Page 1 of Arctic Mountain Man
CHAPTER ONE
Sadie
“You want me to carry you?”
Aaron scoffed, his attitude thicker than the fleece lining of his overpriced hiking vest. My ankle throbbed where I’d twisted it, sending a sharp jolt up my leg as I shifted against the tree.
“Come on, babe. Be serious.”
I stared at him, openmouthed, the cool mountain air biting at my cheeks as I tried to process what he’d just said. And why he’d said it. Yeah, I was curvy, but him carrying me was not impossible. He could have at least offered a shoulder to lean on. I’d had to find my own walking stick, damn it.
How had we gone from a romantic fall weekend in the mountains to this? Me, questioning all my life choices that led to dating this guy. Him, ten feet away with his arms crossed, his hiking boots already angled toward the trail like he couldn’t wait to leave.
“I twisted it,” I said, through gritted teeth. “I didn’t fake an injury to get attention.”
As if anything like that would ever have worked on him. We’d only been together for a few months, but he still treated me… wrong.
“I didn’t say you did.” He used the same tone he used when I told him I didn’t like sushi, and he’d tried to convince meotherwise. “We’ve got at least three miles back to the trailhead, and I’ve got the heavier pack.”
I couldn’t stop the snort I gave. His pack was heavier than mine because he was carrying a battery-operated expresso machine, an excessive amount of flannel shirts that still had tags on them and untold cosmetic items. I was carrying the water, food, and the cheap two man tent he’d grabbed at the gas station like it was a pack of gum.
And tucked at the bottom of my pack was a black teddy I’d bought just for him. The thought made my stomach twist with embarrassment. How pathetic was that? I was limping on a mountain for a man who couldn’t be bothered to care.
I felt tears start in my eyes but refused to allow them to fall. I didn’t like to fail. At anything. That’s the only reason I had agreed to this trip, determined to give it my all and see if we could make our relationship work.
For once, I was happy not to succeed at something.
“So, what’s your plan?” I forced myself not to hobble over and throttle him. The look on his face, as if he was the one being inconvenienced, made me momentarily forget about my ankle.
He didn’t answer. Just adjusted the straps on his backpack like he was already mentally halfway down the mountain. “I’ll hike back down. They’ll send someone back up for you.”
“You’re just going to leave me here. In the woods. Injured. In the dark?” Was it wrong to wish a bear would come out of the woods and eat him? I leaned my head against the trunk of the tree which was giving me my only support at the moment.
He shrugged. “Don’t make this a big deal. We were going to sleep out here tonight anyway.”
Fury was now quickly overtaking my pain. I was not the one that wanted to go camping on a mountain, communing with nature. I loved room service and hot water too much for that.
He hitched his pack higher once again and turned away.
“Hey!”
Aaron turned and looked at me. But I hadn’t called out.
The voice came from the trees. Low. Rough. A command that froze the air itself.
A man stepped out from between two trees—six and a half feet of flannel, muscles, and glaring disapproval. He looked like he’d wrestled a bear before breakfast and probably won. Dark, hair, surprisingly well-kept beard, broad shoulders under a worn jacket. And those eyes—a cold arctic blue. Hungry eyes that landed on me for a fraction longer than they should have.
He looked at Aaron like he was dog shit on his boot. I already liked the man.
“You don’t leave someone out here like that.” His voice was calm, but dangerous. A husky growl that curled through me in a way Aaron’s voice never had.
Aaron tried to puff up. I’d seen him do it before. “Who the hell are you?”
The man didn’t answer. He just stepped closer.
“Look, this has nothing to do with you.” Aaron walked over and tried to grab me, no doubt to be used as a shield in case this turned sideways. I stepped away quickly, yelping as I accidentally put weight on my injured foot.
The sound of the punch, short and brutal, made me flinch. Aaron dropped like a sack of potatoes, groaning in the dirt.
