Eye of the Storm

The rain was falling heavier by the second and the sky was being split open by lightning. I sat in my car in the middle of the road and rested my head against the steering wheel as I fought to get my breath back. My head was spinning from my close call. I lifted my head and looked around me, I was surrounded on all sides by the tree that had fallen right in my path.

Sitting there images started to flicker through my head like a movie across a screen. First I saw the lightning streak through the sky and hit the tree right in front of me. The noise was deafening and the lightning blinded me. Through the spots I was still seeing, I saw the tree breaking in half as it started to fall. As if in slow motion it was falling right in front of me. I slammed on my breaks and fishtailed, then I came to an abrupt halt as the massive tree landed on my hood crushing it under the weight.

I started to shake all over as it finally hit me how close I had come to dying. If that tree had landed any closer to me I would have been crushed. As it was I was lucky the limbs hadn't came crashing through the windshield and ripped me to shreds. I pushed at the door but couldn't get it to budge because of the damage done to the frame of my car.

Something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention and I looked back through my cracked windshield to see headlights stopped up ahead of me on the road. The driver's door was open and a man running through the driving rain toward me. I watched as he fought his way through the tree branches around my door.

I let out a small yelp when he started banging on my window. I looked at him and saw his lips moving. I just simply stared at him before my mind started processing what was happening. I slowly shook my head, trying to clear the cobwebs, then reached down and began to roll my window down.

"My god, are you okay?" he demanded. I gazed up at him and watched as the rain ran down his face. My eyes focused on his lips as he formed his words.

"Sexy mouth." The words slipped from my lips as I sat staring up at him. Of all things I should have been thinking about, it was his lips that held me captive.

He laughed softly as he looked at me. "I think you're in shock. We should get you out of this car and call the police. Can you move?"

I looked down at my seat belt and tried to release it with hands that had gone cold and numb. Seeing the trouble I was having he reached in through the window and released it. He smiled at me as he took the upper part of my arm and helped me move around in my seat so I could slide up through the window. I leaned back into his strong chest as I climbed free of my once beautiful car.

As I planted my feet on the wet ground the world tilted and my sight started to go black around the edges. I pitched forward and would have hit the car if his arms had not wrapped around me and lifted me up. He carried me through the labyrinth of limbs as if I weighed no more than a feather. When we reached his truck he gently began to lower my body to the ground, slowly sliding me against him until my feet touched the ground. He kept his arm around my waist as he opened the door and maneuvered me into the cab.

"Are you ok?" When I didn't answer he leaned closer and grabbed a blanket from behind the seat. He shook it open and wrapped it around my shoulders then picked up my hands and started to rub them with his own trying to get some warmth back into them. He glanced back up at me and gave me a small crooked smile. "I saw the lightning strike the tree and it started to fall before I even realized there was a car coming. I slammed on my brakes and I swear I held my breath until I was sure that tree had not crushed you."

I glanced back at my car then up at him. My eyes filled with tears and my bottom lip began to quiver. I took it between my teeth and looked away as I wiped my cheek and tried to compose myself. I flinched slightly when I felt his warm touch on my cheek as he wiped away a tear I had missed. I hated to ever let anyone see me cry it had always made me feel weak. I looked back at him as I fought my emotions. I wasn't even sure why I was crying, I should have been dancing and celebrating the fact that I was alive and unhurt.

I gave him a shaky smile. " I'm ok thanks." I looked away as my voice quivered. "I'm not even sure why I am crying."

"Considering everything you have been through tonight it is totally reasonable for your emotions to be out of whack. Plus I was beginning to get a little worried about you." He said giving me another small smile.

