Page 4 of Laid Bear

Chapter Two

Zora’s head felt as if it had been slammed against a wall over and over again. There wasn’t supposed to be pain in the afterlife—unless she was in hell. She’d done some not so great things in her life, but did she actually deserve eternal damnation? Her last conscious thought was that she’d die as her car went spiraling off the road, so surely she must be dead. She opened one eye and winced at the light before quickly closing it again. After waiting a moment she tried again, this time opening both eyes.

It took a few seconds for her to focus properly. Where was the fire and brimstone? And the horned red man with pitchfork in his hand? She didn’t fool herself into believing she’d done enough good in her life to get a ticket straight to heaven. Maybe she was in purgatory and waiting for an angel to tell her what good deed to perform to get past the pearly gates.

She rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand to rid her head of the remaining fog. Zora took in her surroundings again. Purgatory looked like the inside of a log cabin. If she wasn’t mistaken, she was in a bedroom, one that didn’t belong to her. Attempting to sit, she winced as a sharp pain tore through the side of her body. Gasping in agony, she fell against her plush pillow again. It felt as if she’d gone several rounds with a world class boxer and had come out on the losing end.

Zora was sure she was alive now, but where the hell was she? She glanced around the room, taking in as much as she could of the rustic yet spacious area. The wood paneling, stone fireplace in the corner and western-themed décor gave the place a rural yet comfy appeal. She was tempted to lie very still and continue letting the warmth of the fire soothe her aching body. The rust-colored curtains framing the bay window in front of her bed were open, shining enough sunlight on her face to make going back to sleep impossible.

There was no telling where she was or who had rescued her. She needed to contact her cousin. Zora had told Bernice she’d be there by this afternoon. Hopefully, the owners of this cabin would lend her the use of their telephone since she had no idea where hers was. With a plan formed in her mind, she slowly eased her body to a sitting position, careful not to make any sudden, jarring moves to aggravate her soreness. It surprised her that she didn’t have any broken bones considering the severity of the accident. Perhaps she had a guardian angel looking out for her.

Moving a bit at a time, she pushed the warm down comforter off her body, slid to the side of the bed and threw her legs over the edge. A shiver stole its way up her body when her feet touched the cool hardwood floor. Slowly wrapping her arms around herself, Zora stood. For the first time, she noticed her clothes. From the looks of it, she wore a man’s flannel pajama top. She was by no means a small woman, standing at a solid five foot ten.However, the shirt fell to mid-thigh and the cuffs of the sleeves fell past her fingertips. Whoever owned this article of clothing was a big guy. She wondered if he was the one who’d undressed her.

In normal circumstances, she would have been embarrassed, but her focus was on finding the owners of this cabin or locating some form of communication to get out of here. She slowly walked out the room, groaning slightly at the movement of tight muscles. Fortunately, she found the more she walked, the less stiff her joints became, easing the ache.

“Hello?” she croaked and winced. Her throat felt parched and tight from non-use. Zora swallowed to moisten her pipes before calling out again. “Hello? Is anyone home?”

No answer.

She tapped on the door of the room next to the one she’d just vacated. When she received no response, she opened it and peeked in. Zora saw an empty bedroom decorated a lot like the one she’d been in, but with darker colors. As she continued her search, she discovered one more bedroom and a full-sized bathroom.

Making her way downstairs, she hoped to find someone around. There was something intrinsically male about the place. There were no signs of a feminine touch and it made Zora nervous. What had she gotten herself in to? There was still no sign of life or a phone. Standing in the middle of a spacious living room, she noticed men’s clothing strewn on the ground in three piles. She didn’t have time to dwell on the tidiness of her occupants before a cramp gripped her stomach. Zora clutched her midsection with a gasp before realizing she was hungry. A delicious scent assailed her nostrils, beckoning her on with its heady aroma.

Despite her misgivings, Zora followed the smell and ended up in a spacious kitchen. Her gaze immediately fell on the feast of bacon, eggs, sausage, ham, steak, fried potatoes and hash laid out on the kitchen table. Stepping closer, she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand to make sure this wasn’t some kind of mirage. The food smelled real. The serving platters the food rested on were mostly empty indicating the occupants had already eaten.Unable to resist the edible temptation before her, she grabbed a slice of bacon and took a bite. Either she was hungry or this was the best damn piece of bacon she’d ever had.

