Page 51 of Mountain Men Heroes

“Remy,” he repeated in a slow drawl.

“Maybe we’ll see you around.” Why the hell did she keep talking?

He smiled in answer.

Ethan approached her and pulled her in close with a soft kiss. She twined the ends of her scarf and only looked up when he slipped a finger beneath her chin. Slowly he nodded as though silently finding some answer he’d been seeking and turned back to call over his shoulder to give them one last look.

“What’s your name?” she called after him.

“Bram, but friends call me Reaper.” He’d already started up the path, every muscle in his body contorting with each step.

He didn’t look like death, but he sure the hell moved swift, silently and deadly.

Both her and Ethan’s brows climbed a little at that.

“Until next time, Reaper,” Ethan answered, but he had already crested the ridge and disappeared from sight.

Nine

Remy pulled from Ethan’s arms and walked beside him, her gaze glued to the damn ground. Her fingers worked the cloth of her scarf like a priest did his rosary.

His mind had locked in protective mode and he feared he might have scared her. Now that the poison had burned through his system, with the help of her quick thinking, his mind was finally clear again.

With the danger gone, the adrenaline still pumped through his veins and his leg hurt like a mother fucker, but he still had a ton of energy coursing through his body.

Step after step, as they made their way back to his brother’s place a quarter of a mile beyond the ridge that separated their homes, the silence thickened in the dense fog.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” he asked quietly. His brothers walked ahead to give them privacy.

She wrapped her arms around herself, her small fingers digging into the flesh of her arms.

Her eyebrows furrowed, but she didn’t answer. Could he blame her? What she witnessed had to be unnerving, to say the least. He tore a hand through his hair and slowed their pace with a gentle hand to her shoulder.

“I’m okay, Ethan. Let’s just get back to town and figure all this out.” From where he stood his chances didn’t look so hot. He might have taken the long road around telling her he loved her and wanted her to stay, but he hadn’t truly opened up to her in the way she wanted. Today she’d seen a side of him no one else had ever seen. He didn’t regret protecting her, but what if she’d seen a part of him that scared her?

She looked after his brothers as they continued on, giving them space.

“We need to keep up. Damon said he’d give us a ride back to town after gathering our things from the cabin.” Instead of pushing her glasses up her nose, which she’d lost at some point, she twisted the ends of her scarf around her fingers, let the material fall and then repeated the process.

He stilled her hands.

She looked down, unable to meet his gaze. Or unwilling? “I’m all right. We all are. You know I wouldn’t let anything or anyone hurt you, right? Please talk to me.” He’d get down on both knees and beg for one smile. Just one. He didn’t care how weak it made him look.

“I know. Thank you, and I owe your brothers a big thanks too. Our cans were toast there for a while. Can we get going now?”

“Remy, look at me.” He didn’t want her thanks. As far as he was concerned his whole existence started and stopped with her. His life was hers.

Remy looked up at him. “You’re fine now and your brothers have already disappeared over the hill. Let’s not make them wait. Plus, we need to call the rangers and get them out here ASAP.” She crossed her arms over her chest as if the topic was closed. He shoved down the frustration that wanted to become a belly-deep roar. The little minx.

“Fuck my brothers. I’ll carry you on my back all the way to town if I have to. What I need to know is if we are all right? I’m not taking another step until you tell me one way or the other. Did I scare you off today?” He gathered her hands in his.

“Are you kidding?” Her eyes went wide as she took his face in her hands. “You Ethan Savage have done nothing wrong. I refuse to let you even think that for a minute.”

“We live in a violent world up here, Remy. This isn’t L.A. or some swanky town back east.”

“Apparently you haven’t been to Los Angeles lately. This place is tame in comparison, trust me. I rather be on this mountain on most days.”

That made him laugh.

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