‘You may have assisted me last night, Lukas, and I am grateful, butyoudo not get to tell me what to do.’ She crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against the kitchen table, refusing to look at the stove at all.
‘What?’ The nerve of this woman. He could have gone back to his own cabin. He would have been happier there but he’d stayed to make sure she was alright.
‘You heard me. I’m a grown woman. I can take care of myself.’
Lukas threw the lighter that was in his hand on the table with loud clatter. ‘You know what? Have at it. At least in my cabin I’ll have some peace.’ He stormed to the door. ‘Good luck.’ He didn’t even bother looking back as he opened the door to howling wind and slammed it shut behind him.
CHAPTER FIVE
Katherine watched him leave. Heard the glass rattle from the force.
‘Great!’ she yelled at the closed door, relieved to see him go. Her chest rose and fell as if she had run a sprint. That was how Lukas affected her, how much he agitated her, and in his absence she could slowly calm down. But in the wake of his leaving, it had grown quiet.
‘I don’t need him,’ she said to herself. ‘I’ve been on my own for years.’
She could hear her every breath. Feel the chill settling on her skin once more.
‘I need to get warmer.’ The kitchen stove had already begun warming the cabin but it wasn’t enough. She went to the large fireplace, happy to find that some of the embers were still glowing. It wouldn’t take much for the fire to get going again but when she went to retrieve wood from the storage beside the fireplace, she noticed just how low she was running. Obviously Lukas had used some the night before and again to get the stove going, but that left her with very little and when she walked to the back door of the cabin and peered outside, everything was covered in a thick layer of snow. Where on earth would she find more wood? They were supposed to have left this morning. This was never meant to have been a concern for her.
‘I could go outside and look for more logs,’ she mumbled to herself, but her ankle was still tender, so she could run into trouble. The last thing she needed or wanted was Lukas’s help again. She’d only just got rid of him.
He left in this weather to walk to his cabin.
‘That’s not my problem!’ she half yelled. ‘He could have been pleasant but he never is.’ She walked away from the door. ‘It’s fine. I need to keep what I have for that stove.’ She glanced over at the large cast iron appliance. The red-gold flame dancing behind the glass. She had never used one of these things before. When Lukas had asked her to get the fire going she had been lost. She’d tried looking it up on her phone but with no cell service it had been impossible, but she hadn’t been able to admit that to him. For now, she had a source of heat but the stove was useless to her because unless she was scrambling eggs or making ramen, she was an utterly incompetent cook. It never seemed like something she needed to waste time learning. Not when she lived in London and travelled for work all the time.
‘Okay, Katherine, think. The storm is dying, so it won’t be long before someone comes back. The team’s equipment is still here.’ That got her racing towards the bedrooms. ‘So are their clothes.’ She rummaged through the cupboard, finding a big thick jacket. ‘Perfect!’
She threw off her jacket and pulled on one of the sweaters and then the jacket, almost immediately finding relief from the chill.
‘Snacks.’ That was next on the list. She hadn’t brought any. There had been no need. They’d only been meant to be there for two nights. Katherine especially wouldn’t have needed snacks when she was so disciplined about how she ate. But discipline didn’t matter now. She rummaged through the kitchen cupboards finding a box of granola bars. Tearing one open, she devoured it right there before taking another and huddling on the couch. Knees to her chest. Her arms wrapped around herself.
Hopefully they would all come back soon.
Lukas fought his way into his cabin, brushing the snow off his clothes the moment he closed the door. With no fires going, the cabin was cold. A sacrifice made to ensure Katherine’s safety. And all he’d gotten for his trouble was more accusations hurled at him. But she was alive and that was all he really needed.
Even though the woman had a way of getting under his skin.
He’d never met a more stubbornly proud person.
Well, now she could take care of herself since she so clearly wanted to. She was no longer any of his concern. He had done the right thing and now he could wait in the comfort of his own space.
He started a fire in the fireplace before doing the same in the kitchen. He was ravenous. It had been nearly a full day since he had eaten anything and even longer since he’d worked out. Working out would have to wait as much as it annoyed him. It set his day off-kilter. But it already was off-kilter, thanks to Katherine. He needed a shower and then food.
Mercifully, there was still warm water. When he stripped off his clothes and stepped under the jets, his body relaxed. His muscles had been tense; bunched for a whole day, it felt like he had let go of a weight now. And in the warm, relaxing water, his mind drifted. Images of toned, milky skin and red hair flashed behind his eyes making him groan. Streams of water ran down his arms over hands that clenched as he remembered Katherine’s softness. It was cruel that his body would react so readily to her when he hated her so much. But there was no arguing with how attractive he found her when the evidence of that was hard and throbbing.
He shut off the taps with an irritated growl. After changing into clean, warm clothes, he made his way back into the kitchen and pulled ingredients from the cupboards and fridge to make the same breakfast he started every day with. He enjoyed cooking. It reminded him of his father and it was easier to remain in the peak physical condition needed for racing if he prepared his food himself.
Lukas meticulously added the ingredients to a saucepan, stirring it on the heat until it was thick and rich, then poured the hot porridge with berries and honey into a bowl adding a few more berries on top. He placed a spoon into the bowl but he couldn’t lift it to his lips. Katherine hadn’t even tried to make a drink before he left. Did she have anything at all to eat? Why did he care? Why should her well-being affect whether or not he could dive into his steaming hot breakfast?
He let out a long string of expletives. Why couldn’t he get her out of his head? And why on earth did the air crackle whenever they were together? He felt it every time. Had felt it the moment he looked at her in the press pen three years ago. Time had turned to sludge that day. In his mind, he could still see her as she’d looked then in the VelociTV kit. A headset clamped over her ears, but her red hair still fluttering in the breeze. Clear blue eyes sparkling as the light caught them. A microphone in her slender hand, gold ring shining on her finger. And a smile on her lips that had stopped him in his tracks.
He’d known instantly he couldn’t talk to her, he couldn’t have allowed himself an attraction to a member of the media. Not when his relationship to the woman he loved and should have married had come to such a hurtful end right before.
You need to figure this thing out with the media because they are never going away, but I am.
The last thing he’d wanted was another relationship to hide and protect from them. So he hadn’t allowed himself to get into Katherine’s orbit. What would that spark have turned into? A charge so intense, like they’d harnessed the very lightning. Whether he was attracted to her or hated her.
Lukas had read about crackling hate between people and always dismissed it as fantastical but maybe there was truth in it. Maybe what he had initially felt was her undiluted hatred towards him. Why else would she attack him so consistently? He hadn’t even said a word to her.
