When he moved his hands up my flat tummy and over my tits, I threw my arms over my head and gripped the table. As he fucked my pussy, he massaged my bouncing breasts, playing with my nipples. The sensation led to an orgasm once again.
“I’m coming again! Don’t stop Cole!”
“Never. I never want to stop fucking your gorgeous pussy,” he told me. “I never want to stop making you come.”
At the sound of his voice, my body reacted and lurched into a third orgasm. I closed my eyes and heaved my chest toward Cole as he massaged my breasts. He moved his thick cock in and out of me, intensifying the pleasure. My body rocked again. I couldn’t control myself, and I shook with pleasure.
“Lindsay, come on my cock,” he urged me, and I did. My pussy juices exploded all over his cock, and he cried out in a state of frenzy. He exploded inside me at the same time. He pushed in as deeply as he could and pulsated against my pussy walls.
“I love coming with you,” he breathed, giving me his last thrusts as his cock unleashed its seed. He closed his eyes and enjoyed every second of us being joined together. My body went limp, and Cole opened his eyes to look at me.
Still buried deep inside me, he moved his hands up and down my body, feeling every curve, lingering over my breasts.
“I could look at your naked body forever. It is perfect,” he said, massaging my breasts again.
I just watched him as he enjoyed the feel of my nakedness. After a moment, he pulled his cock out and hauled me to a sitting position. He hugged me and kissed me deeply. I put my arms around his neck and kissed him back.
“I guess I’m not getting any work done tonight,” Cole said, grinning at me.
“You can do some work, if you like,” I told him.
“I can’t concentrate on work with you around,” Cole replied, touching my cheek tenderly. “Let’s go inside the house and watch a movie. Maybe we can actually drink these beers.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
We got dressed and slid into our boots. We went back to the house and cuddled on the couch to a movie and beer. I snuggled my small body into Cole’s burly build, and he put his arm around me and pulled me to him. We watched a movie and sipped our beers. I kept thinking about how happy I felt. But that worried me.
How long could this last? What would happen when my memory returned? Though I wore no ring and had no pictures of a husband or boyfriend, what if I did? What if I was falling for one man while in love with another I couldn’t remember?
By the end of the movie, Cole was lightly snoring. I took the beer bottle from his hand and placed it on the floor. I cuddled into him and laid my head on his chest. I felt safe and secure with him.
Soon, I was snoring as well.
Sophie
I was watching out of the motel’s lobby window. It was past seven, and Alec wasn’t there. I worried he’d changed his mind.
I stared at the map Big Jim had drawn and was deciding if I could navigate the roads by myself. Probably, I thought. But the hiking was another story. I’d hiked before, of course, but not lately. I, too, had started in photography and did have to do a lot of wildlife assignments at first. But over the years, I moved into the fashion scene. I loved designing my own clothes and photographing my creations.
Just as I was pulling my keys from my shoulder bag, I saw Alec’s black truck pull into a space in front of the motel and smiled. He got out of his truck as I walked out of the motel front door.
“You're late,” I told him, trying to keep a straight face.
“Sorry,” he began, then looked me up and down. “What are you wearing?”
“What do you mean?” I asked him, looking down at the maroon sweater I’d designed myself and black, wide-leg pants. “I have on boots,” I informed him with a wry look.
“You can’t wear dress clothes hiking. Are you out of your mind?” he grumbled, grinning. “And where’s your coat? What about a hat? Gloves? Do you understand you’re in Colorado and it’s cold out?”
“Yes,” I replied coolly, his tone annoying me. I reached into my shoulder bag and pulled out my Ralph Lauren quilted coat and matching cap and glove set. I handed Alec my bag so I could put on my coat. He took the bag from me with two fingers and stared at it as if he had never seen one before, then looked to me as I slid the cap over my blonde, shoulder-length curls.
“There,” I told him.
“There, what?”
“I’m ready.”
Alec gazed at me for a moment, holding my bag like it had germs or something. I stared back, waiting. Finally, he found his voice. “What kind of coat is that? It’s winter. That designer shit isn’t gonna keep you warm,” he said, motioning at my coat. “And those boots,” he scoffed, shaking his head.
“What’s wrong with my boots?”
“Knee-high fashion boots won’t cut it in the mountains. What were you thinking when you put those on?” He looked flabbergasted by my choice of clothing.
“My boots don’t have heels,” I said, raising my foot to show him.
He clicked his tongue. “No, they don’t have heels,” he said, giving up and shaking his head. He handed my bag back to me. “You’re ready, I’m taking it?”
Of course, I was ready. I nodded my head at him, and he grinned as he walked back to get into his truck. I hurried around to the passenger side and climbed in.
“You got the map?” he asked me.
