Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Ashley

“T hank you for that.” Ashley was feeling much better after getting in a yoga session outside.

There were so few chances to do that at school, and even when they happened, it was always loud and with so many people. Here, she hadn’t cared that Carter had stood sentry with his back to her while she’d practiced. The sounds of nature had enveloped her, and the scenery had been amazing.

She loved this space, nestled amongst the trees with no one else in sight. It was a weird time in her life to feel peaceful, but she did.

For his part, Carter hadn’t said a word. He hadn’t watched her, which would have made her self-conscious. He’d just let her do his thing. Another way there was no pressure from him to act a certain way.

She’d nearly cried earlier when he’d pulled the yoga mat out of the bag. It wasn’t that he’d known she did yoga. It was the fact that he’d known it was important to her. She hadn’t been worried about it enough to ask for a mat, but she was so grateful to have it.

“Absolutely. We can do that as long as the weather allows.”

It wasn’t fully cold yet, just cool outside. The later it got in the day, the colder it got, though, and she didn’t have much in the way of warm clothes to choose from that she could do yoga in.

“Sounds great. I’m going to go put this away.” She held up the mat and slipped into the cabin.

Ashley let herself into the bedroom and tucked the yoga mat into the corner. She took a look around, checking if anything was out of place, a new habit she’d created for herself.

Carter had been a lot less overbearing since they’d left her apartment, and she was struggling to remember that they weren’t friends, that he was being paid to babysit her. If that weren’t the case, she’d let some of these thoughts free.

Last night, when she’d slept and dreamed of how she’d fit into the book she’d been reading, it hadn’t been the character she’d dreamed of, but Carter. That had startled her when she’d woken up. It wasn’t an unpleasant dream, though.

“I’m going to make some food. You want something?” Carter called out.

She went to the kitchen with him. “What were you thinking?”

“Not sure, depends if you’re hungry or not.”

“The exercise makes me starved, actually. It’s nice to go on them and get out in the fresh air.”

“I’m glad you like it. I’ll make us some pasta if you want to go read while I get it together. It’s close enough to dinnertime anyway.”

Ashley took her tablet and did just that. Curled up on the corner of the sofa, she got deep into the book. It wasn’t hard to lose track of time and everything around her.

“Ashley.”

Carter’s voice startled a squeak out of her. She hurriedly turned the tablet off so he wouldn’t see what she’d been reading and looked up at him.

“Dinner’s done.” He was grinning. “Good book?”

She cleared her throat. “Something like that.”

Two bowls of some kind of pasta were on the table and she took a seat there. It was good, lemony, and unexpected.

“You can cook,” she commented.

“Surprised?” He arched one eyebrow at her.

“No, impressed.”

“Is that all it takes? I should have cooked for you when I got there, and maybe we would have gotten off on a better foot.”

Ashley chuckled. “Something you can add to your training.”

Carter laughed with her. “Need to hire a chef for the new recruits.”

She could see him training people to do what he was doing now. He was a good teacher when she listened to him, and they had deep conversations. It was easy to forget the potential dangers with him around. If he could teach new bodyguards how to do that, he’d be set for life with a job.

“Do you want to watch a movie or something?” Carter asked. “I’m not quite ready to go to sleep and thought you might want to hang out a bit?”

Absolutely, she wanted to spend more time with him, but she tempered her tone. “Sure. I just need to shower and stuff.”

He nodded. “I’ll clean up here while you shower, and then I will.”

“Okay.”

She took her time cleaning up. Not too long, wanting to make sure she left him hot water, but enough to feel the day wash away.

They’d been on a walk all of two times, and she was already looking forward to another one. She would do it every day and dream of the dog she’d get to go with her. After she figured out what to do with her life, she’d look into a place like this.

Carter took his turn, and she grabbed a blanket from the bed to settle into the sofa. There was no TV here, so she plugged in her tablet in case that was what they were going to use.

With nothing to do while she was waiting, she thought back on that same daydream. It was interesting how it had grown and changed since being here. Carter was now part of her daydreams, along with the dog.

She loved the lack of pressure in her life while away from the city. School was over and that was part of it, but with no one around, she could stay relaxed.

“Ready?” Carter came out of the bathroom in sweats, no shirt, still towel drying his hair.

It took all she had not to moan out loud at the chiseled, tan, and wet abs on full display. “Uh-huh.”

“Great. Let me get a shirt from my bag and we can pick something. Did you have anything in mind?”

“Whatever is fine.”

“Do better than that.” He pulled a shirt over his head and draped the wet towel on the back of the kitchen chair.

“Huh?” She blinked a few times to focus back on him and not his now-covered abs.

“Surely there’s something you’re interested in. What do you watch at home?” Carter took a seat on the opposite side of the sofa.

