Chapter 1

I glanced up with a distracted smile when a plate of amazing looking sushi was slid in front of me. Having been completely absorbed in the book claiming it could give anyone a green thumb; I hadn’t noticed anyone approaching me. The bartender didn’t return my smile. She had that sour look of someone that had spent too long in customer service. The makeup she had caked on gave her an aging barfly look. Watching her she strutted back to the corner of the bar beside the pickup window. Thinking no one was looking, she fired up a cigarette, blowing the smoke out the window. After three drags, she put it out. Shaking my head about the waste of money, I tried one of the rice lined rolls on the plate in front of me.  The red tobiko on top made it very colorful.

“MMMMM” The delightful combo of shrimp tempura, avocado, and cucumber was tantalizing on my tongue. Self-consciously I looked around to see if anyone had noticed my orgasmic moment with my dinner. Thankfully the other dinners in the sushi/Thai restaurant all seemed to be focusing on their own meals. I switched to a crab cheese wonton while I people watched in the mirror over the bar. My eyes were first drawn to the blue-eyed woman with bright red streaks in her blonde hair. She was wearing a blue open weave sweater over a purple lace trimmed cami. The round purple stone medallion dangling from the sliver chain complimented the cami. Dang, I looked cute. I glanced over at the empty seat next to me. Eating alone didn’t bother me normally. However, the room seemed to be filled with happy couples. It had been almost two years since I broke up with my last boyfriend. Unquestionably I was better off without him, but I’d started to be lonely lately. Occasionally I thought about dipping my toe back in the dating pool but, best I could tell that pool hadn’t been cleaned in a while. Returning to my book, I ate while trying to learn why I killed all my plants.

“Vivienne!” An older looking man dressed in the traditional garb of someone who created sushi called. Seeing me raise my hand, he brought me the to go bag of egg rolls. Knowing myself well, I was going to be looking for a midnight snack. Might as well have something tasty on hand. After paying my bill I walked down the steps to my rental car. My friend had told me a vacation would help shake me out of my funk. She swore a trip to Helen Georgia was just what I needed. Apparently, they had the most amazing candy shop ever. I’d rolled my eyes at their hyperbole, but went ahead and booked me a vacation cabin.  Driving around the curving streets, I had to wonder why there were so many package stores. How much shipping did these people do?

Ten minutes later, I pulled up to a cute little cabin surrounded by woods. As I pulled to a stop on the gravel drive, I took in my temporary oasis. Gray rounded stones formed a retaining wall that had a stone stairway built into it. Shiny light colored round wooden logs lined the lower half of the exterior. Wood shingles covered the top half. The roof had an overhang with beautiful beams exposed.  Smiling I rolled my purple hardshell case past the outside living space skirting the firepit built in the ground. Comfy looking outdoor sofas were around it. Off the side of the house was a deck with shiny wood that was accessed via a gleaming wooden staircase. Given the awning over the door at the end of the stone staircase, I decided it was probably the front door. Thankful I had packed light; I carried my case up the perfectly level steps.

Gleaming hardwood floors allowed my case to roll smoothly as I gawked at the interior. More gleaming wood created built-ins with white plaster above them, with a dark wood trim, on the wall across from the door. A floor to ceiling gray stone fireplace sat between them. To the left was a wall of glass that looked out over the mountain. Leaving my case behind, I quickly went to ohhh and aww at the view. It was gorgeous. Reds, browns, and oranges covered the trees as the leaves had changed but not yet dropped. Fading softly, the sun disappeared behind the fire-colored foliage. I watched until the pinks and purple of the fading sun faded.

Turning from the wall of glass, I noticed the kitchen tucked along the far wall. Marble countertops set on gray cabinets. Upper cabinets were only on the interior wall. The exterior wall was glass from countertop to ceiling. A large marble topped island sat in the middle. My focus was on the back door. Looking through its window, I could see the deck that I seen on the way in. More cozy looking furniture was arranged near a patio table. Through the only other door was a half bathroom. Turning I inspected the curving carved staircase that stood between the kitchen and the living space.

It was gorgeous. The wood curved around like it was bent into shape. The etched spindles filled the space between the banister and steps. Grabbing my case, I carried it carefully up the gently curving work of art. At the top I found the bedroom. It was completely open to the floor below facing the glass wall. I couldn’t wait to wake up to the view of the trees gently lit by the raising sun. Also relieved that whoever built this place didn’t want the sun rising to wake them and put the glass wall to the west and not the east.

Back downstairs, with my book and a fancy strawberry drink I found in the fridge, I snuggled into the lounge on the deck. Surrounded by the fauna of the Appalachians with the ambient noise of being in the woods, I hoped to truly absorb the gift of not killing every plant I brought home. No matter how hardy, I could kill it. Any time I mentioned I’d gotten a new plant, my family and friends started referring to it as my latest victim.

An hour later found me bored and slightly cool. Gathering my drink and book I went back into the cabin. On my way through I grabbed another fruity drink, this one mango. Sprawled out on the L shaped couch I flipped through channels on the gigantic TV mounted on the wall over the fireplace. Nothing of interest on three hundred channels. Ugh. Scrolling on the home screen I found YouTube. It logged me in as guest. Being nosy I looked at the history to see what previous people had watched. Everything from political to down right porn. All forms for conspiracy theories and true crime. Finding a video on things that go bump in the night I put it in. How could that be a bad choice. I was just alone, in the woods, in someone else’s house. I laughed a little as I snuggled under a blanket.

