Taken On The Holidays

  Taken on the Holidays

  Toni Mozzie

  This book contains descriptions of explicit sex. For mature audiences only: 18+

  All characters in this book are 18+

  Taken on the Holidays

  Copyright: 2017 Toni Mozzie

  All rights reserved.

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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  More details about the author at the end of this book.

  Chapter One

  Maggie woke up early hoping to get a head start on the snowstorm that was rolling in. So when she peeked out her motel window and was greeted with a whiteout, she groaned.

  After clambering into her clothes, layer after layer, she slipped into her winter boots and trudged down the walkway in snow already up to her shins.

  Once inside the front office, she brushed off the snow and stomped her feet.

  “Didn’t make it out in time, I see,” the old man behind the desk said. “I sure hope for your family’s sake you aren’t stranded here for Christmas.”

  His wife was sitting next to him in her wheelchair, engrossed in a game on a phone. She was wearing a robe and had a blanket wrapped around her legs.

  “Me, too,” Maggie said.

  The old man sighed. “But if you didn’t get out by now, I don’t see how you can make it to Bender’s Peak.”

  Maggie was heading to a holiday cabin her family owned. It was a family tradition to spend every Christmas there, secluded, away from the world, to craft the ideal Christmas fantasy.

  Her childhood memories of the cabin were her best. Her parents—her father in particular—loved Christmas and always made a big deal about it. Her parents insisted she learn a musical instrument so the family could play Christmas songs during the holidays. Not particularly musical, Maggie struggled on the xylophone. But it was fun, and no one cared how bad she was or how good the others were. The only problem was that they practiced these Christmas songs all year round.

  The cabin was in a permanent state of Christmas. It was weird during summer holidays.

  Then her father passed away and spending Christmases there felt like a burden.

  Except Maggie hadn’t made the trip in the last two years, and now that her mother was ill, she needed to be there. But that wasn’t the only reason: something was calling to her.

  Maggie had spoken with her older sister a few weeks ago. She didn’t want to commit, but told her sister that this year she would make an orchestrated effort; in fact, it was her plan to visit this year. However, she’d said this before, so she knew her family wouldn’t be holding their breath, so she could still surprise them.

  Her sister said there were lots of eligible bachelors in the area and that one guy was just perfect for Maggie.

  She ground her teeth and said that wasn’t necessary.

  Her sister laughed saying she would invite him over some night anyway and if Maggie didn’t scoop him up, she’d try—again.

  Today was the 23rd. There wasn’t much more civilization between this motel and the family cabin, nestled in a grove of other cabins with a corner store to make up a sleepy village that if the cabins were spaced closer together, would look like the classic Christmas village decorations with Christmas lights in them, sitting on a cotton carpet of snow.

  However, between this small pit stop and Bender’s Peak was nothing but remote wooded roads.

  By car, in good weather, she could do it in four hours. But on bad roads, triple that, with all the twists and turns and ups and downs; she’d be lucky she didn’t slide off the road. She didn’t like driving and didn’t own a car. Hers was a rental.

  In this weather, she knew she couldn’t drive, at least not until the plows got in, and she knew that wasn’t going to be until after the storm had passed.

  She regretted stopping at the motel for the night, but if she had kept going through the night she would have arrived in the middle of the night and since this was a surprise visit, she wanted to arrive early evening.

  “When will the snowplow be around?” she asked, despite knowing the answer.

  The old man’s wife scoffed, without looking up from the phone.

  “They won’t come until after the worst of it, which I expect won’t be until after the 25th, at least,” the old man said.

  Maggie groaned. “I can’t believe this.”

  “Really? First time in these parts?”

  Maggie blushed.

  “You going up to Bender’s Peak? Renting a cabin? It’s a pretty popular place for couples wanting to get away from prying eyes, especially during the holidays.”

  “Yeah. I was going to surprise my family and just show up, but now I’ll have to call them from this place. How pathetic is that?”

  The old woman scoffed.

  “I mean that I come so close but yet still manage to fail somehow. I didn’t mean anything bad about your motel. If I have to stay here, I guess this is as good a place as any; definitely more exciting than spending it alone at home eating a pizza and watching Christmas movies and crying myself to sleep.”

  The old woman scoffed again.

  “Too much information?” Maggie asked, but the old woman didn’t respond. It was then Maggie realized that those scoffs weren’t directed toward her but toward the game on the phone.

  “Well, you are welcome to share bread with us on the 25th if you’re stuck here. We offer half price rates during storms such as this. The government reimburses us because we are helping people in a time of need. I mean, what if you didn’t have any more money? I couldn’t just throw you out, could I?

  The old woman scoffed.

  Now annoyance was beginning to set in. Maggie needed an outlet, someone to blame. But she knew she had only herself to blame, which stung. She should have come earlier. She knew a storm was coming. She just didn’t want to show up too early and be forced to spend more time than necessary which would increase the likelihood of awkwardness. She hoped to be in and out before there was any chance for it to go south, as get-togethers usually did after her father’s death, and now with only her, her mother and two sisters, each with a different boyfriend every year, the tradition and grown pointless to Maggie.

