"Whiteout" (closed)

[LoriDean12345]

"Whiteout"

closed​

Olivia Thomas wasn't the kind of woman who panicked easily. Some of those who knew Olivia well -- knew her but didn't necessarily respect her -- had said she didn't show panic in stressful situations because deep in her heart and soul she was such a cold, calculating bitch of a sociopath.

Liv, however, had always credited her cool, calm demeanor in the face of adversity to simply being smarter than most of those around her. For example, she knew that sociopath wasn't an appropriate description of her. Liv was organized in every manner, almost to the point of rightfully being called anal. She maintained a beautiful apartment in Manhattan. She had lasting, meaningful relationships with family, friends, and coworkers. She had an IQ of 174 and street smarts to boot. So, sociopath was wrong. Psychopath, however: now, that was probably exactly the right word to describe her.

Liv didn't like labels, so she rarely cared what people called her. And what did it matter here and now anyway...

https://i.imgur.com/XC7IoRh.jpg?1​

Traveling northbound on Minnesota Road 71, Liv's car had spun out and gone over an embankment. She hadn't planned on being this far west. Her destination had been a little cottage on the northwest shore of Lake Superior. But a series of events had caused Liv to detour west, then north, attempting to reach the Canadian border. And she'd very nearly made it, ending up in a ditch just 40 miles short of Ontario.

She had been traveling light, with just her purse and soft sided leather briefcase. Liv snatched them both up and donned her scarf and coat. A short walk got her back on the road. She hadn't seen another car for more than an hour. And the snow that had been lightly falling for hours was now thickening.

If Liv couldn't catch a ride in the next hour or so, she'd have to either start walking or return to the car. The former meant possibly getting caught out in a storm and freezing to death on the side of the road. The latter meant not being visible from the road, possibly getting buried in snow, and freezing to death, only this time in the dwindling comfort of her car.

To her disbelief and delight both, Liv spotted approaching headlights after just a couple of minutes. She turned her back to the vehicle, opened her jacket, and removed her scarf from around her neck. It didn't take but a minute for the cold to cause Liv to begin trembling deep down inside her core. She turned back to the pickup truck in time to shoot the driver a look of desperation.

Then, forcing a relieved smile, Liv fell to her knees, seemingly spent. Finally, she fell to her side and rolled onto her back on the shoulder into a foot of fluffy powder.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Ross Stevens turned off his truck's radio. This far out and with the snow intensifying, the signal was weak at best, and he didn't need the constant reminders about the winter storm warning. It took all his concentration to stay on the road between the slick conditions and the wind blowing sideways, creating an optical illusion of the road being where it wasn't. The weekend trip to the cabin was starting to look ill-advised, but at least he was almost there.

From the white out came a dark specter on the side of the road. A life long Minnesotan, Ross knew better than to hit his brakes. Instead, he eased off the gas and gave what was likely a deer a wide berth. As he closed, however, it resolved into a person waving him down. A woman, he realized, just before she collapsed.

"Shit!"

As soon as his truck came to a stop, Ross was out and running around to her. "Miss?" he called as he knelt beside her. She was young and attractive and woefully underdressed for the conditions. She was also shaking and not responding.

He shook her but got nothing. Afraid hypothermia might be setting in, he easily scooped her up and carried her to his truck. It took a little finagling to open the passenger door, but he soon had her propped up in the seat. The cab was plenty warm and he had a blankets and a sleeping bag in the back.

"Be right back, miss," he said. He'd spotted a purse and bag on the ground beside her and quickly retrieved them. Looking around, he also spotted her car well off the road in the ditch. Snow had already covered much of the roof and no one would ever see it driving by. She was lucky he'd stumbled across her.

He hurried back, leaving her stuff in the back seat while digging out a blanket. He then got into the driver's seat and did his best to place the blanket around her while cranking the heat further.

"Hang in there, miss," he said. "I'll get you somewhere warm."

But where? If she needed medical attention, the nearest place was thirty miles away. In these conditions, that could take hours, assuming they made it. More likely, they'd both end up in a ditch and in bad shape. His cabin was only a few miles away, the safest option.

He made a mental note of where he'd found her, though everything looked the same around here - endless miles of snowy pine. Carefully, so as not to spin his tires, Ross put his truck in gear and drove as quickly as was safe.

 

[LoriDean12345]

Liv had wandered out onto the road a bit too much, honestly. And as the pickup truck had passed, she'd honestly been frightened for a moment that she might get hit. But there had been room. And in her peripheral vision, Liv recognized control and experience in these conditions as the pickup truck slowly to a stop, never out of control.

She opened her jacket a bit more to allow the cold to fully envelope her. A little bit of short term discomfort had never bothered her. Liv was as successful as she was because she always thought long term. She was on her knees with her back to the truck now. She gathered her coat about her neck again and tugged the scarf tighter. She was about to topple to the ground just as the man reached her.

"Miss?"

Liv pretended not to hear him. In a flash, he'd scooped her up and took her to his truck. The heat was a welcome feeling, but again Liv pretended to not sense it. She just sat there while he made her comfortable and got the truck back on the road.

"Hang in there, miss," he said. "I'll get you somewhere warm."

Liv played the vulnerable maiden in distress for several minutes more. Finally, she began to show some life: she opened her eyes to survey the world beyond the truck's windows; she pulled the blankets tighter to her neck; then, finally, she looked to the driver behind the wheel. He was a handsome man. A bit too back woods, outdoorsy type for her. But then, who did she expect to save her out her in Northern Minnesota?

"Thank you," Liv managed in a weak, feigned tone. She waited for his response, then explained, "I don't know what happened. I just, the car, it … I don't know. I, I couldn't remember. Was I supposed to stay with the car? Or go look for help? I couldn't remember."

She smiled weakly to him. "I'm so glad you came along. You saved my life."

She shifted about in her seat for more comfort. She opened the blankets a bit, now warmer. Out of the corner of her eye, Liv found her savior glancing her way. She opened the blankets a bit more, saying, "I'm feeling better, thanks. Thank you very much."

She opened her coat and stripped her scarf from around her neck. The man to her left got his first good view of Liv beneath her coverings:

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e122/LoriDean12345/f76f9ab4-3b5e-49ae-9b95-c39faf6fd42a_zpseovhyowe.jpg​

Above her tight fitting denim jeans, Liv was still wearing the sequin tank-dress she'd had on when she drove away from Minneapolis. It's rounded sweetheart neck line and Liv's lack of a bra revealed the curve of a firm, B-cup breast. Liv looked out the passenger side window rather than look to the driver. She wanted him to feel free to take a gander at her features. She finally sat up a bit taller and thanked him yet again for saving her.

"I'm Olivia Green," she told him, choosing to go with her mother's maiden name. She turned more toward him and leaned across the seat a bit. It only gave him a better view down her cleavage. Offering a long hand with its slender fingers and sculpted nails, she added, "But everyone calls me Liv."

 

[WatchingCloud]

Ross had just made the turn off the "main" empty highway to what amounted to little more than an old lumber access road now used only by the occasional hunter and him when his passenger began to stir.

"Thank you. I'm so glad you came along. You saved my life."

"No thanks needed, miss," he said. She was definitely younger than him, but perhaps less so than he'd first assumed. "You were close to your car, which was smart, and you flagged me down which was smarter still. Otherwise, yeah, might not have ended so well."

"I'm feeling better, thanks. Thank you very much." She sounded better, and even pulled the blanket back a bit, revealing a sequined top with a low enough cut to show some curve. Very attractive woman, he had to admit, which could make the next couple days awkward. With her focus out the window, his eyes lingered just a bit longer before he was forced to focus on the treacherous road.

"Help yourself to some coffee, if your like," he said, gesturing to the thermos in his cup holder. "Will help warm ya up."

He turned the heat down a notch now that she looked better.

"I'm Olivia Green," she said offering him her hand. "But everyone calls me Liv."

He took it, careful not to crush such a dainty hand. Her style didn't fit with Northern Minnesota, that much was clear. He was curious as to how she'd gotten out here.

"Pleasure, Liv," he said. "Ross Stevens, but everyone just calls me Ross."

He wasn't quite ready to broach the subject of how stranded she would be for a day or two, waiting out the storm. Better to put her at ease, first.

"So what brings a lady like you out into a storm like this?"

 

[LoriDean12345]

"So what brings a lady like you out into a storm like this?"

"Bad directions, and no Google Maps," Liv began as she was opening the thermos. She poured some of the steaming liquid into the cap-cup as she clarified, "My phone was stolen, at a gas station while I used the lady's room. And the guy at the station, Jesus! How does someone escape the war in Syria, make his way across Asia Minor to Western Europe, then finally to the US … and not be able to give a lost woman directions to Duluth?"

Liv laughed, then sipped the coffee carefully. She winced a bit, not at the taste but at the temperature. "Well, it's not Starbucks."

Glancing Ross's way, she laughed. "That was a compliment, by the way. Hate Starbucks. I grew up on Folgers and MJB. In my parents house, fancy coffee was a cup of Maxwell House with sugar and milk."

