Man of the Mountain (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Rosemary J. Anderson

  It was late afternoon when among much laughter, back slapping, and hand shaking the bandits left them. Suddenly alone with Hawk she felt self-conscious. Her hair was a mess, dirty and sweat soaked, and her body was bathed in perspiration. However, he appeared to notice none of these things and besides sparing her a quick glance, carried on climbing with a steady and purposeful stride.

  For Alice the rest of the day passed slowly, with every step she hoped Hawk would give the order to stop, but he carried on long into the evening. It was only when night had fallen and the moon rose high in the sky that he called a halt. Alice fell to the ground too exhausted to do more. Sparing her only a quick glance, Hawk threw his pack on the ground and pulled out the silver-backed blanket.

  Shrugging her own pack from her burning shoulders, she tiredly unscrewed the cap of her water bottle and took great gulps of the tepid liquid.

  Feeling a hand on her shoulder she looked up into Hawk’s cool features.

  “There’s not much shelter here, Alice, but if we get up close and personal against the rock face at least it’ll accord us some shelter from the breeze.”

  “Can’t we build a fire?”

  Shaking his head he helped her up and sat her back against the rocks. Sitting beside her he pulled the blanket up around their shoulders and gathered her in. Silence ensued as they tucked into their evening meal, a hunk of bread spread with a kind of cheese given to them by the bandits washed down with water. Meal finished, Hawk wrapped an arm around her shoulders and, pulling her head against his chest, settled down to sleep.

  Alice could hear the steady beat of Hawk’s heart under her cheek, smell his undeniable scent, that of sweat, wood smoke, and lemon, and feel the strength and possessiveness of his embrace and was comforted by it. Her eyes felt heavy, her lids feeling as if they were being weighed down by rocks, and finally feeling warm and secure she slept.

  * * * *

  Hawk’s sleep wasn’t quite so restful. He was damned tired, but his mind was filled with thoughts, worries, and questions of which he didn’t know the answers. He knew Alice’s stamina had almost deserted her today, and it had been hard pushing her on almost to the point of exhaustion. Nevertheless he needed to put as much space as possible between them and Abdul’s men. One of the bandits had seen movement on the lower slopes of the mountain and upon leaving them the band had gone to investigate, to what end he probably would never know. Moving her slight weight he eased his arm and looked down into her dirty face. She shifted restlessly in protest to his movement, and his eyes softened. He had to admit he had been surprised by her behavior. He’d thought she’d give up at the first obstacle, but she’d shown a surprising amount of fortitude. Sighing deeply he closed his eyes. He needed sleep. They still had a long way to go, and she would need to be able to rely on his strength and leadership to get her through. He smiled at the gentle snorts she was making as she settled more comfortably against him. She felt so soft, her contours, curvaceous but slim, held an enticing allure, and he was no saint when it came to women and to this one in particular. He wondered at that. With his career the way it was, he found that loving and leaving women was the best way to act. Only dating women of the world, women who knew the score, he took what they willingly offered and in return showed them a good time. But now, things had changed. His feelings had changed and all because of this brave and beautiful woman snuggled in his arms.

  The night wore on and as the temperature dropped even further ever-wakeful Hawk pulled Alice closer to him and hauled the blanket high over their shoulders. Staring at the sky his heart dropped when the first flakes of snow began to fall. The higher they climbed the colder it got, but snow, he hadn’t reckoned on that.

  * * * *

  Alice stirred, she felt cold. Gone was the warmth of Hawk’s arms. Coming fully awake she gazed around her in astonishment. Snow! She couldn’t believe it. A few days ago they had been in the middle of a hot desert, the sand underfoot scorching the soles of her feet, but now…

  “Good, you’re awake. It’s time we got moving.”

  She looked up at the sound of Hawk’s voice and struggled from the all-encompassing blanket. “Snow?”

  Hawk nodded. “So it seems.”

  Handing her some bread and water he waited impatiently as she ate her meagre breakfast and used the facilities, that of a bit of scrub grass that barely concealed or maintained her dignity.

