Man of the Mountain (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Rosemary J. Anderson

  Reassured, Alice leaned back against the rock. Her mind churned, filled with worry and doubts of ever making it home. It seemed too good to be true having Hawk come and rescue her. She’d given up all hope of ever seeing home again, of ever having a normal life or husband, home, and family. So was this rescue attempt and Hawk too good to be true? Closing her eyes she sighed, determined to take each day as it came and hoped everything was going to be all right.

  * * * *

  It was completely dark except for the glow from the fire when Alice awoke and every bone in her body ached. Feeling as if she had been tossed off a cliff she carefully moved stiff limbs.

  “So you’re awake. Fancy something to eat?”

  Looking over to where Hawk was sitting by the fire she nodded, wondering what culinary delight he had in store. After trail mix and beef jerky anything would taste like ambrosia.

  Carrying two makeshift plates he came over and handed her one and sat down beside her.

  “You’ll have to use your fingers. I’m afraid cutlery wasn’t top on my list of priorities.”

  Looking down at her plate she gave a small exclamation of delight. The food was not what she expected. Suddenly feeling ravenous she began to tear at the meat with her fingers. Popping small shreds of the meat into her mouth she chewed rapidly and swallowed with delight. Hawk smiled at her eagerness for the food, and silence fell as they both tucked into the welcome meal.

  Finally replete, she sipped the coffee Hawk offered, the granules taken from his precious pack. He sat back sighing in contentment.

  “You know, Hawk, that was the best meal I’ve had in a long time. I suppose it was hunger that made the chicken taste so good, but anyway it was great. Thank you.”

  “Chicken!” Hawk raised an eyebrow, amusement playing around his mobile mouth.

  “Yes, why do you say it like that?”

  “Like what?”

  “Chicken!” Her voice with an added lilt rose a note.

  “No reason, you’re reading too much into a word.”

  Alice frowned. What a ridiculous conversation they were having.

  “Err, Hawk.” She hesitated. “It was chicken, wasn’t it?”

  Hawk stared steadily at her. “Yeh!”

  She suddenly felt unsettled, suspicious. “Where did you get it, then? And where are the feathers?” She looked distrustfully at him. “Oh, my God, it wasn’t chicken, was it?”

  “Just believe it was, honey. Just believe it was.”

  Feeling bile rise in the back of her throat she swallowed convulsively, desperately wanting to know the truth but desperately not wanting to as well.

  “More coffee?”

  Feeling hot as if she had a fever, Alice nodded, deciding ignorance was bliss.

  Coffee drunk in companionable silence, Hawk suggested they settle down for the night.

  As it looked like rain, or so Hawk thought, they moved into the small hollow in the rocks. The hollow in Alice’s opinion was in fact a cave, and in caves there were all sorts of vile and deadly creatures like scorpions, snakes, rats, and spiders. Therefore it was with some reluctance wrapped in trepidation she crawled in after him.

  Inside the cave they could stand up, but Hawk had to stoop slightly to save from hitting his head. It was dark in the interior, not the ordinary dark of night, but a deep inky blackness that actually felt corporeal, almost as if it were a velvet cloak that she could reach out and touch. Hawk switched on a torch, and the beam lit the walls bringing a feeling of relief. Things didn’t seem quite so bad when there was light. Ensuring all was safe, Hawk placed the silver-backed blanket on the floor and indicated she should lie down.

  Hesitating only briefly she did as suggested and, using her pack as a pillow, lay stiff and unmoving. Settling down beside her Hawk sent her a wry look.

  “Couldn’t we at least light a fire?” she whispered.

  “Why are you whispering? There’s no one to hear. And, no, we can’t build a fire in this small space. The smoke would suffocate us. Try to get some sleep. You’re going to need it. I want to make better progress tomorrow.”

  Turning on her side Alice determinedly closed her eyes. Maybe tomorrow would be easier.

  * * * *

  She was screaming. Alice could hear herself, but she couldn’t stop. Snakes were slithering all over her, and Abdul was there, a gun at Hawk’s head in order to stop him from helping her. Starting to struggle she fought off one thick snake, but it returned, wrapping around her, restricting her movements.

