Nicole Hartmann

Project Details TITLE: Owen - Faye CUSTOMER NAME: SH Naks DATE: 2/5/18 DUE DATE: n/a LENGTH: 2,000 Words HEAT: n/a GENRE/TROPE: Alpha Grumpy Male OTHER: First Person, Heroines POV Heroes 34-42, Heroines 26-34 I walked into the once-familiar cabin, eyeing the new surroundings with interest. Certain things had remained the same – the same log siding and the same rug still laid in front of the back door. “I hope you’re not planning on me feeding you.” I sighed. It was like I was Belle, and Owen Harris was the beast. Except that he wasn’t a perfect prince complete with blond hair and blue eyes. He definitely had the beast’s temper down pat though. He’d done nothing but grumble and complain since he’d attempted to pull my car out of the snowbank it was still buried in. I couldn’t believe I’d been so idiotic as to think I could make it up to my family’s cabin in the middle of a snowstorm. I knew better. I’d driven these roads a hundred times as a teenager. And yet, I’d still decided that it had been worth it to visit the cabin once more before the new owner took over. Reaching into my tote bag, I grabbed a bag of pretzels and started to munch on a rod, glaring at him from across the room. At least I was packed for a snow-in. “I’m a big girl, Owen. I can feed myself.” “Not very well,” he retorted. I looked down at my outfit. It was a perfect acceptable pair of fleece-lined leggings and an oversized sweatshirt that hung artfully off one shoulder exposed a purposely placed lacy white tank top strap. I rolled her eyes. “I don’t even know what you mean, but I guarantee it was meant to be rude.” “You’re skinnier than I remember. You should eat more,” he said, slamming the refrigerator door shut as he took out the Britta pitcher and shoved a full glass of water in her direction. “And don’t even get me started on the shoes.” I looked down at her fluffy Ugg moccasins and berated myself for my choice of footwear. “Yeah, not my best work. I was planning for a relaxing evening in front of the fireplace.” “A fireplace that you don’t own anymore,” he reminded me. I stared at him, willing him to flinch. He didn’t. Damn him. “I didn’t realize you already owned the place, Owen. I promise you that. I didn’t miss your charming company so much that I drove here in a snowstorm.” I saw the flash of white teeth and my stomach did a tumble. He might be a beast, but he was still as heart-stopping gorgeous as he’d been in high school. If a girl looked past the rough beard and the shaggy hair. And this girl definitely did. “Looks like all your dreams are about to come true, darlin’,” he drawled, motioning to the couch that sat temptingly in front of the fireplace. I looked at the sleeper sofa, then back at him and his annoyingly attractive smile, then back at the sofa. “You don’t mean…” He chuckled, a low sound that almost made it feel as if he’d done it softly in my ear. “I do mean.” “What happened to the beds upstairs?” “I threw them out last week when I moved in. I didn’t want to think about sleeping on someone else’s bed. Especially after I found out this had been your cabin,” he said to me, seemingly irritated at the fact that I’d slept here in my younger days. “So, you’re saying that the only place to sleep is—” Gulp. “Here. On this couch.” “That would be correct, Sherlock,” he retorted. “But seeing as how you’re a gentleman…” He scowled at me. “This is my home. Don’t even think about suggesting that I sleep on the floor of my own home, Faye.” I looked over his frame. Owen was a big guy. He stood at least a foot over my own 5’5” frame, with broad shoulders, a firm chin, and piercing green eyes. In high school, he’d been dreamy. Ten years later, with facial hair and a temperament that rivaled a caged bear, he was something completely different. Hotter, my treacherous inner voice suggested. Lost in my reverie, I didn’t notice that he was still staring at me, now with his eyebrows raised. “How about if I take the cushions –” “If you think that I’m sleeping on a couch with no cushions, think again, sweetheart. Not happening. You’re going to have to snuggle nice and close…” He took a step towards me, and I brought up my tote bag as a defense against him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said, thinking of how I was having a hard time keeping my hands to itself as it was. If I was pressed against him all night, his warm, hard body tight against mine…well, it was enough to make my fair skin blush. He stepped closer to me. Close enough that I had to look up at him. Close enough that I could smell the scent of sandalwood and pine on him. He smelled like the outdoors, and something a lot sexier. He looked down at me, his eyes blazing into my own green ones. “I think it’s a very good idea.” I took a breath, my chest expanding out, so it almost touched his broader, flannel-covered one. “If this is about high school…” He laughed, the sound surrounding me. “It’s definitely not about high school. We were on two very different tracks. You don’t need to remind me how much better you were than me. Your parents did that enough.” “Owen, I am not my parents. And I don’t think I’m better than you.” Quite to the contrary. I’d heard about his successful mechanical engineering career. He had invented parts of cars that I couldn’t even name, sold it to the highest bidder, and now was able to own fancy places like this cabin…all before he was forty. “Why did you come here?” He asked, bending his head so our faces were only inches apart. When I breathed in, I was breathing his breath. It was undeniably heady, causing me to feel almost drunk. “I told you…I just wanted to see it one last time. I didn’t know you’d already moved in. I