Page 22 of Protected By the Mountain Man

I’m as shocked as I am honored that Mariah fell asleep after our love-making. I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that she finds it difficult to trust men, after everything she’s been through.

But the fact that she drifted right to sleep in my arms, naked and well-fucked, means that she really does feel safe here with me, just as she’d said yesterday.

That means everything.

So there’s no way I’m sleeping through this. Not in a million years.

At some point in the night, I adjust us so we’re laying in a more comfortable position. I tuck a soft blanket around us and slide a pillow beneath Mariah’s head.

But I don’t sleep a wink.

Which is why I catch the strange sound outside.

At first, I don’t think anything of it. A light scuff on the pavement below, as if from a stray dog passing through, or maybe even a bear.

But then it comes again, louder, and the hair on the back of my neck prickles to attention. After years of living above my shop, I’ve learned to tell the difference between ambient sounds and that of customers.

Glancing at the clock on my wall, I see that it’s just after four o’clock in the morning, so there’s no sane customer downstairs wanting their car tended.

But I know the sound of a boot scuffing on the pavement outside my shop, and that’s what I just heard.

I’m tempted to ignore it, to stay warm and cozy with Mariah. But then I remember why she’s here with me in the first place, and decide I’d best go investigate. Better safe than sorry, especially with Mariah’s asshole ex out to get her.

With regret, I slide my arms from around Mariah and lift myself from the couch. She shifts and sighs, but I hold my breath and she settles back into deep sleep. I cock my head, making sure I hear Billy’s soft snores coming from the curtained-off area.

Then I hear it one more time: a scuff of sole on concrete, followed by a string of muttered curses.

My mouth forms a hard line as my skin prickles again. I waste no time in throwing on yesterday’s jeans, shirt, and a pair of boots. I hesitate, then grab my axe too. I keep it behind the front door, handy for when I want to head to the forest that surround Heartwood to chop wood to keep my apartment warm through the winter.

I’ve never had to use it for an intruder, but there’s a first time for everything.

I’m hoping that whoever’s downstairs is just a half-drunk straggler staggering his way home from a long night — and morning — at Pixie’s bar down the street. If it’s not, though — if whoever is downstairs is who I fear it might be, I’ll be glad to have more than my fists to fend off trouble.

Hand on the knob of the front door, I hesitate, the back of my neck prickling once more.

What if itisRyan, Mariah’s ex, downstairs, ready to make a scene? Can I handle him alone? I’ve got military training, sure, but it’s been a while, and I’m older now.

Just to be on the safe side, I grab my phone and shoot a quick text to Mac, an old buddy and local police chief.

It’s probably nothing, I type,but there’s a potential intruder outside my place. Might be the guy Mariah’s hiding out from. Will update you after I find out.

I don’t expect a reply this early, but my text gets marked as “read” straight away.

I’ll be right over, comes Mac’s reply.

I don’t realize how worried I am until I read his text and feel relieved to know that backup is on the way.

Mariah and Billy have so quickly become my whole world. And even though it doesn’t make a bit of sense, I’m terrified that I’ll let them down.

My grip on the door as I quietly let myself out of my apartment is steadier knowing that I’m protecting my woman — yes,mywoman, I silently declare to myself and the world — and that I won’t be doing it alone.

Mariah

Iwake slowly as thin light filters through my closed eyelids. Something niggles at the edge of my mind, something both warm and languid — and then something else, a cold, sharp thing.

I remember. Ace’s arms around me, his hardness inside me, and my unfathomable certainty that I have found a home in him. I shiver at the memory indelibly seared on my brain — and at the anticipation of making more such memories with Ace.

But then the sharp edge cuts through my dreaminess and brings me crashing back to reality.

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