she saw it was her brother Jack:
"Sorry, kiddo, but the roads are getting dangerous, so we've pulled off the highway and we're spending the night in a motel. Stay warm, and we'll try and get there as soon as it's safe to travel, hopefully by morning."
Ellie texted back:
"No worries, I'm fine. Just make sure the roads are clear before you head out again."
Once she'd dressed in a warm pink fleecy sweat suit, with wool socks
and
fuzzy pink slippers just to try and keep her feet from turning blue, she stared sighing at the daunting sight of the big, cold stone fireplace, and knew she'd better get busy trying to get a fire going, seeing as no one was coming to help her now.
Down on her hands and knees in front of the hearth, doing her damndest to get the stupid kindling to light with a barbecue lighter that refused to stay lit, she turned her head and froze when she thought she heard someone, or even worse,
something
banging on the front door. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, knowing it couldn't be her family, since they'd told her they weren't coming tonight because of the storm, so she wondered who it could be, especially since it was hardly a night to be out for a casual drive.
Carefully tip-toeing across the room, with the fire-poker in her hand, she pulled back the curtain at the top of the door just enough to peek out the window, and she let out a gasp, her heart nearly jumping into her throat when she realized who it was. Holy crap it was Dex! Her brother's best friend, who she thought was still on the other side of the world, living out his latest adventure. But when she tugged open the door, there he was; big and tall and just as gorgeous as ever. He burst inside bringing in a cold gust of air and a swirl of snow, before he grinned and slammed the door shut behind him, muttering, "Holy crap, what a storm."
Once he'd shook the snow off himself, stomped his booted feet to get all he could off those, too, he tossed back the hood on his parka, flashed a heart-stopping dimpled smile and said, "Hey, kiddo, so how you managing on your own?"
Doing her best not to stammer, she was just so shocked to see him, and he looked so darn good, she said, "I didn't even know you were coming. And how did you know I was up here on my own?"
He tugged off his gloves and unzipped his coat as he told her, "When your brother heard I was back from filming my latest gig, heli-skiing in New Zealand, he said I should come up and join you guys for the Valentine weekend. And I was on my way up, hitting nothing but one white out after and another, trying to decide if I should pull off the highway to look for somewhere to get out of the storm, when Jack texted to let me know that you'd come up early to try and warm the place up, so you were here all on your own. Then I decided to push through till I finally got here, just to be sure you were okay."
Ellie slowly nodded her head, still stunned to find herself alone with her lifelong crush, never mind the fact that he'd risked his life to come and help her out. And as she stood blinking at him in a stupor, Dex let his gaze wander over her, surprised and delighted to discover once again how amazing she looked all grown up. Damn, little Ellie was sure no kid anymore; and was definitely a full grown woman. And just looking at her in her sexy pale pink body-hugging sweats with all that long thick red hair curling down her back, and no bra from what he could tell -- seeing as her nipples were rock hard and poking at the fabric -- unfortunately was also getting him hard.
Thinking back, as he doffed his outerwear, he smiled remembering the last time he'd spent some time with her. Before last summer, he'd only ever thought of her as a kid, seeing as he had at least twelve years on her. And being his buddy's kid sister, no matter how gorgeous she was, he'd always had to force himself to remember that she was off limits. Though now that she was all grown up, he started to grin, wondering if the rules still applied, especially when she looked so smokin' hot, that all he could think of was what she'd look like naked.
But finally last summer they'd really connected. He'd been out back of the cabin alone in the hot tub, trying to soothe his aching muscles, after nearly getting himself drowned, white water rafting in the Yukon, when Ellie had wandered out in a sexy looking pair of cut-off denims and a barely there little white bikini top, making his eyes flare. And no matter how hard he tried to avert his gaze, he just couldn't stop staring, and remembered he'd also had to force himself to close his gaping mouth, she just looked so insanely hot. Perfect breasts, high and perky, with some really nice cleavage, and her ass had him wanting to sink his teeth in for a bite, it was so nicely rounded and toned, and her legs were just so tanned and smooth, they had him imaging how good they'd feel wrapped around his waist, as he clutched her ass and slid in deep. And all he could think of was getting her to join him in the tub, for a little fun in the water.
But she'd blushed at the thought and only agreed to sit on the edge and dangle her legs in to keep him company. And despite the fact she looked good enough to eat, they'd wound up talking for longer than they'd ever talked before. And he was delighted to discover that in addition to being easy on the eyes, she had a terrific sense of humor, a razor sharp wit, was amazingly bright, and he honestly couldn't remember ever feeling so at ease with a woman, she was just so much fun and so cool to be with.
And when her sister had called her inside to help with dinner, Dex could still remember how disappointed he'd felt. Though he knew that nothing could happen between them, considering who she was, and her age. But the hour or so they'd talked alone together, never left him.
-------------
Noticing he was just standing holding his coat, Ellie finally remembered her manners and took it from him, while he bent and took his boots off at the door and put them on a tray to dry.
But when he came up behind her at the closet and breathed against her hair, "So how have you been doing on your own up here, Ellie?" All she could do was close her eyes and shiver right to her toes. God, his voice was just so deep and sexy, that he might as well have asked her if she wanted to get naked with him and get busy, he had her quivering so freaking hard.
Finally she got up the nerve to turn around and look him in the eye, and wowzers what a mistake that was, since the devilish glint in his eye was just so teasing, she already felt like she was in way over her head, despite the fact that he'd only just walked through the door. Good lord, the man was lethal, and no wonder she'd been secretly harboring a crush for him for as long as she could remember.
Of course knowing he was a born flirt, and that nearly every woman he encountered found him irresistible, judging from all the women she'd seen him posing with him online, she knew she shouldn't feel too flattered, and imagined he was probably just having a little fun, toying with her. Being a world famous travel blogger, into exploring the world's most far flung destinations while being filmed doing outrageous things, like braving the most extreme sports known to man and willing to try anything suggested to him, so it could be put online. She knew he was too far out of her league to even consider anything ever happening between them. She sighed, looking up into his eyes.
But still, a girl could dream.
Finally, she swallowed hard, anxiously licked her lips and tried to be practical, deciding to offer him something to eat. "If you're hungry I made some chili and I got a nice loaf of crusty Italian bread to go with it, and it's still warm, if you want a bowl."
Seeing how flustered she looked Dex shook his head and explained, "No it's okay. I got a burger when I stopped for gas, so I'm good." Then he brushed a lock of hair from her forehead, almost laughing at the way she instantly shivered and told her, "But I think I'd better get to work on building us a fire, or we'll be cold tonight."
Once the lights flickered one last time and then went out, no doubt from the high winds that came with the storm, Ellie was so glad Dex had shown up, even if just to get the fire going. She knelt by the hearth and put on a flashlight so he could see what he was doing. And he was kind enough to even show her how it was done, down on his knees beside her, balling up a huge pile of newspaper and stacking it carefully in the hearth, before topping it with a good amount of kindling, and finally a couple of logs, just to get it going, explaining he'd add more wood later, once it caught. And then when he lit the paper the whole thing went
whoosh
