Page 49 of Seducing Sasquatch

Pulling it over my hair and covering my ears I race back to the front door, to find Arden has opened the roller door of the shed. Peeling out of the darkness he parks at the foot of the steps, a blue sled tied to the back of the machine, bobs and dips over the tracks in the snow.

“We don’t have long until the sun sets, but the snow’s still soft.” He holds a hand for me to take.

The moment my hand links with his, Arden is hauling me against his chest, situating me right between his spread thighs. The tremor of the engine jolts through my body as I shake with excitement.

“Ready?” Arden leans down, whispering against the shell of my ear, which only excites me more.

I nod enthusiastically, making him laugh.

“Hold tight.” He moves my hands to his thighs where my fingers grip his soft fur.

Giving the snowmobile a few revs, we set off towards the break in the trees. I turn to look back at the cabin with its chimney pluming smoke into the blue sky above. For a split second my imagination wonders what this place would look like in summer.

With green grass, and berry bushes growing from beyond the porch. With Arden sitting on the deck with a book in his hands while I tend to a vegetable patch, my hands covered in dirt but a smile on my face.

I turn my gaze back to the road ahead, the white snow glistening in the afternoon sunshine. Pine trees rise around us, their deep green needles dusted with snow and icicles hanging from branches.

“Over there is Peak Boulder.” Arden points to our left. I follow his gaze between the moving forest as we pass by the large, gray rock that juts out from the ground like a torpedo.

“Opposite it is the hot spring,” he continues. Sure enough, vaporous plumes of steam rise into the forest canopy. “When you learn to find the landmarks in the forest, you’ll be able to go anywhere and never get lost.”

I nod my head, chewing my lower lip. Arden has clearly grown up in this forest. He knows how to find the direction of the sun despite the dense canopy. He knows how to scent the earth for water and how to avoid holes beneath the snow. His words drift around me as we drive through the forest, the snowmobile humming below us.

He points to berry bushes that are safe to eat from and others to avoid. He even halts at a few moose tracks in the snow, explaining how they widen their hooves when it’s slippery so they don’t fall.

All this new knowledge I lap up. I can feel my brain soaking up every word like a sponge. My eyes dart around the forest as I ask what types of trees they are, what happens if I eat the poison berries and how to find the birds hiding in their nests.

Each question I ask, Arden has a response for. His voice licks with a smile as he nuzzles the top of my head.

“I’m glad you find all this interesting.” He speaks against my skull, his warm breath fanning down the back of my neck, making me shiver.

I hum, “I like learning about your world.”

The snowmobile jolts as Arden takes a sharp turn around a tree stump poking above the snow. The forest thins as we begin to climb, leaving the darkness of the woods as we reach a brighter patch of a clearing. The sun beams off the world of white, and I squint against the harshness. But as my eyes adjust, the sight takes my breath away.

The slope, covered in a thick blanket of snow, awaits. With a flat platform at the highest point and another at the lowest, it’s the perfect place to go sledding.

“My world can be yours too, baby.” Arden speaks from behind me, pressing his chest against my back as he turns the snowmobile and slowly ascends to the highest point.

I smile to myself. He really does want me here. With him. Maybe this isn’t just some hopeless escape before my life inevitably comes crashing into oblivion. For only a moment, my mind flicks to my father and his impending phone call. He’ll be furious. He’ll scream at me. He’ll tell me I’m throwing my life away. He’ll remind me just how much money he’s spent on me. He’ll make me feel like a kid again. A kid who’s just lost their mom.

But the wall of warmth at my back, and the thick furry arms caging me in, has my shoulders relaxing. Maybe I can put my foot down… I’ve never gone against my father. The most I’ve done to ever retaliate was run away.

My father’s words echo through my mind. Disappointment. Stupid. Lazy. No good son of mine.

I swallow the ball of dread that forms in my throat. If he ever found out I was gay as well? I’m already a failed law student, if he finds out about my sexuality… I know what he thinks about men like me. I’ve heard the comments growing up. The disgust in his voice whenever someone on the television dared to live differently. If he ever looked at me that way… I’m not sure I’d survive it.

“Come back to me.” Arden’s large hands run up and down my chest, his fingers sliding over my jacket as he draws my attention back to the present.

“Sorry,” I mutter, chewing my bottom lip.

“Stressed about your father?” Arden sighs, his hands petting my body as if touching me not only keeps me calm but himself too.

I nod, fighting the tightness in my chest. “I’m just so scared of him. He wasn’t always horrible. When Mom died, he changed.”

Arden hums, squeezing my shoulders as he massages the knots from my muscles. “Death affects everyone differently. But putting your grief on your own child isn’t right.”

He kisses the shell of my ear that’s managed to slip from my beanie. His canines scraping along my skin sending a shiver down my spine. “I will mate with you tonight, Blake. There’s a few things I must do before then but let’s play first.”