31 Days of Winter Read online

  ‘Actually there is one thing.’

  ‘What?’ he asked as he looked back at me and I felt myself flailing in the oceans of his eyes as they looked down at me.

  ‘You can stop calling me Miss Baxter, you make me sound like an old spinster.’ I smiled when that earned me a laugh.

  ‘You’re far from an old spinster, Miss Baxter,’ he teased. ‘What would you like me to call you?’ he asked with a raised eyebrow. How about Mrs. whatever your name is? O my God, I was swooning over a guy I’d spent a good part of three hours with, who’d flirted, groped my arse, carried me on his shoulder, and I didn’t even know his name.

  ‘You can call me Ellie, or El as some do,’ I shrugged.

  ‘Then I’d prefer Ellie, Miss Baxter, it’s too nice a name to cut short.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘Well goodnight, Miss … Ellie. I hope you sleep well and you know where I am if you need me.’ He turned, opened the door and made to pull it shut behind him.

  ‘And what do I call you if I do need you?’ I asked and he looked up and smiled.

  ‘Dan.’

  ‘Do you have a second name?’

  ‘Just Dan is fine.’

  ‘Then thank you for being so accommodating and for the various and interesting modes of transportation,’ I smiled.

  ‘Goodnight, Ellie,’ he said, and this time the full smile was back and to hear him say Ellie in that tone made me clench my thighs together as a virtual tsunami of moisture completely ruined my knickers.

  ‘Goodnight, Dan,’ I replied softly and gasped as I saw his whole body stiffen and his eyes blaze with a surge of testosterone as he heard his name roll off my own tongue. The look was only there for a second, but I saw it and he seemed to sense that I had. Immediately I saw that wall go up again and he quickly shut the door and strode away. I watched until his tall, large, muscular body merged with the darkness and looked down at the key in my hand and locked the door. I put the key on a console table near the pool table and let out a huge sigh. ‘Damn it Ellie, what the hell have you gone and gotten yourself into now?’ I asked myself out loud.

  I looked around for my case and realised he must have carried it up earlier when he showed me upstairs, so I went up and unpacked, and hung up items and folded jumpers and stacked them in the ready-made shelves, along with my shoes and boots in the custom rack. I looked at the owners side of the wardrobe and was tempted to sneak a peek. I mean this guy had to be fairly loaded if he owned this place, which was packed full of designer touches and on a whole island, no less. I shook off my curiosity and filled the bathroom cabinet over the twin sinks with all my toiletries and started running a bath. That thing was going to take forever to fill, so I ran downstairs, avoiding the pole, and made myself a thick doorstep cheese sandwich loaded with butter and a hot chocolate from the fancy machine, then slurped and munched as I sat at the desk and set up my new laptop and checked my mobile. Damn it, he was right, there was no signal. I picked up my iPad mini and logged into the Wi-Fi using the password he’d left on a note on the desk and sent Brooke an email to tell her I’d arrived safely. I looked out of the window and my eyes were immediately drawn to a couple of bright lights to my left, and I realised it was the light shining through the windows of Dan’s boathouse. He really was quite close, which comforted me more than it should have.

  I suddenly realised I was still wearing his jumper. I clutched the neck line, lifted it to my nose and breathed deeply, closing my eyes with pleasure as the scent brought me a picture of his gorgeous face. I headed back to the bathroom, sat on the edge of the tub as I finished my sandwich and drink, then moved a small cabinet next to the one end of the bath settling my iPad on it, stripped off and removed my locket. I hopped into the deep water and groaned as it wrapped itself around my aching muscles. The Land Rover ride had been a killer, I’d be feeling that in the morning. I heard my iPad signal an email coming in and picked it up and smiled to see it was from Brooke.