Liv looked out the windshield, then out the passenger window. She commented about how the snow seemed to be getting thicker ever time she looked out. She had no idea that the worst was yet to come. The US-Canadian border area of Minnesota had gotten 8 inches of snow in the past two weeks, which -- for late spring -- wasn't that uncommon, apparently. The forecasts for the upcoming week had varied between a certain 4 inches and an unlikely 14. And yet to everyone's surprise and dismay, this area was about to be hit with more than 4 feet of snow over the next week.

Ross slowed the truck and began to turn it toward what looked like nothing more than an open field. Liv sat up and started to protest. But tall poles rose out of the snow, marking the snow-hidden road Ross followed. Liv would never have thought of that, snow marking poles. Of course, the closest Liv had ever been to her current situation was downhill skiing in Aspen or Saint Anton or any of a number of other resorts around the world.

A mile or so down the invisible road Liv finally got her first sight of their destination:

https://i.imgur.com/PufCD8X.jpg?1​

Liv gave out a short, sharp laugh as she finally made out the cabin through the snow. She looked immediately to Ross. Her face exploded in a blush of embarrassment. "So sorry. I, well, it just surprised me."

She scooted forward in the seat for a better view. As they came to a stop before it, Liv said with a sincere tone, which surprised her actually, "I like it. Ross, I really like it."

 

[WatchingCloud]

Ross expressed the proper degree of disappointment at the hassles she'd gone through with losing her phone and not being able to get good directions. He noted that she didn't say much about why she'd been headed for Duluth, but he wasn't going to get nosey. He also appreciated her taste in coffee - maybe she wasn't quite as high falutin' a woman as she initially appeared.

He navigated the final stretch of unplowed feeder road to his cabin, feeling his over-sized four-wheel-drive already having troubles with the depth of the snow. They were well and truly going to be snowed in at the rate it was still coming down. He suspected he'd have to make a hike up to the top of Sunset Hill where he could get a cell signal and call his friend Beaker for a plow out. Might be a day or two before even that was possible.

His guest gave out a short laugh at the sight of his cabin. He was mildly miffed, but could hardly blame her. It was, literally, a single room without plumbing, water, or electricity. That was the sort of reaction 99% of people would give, especially in bad conditions like this.

At least she had the good sense to apologize and claim she liked it. Maybe.

"Home sweet away from home," he said. "Mostly just use it for weekend hunting or fishing trips. It's as rustic as it looks, but I've got plenty of food and firewood. It'll keep out the wind and snow, which means you'll live to make it to Duluth. Might just be a day or two late, depending on what Minnesota throws at us."

He pulled to a stop as close to the cabin as he could get.

"I'll get the stove started first, so we don't freeze our asses off. If you've warmed up enough, you're welcome to come wait inside. Or just stay here until it starts warming up. Once the stove is going, it doesn't take long.

"I've got a few boxes of supplies in the back I'll have to haul in, too. Shouldn't take long."

His eyes involuntarily slid back to her low cut blouse, then snapped back up.

"Oh, and I've got some extra layers - coat, boots, sweatshirt - inside. Not exactly your size, but it doesn't look like you packed for a cabin weekend in a blizzard. Just sayin'."

 

[LoriDean12345]

"Home sweet away from home," Ross said.

That confirmed something Liv had wondered as they pulled up close to the little structure: was this his true home or just a getaway.

"Mostly just use it for weekend hunting or fishing trips, he continued.

And, thus, another answer, maybe: how long had he planned on being up here, and would anyone be expecting him home soon. It was late afternoon on Friday now, so if Liv were lucky, he wouldn't be expected back home for 2 days. Of course, that only brought up more questions: where was back home, and who exactly might be waiting for him?

Liv had already glanced to Ross's ring finger and found no wedding band. But, that didn't always mean a lot. She knew lots of men who took their bands off if they worked extensively with their hands, or with heavy equipment, or with chemicals. Others shed their marital shackle before going out on the town, just in case they found a willing pussy wanting to be occupied by a needy cock. Even Liv's own father used to shed his band often, but that had been because … well, she didn't really need to think about that right now.

Ross continued about food, shelter, warmth, and that bitch named Minnesota. Liv wasn't from The Land of 10,000 Lakes, nor was she here by choice. Work had brought her here, and as soon as she'd wrapped things up, she tried to get the hell out of the common loon State. Common loon? What the hell is a common loon? She'd heard a couple of men back in the hotel bar talking about hand crafted shotguns and the State bird. Liv had assumed it was some kind of duck, of course. But what did she know about ducks? They ate bread thrown at them at the park; and they tasted great roasted with pomegranate juice and extra virgin olive oil.

"I'll get the stove started first, so we don't freeze our asses off," Ross said, getting out. The chill of the adverse weather shot into the truck once more as he continued, "If you've warmed up enough, you're welcome to come wait inside. Or just stay here until it starts warming up. Once the stove is going, it doesn't take long. I've got a few boxes of supplies in the back I'll have to haul in, too. Shouldn't take long."

"I hate to sound unappreciative by not helping," Liv responded, "but … do you mind if I sit here while you do that, get it warm. Or at least, just get a fire going. I'm still trembling a bit."

Liv wrapped herself back up in her coat and Ross's blanket. Before she had, though, she'd caught the man's eyes dropping for a moment to the "V" of exposed chest. She'd had turned his way since offering her hand to him earlier. She should have been sitting face forward with her seat belt on. Hell, she'd already nearly died once today in a car crash. But Liv knew how to use her body when she wanted something. And there was definitely something Liv wanted -- needed -- from Ross Stevens.

He told her he had cold weather wear she could don, and Liv thanked him. His comment about a cabin weekend in a blizzard confirmed what she suspected: they weren't going anywhere for a couple of days. She'd heard that all of these backwoods kind of mountain men had snow mobiles and ATVs. (Liv had seen a few of those unreal wilderness reality shows.) Liv hadn't seen a storage shed for such things, but for all she knew there was one back of the cabin.

She let Ross carry in some supplies. When he told her he was going to fire up the stove, she said with a playful tone, "My Prince Charming. I'll just sit here and play the part of the helpless Disney Princess … wait for the smoke to come out of the chimney."

Of course, there was no chimney. Inside was a cast iron wood burning stove with a metal pipe rising up and out the back of the cabin. But what they hell did Liv know about that? About as much as about common loons, probably. She watched as Ross carried in his supplies. When he didn't reappear, she figured he was building the fire.

Quickly, she threw off the blankets and snatched up her satchel. She pulled a small felt pouch out. Liv already knew full well what was inside the bag and what they looked like. Yet she couldn't help but untie the tie string and spill some of the contents out into one palm. In the bright glow of the wintery world surrounding her, the diamonds sparkled as if magical. $2.4 million dollars, she once again thought to herself. How the fuck did you manage to pull this off?

Suddenly, Liv flinched at an unexpected sound. She looked up to find Ross returning to the bed of the truck for one last thing. She nodded and smiled to him; down out of his sight, she was quickly putting the stones away and tying the bag. When he'd again disappeared into the cabin, Liv leaned back, unbuttoned her jeans, and stuffed the soft bag with the hard contents into the front of her thong panties.

She checked the cabin again for Ross. There was no way he could see her now, what with the snow that was building on the vehicle's windows. She opened her satchel further, pulled out some clothes, and literally laughed to herself. The diamond were, of course, laser etched to ID each and everyone of them. And being hot, they would have to be recut to smaller sizes to rid them of the tiny markings. Several carats would be lost in the process. So the buyers had only been offering $700,000 for the pouch. Even in old, used, non-sequential bundles, the cash layering the bottom of the satchel was still the most beautiful thing Liv had ever seen in her life. Even more so than the diamonds themselves; they were just pieces of rock to her at the moment, but cash … oh, cash was cash!

Liv pulled a black plastic garbage bag from the satchel. She'd taken it from a hotel cleaning cart before the con that had gone off without a flaw. She stuffed all but one bundle into the bag, then stuffed the bag under the passenger seat. Odds were it would be safer her than inside, where she would occasionally be getting in and out of her bag.

Movement caught Liv's eye as Ross waved for her attention from inside the cabin. She acknowledged him with a wave. Wrapping her coat about her neck, she headed quickly through the now raging snow. She heard the door slam closed behind her, holding the deadly winter outside. Shaking the snow off, Liv looked about herself. Her eyes opened wide.

The cabin had looked small from the outside. But inside, it felt almost half as big. It was packed with anything and everything a mountain man would need for surviving an entire winter of deep snow. Or at least, that was what it looked like to Liv. And once again, just as with the common loon, what the hell did she know?

There were the expected things: a small dinner table with four simple chairs surrounding it; a pair of bunk beds, the upper a twin and the lower most likely a Double; the wood stove (rather than fireplace as Liv had actually expected); some shelving filled with canned goods, dishes, and cooking wear; and a closet without doors in which were clothes, boots, and more.

