Eva looked down at her slightly swollen ankle hoisted on a small plastic table, then at the ointment in Adam's hand, and she shuddered at what was impending.

Their fun for the day had been cut short when Eva had sailed down the snow recklessly, until her lack of knowledge about the braking process had set in and she'd ended up twisting her ankle instead.

"Please tell me you aren't going to be vicious about this."

"Will I now?" Bending in front of her, the man looked at her through narrowed eyes that made him look dark and yet so sexy, eyes gleaming dubiously. "Just let me do my job, Sweetheart."

When his hand fell on her ankle, Eva shut her eyes, bracing herself for a sharp shooting pain, but soothing was all she felt when he began rubbing his thumb on the affected spot.

Then he pressed. The pain went up some notches, causing her to wince and then grit her teeth so hard she feared they would shatter. It only seemed to get worse and his thumb began rubbing with pressure than initially used.

Finally, the pain began to ease a little as he continued rubbing, and Eva was grateful for the bit of reprieve.

"You're lucky." He told her, meeting her eyes briefly. "This could've been worse. Thankfully, you didn't twist it too much and it should be okay by tomorrow."

"Yep, my next novel is definitely going to be about extreme sports."

She blew out a breath, thinking she'd only said that in her head, only to look down to find him looking at her with a degree of curiosity.

"You write? I thought you only work in the textile industry."

"Well, now you know." She said awkwardly. She'd certainly never expected to tell anyone about her secret habit which only her friends knew about. "I love writing."

"Intresting." His nod attested to the fact. "What are some of the books you've written?"

"As if you would even know it. You don't look like you've read a novel in your life." She mused teasingly, a smile touching her lips.

"I've published a few, but so far my best work has been The Red Heifer. Don't know if you've heard of that."

"Wait. Red Heifer, the bestselling novel released last year which had everyone wanting to meet the author."

"Yes! You've read it?" She asked excitedly, hopeful that she was going to get a face to face review.

"Actually...no." He replied, bursting her bubble instantly.

"My friend, Alfredo, loves to read every once in a while. He loved your writing and the novel so much that it was the only thing he kept talking about for two weeks. Thinking about it, the author's name was just E. West. Eva West. Why didn't you ever accept the interviews you were invited for?"

Biting her lip, Eva shrugged. "I just like to keep that part of my life private. Only my best friends and my mum know about it, and 50% of every cent I make goes into charity."

Adam's eyes gleamed with admiration as he nodded. "Feisty with a generous heart. Dangerous combination." He got up and slumped beside her on the couch. "Let's think of something to..."

Her phone rang, cutting him off. Reaching into her jacket pocket, she fetched it out and smiled when she saw the caller ID.

"Hey mum."

"Hello, darling. " Her mother's soft and yet firm voice came through the speakers. "How are you doing? I hope you are having a great time. Know I said I would leave you to your vacation but I just needed to hear your voice."

"Oh mum, I'm so glad you called. Missed you too." Eva said, catching Adam rolling his eyes at her. "I'm lounging on the beach right now and I'm having such a fantastic time."

She'd already told Adam the lie she'd told her mother so the man just shook his head while she told the lie again.

"I'm glad to hear that, dear. I hope you remember you have a ton of responsibilities waiting when you come back, huh?

"Of course, mum." She grimaced at the thought of the responsibilities.

One in particular had her wondering what she was doing in the cabin right now.

"Okay, love you. Bye."

After her mother had hanged up, Eva sighed contentedly. "Mummy's girl, are we?" Adam said, his tone teasing.

She widened her eyes at him. "Mummy's girl? No I'm not."

"Come on. You've been gone for just three days and she's calling to check up on you already. Must be overprotective."

"She just loves me to bits, that's it." She gestured at herself proudly. "What? Mama doesn't spoil you rotten too?"

His whole body went taut, the smile slipping off his face almost immediately. His zygomaticus began ticking, and she would've been fascinated had she not been so confused at his reaction to such a simple question.

"I don't have a mother. Never had." He deadpanned, looking away from her.

That had Eva stilling. What did he mean by 'never had'? Unless he was insinuating that he wasn't human, then there was something he didn't want to tell her.

