Something About a Mountain Man

by Em Petrova

  “Not up your nose. You wouldn’t hold still.”

  “Ugh. And here I thought you’d outgrown that twelve-year-old boy stage.”

  “I don’t think any man ever fully outgrows it.”

  That was true. She’d seen village elders giggle over a dog dragging its butt across a dirt yard.

  Ryan reached out and slid his wounded hand into her hair, brushing what must look like a flaming bush off her face. She reached up and caught his wrist, looking into his eyes and leaning into his touch.

  After a minute of him stroking her hair, her eyes slipped shut again and she started to tip back onto the bed.

  “Nope. You have to get up. We’re heading to the Hostlers’ to finish stacking their wood, remember?”

  She cracked an eye. “I don’t know how you can even lift your arm let alone think about swinging an ax today after all the chopping you did yesterday.”

  He leaned over her, bracing his hands on the bed next to her hips and did a very sexy, very insinuating pushup over her. “Sweetheart, I can go all day.”

  With that, he stepped away. “Get dressed.”

  She watched him disappear from the cabin and heard the greeting barks of Freckles, who’d apparently made the trek between homesteads again this morning. Her mind wasn’t on the nomadic ways of the puppy but on the man speaking in a low rumble to the dog.

  Ryan definitely wasn’t himself today. He’d started off with a smile, teased her with a finger in her nose and followed it all with a sexy move that had her sitting here burning for him. What was going on?

  What she’d glimpsed this morning wasn’t even the Ryan she’d known in Afghanistan. Then again, that man had been stern and tense, engaging in fun with his buddies only sometimes. Others, he’d go off alone and she knew the war was eating at him.

  So this version of Ryan Stone… seemed happy. A new leaf maybe? Or, dare she say she might have something to do with that twinkle in his eyes? He sure as hell put a bounce in her step.

  She got out of bed. Reaching for her clothes, she spotted her camera on the table with the lens cap off.

  Suspicions took hold and she walked naked to the table, ignoring the cool air on her skin. When she picked up her camera and looked through the last photos taken, her jaw dropped.

  Ryan had taken pictures of her, asleep, of her curves and her bare thigh.

  She held the camera to her chest and stared into space for ten full heartbeats before she could wrap her head around what he’d done. This wasn’t something a lover who didn’t care would act. He must have feelings for her. Even though his efforts with the camera were clumsy, they were still taken through his eyes.

  A shiver coursed through her, part emotion, part chill. She set down the camera just as the door burst open. The mountain man filled the doorway, dawn breaking around his silhouette.

  For the second time that day, her jaw dropped. “You shaved.” Her voice wavered.

  He stepped into the room. “You’re naked.” His eyes darkened. Then in four steps he was on her. One hand sliding between her thighs and one under her ass as he lifted her. Before he’d laid her on the bed, he buried his fingers in her pussy.

  She cried out as electricity hit her system—and Ryan kissed her for the first time as a clean-shaven man.

  The delicious smoothness made her feel she was kissing somebody entirely new and yet it tasted like Ryan. She dragged him down and spread her legs for him to reach… that…

  She tensed as his fingertips skimmed her inner wall in a way that drove her crazy.

  “Fuck, you’re soaking for me.” He kissed down to her breasts and sucked her nipple into his mouth—hard. The silken lines of his jaw compared to the ferocious pull of his lips and teeth drove her upward.

  Thought fled her mind and she bucked her hips to get closer, more, closer, more.

  When he circled her clit with his thumb, she trembled in his hold. Arching as her orgasm slammed into her. Hot waves of sensation invaded, and she was helpless to do anything but let Ryan cradle her in his arms and kiss the breath right out of her.

  After her final pulsation made her boneless and limp, he lowered her to the bed and straightened. “Best get a move on, Liv.”

  She stared at him. “What? What about you? You can’t just…” she floundered, “do that to me and not get any pleasure in return.”

  Holding her gaze, he raised his fingers to his lips and licked them clean.

  Another shiver took over her body but this time she was hot.