In most cases she wouldn’t be so ill-mannered as to eat her host’s food without permission, but these weren’t normal circumstances. She noticed three dirty plates stacked by the sink confirming the diners had already eaten. Since the food was still on the table, she could only assume they’d be back shortly to clear the table. But with all the leftovers. Surely they wouldn’t miss one more slice of bacon.

One slice of bacon, however, became two, then three followed by sausage, potatoes and a steak. By the time she finished pigging out, she’d put a considerable dent in the buffet. She couldn’t remember eating so much in her life, as if she hadn’t eaten for days. She groaned, clutching her belly, this time because it was full. The headache she’d suffered when she woke up with now gone, most likely from the carb infusion. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes briefly as lethargy worked its way through her body.

A loud roar from the distance brought Zora out of her near food-coma. Startled, she leaned back in her chair so far it tipped over. Fortunately she was able to gain her balance before she hit the floor.

“Shit!” Another roar ripped through the air and this one sounded even closer. Were the doors securely shut? Then a noise greeted her ear that made her heart plummet, someone fiddling with the kitchen door behind her. Hopefully whatever wild animal lurked outside didn’t have opposable thumbs.

Without bothering to turn around to see what was behind her, she rushed to the living room only to run into something akin to a brick wall. The air whooshed from her lungs and she felt herself tumbling backward before a pair of hands gripped her forearms and held her up. Not a wall at all, but a man. She lowered her gaze.

A naked man—with an obscenely large dick, which seemed to be growing harder by the second.

Embarrassed, she lifted her head and for several moments of stunned silence, she stared at the hard wall of the giant’s sculpted chest. Zora was just shy of six feet, but she still had to tilt her head back to look into the stranger’s eyes.

Handsome wasn’t a word that could be used to describe the behemoth of a man, but he had the kind of face that was hard to look away from. With short, spiky white-blond hair, his features were masculine and rough. Light-brown, thick brows slashed over deep-green eyes. His long nose was slightly off center, almost as if it hadn’t been set correctly after being broken. With a mouth that was nothing more than a thin determined line, one wouldn’t think a face like this would be so arresting, but somehow the combination of features worked for him.

This was a man’s man—the kind of man other men attempted to emulate and women wanted to be with. Zora couldn’t tear her gaze away from him. It was as if some magnetic hold kept her rooted to the spot. As her gaze remained locked with his, Zora saw a flash of emotionin his eyes that made her inhale sharply.

Hunger.

The blond hulk looked as if he literally wanted to devour her. She should have broken out of his firm hold, kicked, screamed for help even, but she remained frozen in his arms. It was almost as if she’d been hypnotized. She’d never laid eyes on him in her life, yet there was something familiar about him.

He continued to stare down at her, as though he were attempting to memorize every line and contour of her face without saying a word. Zora opened her mouth to talk, but the only thing that came out was a high-pitched squeak. She licked her parched lips nervously and his gaze narrowed even more, locking on that little movement.

Before she could make another attempt at speech, a low growl rumbled from the blond’s throat and he lowered his head. Zora had no time to react before his mouth clamped down on hers. Again her astonishment was too great to move—at first. At the feel of his tongue pressing against the seam of her lips, Zora found herself melting against his kiss.

This was absolutely crazy but her body seemed to awaken beneath his touch. He clutched a fistful of her locks and deepened the kiss, devouring her mouth as his other hand slid down her back to cup her ass. He squeezed aggressively as he exerted his dominance over her. Her nipples pebbled painfully against her shirt making her realize for the first time that she wasn’t wearing anything beneath this shirt besides a pair of panties which was now soaking wet.

With this realization, Zora shot into action. What the hell was wrong with her to give in to a kiss from a man she’d just met? She balled her fists and beat at his chest to no avail. She broke the kiss, twisting her head back and forth which did no good because he shadowed her every turn, his mouth clamped firmly back on hers. His grip in her hair tightened, resurrecting the dull throb in her head.

The blond reached between her thighs and palmed her warm sex with his large hand, holding her captive to his passionate assault. He raised his head, staring down at her with a lust-filled gaze. “You’re already hot and ready for me.” Zora whimpered and wiggled, managing to put a few inches between them, only to be dragged forcefully against his body. He pressed his erection against her pelvis and gave her hair a hard tug. Zora cried out, more in surprise than pain.

Taking advantage of her parted lips, he pushed his tongue into her mouth again. She placed her palms against his chest with every intention of pushing him away, but then something happened she didn’t expect. Her body betrayed her. Her pussy tingled and a delicious warmth spread throughout her entire being. The hands she’d meant to push him away with were now used to feel the hard planes of his body.

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