“I don’t do any of that and I barely drink unless it’s during social occasions.” I escorted him to the door, opening it and then closing it behind him as he disappeared in the storm.
I could smell the aroma of the maple coated salmon that was poached to perfection. I lifted the tray to see the steam escape. The mashed potatoes had a hint of garlic that wet my appetite.
There didn’t seem to be any need to heat things up in the microwave. I sat down, grabbing a red linen napkin and placing it in my lap before grabbing the gleaming silver of the fork in my hand.
I heard the whistle of the wind, but I was safe and secure and happy to be off the road. I ate in silence, thinking about Marshall and wanting him to be here to experience this with me. The salmon flaked off my fork. There was a medley of fresh vegetables that were most likely in season this time of year. I devoured the entire plate, thinking that it was the perfect way to end a very confusing day.
The future was unclear and murky like I was looking into the dirty water under the bottom of a bathtub. I had no idea what would be waiting for me when I went back to civilization. I’d seven days to think about that and to not think about that. It was hard not to think about the words that Lillian and Marshall had said to me.
I went to the fridge and I opened it to see the complimentary bottle of wine. I looked for a corkscrew and saw that one was magnetized to the door of the fridge. This place really did think of everything including more blankets and dishware for whatever I would pick up and make on my own in the small kitchenette.
I pried the cork loose, poured myself a glass and then sat down by the fire. I looked into the flames and I could remember the heat that penetrated into my clothes every time that I was around Marshall. My legs would be weak at the knees. My heart fluttered and my eyes glazed over with amorous intentions.
I got up and I walked to the window, pacing back and forth and then draping myself over the chair by the fire once again. Any problem seemed to wash away. It was a perfect venue and something that I should’ve done a long time ago. I was a summer person and winter was a time to cloister and hibernate by binge watching old shows and movies on Netflix.
This place had all the comforts of home and was definitely my way of roughing it. I found a few books that were probably left during somebody’s stay. I got quite involved in a mystery that was taking place on the orient express. I was breezing through the pages, holding the book in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. I felt like I was getting a better understanding of who might have done it. I had my assumptions, but I had yet to find any evidence to corroborate my theory.
The murder was in the dining car after the lights had inexplicably gone off for only a few seconds. When the lights came back on, young Mr. Peterson was flung over his food with blood dripping from his mouth. The evidence of foul play was quite apparent by the hilt of the blade sticking from his back.
I curled up with a blanket over me. I was in the Lotus position. I was quite comfortable and finding that this time away was doing me a world of good. Marshall still lingered in my thoughts. Touching his lips with the deep impression of my lipstick was keeping me from getting to the bottom of the mystery in the novel. I didn’t recognize the author and it was not one of those that would be found on the New York’s best seller list.
I heard the creaking of the cabin as the wind buffered against it. I was afraid that it wouldn’t stand up to the abuse, but this place was built with the kind of eye for detail that was not seen these days.
My eyes were starting to get heavy. I couldn’t avoid going to bed. I knew that once under the covers that I would feel a profound sense of loss. Marshall’s words would strike me over and over again preventing me from finding eight hours of beauty sleep. I would toss and turn, twisting in the sheets and throwing them asunder onto the floor. That was something that I was expecting.
It was getting close to midnight and I’d finished almost half of that book before putting it down. I was ready to retire for the evening. The fire was dying out. I threw a couple of fresh logs on to keep it going. T
here was nothing like the warmth of a fire to make you feel like you were in the lap of luxury.
The crackling of the logs and the bearskin rug was a nice touch. I had assumed that it was a fake bearskin rug. There was no way that they would want the unnecessary publicity of animal cruelty. Everybody had a reason to complain about just about anything these days. Being politically correct was getting to be a headache. You had to be careful about what you said to any minority or even a man or woman who might take offense and throw sexual harassment in your face.
I had put down the book, drank the last of the wine and was headed towards the stairs. I was going by the door when there was a flash of winter lightning that illuminated a face in the window that made me jump out of my skin.
I saw the icicles on his nose and snow on his eyelids. He looked wild and untamed. Marshall was staring at me and I was slightly afraid of opening the door. His breath was steaming up the window. He licked his lips only to have it freeze on his face. I couldn’t let him stay out there, but bringing him in here was tantamount to lighting a fuse between us.
“I had some time to think about it. I’m still not very happy, but I want to give this a chance. I want to give us a chance. Do you think that you can open up the door before my hand freezes to the knob?” He sounded sincere. He wasn’t exactly dressed for the weather. He had his leather jacket on looking like a reject from rebel without a cause.
“I don’t know if I want you to come in. You really hurt me with what you said to me. I know that I had it coming, but it still didn’t feel very good.” I unlatched the lock and I opened the door to see him push past me and stamp out the snow on the mat by the door.
I was having a hard time pushing the door closed against the wind and he had to turn and give me a hand doing it. “I said some things that I regret. It was during the heat of the moment. I’m sure that if it wasn’t you that there would’ve been somebody else coming after me for my behavior. Lillian has every reason to hate me. I was terrified by the way that she was looking at me. I had to cut her loose, but I didn’t know that she would take it personally. I don’t like the role that you played in all of this.” Marshall took off his coat and the black and red flannel shirt underneath seemed a little out of place for his sophisticated taste.
He did look rugged, handsome and had the look of somebody that would be able to protect me from bears in the wild. I still couldn’t believe that he was here and that he had risked life and limb to follow me here.
“You should take that off,” I said the words before realizing the connotation behind them. “You’re soaking wet and you need to warm up your body by the fire.” I was waiting with bated breath, licking my lips seductively and staring into his eyes.
“I know your game. You want me to get naked, but I’m not going to fall for that.” I was a bit disappointed that he wasn’t willing to play along.
“I can turn around if you want. I’m not sure that I would’ve taken you for somebody that was shy. There’s more to you than meets the eye. I learned that the hard way.” I turned away. I heard the rustle of clothing and I had no choice but to sneak a peek.
His strong and muscular back tapered down to an ass that was sculpted for my pleasure. They were round and delicious. He hadn’t even taken off his pants, but he was about to when he glanced in my direction and gave me a smirk of approval.
“I think that we can dispense with the pretense that you’re not going to look. I don’t mind an audience. I didn’t make myself this way so that I couldn’t be admired. I’m sure that you feel the same way when you get those salacious stares from a strange man on the street. You might feign disgust, but underneath, I’m sure that you enjoy the attention.” It wasn’t right that he could read me that well.
“I’m not going to lie and I do dress for certain clientele. If other men look at me, then who am I not to play into it.” I turned with my back towards the door with my arms crossed and watching as those pants began to slide ever slowly down along the contours of his body.
I could see something swinging between his legs, but I didn’t get a chance to investigate. When he was naked, he dashed over to the fire, kneeling at the hearth and putting his hands out.
“I came here to tell you that I don’t hate you. When I gave it some thought, I knew that eventually, somebody was going to take exception to the way that I treat women. My only wish is that it wasn’t you that was hired to come after me. This whole thing has not sat well with me. I want to wash my hands of you and your co-conspirators, but I can’t get you out of my mind. I had to find you. I didn’t know you well enough to contact any of your friends. I did know where you worked and I have been a customer for quite some time. It didn’t take much to get your boss to let me know of your plans to come here.” He looked like a Greek statue with his hand up against his chin and his naked body reminding me that what I had fantasized about was right there in front of me.