My phone began to dip as I drifted off listening to some guy droning on about shadow people. Knowing if I didn’t get up now, I’d spend the night on the couch, I forced myself to stand. Tiding up before I headed upstairs. In the bathroom off the bedroom, I got ready for bed. Teeth brushed, hair in ponytail, face washed I eyed the king-sized bed that dominated the room. Earlier I had checked for cameras and didn’t find anything. Plus, my friend had vouched for the safety of this house. Not trusting the sheets, I stripped them and put my own on. I’d trust I wasn’t being watched, but, I wanted to be sure I was on clean sheets. Once the bed was remade, I stripped down. After draping my clothes on the chair by the bed, I slid into the cool soft sheets. Laying on the nightstand by the remote to the lights was a candle sitting on candle warmer. Beside it was a note that said for a blissful night, to turn on the warmer. Bringing the candle to my nose I detected vanilla and mulberry. Some other notes I wasn’t sure what were. I turned the warmer on. As the delectable scent filled the room, I made a mental note to see if I could buy one in town. Quickly I dropped off to sleep.

Something pulled me from peace of dreamscape. Groaning, trying to get my eyes open, I fumbled around for my glasses. Found them when the tip of my finger pushed them off the night stand. Damnit. I managed to grab the remote to the lights. Feeling around I pushed a button. The sconces beside the bed come on with a gentle glow. Nothing seemed out of place. Listening I didn’t hear anything that seemed off. It was so quiet out here surly if there was something to worry about, I would hear it. Grumbling, I got up to find my glasses. If I left them on the floor, I know I would find them in the morning when I stepped on them. Man, they had slid under the bed. On my knees, with my ass in the air I reached under the bed. Mentally I crossed my fingers that I wasn’t about to find anything weird.

Just as my hand wrapped around my glasses, I had the feeling off being watched. Carefully I backed out from under the bed. Trying to act casual I reached for my phone still charging on beside the bed. With shaking hands, I pulled down the top menu. Spinning as fast as my forty-year-old knees would I allow I clicked on the flashlight function to see what was behind me. As the shadows shrunk from the light, the one by the door took on a human shape with a hat before disappearing. I laughed at myself. I knew better than to watch creepy things before bed. Knowing I wouldn’t be able to sleep until I checked things out, I slipped on my house shoes.

Using my phone’s light, I figured out how to turn the overhead light on. Nothing out of the ordinary in the bedroom. Bathroom was clear too. On my way down the stairs, I wondered what I was going to do if I found an intruder. I was naked accept the fluffy bigfoot shaped slippers on my feet. Maybe my lily-white body would either scare them or the glare if I light hit me would blind them. At the base of the stairs, I looked around. Again, everything looked how I left it. Checking the doors were all locked. Before bed I had checked the windows but, I double checked them again. Dry mouth led me to the fridge. I’d never heard of these fruit drinks but, I was craving them now. The one I pulled out this time was pineapple.

I hadn’t looked at the label before. They were locally crafted and bottled at one of the nearby wineries. Definitely would be taking a couple of cases of these home. Hoped they had shipping. I took a moment to stand at the window wall looking at the moon high in the sky. It was full. There was just enough light to see the outline of the tree line. Given that nothing seemed wrong in the house, I had to assume I’d probably been woken by a critter. Or possibly my own snoring. Chuckling at myself I went back upstairs.

Back upstairs, I used the restroom then crawled back into bed. This time I took care to place my glasses where they wouldn’t fall to the ground so easily. Using the remote, I turned off the sconces. As I laid there waiting for sleep to take me, my eyes adjusted and with the light of the moon I could make out shapes in the room. I was startled as my eyes drifted they landed on a human shaped shadow again by the bathroom door. Seriously? No more creepy shows for me. Sighing I started to roll over. Only to find that I couldn’t move.

Frantic I again tried to roll. Nothing happened. I tried to sit up. Still nothing. My phone. I needed to get my phone. Scared now, I tried to reach my phone. My arms wouldn’t move. My breathing was getting rapid. The only thing that would move is my eyes. Oh God. Why can’t I move?

From the corner of my eye, I saw it. The shadow moved from the doorframe towards me. It was an ambiguous huge male human shape with a hat on its head. There wasn’t enough light for me to see. Once it reached the bed, it stopped. Less than a foot from me and I couldn’t make out any details. Just the outline. My heart was racing, and my breathing was ragged.

Male knuckles traced my jaw from my ear to my chin. The touch was gentle. Intimate even. A husky, seductive chuckle filled the air that still smelt of the candle. “I know what you need little gazelle.”

The shadow shimmered. Now I could see the details. He was at least six foot two. Dark skin, bald head, and wearing jeans that clung to his muscled legs. An unbuttoned dark purple shirt displayed his taunt chest. The moonlight showed his beautiful smile as he leaned towards me. I tried to speak, but nothing came out. “Shhh. I’m going to make it all better.”