I looked up into his eyes and tilted my head to the side. "Why?" I asked. He was about to answer when lightning shot through the sky again and the thunder boomed. I jumped and let out a little scream. Before I knew what I was doing I jumped into his arms and buried my face in his neck and started to shake all over. He wrapped me tight in his arms and moved closer to the truck. When he started to remove my arms from around his neck I clung tighter to him, trying to push myself inside of him. I felt his hands moving on my back in small circles and his warm breath in my ear as he made soothing noises. I could feel the beginning of an untimely arousal beginning it flow through my veins. I gently rubbed my breast against him and tingles shot from my nipples through the rest of my body making me light headed.

He slowly set me away from him, then lifted me back onto the seat. He followed me into the truck and lifted me onto his lap and gently pressed my head back on his shoulder. I sat there listening to his heartbeat while watching the rain coat the window. I lifted my head and turned it just enough to look at him through my lashes. I noticed for the first time that he looked vaguely familiar to me. I couldn't place where I had seen him but I knew I had so I focused on his eyes and tried to remember. I was new to town and may have seen him around but I wasn't sure.

Gazing up at him I noticed he had dark eyes but in the light of the cab I couldn't decide if they were brown or dark blue. His nose was straight and fitted his rugged features perfectly. He had a strong square jaw with a dimple in the center. I looked at the dimple and decided I really liked it, I liked it so much I wanted to lean up and kiss it. I pushed the thought away and continued on perusal of his face. He had high check bones and a small scare near his hairline of his sandy brown hair. All together he had a very strong face, not one I would call hansom but one that would always attract female attention.

I lifted my hand and touched the scare wondering how he had gotten it. His skin was hot to my touch and I could have sworn I felt an electric jolt when I had first touched him. I looked back into his eyes and for the first time notice the expression on his face. He looked like he was in shock. His eyes were caressing my face and I wondered if he had felt the jolt too. I also wondered how bad I looked after my dowsing in the rain.

He shook his head as if to clear it, then lifted me from his lap and gently placed me beside him before moving over under the steering wheel. He placed both hands on it while looked back at my car. "We need to go call the police and tell them about the tree blocking the road before someone comes flying down through here and hit's it and your car." He glanced at me then started the truck. "I only live a few minutes from here, we can call from there."

I felt a little apprehensive about going anywhere with him but I knew the only other choice I had was to wait with my car. I was about to suggest just that when lightning lit the sky again and the thunder shook the truck. That changed my mind really quickly, I turned my head and shook it a little to agree then wrapped my arms around myself. He put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him, neatly tucking me to his side. He slowly pulled onto the road, pulled a U-turn and headed in the opposite direction.

We both rode in silence each lost in their own thoughts. I sat up a little straighter when he turned into a driveway. It was a long dark gravel road that looked like it led to no where. I shoot him a look and he answered my unasked question. "My house is just up around the next curve." I sat back and waited but just like he had said his house came into view. It was a large A-frame log cabin. It had a wrap around porch and the entire front was windows. All around it were trees and in the front was a small stream with a footbridge across. It was so beautiful that even in the middle of a storm I couldn't look away.

He pulled up beside the house and cut the engine. The silence wrapped around us as we listened to the rain hammer down on the roof of the cab. He reached for his door before looking back at me. "We're going to have to make a run for it. Are you up for that?"

I shook my head yes and scooted closer to him on the bench-seat. He pushed open the door and jumped out then turn to help me down. He grabbed my hand as we started to run to his front porch. We hit the steps and were under the over-hang of the porch in a matter of seconds. We both shook off some of the water and then started to laugh. It was exhilarating to run through a storm that way, I loved the feeling of the adrenaline rushing through my veins. I knew he felt the same way by his expression on his handsome face.

He moved to the door and opened it for me before stepping inside. He left the door open as he walked down a long hallway and turned on a light. I heard his voice and moved toward it. I entered the room to hear him telling someone about my car and the tree. I could tell something was wrong when all expression left his face and he went still. He looked up at me then answered the person on the phone. " Yeah, we will keep a watch out for it." He got quiet again as he listened. Then he reached over and turned the radio on. "Yeah, I've got it on now. Thanks… We'll keep an eye out and take cover if it gets close to us. Yeah… thanks, bye."