  She debated whether even to call from the motel. Her family didn’t have to know she’d tried to make it this year but failed. After the storm she could just drive back to the city and catch a flight home.

  “There’s no other way? Maybe I could skidoo along the roads,” she asked, partly to appease her conscience, so she could tell herself later that she had done all she could.

  Maggie had ridden a skidoo many times when she was younger. The problem was whether she could get the proper clothing, and still be able to transport her gifts and suitcase. It wasn’t much, a suitcase worth of gifts, plus her own bag.

  “No skidoo here. There are skidoos a couple miles down the road, but I doubt they’ll let a stranger walk in and take one into a snowstorm.”

  “What about Adam?” the old woman said without looking up from her phone.

  “He doesn’t have a skidoo, Bella,” the old man said. “And stop hitting the wall with your chair; it’s just cheap p
aneling.”

  “I know, but he has them dogs that pull him around on his sled. He pretended to be Santa Claus at the school party on Wednesday. It was pretty funny, and he took all the kids for rides, so I bet he could take her to her family for Christmas,” Bella said, finally looking up and smiling at Maggie upon saying that last word.

  “Who’s Adam?” Maggie asked.

  The old man shrugged. “He lives in the woods not too far off. He does odd jobs for me, repairing and maintaining.”

  “You’ll like him,” Bella said. “All the women like him because he has big muscles.” She rolled her eyes.

  “He has a sleigh of dogs?” Maggie asked.

  “Yeah, but I doubt he’ll take you. He’s weird.”

  “He’s not weird, Grandpa. He just likes to be alone.”

  “Stop calling me grandpa, goddamnit.”

  Bella smiled and said, “The fruit of our loins is finally pregnant, and Grandpa here is having a hard time coping with his age.”

  The old man sighed. “Anyway, Adam gets angry when you knock on his door. He lives about a mile from here. There’s a road that cuts through the woods just next to the motel. You can’t miss it.”

  “He won’t talk to you though,” Bella said. “I know how to talk to him. I have a secret signal so he knows it’s me. You can ski to his place. Do you know how to ski? Not everyone knows how. He always has ice cream. It’s his thing, but I probably shouldn’t have said anything. He said he doesn’t like it when people talk about him. I don’t like it either.”

  “We don’t have ski boots that would fit her,” the old man said.

  “Do you have snowshoes?” Maggie asked.

  “Are you serious?” the old man asked.

  “It isn’t snowing that bad, Grandpa. She can take a walkie-talkie.”

  “It’s not so far. A half hour’s walk, right?” Maggie asked.

  “Well, you go ahead and do as you please, but I tell you, he isn’t going to want to take you anywhere in this storm; we haven’t even seen the worst of it yet.”

  “No harm in asking.”

  “No, but there is harm in trying. With dogs, you will need to spend an spend the night out in the storm, even if you had left at first light, and it’s no longer first light. You wouldn’t be off until noon, meaning you would have to break for the night once it gets dark before 4 PM. You would have four hours of travel time tops. With the dogs, you would need at least twelve hours, no probably more. Hell, I don’t even know.”

  “You said a bad word, Grandpa,” Bella said, giggling.

  “Don’t tell Father.”

  “Well, if there’s nothing else to do,” Maggie said, trying hard not to smile at this couple’s idiosyncrasies, “I think I’ll take a chance and walk over. Can you call him and let him know I’m coming?”

  “He’ll say no,” the old man said.

  “I’ll already be gone though.”

  The old man exhaled and took his phone from his wife.

  “Hey! I was playing!”

  He told her to hush and dialed Adam’s number.

  “Hey,” the old man said, “Look there’s a lady here who wants to walk over to your place and ask you an asinine favor.”

  “Sir, you don’t have to put it like that,” Maggie said.

  “Hm? Oh, nice,” the old man said, ignoring Maggie, and trying to listen into the phone.

  “Really?” the old man looked surprised. “Okay then. I guess.”

  He hung up and his wife snatched the phone back.

  “Well, what did he say?” Maggie asked.

  “You’re in luck. He’s on his way over.”

  Chapter Two

  Adam crashed through the front door, wrapped up in winter clothing, scarves and goggles. As he removed his outer winter clothing, Maggie was reminded of a striptease. He wasn’t dancing or putting on a show, but his movements flexed his muscles and filled her with lustful anticipation. Her palms were even getting sweaty.

  She wondered if she could pass this guy off as a boyfriend to her family—assuming he was willing to take her.

  He removed the goggles to reveal glistening blue eyes that looked interested in everything they witnessed. He removed his knitted winter cap to reveal shaggy curly brown hair. He had a square chin, covered in rough stubble and a solid neck. He was well-built and Maggie realized why other women would be attracted to him. She could sense his strength even through his winter clothing.

