Frigid Affair(9)

A woman can dream.

“Not unless you feel the need to be seduced.” He chuckled. “I’m kidding.” While shaking his head, he continued. “Sorry, that was terrible. I know I’m a stranger. I need to remember it when I’m talking to you. I’ve been around the guys for too long. We can get a little crude.”

With a smile plastered across my face, I replied. “I happen to enjoy the humor. I don’t get to hear it much. It’s nice having company, even though it’s the middle of the night and I should be sleeping.”

“I like your place,” he changed the subject. “It’s pretty Alaskan. Are you sure you live here alone? It’s kind of masculine. Who does your taxidermy?” Ava moved toward him, taking her paw and rubbing his leg until he bent over to give her attention. My whore-of-a-dog then flipped on her back and spread out for him to keep going.

After feeling like she was stealing my moment, I looked around the cabin at the décor, and mostly the memories on the walls. I didn’t have much hung up. I wasn’t into trophies, but there were some things I needed to have with me. “It’s all my father’s stuff. Long story short, before he passed away he’d come on a hunt. They shipped his meat home, but kept the skins to mount. They hadn’t heard of his accident until they called to collect payment. At first I was going to let them keep the stuffed things, but when I decided to move here I thought it would be nice to fill the house with something. After a while they’re kind of like friends,” I joked.

“Oh really. Should I worry they’re going to start speaking?”

“Perhaps.” I smiled when I said it, familiarizing myself with the way the shape of his face changed when he was amused. “It depends how much you’ve had to drink already tonight.”

“You know, most women would think this kind of life is ridiculous, but standing here with you right now makes me wonder if it’s not the perfect place to be. You’re right. I can see how stress would be a minimum. The only thing I would worry about is if something happened to you physically. It’s not like you can call an ambulance.”

“They come by plane, and if the emergency requires immediate attention you’ll probably croak before help arrives.”

“Doesn’t that frighten you?”

What petrified me was rotting away with cobwebs in my vagina. I hadn’t been thinking about my sexual needs when making the decision to move to a remote location. When I’d said goodbye to my old life, I’d retired the area between my legs, accidentally.

I shrugged and put on a convincing grimace. “I’m happy with my life. I believe if my time is up there’s little I can do about it. I eat healthy, and stay in shape. I get a physical each year, and keep in touch with my general practitioner. As far as things like flu shots, well I don’t need to get them. I’m not around people to pass germs or catch them.” Good lord, I was giving him a rundown of everything personal, as if he was giving me an annual check-up.

“True.” He crossed his arms. “Don’t you get scared?”

I smirked. “Sometimes. I have Ava, and she keeps me company.”

“Don’t you miss having someone that can talk back when you ask them a question?”

“Are you asking because you’re interested in my lifestyle?” I handed him a steaming cup of hot coffee and sipped at mine as I waited for his reply. A strong gust of wind swept across the property, rumbling the house as it made contact with the windows. Easton became alert, coasting his eyes around the vicinity to make sure we were safe. “It’s just the wind. It happens during bad weather like tonight.”

Since it was pretty dark in the cabin with little candles lit, and my battery operated lantern set to low, I made my way to the counter to locate the matches. While I lit some more pillars, he sat down on the stool across from where I was about to sit. “I’m asking because I’m more interested in you. I want to know what makes a woman want to cut the world out?” He shook his head and corrected himself. “That came out wrong. Your life interests me, in an platonic way of course.”

He couldn’t know I was okay if he was attracted to me. Maybe I was desperate, but I found him sexy as hell. The fact that we were alone only heightened the chemistry between us. My symptoms were beginning to diminish as other parts of me seemed to be awakening. “What are we playing?” I began shuffling cards.

“Poker. Three card. Nothing wild.”

“What are we betting?”

He looked around the kitchen. “How about those nuts in the jar? Can we play with them?”

I grabbed the container and handed it to him. “Good idea. I assumed you’d say we were playing for clothes, in which case I’d win, because I’m layered more than you are.”

His eyebrow cocked as he contemplated what I’d said. “You think so? I’ve got to say, I’m pretty damn good at poker, but I didn’t offer to stay because I assumed I’d get lucky.” It was like the go-ahead to throw myself at him. With nothing to lose, I figured ‘why the hell not’ and kept running my mouth.

“It’s about luck, not skill.”

“No, that’s where you’re wrong. It takes skill.”

“I bet I’ll win, and I barely know the rules.” I was up for a challenge.