Into The Sunset: An Erotic Romance Anthology (14 page)

“
I will not harm you,” he
said.

I believed him without question. His eyes
looked upon me with worry and concern.

When I didn’t continue fighting, he said, “You
should be resting, ma’am.”

And it was all I wanted to do.

My body was stiff and the sudden adrenaline
rush took more out of me than I had. As we lowered the pillow
together, he bridged the gap between us and wrapped his arms around
me to give me support. I leaned into him, feeling all my strength
leave my limbs. My knees collapsed beneath me, but the man caught
my average frame with ease. He lifted me up, throwing one arm
beneath my knees and carried me back to the bed.

“
You’re a tough one to keep warm,”
he said, piling the blankets and pillows back around me. He turned
to my feet and before touching me, he paused. “May I?”

I nodded and he slipped the wool socks off my
feet to inspect my toes. Each one was discolored from bruises and
glowed a deep pink.

“
You almost lost a few of ‘em,” he
said, as he inspected them. After a satisfied nod, he slid the
socks back onto my feet.

“
How did you find me?” I
asked.

“
I was out early. Hunting. I
almost missed you, but… I saw your hair sticking out of the snow,"
he said. Once my feet were covered, they instantly felt warmer and
my legs tingled with life. “I brought you back here and cleaned you
up."

“
How long ago was
this?”

“
Two days. You were in the snow a
few hours, I suspect.”

“
Do you live alone?” I
asked.

“
Yes,” he said.

“
Has anyone come looking for
me?”

“
No.”

I sighed to myself and wondered if that was
good or bad.

“
Some of your wounds…” he said
quietly as he sat down at the end of the bed. "Some of them are
older.”

I nodded without saying anything.

He stood up and removed his hat to reveal a
lush head of brown hair. Strands in front fell just below his eyes.
The rest was tied back in a short ponytail. “You’ll be safe here,
ma'am.”

“
Emilia,” I said. “My name is
Emilia.”

“
Graham,” he replied with a
smile.

For the first time in as long as I could
remember, I felt safe. I laid back in the bed and drifted off to
sleep faster than I ever had before. I listened as Graham sat down
in the chair next to the bed with . Part of me wanted him to stay
with me until I fell asleep. But he saved me the trouble of asking
and did it anyway. He read me so well, after only knowing me for a
moment.

I awoke in the middle of the night
in a panic attack. Something inside me felt
him
near. My chest felt like the
size of a child’s and I could not catch my air. The room was pitch
black. I remembered the lamp next to the bed and reached for it,
but instead I knocked it down. It fell to the floor and
shattered.

Graham no longer sat in the chair next to the
bed. I tried to shout for help, but I couldn’t find the words. I
choked on any air that entered my lungs. Tears stung my vision. But
there was a light. It slithered into the room from the gap under
the door.

A few seconds later, the door swung open and
Graham charged in. He wore black slacks with thick socks like mine,
but his chest remained bare. I awoke him from sleep, but his eyes
showed no concern for himself.

“
Emilia?” I heard him say. I could
barely make him out through the veil of tears. So I reached out to
him between attempted breaths.

Graham took my hands and jumped into the bed
next to me. He cradled me in his arms and whispered
softly.

“
Breathe slow, Emilia,” he
said.

I clenched onto his arms with broken fingers,
ignoring the pain vibrating up my arm.

“
You are safe here,” he said.
“Breathe slowly.”

And as if it were magic, my chest began to
feel like its normal size again. Air entered my lungs and the panic
inched out of me. In my daze, fueled by oxygen deprivation, I
drifted back to sleep. Graham stayed with me that night and held me
until the breaking dawn.

When I awoke, he was gone. I took my time
getting out of the bed, being mindful of my wounds. But for the
most part, I felt good. The aches and bruises were still there, but
I felt good. A pair of fleece slacks hung on the back of the chair.
I threw them on before leaving, as I felt my knees get cold almost
instantly.

I opened the bedroom door and entered the main
room. The couch was made up with a pillow and a blanket. Graham
must have slept there while I took his bed the last few
nights.

“
Good morning,” Graham said from
the kitchen. He held two mugs of steaming liquid in his hand and
offered one to me. “Hot chocolate?”

“
Yes, please,” I said as I
accepted the warm mug. I didn’t drink it at first and instead held
it between my palms, relishing in its warmth.

I noted his clothing. He still wore his black
slacks and socks. But now, instead of a bare chest, he wore a white
tank that fit his chest tight.

“
How are you not freezing?” I
asked, smelling the warm drink.

“
I prefer the cold,” he said as he
sat down on the couch. He set a plate of cookies down on the table
in front of us.

“
I’m sorry I put you out,” I
said.

“
You didn’t,” he said. “I’m happy
to help.”

“
And for that, I am eternally
thankful,” I said as I took my first sweet sip. The chocolate was
thick and filled my cheeks with warm life.

“
I’m thankful for the company,” he
said. “You can stay for as long as you like.”

“
I won’t be long,” I said quickly.
“I do not wish to be a burden for you.”

“
Do you have somewhere you can
go?” he asked directly.

That question had plagued me ever
since I ran into the the snowy night. I had nowhere to go and no
one that could help me.
He
had made sure of that, or so I
believed.

My silence spoke for me.

“
You can stay for as long as you
like,” he said again, showing his sweet, simple smile to me once
more.