  “We have time, sweetheart. Right now, daylight’s burning.”

  “That isn’t all that’s burning,” she murmured.

  He cocked that bad-boy crooked smile at her for the second time that day and left the cabin.

  After hurrying through a short washing routine, she dressed and slipped on her boots. When she picked up her camera, she couldn’t resist sneaking another peek at the photographs Ryan had taken of her. Her heart warmed.

  The photo of him back on her darkroom wall was the beginning of their friendship. But these pictures were the beginning of their love story.

  When she stepped out of the cabin and spotted his handsome, rugged face, she couldn’t help but think he hadn’t gained release for himself. She bit into her lower lip as an idea hatched. It might delay them from reaching the Hostlers by a few minutes, but she thought Ryan would appreciate the reason for the setback.

  * * * * *

  “Dammit, I’m still hard. How am I going to walk into that clearing like this?” Ryan gestured to his crotch and his distended fly. Livvy had grabbed him in the woods, dropped to her knees, unzipped his jeans and wrapped those sweet lips around his length until he’d been praying to the treetops.

  She flashed him a satisfied smirk. “Nobody’s going to be looking at your jeans. They’ll all be looking at your face.” She reached up and ran her cool fingers over his bare jaw. The sensation shocked him a little.

  “It’ll take some getting used to. And it’s a pain to shave every day. I might let it grow back.” He didn’t know why he was telling her this—she’d likely be gone, on her way to Alaska by the time any real beard growth took place.

  Firmly shoving that notion away, he caught her fingers and kissed them. In doing so, he detected a trace of her scent on his own hand. Need rolled through him.

  Freckles shot forward yapping his head off to get to his mother. They stood in the yard, tails wagging, happy to see each other. Next came the children, running toward the edge of the woods calling for Ryan and Livvy.

  They broke apart and shared a smile. “Let’s get to it,” he said.

  With a nod, she moved away from him. He watched her back—spine straight and head held high with a confidence that had drawn him to her from the very first time he’d set eyes on her. Her thick red braid swung on her back and as she stopped to talk to the eager little boys, she stood in profile and Ryan saw the genuine delight brightening her face.

  Fuck, he was in so deep that he might as well be mired in quicksand. From where he stood, he couldn’t even see daylight. He was in love with the beautiful photographer and there was no return. Right now, it was heaven, but when she left…

  He stomped into the dirt yard, his mood taking a downturn. He talked to Chad for a minute or two before taking his ax in hand and heading to the woodpile. After half an hour of nonstop brutal chops at the logs to split them, he was even grumpier because Livvy had been right—his shoulder muscles were sore and tight.

  And his leg too. The pose he’d stood in for the past few days working to give the Hostlers enough wood to stay warm and cook this spring had set off his injury.

  The Hostler woman appeared at the wood pile, gasping at the sight of him. For a minute he had no idea what had her making such a noise, when he remembered his shaven face.

  “Wow, don’t you look ready for church? I bet Livvy likes you without the beard.”

  A growl pushed up his throat. He didn’t want to think about the beard anymore or Livvy’s tak
e on it.

  Lynn flapped a hand. “Come around the cabin and have some lunch now.”

  He set down his ax and went to the water holding tank that he and Chad had managed to rig up to siphon straight from the clear mountain spring and supply the family. But in the freezing temps, the creek would be iced over and they’d have to come up with another system, something like Ryan had with several tanks filtered through charcoal to keep the water fresh and free of bacteria.

  There was a hell of a lot more work to do here with the Hostlers before they could survive a second winter. It shouldn’t feel so pressing, being springtime, but there was never enough time in the mountains.

  As he circled the cabin, Livvy’s gaze landed on him. A smile spread over her face, sweet as honey on warm bread.

  He set his foot down on an uneven spot and his leg muscle wrenched. He grabbed his thigh and steeled his other muscles to keep himself from going down right there in front of the Hostlers… and Livvy. The last thing he wanted was her pity, but dammit, she was already running to him with concern etched on her pretty features.

