Chapter Five Flynn

"Y es, Nana, I'm fine," I repeated for the fiftieth time as I sat on the couch playing with the tassels on the throw pillows. "I don't need anything."

"Are you sure?" her frantic voice asked from the other end of the phone. "I can bring you anything you need. Your mother would never forgive me if her boy got hurt while taking care of me."

"I was on a hike, Nana. It was my fault. And I swear, I don't need anything. The resort is going to pay for everything and take care of me. They're even getting me a new phone."

"That sounds suspicious. Why would they do that?"

"To avoid a lawsuit," I replied casually. "I hurt myself on their property. I could sue them for liability and win thanks to their poorly marked trails." I paused. "I'm not gonna do that, of course, but I might as well enjoy a couple weeks here in luxury, right?"

"I've always wanted to visit that resort," she said absentmindedly.

"I'll see if they can have you up for a couple of days."

"Oh no. I couldn't leave the chickens."

"Nana," I sighed. "The chickens will live. Besides, the resort is gonna send a maintenance guy down to help you with all the chores while I'm healing up."

"You know how I feel about strangers…"

"This is hired help Nana, not a stranger. And you need the help."

"I don't know–"

"No arguments," I said. "I know you have your pride, but I don't want to see you end up in a home over something as silly as that."

She let out a long sigh. "No. You're right." She paused for a moment. "I don't know what I did to your mother to make her hate me so much that she wants to stuff me in a home."

"She doesn't hate you, Nana," I replied, trying to sound convincing. "But both her and Dad are so busy with their jobs that they couldn't take care of you. And since she's an only child and grandpa is gone, and you wouldn't be caught dead in the city…"

"Damn right."

"Well, that doesn't leave them much choice, does it?"

"I suppose not."

"But don't worry about it. That's why I'm here. As soon as I'm done healing, I'll be back on the farm helping you out with everything."

"Flynn, darling. You shouldn't have to waste your life taking care of me. You gotta get out there and find that man and a successful art career. I know you've got it in you. And if you wanted a family someday, that would be wonderful as well."

"You and Mom both want me to have babies so badly," I laughed. "You two do understand how that works, right? It's not like I'm just gonna poop out a litter one day."

"Flynn Charles Daniels! The things you say!"

"I can hear you laughing."

"That doesn't matter," she grumbled, stifling her laugh as best as she could. "How are you gonna catch a man with a mouth like that?"

"Oh Nana, you and I both know men don't care what I say. They're more interested in my lips."

"I'm going to hang up now Flynn, before you insinuate something terrible to your dear old innocent grandmother."

" Innocent ?! Weren't you a dancing girl straight out of high school?"

"Times were tough. We had to eat."

"Uh-huh." I paused. "Isn't that where you met grandpa?"

"I'm hanging up, Flynn!"

"Alright, Nana. Alright," I chuckled. "I'll let you know when you can come up and spend a couple days at the spa, okay?"

"Okay. Love you. Bye."

"Love you too, Nana. Bye."

The other end of the line went dead and I pulled the phone away from my face. That woman was as stubborn as an ox. Not only that, but she claimed to be as innocent as a rose while her young adult years would send most old women into a tizzy. But then again, if she hadn't been an old timey stripper, she never would have met grandpa, and she loved that man more than anything to this day. Even after twenty years of not seeing his face, she still talked about him like he was her guardian angel in this world. It was adorable and if I was being honest, it made me just the tiniest bit jealous.

I wanted a love like they'd had. The only problem was, men my age were idiots, and everyone wanted to share all the time. Granted, I wasn't against going to an orgy with a boyfriend on my arm, but I wanted to know for sure that he was going to come home with me at the end and not someone else. I wasn't a prude, I just wanted to be valued for more than a piece of ass.

In a not so shocking turn of events, college in the city didn't conjure up the perfect man for me. So now I was taking some time in the sticks to let things rest for a while. And then Thor found me.

I still wasn't sure what that guy's deal was. He seemed straight as fuck, and he didn't strike me as the kind of dude that was prepared to come out to his entire family the moment he got to know me. No, I had a feeling I'd be his dirty little secret if I ever let him fuck me. But then again, there was something sort of fun about that. It just wasn't the sort of thing I was looking for. I wanted love, not a fling with a mountain man in the hills of Appalachia.

However, I hadn't gotten any dick in months now, so I might have to loosen the reins on that conviction a little bit. Thor didn't seem like a bad guy. I wasn't completely convinced he was caring for me on the resort's dime out of the goodness of his heart though. Still, he wasn't being a dick about it or forcing me to stay either. Unlike the beauty trapped in a cursed castle, I was free to leave whenever I wanted. If things got weird, I'd just go.

So why not enjoy being pampered for a while? It wasn't like it was going to happen ever again. How many people found a rich dude who wanted to take care of them without any strings attached? Life was about experiences after all, so time to start experiencing them, I guess.

"Thor?" I called, raising my voice enough to reach the next room.

He appeared in the doorway a moment later. "Is your grandma okay?"

"She's fine," I nodded. "She was about to call the police to send out a search party, but I reassured her that I'm okay."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"And I've decided to stay," I added. "While I heal that is. If you're still okay with it."

He smiled, his blue eyes shining. "Of course I am."

"And you're okay with sending someone down there to help at her farm?"

"I'll have someone sent that way right now," he replied, heading over to the couch.

I handed his phone over to him and he shot out a quick text. A few seconds later his phone chimed and he nodded.

