Polar Opposites

Chapter One Mia A polar bear. Someone had called in and said they had seen an honest-to-god Polar Bear. In Wales. Of all places. And my boss thought I was the perfect person to go investigate because I obviously had nothing better to do on a Friday night than to drive around rain-soaked hills in search of a bear, and not just any kind of bear. A polar bear. It didn’t matter that my plans for this weekend revolved around copious amounts of Merlot and my newest dirty novel, they were my plans. And I begrudged the fact he had sent me out into the middle of nowhere on a wild goose chase when I should be fantasising about my latest book boyfriend. They were the only types of boyfriends I was interested in right now. The real kind was just too much hard work. And I wasn’t known for my discerning taste in the opposite s*x. In fact, I had the worst taste in the world when it came to men as shown by the fact I had dated my boss. And look where that had landed me. In Wales, on the side of a mountain, in the middle of a rainstorm. The jolt of my car brought me back to myself with a start, swerving to get back into the right lane I gave a little scream. I really needed to get out of my own head and stop daydreaming. I had been in the middle of the road, my car all over the place. If there had been anyone else on this godforsaken stretch of asphalt, I would have hit someone head-on. The car stuttered again, and I felt my eyes grow wide. No way, this couldn’t be happening. If I broke down here, I would be in serious trouble, especially as my phone had died at least forty-five minutes ago. “Come on, baby. You can do it.” I soothed the compact red machine. “Just a little ….” Another splutter and then nothing. Just silence, as my car rolled to a halt at the bottom of a small incline. “Dammit.” Slapping my palms on the steering wheel, I groaned. How was it even possible to have this much bad luck in one day? “Dammit, dammit, dammit.” Leaning my head against my hands, I took a deep breath, trying to force myself to think. It wouldn’t do me any good to panic. Sure, I was a single woman, alone on the side of a mountain in the middle of a storm with no working phone, but what was the worse that could happen seriously? And all the while outside the rain came down, torrential grey sheets. The darkness only broken when the lightning forked across the sky, illuminating the barrenness of my surroundings. This wasn’t like any heat-induced thunderstorm I had ever seen. This was the kind of storm people built arks for. The thought made me chuckle, maybe the mountain would flood, and my car would just float back to civilisation. Or maybe somebody would drive past and spot me marooned in the dark. Except I hadn’t seen another car for over an hour, so it was more than likely that I would just float down the hill. Unless I walked. Staring out into the darkness, I grimaced. Those were my choices, step out into that downpour and try and find a nearby house, where I could use a phone or stay inside the car and pray someone came along and rescued me. Walking it was. I had never really been the damsel in distress kind of woman. And anyway, a little rain never hurt anyone, right? At least that was what I was telling myself as I slipped from the car, my red-bottomed heels instantly sinking into the mud and grass at the side of the road. In the darkness, something moved. Whitish shadows that seemed to disappear and I froze as I stared at where it had been just seconds ago. My heart was beating so loudly in my ears; it was deafening. “It’s just a sheep,” I muttered to myself, as I started walking. My bag clutched to my chest, the leather giving my front some protection from the rain that battered down on my head. In seconds I was soaked, my ponytail limp, my clothes sodden and suddenly heavy on my body, and it was cold. Like winter type of cold. And I hated the cold. “Just a sheep,” I muttered over and over again as more white things started to materialise out of the darkness to the side of me. It was a sad day indeed when I was afraid of sheep, especially when they seemed to be moving in the opposite direction to me. All I had to do was keep myself together and stay on the road. Sooner or later, I would reach actual people. And I would never have to step foot in the countryside again. Not ever. Give me a bustling city any day. A heavy sound caught my attention, and I froze. Peering into the darkness, I searched for the source of the sound. But there was nothing but the foggy sheep as they rushed in the opposite direction. Goosebumps erupted over my body that had nothing to do with the chill in the air. Overhead lightning ripped open the sky, and for a second, the whole world was illuminated. Just enough time for me to see the massive figure in the distance. The huge bear-like figure. Turning sharply on my heels, I started trotting back towards my car. There was no way I was going to be eaten by a bear in the UK because bears don’t roam Britain. No, it was just my imagination. Had to be. But I was heading back to my car