“
Thank you,” I said. Graham
reached out to the plate of cookies and held it out to me. I smiled
and slid one off the plate. Oatmeal raisin. Oddly enough, they were
my favorite. I took a nibble of the outer rim and traced my bites
around it, leaving the center in tact. I took the opportunity to
look around the room as we enjoyed our hot chocolate and cookies in
silence. Graham lived a simple life, this much I had already
figured out. His shelves held more books than movies or games. But
his television was larger than mine was. When he enjoyed
entertainment, he did so in style. Firewood was stacked evenly next
to the fireplace in a neat pile. A rifle hung over the
fireplace.

I zoned out in a conscious state, staring off
into space as my mind wandered. I kept biting and chewing at my
cookie, devouring the outer edges first. After a few moments, I
looked up at Graham and noticed him staring at me, looking very
amused.

I looked at the cookie and back at him. “Oh,”
I laughed. "I’ve always done that. The center is the best
part.”

It wasn’t long until the smooth beverage made
my body relax again. I set the unfinished cookie down on the saucer
as I started to feel light-headed and could not keep my eyes
open.

“
Go back to sleep,” Graham
said.

“
I’m not even sure I’ll be able to
sleep anymore,” I said.

“
Your body has been through a
lot,” he said. "And you should give yourself a break. To
relax.”

I let out a deep sigh, coming from the depths
of my core. “I cannot argue with that last part.”

Graham escorted me to the bedroom and tucked
me back into the fort of blankets and pillows. I thanked him and
was pleasantly surprised by how right he was. My body was still so
weak and I had no trouble drifting back to sleep.

A hard pounding brought me out of my slumber.
A knocking from the other room.

The door.

Someone was at the door.

My whole body tensed up and my breaths came
quick.

I could feel it. Even before I stood up from
the bed and walked, quiet as a mouse, to the window to peak
outside.

It was
him
.

My husband, Samuel. He banged on the door once
more. I covered my mouth to limit the sounds of my heaving breath
as I entered the familiar state of panic.

I heard Graham open the door and he greeted
Samuel with kindness.

“
May I help you?” Graham asked
him.

“
Yeah, have you seen this woman?”
Samuel asked with his trademark growl.

I looked between the deep black
curtains. Samuel held up a photo of me. It was from four years ago.
Our wedding day.
Had it been that long
since we made a memory worthy enough to take a photograph
of?

“
She’s pretty,” Graham replied
with objectivity.

“
Yeah, she’s pretty. And she’s my
wife. Have you seen her?” Samuel asked again.

“
No, sir. I can’t say I have,”
Graham said.

“
Are you sure? I’ve been searching
these woods for days and you’re the only house for
miles.”

“
I don’t understand your point,
sir.”

Samuel took a step forward between the door
frame and looked around Graham at the room. His eyes scanned
everything before taking a few steps back again. “She hasn’t come
by here?" he asked.

“
No, sir. If she traveled past,
she did so without speaking with me,” Graham said. "Is there
something wrong with her? Is she dangerous?”

My breaths came fast and I feared I could
easily be heard. But to my relief, Samuel stuffed the photo back
into his breast pocket and dismissed himself from the porch. “Thank
you for your time,” he spat as he turned back to his
truck.

I stared out the window and watched until he
was out of sight. Graham must have done the same, as he did not
come to check on me until then.

He saw my breathing and instantly held me, his
arms wrapping around me from behind in a kind embrace.

“
Thank you,” I said once I
regained my breathing. But he did not stop holding me until minutes
after.

Graham walked with me into the main room and I
sat down on the soft sofa. I laid back and stared at the ceiling
while I listened to Graham wander around the cabin. After a few
minutes, he came back in.

“
Here,” he said.

I lifted my head up and felt him place an
object in my lap. I picked it up. It was the silk nightgown I ran
away in, folded and clean.

“
Some of the stains were hard to
get out,” Graham said. "But I think I got it back to
normal.”

I let the silk slide through my fingers.
“Graham,” I said. "Thank you for your trouble.” I stood up from the
couch and walked over to the rumbling fireplace. Without a second
thought, I tossed the thing into the fire and watched as the flames
devoured it.

That night, I could not find sleep. My heart
pounded too heavily and I could find no comfort lying alone in the
bed.

About a quarter past one in the morning, I
entered the main room to look for Graham. He was lying on the
couch, a book in his hands. The dim light of a nearby lamp
illuminated the pages for him.

He sat up as I entered and dog-eared his page
down. “Everything all right?” he asked.

“
Would you lie with me?” I
asked.

There was a brief look of confusion, followed
shortly by one of understanding. “Yes,” he said with a nod. He
stood up from the couch and followed me into the
bedroom.

I opened the covers and hopped back into the
bed. He climbed in next to me and allowed me my space until I lied
on my side and wrapped my fingers about his hand. I pulled it
around me and relaxed into his body, succumbing to his warmth and
comfort. He did not move for the first few minutes, his muscles
tense, undoubtedly unsure of what to make of the situation. I will
admit, the whole thing made me uneasy as well. After all, I was
still a married woman. But I was trying to consider my current
needs.

After a few minutes, our bodies relaxed into
each other. Graham pulled the blanket tighter around us. The fleece
locked in the heat from our bodies and created the perfect cocoon
of comfort for us. Sleep came for us both fast and we drifted off
together, listening to the gentle thumping of each others
hearts.

I awoke the next morning, my face buried in
his chest. He still had an arm around wrapped around my shoulders.
I felt so protected and safe, I went back to sleep for another hour
or so until I sensed him stir.