CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY

Cora pulled her nightdress on with shaky hands. Tears burned the back of her eyes as Vlad’s harsh order echoed in her ears. She has gone from burning up to icy cold. So much for hoping. She couldn’t help but wonder if he would’ve taken her if the phone hadn’t started ringing. He had stormed out of the cabin with the phone pressed to his ear.

When she had woken up it had seemed like a good idea to wake him like that. She was sure that he liked it a lot. So what had happened from that moment up until the phone started ringing? Her body ached, but there was nothing she could do about it. She walked over to the window and glanced outside.

Vlad was leaning against the truck, listening to whoever was on the phone. Her eyes slowly trailed over his body. Colour flooded her cheeks when she realized that he was still naked, and aroused. Was he going to come in here and take her once the phone call was finished? No, he wouldn’t. If he was planning on continuing what they had started, he wouldn’t have ordered her to get dressed.

Cora sighed and turned away from the window. It was only day two and already she felt like running away. She wanted to go home. She just wanted it all to end.

Walking into the kitchen, she searched through the cabinets until she found the cups. After pulling two out and placing them on the counter, she paused. There was no coffee machine. How was she supposed to make coffee?

Her head snapped up when the door opened and Vlad entered. He dropped the phone onto the coffee table. Cora allowed her eyes to trail over his naked form as he bent to pick up his boxers from the floor. Disappointment washed through her once he had pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt. She quickly averted her eyes when he turned towards her.

“I’m sorry,” Vlad said softly. “Things should never have gone that far.”

Cora blinked at him. “Why?”

He swallowed and ran a hand through his hair. “Shit, Cora. I’m suppose to be your bodyguard. My job is to protect you. I can’t—” He broke off to blow out a loud breath. “You’re a distraction, sweetheart. I can’t keep you safe if all I think about is taking you to be.”

“Where are safe here aren’t we?”

“For a while yes,” he said softly. “Alan is keeping an ear on the ground.”

“So you can’t tell me when we’re going to leave?”

He shook his head. Vlad moved closer and stopped a few inches away from her. They stared at each other silent until he dropped his gaze to the cup. Cora actually longer for him to reach out and touch her again. She would be okay with just the brush of his fingers against her skin.
Instead he stepped around her and towards the sink. Cora turned to watch him as he filled a pot with water and placed it on the stove. He turned and walked over to the deep freeze. To her confusion, he filled the two cups with some milk before placing the milk back in the deep freeze. Vlad added coffee and sugar to one cup and then paused to glance up at her.

“How much sugar and coffee?”

She licked her lips before answering him. “One coffee, two sugar.”

He added it to her cup and then stirred. When the water was boiling, he turned it off and moved the cups closer to the stove. Vlad poured the boiling water into the cups and then stirred them. After dropping the spoon into the sink, he turned to hand her the cup.

“Thank you.”

She tried to ignore his eyes focused on her as she took a sip. It wasn’t the delicious taste she was used to, but then again it wasn’t made the way she usually made her coffee. Cora walked into the living room and carefully sank down on the couch. She took another sip of her coffee as she leaned back.

Vlad took a seat opposite her. His eyes were focused on the floor this time. She searched her mind for something she could use to start a conversation but came up blank. What more was there to say? Vlad had made it clear that they wouldn’t be leaving until he thought it to be safe. It could last months and based on the groceries she had unpacked yesterday, they were well-stocked for such an occasion.

“Is there a TV?” she asked softly to break the silence.

Vlad gave her a small smile. “No TV, but there is a radio and some books.”

Her mouth dropped open. Cora quickly slammed it shut. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

Her eyes darted around the cabin. Stranded in the middle of nowhere with no TV and no one else to talk to but Vlad. How was she going to survive a month?

“We could always go hiking,” Vlad said softly.

Cora took a few more sips of her coffee before speaking again. “What do you usually do?”

He hesitated. Vlad drowned the last of his coffee and stood. He entered the kitchen and placed the cup in the sink. After a moment’s hesitation Cora joined him in the kitchen.

“What would you like for breakfast?”

Bacon and eggs with some toast and sausages, maybe even some hash browns. Cora swallowed and tried to remember what things she had packed into the cabinets. All she remembered was canned food. That was about it.

“There’s bacon,” Vlad said softly, “and eggs. I could make some toast too.”

“I. . .anything would be fine.”

“Anything?”

Cora hesitated again. The way he said it made her rethink her options. She pulled a face at him and then slowly nodded her head. Vlad’s smile widened. Cora felt unease fill her when she saw the mirth dancing in his eyes.

“Take a seat,” Vlad ordered. “I’ll call you when breakfast is done.”

“Vlad—”

“I won’t poison you, Cora.”

She stared at him with narrowed eyes, and then huffed before spinning on her heels and walking out of the kitchen. Cora decided to take another shower. She chose some of her own clothes to wear instead of the clothes Alan had packed. After her shower she made the bed which took her longer than usual. Cora had never made her own bed.

The smell filling the cabin was starting to distract her. She blushed when her stomach growled loudly. Her eyes darted over to Vlad but he thankfully hadn’t heard the hunger sounds coming from her stomach.

Twenty minutes later, he placed two plates down on the coffee table. He walked towards the kitchen again to grab two glasses of orange juice. Cora was surprised to find four triangle-cut toasted sandwiches on the plate. Cheese was oozing from between the slices. Her mouth watered, and she instantly reached for it.

Her eyes fluttered close as she took a bite. It tasted better than the breakfast she had in mind. Cora quickly finished the sandwiches on the plate and then grabbed the glass to take a sip of orange juice. She downed half the glass and then placed it down. Cora leaned back in the couch and focused on Vlad. Colour flooded her cheeks when she realized that his attention was already focused on her.

“What do you usually do?”

“Hike, read, sleep, crossword puzzles. Sometimes I camp,” he answered her question.

“Camping?”

He gave her a small smile. “You’ve never been on a camping trip?”

“Does going to a resort count?”

Vlad leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. She shifted slightly when he kept staring at her intently. “Camping means sleeping in a tent, and cooking food on an open fire. Sometimes you sleep underneath the stars.”

“Why would you want to do that?”

His smile widened. Instead of answering her, Vlad grabbed the plates and his empty glass and stood. She frowned when he didn’t immediately return. Curiosity got the best of her. Cora leaned forward and turned her head to glance into the kitchen.

He was busy washing the dishes. Was there anything the man couldn’t do? It felt wrong to just sit there and do nothing. Cora stood and made her way over to him. Grabbing the dishtowel, she started drying the dishes. Since she wasn’t really sure where everything went, she placed it on the counter. Once Vlad had finished washing the dishes, he started packing the things away.

“Alan packed you some hiking boots and clothes,” Vlad said softly.

“You want to go hiking?” she asked in horror. “You’re joking right?”

“No, I’m dead serious. It will be fun.”

“You can go,” Cora said softly. “I’m not going hiking with you.”

“And I’m not leaving you here alone.”

She dropped the towel onto the counter after drying the last plate. Crossing her arms over her chest, she took a step towards him and tilted her head back to look up at him. “Then I guess we both will be staying here.”