Page 4 of Rugged Mountain Man

“I love my hometown,” Willow said, her words pulling me out of my thoughts. “But I’m ready for a change. Do you think there’s a back way out of my hometown?”

“Just hang out here in the fitness center for long enough and you’ll be a local.”

I’d hang out here with her. Who needed to work or shower? We had food nearby and there were some yoga mats rolled up in the corner we could sleep on. Eventually, someone would show up to use one of the bikes or treadmills, and that would take all the fun out of it.

No, I wanted this woman all to myself. Anywhere I could have her.

As I grappled with that thought, Willow started speaking again. I busied myself with my burger that would get cold soon if I didn’t eat it.

“It’s pretty scary. I mean, where would I live? I don’t know anybody here. I’d have to start all over in a new, unfamiliar place. And this is mostly for tourists, right?”

“It’s like any other town. Adairsville’s pretty suburban, and it’s not far from here at all. You have stores, schools, everything. But Seduction Summit has schools and subdivisions too. They’re down near the city line.”

She was staring at me now. I set my burger down and wiped my mouth self-consciously. Lord knew I didn’t want to embarrass myself by having food all over my face or anything.

But as soon as I did that, I realized hers was more of an assessing look. She was studying me, trying to figure me out.

I almost laughed out loud. Good luck with that. Many women had tried to figure out this guy.Icouldn’t even figure me out. One ex-hookup told me I needed therapy, and maybe she was right. But I wasn’t raised that way. I was raised that you figured out your shit without sitting in a chair whining about it.

“Is that where you’re from?” she asked. “Adairsville?”

I shook my head. “Grew up about as far away from here as you could get, near Seattle. It was while I was in the military that I learned about this place. I was looking for that sense of community—just knowing that your neighbors would leave you alone but have your back if you needed it. Plus, this place has a lot of paid work and few people to do it.”

Well, that was changing. Seemed every day brought more guys to this town—all around my age, all looking for work. But I had my job and the tiny cabin I had built soon before moving here. And that was all I needed.

“So where do you live?” she asked.

“Why? Do you want to go back to my place?”

Those words had just sailed past my lips without me even thinking about them. It was something I would have said if I was hanging out at the sports bar in Adairsville where most of us went to get laid.

I wanted to get this woman naked more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life, but it wasn’t the same. Getting her naked, then walking out of here and never speaking to her again, was not what I had in mind here.

“I don’t do that,” she said.

I nearly choked on my bite of burger at that statement. Maybe I’d missed a part of the conversation.

“Don’t do what?” I asked.

“Go back to random men’s houses.”

“I’m a random man?”

She shrugged. Just a quick little subtle lift of her left shoulder. Then she eyed the french fry she was holding near her mouth.

“We just met,” she finally said. “I don’t go home with men I’ve just met.”

With any other woman, I would have seen that as a challenge. Okay, I still saw it as a challenge. But instead of trying to get around her blocks, I found myself trying to get to know her better.

“You’ve never gone home with a guy you just met?”

“I’ve never gone home with anyone,” she said. “I’m a virgin.”

And with that, she took a generous bite of her fry like she hadn’t just said something that nearly blew me off the weight bench.

“What the hell?” I asked.

That brought her attention back to my face. Her eyes were wide as she chewed, and again, she just stared at me.

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