When two damaged souls collide can they find salvation.
By BurntRedstone. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.
Chapter 1
The early winter storm raged and thrashed across the mountain range. It seemed especially angry with the narrow mountainside road Dan was cautiously driving his jeep on. The fierce winds fought to push the jeep across the icy road into the deep ravine below. If it wasn't for the heavy tire chains he'd installed at the base of the mountain he'd already be tumbling down that cliff.
He hadn't intended on being away from his cabin at all before the winter storms arrived. He'd discovered that some of his med kit supplies had expired and needed replacing before he was snowed in for the season. It was definitely a bad idea to skimp on medical supplies when you had no access to a hospital, or doctors, for up to four months. And since he was in town anyway he'd decided to stock up on extra food as, you know, no grocery stores in his neighborhood. With the sudden arrival of what was turning out to be a monster storm he was in danger of not making it back to his neighborhood at all.
He knew the road behind him was empty of cars as he'd been the last one through before the highway patrol closed the gates to the mountain road. By now the road behind would be completely impassable so there was no going back. Not that he intended to. Not when he was almost at his turn off. From the curving mountain road he'd be turning uphill, driving up a rough fire road for two miles then into an even more rugged trail for another mile through the forest to his house. If the storm picked up any more even his customized jeep with its extra clearance wouldn't make it beyond the highway and he'd have to snowshoe in the remaining distance. That was not something he was looking forward to.
Dan's jeep ground its way along the snowy road getting closer and closer to the fire road. A short time later he rounded the last bend and spotted the road marker indicating his turn was just ahead. On his right side was a thin strip of trees and beyond that nothing but sky. It was a scary section of road with minimal guard rails. It paid to take extra care here.
He almost missed spotting the body in the tree as he drove past. Dan's subconscious mind latched onto the image and his foot was pressing carefully on the brake before his conscious mind knew why. Once he stopped he looked back over his shoulder to confirm what he'd seen. It wasn't just an odd shadow or a clump of branches. He could clearly see a body leaning into the branches of one of the trees dangling over the edge of the cliff. He put the jeep in park with the engine still running, set the hazards on, and cranked the heat up to full. He pulled his hood up and gloves on before he stepped out of the warm cabin of his jeep into the wailing storm.
He made his way to the back of the jeep and looked again at where the body was in the tree. He'd have to climb up to get it and that was going to be risky. He pulled his climbing rope out of the back hatch of the jeep and stepped into the harness. Once secured, he tied the end of the rope to the trailer hitch and quickly made his way over to the side of the road. He could see the short section of guard rail had been slammed into, bent over, and broken off. It rested precariously on the edge. There was very little evidence of skid marks as the snow was blowing very hard by this point. He cautiously stepped forward and looked over the edge. Not too far below, maybe 50 feet, he saw the remains of one of those trike motorcycles. What kind of moron would be driving a motorcycle this late in the season? Just to the left of the wrecked bike and sprawled across a broken spruce tree stretching out over the abyss was the moron. Dan could see his legs were bent at an unnatural angle. Hell, his torso was bent wrong as well. Most likely his back was broken. The blizzard was making it very difficult to see the man clearly but he thought he could make out some kind of emblem on the ripped leather jacket. It could be a Blood Brothers jacket but he wasn't sure. Christ, he hoped not. If he was from that gang he was a LONG way from home.
Dan called out to see if the man was still alive but either the storm was whipping the sound of his voice away or the man was dead. He looked up at the body in the tree and realized the helmet had moved to look in his direction so this one was definitely still alive. From here he couldn't tell if it was a slim man or a woman. The baggy leathers made it impossible to tell accurately. He took a few more steps towards the tree and saw its roots were deeply entangled with the rough cliff side. He judged it to be sturdy enough to support his weight if he climbed up. Just as he prepared to step off onto the tree he heard the unmistakable sound of a gunshot followed by a feminine cry. He looked up and saw the right sleeve of the leather jacket was torn and there was blood dripping from it. Dan looked down and saw the man below was holding a gun and was struggling to hold it steady. When he saw it swing towards him he flung himself back from the edge. A second shot rang out digging through the ground where he'd just stood.
