“Open it. Now.”
Holy shit. What the heck? I’ve gone from the frying pan into the fire. I have never been so afraid in my life. The rain is picking up now and this guy is drenched. Where did he come from and where’s the wolf? I need to see the wolf, so I’ll know my initial reaction is wrong, that this guy isn’t – I shake the thought that’s circling my brain before it has a chance to fully form.
“Y-you better go.” I find my voice. “There’s a wolf out there. It was just here!”
“Is this door damaged?” he asks, ignoring my warning.
“What?”
“Can you open from there?”
“I – locked it.”
“Open it.”
“Wh-why?”
“I need … in.” His eyes implore me to open the door. But not in a sweet or kind way, as if it’s urgent.
No. No no no. This isn’t right.
“There’s a wolf out there! You better be careful, or it’ll get you. I hit it with my car by accident and I think it’s pissed at me. You better go!” I say. “It’s huge. Did you see it?”
Maybe I’ll see them both now and know it’s not true. My eyes try to scan the space behind him.
His expression changes.
God, those eyes are filled with something. Something…
“Let me in,” he cuts my thought short. “So I can be safe from the wolf.” His mouth twitches as he fights a smirk. His fight fails.
A smirk? What the heck?
I jolt. “Is that wolf yours?” I ask.
“Yes.” He jerks his chin at me. “Open.”
“I can’t.” I shake my head vigorously.
This doesn’t make sense. He’s contradicting himself.
He stares a beat, like he’s searching my face for something.
“I’ll help,” he says.
“Help?” I inquire.
What is he after? I can well imagine. Same thing every other man I’ve come across tonight wants.
“The car will –” he pauses and looks down the hill. “Will slide down this valley with the soft earth and at the bottom there’s a river with…” he stops and considers something, “fast water. You need to open it so I can get you to safety.”
He speaks in a stilted and measured way. It’s as if English isn’t his first language, but he has no accent.
It’s got to be freezing out there, it’s cold enough in here, and yet he’s naked. It’s dim, but I can tell that the guy is just massive. He has long and curly hair, hair as long as mine. He has huge shoulders, defined biceps. I halt my measurement before my eyes dart down his torso to where I already know he’s got no clothes on.
I shake my head. “Sorry, but I gotta ask you to go. Someone is…um… coming back.”
“Back?” He straightens. “Here? A male?”
“Maybe if you wanna help me you can call me a tow truck. My… my boyfriend is gone for help and he should be back any time now. In case, um… he didn’t get far maybe you could call a tow truck to haul us out of here.”
He has no clothes on, so how can he make a call when he has no pockets? I guess I’m just stalling him.
“Boyfriend?” he snaps. And then he growls.
Yep… growls.
He’s just … growling for a long time, animosity rolling off him.
This guy is not a potential helper. I mean, duh, ‘cuz he’s naked so that’s my first clue, but he looks angry. This feels like it won’t end well and shit, I’m unarmed. I’m unarmed with no phone signal in the dark, in the rain and this car is definitely going nowhere without being hauled back up onto the main road unless it’s going down toward that fast-moving water.
“Open,” he snaps.
I shake my head. “Sorry, but no.”
I put my phone to my ear and there’s no signal, but I pretend there is anyway.
“Are you almost back? Did you get help? Oh good. Okay!”
“What?” He tilts his head.
“Bye, sweetie.” I pretend to hang up. “He’s gonna be back any time so you can just go.”
“Open the door,” the guy demands.
“Sorry, no. I can’t do that. I’m not opening the door to a naked man in the woods. Uh uh.”
He frowns. “Obey me, female.”
I twitch. Female?
His eyes glitter strangely. Light hits them or something and they go a reflective green, like… like a cat. No, like a wolf, the wolf who was likely pissed because I accidentally hit him with my car.
My blood runs cold.
“Name?” he demands.
The pace of the rain picks up and it’s more than drenched him now. Why is he naked? The fact he’s naked keeps rolling around trying to make me acknowledge the thought in my head that I’m trying to stop from surfacing is correct.
Can’t be. Mind tricks. It’s dark. I’m stressed out. I didn’t really see what I thought I saw. He’s probably just a crazy, naked axe murderer who dropped his axe somewhere.
My heartrate spikes and I feel like I can’t get any air.
I look around me, looking for something to defend myself with. There’s nothing. I mean, I’m in my car, but he could break my window.
He places his forehead against the glass for a moment and breathes deeply, like he’s trying to calm himself.
The car feels like it moves just a little. God. I have it in park.
Mudslide. Rain, plus mud plus car nose pointing down a hill toward water (if he’s correct) and I am in trouble. Big trouble.
I survey the landscape ahead. Trees everywhere. There is one big one directly in front of me. If my car moves more than a few feet down, it’ll crunch into that tree. I won’t go down to any fast- moving water, I don’t think. It’ll stay there. It’s a huge tree. But it’s gonna cause damage.
“What are you called?” he grinds out, breath fogging up the window.
My heart is galloping in my chest.
He pulls on the driver’s door handle, this time looking angry and I see the door handle in his hand.
Oh no. What?
He tosses it, rounds the hood, and goes to the front passenger door and pulls on that handle.
“They’re all locked,” I tell him.
He breaks the passenger handle, too. He glares at it before tossing it.
“Stop it!” I shout angrily. “Stop breaking my car!”
His eyes hit mine and his nostrils flare. Damn. He looks like he wants to inflict pain on me.
My mouth drops open. A naked man just pulled two of my door handles off. Shit. He’s definitely not playing with a full deck.
“D-don’t. Please. Just go away,” I plead.
He’s broken my handles. What kind of strength does someone have to have for that to happen? Why is he naked? God. I’m wishing I was back in that cabin of ill-repute right now. What the heck does my horoscope say today?
“What are you called?” he demands.
“What are you called?” I fire back, snarkily.
Eek. Snark probably won’t serve me well right now.
“I’m Tyson.” He then jerks up his chin. “Open this door now.”
“Sorry, no. Tyson. My boyfriend’ll be here any---”