And then there was … well, every thing! Fishing poles, tackle boxes, kindling and split wood, more kindling and cut wood, a tank (which Liv would ultimately learn was filled with clean water), more big pots for heating water, a meat smoker (which she would learn was actually for use outside during the non-snowy periods), and things that she couldn't identify and explain if they had had instruction books attached to them.

"Are those snow shoes?" Liv asked as she began to wander. She laughed. "I have never actually seen real snow shoes!"

The wander was over very quickly, though. The cabin was only about 15x10 feet on the exterior. And with the beds and dresser occupying one end, the kitchen and firewood occupying the other, the stove and table occupying the middle, and most of the rest of the floor, walls, and even the overhead filled with everything else, Liv felt as though she was inside the freight elevator of the hotel from which she'd fled this morning.

"This is amazing," she said with a tone of mixed disbelief and awe. She looked to Ross. She could see in his expression and body language as he moved about that he loved this place. "You could live here your every day of your life, couldn't you? You like it here. I'll bet … I'd wager money, real money, that if you never had to leave this place, you wouldn't."

She listened to his response, then jumped on the questions she'd been contemplating from almost the moment he'd rescued her from certain death.

Where do you actually live?
What do you do, for a living, I mean?
Are you married? Girlfriend? Kids?

She listened to his answers, asking follow up questions as they became pertinent. When he was finished, Liv could finally feel the heat of the roaring wood stove. She'd already shed Ross's blanket, but now she shed her coat and scarf as well. She turned slowly as if to take in the whole view again. In all honesty, she was giving Ross the opportunity to take in the whole view.

Her jeans fit her firm, tight ass and long legs like a second skin. Ross had already seen a significant amount of skin on her front side courtesy of her sweetheart neckline and lack of a bra. Now, he got to see just as much of her back as the tank-dress plunged down significantly there as well, with some strategically placed string ties designed to make men behind her fantasize about untying them in the privacy of their hotel room.

Liv stood 5’7″ and weighed a slim, fit 115 pounds. In her platform ankle straps, she stood another 3 inches higher. And her legs and ass only looked better in them, which was the reason women wore heels anyway. She turned a bit more, giving him a view of her profile; modest chest, thin torso, more of that perfect ass. Liv had done all this posing all casual-like. Yet when she turned fully to face him once again she couldn't contain her smile. Oh, she couldn't know for certain whether or not he'd taken her all in. But, then, when hadn't a man ogled Liv when given the opportunity.

"You said something about clothes," she reminded. "I could do with a tee shirt. Maybe a sweater. And while you might not believe it, I know how to cook. So, if you want..."

She smiled a bit wider, then looked to what amounted to the kitchen. Essentially, it was just the top of the wood stove for cooking and the kitchen table for prep and serving. Simple; what else did a man spending a weekend hunting and fishing need, right?

 

[WatchingCloud]

Ross didn't mind letting Liv stay in the truck while he warmed up the cabin. He hadn't been here in nearly a month and it usually needed a bit of airing out. Today, there was a particular funk to it that he'd need to track down. Prioritizing things, though, he set about getting the stove fired up and amply fueled.

He made quick work of unloading his truck, three boxes of canned and dried goods as well as some fresh produce. There was also a smaller box of ammo to replenish his stock from the fall hunting season.

The upside of his cabin being so small was it heated up quickly. In less than ten minutes, it was already comfortable, and he waved his guest in. She immediately began taking in the sights, surely an exercise in fascination for someone who had never seen something so rustic. He kept it clean, but there was a lot to pack into a small space. He hoped she wasn't claustrophobic.

"Yes, real snow shoes," Ross said, smiling. "They're actually pretty handy around here. And with the way the snow is piling up, we might need them just to use the facilities. Which, I'm afraid, is an unheated outhouse about sixty feet behind the cabin. And that reminds me, I'll have to go shovel in front of the door or we won't be able to get into it."

To her credit, Liv didn't freak out about the outhouse. Maybe there was more to her than first impressions suggested.

"This is amazing," she said. "You could live here your every day of your life, couldn't you? You like it here. I'll bet … I'd wager money, real money, that if you never had to leave this place, you wouldn't."

Ross chuckled. "Well, I do like running water and electricity. I'm not that crazy. But, yeah, I've thought about upgrading a bit and moving here permanently some day."

"Where do you live?"

"Brainerd is my mailing address these days," he said. "About halfway between here and the Twin Cities."

"Work?"

Ross hesitated. "Currently between gigs," he said. He assumed she would take that to mean he was unemployed, probably a blue collar guy whose employment was subject to the whims of the economy at any given moment. He'd let her think that for now. He liked being underestimated.

She nodded. "Married? Girlfriend? Kids?"

Digging right in, he thought with amusement. "Widower, two years now," he said. It still hurt, but now was just a distant dull ache. "And no kids."

With the cabin getting downright cozy, Liv shed her coat, giving him a much better look at her fine figure. Ally, his wife, had been curvy in a classic Minnesotan way. Liv was lean and dressed to show all her best assets. Jeans he understood, but that top looked like something better suited for summer given the amount of skin it showed. He also couldn't help but notice the way her breasts shifted underneath it, unconstrained by a bra. Very confident.

"What about you?" he asked as he dug into the closet for fresh linens for the beds. He never left them made, or they'd just get dusty. "Work? Family?"

He listened, genuinely interested, and kept sneaking glances back her way. She was still taking in everything in the cabin, constantly offering him different views of her body. He hadn't exactly dated much since losing his wife and it was hard to deny the response she stirred in him. He tried to tamp it down, though. He very much doubted he was her type and he certainly didn't want to make her uncomfortable under these circumstances.

"You said something about clothes," she reminded. "I could do with a tee shirt. Maybe a sweater. And while you might not believe it, I know how to cook. So, if you want..."

"Oh, sure. Closet, right side. Help yourself to anything you can find." He realized she might be uncomfortable changing, especially lacking a bra, without any privacy. "I can, uh, step outside if you need a bit of privacy."

Before she could answer, Ross identified the source of the funk he'd noticed on entering the cabin - mice had gotten into the top bunk's mattress. It was shredded in half a dozen spots and clearly soaked with urine and little nuggets. Total loss and unfit for use, which meant he was going to be sleeping on the floor.

"Shit," he grumbled, explaining the situation. "Just hope they didn't find the food."

He gave her an apologetic look. "I'm gonna drag this outside," he said. "Don't need to keep fouling the air. Get changed and I'll be back in a minute. Then, we can figure out some food. See if your cooking is as good as you claim."

Ross said the last with a good-natured smile, then pulled down the top mattress and dragged it out into the snow.

 

[LoriDean12345]

Ross's mention of the outhouse didn't surprise Liv. She'd already guessed that she'd be hurrying out into the deep snow every time she needed to tinkle.

"Currently between gigs," Ross answered the question about employment.

Just as he suspected, Liv assumed that to mean recently fire, yet to be hired. She studied him as he continued. She smiled a bit wider. She imagined that he was the type of guy who could probably go months without needing work. Hunt and fish to feed yourself; live in the woods without the need -- or expense -- of cable, cell service, electricity, water.

What about women, though? His answer that he was recently widowed erased Liv's smile. "I'm sorry to hear that, Ross. I lost my father a few years ago. No one closer than that, but, I sympathize with you."

"What about you?"

"I'm a thief and con artist," Liv said quickly. She looked to Ross and laughed. "Had you worried there for a second, didn't I?"

She laughed again as she contemplated how to answer the question. She'd expected it, yet still hadn't decided what to tell him. She couldn't tell him the truth, obviously. But she'd learned over the years that the best way to get caught in a lie was to tell one in the first place. So, Liv decided that everything she told him would be the truth. She'd just leave out the stuff that would end up with him tossing her out into the snow or -- worse, maybe -- calling the cops.

"I grew up down south, as you can tell from the accent." Liv had learned to hide most of her southern accent but it still came out a bit at times. "Alabama, Mississippi … some time in Florida, Georgia, South C. My father moved us to New York City when I was about 12. Brooklyn, the Bronx. Even Manhattan for a while."

She wasn't giving too many details, and while Ross asked some follow up questions, even those answers didn't give up too much. She'd been picking through the pseudo-closet. She found a tank top and a plaid button up, both men's style and Ross's size. She held them up for his okay.

"I can, uh, step outside if you need a bit of privacy."

"That's okay, it's cold out there," she said, turning away from Ross. She stripped her tank-dress off over her head as she continued. "Went to City U in Manhattan for a year, then DePaul in the Windy City for another. Ended up in the Twin Cities to finish my Bachelors."

That was the only outright lie Liv had told thus far. She'd never actually graduated. Not that she hadn't tried. She had accumulated enough credits. But Liv had been learning to play the game -- blackmail, extortion, and the like -- faster and better than she'd ever been learning Business Finance.