  * * * *

  Alice tried not to think or feel, such was the cold. They had been traveling for some time now, and at first the effort of keeping up had proven to be not only a challenge, but had also kept the cold at bay. Now hours later the cold was seeping into every bone, creeping insidiously to her very core. The clothing she was wearing barely kept out the chill, and her feet had gone from burning to freezing. Hawk was relentless, scarcely stopping, moving ever forward, a silent sentinel intent on his goal.

  Alice was tired, cold, and hungry, her sore feet had now lost all feeling, and she was feverish, feeling waves of heat enveloping her between the bouts of shivering. Wanting desperately to throw herself down onto the ground and sleep, uncaring about anything or anyone, she kept one foot moving in front of the other in an effort to stay upright.

  Not realizing Hawk had come to a halt she bumped into his back but hadn’t the strength to do more than stand and stare up at him. Grasping her arm Hawk began moving again, hauling her in his wake.

  “There’s a cave a few feet up this ridge. We can hole up for the night and at least build a fire. You’re soaked to the skin.” He looked at her. “But it’s a vertical climb, and to be honest I don’t think you can manage it.”

  “But what?” She licked her suddenly dry lips. “What I mean is, you’re not going to leave me are you?” Her voice petered out as tears filled her eyes.

  “Foolish woman!” he growled, taking the rope and attachments from his shoulder. “I’m going to haul you up there whether you like it or not. However, I would suggest you don’t look down.”

  Alice was more terrified than she had ever been in her life. Her worries about getting home, of the cold, and of the pain in her limbs were all forgotten as she swung dizzily out from the mountain. Relying only on Hawk’s strength and sureness of foot she’d put her life in his hands. The climb was only a few feet, but for her it was a few feet of petrifying, nausea-filled minutes of hanging thousands of feet above sea level on a harness the thickness of her thumb. Every step Hawk made she jerked upward, and trying to stay at least a little in control she endeavored to stay upright by gripping the rope above her head. However, with the last jerk she’d lost her precarious hold and fell backward. Held just by the harness around her hips and waist she found herself upside down. Feeling as if she was about to pass out from fear alone she desperately tried to regain her balance. Struggling in an attempt to come upright and retake the rope she suddenly became still as Hawk had shouted for her to stop pulling back on the harness. That left her with little choice but to hang there at the mercy of her swimming senses. Closing her eyes against the whirling vortex that seemed to be pulling her down she tried to calm her breathing, but the air was thin, and she choked as the cold caught the back of her throat. Thankful at least for the darkness lest she see the might of her fall she waited for the rushing wind to draw her down and down to sure and certain death.

  Chapter Thirteen

  A hard hand grabbed her wrist, and Alice was hauled up and over the precipice’s edge. Hawk stared into her large rounded eyes and felt as if he could see right into her very soul. She’d lost all trace of color, and fear was etched onto her pale and waxen features. Shock seemed to hold her spellbound, and as he unhooked the harness and urged her into the inky blackness of the cave he worried about her state of mind.

  Pressing a hand on her shoulder he encouraged her to sit, and with a concerned look at her shivering form set about building a fire.

  * * * *

  Alice sat gazing mindlessly into the darkness. In her peripheral vision she could s
ee Hawk going about the business of building a fire, but she found she couldn’t move such was the shock and her fatigue. She was cold, yet waves of heat swept over her. She wanted to cry, and tears filled her eyes, but she held them back, and more than anything else she wanted this to be over. Her life over the last year had been a nightmare. She’d been kidnapped, beaten half-starved, terrorized, and tormented, then had come the euphoria of being saved. However, being rescued had come at a price. The constant fear of being found by Abdul, the terror of the climb, the hunger, the heat, and now the cold, and she just wanted it to be over. But, her conscience prompted her, but there was more. Go on admit it at least to yourself. Briefly she closed her eyes and her ears to the words her mind constantly repeated. Go on admit it, admit it. Admit it!

  Yes, there was more, she finally accepted. More than the terror, more than the cold and hunger, there was the love. The love she had for Hawk. In his arms she’d experienced what it was like to really be a woman. She’d felt the heat of his passion and the warmth of his arms, but she’d also found herself. Found her own strength and courage, her own determination to survive, but most of all she’d found love. Love for her man, for Hawk.