  Hi, babe. Glad you’re ok, was starting to get worried I’d not heard from you. Is the boathouse as nice as it looked? Are you all warm and snuggly? Hope you’re not having any regrets. I’m not, Christ Maisie goes like shit off a shovel when you floor it. You may not get her back ;-) xx

  You dare get even so much as a scratch on her and I’ll make your life unbearable, Brooke Hanson. No regrets at the moment, but I’m not convinced it’s totally hit me yet. Captain Crank morphed into a caring human this morning and even gave me a £10K bonus and he’s emailing me a contract offering me Junior Partner with a pay rise if I want to go back after my month off. Zac was waiting for me so I asked him to give me space. I’ve got a new iPhone, I’ll get it all set up properly tomorrow and let you know the number, but it doesn’t look like there’s a signal here. I’m warm and snuggly in the most enormous polished stone bath, you won’t believe what’s happened. xx

  Don’t leave me hanging like that!! Was it chocolate tonsils? Is he like Jabba the Hut and you’re imprisoned as his sex slave for another twenty-seven days of winter? ;-) xx

  Yes, chocolate tonsils is definitely one of the bonuses and he’s certainly not Jabba, more Harrison Ford from his ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ days. His name’s Dan and he’s swoon worthy hot and ALL man. Brooke, I nearly came when he threw me over his shoulder and carried me up to the house. xx

  Single? Hair and eye colour? Height? Weight? Build? Cock? Action? And why was he carrying you? Answers, and fast please! xx

  I burst out laughing and sank a little lower in the water.

  No wedding ring, short messy black hair with very sexy grey flecks, sparkling green eyes that I could swim in. He’s well over six foot and no idea with weight but I don’t think there’s any fat on him at all. He’s seriously ripped in the stomach and bicep areas and well built without being all Mr. Universe muscle man, I hate that look. Cock I haven’t had the pleasure, other than seeing the outline of an erection in his jeans, but he looks a lot wider than Zac and a bit longer. Sadly no action, and I’m not sure there will be any :-( He carried me up the rocky path to the house over his shoulder and I managed to cop a feel of a very tight full arse, and he caught me as I slid down the fireman’s pole.

  Fireman’s pole? I thought you said no action, sounds hot enough to me! He sounds yummy, you lucky bugger, but you deserve some luck after the last few days. So why don’t you think there will be any action? Sounds like he’s up for it, and when did that little boathouse get a pole installed and why??? Me confused! Xx

  There was some mix up and the owner decided to leave and rent out his super modern and stylish open plan glass, stone and wood house and have Dan, who’s his best friend, live in the boathouse to “tend to my needs” ;-) He’s let me have the house and the man servant for the price of the boathouse. Win all around! I don’t know, I just can’t read him, Brooke. Everything he says sounds like a sexual invitation, then he touches me, carries me and when our eyes meet I can see he feels the pull as well, but then it’s like the shutters suddenly come down. Like there’s something stopping him crossing that line. Maybe it’s in his contract that he’d lose his job if he went that far with a paying guest, I don’t know. SIGH. Xx

  Tend to your needs? You dirty bitch! I bet he’ll soon forget his reasons for pulling away and be tending to your needs sooner than you can get that new iPhone set up. You’re gorgeous and single, why wouldn’t he want to go there?? And you still haven’t explained the pole?

  It leads down from the bedroom to the ground floor, so the owner could zoom down faster if he needed a snack, apparently :-)

  Sounds fun, neat idea. Well you get some sleep, you haven’t had much these last few nights and if you start crying again over that loser, I’ll come up there and slap you! I want twice daily updates, morning and night please, and I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you get to slide down Dan’s pole sooner than later. Love you babe xx

  You too Brooke, and thanks again. xx

  I put my iPad to the side and took a deep breath and s
ank down under the water. I loved the feeling of weightlessness and the warmth cradling me. It was like all sounds were shut off under here and I could just forget about the world, but tonight there was one thing I couldn’t forget, that look in his eyes as he’d caught me. I came up for air gasping and pushed my hair out of my eyes, grabbed the luxurious looking combined body wash and shampoo thoughtfully provided, and cleaned myself up. After quickly blasting my hair I suddenly felt exhausted and was looking forward to hunkering down in that bed. I pulled on a t-shit and skipped down the stairs and winced as my bottom murmured its protest. I got a glass of water and turned off all the downstairs lights and made sure the embers of the fire were well covered by the grate so they couldn’t spit out.