With the tank top pulled over her head and down her front, Liv turned back to Ross. She pulled the thin cloth top downward, then lifted the tail up again. With obvious skill, she knotted the lower hem across her lower ribs, a bit off to the side. Her midriff was bared three inches or so above and below her belly button, which had a half carat diamond stud in it; and her nipples pressed against the inside of the cloth, leaving the nubs obvious in the midst of her perfectly rounded B-cups.

"I've been sort of self employed since," she continued as she adjusted her top and jeans for better comfort. "But mostly, I just live off my trust fund. Yeah, I'm one of those, born with a silver spoon in the mouth and all."

"Shit," Jake grumbled, explaining the situation with the mice.

As Ross dealt with the mattress, Live poked about the old and new food. It was mostly canned and boxed. But then she found the ice cooler he'd brought in. Yes! she thought, finding beer, salmon, pork chops, and T-bone steaks. In her earlier wandering, Liv had already found a half full fifth of Tequila. Who knew what kind of alcoholic treasures Ross might have hidden away someplace.

Liv watched Ross head outside. She turned her attention to other things in the cabin that might be of interest. She pulled open some drawers and lifted the lids of some boxes and crates. She was looking for weapons, mostly. There were a couple of rifles and a shotgun in a rack. And some nasty looking hunting knives. She left them where they were, of course. Last thing Liv wanted Ross to think was that she was arming herself against him. Besides, she had a little 5 shot .38 Special in the bottom of her bag should she need it.

Looking out the frosted river, Liv watched her host hauling the nasty mattress away from the cabin. She admired how he moved; strength, endurance, dexterity. Sounded like one of those D&D characters her little brother created when they were little. Liv couldn't know about Ross's intelligence and wisdom yet, two other D&D Abilities. But he certainly had the last: charisma. Liv had already decided that given the opportunity, she was going to show her appreciation to the mountain man by taking a good, long, hard ride upon his cock.

Her lips spread in a devilish smile as she realized he was on his way back inside. She checked his closet again and laughed. "Perfect!"

When Ross reentered the cabin, Liv was again at the closet. Her back was to her host. And all she was wearing was the tee shirt and a tiny thong. She was pulling a pair of long john bottoms up her calves, then her thighs, then finally her buttocks. She wiggled her body all about to get them all the way up. If her jeans had seemed like a second skin, the thermals seemed almost as if not even there.

Live pretended not to know that Ross had reentered. She only turned to face Ross after she'd pull a pair of his boxers up to better hide her lower womanly curves. Without any sign of concern at to whether or not she'd flashed her essentially bare ass at him, Liv drew a deep breath and gave out a gasp of relief.

"So much better, doncha think?" Liv asked. "Gotta be comfortable, right?"

She dropped into a chair to don a pair of Ross's wool socks. Just for the helluva it, she asked a pointed question. "So, are we sharing the bunk? Or...?"

 

[WatchingCloud]

"I'm a thief and con artist," Liv said, then laughed. "Had you worried there for a second, didn't I?"

Ross blinked, then joined her laugh. The casual matter-of-factness in his voice made him want to believe it for that first moment. Then he considered maybe it was the truth in a roundabout sense - she could be in politics. She then went on to talk about her youth while digging through his closet.

He completely lost his train of thought when she declined any privacy and stripped her shirt off right in front of him. Okay, she was in the closet nook with her back to him, but she certainly had far more confidence than any woman he'd met in years. Doubly so for being with a strange man in an isolate cabin. It almost made him nervous that she was so at ease with him. Did he really come off that...non-threatening?

Then she turned around and he got a look at her top in his old tank top. A flash of jewelry in her navel barely pulled his attention away from the protrusion of her nipples through the thin fabric. Damn! He quickly turned back to the bedding.

The term "trust fund" triggered a few thoughts that vanished as the mess with the mattress was discovered. He excused himself and dragged it out into the blizzard. If anything, the snow had picked up, and the wind threatened to rip the mattress from his grip. He fought through the snow drifts to toss it into the back of his pickup. No sense leaving it here for more vermin and water to soak into it through the spring.

When Ross returned to the cabin, the last thing he expected to see was even more bare flesh from his guest. He thought for half a second she was naked from the waist down, but soon realized she was indeed wearing a thong. With her back to him, he couldn't help but watch, even if he knew he shouldn't. That ass and those legs were magical, even as she pulled some of his old long johns up and over them. The effect, if anything, only enhanced her figure. To finish the ensemble, she slid some of his boxers over it.

Somehow, she'd gone from lost high society girl to...well, a back-country super model. It was a look practically custom-tailored to get him turned on.

"I had no idea my wardrobe could look so...good," he said.

She plopped into one of the dining chairs and finished her raid on his clothes with bulky wool socks. Another nice touch.

"So, are we sharing the bunk? Or...?"

Ross was speechless for a moment. The way she asked made it sound like she expected to share the bed with him, as if it was totally the right thing to do. It certainly had an appeal - in a fantasy-that'll-never-happen-in-this-lifetime sort of way.

"Well, after the mice got the other mattress, I had planned on offering you the bed while I use a sleeping bag on the floor."

He could only imagine how difficult it would be to sleep next to her. Cozy, yes, but... No, it was so unlikely, he shouldn't bother contemplating it.

 

[LoriDean12345]

"I had no idea my wardrobe could look so...good," he said.

Liv struck a pose that was equally sexy and playful. She laughed, saying, "Victoria's Secret meets Cabela's Outfitters."

To her question about the sleeping arrangements, now that there was only one bed remaining, Ross told her, "I had planned on offering you the bed while I use a sleeping bag on the floor."

"That's so sweet, Ross," she responded. She stood again, stood on her toes, and twisted her feet upon the hardwood floor. "Comfy. I love wool socks. Now, dinner! Sit that amazing Billy Bob Backwoods backend of yours down in a chair, and let me go at it. There's only one thing I do well in this world … well, except make a guy's Long John's look really hot … and that's cook!"



And cook Liv did. Forty minutes later, the little kitchen table was filled to overflowing with plates, platters, bowl, and glasses. She'd cook just one of each of the servings of fish, pork, and beef steak, telling Ross that they'd have to share. He'd had dozens of cans of various vegetables, so she'd made both a cold and hot side dishes.

"This is cheesy cheddar potatoes," she told Ross as she scooped from an iron skillet. She laughed, looking at the Velveeta box he'd removed from his fishing tackle box when she'd asked if he had any cheese. Liv had been confused until Ross explained how the cheese was rolled into little fish egg looking balls for trout fishing. "I usually get my cheese at Hampton's Grocery on Fifth, not at the local bait shop. But it turned out just fine, I think."

She'd let Ross peel the potatoes and open all the cans. But other than that, she'd ordered him to keep his butt in a chair unless he was stoking the stove. "Stoking, that's right, isn't it?"

When she finally sat kitty corner to him at the little table, she told him, "So, dig in, Ross. Good...? Not so good that you'll never let me leave, right? I have to be in Duluth some time in the near future, so, this would be a bad time for me to become some guy's scullery slave. Scullery! Now, how can I know that word but not know stoking?"

They dug into their meal and ate to their hearts' content. Outside, the storm continued to pick up. Liv swiped her fingers on the condensation coated glass to take a peak. "I can't even see your truck."

When they were finished, Liv said with authority, "I cooked, you're doing the dishes. But! I will make the bed, since you're being so nice as to let me sleep in it."

It was seriously dark outside by the time they had the dishes cleaned and two beds made. Liv crossed to the makeshift cupboards and pulled down the bottle of Tequila. She gave Ross a bit of a flirty smile, asking, "So … wanna get drunk? Not that you'd get me drunk on my half of a half a bottle, but … we could at least give it a try."

 

[WatchingCloud]

Ross was impressed with Liv's cooking. Oh, he'd had better meals, but almost never here, and certainly not by someone working with his cabin's limited resources. By the time he was finished, he was full and satisfied.

"Excellent," he said, pushing back from the table and patting his stomach - which didn't jiggle in the slightest. "I've changed my mind. I was going to get you back to Duluth, but no longer. I clearly didn't realize just how much this cabin needed a scullery slave...certainly more than whatever you had going in that cold, dark corner of the world."

He gave her a wink just to be absolutely sure she knew he didn't mean it. The way she was being playful and even flirty, he figured she wouldn't mind.

Dishes were easy enough, though it took some time to heat water on the stove in one of the many metal buckets he kept for the purpose. While the water warmed, he donned his heavy overalls and boots and strapped on a headband flashlight. When he got a curious look from Liv, he explained. "Figured I'd clear a path to the facilities while I have to wait for the water. And since it's pitch black out..." He pointed at the lamp.

It was worse outside than he'd realized. The wind had kept blowing, that much he knew, but the snow hadn't abated at all. When Liv said she couldn't see his truck, he'd assumed it was simply because of the snow and fading daylight. But it was already buried in powder. This was getting far more serious than he'd appreciated.

He wasn't going for style points, so it only took about ten minutes to clear the worst of the drift building in front of the outhouse. At least the door would open. Satisfied, he went back inside.

