Page 13 of Sheltered By the Mountain Man

How many people get tackled by a stranger twice their size, stick around to help him in a storm... then walk almost two miles to the stranger's cabin to patch him up?

She trusted me not to hurt her.

Me.The last person on this mountain who deserves it.

How the hell can anyonenotsee her?

I rub my hand over the sudden ache in my chest. It doesn't make a damn bit of sense. Any of it.

Bishop didn't even have a decent description of her, until his work-study student, Dillon, spoke up. Knowing Dillon, he probably gave Bishop three times as much information as he needed. The kid may be awkward as hell, but he remembered Bella, so he just bumped up a couple dozen notches in my regard.

Bishop also had some other disturbing news. That escaped convict they're looking for didn't head south. Despite all the roadblocks, no one spotted him. They think he's holed up somewhere, waiting out the storm.

There are a lot of mountains and a lot of places to hide. Chances are good he's nowhere near here. Near Bella. But the prickling on my scalp tells me not to bet on it.

For one sharp, breathless moment, fear slices through me. Not for myself. For her. I've failed too many people already. I can't lose her too.

I'm still standing at the dining table, mired in my thoughts when Bella returns with an armload of clothes.

“I wasn't sure what you'd want,” she says, setting the clothes on the table. “I found sweatpants and a T-shirt. Um, boxers and socks.”

She's tucked the boxers and socks between the shirt and sweatpants, as if she's hiding unmentionables from sight. The sight lightens my mood, and I bite back a grin.

“You picked out my boxers for me?” I tease, just to see her get flustered.

“I didn't. I mean... I did, but I didn't...studythem or anything.”

“Did you pick your favorite color?”

She crosses her arms over her chest and lifts her chin a notch. “No. You don't have pink or maybe I would have.”

I bark out a laugh and gather the clothes. “Fair enough.”

I take them with the med-gel to the bathroom to change. The gash bled through the bandages while I was in the shower. I pull them off and apply the surgical gel. It acts as a waterproof seal on the wound. Should do to keep it closed and clean for the duration of the storm.

I dress and hobble back into the living area.

Nitro stretches on his dog bed, then curls back up. His tail thumps on the ground in greeting.

Bella is sitting on the couch with her legs tucked beneath her. The flannel rides up her thighs, the flickering firelight dancing over her creamy skin.

Fuck me. I want to taste that exposed strip of skin. Blood rushes south and I'm hard for her—again. No way I'm pushingher into anything. Not tonight. I have her precious trust. That's enough.

I sink onto the couch, keeping the first aid kit between us.

Bella takes the ace bandage from it, lowers to her knees in front of me, and starts wrapping my foot.

“You don't have to—”

She gives me a look. “I want to. Besides, it gives me a chance to practice the things I've read.”

“Are you studying to be a nurse?” She'd be great at it.

Her nose wrinkles. “Nothing so exciting. I'm a... Iwill bea librarian.” She ducks her head, looking at the bandage instead of me. “I'm only a library clerk now. But I finish my master's next year. Then when our current librarian retires, I should get the job.”

A librarian. All her talk about books now make sense. Plus, she just unlocked a whole load of naughty librarian fantasies I didn't know I had.

I cough slightly as my dick gets even harder. “I'm impressed. What made you want to be a librarian?”

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