  “Alice, Alice!” Hawk shook her awake. “Come on, wake up. You’re having a bad dream.”

  Her eyes snapped open, and she drew a shuddering breath. The snake of her dreams was Hawk’s arm holding her to him, and she felt a sense of relief. Although feeling cold, sweat trickled relentlessly down her spine.

  “S–sorry,” she choked out, wiping away the tears she didn’t even know she was crying. “But it seemed so real.”

  “No problem, sweetheart, but you’re quite safe. Just lie back down. We’ve a couple more hours before we have to get moving.”

  Lying stiffly beside him she closed her eyes, but instantly the dream was back, and she shifted restlessly.

  “You okay?” Hawk, his voice thick with sleep, placed a comforting hand on her arm.

  Nodding she curled into him. A moment’s hesitation, and he was wrapping his arms around her and drawing her into his side.

  “Better?”

  “Yes.”

  “Sleep now.”

  She nodded, but now for some reason she felt wide awake, wide awake and horny.

  Closing her eyes she pretended to go to sleep, but her thoughts churned as her body burned for his touch. She burned to feel his kisses and burned to be possessed by him. What on earth was wrong with her? No man had ever made her feel like this, and it was…disconcerting.

  “Stop wriggling. It’s like sleeping with a bag of worms.” Hawk’s gravelly words made her instantly still. God, she’d better be careful. It would be no good to let him know how she was feeling. It would be just too humiliating.

  “Sorry, lying on a stone.”

  “Mmm, night.”

  “Night.”

  * * * *

  Alice had a cramp. Her calf was killing her. Reaching down she began to rub it vigorously.

  “Now what?”

  “Cramp.”

  “Cramp?”

  “Yes, cramp. So what of it?”

  “Nothin’.”

  “You meant something, so come on spit it out,” she said belligerently, now completely out of sorts.

  “Okay, princess, I’ll tell you. You’ve done nothing but wiggle and sigh and mew since you’ve been in my bed, and if I didn’t know better I’d say…”

  “Yes, what was it you’d say? What? Do you think I’m after you or something? That I want you to make love to me? To take me in your arms and make me a real woman?”

  “Actually,” he interrupted. “What I was going to say is, that if I didn’t know better I’d say you were scared.” He grinned wryly. “However, your version sounds far more interesting. So if you’re game…” He lifted a wicked eyebrow. “Then who am I to object.”

  Chapter Seven

  Quickly maneuvering her until she lay beneath him, and with his hard muscular body pressing hers to the ground, he smiled wryly into her angry eyes.

  “Get off me, you big oaf!” she ground out between clenched teeth, fighting him with every fiber of her being.

  “Tsk, tsk, Miss Dove, what a way for a lady to behave.”

  “Lady. I’ll give you lady, I’ll knock your block off, you pig, if you don’t get off me now.”

  Holding both her wrists above her head with one hand he ran his other over her breasts pausing to squeeze the pert nipple hardening beneath her T-shirt. Her breath caught in the back of her throat, and she stopped struggling. Her insides felt as if they were melting, and she was hot and flustered. This wasn’t like when Abdul and his men groped her, it was… It
was amazing, fantastic, and unbelievably erotic.

  Hawk’s gaze captured and held hers, and then everything seemed to happen in slow motion. His head bent, her eyes closed, and his mouth, oh, his delicious, delectable mouth caressed hers, and her heart skipped a beat.

  Her stomach fluttered uncontrollably, as if a kaleidoscope of butterflies had inhabited her insides, and she frantically pulled at his clothing. She wanted him, needed him, and she had to have him.

  “Hawk,” she pleaded. “Please make love to me.”

  Pulling away he looked solemnly down into her face.

  “Alice, you know I can’t. You’re untouched, a virgin, and it wouldn’t be right.”