Ross stripped out of his gear. "Is anyone in Duluth gonna miss you if you can't make it for a few days? I've lived here a long time and never seen a storm like this. Might be a few days before I can even call for a plow."

While she replied, he turned on a battery powered radio on the well-stocked bookcase. Out here, he only got three stations - a Spanish-speaking religious talk station, a crackly country station, and a tolerable oldies station. He left it on the latter and figured they'd eventually get a weather update.

As Liv finished making up their beds, Ross made quick work of the dishes in the bucket of warm wash water and cool bucket of rinse. He dumped the buckets outside and then refilled them with snow for use in the morning.

Chores done, Liv pulled down his half bottle of tequila. "So … wanna get drunk? Not that you'd get me drunk on my half of a half a bottle, but … we could at least give it a try."

Ross chuckled. "Girl who can hold her liquor, huh? We can sure give it a try, but if half of that isn't enough for you, we're gonna fall way short of the mark, I'm afraid. That's about the last of what I've got here after my last outing and all I brought this time was a case of beer."

He used to be a hard drinker. Back in the day it was almost a necessity. Then he'd seen the toll it had taken on too many of his brothers. He still drank, but mostly beer and rarely enough to get drunk. What liquor he brought here was for a specific purpose, when work was done. Or when he had guests who'd been through a really rough day.

Ross kept forgetting that she'd been stranded. If not for him, she probably would have died. Was her upbeat attitude a deflection mechanism to avoid facing that truth? He'd seen that more than a few times. Hell, he'd been there himself.

"Get a head start," he said as he broke out a couple candles to spare the oil lamp they'd relied on through dinner. Satisfied, he sat at the table beside Liv and accepted the bottle as she passed it over. The liquid burned and warmed.

He handed it back over. "To cheating death."

The song on the radio ended and a weather bulletin took over. They both listened over the howling wind and the news was grim. The low pressure driving the storm had stalled over northing Wisconsin, just right to drive lake effect snow over the western end of Lake Superior. It was an unusual set-up for the area, but forecasts were suggesting some local spots could receive several feet of snow - three or more possible. Ross figured they were already nearing a foot and a half on top of the base. Yeah, bad.

"And to being stranded."

 

[LoriDean12345]

Despite her situation, Liv was having a fun time. She should have been a hundred miles east of here, north rather than south of the US-Canadian border, dividing her score with the other players in the con. The others would be wondering where the hell she was. She and the diamonds and the cash. They would be wondering whether they'd been conned, just as their marks had.

Liv knew that Leo would defend her. He loved her, even if she didn't love him. He would try to convince the others that she had been delayed, perhaps caught up in the storm. But after a day or so -- maybe even less -- Leo would likely begin to doubt Liv's return. He'd be wondering at first, then would have easily convinced himself that she loved and needed him less than she loved and needed $3.1 million dollars in diamonds and cash.

The radio report only fueled Liv's certainty that she wouldn't be leaving here before the others came looking for her. And by others, she meant her partners and the owners of the diamonds and the people who had fronted them the cash. And, of course, there would be the authorities as well once the theft was reported. The Minnesota State Patrol for certain. The Minneapolis City Police maybe? The Feds? Liv didn't know if this was their jurisdiction. And since her partners were in Canada, maybe the Ontario Provincial Police, the RCMP, and who knows who else.

"Get a head start," Ross told Liv concerning the Tequila.

She studied his expression a moment before opening the bottle. She couldn't help but wonder whether he'd had problems with alcohol. Hell, what drinker hadn't at some point. Like Ross, Liv had spent her share of time around alcoholics. She'd escaped that scourge, thankfully, again like Ross.

"Let's not dirty any glasses that would have to be cleaned, shall we?" she suggested just before lifting the bottle to her mouth and taking a swig. She grimaced and let out a strange growl. A laugh followed as she handed the bottle out. Playfully she told Ross, "Since this is all the hard liquor and I get the feeling you don't partake, why don't you open a couple of those beers and we'll suck on those instead. Or in addition to. It might be a long night."

"To cheating death," Ross told her after taking his swig. He handed the bottle back and tuned in a radio. His expression told it all: they weren't going anywhere anytime soon. "And to being stranded."

"With good company," Liv toasted, taking another swig. After regaining the ability to speak, she lifted the bottle before her again and added, "To my savior."

They laughed and talked and told stories for another hour or so before it was time for bed. The weather reports every 15 minutes pretty much remained the same. And Liv had never been much of an Oldie's fan. She hopped up without asking permission and played with the radio's dial. Ross told her where she find something else, and she landed on the Spanish language station.

"I love listening to them," she said, referring to Spanish speaking people. Telling a half truth, she continued, "I grew up in a town with one of those chicken packing plants. Mostly Mexicans. Some from farther south. They would gather in a little park across from the grocery. I would sit with them for hours, learning Spanish, helping their kids learn English."

Liv listened to the man on the radio for a bit, then talked to Ross some more. Then her attention returned to the radio. She explained to Ross that the next host got caught in the storm and wouldn't make it. The current guy -- "I think he said Ingeniero, engineer" -- is leaving. So--"

Before she could finish, the monologue was replaced by a Mexican ballad. Liv got excited and popped up out of her seat. "I know this song!"

She was already feeling a bit tipsy, and now she was dancing. Oh, nothing radical, like she did in the clubs back in the big city. But she swayed a bit and spun and let her hips loose. Liv laughed, gave Ross flirtatious glances and gestures. She was in a great mood.

"Take this away from me," she demanded, handing Ross the bottle. "Tequila, Spanish music, a good looking guy, alone in the wilderness in my underwear. His underwear!"

She laughed again, doing another slow turn as her hips began to get a little bit looser. When she could again see Ross over her shoulder, she continued, "Any more of that poison, and I might do something I shouldn't."

She laughed again, then moved close to Ross. She leaned in as if she was going to kiss him. Instead, she snatched his beer, stood tall before him -- her bared midriff was just before him -- and took a long drag on his brew. She handed it back and leaned in even closer.

"I need to pee," she announced. She laughed quick and sharp and backed away. Nodding at the bottles and gesturing to how she was dressed, she confessed, "I didn't really think about it. Outhouse, I mean. I don't suppose I can just take a few steps out the door and squat, can I?"

Working together, they got Liv wrapped up in some warm clothes and she headed outside to take care of business. She asked Ross if maybe he should come with her, to ensure she didn't get lost in the snow. They did as he thought was best. Back inside, after stripping the snow covered clothes near the door, Liv immediately declared, "I should probably go to bed before I fall over. Been a long day."

At the bed with her back to Ross, Liv stripped off the boxers. She kept the wool socks on. And yet, she pulled loose the knot holding the tee shirt tight around her bosom and ribs and peeled the top off over her head. She didn't take care to hide herself from Ross's view as she climbed into the bed; if he'd been looking her way, he would have clearly seen her chill-hardened nipples, one of which had a tiny but shiny gold ring through its nipple.

She made herself comfortable, then looked out on Ross for a moment. She glanced to the bed he'd made on the hard wood floor. A mat, a sleeping bag, and a blanket over the top of it. It didn't look comfortable in the least. She sat up, allowing the bedding to fall off her almost enough to reveal one of her breasts.

"If you promised to keep your hands to yourself, Ross," she said with a playful tone, "you could share the bed with me. I promise, I won't molest your bod' in any way."

She made a Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost gesture across her nearly exposed chest, adding, "Promise to be a good girl."

 

[WatchingCloud]

Ross watched as Liv began dancing, sensuous and seductive. She was good and Ross couldn't help but be enticed. Was she a tease or really interested in him?

"Take this away from me," she said, giving him the unfinished bottle. "Tequila, Spanish music, a good looking guy, alone in the wilderness in my underwear. His underwear!"

Good looking guy. Ross knew he was fit, taking very good care of himself. He rarely thought of himself as good looking, though. He was what he needed to be.

She did look good in his underwear, though. Damn!

"Any more of that poison, and I might do something I shouldn't."

She danced her way closer and then leaned in so close he thought she intended to kiss him. Then she grabbed his beer and took a swig. Yes, professional tease. She didn't know how hard she'd just made him. After handing the beer back, she leaned in again.

"I need to pee," she said, breaking the spell. Cock tease! He chuckled.

As they got her into warmer clothes, she asked about just squatting anywhere rather than making the hike back to the outhouse.

"You think I bother hiking all the way back there for number one? Be my guest. I'll set the lantern by the front door. Go around the corner and you should be out of the wind."

She smiled and must have done just that, because she was back inside in less time that it would have taken to reach the outhouse even without the snow. She shed the coat and boots and declared she was spent and ready for bed. Ross tended to agree with the sentiment and decided to call it a night as well.

Liv headed for the bed while Ross blew out most of the candles, leaving a thick-based one going near the front door in case anyone had to get up in the middle of the night. As he turned toward the bed, he was shocked to see her crawling into bed topless. She made no effort to hide her breasts, and at least one of those hard nipples had some sort of piercing in it. Fuck. Who was this girl?

