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“I’m okay,” I manage with a trembling voice. “Just out on a walk.”
“Are you insane?”
Finally, my eyes adjust and I can make out his frame.
He’s tall. Taller than most men I’ve come across.
Broad shoulders, black hair.
The backlight of his car’s headlights casts a sharp contrast, enveloping most of his massive frame in a deep shadow.
I should be scared, yet all I’m feeling is curiosity.
“It’s a possibility,” I say.
“What are you doing out here in the middle of this frozen hell?”
“My car broke down, obviously,” I shoot back. “Just trying to make my way into town.”
I can finally make out his facial features.
There’s a prominent scar on his left eye that speaks of violence.
His eyes. Wow. The deepest green I’ve ever seen.
It feels as though he’s looking right into my soul, stripping my defenses away, one layer at a time until I’m left naked and vulnerable before him.
A smile tests the corner of his mouth, but it’s the twinkle in his eyes that has my pulse racing. “Good luck with that, you’ve still got a few miles to go, and I don’t think you’re going to make it in these temperatures.”
“It’s not like I have another choice.”
He points back at his car. “The snowstorm is only going to get worse.” As if summoned, the winds grow harsher, blowing harder and turning each snowflake into a sharp razor blade slashing across my face.
It’s getting harder to breathe.
My tremors intensify, and now this tall, dark and handsome stranger looks even more serious than he did a few seconds ago.
If that’s even possible.
“I have a cabin just 500 feet away from here, down that country road over there.” He points somewhere behind me, and I follow his gaze but I can’t see a damned thing in this blizzard. “You can at least shelter in place until the worst has passed, and then I can give you a lift into town. Where do you need to get to?”
Damn, there’s something about his low and raspy voice that’s got my gears turning in all the deliciously wrong ways.
“Okay, first of all, you’re a complete stranger. I’m not just gonna hop into your car and let you take me wherever,” I reply, my fear getting the better of me. Or maybe it’s just my common sense bypassing this muted but dangerous desire currently unfurling in the pit of my stomach.
“Second, I’m going to Abramtsevo.”
“Is that where you live?”
“Yes.” It’s not, but since I’m already contemplating getting into his car before I freeze to death, the least I can do is make myself seem local. That way, he’ll think twice about abducting a local girl.
“I’ll drive you there myself when the storm quits,” he says. “Where did your car break down?”
“Back that way. I don’t even know at this point. I can’t see a damn thing.”
“Fine. I’ll search for it in the morning and get someone to tow it for you,” he says. “But in the meantime, we should get you somewhere warm.”
“I’ll be fine.”