  I turned off all the lights upstairs, and by the glow of the log burner I found my way to the end of the bed and stood looking out at the stars, it was a magnificent view of them, totally unspoilt by street light. I found my gaze drawn down to the boathouse and took in a deep breath as I saw the outline of Dan’s frame, illuminated by his open doorway. Was he looking up at me as I looked down at him? Just as quickly as I thought it, he stepped inside and closed the door and the lights went out. I sighed and climbed into the middle of the bed and pulled down a pillow to hug and fell asleep, dreaming of being carried in Dan’s arms as he brought me up to the bedroom and lay down with me.

  Day Five

  Ellie

  I woke up as the sunlight’s rays reached my eyes and blinked repeatedly as I tried to open them. When I checked my watch it was just after eight-thirty, I’d slept well. I pulled the duvet over my head, hoping for a bit longer, but was suddenly very aware of how swollen I was between the legs and my curiosity peaked. I ran a hand down my stomach and slid a finger down, opening myself up and let out a groan, I was absolutely soaking. Desire bloomed inside me like a summer born rose and I swept my finger across my clit. I’d never masturbated to the thought of anyone but Zac, I’d been a late starter losing my virginity to Matt when I was nineteen, but Zac had coaxed a mild vixen out of me and had gotten me to explore my own body in front of him. This time however, it wasn’t Zac whose face I pictured, Dan’s green eyes were watching me intently as I gently started circling my clit. Sparks of pleasure started flying, I bent my knees and parted my thighs as the sensation started to spread up by body. Before long I was panting and writhing with a pair of seriously painful nipples, one of which I tweaked with a yelp. One thought of his lush lips suckling on one was enough to have me whimpering his name out loud as my body exploded into a joyful powerful orgasm.

  I shoved the duvet down from my face as I took in gulps of cool air. Damn, I hadn’t even got to the good fantasising bits of his hands running over my skin or his thick cock nudging its way into me. I was going to need a bit more self-control to go all the way with him in my dreams, if that was as close as I could get to the real thing. I decided I needed to shake him off, I was here to focus on my writing, not to fall in lust with the help. I decided a brisk run would blow away the cobwebs and leave me fresh for the day. I got up, stretched and gasped as I looked out of the window and stepped up to the glass, palming it as I looked out across the calm waters of the loch to the acres of fir trees around the shore line. They climbed up the mountains behind, with rocky outcrops breaking up the expanse of green. There was snow on the mountain peaks and the sky was filled with birds soaring in formation and swerving as one back and forth, seemingly unsure of which direction they should be going in. It was a breath-taking view and I fell in love with it straightaway. God, if this didn’t inspire me to write, nothing would. We really seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

  I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, decided against mascara, pulled on my running leggings and trainers, sports bra and top and a sweatshirt and headed out with a small plastic bottle of water from the fridge, pocketing the key as I locked up. The rocky gravel path that we’d come up last night continued to the right, so I decided to see how far it led and made a start and winced. Christ, that Land Rover had worked me over big time, it wasn’t just my bum, my thighs were feeling it too. I leaned against a fir tree, of which there seemed to be many on the island, then went through some stretches and headed off. It was really cold, but there was no dampness in the air and the sun shone brightly through the smattering of white billowing clouds above. The path seemed to stick quite closely to the shore line and I had to stop now and again to look at the changing views around me. Well not that they changed much, the loch seemed to be set into a deep valley, surrounded on all sides by the mountains, it seemed that you really couldn’t get more isolated than this island if you tried, unless I went to write in Antarctica. This was definitely a get away from everything retreat. What the hell was the owner running from to come and hide away up here? And why wasn’t it enough for him to re-evaluate here? What was wrong with here? I idly wondered.