  His smile was carefree and inviting. But it was his skin that she was transfixed on; it was smooth and unsullied after brisk exposure to fresh wooded air.

  “Hey, Bella,” Adam said to the old woman, who beamed at him. “Can you go make some hot chocolate for us?”

  Bella liked this idea and wheeled herself out the lobby.

  “So what is this asinine favor?” Adam asked looking at the old man, but his eyes stayed for the most part on Maggie, which sent a thrill through her soft and sexy frame. His eyes roaming over her body, ever so briefly almost felt like a caress.

  “You are Adam?” she mumbled.

  He shrugged, assuming the question was rhetorical.

  “I’m Maggie.” She explained her situation, ending with, “So you see, my mother isn’t well.”

  “That’s sad. But she isn’t dying, is she?” Adam asked.

  “That’s not the point.”

  “Well, I thought this was some kind of life or death emergency.”

  “It is if you go out in that storm,” the old man said.

  “I haven’t seen her or my sisters in almost a year and we used to have this tradition of going to the cabin during the holidays, and then my father died, and it all fell apart.

  Adam nodded, distracted, clearly not interested.

  “Are you or your sisters twins?”

  “What? No. What the hell does that have to do with anything?”

  “Well, you know, Christmas and all. Oh, well. Are you single?”

  “So living way out here has made you a horny bastard, huh?” Maggie snapped.

  “Now, Miss,” the old man said, “don’t blame the land.”

  “Well, yeah, what if it does,” Adam muttered. “You got something against being horny?”

  “No, of course not,” she blurted out a little too urgently, “but—”

  “Porn can only go so far. I need the smell of a woman. It’s a long winter here and the nights feel even longer. In the summer, it’s all right because there’s a steady stream of ladies coming through and lucky for me, they’re all set to mess around. So are they hot?”

  Maggie exhaled annoyance. “Look how much money would it take to get you to take me to Bender’s Peak?”

  “Money is worthless to me if we are caught out there and freeze to death.”

  “Seriously? You don’t have your price?”

  “If we were caught out there and were freezing to death? Yeah, a good romp in the snow.”

  Maggie managed to keep from smiling. She wasn’t against the idea. She felt the desire to kiss this man, taste him, and feel herself smothered with his embrace, to feel his power and lust greedily consuming her.

  She wanted to suck his cock. But the way he’d suggested it sounded like he was discussing what was going to go onto a pizza they would inevitably buy.

  “Are you serious?” She swallowed. She was surprised he mentioned it so nonchalant a manner, but she was more even surprised he was interested in her, until she realized he wasn’t actually interested in her, but in sex.

  She wasn’t judging, but that wasn’t what she needed at this moment. But it did make her wonder how things would go at the cabin if she and Adam did have sex before they arrived. At least then she could say he was her boyfriend, unless he started hitting on her sisters.

  “All I’m saying is that if we are going to die, we should go out with a bang. Pun intended. And if we were to survive such a perilous journey, we will only survive if we are huddled together, so you better get used to the idea of us being in close proxim
ity to one another. We will actually need each other’s bodies to survive. So are you sister’s single?”

  Maggie wasn’t sure if he was teasing or not. “One is. The other isn’t happy, though.”

  Adam smiled. “You want to be there by tomorrow afternoon?”

  “Yes.” Maggie held her breath.

  “Well, I will need money for expenses, like food for the dogs.”

  “How much?”

  “Three hundred dollars should cover it.”

  The old man whistled. It was a lot of money, but what choice did Maggie have?

  “You have tents and stuff?”

  He grinned. “Yeah, I have tents…and stuff.”

  Maggie blushed. She sensed Adam did not think highly of her survival skills or her ability to function properly in cold weather, but if only he knew her parents. She was tempted to say something but stopped herself. What did she care what he thought about her? “Okay,” she muttered.

  “Okay. Be ready to leave in an hour. I’ll go back and get the sleigh loaded up for the trip.”

  “You aren’t seriously going out in that storm, Adam?” the old man said. “It’s going to get worse.”

  “Sure. Why not? Look at her. I admit, it isn’t the finest first date, but out here, I’ll take what I can get.”

  “Date?” Maggie muttered.

  “Well, you said it.”

  “Yeah, only if we are freezing to death.”

  The old man clicked his teeth. “Well, then you better grab a bunch of condoms from the vending machine, because you’ll be doing lots of freezing.”

  Adam laughed. “Don’t worry; I said I’d take care of the supplies. For three hundred dollars, consider everything included, love.”

  Chapter Three

  Maggie wasn’t sure she was safe with Adam. He was hot and under different circumstances, like at a club after a few cocktails, Maggie would be all over him, but out in the wild? She’d been tempted and didn’t refuse him, as the look of him made her wet.

  She wondered what she was getting herself into.