Dark Tales 1 by Viola Masters Read Free Book Online Page A

into the woods.”
    Lea chuckled. “I am not, but I promised myself that I wouldn’t pass up any opportunity to try something new. This is the something new, and I am trying it. I like the forest, though.”
    He grinned. “Excellent. That is half the battle. Well, we are heading downhill for a bit, so expect to go fast or bite the dust. Don’t be afraid to shout out if you go down.”
    Lea sighed. “You will be too far up to hear me. I fall over with amazing stealth.”
    He smiled. “Eat something else before we go. You are burning more calories than you think.”
    “Yes, sir. Whatever you say, Brady.”
    He winked and got to his feet. “Call me sir.”
    She watched him walk away; his outdoor clothing masked what she guessed was an impressive physique. He certainly looked like he had a lot of stamina.
    She was still watching him walk away when he turned and winked at her. Her cheeks flared with a blush. Damn, he had caught her looking at his ass.
     
    They were an hour into the afternoon trek when Lea saw the man in front of her dip over a ledge and head down a hill. By the time she got to the top, he whooshed around the corner, leaving her alone.
    Lea watched her skis bend and teeter at the edge of the hill. Her knees wobbled as she eased forward, and before she could change her mind, she was over the edge, bending low and trying not to die.
    She went down the hill, made her own track and kept going straight through the brush. She squeaked as the leaves slapped her skin, and she continued further and further downhill. In a panic, she managed to stop herself in a wide sprawl. Why was it that the one time she needed to fall over, she cruised for what felt like miles?
    Chunks of snow had made it up her jacket and crept into her snow pants during her slide. The icy trickle ran down her inner thigh as she unclipped her skis and headed back to retrieve her poles from whatever tree had grabbed them on her way down.
    Lea looked up when the first fat flake of snow landed on her nose. “Fuck.”
    She followed her trail on foot, grabbing one pole at a time and moved quickly when she noticed that the path was being obliterated by the snow. Wind picked up and blew over her trail. She wanted to scream, but she moved faster, trying to keep an eye on the path she had taken to get to her current location.
    Snow came down, and the wind swirled it, blinding her until she had no idea which way she was going. Tears froze onto her lashes as she continued hiking. She dropped her skis and used her poles to help her fight through the bush.
    An hour later, her legs were burning and she was calling herself seventeen kinds of stupid. The sun was setting soon, and she needed to find shelter if she wasn’t going to turn into a sad story. She started looking for a place to wait out the snow.
    The crisp air had lost its allure, and it was only when she saw a stone gash in a low hill that she felt she had a chance. Bat caves might be diseased, but most of what they carried was curable, and those little bodies gave off a lot of heat. She was willing to risk bats.
    The exposed stone that wasn’t holding onto the snow told her it was warmer than the surrounding area. That was good as well. She kept her poles with her as she crept toward the crevice. The warmer air didn’t have the stench of dung, so she eased inside and felt a flutter of hope that she wouldn’t die in the frozen forest.
    In the morning, she could orient herself and head south to the parking lot and her car. She had a compass, but with the fading light, she didn’t have time to get back to her vehicle.
    If she had a map or directions, she would have tried for the cabin, but that wasn’t something that she had been offered, and she had been too shy to insist on a copy.
    The warm air inside the cave was moist, and she followed the current through twists and turns to a wide pool that stretched off into the darkness.
    The steam coming off the water had formed a slick surface on the