"What the fuck are you doing?!?" Dan yelled over the edge. "I'm here to rescue you!"
"The bitch is mine! She dies with ME!" he heard the man reply. Another shot was fired but this one hit a branch to the woman's left. The man was deranged! Dan wouldn't be able to get to her before the maniac below hit something vital. And if Dan tried to climb out there he would likely be the target of the next bullet. He'd taken enough bullets in his life. He had to stop him. Quick!
He frantically looked around for a weapon, something he could use to stop the idiot with the gun. Another shot rang out and the woman's helmet snapped to the side as the bullet grazed it. The only thing Dan saw was the broken section of guard rail. He reached down and with a huge effort lifted it above his head. It was damn heavy as chunks of two posts were still attached. Dan shuffled to the cliff's edge just above where the man was. He heaved the metal beam and lumber over the edge and watched as it fell.
The man squealed in terror as the plummeting chunk of steel and lumber rushed down to crash into his broken body. It tore him and most of the spruce tree from the cliff face and they all fell hundreds of feet onto the rocks below. The crushed trike, which had been braced by the tree, slowly slid off the small ledge and tumbled after its owner.
Dan quickly stepped out onto the tree and climbed up to the woman. He called out but she was limp and leaning into the tree. He saw that one of the branches had pierced her shoulder, pinning her in place. It probably saved her from falling to her death. The branch hadn't gone all the way through. He strapped her to his harness then he gently pulled her loose from the branch. Luck was on her side again. There was very little blood so nothing major had been hit by the branch.
She was unexpectedly light. Dan got a good grip then descended the tree with her and pulled her backwards onto the road. Once safely away from the cliff he untied her and removed his harness. He scooped her up and carried her to the passenger side of the jeep. Once the door was open he slid her limp body onto the seat and pushed the seat back into its reclined position. Closing the door he raced around the back of the jeep, dropped the rope and harness through the hatch and got back into the driver's side. His face stung from the interior heat but after a few seconds it started to feel really good.
Dan reached into the back seat and grabbed one of the new packages of bandage wrap. He used his belt knife to open the package and cut a section off. He did a quick field dressing on both her arm and the puncture wound on her shoulder. He reached under her helmet and pressed his fingers to her neck. Her pulse was a little weak but it seemed steady. Her skin was so cold! Looking at the bandages he realized it was all he could do for now. He really had to get her back to his house if he was going to save her from freezing to death.
Slipping back into gear Dan rolled the jeep forward out of the snow pile that had accumulated around the vehicle. Soon he was moving steadily forward and he could see the fire road just ahead. The trees sheltered it better than the open highway but there was still a fair amount of snow to drive through. Dan turned into the road and maintained a steady pace as the road climbed ever upwards. The jeep was really struggling in the drifts as he rolled over the final crest before the forest trail. He quickly glanced at his passenger then swung the jeep into the trail and surged forward. The going was especially tough here but the chains continued to grip and dig into the hard ground beneath the snow. Occasionally he had to fight the wheel as the jeep slipped sideways, threatening to pin itself between the trees. Somehow he kept the momentum going until the jeep suddenly left the forest and he faced his garage door fifty feet ahead. Dan pushed the button on the remote strapped to his visor and saw the garage door begin to climb. He rolled the jeep forward slowly until it settled on the pad inside the garage. He pressed the remote button again and the door closed behind the jeep.
