Doing my best to run on the damp, sloshy ground that reminded me of the quicksand I’d been so terrified of as a child I headed toward the house, only for Colton to grab my arm and tug me toward his trailer on the opposite side of the backyard.

“We need to go to the trailer!”

“What? Why?”

“I’ll explain when we get inside,” he said as we ran through the buckets of rain. Each drop stung as it collided with my skin, and I knew that I’d have welts in the morning.

Colton grabbed my hand as the wind whipped up around us, pushing my smaller body around like nothing more than a rag doll. I stumbled a few times and Colton did his best to help me along. When the trailer came into view, I released a sigh of relief. It wasn’t even but two hundred yards or so from the house, but it felt like miles with the wind and rain. Not to mention the lightning and thunder that cost me a life with every crack and boom.

Colton reached for the door and it swung back shut twice before we were able to duck inside out of the storm.

“Oh, my God,” I sighed as I leaned against the white wall to catch my breath, then quickly remembered I was completely soaked through and covered in mud. “Oh, Colton, I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” he said as he leaned over, bracing his hands on his knees as he worked to catch his breath. For a hockey player he seemed pretty out of shape if that run left him breathless, but I didn’t care to let him know that.

“I swear I lost ten lives when the storm opened up and I couldn’t find you,” he said between heaving breaths.

Well, maybe he wasn’t so out of shape after all. He simply. . .cared.

“I’m okay, Colton.”

“Yeah?” he asked, turning his eyes toward me.

“Yeah. Just a bit. . .wet.”

Chuckling, he seemed to come back to himself as he moved around the trailer. “Let’s get some dry clothes on. I’m sure I have something you could wear.”

“Do you have your phone? Mine is still in the house in my bag and I want to let my mom know that I’m okay.”

“Sure, it’s on the counter. Call whoever you need.”

“Thanks.”

I did my best to keep from leaving a muddy mess as I took giant steps toward the kitchen island where his silver phone rested. It surprised me that the phone was unlocked and required no code to open up. With the celebrity status that Colton had, I would have thought he’d need at least three ways to unlock his devices.

Quickly I sent a text to my mom’s number and let her know I was at Colton’s waiting out the storm. She replied swiftly that she was glad I reached out and was about to send Dad looking for me.

I didn’t linger on Colton’s phone and made sure to ignore the incoming text from a number with the letter S as the contact name that asked if he could chat soon as I placed it back on the counter. His personal life wasn’t my business, but the jealousy that bubbled up couldn’t be helped.

“So, why is the trailer safer than the house?” I asked, as another clap of thunder sounded after a flash of lightning. I’d never been afraid of storms as a child, but there was a first time for everything.

“Because the house has open electrical wires. We could be electrocuted if lightning struck. The trailer runs on conserved solar power. It’s safer in here and I took the precaution of having the trailer staked down so the wind won’t rock her too bad. Here we go,” he added as he held out an oversized hockey jersey with his name across the back.

“Is this some devious way to have me wear your jersey?”

“Absolutely.” He chuckled. “If you want to go change in the bathroom, I’ll stay out here.”

With relief, I thanked him as I made my way toward the back corner of the trailer that housed a small shower and tiny toilet. I wasn’t sure how Colton hadn’t broken the darn thing given his massive size.

I imagined him like a bull in a china shop inside the camper, barely able to move around without crashing into anything. It was much more spacious than it appeared on the outside, though.

I whipped off my soaked shirt and bra, then did my best to tug down the waist of my jeans. Damp denim was never fun and I struggled as I tried to pull them off. My elbow slammed into the wall and I cursed under my breath.

“You okay in there?”

“Yeah. I’ll be out in just a minute,” I told him.

Finally, my legs broke free from the encasement of the jeans and I sighed, knowing that my wet underwear was going to have to stay in place unless I could convince Colton to spare a pair of boxers.

Collecting every ounce of strength I had, I called out to him. “Colton? I could use some help.”

Chapter Thirteen – Colton

I’d just jiggled my pants down my legs, the wet material landing with a slap on the vinyl plank floors when she called my name and asked for help. I was already having the hardest time standing in this small space with her scent, not diminished in the slightest by the coating of moisture on her skin, and keeping it together, but hearing her call my name made my cock jump to attention.

“Yeah?” I replied. “Everything okay, Autumn?”

Peeking her head around the door of the bathroom, her big blue eyes blinked as she took me in, standing before her clad in a pair of black boxer briefs. I wasn’t someone too concerned with my looks, but I’d never had a hard time finding a date or having someone warm my bed. With the way Autumn’s eyes drank me in, I was damn proud that I kept up with my workout routine. With Brett’s permission, I’d even used the high school ice rink to get in a few laps during the week.

“Um. Do you have a pair of shorts or boxers I could borrow? Everything of mine is soaked through.”

Embarrassingly, it took a minute for her words to register. She was standing in one of my practice jerseys, not wearing any panties. My fists clenched at my hips as I bit back the urge to grab her and toss her onto the bed.

“Colton?” she prompted again and I began rifling through the few drawers I’d filled with some of my clothes. I still stayed at Brett’s house for the most part, but on the nights I stayed on my property into the late-night hours I stayed in the trailer. It just made it easier for everyone.

I found a pair of black boxer briefs I knew would be huge on her tiny body, but it was all I had.

She quickly thanked me and slipped back into the bathroom while I grabbed my wet pants off the floor and tossed them into the sink for the time being.

The squeak of the door’s hinges announced Autumn’s exit from the bathroom.

“I hung my clothes in the shower. I hope that’s okay.”

“That’s great. I was going to do the same.”

I left her standing awkwardly in the middle of the small space eyeing the bed since it was the only place to sit at the moment while my clothes joined hers. By the time I came back out into the room, she hadn’t moved a muscle.

Her eyes narrowed as she took in my semi-undressed state and my laugh harmonized with the clap of thunder outside. “I’m covering the good stuff, sweetheart,” I said as I started reaching into the cabinets for some of the easy-to-prepare meals I had on hand. My eyes landed on some containers of microwavable cheesy macaroni, and I smirked as I showed my findings to Autumn.

Following the directions, I placed the containers into the microwave just as the trailer rocked from an overzealous gust of wind. Autumn’s hand reached out to grab the counter. I noticed her white knuckles and felt like a bastard. I’d been so focused on her state of undress and less about the horrific weather just outside the walls.

“Hey, we’ll be fine.”

“I sure hope so.”

“Why is that?” I asked as the microwave chimed, alerting me that our meal was complete. I stirred the contents and handed one of the bowls over.

“Because I plan on killing you when this is all over.”