anyway. It was much safer staying inside with the doors locked than it was wandering the hills with only the sheep and whatever was hunting them. So that’s what I would do. Maybe I could make another dash for civilisation when the sun was shining. Something large huffed behind me as if it had just sighed heavily through a massive snout and all resemblance of self-control left me as I launched myself forward at a full run. No easy feat with heels on as high as mine. One shoe I lost almost instantly, and I didn’t look back to see where it fell. My own footsteps and heavy breathing weren’t the only ones on that lonely stretch of road. Choking back a cry of panic, the heel of my shoe caught on a stone. There was no chance to right myself as my ankle turned over, sending me sprawling into the road. ***** Blinking my eyes slowly, I stretched. The mattress under my back was soft, and for a second, I let myself enjoy the feel of it. My euphoria was short-lived, though, as pain thumped through my head, and it all came rushing back. Breaking down at the side of the road, my foolish idea to walk to safety and then that giant monstrous figure in the shadows. Running for my life, as I was chased down by said monstrous figure. So how had I gone from running for my life to being in the comfiest bed I had ever had the pleasure of being in? That part of my evening's adventures was a total blank, which meant I must have hit my head pretty hard when I tripped. Damn shoes. Vowing never to wear heels again, I swung my legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the pain in my head. “You don’t want to put any weight on that foot.” The voice was gruff, a deep rumbling sound and utterly masculine. The kind of voice that would give great phone s*x. Curiously, I raised my eyes, foot hovering above the floorboards and stared straight into the frowning face of the angriest man I had ever seen. My rescuer. “It’s ok,” I started to say it didn’t even hurt and winced as my foot made contact with the floor. Shaking his head, he padded over to the bed. His footsteps were quieter than I expected for such a big man. “I said don’t put weight on it.” His grip on my foot caused me to suck in a breath. “You still have all sorts of rubbish and cuts on your sole, and your ankle is a mess.” Strong fingers probed over the ankle that was now in his lap as he perched on the edge of the bed. “I’ve iced it, but I didn’t want to probe too much with you being passed out.” Brown eyes flicked in my direction, and the anger in them was unmistakable. “What were you doing running around the mountain in the middle of the night, anyway?” He shook his head, and his eyes darkened even more. “It’s not safe.” “You couldn’t clean my cuts, but you could undress me?” I countered. My arms crossing over my chest. I wasn’t exactly naked, but I was sitting on a strange man’s bed in nothing but my boy shorts and a camisole, which were a lot fewer clothes than I had been wearing when I fell. So he was ok stripping me half-naked, but didn’t want to pick the grit out of my foot? Go figure. After the night I had, had it was just my luck that my rescuer was some kind of perverted mountain man. “What were you doing running around the mountain in the dark?” He frowned. I frowned right back at him. So he was just going to ignore my question, was he? Answer it with one of his own? “I wasn’t running around, I broke down and then….” I paused. Had I really seen a bear? An honest to god bear in the valleys of Wales? “I heard something big behind me and must have tripped.” Self consciously I touched my forehead, probing the egg-sized lump there. “Stop touching it.” His bark took me by surprise. “You’re just going to make it worse.” I dropped my hand into my lap, not because he had told me to, but because it did hurt to touch. “So, you rescued me?” I searched his face. His strong jaw seemed to be clenched as he stared right back. Brown eyes, dark with anger. “Did you see what was chasing me?” “Chasing you?” He said the words slowly. “Nothing was chasing you.” “I saw something out there in the dark. Do you have a zoo or something around here? Could something have gotten out?” Of course, I didn’t expect anyone to believe me, but the laughter in his voice hurt. “There’s nothing bigger on the mountain than a sheep.” He didn’t even try to hide his amusement. “Did the city girl get scared of some sheep in the dark?” I bristled. How dare he laugh at me? But I only had a few seconds to dwell on it when he started squeezing at my foot again. Whimpering, I tried to pull it out of his grasp. “Ouch.” “Will you keep still, woman? Your foot needs cleaning up.” I growled right back at him. “I am perfectly capable of cleaning my own foot. Thank you.” He threw his hands up in surrender, but his face was murderous. “Fine, clean your own damn foot. The stuff is on the dresser. I’ll be downstairs cooking dinner if you need anything.” He didn’t bother to say anything else before he slammed out of the room. Leaving me alone in the bedroom of a man I didn’t know somewhere in the hills of Wales.