Page 83 of Ten Mountain Men

“When in Rome, you do as the Romans do. When on this mountain, you do as the Björnssons do,” I tell her.

I heard her when she said she can’t stay forever. I heard her and I’ll respect that…if we can’t change her mind. But the need inside me to change her mind is downright primal. Glad I picked her up bridegroom-style instead of just slinging her over my shoulder.

She looks up at me with those huge blue eyes, and the panic and fear in them stops me in my tracks.

“Do you want me to put you down?” I ask, though it damn near kills me.

She shakes her head. But the panic and fear remain. Damn it all to hell, I scared her.

“No, you can carry me, but I’d like to go back to the cabin…” Her voice shakes the tiniest bit. “Please.”

“We’ll take you back to the cabin,” I assure her, because as far as I’m concerned, what this woman wants, this woman gets. “But we need to let the others know we found you first, and they’re not at the cabin.”

“They’re not?” she asks as Brooks goes around me and starts ahead of us, holding back branches so I can pass through with her, keeping her safe and sound. She’s already got some scratches and scrapes from when she ran through the woods by her lonesome earlier that we’ll get Lynx to tend to. “Oh. They’re probably off doing their chores, fishing, whatever, right?”

“Nope,” I tell her. “After Brooks left to check your campsite, we divvied up the mountain and spread out to search for you, agreeing that if we didn’t find you in an hour we’d meet back at the swimming hole. They’re probably wondering where the hell we are and worried sick about you.”

I glance down at her, and she smiles this smile that makes my heart do something it’s never done before. Never. “All of you were out searching for me?”

“And I swore I’d bring you back,” I say, sidestepping the question. Because no, not all of us were looking for her, and the slight bit of sadness in her eyes, mingling with the panic and fear, tells me she already knows that. That beautiful smile of hers fades, and I want to pummel Luke for being the reason it does.

But this whole thing depends on no one pummeling anyone, because absolutely none of us want a Susie May repeat and that’s for damn sure, so I tamp that irritation down, trying to remind myself that anything Luke does, he does with good intentions.

“What’s going on in that head of yours, sunshine?” I ask, because I can’t stand to see that troubled look still in her eyes. “You still worried about Luke? Or is it more than that? You don’t regret—”

She shakes her head, nuzzling against me. “I don’t regret a thing.”

Her eyes flood with lust and a joy-filled grin bursts onto her face. She’s telling the truth.

“Good, ’cause I don’t either. And neither does Brooks. Do you, bud?”

“Not a damn thing,” he says.

“But I can’t stay if—”

“Trust me, okay?” I give her ass a little squeeze and a moan slips from her lips.

You like that, do you, Miss Locke?

I try not to smirk, making a mental note to get my hands on her backside whenever I can.

“We’re almost there,” Brooks says over his shoulder. “You’ll see. Everything’s gonna be just fine.”

Her face scrunches up. “We can’t be almost there. Or if we are, the others must not be there. It’s quiet. The other day, when I found you all there…you were loud.”

My mouth twists into its crooked smile. “You mean the other day when you were sneakin’ a peek and gettin’ an eyeful?”

“I…”

“He’s just teasing you, Gold,” Brooks says. He pushes through some bushes and I follow.

“See?” I whisper to Goldie, brushing my lips across her ear as I do. “Everyone’s here.”

But she was right. They’re mighty quiet. All off on their own, downright solemn, eyes downcast. Even Luke’s here, which comes as a surprise. He’s not going to the big cave, despite all his bluster. But I didn’t expect him to be here waiting, either.

That is, until I call, “Looky who we found!”

Everyone comes to life all at once, whooping and hollering and swimming in our direction. Except Luke. Of course.

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