He rushed over to the inside door and propped it open. He went back to the passenger side, opened the door and carefully lifted the woman's body out of the jeep, keeping her helmeted head against his shoulder. He couldn't get over how light she was. She had to be at least as tall as him but she felt like nothing in his arms. As quickly and carefully as he could he carried her into the house and into the first guest bedroom. He set her on the bed and began to remove her damp clothing. The boots were first then her damp socks. The skin on her toes was the lightest shade of pink so it didn't look like she had frostbite there. The leather chaps came off fairly easily but her jeans were very damp. He unbuttoned them and slipped the zipper down. They weren't very tight but that was mostly due to how much weight she seemed to have lost. The skin on her legs almost seemed loose. She wasn't wearing panties and it looked like she kept herself completely shaved down below. A flash of gold drew his eyes to a single ring piercing her clitoral hood. He looked away, embarrassed. He dried off her legs with a thick towel he grabbed from the room's bathroom.
He removed the chin strap and slid the helmet slowly and carefully upwards until he could toss it aside. Long but dull and matted platinum blond hair poured out of the helmet. It felt a bit like dry straw. He pushed it away from her face and sucked in a breath. She was exquisite! Almond shaped eyes (bruised looking and still closed), fine brows, high cheekbones, slender nose, and full, lush lips which currently looked dry and chapped. She was a true beauty, or would be if she could add on some healthy weight. Her cheeks were a little sunken. While he wanted to take a closer look at his patient he still had to remove her damp jacket and shirt. Both came off relatively easily and again Dan could see the woman was badly underfed. She wore no bra underneath her shirt and considering her obvious and rather large breast implants he was more than a little surprised by this. Those breasts had to be uncomfortable without some support. He saw more piercings, both of her nipples had small gold bars with loops. Dan dried her torso and arms with the towel then wrapped her in a thick, soft electric blanket from the room's closet and set it to a medium-high setting. He ran back to the jeep and grabbed the medical supplies he'd bought. He closed the garage door and went back to the woman. Opening the blanket to get access to her wounds he cleaned them and replaced her bandages. Aside from the grazed arm and the puncture on her shoulder there weren't any other fresh injuries he could see. Healed or healing ones though, she had plenty of scars to prove she'd born quite a lot of pain in her life. Some looked like burn marks, like someone had used her arm as an ashtray.
He'd done what he could for now. He closed up the blanket and pulled the bed's quilt over her as well. Her pulse had steadied and seemed strong to him. He'd just have to wait for her to wake up so he could question her about where she might be feeling pain. He felt totally inadequate for the task of being her doctor but he was all she had as the storm continued to rage outside and showed no signs of lessening.
He went back to the jeep and unloaded the food. He put most of it into the huge pantry in the kitchen but the meat went into the deep freezer in the garage.
Back in the small bathroom of the guest bedroom he poured a glass of water and put it on the end table next to the bed. It was likely she'd be thirsty when she woke up.
A quick look at the clock on the wall showed him it was past dinner time but he was more tired than hungry. The window in the room showed the sun must have set as all he could see was the snow that blew against the glass and blackness beyond. He sat in the room's only chair to keep vigil over his patient but shortly exhaustion pulled him down into its embrace and he was gone.
Chapter 2
Bullets whizzed by his head, one taking a nip of his ear as it passed. Still he ran on. He had to get back to the house.
He could hear the steady beat of the approaching copter's blades as he ran from cover to cover, popping up to fire a round through the head of the next unlucky bastard to get between him and the house. He felt the sting of a bullet passing through his calf but he put that sensation aside and continued on. He slammed into the front door of the house only this time it was locked and he had no way in.
Dan gasped awake, the nightmare still raw in his mind. He could feel the familiar ache in his right calf. He leaned forward and put his head in his hands. His forehead was dripping wet. He shuddered as the reaction left his body. It was obvious to him what had triggered him this time. He hadn't been shot at in years but you never forget.
Pulling his hands down he noticed the room around him. He glanced at the clock and was startled to see that he'd slept through the night. It was almost 7am.
Then he felt eyes on him.
Right! The woman!