  “I’m fine,” he grumbled, waving her away.

  “Your leg. What happened?”

  “Took a hit from a grenade, that’s what.”

  Her face drained of color, and he felt like the biggest bastard on earth. Why couldn’t he allow the love and light that surrounded her to enter his life for very long?

  Because he didn’t deserve it, that was why.

  He took off for the table and benches the Hostlers had set up outside. The family was already seated, five sets of eyes trained on his slow, painful progress across the yard. Why wasn’t his thigh uncramping? When it got this way, he had to really dig in with his knuckles and knead the knot out. But there wasn’t much muscle left there and the scar tissue would hurt like hell afterward, which resulted in him being off his feet for longer than he wanted.

  Livvy bustled around his side to pull out the end of the bench for him.

  “I got it,” he snapped.

  The blood returned to her pale face and she lit up like a flare, cheeks burning. With a haughty noise, she took her own place at the table and didn’t look Ryan’s way again.

  Grace was said and thanks given to Livvy and himself, but he wished to hell the Hostlers wouldn’t thank him anymore. And he wished his work here was finished so he could go back to his side of the mountain and be left alone.

  He ignored the boys’ chatter and Lynn’s plans to get some sheep and goats. But when Chad turned the conversation to more momma bears with cubs coming up the mountain since the weather had really broken, Ryan looked up from his plate of cornbread and roasted, seasoned vegetables.

  Livvy had been staring at him, and she let her gaze skitter away.

  Fuck, he was being a dick. But it was better she knew now what he was than to fall in love with him and find out afterward.

  “You boys stick close to home,” Ryan said to the Hostler children.

  They nodded, faces serious.

  “Yeah, don’t wander off,” Chad added.

  Ryan swung his stare to Livvy. “That goes for you too.”

  Her lips parted in surprise and then the blush flooded her face again, making her complexion nearly as red as her hair. But one glance told him this was no embarrassed blush.

  She was mad.

  Steaming mad.

  Twisting her lips together so not a sound could break free, she stabbed at her vegetables like they had done her wrong. Or like she was envisioning Ryan on the plate and the fork tines poking his soft spots.

  Dammit, she’d already poked at all his vulnerable spots simply by showing up on the mountain.

  Somehow, they got through lunch and Livvy, Lynn and the kids worked on building a pen for the sheep and goats while he and Chad finished splitting and stacking the wood in a dry spot against the cabin where the newly-expanded roof overhung.

  When they were finished, Ryan’s mood was no better. In fact, the ache in his thigh and the thought he had to walk through the woods to get home was making it worse. His idea to leave the horse stabled and hunt on foot on the way to and from the Hostlers had been stupid.

  As he went to find Livvy so they could leave, he forced himself not to limp. The look of concern—or was it pity?—in her eyes wasn’t welcome. He just wanted his own piece of land and a bit of solitude. He didn’t want to stick around for chitchat or to hear more thanks, so he hoped the Hostlers were ready to just see them off.

  Livvy’s gaze dipped to his leg. Great. She knew he was favoring it. Why did the woman have to know him so well?

  “Ready?” His voice was back to sounding gruff.

  She arched a brow at him but didn’t speak because Chad was walking toward them and reaching out to shake Ryan’s hand.

  “You’re leaving so soon?”

  “Yeah, I’ve got my own spread to look after.”

  Chad stepped back at Ryan’s words and tone.

  “Ryan!” Livvy whispered under her breath. She put a hand on his arm.

  He shook her off. “Hope the wood lasts you a while.”

  “Well…” Chad tried to recover from the blow to his pride. Ryan felt like an even bigger ass, but it was too late to take it back. Besides, it wasn’t in his nature. “I’d be happy to come round to your place and help you with your firewood as well. Or with that brooding shed you need built.”

  “You’ll have your hands full with the sheep and goats soon enough.”

  “Oh my God,” Livvy murmured, shaking her head at Ryan’s refusal of the neighborly offer.