  “Oh screw right, Hawk. It’s my body, and I have the right to say when and where, and I’m saying it now. I want you, here and now. No ifs, no buts, and no protestations of my innocence. I may not have known a man in that way, but I’ve lived a year in a brothel where anything goes, where decadence and depravity is the order of the day. My eyes have already been opened to what goes on, really goes on between a man and a woman and now…” She drew a deep breath. “Now I need you to make me a woman, in every sense of the word. You know we may not survive this, this…adventure, so please, Hawk, don’t make me beg anymore.”

  She gazed steadily at him as he hesitated.

  “Please,” she pleaded in a small, almost indiscernible voice.

  Gathering Alice up in his arms, Hawk hesitated no longer but bent his head to capture her lips in a kiss that ignited the senses.

  Alice raised her arms to enable Hawk to remove her T-shirt. Underneath her clothes her only garments were the harem bra and pants. These she was soon divested of, and she lay under him naked. Soon his clothes were gone, and she reveled in the feel of his hair-roughened skin against the softness of her own. Kissing her neck and shoulders, Hawk explored all those funny little places that had her squirming with desire. His callused hands on the tenderness of her breasts caused an ache to pull at the center of her feminine core and moisture to pool between her thighs. Instinctively wrapping her legs around Hawk’s hips, she urged him on, thrusting her hips up against his and mewing in the back of her throat. His hands stroked down her sides from breast to hips, pausing at the indent of her tiny waist, almost as if he was calming an untamed colt.

  “Easy,” he murmured. “Take it slow and easy. It’ll be worth it.”

  Taking one of her nipples into his hot moist mouth he nipped at the peak before suckling gently. Her head fell back, and with her mouth slightly open she drew breath into her suddenly constricted lungs. Her whole body felt as if it were on fire. Her senses heightened, every sound, every spine-tingling touch, and every tender kiss was made manifest, and her blood boiled, pumping through veins like hot lava. Hawk moved down her body caressing and stroking, and where his hands touched his lips followed. Openmouthed kisses seemed to leap like flames over her skin. Completely incapable of coherent thought she lay helpless beneath him, and when his fingers found the moist cleft of her pussy she cried out almost in agony at the feeling of such pleasure.

  * * * *

  Finding her clitoris, Hawk twirled and flicked her swollen nub, watching tenderly as she squirmed and wriggled in ecstasy. Watching her tremble at his touch, smelling the pheromones that rose from her excited pores, and feeling the silken brush of her skin against his torso gave him an extraordinary sense of power whilst also making him feel unusually humble. Replacing his fingers with his cock he nudged at her opening. Feeling her stiffen he sought to reassure, but there was no need. Surprisingly she reached down and, taking his dick in her hand, opened her legs wider and helped ease him in. Capturing her hand he pulled it from his member and with one thrust penetrated her core. Alice’s breath caught, and he felt the soft whisper of her breath on his neck as she slowly exhaled. The pain she had obviously felt at his possession was regrettable, and he called himself all kinds of fool for not controlling his libido. But as she groaned in the back of her throat he almost lost control. She was so enticing, and God help him he couldn’t help himself. Beginning to move, Hawk slowly eased his penis in and out of her wet pussy, feeling her tightness and the pull of her internal muscles. Now completely caught up in the mating dance he became focused and began to move faster.

  * * * *

  The pain Alice felt at Hawk’s penetration quickly receded, and she met each of Hawk’s movements with inexperienced thrusts of her own. The feel of him sheathed inside was like nothing she could ever have imagined. She felt as if they belonged together, as if they were a perfect fit. Her body was completely enervated, boneless, and fragile, and she felt as if only Hawk could restore her equilibrium. His movements were creating a vortex, a swirling of excitement like she was teetering on the edge of something phenomenal and it was sensational. It was hard to explain, hard to define, but she reveled in the feeling. She felt she was in a swirling, dizzying whirlpool that caught her up and transported her to paradise.

  Alice’s hands caressed the subtle skin of his back. Her fingers found the scars that marred his skin, and she felt an uncontrollable anger at whoever had done this to him—her man. Running her fingers down his spine she molded the flesh at his waist before becoming bolder and more confident. His buttocks were hard and muscular, and she squeezed and caressed their perfection enjoying the feeling of liberation being a woman gave her. Her head fell back, her breath coming thick and fast, and her stomach muscles tightened as Hawk began to move faster. Wrapping her legs more firmly around his hips she barely held on as he serviced her with his thick efficient cock.

