Page 7 of The Mountain Man's Siren

The floorboards creak, alerting me to her presence and I turn from my spot at the living room window. I’ve been watching the snow fall and thinking about this woman. The one who makes my gut churn and my dick hard as steel.

“Good morning,” I say. My people skills are buried deep down. But for her, I’ll dig them back up again. I’ll give her what she needs while she’s here.

She smiles at me but there are dark circles under her pretty green eyes. I heard her moving around the cabin last night. I thought about going to her a million times and finally forced myself to retreat to my attached workshop.

Thankfully, the space is soundproof so she couldn’t hear me taking my cock in my hand like a damn teenager who has just discovered internet porn. She couldn’t hear me panting and whispering her name as I came.

She turns to gaze out the window, stepping closer to me. I catch a whiff of her hair that’s pulled back in a high ponytail. Iwant to lean over and pull the band from it, watch those curls cascade down her back when she’s wearing nothing but a smile. Fuck, these are not things I should be thinking about when I’m around her.

“Are you worried about something?” I ask. It’s probably the wrong question. Still, I can’t deny that there’s something in me that wants to right all the wrongs in her world. If things were different, she’d be my queen and I’d be her warrior. I’d conquer the world just to lay it all at her feet.

She shakes her head and I’ve already decided that I hate it when she lies to me. I want her to trust me enough to tell her truth, even if that truth is difficult or not what I expected. But those are not the kinds of demands I can make. Not when we’ll never see each other again after this snowstorm.

“Do you like outdoor activities?” I ask, unsure if she can go into the snow. I don’t want to do anything that would worsen her condition.

A wolf howls in the distance and she gives me a wry smile. “Not if it involves being eaten by a wild animal.”

For a moment, I imagine I’m the predator she’s talking about. I’d love nothing more than to lay her out and feast on her for hours. I’d learn to play her body in a thousand different ways until her moans and whimpers were a symphony. A symphony only I would ever hear.

My cock presses painfully against my zipper at the image and I mentally will him to go down. I might want her with an ache so deep it’s in my very bones. But I won’t let myself corrupt this beautiful ray of sunshine that fate dropped into my life.

“I have an idea of a fun outdoor activity,” I say because I definitely need to get her outside. Outside where there is cold and snow. Outside where I can’t undress her.

5

EVERLY

“You just happened to have a sled?”I ask when I’m standing in Owen’s workshop. The sled he’s built is big and beautiful, perfect for two adults. And yeah, I’m fishing for information. I found no signs that a woman lives in his cabin with him—there’s only one toothbrush, no birth control pills, and no little pink razors. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have someone.

He frowns as he inspects his handiwork and glances up at me.

“You never did tell me if there was a Mrs. Grumpy around. Not that you seem like it. I think you’d be a little happier if you were getting laid on the regular.” I clap a hand over my mouth as soon as the words leave it. Once again, I find myself wishing I had a filter.

For the first time since I’ve met him, Owen laughs. It’s a rusty but warm sound that thrills me. It feels like a tiny victory. “There is no Mrs. Grumpy. Shit, I wouldn’t be spending time alone with you if there were.”

He picks up the sled easily, his biceps bulging under the weight. I don’t know how he can wear a thin jacket when we’re in the middle of a snowstorm. “Were you feeling jealous, Goldilocks?”

I hold open the door to the workshop for him. “I’m not that petty, big wolf.”

He smirks at me, his blue eyes twinkling. He seems lighter this morning, like he’s starting to relax around me. “You ready to go for the ride of your fuckin’ life?”

I nod and follow him through the door.

He holds his hand out to me, taking mine in his again like he did last night. His touch calms and centers me. “Do you prefer the big peaks or the small ones?”

“The bigger the better,” I answer with a wink.

His eyes darken and for a moment I can’t help thinking that he does look like a wolf, hungry and fierce. Finally, he turns toward the east and points into the distance. “The one about a mile from us is probably going to give the best damn ride. You good to walk?”

I nod that I can walk as I pick up on his use of the word probably. “How have you lived on a mountain so long without sledding down it once? I couldn’t imagine living here and not wanting to play in the snow every day. Does it ever melt? How many days of winter do you have here?”

He ignores the questions and pauses so I can step over a big, snow-covered branch that fell to the ground. “You said you were in school. What are you studying?”

“Well, I’m in film school. I want to be a director when I graduate,” I explain, not sure if he wants to hear more.

The sky above is gray and there are snow flurries circling in the air. The woods around us are quiet, the snow on the ground untouched other than the occasional animal prints in it. There’s something about this place and the peace it offers that comforts me. I hope wherever my dad is today that he feels peaceful too.

“What will you direct?” Owen asks, interrupting my thoughts about my father.

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