He crossed the small room to his own bedding, spread on the floor near the bed. Liv rolled to her side, the blanket threatening to reveal her breasts again, and said, "If you promised to keep your hands to yourself, Ross, you could share the bed with me. I promise, I won't molest your bod' in any way."

She sounded playful and suggestive. Molesting his bod probably left a lot of wide open ground. He still didn't have a clear read on this woman, but she was fun and undeniably attractive and, seemingly, interested on some level. He didn't want to do something she would regret in the morning, though, because they'd be stuck together in very close quarters for days. Still...

Ross stripped off his flannel shirt and undershirt, revealing a muscular chest with sparse black curls. If Liv was the especially observant type, she might catch a glimpse of two round puckered scars - one just beneath his left collarbone and the other on the same side near his abdomen. He then did away with his jeans, revealing the plaid boxers underneath. He wasn't outright hard, but just swollen enough to produce a bulge.

"Well, since you promised to behave," he said, moving to join her, "I guess I'll take you up on that offer and promise to keep my hands to myself. Done enough sleeping on the ground for one lifetime, truth be told."

Liv smiled and scooted over toward the wall, giving him space to climb in beside her. He wasn't quite sure what to do next. Once he was settled, she rolled back toward him and leaned in quickly, giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Thanks again, for everything," she said.

"My pleasure."

He thought she might do something more, but instead she laid on her back and closed her eyes. In a minute, maybe less, her breathing had slowed and it was clear she'd fallen asleep.

Huh, he thought, guess she really was tired. Ross, on the other hand, found it difficult to sleep, knowing who was sharing his bed. Eventually, however, the droning of the storm outside lulled him to joining her.

 

[LoriDean12345]

Liv hadn't been planning to do anything intimate to or with Ross. That was despite being horny as hell and semi-intoxicated. But they were going to be stuck here for a few days likely. And Liv was having the same feeling about potential awkwardness should they fuck and then realize it had been a mistake. Not that it really mattered at this point, of course. Within just seconds of laying back on the mattress, Liv's mind was fading away toward unconsciousness. Hell, Ross probably could had rolled over and begun putting himself inside her before Liv would have realized what was happening.

Sometime during the night, though, Mother Nature called again. It took Liv a moment to remember where she was. And who she was sleeping with. Or, at least, sleeping beside. When she did remember, she couldn't help but smile. She rolled to her side, then lifted a bit. She was tempted to slip atop Ross and fuck him hard and fast. But--

"Hi," she whispered as she realized her movement had woken him. She leaned in a bit closer as if to kiss him. Instead, she whispered, "Gotta pee … again."

Liv scooted over the top of him to exit the bed. She did so with a little more contact between their bodies than was necessary. And yes, she did so intentionally. Once on the floor, Liv turned slowly away, giving Ross another short opportunity to ogle her breasts if he chose to do so. She dressed again, went out to do her business, and returned.

"Snow stopped," she reported as she shed the big coat. "But my god, it's deep. Barely got out and back."

She'd donned Ross's tank top again. This time, she left it on but shed the long johns. She told Ross to scoot over and crawled in, telling him, "I'm stealing your warm spot."

But when she pulled the bedding over her, Liv moved up against Ross. She grasped his arm and pulled it around her body. Wrapping her own arm over his torso and a knee over his, she told him, "I'm cold."

She was shivering, in case he thought this was nothing more than seduction. She giggled a bit. "I'm not molesting you. Go to sleep."

She snuggled in tightly against him. And as soon as her trembling ceased, she was once again asleep. She would roll unconsciously off Ross at some point during the night. And with the long day, Tequila, and warm body beside her, she would sleep all the way through the night, even after Ross himself had gotten up to start his day.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Ross was a light sleeper by habit and training. He was aware of Liv having woken and thought for a moment she might kiss him when she leaned in close. She must have sensed him awake, though, because she just announced her need to pee.

Before he could get out of her way, she crawled over the top of him. There was a considerable amount of skin on skin contact, and brushing across his crotch that may or may not have been inadvertent. She did nothing to hide her bare breasts, so he made no effort to avoid looking. She was damn fine and lacking any modesty whatsoever.

Liv dressed as little as necessary before running out. Ross, meanwhile, tried to will his spontaneous erection back down in case she took offense climbing back across him.

She announced the snow having stopped, but he was too enchanted by the reappearance of her breasts from under the coat to really notice. Disappointingly, she put his shirt back on, but made up for it by shedding the long johns. He caught a glimpse of the tiny thong before the green covered it.

"I'm stealing your warm spot," she said, shooing him over. Sounded just like his wife, bringing a smile to his face as he moved aside for her.

She then cuddled up to him, wrapping arm and leg around him. His erection sprang back to full life, but wasn't quite in direct contact with her. He'd missed this - just the warm solidity of another body next to his.

She announced that she was merely cold, and her shivering confirmed it. He wrapped his hand around the one she'd placed on his chest.

"Just wait until morning, then," he said softly. "You'll understand exactly why I've got three heavy quilts on this bed."

In winter, he let the stove run to embers over night rather than adding wood. It would still be warm, but the cabin would probably drop into the fifties. It was excellent for sleeping with enough blankets. Even better with a partner, he expected.

Again, she nodded off quickly and it took him a good long while.

 

[LoriDean12345]

Liv loved waking up with a man in bed to her. Didn't happen this morning. Almost as good, though, was waking up to the smell of coffee being made by a man who she had been in bed with her. Coffee and breakfast. Liv blinked her tired eyes clear to find Ross standing over the wood stove. He looked so natural there, tending to a cast iron skillet full of … well, she didn't know, but it certainly smelled like searing animal to her.

"Bacon or sausage?" she asked, catching his attention. When he looked her way, she added playfully, "Sunny side up? I like'em runny. I saw eggs in the cooler yesterday, so, I'm assuming."

As she sat up in the bed, the blankets gathered about her waist. The cabin was noticeably cooler than it had been the night before. Liv could feel her nipples suddenly swelling beneath the thin cloth of Ross's tank top. She cursed quietly at the chill. She found and donned the button up over the tank, which this time around was not knotted about her rib cage. She slipped out of the bed; it allowed Ross another view of her in her thong if he was looking her way. Liv had intentionally been looking elsewhere, to allow her host a peek if he chose. She turned her back to him, pulled a blanket from the bed, and wrapped herself over the shoulders.

"Can you...?" she began as she approached Ross. When he looked to her, she eyed an empty metal coffee mug, waggled her hands which were keeping the blanket to her, and clarified, "Can you pour me some."

She sat at the table and waited, watching her private chef with great interest. She loved his backside. Liv loved a well shaped male ass. She could sit here and watch it shift back and forth all day long. And although she tried to prevent it, Liv suspected Ross caught her ogling his butt a couple of times. They chatted some as he finished cooking and filled the plates: about the weather, about the return of the radio to the oldies station, about whether there was a chance the entire cabin might collapse under last night's snow.

"So, I never asked, do you have a cell phone?" She listened to him, hiding her disappointment. Her own cell -- which she had claimed was stolen -- was hidden in the bottom of her satchel. If was turned off to prevent sound and even vibration should Leo call. "How far's the nearest landline?"

Neither answer was good. She hadn't expected different, though. They chatted some more about the remoteness of his cabin. It had its pros and cons. Liv admired Ross's commitment to this country, even if she couldn't wait to get the fuck out of it and back to a four star hotel.

"I think I'm gonna need the outhouse after all," she told him. With a hopeful smile, she asked, "Think you could teach me to use those snow shoes?"

She donned her jeans again, which meant dropping the blanket and again flashing her ass to Ross. She jokingly told him not to look. But with her back intentionally put to him, Liv couldn't know whether or not he abided to the request. Ross provided her with a heavy sweater, a stocking cap, and a pair of mittens; she still had her own scarf.

"I feel like the Michelin Man," she joked. She spun to show her more substantive shape to Ross. She added concerning the mix of colors upon her, "Only I don't look so much like a marshmallow man."

Outside, Ross explained the basics of the snow shoes. A couple of failed attempts to walk in them led to some loud laughter and more than a few profane words. But Liv finally got the hang of it. She tromped her way out through the fresh snow toward the outhouse. She tipped and fell to the side once. She laughed going down, laughed on the ground, and laughed rising again. But eventually she made it.

Ross had cleared the area before it. Liv shed the snow shoes and made her way inside. Good thing about it being so cold out, the outhouse didn't stink. An oil lamp Ross had left, burning tall and bright, had taken some of the chill out of the little structure. She peeled clothes as needed and squatted. And even before she'd begun taking care of business, Liv was turning on the cell she'd slipped out of her bag and into her coat pocket.