  * * * *

  In and out Hawk thrust, the thickness of his cock stretching her internal muscles to accommodate his shaft. Feeling the smoothness of her sheath against his engorged cock gave him a feeling of power as if he wanted to imprint her body to his. He was man, he was master, and he was determined to possess her mind, body, and soul. She was feminine, helpless, and compliant, and it drove him crazy. His thrusts became faster, more forceful, and sinking deep into her body he sought out her G-spot.

  * * * *

  Alice felt bewildered, enervated, her body’s needs driving everything else out of her mind. Hawk’s thrusts were powerful, stretching her, demanding a response. Opening her legs wider she attempted to draw him deeper into her pussy. Happily Hawk obliged and sank his cock in her to the hilt. She groaned. This was what she needed. She needed to feel the power and strength of his penetration, needed to feel mastered, where nothing else mattered but the driving need for satisfaction. Crying out as his cock grazed her G-spot she felt as if she was going to shatter into a thousand pieces. Suddenly all the sensations, all the electrifying feelings seemed to accumulate in her womb, and Alice exploded into an orgasm, a climax of a thousand colors. A feral groan rendered the air, and it was then she felt Hawk climax as he pumped his hot seed deep into her body.

  * * * *

  In the aftermath of passion Alice had no regrets. What she had experienced in Hawk’s arms had been a fantastic experience, one she wanted to repeat again and again. Turning her head she saw Hawk was asleep, his features softened in repose. How he felt she had no idea. An experienced man of the world he probably thought her innocent participation was adequate at best. But, she smiled like the proverbial cat that had got at the cream. But she didn’t care. She just wanted to do it over and over and over again, and she wanted to do it with Hawk. Tenderly she snuggled up to him, feeling his body warmth seep into her now chilly limbs. Closing her eyes she smiled happily as he turned in his sleep, and his arm snaked around her waist pulling her close.

  * * * *

  It was beginning to get light when Alice next opened her eyes. It was chilly, and she shivered as the early-morning air caressed her naked skin. Naked! Sitting up quickly she looked for Hawk, but he was nowhere to be seen. Finding her clothes she hurriedly stepped into them and went in search of him. Crawling out of the cave she blinked as the rising sun briefly blinded her, sending little dazzling spots before her eyes. Gaining her
feet she noticed Hawk had built another fire, and the enticing smell of coffee filled the air.

  “Morning, princess.”

  “Morning,” she muttered, wondering how on earth he knew she was there when he hadn’t even turned around.

  “The noise.”

  “What?”

  “I knew you were there by the noise you were making.”

  Dumbfounded that he seemed to know what she was thinking had her hesitating for a moment. “I didn’t make any noise.”

  Hawk turned to face her. “Yes, actually you did. Your breathing was labored from getting out of the cave, your hands scraped through the dirt, disturbing little pieces of grit, and you probably bumped your head or did yourself some other injury going by the almost inaudible ‘shit.’”

  “Sorry, I seem to have for one moment forgotten you were some kind of mystic.”

  He grinned in the face of her belligerence. “Don’t sweat it, princess.” He held up the pot.” Coffee?”

  Nodding Alice sat against the rock and held out a mug. Uncertain how a woman was supposed to act toward the man she’d just had sex with she chose silence. Stuttering and faltering over her words would just make her look like some kind of innocent fool and that would be unthinkable.

  * * * *

  Hawk watched Alice over the rim of his mug. She was obviously embarrassed, hesitant as to how to act or what to say, and he had no idea how to make it easier for her. He was used to women who knew what it was all about, who knew the rules. Morning-afters had never been a problem. A shared shower, a cup of coffee, and then a parting of ways. However, in the case of Alice, they had the next few days together. Days of intimacy neither had asked for, so perhaps it would be better if what they had shared last night never happened again. His remit was to get her home in one piece as a favor to her father, a favor his late father was no longer able to repay. He sat back against the rock as his thoughts traveled back to that terrible time.