Stranded Read Online Free Page B

me, and I look at the crackling fire with longing.
    After staring at the flames for several minutes, my cold body wins out over my pride, and with the blanket still around me, I move off of the couch and onto the floor. Drake turns and looks at me as a small smile lifts the corners of his mouth, then scoots over to make room for me. 
    I ignore him as I move to the spot he’s vacated, then hold my hands out to the fire. “Ahh,” I moan without thinking. 
    “Feels good, doesn’t it?”
    Glancing at him, I give him a tiny smile. “Yes.”
    “You know,” he says, giving me a stern look. “You should be a little nicer to me.” He pauses. “I could have driven right on past you, and by now you’d be frozen on the side of the road.”
    True as that is, I'm not about to let him win this little battle of wills. I know I'm at his mercy, and somehow that makes me resist his help all the more. Not to mention that I don’t want to appear vulnerable—that would just invite him to take advantage of me, and that is something I want to avoid at all costs. “Well, you shouldn’t laugh at a girl who’s fallen.” I stare at the fire. “You’re not very nice, are you?”
    He smiles smugly. “Why don’t we find out? I mean, I could always put you outside and let you fend for yourself. Then I guess you’d have your answer.”
    Turning to look at him, I glare. “You wouldn’t dare.”
    His eyebrows rise. “Don’t tempt me, little lady.”
    I look him up and down. “No one’s that mean.” I pause. “Even you.”
    “You’ve known me, what? Less than two hours? What makes you think you know me?”
    Oh crap. Serial killer. I decide to take a different approach. “Someone who would pick up a stranger and bring her to his house wouldn’t turn around and put her out in freezing weather.” I smile, but it’s forced. “That wouldn’t make sense.”
    “Who said everything has to make sense?” Then a gleam comes into his eyes and he stands, towering over me.

Chapter Seven
    Razor-edged alarm grips me. He’s going to do it. Holy shit. He bends towards me and I grab the edge of the area rug, trying to anchor myself to the floor, but he lifts me effortlessly and the rug is ripped from my hands. The blanket comes off of my shoulders and falls to the floor. The sleeves of his hoodie are soft against my thighs, and the heat of his chest radiates right through my t-shirt. Since at any moment I will be out in the snow, I try to absorb as much of his body heat as possible. “Please don’t do this,” I whimper, all pretense of pride gone.
    He doesn’t respond as he approaches the front door.
    Panic laces my voice “I’ll freeze to death out there!”
    “Just like you would’ve if I hadn’t stopped.” His voice is deep and soft in my ear.
    “But I was wearing a coat then.”
    He stops at the door. “Hmm.”
    I'm getting through to him! “And pants and shoes.” 
    He shifts his arms, and I feel the bulge of his bicep in my back, then I notice his eyes roving over my bare legs.
    I don’t like the way he is examining me, but I continue trying to make my case. “Don’t forget that I have a sprained ankle.”
    “I haven’t forgotten,” he says, evidently not impressed by my pleas. Then he sets me on my feet.
    I breathe a sigh of relief that he’s changed his mind, but then he opens the door. A gust of freezing air carrying thick flakes of snow blows in, and I gasp. My hand automatically reaches for the door jamb, and I wrap my fingers around the wood, digging my nails into the hard surface.
    “Looks pretty cold out there,” Drake says as he stands behind me, blocking my retreat from the freezing air.
    “Yes. And I’d rather not go out there, if you don’t mind.” I try to put a note of confidence in my voice, but inside I'm terrified. Is this guy completely crazy?
    “Yeah. Maybe you’re right.” He begins shutting the door, and I loosen my grip on the door jamb, then he shuts the door completely. He