Love Like Winter

Days seemed to pass as quickly as leaves fell to the ground in fall, and the lines between reality and fantasy began to blur for Aurora. Her days became a tangled mess of eating and sleeping, and inside she was itching to explore the area in which she now resided. She would look out of her window and see the luscious fields and trees of green that surrounded her, but her Uncle’s tepid persistence kept her from venturing outside.

Uncle Davidson had come to the conclusion that the damage she had caused to his car needed to be made up for, and to do so he would badger her with tedious little jobs that were etching their way under her skin. Her temper was flaring at ridiculous rates, and the tight clenching of her stomach told her that she was heading to fields beyond stir crazy.

Her relief was found on Friday morning when her uncle had placed down his coffee and announced that it was time to pick up the car, and that he would give her money to find her way into the mechanic. She couldn’t help the way her mind immediately wondered to the man she had met there, and she felt her heart flutter slightly at the prospect of seeing him again. Although he was different to the sort of man that she was usually attracted to, he had a rugged, almost animalistic flare to him that held a certain allure.

And so she ended up outside the barely-familiar walls of the mechanic, her blonde hair dancing slightly in the breeze that swept around her as she stared up at the sign. Letting out a deep sigh, she pushed her fingers through the tangled strands of her hair and dug her hands into her pockets before heading inside.

A bell rang as she opened the door and immediately brown eyes snapped to her face, and she lifted her hand into a wave as a smile tugged at her lips. “If it isn’t Sleeping Beauty,” he teased, and she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

She immediately became aware of the taut, gleaming flesh that stared back at her, and she felt warmth spreading through her and a flush claimed her cheeks. The warmth built up like a flame inside of her and wrapped its hands around her chest until she was aware of nothing else besides his utter gorgeousness and masculinity, and it was all she could do not to stare as she forced her eyes to meet his. “I’m here for the car,” she smiled tightly, pushing her hair away from her face. “It’s under the name Davidson, I’m assuming.”

He grinned at her, reaching a large, calloused hand up to wipe away the trickles of sweat that were beading on his forehead. Scratching the back of his head, his dark eyes gleamed in a way that seemed almost familiar, and a strange, gripping feeling clutched at her heart. “I’ve got it ready around the back,” he said, motioning with grease-covered fingers towards the back of the store. “I’m going to need some sort of ID first though; it’s standard procedure.”

Pursing her lips together, Aurora dug into her back pocket, pulling out her license and walking towards Aiden. With the way that her Uncle was going, she was almost surprised that he had left her with her license when he had managed to take most other things off her. As hard as it had been at home, she was almost coming to a bitter realization of why he had never had children of his own.

When she was standing beside the shirtless man, she felt a red hue painting her cheeks as she felt the startling warmth that radiated off his body. She had her ID held out to him but his eyes didn’t move from her face, instead staring half-lidded through his thick, black lashes with burning brown eyes that glistened with gold. His body seemed to tense as he looked down at her, breathing deeply through his nose and watching her with a gleam in his eyes and a faint, almost desolate smile claiming his thin lips.

Clearing her throat in both discomfort and impatience, she held her card out to him more obviously, letting out a sigh of relief when he took it out of her hand as the flecks of gold disintegrated into the chocolate pools of his eyes. He examined it carefully, a wide, toothy grin forming on his lips that made him seem almost like an animal. “You’re still young, Beauty. Do you have a boyfriend?”

His eyes seemed to darken as he spoke the words, looking at her like swirls of coal and smiling at her in a way that seemed friendly. “No, I don’t,” she said softly, the corners of her lips tilting up into a smile.

He grinned at her words, placing the card back in her hand and enclosing his large palms around hers, his thumb caressing the back of her hand. His skin was rough and dark against hers, and she frowned slightly as she waited for him to pull away. When he did, she hastily pulled her arm back and placed the card in her pocket, taking a step back and looking at him in the eyes. He smiled, wiping his stained hand on his jeans. “How about I show you around town some time? I’ve lived here all my life, so I’d be happy to help you out.”

She frowned, her eyes lowering slightly before pulling back up when she caught sight of his exposed, muscular skin. Slowly, she nodded her head. “I don’t see why not. I could use a little help,” she smiled, digging her thumbs into the pockets of her jeans as she looked at him. “As long as your girlfriend doesn’t mind,” she added, her mind going back to the hostile girl who had served her in Urban Culture.

To her surprise, he scowled darkly, his brown eyes gleaming eerily under the false light that swarmed the room. “She won’t mind.”