  * * * *

  The fire was blazing, the flames licking over the twigs lighting up the walls and creating a comforting atmosphere. Hawk turned to look at Alice. She was still in shock and hadn’t moved.

  Placing a dish of water among the flames he strolled over to her.

  “Alice, come on, you need to get out of those wet clothes.” He placed a hand against her cheek and then on her brow. “You’re burning up and sitting in wet things will only make things worse. So, take off everything, and wrap yourself in the blanket, the silver back is thermal and will soon warm you up.”

  Nodding, Alice absently began disrobing, discarding her clothes one by one. Hawk stared at her as she disrobed, then pulling himself together and cursing his libido, turned away to get a broth going.

  * * * *

  Wrapped in the blanket, Alice picked up her clothing and placed the items carefully over some convenient outcrops of rock taking the time to straighten out the creases. Hawk had disappeared to, she knew not where, but funnily enough she still felt a sense of security. She knew even though the words hadn’t been said that after all they’d been through he wouldn’t leave her now.

  Her chores finished she settled down beside the fire. Holding her hands out toward the flames she eventually felt the heat seep through to her bones, and finally the shivering stopped. Looking around she noted the cave was dark and dank. Who knew there were so many caves or crevices on a mountain? The ground was just cold, hard rock, which was why she was sitting on her pack. She smiled wryly remembering what her mother used to tell her as a child that sitting on the cold floor would cause you to have piles. Well, piles were the least of her worries now. Now her most pressing concern was for food. She was starving. It was at that moment Hawk returned. Seeing her looking more alert he smiled in pleased gratification.

  “Hungry?” he queried, his eyebrow lifting.

  Nodding she whispered a suddenly shy yes.

  Handing Alice a cup of black coffee, Hawk assured her that food would soon follow, but in the meantime she should just try to relax. No one, he assured her, was going anywhere at the moment as the weather had gone from bad to worse. Alice looked toward the entrance in surprise. She’d been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn’t realized that not only was the snow coming thick and fast, but a lightning storm was also tearing at the sky. Looking up from her contemplation of the fire as Hawk loomed above her she smiled shyly drinking in the sight of him. He was so very beautiful this man of the mountain. Handing her a makeshift bowl he sat beside her. Raising the bowl she sniffed in appreciation. God, she was so hungry her stomach felt like her throat had been cut. Sniffing the aroma her stomach growled in response, and now having learned it didn’t pay to dwell on what she was eating she took a good mouthful of the thick broth.

  Mmm, it was marvelous, the best soup she had ever tasted.

  Noticing his amused glance, Alice frowned down at the soup she was greedily gobbling. Knowing Hawk she wouldn’t be at all surprised if he’d fed her rat and worm soup.

  * * * *

  It was later, much later, and Alice feeling toasty and warm stirred in Hawk’s arms. After the substantial meal of soup and black coffee, they’d curled up together to keep warm. Her clothes hadn’t been dry, but as Hawk pointed out, in all the survival books it was considered that the way to stay alive against the insidious creep of hypothermia was to get body heat. So with that in mind he’d stripped off all but his boxers and had pulled her naked form into his arms before rolling them both into the blanket. Now, she pushed the blanket down from her neck. For some reason she was wide awake. The storm seemed to have stopped, and an eerie silence filled the cave. Shifting restlessly she sought to relieve her hip from the torment of the rock.

  “Easy, princess,” Hawk growled softly.

  “Sorry,” she whispered back, now conscious of his naked chest pressing against the fullness of her breasts.

  Relaxing back into his arms she determinedly closed her eyes. She needed to sleep. Soon it would be morning and they would be back on the trail, and just the thought of more climbing held for her more than a little trepidation. In spite of this sleep proved to be elusive.

  However, rather than disturb Hawk more than she had already she lay unnaturally stiff and quiet beside him.

  Hawk sighed. She felt the rise of his chest under her cheek and the whoosh of breath against her hair.