“Oh, I’m not worried about what to watch. I’m honestly a little sleepy so I don’t know that I’ll finish anything.”

“That fresh air really takes it out of you, doesn’t it?”

“It’s weird, right? I mean, I did my yoga, but I feel like we walked a lot farther than we probably did.”

“Almost two miles in total.”

Her jaw dropped. “Was it that far?”

Carter nodded.

“It didn’t feel like it.”

“It’s different when you’re not walking with a purpose.”

“Is it like that on a horse, too?”

He nodded again. “Even more distance can pass before you realize it.”

“Crazy.” She needed to look for jobs in small towns where she could keep up with these aimless walks.

They finally agreed on a movie and set up her tablet where they could both see it. It kept her attention the whole way through. Well, that and the fact that they were almost touching now so they could both see the small screen.

As the credits rolled, a storm brewed outside. She’d been so distracted by the movie and the man, she’d not even noticed the weather outside.

A flash of lightning lit the whole cabin, followed by a crashing boom of thunder. She didn’t move. Storms terrified her on a level that made no sense. She constantly worried a tornado would spin up out of nowhere.

Not that she had any experience with one. It was all in her head, but it felt very real.

“You okay?” Carter asked.

Ashley nodded, not trusting her voice.

Carter turned to face her and cocked his head to the side as he studied her. “Is it the storm?”

“I just don’t like them. I’ll be fine.” She went to stand up, but Carter wrapped his hand around her wrist.

“Let’s put on another movie and relax. There’s no timeline here, and we can watch movies until it stops storming if we need to.”

“I don’t want to keep you up for no reason. I’ll really be fine. I’m used to it.”

“Maybe you are at home. It’s never the same when you stay in a different place.”

As if driving his point home, the lightning and thunder came at almost the same time and then plunged them into a deep darkness like she’d never known. In the city, there was always some light on somewhere. Never a true darkness like this.

Carter put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. “Just take a deep breath.”

Ashley didn’t realize she was trembling until she tried to do what he said, and it was a shaky breath. “How long do you think the lights will stay out?”

“That depends on why they went out. I think there’s a few solar panels we can use to get some things on tomorrow, but tonight the storm will end before we get power back.”

She shuddered, and he held her closer.

“Hand me the tablet,” he said, and she did. Carter flipped through a few movies before choosing one she’d downloaded recently.

As the movie started, he shifted on the sofa, settling her between his legs and leaning back. She didn’t fight him, wanting the connection and enjoying his touches despite the storm.

His hands rubbed and gripped her shoulders in a massage, and she couldn’t fight the moan that slipped from her. She felt, rather than heard, Carter’s laugh as his body shook against hers.

The soft glow of the tablet in the pitch black gave the room a cozy feel that was more intimate than it should have been with Carter. The flashes of lightning didn’t let up, though. The room would be covered with a bright light, only to plunge back into near total darkness with a loud rumble of thunder behind it.

“It’s just a storm,” Carter whispered. “Nothing we need to worry about.”

“I think I’m the one always telling you when something is nothing to worry about,” she answered with a nervous laugh.

“Go to sleep. We can sleep right here if we need to, and the sun will be up before we know it.”

“Can’t.” She shrugged like it wasn’t the big deal her head was making it out to be. “The lightning.”

“Hold on.” Carter eased her up from in front of him as he stood up and went to his bag, using the light of his phone to find something.

As she waited, she considered how uncomfortable he must be on this sofa, especially with her keeping him from relaxing. She shifted her legs off the edge and made to stand up.

“Where are you going?” Carter asked as he returned.

“To the bedroom. This can’t be comfortable for you.” She didn’t want to leave him or be alone while it stormed, but she couldn’t imagine the thought of him leaning his back against the hard, wooden side of the sofa.

“I’m fine.”

Ashley bit her lip to stop the words, but it didn’t work. “Come lie down with me?”

“Ash—”

“I just don’t want to be alone. It’s not that different than the sofa, but you’d also be comfortable.” She wanted him to join her but wouldn’t argue beyond this. If it came down to it, she’d go lie down on her own and just hope for the best. After all, this was hardly the first storm she’d braved alone.

“Okay,” Carter finally said.

Not facing him, she smiled big, knowing he couldn’t see it.

Neither of them spoke as Carter used his phone’s flashlight to guide them to the bedroom. They each got on the bed, Ashley sliding over to the wall side and Carter climbing in after her. He pulled the covers up over them both as he lay down.

She didn’t notice the lightning anymore. The electricity of being in bed with Carter was enough to distract her like nothing else had ever been.

They lay there stiffly for a few minutes before Carter sighed and rolled to face her. “You think loudly,” he said and dropped an arm around her middle, pulling her back flush to his front.

Ashley sighed and let his comfort lull her to sleep.