There were Facebook and Twitter handles for women with her name but none of them were from Colorado or remotely resembled her in any way. There were no news stories of people seeking someone by her name in the area or anywhere else in the country.
Did I just go out for a walk and end up in trouble? Maybe I don’t have an online profile anywhere.
Both scenarios seemed highly unlikely, but Lora did not know what else to think.
“Nothing?” Tav asked softly, reading the disappointment on her face. She shook her head and pushed the tablet aside, wracking her holey mind for other answers.
“Well, eat something, and we’ll figure out what to do. Don’t stress about it, Lora. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Lora lifted her head and met his eyes evenly, her heart swelling with appreciation for this man who had helped her so much already.
“I already know what I want to do after breakfast,” she told him firmly. Tav maintained the gentle smile on his face as he placed a plate of omelet, bacon and toast in front of her, but she could see that he was nervous about what she was going to say.
“Like I said, we don’t have to decide right now—” Tav started to say, but Lora interjected.
“I don’t want to go anywhere,” she blurted out. “I want to stay here with you, if that’s okay.”
Tav’s grin almost reached his ears, and he nodded vehemently.
“Sure thing,” he laughed. “If that’s what you want, who am I to argue with a beautiful woman?”
Lora flushed and returned his beam before fixing her eyes on her plate.
He just called me a beautiful woman.
Lora knew she had bigger things to concern herself with, but she could not help but bask in the aftermath of the compliment, even if she had no idea who she was or where she was going.
4
The rest of breakfast continued in a blur, mostly because Lora felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
There was no pressure to decide what she might do next or where she needed to go. The conversation between her and Tav flowed easily, even easier than it had the previous night, and Lora was getting the sense that she had known the guy for a long while.
She also could not deny the building attraction she had toward him, now that the sense of danger was dissipating, and she realized she was in no danger in the safety of Tav’s cabin. Perhaps it was the fact that he was so well known or the amount of respect that he gave her, but whatever the reason, Lora was starting to feel like she was catching up with an old friend, rather than thrust into the house of a stranger.
“You spend all your time up here?” she asked, after they put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher.
“For the most part,” Tav replied.
“Don’t you get lonely?”
She heard the note of wistfulness in her tone, but she couldn’t help it. She wondered if he missed being around others, or if she was irking him by being there. It certainly didn’t seem like Tav was in a rush to be rid of her, but she reasoned that he could be acting politely.
“I like my own company,” Tav said simply. He paused and eyed her, his blue eyes twinkling slightly as he leaned in confidentially. “That doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy entertaining once in a while.”
For what felt like the hundredth time, Lora blushed and looked away, her toes curling into the thick of the faux fur rug under her feet. Tav had lit a fire in the fireplace, and the day was bright but cold outside. A part of her wanted to go explore the mountains and see if anything came back to her, but she was also so comfortable in the cabin, particularly under Tav’s intense stare. He was trying to figure her out as much as she was trying to figure herself out. Unfortunately, she had no answers to give him.
“I could get out of your hair,” she said falteringly, praying that he wouldn’t take her up on it. He laughed.
“You could,” he agreed. “But that would be cruel to do.”
Lora’s brow furrowed.
“Cruel?” she echoed. “How so?”
“You wrapped me up in this mystery,” he reminded her. “It wouldn’t be fair to cast me out, would it?”
Lora tittered.
“Technically, you caught yourself up in this,” she replied coyly, noting how he casually sat at the far end of the sofa, his body turned toward her. He had lost the apron but had discovered a t-shirt. Still, Lora was very aware of every curve and line of his body.
I can’t think of him like that, she scolded herself, but another voice demanded to know why not. It was clear that he wanted her to notice him, to see him. He was relishing in her blushes, she was sure of it. And she couldn’t stop gazing at him.
You can’t because he’s a stranger! For all you know, he’s the reason you’re suffering memory loss! The logical voice snapped back, but Lora dismissed it. She did not believe that in the least, and the more she looked at Tav, the less her resistance took over.
Slowly, they inched closer to one another as the minutes passed and their conversation continued. Lora couldn’t specifically recall what it was they discussed, his closeness distracting her from all else until her leg was pressed against him.
Their eyes locked, and Lora’s breath caught. She knew what was coming in, his expression perfectly clear. Tav drank her in with his eyes, and the mere look caused her body to twitch with anticipation.
She did not hesitate, all the resolve gone as she reached for him, urging him toward her, mouth parted for a kiss. Tav fell onto her gracefully, half his body pinning her to the sofa as his mouth crushed onto hers, but Lora felt no pain. Their lips melded together, like they had always belonged upon one another.
Her sweating palms snaked around his neck, drawing him closer, and she sighed as their mouths explored one another. Suddenly, Tav’s hands slipped beneath the flimsy t-shirt he had loaned her, his fingers closing in around her rigid nipple, and she jumped at the sensation shooting through her body.
The dampness between her thighs increased and her hips arched up to feel him, but his leg kept her in place, wriggling uncomfortably against him as his lips found the swollen skin of Lora’s breasts.
Tav had not shaved that morning, and the stubbly hairs tickled Lora’s skin, a friction jolting across her, and she realized her fantasy was about to become a reality. Tav’s head dropped lower across her stomach, his lips discovering every crevice he could find.
Her fingers entwined in his thick head of hair, holding tightly while her bottoms were stripped away from her legs without effort. The pants were too big and his hands too skillful.
Never had Lora felt so vulnerable, and she loved every second of it. There, in that remote cabin, she was ready to succumb to this stranger who had saved her without another thought, and it did not trouble her in the least.
Lora was forced to release his head, her shoulders crashing back against the sofa, and Tav released a moan as he found her center.
His huge hands gently placed her legs over his rippled shoulders, the strain against her thighs only adding to Lora’s mounting desire.
“You are so sweet,” he murmured, his nose nuzzling the skin around her cleft, and again she bucked upward, wanting him to finish what he had started, what she could not remember experiencing with any other man.