Page 2 of My Surly Valentine

“I’m not going to hurt you.” His gravel voice softens slightly. “What are you, a runaway or something?”

I shake my head. “Not at all. Carla said it was okay if I used the cabin.”

“Who’s Carla?” he asks, pulling on a t-shirt.

“Carla Dockerty. Evan’s granddaughter.”

A spark of puzzlement flickers in his eyes, then his shoulders drop. “The Dockerty cabin is on the other side of the river.”

“Crap. I must have taken a wrong turn.” Looking toward the window, it’s pitch black out, but I can just see the rain splashing against the glass. “Could you please write down directions for me? I’ll get out of your way?—”

“You’re not going anywhere.”

He holds up a hand, his rugged face softening. “I don’t mean that in a kidnapper kind of way. Just that it’s about to snow, and the other cabin is three miles away. And after all the rain we’ve had the past few days, there’s an eighty percent chance that the road is washed out at Cedar’s Corner anyway.”

“Oh.” Looking around the room, the only other furniture is a kitchen table with four wooden chairs.

He sighs. “Listen, Goldilocks, it’s late and I need to crash. Just sleep where you are. I’ll stay on my side, leave you the hell alone, and we’ll figure this out in the morning. Fair?”

Sleeping next to that sculpted hunk? “Very fair. Thank you.”

He slides back into bed, making sure that there’s a good foot of space between us before switching off the light. “I’m Axton, by the way.”

“Hazel.”

He chuckles. “A story-book name for a girl who’s lost in the woods. Makes sense.”

He falls asleep almost immediately: I can hear the exact point where his breath changes, becoming deeper and slower. Even with my back to him, I can feel the empty space between us, sense his presence. Big, and warm, and solid.

He’s very different from any man I’ve ever met. Maybe that’s why I feel…whatever this is.

It takes me a while to doze off. After backing up a few inches so I’m not hanging off the edge of the bed, I can feel the heat of the man right behind me.

Then my eyes slowly open. I must have been asleep for several hours – the kind of deep, dreamless sleep that’s like falling into a bottomless pit, so when you wake up you feel completely refreshed. I’m warm. I hear a soft, murmuring sound. I feel safe and protected, and more comfortable than I’ve ever been.

Gradually I realize that my back is held firmly to Axton’s chest. His arm is slung over my stomach, his hand resting on my waist. His deep breathing ruffles the top of my hair.

I don’t know which of us reached for the other in the night, but it feels…natural. Like the best possible way to sleep.

I hear the rain turning to snow against the window and listen to the wind whistling outside as I snuggle contentedly back into the stranger’s chest.

If being this close to him makes me feel so grounded and warm, maybe I should take advantage of it for our one night together.

Right?

2

AXTON

Fucking hell, I’ve never been this hard. Never felt so desperate to sink myself into a woman. To inhale the sweet fragrance of her hair, I wonder what kind of little cries she’d make as I…

As I emerge from sleep, I realize I’m holding a soft, curvy woman against my chest and my steel-hard cock.

Who the hell?—

Oh. Right.

Hazel. That’s her name.

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