"It's all taken care of."

"But… I didn't even give you her address."

"I don't need it," he laughed. "There's only one old woman with a farm on this mountain and we also know how stubborn she can be."

I furrowed my brows. "Oh?"

"My father tried to buy her land back in the day so the resort could own the entire mountain. And she'd hear nothing of the sort. Practically drove him off with a shotgun in her hands."

"Yep," I sighed, shaking my head. "That sounds like Nana."

"She's a tough old thing."

"That's true."

"Let me order us breakfast and we can talk." He lifted his phone again. "Any allergies? I know you hu–" He cleared his throat. "I know our guests sometimes have them."

"No. I'm good."

"You eat meat, right?" It was less of a question and more of a plea.

"Obviously," I replied, gesturing to my thin and ropey form. "Look how buff I am."

That made him smile. "Alright, just let me make a few calls and we'll eat."

Thor stepped into the other room with his phone held to his ear. I could hear him talking but couldn't quite make out what he was saying. However, I was starting to get a bit bored sitting on the couch the entire time. I swung my legs over the edge and tested putting weight on my injured leg. A streak of white-hot pain surged through my body, and I immediately flopped back on the couch. As far as I could tell, I wasn't going to be walking on that for a while.

Instead, I reached into my bag and pulled my sketchbook out. I took one glance at the broken pencil and remembered that I didn't have anything to draw with. Plus, my phone was gone, and I wasn't in the habit of carrying books with me wherever I went. So, for the moment, I had absolutely jack shit to keep myself entertained. There wasn't a television in sight either, although considering this was a fancy hotel, it might have been buried in a wall or something.

But then I saw it, an ink pen sitting on the side table near the recliner where Thor had been sleeping. Hearing him still talking in the other room, I decided to take a chance. If I couldn't walk, I'd crawl. I wasn't above that.

Lowering myself to the floor gently, I dragged my carcass across the room like I was an injured deer struggling to get off the highway. I made a few pathetic noises, grunted a lot, and I was sweating by the time I got to the chair. However, I'd managed to get there without hurting myself further. I reached up, my fingers just catching the edge of the pen before yanked it down.

"Yes!" I muttered to myself, feeling good about my rather pathetic achievement.

Now I just had to get back.

Turning around was the difficult part. I'd wedged myself up against the chair and there really wasn't a lot of room to get myself facing the right direction. When I finally got exasperated and tried to force it, my injured leg caught on the chair, and I let out a yelp as pain flooded through me.

Thor was in the doorway immediately, a look of intense fear on his face.

"Are you okay?!" He scanned the room. "Who's here?!"

"Nobody's here," I groaned, one eye squeezed shut in pain. "Why would someone be here?"

"I…" He faltered. "What are you doing? I told you not to put weight on that leg!"

"I was bored." I held up the pen. "I needed this."

"You're going to break your leg again for a pen?"

I furrowed my brows in confusion. "Again? I thought you said it wasn't broken?"

"I… I meant that you almost broke it last time. No need to nearly do it again," he replied quickly. "The doctor was fairly sure you didn't break it, but it could be a hairline fracture or something although he was pretty sure it was just a bad sprain. Nothing to be worried about."

Why was he suddenly so nervous? His mouth was running faster than water off a duck's ass.

"Let me help you," he finally huffed, clenching his jaw closed.

Before I could protest, Thor crossed the room and scooped me up as if I weighed nothing. My stomach did a backflip as I came off the ground, the sensation making me throw my arms around his neck to keep myself steady. He smiled the moment I did that, and I couldn't help but blush.

This close to him I could feel the heat of his body soaking into my skin and the rough touch of his hands against my body. He carried me as if I weighed nothing, his biceps flexing easily. There was a scent about him too, something deep and earthy that I couldn't quite place. I figured it was some sort of rich person cologne, but it definitely had an effect on me. I felt my pulse quicken and my body tense. I didn't know what it was about this guy, but he was like a magnet for my cock. By the time he put me down on the couch, I had to arrange myself just right so he couldn't see the tent in my shorts.

And yet, he hovered there, only a foot from my face, his blue eyes gazing into my soul.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly.

"Y-Yeah," I stammered, my heart still racing. I glanced at his lips, then back to his eyes. A blond lock hung over his forehead and I had to stifle the urge to reach up and brush it away. "I'm f-fine now."

"Good," he breathed. "I don't want anything to happen to you." He paused there, his hand reaching up and brushing my hair to the side gently. "You messed up your hair."

"O-Oh."

"It's a beautiful color," he continued, still stroking my head.

"It's all natural," I chuckled, completely unsure why I felt the need to say something like that.

He leaned closer, his animal magnetism putting me at ease. "And your eyes… they're like summer leaves deep in the forest…"

There was a knock at the door, both of us nearly jumping out of our skin. Thor pulled himself back, shaking his head.

"That's probably breakfast," he replied. "I bet you're hungry. "

"Uh-huh." I could barely speak.

As Thor went to fetch our food from the hall, I found myself dizzy and confused. What the hell was up with this guy? Why was he so attractive? And why, of all things, did that scent of his make me melt from head to toe? I'd never experienced anything like that in my entire life.

Something about this guy was irresistible, but I could tell he was hiding something from me too. I might want to fuck him, but I didn't trust him enough to do that just yet. There was something going on and I was going to find out what it was.

Then I'd fuck him. Maybe.

Probably.