He looked over at her and saw she was awake and staring in his direction from behind her bangs, her gaze dull. The bed's quilt had been thrown back but she was still cocooned within the electric blanket. She had it wrapped around her head and all the way down and over her feet. Only her face showed.
He stepped to the side of the bed and knelt down so he wasn't towering over her. Her eyes remained downcast, pointing somewhere in the general vicinity of his chest. He tried to get her to look into his eyes but she seemed to be avoiding this. He didn't quite know what to make of this behavior.
"Hi, my name's Dan. Dan Bishop. You were in an accident out there on the mountain road. I found you and brought you to my home because the road back to town was closed by snow." He saw no response. "Can you hear me?" She nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Can you tell me your name?" Nothing.
"I need you to wiggle your toes." He saw a slight motion at the bottom of the blanket.
"Good! How about your fingers?" The sides of the blanket moved a little as she moved her fingers.
"That's excellent! Can you tell me where you might be feeling pain?" Nothing.
Dan was feeling desperately out of his element. She could obviously understand what he was saying but she couldn't or wouldn't talk. Maybe she was frightened or embarrassed. I mean, she was in a strange place and a stranger had obviously removed her clothes. God! He was suddenly so embarrassed himself! While he knew it had been necessary he was still a little ashamed for having undressed her when she was unconscious.
"Look, I'm terribly sorry for removing your clothes but they were wet and you were freezing to death. I'll get you something warm to wear." Dan suddenly realized there probably wasn't any woman's clothing in his house. He walked over to the dresser and checked in a few of the drawers. Nothing. "Uh, I might have something in the other rooms. I'll be right back." He rushed through the other guest rooms and again found nothing except a skimpy white bikini bathing suit. Last summer his buddy Wally visited with his latest girlfriend and she must have left it behind. She'd been petite and her tits had been much smaller than this woman's but he thought the swimsuit might be a good substitute for underwear at least. He went into his room and gathered up a flannel shirt, a thick sweater, some fleece sweat pants which had a drawstring, and a pair of warm socks.
When Dan returned to the woman she hadn't moved but her eyes tracked him when he entered. "I have some clothes for you. Sorry, I don't have any woman's clothing but you can wear this stuff to keep warm until I've washed and dried the clothes you were wearing. I found a bathing suit you can use as underwear, if you want." She said nothing but continued to keep him in her view.
He knelt once more beside the bed. "Can you tell me your name?" he asked gently but still got no response from the woman. "I'd feel more comfortable using a name than just saying 'Hey You'." He caught the flick of her eyes up to his face then to the doorway then back down to his chest. Was she expecting the man she was riding with to show up? Considering the scars he'd seen on her, it might explain some of her current behavior. If the asshole with the gun had been one of the Blood Brothers he'd probably treated her poorly. She seemed too frightened to talk. He rubbed his face and decided there wasn't going to be a better time to tell her. He wondered how much she recalled of her 'rescue'. That might be a good place to start.
"Do you remember the accident?" he asked. She shook her head with a tiny motion.
"When I found you, you were stuck in a tree on the side of the road. Your... traveling companion had fallen about 50 feet below and was very badly injured." Dan saw her eyes flick up to his face occasionally as he spoke. "I thought he was dead so I tried to get you out of the tree. But he wasn't dead. He started shooting at us. Do you have any idea why he would do that?" he asked gently. Tears were starting to well up in her eyes and she shook her head briefly. God, he wasn't ready to deal with tears. He rushed ahead. "I didn't have a choice. He kept shooting at you and managed to hit you twice. I couldn't reach him to stop him so I- I dropped a section of the guard rail on him and he fell the rest of the way to the bottom of the ravine. He didn't survive the fall. I'm so sorry! Was he your husband? A boyfriend?"
Her eyes closed and the tears were forced out. A single tear rolled down each cheek. But strangely she seemed to relax a little. He heard her breathe out in a long sigh. Dan hadn't realized she was holding her breath.
