Chapter 1

It was peaceful here. There was a peace and contentment found in the small mountain cabin that Sadira hadn't found anywhere else in far too long. No one for miles around and a small lake ten minutes away made for the perfect retreat. It was the perfect place to rest, to regain her bearings. In other words, it was the perfect place to hide.

Jack would never find her here.

She was one of the lucky ones. She had managed to escape her abuser with her life. Not all women were so fortunate. Not all women had the friends she did. The damage had been done, though. The once vibrant woman confident in her own strength and abilities now saw only a shell of her former self when she looked in the mirror. That was what this retreat was about. It wasn't just hiding from Jack, which she would freely admit was a big part of it, but it was about finding her strength again as well. About remembering who she used to be.

On her third day at the cabin she rose with the dawn and pulling on only her short robe she left the cabin to make the short hike to the lake just beyond the small grove of trees that shielded the cabin from view. Enough time had been wasted sleeping and recovering from her mad dash from the place she had called home for the last five years. It was time to explore her surroundings, and herself, and recapture some of the magic she had let Jack destroy.

His disdain of her family's traditions had started out small, seemingly joking remarks disparaging paganism and witchcraft quickly turning into blatant acrimony once she had moved in with him. At first she had defied him, insisting she would not give up her traditions just because he did not agree with her spiritual path. It wasn't until she came home to find the small alter she had erected on her side of their room destroyed that she had packed away all of her ritual items. She wouldn't risk them being destroyed as well. She had tried to leave for the first time after that and had almost not survived his brutal response.

Forcing her thoughts away from the past she focused on the forest floor beneath her feet, the trees towering overhead, and the first rays of the golden sun as it broke through the morning haze to bathe the lake and the trees surrounding it in a golden light. A nearby tree stump was chosen to hold the towel she carried and sliding the robe from her shoulders she laid the satin material on top of the folded terry cloth and stepped to the edge of the lake.

Chilled water lapped at her toes and she shivered, a smile beginning to curl the edges of her lips as she turned her face up to greet the first rays of the sun as they broke over the tree line. It had been a long time since she had greeted the sun like this, without fear of discovery and the consequences that would come from being found out. Closing her eyes she let her head fall back, sending cascades of golden chestnut waves to brush against the curve of her ass as she offered herself up to the healing power of the Sun.

Time became irrelevant as she stood there, basking in the growing warmth of the sun, the water lapping at her toes, the earth beneath her feet, the pure air of the woods filling her lungs. She was anchored to the elements, filled by them, buoyed by their strength and she might have stayed as she was for a good portion of the morning had the sudden sound of a twig breaking not broken through her elemental meditation.

Eyes that had been firmly closed snapped open, her head lowering so that her piercing green gaze could scan the line of trees surrounding the lake. Her body became as still as stone, her breathing slowed until it was so shallow even she could not hear it without focusing on it first. Her reaction was instinctive, her body quieting so she could focus on her surroundings and the source of the noise she had heard coming from the trees beyond. This was the forest, the likelihood that she was alone was slim, but the question was ... was her companion four legged or two? She wasn't afraid of her four legged companions; at least not in the same way she would be a of another human being, but she knew better then to treat them with anything less then the respect they deserved.

The forest seemed to fall silent around her, as though responding to her need for quiet to sense her surroundings. After several tense moments when nothing more nefarious then a skunk wandering through the underbrush across the lake from her appeared she relaxed. Mentally shaking her head at herself she laughed and that simple act broke through the tension and all around her the forest came alive again, the call of birds mingling with the wind as it rustled through the trees. She was far away from anyone who could hurt her and the one man who would, would never find her here.

Wading into the chilly lake water to her knees she knew she would have to take the plunge or she would chicken out and retreat back to the cabin. Steeling herself against the shock that was coming she pushed off the ground and dove cleanly into the water, breaking through the glasslike surface and sending ripples to the far corners of the lake.

Emerging through the surface she gasped from the shock of cold water. It had been colder then she'd been prepared for, but she welcomed it. It made her skin tingle, turning pink from the chill, and for the first time in a long time she felt awake ... alive. Stretching out she began to swim short laps about the lake, her arms pulling her through the water with long smooth strokes. The water soon felt warmer and though she knew it was her own body temperature rising as she acclimated to the cool water, she still felt enveloped by the caress of the water, safe, welcome.

She swam laps until she was breathing heavily and her arms were beginning to feel like lead weights. Slowing her speed she moved to float on her back, her body cradled in the gentle water. Inch by inch she relaxed, her body floating serenely as the silken caress of the lake lapped against her limbs. It was the first gentle touch her body had been graced with in ages and she felt herself slipping into an almost meditative state as the water brushed against her sensitive skin.

Slowly her hands drifted through the gently lapping water until her fingertips caressed against the sensitive skin of her hips and thighs. Instinctively she parted her thighs as though welcoming the more intimate caress of a lover and she gasped gently in surprise when the motion caused the water to lap against her slit. Her body was growing warmer in spite of the cool water and fanciful images of a lake god using the water to caress her instead of his hands began to fire her imagination and had her squirming slightly beneath her own touch. Jack had hated it when she touched herself, wanting to control every bit of her life including her pleasure, and to avoid the fights she knew it would cause if she had continued to do so, she had stopped all together. Since the sex with Jack was rarely about her pleasure she might as well have been celibate and now she found herself hungering to be touched, even if that touch was her own.