Chapter One

Eve gazed at the rolling fog as it weaved in and out of the thick evergreen perennials.  I could live and love here forever, she thought.  If only …

“They’re mahogany trees,” a languid voice whispered in her ear.

Jolted from her reverie, Eve spun around almost losing her balance in the process.

“Are you okay?” he asked, the concern in his voice sounding genuine.

Eve gasped, resting one hand on her forehead while the other tightly squeezed his broad shoulder, “I … I think so.”

“Maybe it’s the altitude.”  He encircled her waist with his arm and guided her into the cabin, its size dwarfed by the alpine trees that insulated it from out there.  He stole one more glance of the majestic beauty, which was his home – his world.

A forest of these trees is a spectacle too much for one man to see.

He remembered those words, spoken to him almost five years ago by the man who sold him this sanctuary.  Perhaps they were words of wisdom, but he knew he was enough.

All of life’s beauty is so fragile, either by its own hand or by that of man, he had responded.  If it only takes one to destroy it, then there need be only one to take pleasure in it.

He watched Eve as she slept.  Her hair, with its obsidian tint against the translucent softness, which was her skin, evoked a stirring within him he could not ignore.  His fingers brushed the lock of hair resting on the swell of her bosom. 

So beautiful, so fragile, he mused.  By her hand and by mine.


Word Count: 271