1 Intruder

"Holy Moly!" Abigail Connor heard her sister whisper as she tried her best to keep her composure despite the heat flushing her cheeks and her heart racing like a hammer against her chest.

A few yards away stood a naked man, well not fully naked since he had boxer shorts on, but he was undoubtedly the most gorgeous specimen of the male species she had ever seen. She felt grateful that he had his back to her; otherwise, she might have fainted on the spot.

His damp hair cascaded down his broad shoulders, and his glistening, toned skin shone in the afternoon sunlight as he dropped water onto the pool patio's white stone tiles.

Abigail couldn't help but feel a twinge of desire low in her stomach as she stepped back, feeling the warmth of her sister Alice through her light blue sundress.

Huddled beside her, Abigail asked in a hushed tone, "Do you recognize him?"

Alice glanced at her sister, noticing her concerned expression, and responded, "I'm not entirely sure from this angle, but I don't believe I know him."

Pushing Abigail aside, Alice elbowed her way to the front and peered around the corner, determined to catch a glimpse of the mystery man.

Alice retreated after getting more than what Abigail considered an appropriate eyeful for an engaged woman. Her face had turned an alarming shade of red. "Damn, that's one piece of cake. I wanna bite," she remarked, while Abigail rolled her eyes. "You know him?"

Abigail decided to ignore it and asked if Alice had recognized the man instead. "Of course not, I'm yet to sleep with a man like that," Alice replied.

"Ewwww," Abigail muttered. "We need to get out of here and call Mike," Alice suggested.

"He will be gone before Mike can get here. Let's handle this ourselves."

Abigail was shocked at her sister's idea, stating, "Are you sure? I thought you didn't want to risk getting hurt, and the man is enormous. Did you see those shoulders?" she asked.

"Yes, I did, among other things," Alice replied.

"And you want to confront him? He might probably be holding a gun," Abigail cautioned.

Alice frowned, "But he is trespassing, and he can't just use our pool like he owns the place. Who knows how long this has been going on? I need to teach him a lesson."

Alice became indignant at the idea and decided to confront the man.

"I'm sure Mike will be here soon so don't make any hasty decisions."

Alice waved her hand, "Oh, don't worry, Abigail, I'm just going to have a nice chatty conversation with Mr. Nice Bum."

"Oh, come on!" Abigail exclaimed in frustration.

"Shh," Alice cautioned her, placing a finger on her lips. "He may be able to hear us despite his impressive build."

Abigail took a deep breath and peeked around the corner to get another look at the intruder who had parked his powerful motorcycle in their driveway.

Despite Abigail's advice not to approach him, Alice's adrenaline was pumping, and she couldn't resist the urge to investigate.

Alice knew that her impulsiveness was often a problem, and her ex-fiancé Nathan had criticized her for it during their tumultuous relationship. But she didn't care about his opinion anymore.

As she watched the stranger drying himself off after a swim, she couldn't help but think of Nathan's cruel words. He had wanted a wildcat in bed and a timid mouse out of it, while she had been dreaming of building a home, having children, and creating a family with him. However, he had been screwing his best friend. She now realized that Nathan wasn't the Mr. Right she had been searching for all her life.

The intruder slipped on a pair of jeans, covering his long legs. As Alice watched him disappear behind the faded denim, she felt a twinge of disappointment but quickly shook it off. She refused to let this arrogant stranger get away with his outrageous behavior.

With determination in her heart, she kicked off her sandals and whispered to her sister Abigail that she was going to teach the trespasser a lesson.

Despite Abigail's protests, Alice deftly avoided her sister's attempts to stop her and emerged from the safety of the building.

Meanwhile, the man finished fastening his threadbare jeans and smoothed them down with his hands. He took something out of his pocket, and Abigail watched his shoulders sag. Clearly, whatever he was staring at was affecting him.

Alice approached the patio cautiously, taking deep, measured breaths to steady her nerves.

Suddenly, she froze as the intruder hastily stashed the object in his pocket but breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't turn around and instead reached for his T-shirt.

With her heart still pounding, she watched as he sat down on the sunlit tiles and began to hum a tuneless melody. He absentmindedly used the T-shirt to rub his feet and then picked up a sock.

With two fingers outstretched, Alice jabbed the intruder between his shoulder blades and barked out a command in her most authoritative voice:

"Don't move. I have a gun." The man stopped humming, his back stiffening as he dropped his sock.

"Okay, don't get excited," he grumbled in a gruff, annoyed voice that sounded Russian but with an indiscernible accent. "Put your hands up, but don't turn around," Alice instructed, her fingers feeling the warmth of his skin and the hardness of his muscles as he complied. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a tattoo on his left bicep and scarred skin crisscrossing his back.

"Listen, put the gun down and I'll get out of here. No harm, no foul," the man offered, attempting to turn around. Alice prodded him harder in the spine with her fingers.

"Don't turn around, big guy. You don't want me to put a bullet through your beautiful back," Alice warned.

"Alright," he said.

He didn't sound scared, only angry and exhausted from a long day of biking. Alice wondered if confronting him had been a wise decision after all.