Blitzed(88)

"Exactly," Francois said. Seeing my puzzled expression, he pointed at the fire. "We don't have enough firewood, and despite what I have in the car, there was not enough fuel of that sort available at the place I went shopping. This stove won’t burn regular charcoal well."

"So what's your plan, besides freezing?" I asked. "Go out in the woods and pick up sticks?"

Francois grinned and nodded. "Exactly. Besides, it’ll be a nice break for you. If you are willing to stay next to me, we can go out, up into the hills of course away from the road, and gather wood. The forest around here is heavy with dead trees, especially after such a dry summer. We can find plenty of fuel."

"Take the hand saw with you," Felix said, his voice softening from before. I looked at him, and he nodded. "He has a good plan. Besides, I’m sure you’re starting to get cabin fever?"

Shaking my head in disbelief, I grabbed the bag of clothes Francois had gotten for me. "If I'm going out, I am changing fully. I hope you bought me an extra pair of pants."

In fact, Francois had bought me two, simple sturdy pairs of stiff denim jeans that no self-respecting fashionable person would let themselves be seen within twenty feet of, but to me were godsends. They creaked as I pulled them over the thin long underpants that I had put on first, but they fit perfectly, and Francois had even remembered a belt. Pulling on my new jacket on top of the thermal top, a skull cap and my boots, I felt ready.

As I dressed, I thought about why I was so excited to go outside. Despite what Felix said, it wasn't cabin fever. It wasn't that I was all that angry at Felix, either. Sure, he'd been blunt in cutting off our conversation, but he hadn't been cruel either. I mean, I was a rock musician, I knew what harsh language sounded like.

Was it Felix himself? I had to admit, listening to the man sing was amazing. He had the sort of voice that only a few men in a generation had, the type that spoke directly to your libido, revving it to new heights. Combine that with the dark hair, chiseled jaw, thick sensuous lips and cleft chin, and I knew he was the sort of man I dreamed about far too often for comfort. Too bad he was also a thief and a kidnapper.

I clumped out into the main living room, where Francois looked me over with approval. "You're only missing one thing," he said, digging in his pockets. "Here, I did not get you a pair, so you can borrow mine while I wear Felix's."

He tossed me a set of leather gloves, only simple work gloves that had no insulation at all, but they'd keep the wind and some of the cold out. I pulled them on, finding them already warm. "I kept them inside my jacket," Francois explained as he donned Felix's pair. "Come, the afternoon is starting and the light drops quickly in the mountains. We should move."

Francois led me out, handing me a military style duffel bag that matched his own. “Put the wood in here," he said. "Try to find thicker dead wood, but nothing obscenely large."

We were surrounded by mostly pine trees, and I could see that even the fire trail that led somewhere was barely more than a rutted track in the woods. "You need four wheel drive to get down that," I said, pointing. "Now I see why you said that you could let me go without fear of me turning you in too quickly. It’d take a while to get to the nearest town."

"We were going to leave you the Jeep,” Francois said, leading me deeper into the woods. "Like I said, Felix and I are not into hurting people. Especially beautiful women.”

I couldn't help myself, and I smiled. "Come on, Frenchie. Let's gather some wood."

"I only told half the truth when I said we needed to gather firewood. We do need it, but I could’ve bought enough to stock the house for the time we will be there. I just wanted to have a reason to get you out of the house, away from my brother," he said.

I turned to look into his handsome visage, seeing in his eyes a desire that I hadn't seen from a man in a very long time. Leaning his face down, he lowered his lips to mine, and under the towering pine trees, he kissed me. His lips were as sensuous as they promised, his hands strong even through my thick jacket. I pressed my body against him, letting him pull me close to him. When his tongue traced my lips, I opened to him, joining him even though I shouldn’t have. He was sensual, strong, and there was a naughty thrill to kissing him. He was an international thief, after all.

"Mmm,” Francois murmured when we parted. “I’ve been wondering what that would be like.”

I shook my head and smirked. "Come on. Let's gather some wood, okay?" I said, trying to get his mind off of it. He may be charming, but I shouldn’t be kissing him.

He nodded in acquiescence, the two of us staying close as we gathered fallen branches and even cut up a thicker branch that had fallen. "You know, I should clock you with this and go running into the woods," I joked as I held one of the longer sticks, a branch of pine that was about the size of a baseball bat. "I'm pretty sure I could get to the fire trail without your help."

"You could, but you won't," Francois replied with his sexy little smirk. He was on one knee, using the small hand saw to trim away a branch from a fallen tree that looked like a good candidate for most of our wood needs. "Not after that kiss."

"Oh, you think you're that good?" I shot back. "Let me tell you, Mr. French-Gypsy-Thief, you aren’t that good of a kisser that I'm willing to be tied up and left at your mercy."