Sure enough, just as Ross had told her, there was no service. For just the briefest of brief moments, she saw one bar appear. But between then and when she'd finished and pulled her clothes back into place there was nothing. Maybe if they could get to someplace higher. Did he have a snow mobile? Liv had totally forgotten to ask. How'd that happen? If he did, was it even safe to ride one in deep, fresh snow? She had no idea; she'd ridden on them one weekend on groomed trails, but never out in the wilderness.

She headed back toward the cabin again, wondering what she was going to do now. She couldn't stay here. But she couldn't leave either. She was in no hurry to be rid of Ross; she liked him. She wanted to fuck him. But, could she? Should she? She'd been teasing him off and on since meeting, to ensure that he had a reason to take care of her: hope of getting his cock wet.

 

[WatchingCloud]

"Morning, sunshine," Ross said as Liv asked about breakfast. "Bacon and eggs and potatoes. And, yes, coffee."

He obligingly filled her coffee cup after taking in an eyeful of her backside. With the morning's daylight, it was all the more magnificent. They ate breakfast over small talk and the dire forecast from the weather service - they were only enjoying a brief reprieve and the snow would likely resume later that afternoon.

"I do have a cell," he explained, "but it's nearly four miles to the nearest reliable signal. About the same in a different direction to a house with a landline, and that's assuming the owner is home. Either way, a roundtrip like that in snowshoes in these conditions is comparable to running a marathon in terms of exertion. Might have to wait another day before thinking about it."

Liv decided she finally needed to use the outhouse, so he helped get her set up in winter gear and snow shoes. She had a blast falling over into the soft powder repeatedly as she got her feet under her, but eventually she seemed to get the hang of it.

While she took care of business, Ross set to work unburying the porch and area immediately around it. His truck was almost invisible - little more than a snowy mound in the distance. There was no way it could handle driving through this mess and he'd have to wait to get plowed out. His little cabin would be far down the list of priorities.

Liv inquired about a snowmobile, but he confessed he hadn't indulged in that part of Northern Minnesota life yet. He seldom used his cabin once the snow hit. Maybe one day.

Liv offered to lend a hand and together they cleared a crude walkway to the outhouse and removed the worst of the snow off the roof. They also managed to get his truck somewhat unburied in between brief snowball fights. The young woman had a spunky energy that he'd missed and he found the burden on his soul easing throughout the day. Much as he enjoyed his solitude, no one could live alone.

They fixed lunch together, swapped stories, and played cards. No matter what Liv did, or wore, she was sexy. He didn't know if she was trying or if it was instinctual. It certainly had an effect on him, though, and he was becoming infatuated with her. The only thing holding him back was fear of becoming too attached. Once the weather and roads cleared, she would almost certainly be gone. And then what? He was almost afraid to learn too much about her for fear of how he'd take the loss.

By late afternoon, his guest was bushed and crawled into bed for a nap. Ross tidied up a bit and read a book. Or, rather, tried to read. He couldn't help but keep sneaking peeks at Liv, trying to figure her out. As easy going as she was, there was a part of her which remained unreadable. Perhaps she was simply being careful. She was in a risky situation, alone and isolated.

Getting up for another cup of coffee, Ross caught a whiff of something not so fresh. He soon realized it was himself, probably from having worked up a bit of a sweat shoveling so much. He expected they would be sharing the bed again tonight and the last thing he wanted to do was offend her.

The best he could do this time of year was more less the same as dishes - two buckets of warm water, one with soap and one without, and a sponge. Liv seemed unconscious, so Ross stripped his shirt off and began to give himself a once over.

Should she wake, Liv would see his one tattoo on his shoulder blade.

 

[LoriDean12345]

Liv was disappointed to learn Ross had no snowmobile. "Isn't that, like, some sort of requirement. You live in San Diego, you own a surf board. Vale, you buy skis. Chicago, a .38 special with its serial number ground off."

She chuckled about the latter comparison. Of course, it wasn't really a laughing matter. Or at least, gun violence wasn't. Last year, Chicago -- the town Liv most recently called home -- had once again set a new record for gun deaths. And horrifically, that new record had been set before the end of July!

Liv had practically grown up with a pistol in her hand. She'd learn to accurate shoot before her age was in the double digits. She'd been given her first revolver as a 13th birthday present from her father. It had been a 5 shot .38 Special, just like the one hiding in the bottom of her satchel. She hoped never to pull the trigger while it was aimed at another person. But the aftermath of what was supposed to be her final con and theft was concerning her. Liv might not be ready to gun another person down. But those she'd cheated didn't have the same qualms.



She hadn't been asleep very long when she stirred at an unexpected sound. She rolled to find Ross shirtless running a dripping rag up and down his upper body. She sat up just enough to give herself a more upright view of him. If she had been a cat, Liv would have purred with delight. Ross had taken good care of himself; his arms and back were well toned, making Liv want to run her tongue through the crevasses of his muscles.

(OOC: If you don't like this, I can remove it. It was midnight and I needed to go to bed, and I knew you wouldn't be online. "It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to ask permission.)

When he turned his head to look her way, Liv lowered her head quickly and feigned sleep. She gave him a moment as she heard him moving something. When she cracked an eye, then fully opened both, she realized that he had set a couple of crates on the chair between them. Liv's view of him was blocked, but it was obvious that he was unbuckling, unbuttoning, and unzipping. He leaned forward, and Liv realized he was pushing his pants off his hips.

Liv's heart began to race with excitement. She'd been flashing her bod' at Ross for the past 24 hours, but she was yet to see anything below his belt. As he began running the wet rag over his lower section, Liv cautiously rose. She couldn't get a clear visual on him. But as he leaned once, then again, she got a look at the flesh of one of those firm, muscular butt cheeks that she'd been admiring in his jeans.

Ross turned his head to peek back again, and Liv dropped quickly back to the mattress. She didn't think he actually caught her looking at him. But the movement and the smile she was fighting to conceal may have given her away. She made a sleeping groan sound and rolled to put her back to him again. She waited until she heard his zipper go back up. Then, she feigned waking and rolled back again.

"Sponge bath?" she asked with a tired sound. She waited until Ross had his pants put back together before rising again. "I'd kill for a real bath. But since I don't you have a tub, do you think you could heat some water for me?"

 

[WatchingCloud]

Just as Ross started to wash, he realized he really should change to clean boxers as well. Liv appeared to still be sleeping soundly, so he snagged a pair from the closet nook and then decided to pile a couple boxes between himself and the bed in a token gesture. He didn't mind getting naked and she most certainly didn't seem to have modesty issues, yet there was a certain propriety to it all.

He washed his top, then cast a glance back. Liv hadn't moved, so he quickly shed the rest of his clothes. The fresh air felt nice, but he hastened to get cleaned up. He gave everything a thorough scrub and rinse.

While giving himself a moment to air dry, his sixth sense pinged him. Ross looked back at Liv. She hasn't moved, but her breathing had changed. She was awake and had probably been watching. Well, between the boxes and keeping his back to her, she wouldn't have seen too much, and she hadn't said anything. For all she'd shown him, he was still playing from behind.

He briefly toyed with "waking to the closet" to fetch something he'd "forgotten," right past her while still naked, but decided that might be a step too far. He pulled on the fresh boxes and jeans.

"Sponge bath?" Liv sounded tired, but the timing only confirmed to him what he'd suspected. As he buckled his jeans, he turned and saw her rising. "I'd kill for a real bath. But since I don't you have a tub, do you think you could heat some water for me?"

"Yeah, sorry, not exactly the Four Seasons," he said. "But in the summer I've got running water in the stream out back. And sure, I'll put another couple pails on the stove for ya. Give it ten minutes or so and they should be ready."

Ross kept half a dozen metal pails handy just for this sort of thing - melting snow, heating water for dishes or laundry, and such. Two pails already had melted snow and were ready to go on the stove. While they started, he washed, rinsed, and squeezed his boxers, shirt, and socks, then hung a length of clothesline across the cabin near the door on hooks that had clearly been installed for the purpose. Clothes were hung to dry.

"I do offer a laundry service, too, such as it is," he joked. "Or you can do self serve."

 

[LoriDean12345]

"Yeah, sorry, not exactly the Four Seasons," Ross apologized to Liv.

"It's not a tent in the desert either, is it?" she asked. She laughed. "Though, maybe this cabin in the desert might be more to my liking. I like the heat. And, I could wear my bikini, so."

Ross went to work preparing bath water for Liv. Liv in the meantime performed a little tease for Ross yet again. She slid out of the bed, giving a quick shot of her thong before the lower hem of the man's tank top covered her properly. Liv turned to find the plaid button up shirt. But before she donned it, she parted her feet a bit, reached her arms out wide, and grunted as she took a long, relaxing stretch. The extension of her body caused the tank to rise in the back. And again, Liv's tight ass cheeks were briefly on full display.

But that wasn't even close to what was to come. Once the water was ready, Ross filled two of his largest tubs on the cabin's floor: soap and rinse. Liv didn't want to run Ross out into the cold. They found two opposing nails of hooks -- Liv didn't really notice which -- and strung a sheet up across the cabin. They could still see one another from about the shoulders up. (It occurred to Liv that the taller Ross might be able to see the upper curves of her breasts. She didn't care, of course.)

