Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 62772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
In the fresh air, I took a deep breath, letting the sun beat down on me. I’d heard of the healing power of fresh mountain air, but I wouldn’t have believed it until I was knee-deep in it. Walking to the shed, I picked the ax up and felt the weight of it. Its mass felt good in my hands. It sounded silly, but holding it brought some feeling of power. If anyone in town knew I had googled the most efficient way to chop wood, I was sure they would fall off their seats laughing. For me, googling was much easier than asking. I hoped to shift those odds the longer I lived here.
My squirrel friends ran up, wondering what I was doing. Even they knew I was a beginner. Once I started swinging the ax, they ran to the safety of the trees. Smart squirrels. The thwack sound each time the ax hit its mark was satisfying and gave me something to focus on other than the aching of my body. I might not know what I was doing, but I was enjoying it.
A few hours later, I’d split and chopped through the logs that lay in the shed, stacking them in piles near the house. The videos I’d watched didn’t come close to capturing how hard I would actually work. I was soaked from head to toe. Even my socks were wet from sweat. I stacked the ax against the shed wall and considered that Shelby might have been right when she suggested an automatic splitter. I’d insisted on doing it the old-fashioned way, though, knowing I would need the workout. I debated the intelligence of that decision as I shuffled to the cabin, more tired than I’d been in a long time.
I dropped the clothes at the back door, laying them out to dry. Naked, I moved through the living space to the kitchen, downing a cool bottle of water as I leaned against the counter. As I’d done a million times before, I assessed my scars, running my fingers along the angriest ones. The skin still puffed around them, creating a road map along my chest and thighs. How would I ever explain this to a partner? Would Tara care? Surprised at the thought, I pushed off the counter and made my way to the bathroom.
Turning on the water to heat, I leaned my hands against the vanity. The mirror told the same story my own eyes had, but in the harsh light of the bathroom, the scars seemed to be highlighted. Ten years had passed, but they still held the same anger and helplessness they had the day I woke up in the hospital. The sight of them disgusted me, urging me to continue hiding. But that would defeat the whole reason I moved here. I needed to come to terms with who I was now, not who I’d been. My mind wandered to Tara again as the steam from the shower started to fill the room.
As I stepped under the spray, I felt my cock tightening, directly related to my thoughts of Tara. She’d done more than intrigue me. Her soft auburn curls framed her face, falling softly to her shoulders. I envisioned my fingers wrapped in her curls, tugging slightly as she moaned. One of the best things about this cabin was the water pressure, beating down on my sore muscles. I leaned in, the water pouring down my face, as I remembered the way her deep brown eyes sparkled when she smiled. My cock hardened further, demanding attention.
Reaching down, I wrapped my hand around my shaft, stroking slowly at first. The rush of excitement flowed through my body as I gulped in breaths of air, forcing my hand to slow down. I wanted the moment to last. It was hard not to focus on the memory of her supple lips and the anticipation of her wrapping them around my cock. A groan shuddered from deep inside me as I stroked faster. Bracing myself against the shower wall with one hand, the other continued to slip back and forth, quickening with each thought of her. Would she enjoy me as much as I was enjoying just the thought of her?
The world fell away around me, and I imagined tracing my fingers along her naked body, her legs wrapping around my waist and pulling me closer to her, deeper. Sliding my hand down my shaft again, my cock exploded, shuddering with satisfaction. I braced both hands against the wall now, letting the water flow around me. My ragged breath slowed after a few minutes, but my thoughts of her stayed strong. She was certainly worth getting to know better. If she’d let me. For all I knew, she had someone in her bed already.