Savage Land Read Free Page A

mirror her surprise and horror.
    'I'm going to take care of the horse,’ he snapped.
    'I'm sorry,’ Coley murmured, ashamed of her unspeakable cruelty when she let him see her shock at his disfigurement, but the door had already slammed shut.
    Glumly Coley turned back towards the fire, idly twiddling with the blanket. That was a rotten way to pay him back for helping, even if it was unintentional. If what he said was true and Danny hadn't been able to get back, she would have spent a very miserable night out in that storm. Now there was the warmth of a fire and a roof overhead, such as it was. With a shudder Coley glanced ground the dismal room.
    She slipped off her wet sandals and placed them by the hearth to dry. The zipper of her flowered dress refused to budge and only after she had contorted her long arms into several ungainly positions was she able to unzip it and fight herself out of the clinging wet garment. Carefully she placed it on the back of a chair near the fire. Now that the car was gone it was all the clothing she had. The remnants of her shredded hose she peeled off rather sadly, using the more substantial portions to wipe the mud from her slender legs before tossing the ruined nylons into the fire. Shivering with the cold, Coley gathered the blanket around her and moved closer to the fire's heat. Little rivulets of water trickled from the curling strands of her hair on to her angular face where she impatiently brushed them away.
    A crash of lightning accompanied the opening of the door as the tall stranger stomped in. He removed his hat with an impatient movement of his hand before shaking free of the slicker. Timidly, Coley watched him hang them on a hook inside the door. His hair was black and straight, the sides and back were long and plastered against his neck by the rain. In a stifling silence he walked to the hearth, unbuttoned the top of his shirt before pulling it over his head. The naked expanse hypnotized Coley as she stared at the bronze back tapering from wide shoulders to a narrow waist. When he turned his chest with its cloud of dark hair towards her, she gulped and clutched the blanket a little tighter. But his eyes flicked over her to the chair where her forlorn flowered dress lay. Immediately two circles of blue fire leaped back to her.
    'I told you to take your clothes off, and I meant all of them!’  
    Coley managed a stiff, negative shake of her head while her body attempted to shrink inside the blanket. Her eyes widened in fear as he took a step towards her. Her gaze was riveted to the scar on his face, its white jagged line resembling a lightning bolt across several days’ growth of dark stubble. He stopped. His mouth was drawn into a grim line and his teeth clenched tightly, flexing the muscles in his lower jaw.
    'I've seen female undergarments before, if that's what's worrying you,’ he murmured, his voice soft and almost gentle, but the diamond-like quality in his eyes revealed the hidden hardness of his tone. His upper lip curled slightly as he added, ‘And if it's the other thing that's worrying you, I prefer my women more amply endowed. I leave children alone.'
    He didn't seem to expect a reply from Coley as he walked to the far side of the room, taking the lantern with him. She watched him hang it on a hook near a makeshift cupboard.
    'I'll see if I can find us something to eat while you finish undressing,’ he said, and turned his head to look at her. ‘You are hungry?'
    Coley nodded hesitantly up and down, never taking her eyes off the stranger. He continued to stare at her across the room before remarking very quietly, ‘I won't watch.'
    With that he turned back to the cupboards and began opening doors. Coley studied his back for a moment before standing. She glanced around her for a moment seeking some place to change, out of sight if possible. Finally she manoeuvred the chair her dress was on over to the bed. There she used the blanket to make a screen behind which