He hung up the phone and walked over to the refrigerator, open the door and took out a beer before turning and holding one up for me. I shook my head no while I watched him closely. He raised his eyes from the floor and looked straight at me. "We have a small problem, it looks like there is a chance a tornado might be hitting this area. The cop I talked to told me one had been reported not to far from us. He told us to keep an eye out and listen to the radio to keep posted but to stay put."

I turn around and walked to the window over the sink. The storm had picked up, the wind was almost bending the trees over and the rain was falling heavier by the second. Without taking my eyes off the scene in front of me I voiced my one major concern. " Is there anywhere here we can go if one does hit us?"

"Yeah, I have a basement that is stocked for just this kind of thing." He walked up beside me and watched for a few seconds before moving a step back.

"I hate this kind of weather. I always have, even back when I was a kid." I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered. He was watching me closely and moved toward the door speaking to me over his shoulder.

"Let me get you something dry to wear before you get sick." I turn to see him disappearing through the door. A few minutes later he was back holding a small pile of cloths in his hand. "This is all I could find that wouldn't fall off of you. Sorry."

I took them from him and looked down to see what he had found. It was a black pair of silk boxer shorts and white cotton T-shirt. I looked back up at him and smiled. "Thanks, this'll work just fine. Is there somewhere I can change?"

"Yeah, follow me." With that he turn and lead the way back down the hall to the first door I had passed on my way to the kitchen. He reached in, turn the light on then backed out of my way. Stepping past him my shoulder brushed against his chest. We both froze, it felt like I had touched a live wire. The sensation shot through my arm, into my body and ended in the pit of my stomach. I sucked in a deep breath and peeped up at him to see if he had noticed. He was watching my face and standing very still. I gave him a small smile and reached to close the door. He stepped out of the way then turned and headed toward the kitchen again. I stood there watching him for a second while I admired his backside. It was as fine as the front in my opinion, but I had always been an eyes and butt watcher.

I closed the door and leaned up against it before moving farther into the room. It was a quaint old-fashioned room with a claw foot bathtub. I walked to the sink and turned on the water before glancing up at the mirror. What I saw there made me freeze in horror. My long dark drown hair hung limp and in strands around my face but worse than that, my mascara had run and I looked like a raccoon with green eyes. I shook my head and laughed at the last thought until it occurred to me there was no way in the word he could have been attracted to me. "Just my luck to meet a nice attractive guy while I look like shit." I thought to myself.

With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach I leaned forward and washed my face. I grabbed a towel off the hook when I was done and looked back into the mirror. "Much, much better." I told my reflection. I looked more like myself now. Leaning closer to the mirror I categorize the rest of my features with a small smile. My lips were a berry red although I washed away any lipstick I had put on earlier. My cheekbones were high and prominent and my nose small. All together I looked like a drowned rat with cute face.

I laughed at myself and started to take my wet clothes off. I pulled my shirt over my head and draped it over the shower curtain rod. I lifted my hands to my breast and felt the cups of my bra and took it off too because it was also soaked. I turned back at the mirror then and saw the picture I made standing there in nothing but my jeans. My high firm breast with their nipples hard from the cold and rain stood at attention begging to be caressed. I raised my hands and cupped the in my hands, fondling the slightly while I watched my hands in the mirror. I felt weird standing in a strange mans house half nude while I played with my tits so I picked up his shirt and pulled it on before I pushed my pants down and off. I started to pull on the boxer before I noticed how wet my little white panties were. They were completely soaked and had become transparent. I stood in indication before deciding to go ahead and take them off too. It was not as if he would ever know that I was completely nude under his clothes. Although thinking he might guess made me a little wet for a different reason.