Then she spoke for the first time. It was almost a whispered croak. "Master."
What she'd said didn't register with Dan. It had also been so quiet. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Master," she said again.
Dan sat back on his heels. This was way outside his area of experience. He shook his head and went back to his original question now that he got her talking. "OK, let's put that aside for now. I'd really like to know your name." Her eyes dropped back to his chest. His frustration surged and engaged his mouth before his brain regained control. "What did your Master call you?" As soon as the words left his lips he wished he could take them back. What a colossal asshole he was! This was exactly why he avoided being around people.
"Whore... slut... bitch... cunt... cum-dump... fuck-hole," she immediately whispered, as if she wasn't at all disturbed by his cruel question.
Dan was shocked. Then he considered the evidence of the physical abuse. Why hadn't he expected there to be mental abuse to go with it? She seemed to be having trouble with her throat. He caught her glance to the glass of water. God he was so stupid! She was parched and the glass of water was right there beside her. Full. She hadn't taken a drop though he could hear that her throat was raw. He took the glass and lifted it to her lips as he helped her sit up slightly. She sipped at first but when he didn't take it away she began to gulp at the water desperately.
"Whoa, easy now. Drink slower or you'll make yourself sick," he said. She immediately stopped and dropped her eyes again.
"I didn't say you should stop drinking. If you want more, please drink. Just take smaller sips. Let your stomach adjust," he said, using as calm a voice as he could.
She glanced up again then she began to sip at the water. When it was almost gone she pulled back slightly so he put the glass back on the end table and allowed her to settle back on the bed. He was realizing that she wasn't going to collapse in grief with the loss of her "master" and that was a tremendous relief for Dan. She still seemed to be a little nervous but was no longer looking to the doorway every few seconds. So, he was probably right when he'd guessed she was expecting the man to arrive. That was one BIG concern out of the way, for both of them it seemed.
"Look, I'm not going to use those names on you so I'd prefer your real one." Her eyes flicked up to his face once. "Do you remember your name?" he asked. She paused then shook her head.
How could you not recall your own name? What the hell had been done to her? Well, he couldn't just give her a name. Assigning her a name like Mary, Joan, or Brenda just felt wrong. But a nickname might be okay. It was a friendly gesture as long as the name didn't offend. He thought about what his Mom would have said if she had been alive to meet this young woman. First thing she'd do is feed the poor dear as she was so 'willowy'. His mom loved those old genteel expressions. He smiled at the memory of his mother. He looked at the woman and decided that 'Willow' really did suit her. Gracefully slender and lithe. At least it did now with her underfed body. He'd have to be careful how he approached this. He didn't want to hurt her feelings.
"Would you mind if I called you 'Willow' until you recall your real name?" he asked gently.
She looked into his eyes with surprise. Even her mouth made a cute little o shape. When she realized she was keeping eye contact she quickly looked down but he could see a smile forming on her lips which she tried to hide. She gave him a little nod in agreement.
It was time for him to follow his mother's 'advice' and get some food into her to begin her restoration. "OK 'Willow', I'm going to go make us some breakfast. Considering you look like you haven't eaten in a while I'm going to have you start with some warm porridge and we will see how your stomach handles that. If you are fine by lunch I will start slowly increasing your portions from that meal onwards. Is that okay with you?" She gave him another small nod though she kept her eyes down. He was getting a little exasperated by that but he wouldn't push her.
"I'll just step out to the kitchen to prepare the food. You should get dressed and come meet me there when you are ready, okay? It's just down the hall to the left."
He went to the kitchen and prepared breakfast for them both. Porridge for her and eggs for him. The simple act of cooking settled his nerves. Dealing with people was still very difficult for him. He always felt so uncomfortable around people and always said the wrong things. As he worked on preparing the meals he realized that it actually felt good taking care of someone other than himself. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed it with his self-imposed isolation.