Once isolated, Liv stripped to her birthday suit as Ross did stuff on his side of the barrier. She laughed even before she'd even gotten into the water. She crossed to a shelf on the all, pointing out, "Radio's on my side. Guess that means we're listening to Spanish music."

The sheet didn't reach all the way to the wall, though. Without looking his way to ensure she was still hidden, Liv fiddled with the dial until she found the Spanish religion station again. She knew -- but still obviously didn't care -- that most of her front side was on full display to him. The radio tunes in, but the previous night's music was once again replaced by bible thumping talk. She cursed under her breath, tuned some more, and found the country station Ross had breezed by the day before. Carrie Underwood was singing out about being an All American Girl.

Liv began singing with the tune as she returned to the first big bucket. As she turned -- eyes down, diverted from Ross -- she did so by turning toward the man, not away. If her were to be looking her way, he may have glimpsed her perfectly bare pubic region. If not, his loss, Liv thought as she carefully stepped into the hot water. She continued singing as she soaked a wash rag and began wiping down her body.

"You said you were widowed," Liv said out of nowhere. She half peeked over her shoulder to the other side of the cabin. "I don't mean to be insensitive, but ... is that something you talk about?"

She listened to what he had to say -- long, short, or not at all -- with the intent of expressing the appropriate and genuine sympathy. She continued cleaning her body off. One of her arms sometimes reached high as she washed about a pit or breast. (If he was paying attention, he may have thought he saw her wash her bosom three times.)

When he was done, she said, "Never been married. Doubt I ever will be. I don't think there's a man out there in the world who could put up with my bull shit."

She laughed and looked back Ross's way again. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not a devilish bitch by choice. I just ... well, I'm strong willed. That's what my daddy used to say. He used to say, 'Liv'ya, one day you're gonna rule the world ... or blow it up, one or the other'."

She lifted a leg, putting a foot on a chair near the tub. After cleaning that leg, she did the same to the other. She half-peeked back Ross's way again, as if to ensure he wasn't watching -- or was, maybe -- then turned away again and washed between her upper thighs. She drew a sudden, deep breath as if she'd accidentally excited herself. It wasn't horrifically erotic or dirty; just a bit more noticeable of an inhalation.

"I still haven't decided what I want to be when I grow up," she teased with a giggle. "I mean, I'm only 26. Not like I have to make a decision now, right? By the way, how old are you, Ross?"

After he'd answered, Liv pulled down on the middle of the rope holding the sheet. She looked him over from head to foot. "You look good for your age."

Liv made her next action look very accidental. She gave a little extra downward force on the rope. And as hoped, one end of it popped loose. The sheet hiding her fell to the floor, revealing her in all her glory. Liv squealed in feigned shock. Instead of kneeling down behind the table or grasping at the sheet, she instead hid her bosom behind one arm as the other hand flashed to her groin to hide it.

"I'm so sorry! I thought it-- I didn't know that--!"

 

[WatchingCloud]

When Liv declined his offer to go outside, he hung a sheet across the clothesline he'd put his laundry on, shoving those toward the wall. That seemed perfectly satisfactory to Liv and she was soon stripping behind the make-shift screen.

When Liv declared she got to control the music, Ross couldn't help but glance up. Her entire front side was visible, no longer concealed behind the sheet. Surely she knew it, which meant she was almost certainly doing this for his benefit - an invitation to peek. She'd done it enough times now, he didn't pretend to be oblivious. He didn't ogle or call attention to it, but he did look up from the vegetable chopping he'd begun for their dinner. And, damn, she was fine. When she turned away from the radio, he caught a glimpse of smooth pussy. God, to give her a tongue bath...

Ross turned his attention back to chopping, lest he lose a finger, while Liv worked on bathing.

"You said you were widowed," Liv said, abruptly interrupting her singing along with the radio. "I don't mean to be insensitive, but ... is that something you talk about?"

"It's okay, I don't mind," he said. "We were married for almost seven years. Ally was quite a bit younger than me, which her parents didn't much care for, but I think we were a perfect match. She tolerated my work and was always there for me when I needed it, somehow understanding. And I think I was good for her, because she was so independent and I was willing to accommodate her...interests."

Ross wasn't quite ready to explain that in much more detail. Some things were...too personal.

"Anyway, about four years ago she was diagnosed with Leukemia. I was recalled to the States to be with her. We thought she had it beat at one point, but then it popped right back up and took her quickly. During all that, I got a discharge so I could be there for her. She was a fighter, but she knew. Told me she expected me to find another girl and live a full life. It's been two years and I'm, I don't know, letting her down, I suppose."

Liv expressed her sympathies while continuing wash. Ross thought she was being very thorough, or simply allowing him the chance to keep sneaking peeks over the sheet. He couldn't see much...just hints of her breasts and the shadowy outline of her figure backlit from the window. It was enough to stir his imagination, among other things.

Moving away from the topic of his wife, he said, "You said you didn't have family, right? Ever get close? Have someone special?"

She professed she didn't, which at least offered some potential. He wouldn't consider touching a married or taken woman. Then she admitted to being a devilish bitch no man could put up with - one who'd either rule the world or destroy it. Very curious. He couldn't say he'd see evidence of any of that in her, and remarked on it.

"How old are you, Ross?"

"Thirty-nine," he answered, honestly, even if that thirteen year age gap might squash any ideas she had. He'd only been nine years older than Ally, but he'd also been younger at the time. That had worked, until...

She tugged down the sheet to look at him. "You look good for your age."

"Thanks," he began to reply, but was cut off when the sheet slipped the line and fell to the floor while the line snapped back up and launched his laundry.

Liv looked genuinely startled, but it was something in that fraction of a moment before she made an effort to cover her girlie bits that gave Ross pause.

"I'm so sorry! I thought it-- I didn't know that--!"

Ross set down his knife and waved aside her apologies. He made no effort to avert his gaze, yet he was still classy enough not to leer and mostly kept his eyes up on hers. Mostly. He crossed the room and picked up the sheet, well aware that he was within easy arm's reach of her.

"No worries," he said as he began to re-hang the sheet. "Besides, we both know you don't suffer from an over-developed sense of modesty."

He gave her a wink as he finished with the sheet, though he was still close enough to be able to see over it.

"I respect that, by the way."

 

[LoriDean12345]

Liv didn't know whether or not to be surprised by Ross's lack of urgency in helping her cover herself up again. He was right in saying that she hadn't been modest thus far.

"I respect that, by the way."

As she watched Ross fix the sheet, Liv stood a bit taller as if wanting him to take more notice of her. When he was done and ready to move back to his side, Liv lowered her uppermost hand. Once Ross's eyes fixed on her now fully exposed bosom, Liv moved her other hand away from her groin.

"I hopeso, Ross," she said after a moment. "That you respect me ... for the way I am."

Liv turned her back to him and stepped into the clean bucket of rinse water. She half glanced over her shoulder at Ross and asked softly, "Do you think you could help me rinse off by my back? If I don't get it all off, I'm afraid I'll itch."

She turned her head away from Ross again and waited to see what he would do.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Ross was relieved but unsurprised by Liv's reaction. As she lowered her hands, his eyes dropped to take all of her in. Up close and in better light, she was even more attractive. Those modest breasts, the piercing, made his mouth water.

Liv stepped into the rinse bucket and turned her back demurely. "Do you think you could help me rinse off by my back? If I don't get it all off, I'm afraid I'll itch."

Ross casually collected the wash cloth from the soapy water and rang it out. He then dunked it in her bucket, brushing against her feet and noting the manicured toes that had remained largely hidden under borrowed wool socks. He could feel the warmth radiating off her legs against his cheek he was so close. With the cloth saturated in clean water, he stood and pressed it against a shoulder and squeezed it. He watched in admiration as the water sluiced down her back, along her spine, and over that pert ass.

"Never let it be said I left a beautiful woman uncomfortable," he said. "Not here in my domain."

He repeated the process of soaking the cloth several times, making sure her back side was free of soap. Then he squeezed it further forward on her shoulder, allowing most of the water to course down her front side.

"Any other comforts I might attend to?"

 

[LoriDean12345]

I can't believe I'm doing this, Liv thought to herself. She wasn't a shy person. She'd already proven that beyond any doubt. But she was no slut either. She had only gotten this naked this quickly with a man -- or woman -- a half dozen times or so in her life. And about half of those one night -- or afternoon -- stands had been related directly to her job as a confidence artist and thief.

But there was something about her situation, about Ross, and about her feelings concerning both that was affecting Liv in a way she'd never experienced. She should have told Ross she was okay now; she should have sent him back to his side without delay. Instead, Liv turned to face Ross. Droplets of water clung to her skin from head to calves. And her chest rose and fell a bit faster and more conspicuously, a result in the excitement and sexual tension building within her.

"I should probably finish up myself," she said in a soft voice. She held a hand out for the washrag.