Page 6 of Broken Mountain Man

"Okay, Russ," I say, unable to keep the challenge out of my voice. "What big lesson are you about to impart on this 'clueless girl'?"

His jaw tightens at my mocking use of air quotes, but he doesn't rise to the bait this time. Instead, he points towards a dense thicket off to our left.

"You see that brush over there?"

I peer in the direction he's indicating, straining my eyes, "Um...yeah? What about it?"

"Tell me what else you notice in there."

I huff out an exasperated breath, my patience already waning.

"It's just a bunch of scraggly bushes and plants! What, are you going to teach me plant identification or something?"

The look he shoots me is pure gruff frustration. Apparently, my smart mouth is really trying his last nerve.

"Just shut up and look closer, would you?"

Rolling my eyes, I squint harder at the innocent-looking shrubbery. That's when I finally see it - a flicker of movement from within the tangled branches. Something...alive?

"Oh!" My eyes go wide as a burst of adrenaline hits my system. "There's...there's something in there!"

"Congratulations, you've discovered the first rule of survival." Russell's tone is drier than the desert air around us. "Be aware of your surroundings at all times. You never know what could be lurking nearby."

I can't tear my gaze away from the thicket, nerves making my heart pound.

"What is that in there? Please tell me it's not a bear or mountain lion or something!"

Instead of answering, Russell simply watches me with an enigmatic look on his shadowed face.

"Well?" I hiss at him urgently. "A little hint would be nice here!"

He snorts softly, finally giving the barest hint of a smirk.

"Relax, it's probably just a raccoon or possum. Nothing too exciting, I'm afraid."

"Nothing too exciting?" I shoot him a skeptical look as the fear ebbs away, replaced by anger. "You couldn't have told me that from the start instead of letting me freak out?"

He shrugs those broad shoulders, the movement making the corded muscles of his arms flex distractingly in the dim light.

"Where would be the fun in that?"

I huff out, trying not to let my gaze linger too obviously on the impressive physique barely contained in his flannel shirt. Up close like this, I can't help but notice just how powerfully built Russell truly is - like some heroic mythical man sprung to life.

Giving myself a mental shake, I force my wandering eyes back up to his infuriatingly smug face.

"You're kind of a jerk, you know that?"

Instead of rising to my insult, Russell chuckles lowly - an unexpectedly rich, gravelly sound that sends a shiver down my spine and directly into my panties.

"Maybe so," he allows, stepping in closer so I have to tilt my head back to hold his piercing stare. “But out here, being a little bit of a jerk is the key to staying alive. You've got to be tough, vigilant, and can't let your guard down for even a second."

His intense gaze bores into me as if trying to impart some deeper meaning beyond his literal words. I swallow hard, abruptlyaware of every steady exhale fanning across my face and of the overwhelming male presence looming in my personal space.

"I...yeah, I get it," I mumble, unable to muster up my usual feistiness in the face of Russell's sheer intensity. "Always be on my toes out here in the wilderness. Got it."

He holds my stare for one charged beat longer before finally leaning back, the slightest of smirks playing around his lips.

"Then consider that your first lesson, girl. You still have much to learn if you want to make it out here."

---