GENRE: Lesbian Romance
LENGTH: 14,542 words
RATING:

American artist Naomi Bowers travels to Finland to make a film. The break is welcome, as her relationship with her partner Cat is strained. But Naomi doesn't expect the romantic adventure ahead.

Reeta Hellgren is a Laplander with a dark secret. Her exotic beauty and clever conversation intrigue Naomi when they meet at a local pub. Naomi pushes thoughts of Cat to the back of her mind, drawn into Reeta's warm embrace.

But there are odd aspects of her new friend that haunt Naomi from the beginning. Reeta's reluctance to share her past and her unusual reaction to dogs set off alarms. But the sexual attraction between them is too strong to ignore.

Their connection is electric, but mystery still lurks in the air. At a snowed-in cabin in the Finnish countryside, Reeta's secret is finally revealed. Will Naomi be able to accept the truth about her lover?

EXCERPT:

Outside the tiny cabin, snow continues to fall, forming a thick blanket on the level ground and piling into tall drifts over hills and valleys. Though the two women asleep in front of the fire are unaware, weather authorities are calling it the largest snowstorm in several years, especially reaching as far south as Central Finland. People are being urged to stay indoors and be prepared for power outages.

Naomi, oblivious to these developments, awakens in the dark of the cabin, where the fire has died down to glowing embers and crackling sticks. In the twilight of the cabin, she wraps a blanket around her naked body and goes to the window.

Snow is still falling, but it seems to be coming down more lightly. Still, the wind is blustery, driving swirls of snow into new drifts and formations. Naomi thinks of the calm and gentle snows they know in West Virginia -- usually just enough to build a snowman. Only once, when Naomi was little and her family lived higher in the mountains, had they actually been snowed in. Snowed in! Is this what’s happening?

Naomi wraps her blanket more tightly around her, aware that the cabin’s warmth seems to be seeping away. She returns to where Reeta lies wrapped in a thick comforter. Reeta wakes when Naomi sits next to her.

“Naomi? We must have fallen asleep here. Are you okay?” She pulls Naomi down next to her.

“Sure. I mean, I’m fine, but ... it’s still snowing. Like a regular snowstorm. Could we get stuck here? Snowed in?

Reeta puts an arm, warm from inside the comforter, around Naomi and draws her close. “Are you ... afraid to be here with me, Winter Fox? Please don’t be. You are safe, I promise.”

Afraid? Why would I be afraid of her? Is there some reason I don’t know about?

Aloud, Naomi says quietly, “Of course not -- never afraid of you. Just worried about getting back to Hameenkyro, the power being out, the car not working, people worrying about where we -- I -- am.”

“If that’s all, please relax. All of those things will sort themselves out. We have plenty of supplies, and this cabin is quite close to the town. When the storm has passed, if necessary, we will be -- what is the word? -- rescued. For now, go back to sleep. All is well, Winter Fox.”

This speech, and the comfort of Reeta’s arms, seems enough for Naomi, at least for now. She snuggles into their make-shift bed and drifts off to sleep. But in the half aware moment before unconsciousness, Naomi hears the distinctive far-off sound of a wolf’s howl.