  I bent over and dipped my hand into the crystal clear water and yelped, it was freezing, I’d never felt water so cold that wasn’t actually physically frozen. I decided to stick to my bottled water and took a swig before heading off again. The island was larger than I’d imagined and I’d finished my water before I’d completed my circuit and realised what a stupid idea this had been. I was tired, I had nothing left to drink and had no idea whether turning back and retracing my steps would be quicker than carrying on or going up through the forest and over the hill. One look at the dense trees made up my mind that the forest was not an option, so I figured I’d chance it and keep going. I had to tie my sweatshirt around my waist as I was starting to get hot and about twenty minutes later, panting and with a mild sheen of sweat covering my bare arms and trickling down my back, I saw the jetty up ahead. Thank God, I’d pretty much reached my limit and whilst my body burned, my cheeks and fingers were stinging from the cold. As I approached the boathouse I veered over to the shoreline again, bent over with my hands on my knees and looked at my reflection in the water as I caught my breath. Damn it, I was all hot and sweaty with no makeup on and about to jog, well crawl or limp at this particular moment in time, right past Dan’s door to get home. I sincerely hoped that either he was out or I could make it without being seen. I risked dipping my hand in the water again, my fingers were so cold that this time I didn’t notice the chill of the water. I lifted my hand and sucked each finger, enjoying the coolness as I tested if it were drinkable.

  ‘Good morning, Ellie,’ came his insanely sexy voice and I groaned inwardly, partially through embarrassment that I was going to be seen, partially through lust. I turned feeling mortified, index finger still in my mouth, to see him sitting on his little terrace, feet up on a folding chair with his ankles crossed. He seriously took my breath away he was that good looking.

  ‘Good morning,’ I stammered as he looked me up and down intently.

  ‘If you need a drink, the loch’s fresh but I’d prefer you fill your bottle from my tap just in case.’

  ‘Ok. I’m afraid I’m quite a sight this morning, the run around the island took longer than I expected.’

  ‘You are quite a sight,’ he smiled. I bit my lip confused, he was back to flirtatious again this morning and I wondered what his deal was? He was really well spoken and came across as intelligent and articulate, why was he here doing a job that anyone with a driving licence and knowledge of a motor boat could do? ‘Are you going to come and fill your bottle or have your legs given out on you?’

  ‘Nearly given out,’ I smiled as I moved over to the steps leading onto the jetty and then up to his front door. ‘Owwww,’ I groaned as I grabbed my hip and he laughed, that toe curling I want you between my legs laugh. He indicated to the other solid wood chair and I flopped into it and winced again and rubbed my calf.

  ‘That was quite a run to attempt on your first day.’ He held out his hand and for a second I wondered if he was asking me to give him my leg to massage, but disappointingly realised it was the bottle he was after.

  ‘Yes, I don’t get out as often as I’d like with m
y job.’

  ‘Your job?’ he called over his shoulder as he headed into his house.

  ‘Editor at a publishing firm, or rather I was. I quit yesterday morning.’

  ‘You quit?’ I heard him call and he sounded surprised.

  ‘Yes, new start and all that.’ I smiled as he came out and handed me my bottle, without the lid, so I swigged some down straight away as he sat back down next to me.

  ‘So you’re looking for a new boyfriend and a new job?’

  ‘I’m not sure I’m ready to rush headlong into new boyfriend territory again,’ I blushed. ‘Job wise, I have an offer open to me when I get home of Junior Partner at my current firm, but I came here to try my dream.’

  ‘Your dream being?’

  ‘A novelist, I know it sounds corny. Dreaming of coming out to “find myself” and write and become such a success that I can live off the proceeds.’

  ‘I don’t think it sounds corny at all, what’s the point in living if you don’t follow your heart?’ he asked as he held my gaze, then broke it. ‘Where ever it may want to take you.’

  ‘Thank you, well I’m trying to do just that.’ I set the bottle of water down on the table and rubbed my hands together.

  ‘Then you’re a very brave woman, Ellie Baxter. Would you like a coffee to warm you up?’

  ‘I’m fine, thanks,’ I smiled with a quick look down to make sure my nipples weren’t showing through my top and jumped as I felt his warm hands wrap around mine in my lap sending sparks radiating throughout my body.

  ‘You’re not fine, your hands are like ice. Come with me.’ He stood up, clasping one of my hands in his and pulled me up as I cursed him silently for using that damn expression again. He led me into the boathouse, closing the door behind us and I let out a delighted sigh as I looked around. The pictures hadn’t done it justice, it was adorable and so cosy. ‘Are you ok?’ he asked as he looked at me puzzled and let go of my hand.