  He turned to go, forcing his leg to cooperate. Livvy lagged behind for a minute, and he knew she was making apologies for him, which only put him in a pissier mood.

  When she caught up to him several yards into the woods, he shot her a glare.

  “Don’t you give me that look, Ryan Stone. That was plain rude. The Hostlers are good people and you forced yourself on them, remember? It was difficult for Chad to accept your help but since we’ve been coming here daily, he considers you a friend. Is that how you repay his friendship—by barking at him and not allowing him to return the favor of help?”

  A noise broke from his throat but he kept walking.

  “God, you’re the stubbornest, most ornery man I’ve ever met.” She took two steps to his one to keep up with him. “You don’t have anything to say for yourself?”

  “You’re not my mother or my wife, so you don’t have an opinion on my behavior.”

  She stopped dead in her tracks and Ryan didn’t take a full stride before he regretted his words. He wanted to turn and see if he’d hurt her, though he knew he had. He took another stride.

  A sudden rustling in the underbrush told him she was rushing to meet him. He glanced back as she darted around to block his path. Like a pretty little ginger kitten barring the path of a bear.

  “No, I’m not your wife but I am your lover. Plus, I thought I was your friend. It’s clear you don’t want any of those. And I know what you’re doing here.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “What am I doing?” The wind whistled through the trees as it kicked up. They’d best get home before the rain he smelled in the air hit. Then he’d be limping even worse, wanting to crawl rather than bear his weight on his leg.

  She stabbed at his chest. “You’re pushing me away, just like you pushed away Chad.”

  “Livvy, I came to the mountains to be alone.” Immediately, he saw the effect of his words as her lower lip trembled. Dammit.

  He hastened to soften his tone. Good thing he’d gotten some practice the past couple weeks she’d been here.

  “You have to understand how hard it is for me at times, being social like this. I’ve had only my own company for a year. Then a dog turns up and you come too. Now I’ve got neighbors.”

  He shrugged, his quilted jacket feeling too tight across his stiff shoulders. What he really wanted was for a warm bath and Livvy’s hands on his stiff muscles—then his stiff cock.

  S
he stared at him for several heartbeats. “I saw the photographs you took of me.”

  He blinked and swallowed hard. “That was…”

  She raised her brows. “A man who appreciated the woman in his bed?”

  All at once, the argument trickled out of him, leaving only his aches and pains and a sting in his heart. He nodded, and she moved into his arms. He drew her face up with his fingers beneath her chin and their gazes locked.

  What an idiot he was. For the way he’d treated her and Chad. For letting himself fall for a woman he couldn’t keep. But while she was here, he was going to do his best by her, be the best version of himself and not this raging, grouchy loner.

  She slipped her arms around his neck and tucked her head against his chest. God, she fit there so well.

  “I’ll apologize to Chad first thing tomorrow.”

  She pulled away to smile at him. “I knew you would. C’mon. Let’s get home and see to your leg. I know it’s hurting you.”

  He swallowed hard as he drank in her features. That wasn’t the only thing that would be hurting when Livvy left. His heart would be suffering the equivalent of a bear attack, mauled, chewed up and spit out bleeding on the mountainside.

  Chapter Nine

  After the long day of hammering nails for the Hostlers’ new animal pen and then experiencing an insane amount of tension stemming from Ryan’s attitude with her and Chad both, Livvy slumped in front of the fire with the stool at her back for support.

  Ryan had insisted on going hunting once they returned to the homestead, which was ridiculous with his leg paining him. But she wasn’t going to stop him, so she’d played with the goats and set the chickens free to forage in the underbrush around the place.

  Finally, she’d called it a day and taken out some of the cornbread Lynn had sent home with her in her pack and called it supper.

  Dusk was descending and she shouldn’t worry about Ryan. He’d made it clear he was a big boy and didn’t need anybody worrying over him. But that didn’t stop her from doing so.

  Staring into the flames, she picked out shapes there as she was taught by some African villagers long ago. Premonitions, they said. Ancestors come to warn her of bad happenings or rejoice with her in good tidings.