  “Can’t you sleep?” he murmured, his voice thick with sleep.

  “Err, no, I’m sorry I don’t know why, but I feel wide awake now.”

  “Try counting sheep.”

  “Done that.”

  “Making your mind blank?”

  “That, too.”

  “Hot milk and cookies?”

  “Ha-ha.”

  “Well then, that just leaves one thing.”

  “What?”

  “Sex.”

  “S–sex?”

  “Yep, fraid so. Sex is the only sure and certain remedy I know.” He smiled down into Alice’s pink face.

  “Well in that case…” Alice bit her lip, feeling the throb on her clitoris in anticipation. “I suppose we’ll just have to go for it.”

  “S’pose so,” he muttered, quickly kicking free of his boxers before his mouth found hers in a kiss that stirred her senses.

  Moving down her body, Hawk gently nipped at her flesh followed by a kiss. Where she had been cold, she now was hot, and where she had shook with fever she now trembled with expectancy. The touch of his mouth on her breast, her ribs, the curve of her waist, and the flatness of her stomach fused her with a fizz of electricity.

  Sitting back on his heels, Hawk caught her knees over his arms and bent his head to her quivering, wet pussy. Lifting her higher his tongue licked along the crevice of her vagina, and the lips opened like a lotus flower to the warmth of the sun. Capturing her clitoris between his teeth he gently gave it a tug, before his lips enclosed the pulsating nub into the heated moistness of his mouth. Squealing in delight, Alice’s hips bucked beneath his ministrations, and her breath came thick and fast. She’d never experienced anything like this before, and she felt as if she was having an out-of-body experience. Her head swam, and her heart thumped as adrenaline pumped around her body. Inserting two fingers into her pussy, Hawk thrust with vigor as simultaneously he licked her juices and teased her swollen clit.

  Alice’s heart raced, and unaware of anything but the sensations he was creating within her she squirmed in a mixture of agony and pleasure. A heart-stopping moment later she exploded on an orgasm so powerful she almost lost consciousness. Her ears buzzed and she felt as if her head was stuffed full of cotton wool. Fire ran like hot lava through her veins, and a painful pleasure pulsated up from her clitoris to her womb.

  However, Hawk was not finished and gathering her up he
molded her contours to his body and plunged his fully engorged cock deep into her. Giving a joyous cry of exhilaration, Alice wrapped her legs around his hips and met thrust for thrust. Feeling the length and width of Hawk’s cock stretching her internal muscles Alice felt a sense of belonging as if they were made for each other, formed to fit. His hips worked, his lips caressed, and the brush of his chest against the taut peaks of her nipples created a friction that sizzled like boiling water on hot coals. Her senses were heightened. Everything appeared embellished, the sound of their breathing, the feel of flesh upon flesh, and the smell of sex. It surrounded and invaded creating a primal experience that ignited an orgasm of a thousand colors. A shout and Hawk followed her into that world where only sensation existed.

  Chapter Fourteen

  It was hours later before Alice stirred. Slowly opening her eyes she lay staring up into blackness. Turning her head to one side, she looked at Hawk. He was still asleep, his face softened in repose. She felt any number of things as she looked at him. Love, that was a certainty. Gratitude, that, too, was a given, but something more, something elemental that had nothing to do with her rescue, or with sex for that matter. It was… She bit her lip searching her mind for that elusive something. It was a connection, a deep primal connection that came from her soul. It was as if it was written in the stars that one day they would be destined to meet. It was kismet. She smiled whimsically, but her smile faded. However, what was going to happen after she returned to her home? Would Hawk stick around? Or would it be, “It’s been nice knowing you, but I’ve an adventurous life to lead, and I’ve no room for commitment?” She felt a catch in her heart. Never to see Hawk again, how would she be able to continue? In a short period of time he had become part of her life, part of her, and she loved him more than she had loved another living thing. Suddenly her heart was filled with melancholy, the tears not far away. What if she should lose him? What if they didn’t get home, and he was lost to her? And more importantly, what if he felt nothing for her except the fondness of a bedmate? The questions filled her mind, and she felt such despair.