One Night with the Mountain Man

Rain pelted my shoulders, soaking through the jacket I’d tossed on when I left my truck by the edge of the raging creek. The storm I’d been trying to beat had rolled in a few hours earlier than predicted. Thanks to an injury that made my knee throb when the air pressure changed, I was usually good about tracking storms. This one had turned at the last minute, though. Instead of unleashing a torrential downpour closer to town, it lingered over the mountains I called home.

I should have made the trip into town earlier in the week, but I’d been distracted. Now I was paying the price. Thanks to the storm, the creek had overflowed and washed out the one-lane bridge that led home. I’d spent the last two hours looking for a safe place to cross and had another couple of miles to go before I reached my cabin.

Due to the wind and blowing rain, I could only see a few feet ahead of me, even with my flashlight. With no other option but to press on, I scanned the path ahead. The weak beam caught on something red. I wiped the water from my eyes and moved closer for a better look.

It was a bag. Leather from the looks of it with a long strap. Before I had the chance to think about how an expensive bag ended up this high up on the mountain, the edge of the light caught on something else. My gaze took in a shoe. A woman’s shoe. Connected to a woman’s leg.

Fuck. I crouched down next to a body, hoping she was still alive. People in town were already wary of me since I kept to myself. I didn’t want to explain how I’d come across a woman’s dead body in the middle of a storm.

Shallow breaths made her chest rise and fall. The shirt she had on plastered against her curves. I couldn’t leave her here, but what the fuck was I supposed to do with her? I moved the light so I could see her face. Even with mud covering her cheek and twigs tangled in her hair, the sight of her made my breath catch.

Auburn hair framed her face. Her skin looked like porcelain—flawless and smooth. Plump pink lips parted slightly, and I wondered what they’d look like curved into a wide smile.

I scooped her up in my arms and gently cradled her against my chest. She moaned as I tried not to jostle her. I’d take her to the cabin and make sure she was okay. Then I’d get her back down the mountain as soon as I could. These woods were no place for a woman who looked like she ought to be plastered across magazine covers.

Carrying the curvy beauty in my arms slowed my progress, but I didn’t stop until we reached the door of my cabin. The mutt I’d rescued a couple of years ago barked and whined as I flung the door open.

“Easy, Lucky. Don’t wake her up.” I kicked the door closed behind me, carried her to the bedroom, and set her down in the middle of my giant king-sized bed.
Lucky hopped up onto the mattress and gingerly sniffed around her. Then he looked up at me, his big brown eyes full of the same questions that had been playing through my mind since I’d found her.

“I don’t know who she is,” I told him. He seemed to understand, and the two of us gazed down at her. She looked so small lying there. I didn’t want to leave her in sopping wet clothes, but I also didn’t want to touch her any more than I had to. It’s not that I didn’t trust myself. Years of military training had honed my self-control. Though my limits had never been tested by a woman like her.

Fuck it. I’d treat her like any other soldier in need of assistance. With shaky fingers, I slid the tiny pearl buttons free and peeled off her shirt. The even in and out of my breath belied the heat unfurling through my belly. Ignoring the way my cock rallied at the sight of beaded nipples poking through her lacy bra, I shifted my attention to her pants. Before I could slide them down her legs, I needed to remove the useless boots.
She winced as I worked her right foot free. Her ankle appeared to be twice the size of her left. It didn’t look broken, but it was definitely swollen and possibly sprained. Forcing myself to move slowly, even though I couldn’t wait to put some distance between us, I peeled her pants away from her body.

Even though she was soaked through, leaving her in a wet bra and panties would be for the best. I wrapped a huge fleece blanket around her then headed to the kitchen to get some ice for her ankle. Every once in a while, I’d come across a camper or hiker who ignored the “Private Property” and “No Trespassing” signs I’d put up around the perimeter of my land, but this deep into the forest, the ones who got lost always had gear with them.

She didn’t look like she’d planned on spending a ton of time in the woods based on her choice of footwear. Someone was probably looking for her.

As I filled an ice pack from the freezer, I checked my phone. No signal. Service on the mountain was spotty at best, and with this kind of weather, it would be impossible to make a call.

Hopefully Sleeping Beauty wouldn’t freak out when she woke up in the middle of the woods with a complete stranger, because there was absolutely nothing I could do for her except wait out the storm.

No matter how long it lasted.