thought I’d be alone.” As I said the words, I watched different emotions cross his first. First disbelief, then acceptance, then attraction. It was that last one that scared me more than anything. His head started to bend towards mind, but then he stood suddenly and headed over to the stairway. “I haven’t moved much, so everything should still be where you’re used to it being. For now. The spare closet at the end of the hall is yours if you want to hang your stuff up over night so it doesn’t wrinkle. I’m sure in a few days the roads will be clear enough that you can go. This will all be over sooner than you know,” he threw over his shoulder, heading up the stairway that I knew from memory led to the bonus room where the master suite was. I pictured him in the room, changing shirts, his broad torso naked and hair-covered. Nearly panting, I chastised myself. Get ahold of yourself, Ramsey. This wasn’t some romance novel where the beast was really a prince. This beast was…just a beast. Owen clearly had a chip on his shoulder for me and my family, and a few nights together wasn’t going to change that. I headed down the hall but a mouse stared at me, glaring at me with beady little eyes. I let out a yelp, ran back into the living room and up the stairs. “Owen!” He came out of the bathroom into the hallway. He grabbed me by the shoulders. “What is it?” “Mouse,” I squeaked, feeling first embarrassment at this lack of dress and then an intense shock of attraction that coursed through my entire body. He clearly had been in the process of undressing. His shirt was off, which would only aid my fantasies later that night, and his jeans were unbuttoned. I could see his black underwear, could see the trail of hair that dipped just below that line. He relaxed, letting my shoulders go. I missed the heat of his hands, wanted his touch anywhere on my body right now. He chuckled. “Faye Ramsey, brought down by a mouse.” “Owen, it’s not funny! I can’t sleep knowing that there are mice running around, probably dropping little mouse poops all over my stuff!” I could barely get out the last statement before he started to laugh, and I followed, starting to chuckle. I shoved his shoulder. “It’s not funny! If you have one mouse –” “I know, I know. You have ten more in the walls,” he said, his face changing into a façade of humor. For a moment, I just stared at him, lost in memories and old feelings. His face fell back into his normal reserved look. “I’ll take care of it.” “Thanks,” I whispered. “And Faye…” “Yes?” I asked, trying to look as normal as possible. And avoid looking at his crotch. That was most important. Look away, I scolded my errant brain. “Put some normal clothes on.” I looked down. “What’s wrong with my outfit?” “It’s too…just, put this on.” He threw a flannel shirt in my direction. I stared at it, mind completely boggled. “Does my fashion sense offend your eyeballs?” I joked at him, grabbing the flannel close and trying not to smell it to catch any of his cologne. “I have better things to do with my time than ogle your ass.” I shivered. Somehow, the thought of him staring at my legging-covered butt didn’t sound like a bad thing. “Sounds like a personal problem.” He stepped dangerously close to me, putting a finger on my chin and tilting it upward. I felt his roughened hand, wanted them on other parts of me. But instead of caressing me, he spoke into my face, his voice low and ominous. “I’m about to show you what kind of personal problem is afflicting me if you don’t put on some damn clothes.” I shivered, wet and practically panting. The man was sex incarnate. His eyes were penetrating and intense, and as I turned I could envision his heated gaze on all my lower extremities. I walked carefully back down the stairs, trying to avoid falling on my face in front of him while he was watching, but his seductive gaze wasn’t doing wonders for my balance. I sat on the couch, my feet up and aware from any territory that the mouse by cross. After a few minutes, he came back down the stairs, barefoot and in a new pair of loose fitting jeans and a plain cotton t-shirt. He looked at me, curled into a tight ball. “So where is this mouse?” “It’s in the hallway. Probably. Or it’s hiding. Oh god, what if it’s hiding in the couch?” I leapt up and into the tallest thing I found. I felt a rumble and suddenly realized that the tallest thing I’d found was him. I’d climbed him like a spider monkey and was currently wrapped in his arms, my knees bent and my arms around his neck. I looked up at his face, mortified, but he was actually laughing. “Well, you’re definitely more forward than I remember,” he said, chuckling. “But you’re going to have to get off of me if you want me to get that mouse.” I sniffed indignantly. “See that you do, sir.” He rolled his eyes at me, but placed me gently down on the couch, careful to make sure my feet didn’t touch the ground. I knew he was laughing at me, but I was a little touched that he didn’t make fun and tease me about something I’d always been a little afraid of. He grabbed a dust pan and some other ‘weapons’ and disappeared for a few minutes. He called out after a while. “Faye, go upstairs until I tell you to come down.” Without waiting, I scrambled out of my spot and up the hall into his bedroom and then attached master bathroom. I shut the door for good measure, sitting on the granite vanity top. A few seconds later, I heard his footsteps come up the stairs and then saw the door start to open. “It’s done. You can come back downstairs. I looked in all the cupboards and closets too. And checked your suitcase. Looks like he was working alone,” Owen assured me, reaching and squeezing my hand. “It’s safe.”