Fear was gripping Lily's heart as she continued to walk the dark path through the forest. Her cheap flashlight was failing her and the bitter cold had long ago begun to pierce through her rather thin winter coat. She was mentally kicking herself for not charging her phone that day, they always saw one bar should last you a while, what a crock! She felt stupid for taking that shortcut and even dumber when her car broke down, the noises she had been ignoring for the past week had finally caught up with her.
Tears began to trickle down her cheek as she tried desperately to get her bearings. She should have hit the main road by now. Where had she gone wrong? The fear of death was starting to penetrate her resolve as her mind starting pulling up old "files" of stories of people freezing to death in their cars, getting lost and dying of hypothermia when they dared to go get help on their own. The worst was when they were not found at all.
Suddenly, Lily heard a growl behind her. She tried to keep walking, afraid to look, foolishly thinking that to keep going would keep the beast at bay. She heard another growl and then two in unison. She looked behind her and saw two wolves at the top of a mound bearing their teeth at her. She kept on walking trying not to quicken her pace but a snarl and a sharp bark from one of them frightened her into a sprint.
She felt the wolves on her tail but couldn't tell how close. One of them got a nip at her boot and she lost her balance falling head over heels over the side of a deep, steep ditch that barely had a slope. She hit the bottom with a hard thud that knocked all the wind out of her. Then she felt a dull ache seep through her bones finally settling on her head. The wolves were skittishly trying to make their way down the ditch but were slow in their progress. In her injured haze she saw a flash of light and heard a loud, high-pitched, metallic crack that seemed to echo for ages and which scared off her canine attackers. After that there was only darkness.
Lily's eyes fluttered open after what felt like an eternity of sleep. She knew she felt warm which was nice. She could hear the faint crackle of a fire and turned her head to the sound. The fire in the hearth was steady but no way near blazing. In turning her head Lily realized she was resting on a pillow, which meant she was on a bed, but who's? She looked down and gasped when she realized she was naked as the day she was born. Then she heard a faint grunt as a large muscled arm draped itself across her bare tummy.
She turned her head to the left and gasped at what she saw. A face, a man's face, was mere inches away from hers. He was handsome to be sure with a thick, wavy mass of shiny, auburn hair and long, dark lashes that fanned out against his cheek. He had an almost olive tone to his skin and she noted his firm yet slightly full lips. She looked at his broad, muscled shoulders not covered by the sheet. He was indeed gorgeous but who was he? Had she...?
Lily gasped and sat up but the sudden, quick motion caused her head to swim.
"Ooooooooooooh," she groaned and fell back on to the pillow.
The sound caught the man's attention and he began to try to calm her down immediately.
"Ssssshhh, it's ok. My name is Noah Bowen. I found you at the bottom of a ditch being pursued by some very angry wolves. I got to them before they could get to you but when I reached you were out like a light and deathly cold. I brought you to my cabin and stripped you down-"
Lily pulled the sheet even tighter around her mesmerized by his sparkling, green eyes. She tried to move away from him afraid of what she was going to hear next.
"No," Noah said worried, "Please listen. I had to take off your clothes and take off mine warm you up immediately. It's the best way. Had I not done that you could have gotten very ill and you might have died."
That last statement sobered Lily up immediately. The events of her car breaking down now vivid and her fear of being alone on that horrible forest trail with those wolves hit her like a ton of bricks. She began to weep.
"Th- thank you. I..."
Noah cut her off when he pulled her into his chest and began to stroke her hair as she wept openly. She covered her face with her hands and accepted his tenderness as she cried.
Noah couldn't believe his luck. This woman was so beguiling with skin the color of milk chocolate but with a bright, almost golden hue that added to her mystique. Her face was undeniably beautiful but what had really gotten him were those almond shaped eyes, elegant nose and those full, yet defined lips. He had fought every urge to kiss them when he had laid in bed with her. Then there was her body. She was tall. He didn't normally like tall girls, which was odd considering his 6'3" frame but cuddling with her on the bed proved to be more than pleasant. While undressing her he had admired the soft swell of her breasts. He liked their natural, teardrop shape and his mouth had watered at the dark, chocolate areolas that adorned each one. She had "puffy nipples". The kind that lay almost completely flat until stimulated. The thought of him having to ravish her breasts to earn their arousal was more than titillating.
He hadn't dared look at her womanhood as the sight of her upper body had already caused his body to betray his arousal. He only spotted enough to know that she mostly bare but didn't "get rid" of everything. Her hair was jet black and fell thickly towards her shoulders barely grazing them. He could tell she, what was the term? "Relaxed" her hair but the moisture from the snow had manipulated it into crimped waves which fell around her face wildly.
He moved his hand to her shoulder to comfort her and bit back a groan. She was so soft and her skin was like silk. It made him wonder about the rest of her.
She looked up at him then, her tears drying on her face.
