Page 7 of Assembling with the Mountain Man

“You’re coming home with me.” I said, the words coming out more demanding than I intended. I closed the door and ran around the side, throwing the door open and sliding behind the wheel.

I cleared my throat, reached over and took her hand in mind. “It’s not safe for you to drive anywhere. Please stay with me. I have plenty of room, including a guest bedroom suite you can use.”

“But Lucian…we hardly know each other. I’m sure I could call Leighton and have Cash come pick me up. I don’t want to put you out.”

“We hardly know each other?” I swallowed down the hurt I felt. She’s right. I had no clue who she was a few short hours ago. But why was that thought so painful? “We might have only just met, but we certainly didn’t kiss like two people who just met.”

She rubbed a hand along her still swollen lips. When her eyes met mine, so much reflected back. Her hesitation, indecisiveness, thinking about everything I said, all of it wrapped up into one anxious glance.

“That’s true.” Chevelle bit her bottom lip again.

“Think about it like when you have a one-night stand. You go home with the person you only just met, right?”

“I mean, yeah…”

“I take it you haven’t?”

“Not really my style.”

“Good, it’s not mine, either. But for each other, in this moment, we’re making an exception. And something tells me it’ll be worth it.” I squeezed her hand and slowly made our way to my cabin, the tow truck following behind.

CHAPTER FIVE

Chevelle

Lucian was bringingme to his place.

He. Was. Bringing. Me. To. His. Place.

Inside, I was freaking out, but I tried to remain cool, calm, and collected on the outside. How we went from meeting to kissing to him bringing me to his house in such a short time was almost mind boggling. But that’s how stuff like this happened, right? Leighton didn’t mean to meet Cash when she stumbled into his orchard. I certainly didn’t mean to meet Lucian while simply trying to complete a work errand. But life put people in your path for a reason. I firmly believed that.

While it was only a short distance away, it took almost twenty minutes to navigate through the thick mud. I never saw roads get so muddy before and it worried me. My car couldn’t handle the tough mountain terrain.

The rain finally let up as we pulled into the driveway of a very large log cabin, a picturesque cabin if I ever did see one. Cement filled Lucian’s driveway, smooth and wet from the rain. Anything was better than mud.

I waited in the truck while the tow driver dropped my car off behind Lucian’s truck. I hopped out when he finished and offered to pay, but Lucian wouldn’t hear of it. He pushed my money away and told me it was on him. I’d leave a few twenties on his counter at some point.

“Let’s get inside. I’ll light a fire. The rain brought on a chill.” Lucian took me by the hand and led me to his front door.

He was right. The air was considerably cooler, and the sun was gone, no longer bothering to even try to poke some rays through the clouds.

“Your cabin looks gorgeous.”

“Thank you. It was in the family. I took it over when my uncle moved out and I fixed up some things, remolded some others, and added a pool in the backyard.” Lucian said as he pushed open the door and the smell of cinnamon filled my nose.

“Is that cinnamon? Do you bake?” I teased and Lucian laughed.

“Yes, it’s cinnamon and no I don’t bake. Trust me, you don’t want to see that disaster. My mother loves loading my place with candles and air freshener. She always said, a happy home is a good smelling home.”

“Your mom sounds like a smart woman.”

“She’s amazing. Like you.”

I flushed from head to toe.How did this man always make me feel so damn good?

“C’mon, I’ll give you the tour.” Lucian closed the door behind me and took a left into the living room, signaling for me to follow.

His cabin was stunning from top to bottom, with large bedrooms and walk in closets filling the second floor, the guest suite with its own bathroom, and a master bedroom suite as well. A third bathroom sat amid the bedrooms.

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