He hadn't heard her enter the kitchen so he jolted a little when he turned back from the fridge to find her standing topless at the end of the counter. She was wearing his socks and track pants but was holding the shirt and bikini top in her hands. He was so surprised he dropped an egg from his nerveless fingers. His eyes locked on her chest until the egg cracked on the floor at his feet. He glanced down and said "Shit!"
Willow's expression froze and she dropped down before him and knelt with her forehead pressed to the floor. Her hair fell over the broken egg and soaked it in. He could see she was trembling. Grabbing some paper towels he knelt down and gently took her shoulders in his hands. She flinched deeply at his touch at first but he helped her sit back on her heels then he used the paper towels to sop up the raw egg in her hair. She'd need to wash it but first he wanted her to eat something so she wouldn't pass out in the shower. She kept her eyes down looking at the floor. He did his best to keep his eyes off her chest.
"Willow, you didn't do anything wrong. Even if you had I wouldn't expect you to kneel at my feet. okay? I don't know what that guy did to you but you aren't going to be treated poorly here."
Her trembling slowed to a stop as the beating she was expecting didn't happen. She cautiously glanced at his face and saw he had an uncomfortable smile. She was obviously confused and looked back down again.
"Can I ask you why you are topless?" he asked gently.
Willow held out the bikini top. She held it against her chest but he could see she didn't know how to tie the straps. He'd never tied one of these before either but she didn't even seem willing to try. He helped them both stand. Steeling himself to consider this as just another engineering puzzle he could help her without being embarrassed by the personal nature of the task.
Standing this close to her he realized that she was actually a couple of inches taller than his 5' 8". He actually had to look up a little to look in her eyes. It was then, when he was just inches from her face that he noticed her eyes. They were the most amazing shade of green with gold flecks. Finding himself getting lost in her eyes he pulled himself back to the task at hand.
He took the bikini top from her and tied the top straps together and slipped the loop over her head. Then he got behind her and pulled the bottom strings under her arms and tied it in a bow on her back. He came back around to her front to see if he'd tied it correctly. Her large breasts were straining at the fabric and spilling out of the bottoms. He realized he should have tied the lower string first to provide support under her heavy breasts then tie the top strap to lift the flesh up into a comfortable position. She stood quietly with no expression on her face while he redid the ties. Soon she was looking spectacular in the silky bikini top though it was a little small and struggled to support her bounty. The small gold rings in her nipples could easily be seen pushing against the fabric.
Willow shyly looked into his eyes and he was surprised to see a little desperate need there. Like she was looking for acceptance or praise. He was a little uncomfortable but words sprung to his lips automatically. "You look truly lovely!" And she did, aside from looking like she was starving. She certainly had the frame and foundation for true beauty. If she hadn't been so neglected she would be gorgeous.
Her expression underwent a strange transformation at his words. She looked shocked at first, like she'd never heard someone mention her beauty before. Then her eyes welled up with tears and she bit her lower lip. She lowered her eyes again but the smile stayed on her lips. Dan took his fleece shirt from her hand and held it out for her to place her arms into the sleeves. He turned her around once the shirt was over her shoulders so he could button up the front. He really needed to hide her amazing tits as his erection was threatening to split his jeans. Having his hands so close to them was not helping.
He grabbed some more paper towel and wiped up the remains of the dropped egg. Then he turned back to their breakfast and allowed the homey activity take his thoughts away from Willow's beauty and the tightness developing in his pants.
When he was finished he noted that she was still standing exactly where he'd left her. Dan raised an eyebrow and pointed to the chair at the small table by the window. She went to the chair and sat. He placed the full bowl and spoon before her and went back to get his own meal. When he returned he could see her eyes were fixed on the bowl but she hadn't moved. The scent of its rich flavor was gently rising in the steam towards her face and Dan saw a line of drool had tracked from the corner of her mouth to drop to her lap from her chin.
To Be Continued in part 2..
By BurntRedstone for Literotica