After I was finished getting dressed I grabbed his hairbrush and went to work on my hair. I pulled it back in to a pony-tail and tied it back with a band I had found in my jeans. I stepped away from the sink and looked around the floor to make sure I had not dropped anything before I glanced back up at the mirror. The girl looking back at me could have been the girl next door, even though I didn't feel like one. I looked about sixteen instead of twenty-six with my face scrubbed clean and my hair pulled back like it was. I dismissed the thought and turned to leave the room. With my hand on the knob I stopped as something occurred to me. I didn't even know my knights in shining armor's name. I was going to have to change that.

I entered the kitchen in time to hear the end on the news broadcast on the radio. They were telling everyone in our area to take cover because another tornado had been spotted making it's way right for our small town. I wrapped my arms around myself and moved up to where he stood in front of the window. I glance at him out of the corner of my eye. "You know you pulled me from my car and brought me to your house and even gave me your clothes to wear but I still don't know your name." He looked at me and started laughing. I loved his smile and his laugh was deep and mellow and made me feel slightly over heated.

"My name is John Erikkson. And you are Rein Sutherland." I gave him a startled look and he answered my silent question. "This is a small town after all. Everybody knew your name within a week of you moving here. Plus with a first name like yours it made people talk all the more." He said with a shrug.

I tilted my head a little while thought about that before I started to laugh. "Yeah I guess I can see that. I have often wondered what mom was thinking when she named me that. But I think I got off lucky, my sister is named Storm and my brother is named Thor." I realized I was babbling and looked back at him and noticed he was watching my lips. My mouth went dry and I nervously licked my lips, leaving them moist. He followed the motion with his eyes and I could see a fire start to burn there. Then he cleared his throat and looked away but the moment was lost.

"I went ahead and took some things down to the basement while you were changing. I think we should be heading down before this storm gets too bad." He moved over to a door off of the kitchen and opened it. I followed him over and looked down the stairs. About that time the lights flickered then went off. I jumped and moved closer to where he was standing, pressing up against him. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer. "Shh. It's going to be ok. Just hold on to me, I left a lamp burning downstairs just in case this happened. There is enough light coming up to help us get down there without falling. I promise." He started moving down the steps then with me held close to his side.

When we hit the bottom step the weak light spread around us. He held on to me long enough to lead me over to an overstuffed couch that was pushed up against the wall under the stairs. I sat down and looked around taking stock of the small room. The couch I sat on was the only furniture in the room. The walls were covered with shelves that looked like the held enough food to last a couple of years. Although the light barely reached every corner of the room I was very thankful we had it.

The small basement was chilly and I began to shiver again. Goose flesh cover my entire body and I started to rub my arms trying to warm up a little bit. John glanced at me about that time and moved to me, picking up a blanket as he passed a small box. He stopped in front of me and unfolded it before spreading it across my legs. He gave me a small smile before going back to the radio and trying to pick up the station we had been listening to before the lights went out.

Even down here I could hear the wind howling and the thunder rattling the windows as the storm upgraded itself into a tornado. I pulled the blanket closer as I shut my eyes and hoped the storm would pass by soon. The sound of music filled the room and I open my eyes to see John moving closer to me. He sat beside of me and placed his arm across the back of the couch. "You really hate storms don't you, and it isn't because of your accident is it?" he asked.

As he had come closer to me a lock of hair had fallen over his forehead and my fingers itched to brush it back for him. Instead I turned my head and stared straight ahead. " I grew up fearing storms. When I was a child I used to hide under my bed and cover up my head when storms hit. I sometimes think if I had been named something else I wouldn't be so afraid. Sounds crazy though doesn't it?"

I turned my head and for the first time noticed how close we were to each other. I watched his lips move as he answered me and wanted to lean in and feel them against mine. "It's not weird really. I guess I can understand it." When he finished speaking I looked back up into his eyes and noticed what a pretty shade of blue they were. I remember wondering what color they were back in his truck and now I knew. They were a royal blue, deep dark, gorgeous blue.