"Are you going to include the steamy sessions we'll be having in the book you're intending to write?" He quickly asked before she could ask him anything.

"Jeez, no!" She grimaced, mortified by the very idea. "I'll probably be writing it about myself and how I was able to step out of my comfort zone. Sex scenes aren't needed, thank you very much."

"Besides..." She slanted him a provocative look. "...they won't be memorable anyways."

"Won't they?" A deep chuckle left his lips, and the look he gave her was charged with so much sexual potency. "Be careful, Sweetheart. I might just want to prove you wrong right now and we both know you have a sprained ankle."

She shivered at all the ways he could make their steamy sessions as unforgettable as last night's had been. She'd been aching for him ever since waking up, and it only seemed to get more intense.

Holding the zipper on her jacket, she pulled it right down, licking her lips suggestively. "What if I want you to?"

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

A burning ember popped, a drop of snow fell into the bonfire, eliciting a fizzling sound as the fire killed it.

It was evening already and a flurry had begun, droplets of snow falling on and around them as they sat by the fire with Adam roasting two thick marshmallows using a long skewer.

As for today, her ankle had prevented them from doing any more outdoor activity, but that hadn't stopped the man from entertaining her.

He'd blistered her senses with five orgasms from two fuck sessions, then they'd talked about their favourite movies, music genres and more.

After that they'd had an enjoyable time preparing dinner together -the cooking on him, of course.

He'd told her fun, amusing anecdotes of his brother, friends, extreme sports and the people he'd met while doing it. Tales that had made her laugh but had also made her realize he had said nada about his childhood or his parents.

And considering how he'd shut her out when she'd asked about his mother, the thought had been playing at the back of her mind for most of the day.

For the first time ever, she was beginning to wonder whether there was more to Adam Garcia than met the eye.

Normally when people didn't want to talk, she liked to shove her questions out of her mind. But there was something about the man which, apart from the curiosity, made her feel things. Things she was finding too dangerous.

Not to talk of the emotional connection she felt with him that she'd never felt with anyone which unerringly made her feel like she could tell him things and not feel like she was talking to a stranger.

"You know, my father used to take me camping every once in a while when I was little." She began, meeting Adam's eyes.

Looking up into the sky, nostalgia wrapped around her, making her sigh.

"We'd go fishing, hike through the woods, or sit by the fire where he would roast meat or marshmallows and tell me stories. He was just like you, such an outdoor man. Those outings meant so much because he was a very busy man. Until he died when I was eight."

Adam nodded, giving her a small smile. "You miss him?"

"Sometimes." She shrugged. "It can be very hard to though because mum makes it so hard for me to remember him with all the love she showers on me, taking the role of both a mum and a dad. I'm so grateful to have her."

Done with the roasting, he pulled the skewer away from the fire to mellow the heat of the marshmallows a little.

"Must be a superwoman then. You speak of her like she's a god."

"I'm just being honest." She mused, glaring at him in mock annoyance. Biting her lip, she asked tentatively, "What about you?"

This time, his body didn't go rigid like it did in the afternoon, but he issued her a frustrated look.

"I'm sorry if I'm probing too much. You got me very bodthered when you told me you'd never had a mother and it got me wondering so many things."

She answered honestly, hoping it would prompt him to open up about why the mere hearing of his parents bothered him so much.

"Remember one of the rules. No sharing any secrets?" He questioned, seemingly trying to dissuade her.

"Well if it were only that, then I would say you caused me to break my first when you asked me about my writing."

Their eyes met for long seconds, minutes maybe, but when she didn't look away, he sighed. "My mum left my dad and abandoned my little brother and I when I was six."

Shrugging like it was no big deal, he pulled one of the golden marshmallows and then handed her the skewer.

Eva contemplated for a while before asking, "That's why you said you've never had a mother?"

"She left without a second thought, Eva. I'm sure mothers don't do that." He brought the marshmallow and took a bite of the delicacy.

"So you've never seen her since? She's never tried to..."

"You know what?" Adam stood up abrubtly, cutting her off. "I'm starting to get tired of you sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

With that he turned and stormed away from the cabin without looking back at her.

Great, now you've pissed him off , Eva.

____________

Who wants some angry sex? Thank you for 1k+ reads, guys.
LOL
-E