She pulled her coat tighter around herself, clenching her jaw to keep from shivering. Her backpack was heavy, and the straps were digging into her shoulders, even through the many layers of fabric. She could barely feel her feet in the waterproof hiking boots she wore, trudging through the gathering snow. The lodge she had planned on staying the night in was nowhere in sight, and she knew if she didn't stop soon and build a fire, she would freeze in this blizzard. The path she was on wasn't common for backpackers, if she was even on the path. She couldn't see beyond ten feet.
She knew it was time to find shelter when she realized that she could barely feel a tingle in her toes. Not moments later, she stumbled upon a break in the rock face to her left, a cave entrance. Relieved, she went in the cave, only giving a passing thought to its possible occupancy. She'd rather face the wrath of a bear than the blizzard, at the moment. With the ongoing weather and her lack of energy, building a fire was out of the question, so she swept debris aside with her gloved hands and spread out the sleeping bag from her pack. She chewed on some beef jerky before crawling into the sleeping bag and curling up in the fetal position to conserve heat. Her warm breath barely did anything, so she creeped her hand down to the apex of her thighs. That would warm her up. Her hand just slid under her thick pants when her sleeping bag was suddenly unzipped and flipped open. She blinked up in the murky light, her heart rate skyrocketing as she focused on the man looming above her.
A deep voice that was barely more than a whisper over the weather came down on her, "This is my cave."
She started to uncurl, but before she could get up, he fell down to his knees, straddling her, his hand grabbing her hand that was coming out of her pants. His hand was not much warmer than hers. She stared up at him, struck dumb by fear and awe at his presence.
His torso was tan, covered in smooth scales like a snake, and she got a vague impression of his legs being black, but she was too caught up in his eyes to care. They were a mesmerizing yellow with slanted pupils that dilated as she watched. His whole face seemed to be colored just to make an observer look into those eyes, with black scale like skin up his jawline outlining his cheekbones and around his eyes.
His whisper voice trailed over her ears like a caress, "no one comess in thiss cave without my permisssion."
His cool hands captured her wrists, pulling them above her head. She stayed limp under him as his pupils dilated and thinned, dilated and thinned.
"Did I permit you to come?"
She dumbly shook her head.