“Yes,” I said, showing him.
“Let me look at it for a second. I think I know where this is.” Alec studied it and nodded his head after grunting. “Okay, I’m good. Don’t lose it ‘cause we’ll need it once we get up there. I don’t know those trails back there all that well.”
Alec drove us out of town and down the highway for some time before turning up a road that headed up the mountainside. The road got steeper and steeper as we drove up. It wound around crests and ridges, and the views were astonishing.
“Wow, it’s breathtaking up here,” I exclaimed as my eyes wandered about the landscape. I was glad he was driving so I could enjoy the view. I pulled out my camera and began to snap pictures of the snow-covered mountaintops and the valleys below. “No wonder Lindsay wanted to take pictures up here.”
Alec was watching me as I snapped the pictures, and I glanced at him. “Watch the road,” I told him.
“I am,” he answered, moving his eyes to the road but glancing at me again.
“You’re not watching the road if you’re looking at me.”
“I’ve never seen anybody so fascinated by what I see every day,” he told me, shrugging.
“You’re very lucky you get to see this every day,” I replied, continuing to take pictures. “Now watch the road.”
“You’re really bossy, you know that?” he replied, raising an eyebrow at me.
“No, I’m not.”
“Are you a photographer? Like your friend?” he asked me.
“Yes, but not like my friend. She’s a wildlife photographer. I’m a designer. I started out in photography but changed careers some time back. I have my own fashion line I’m trying to build,” I told him.
“Fancy,” he answered.
I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic. I raised my eyebrow at him.
“I mean it,” he defended, noting my look. “I figured you must be in fashion or something,” he replied, eyeing my outfit again. “Did you design your clothes?”
“I did,” I told him, smiling. I was proud of my designs.
“It looks good,” he acknowledged, though he did add, “Not good for hiking through the mountains, but they’re pretty.”
“Thank you,” I answered, choosing to focus on the compliment and ignore the criticism.
He smiled as he pulled onto a dirt off-road. The truck jolted and bounced over the rocks. Another couple of miles down the road, he pulled to the right at a fork. “This is the spot, I believe,” Alec said after a few more minutes. He pulled over on the shoulder of the road.
“Good,” I sa
id, smiling as I opened the door to get out.
Alec grinned. That grin. The man was so sexy, especially when he grinned like that. His entire face lit up. But he was too rough, like hillbilly rough. He was too big, too. Like in a tough-guy kind of way. I bet he couldn’t even fit into a designer suit. I’d enjoy watching his bulging muscles rip through the seams of the suit, though.
I giggled to myself at the thought of Alec walking around in a muscle-hugging formal suit like the Incredible Hulk.
“What are you laughing at?” he asked me, studying my face.
“Nothing,” I told him.
“Nothing, huh?” he said, his shamrock green eyes smiling at me.
I couldn’t help but return his smile. He was hot, that was for sure.
He saw me looking over him. “What? You don’t approve of my outfit?”
“It’s fine,” I lied. Though he was gorgeous, the blue and beige flannel coat, brown vest, and brown canvas pants with big, bulky boots did nothing for his figure.
Still grinning, he turned away from me, shaking his head again. He reached into the back of his truck and pulled out a backpack. He put two bottles of water inside from a cooler. Then he opened the side pocket and rooted through the contents. He found a compass and clipped it to his belt.
I saw something metallic black in there. Is that a gun? I shuddered at the thought. What did he need a gun for? Wild animals? Or was he actually going to murder me up here? No, if I showed up dead, Big Jim would surely tell the authorities he’d seen me with Alec.
Alec slid the backpack onto his back and reached into the back seat of the truck to retrieve two trekking poles. He handed me one.
“Thanks.”
“Sure,” he replied. “You’re probably gonna need it with those boots on.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you brought one for me then,” I retorted, a slight hint of annoyance in my tone. “Are you ready?”
“Sure am,” he said. He put out his arm. “Lead the way.”
“Okay.” I looked at the map. Obviously, there was only one way down this embankment, which was a small rocky path covered in a film of snow that led into the tree line.
I used the trekking pole to navigate down the hillside. I walked slowly so I wouldn’t slip. When we reached the tree line, the path widened. It was covered in snow but less rocky. Pine needles littered the path, crunching under our feet. The walking was easier on this part of the trail.
While we walked, Alec and I made pleasant small talk. When he was just making normal conversation and not being a wiseass, he seemed like a decent guy. After a long while, it seemed, we reached a cliff.
“Now what?” I asked him, looking around. The view was magnificent.
“You got the map. What does it say?”
“I think it says to go down the hill,” I said, frowning.
“Let me see,” he said, holding his hand out. “Oh, okay, the switchbacks are over here on the other side of the precipice.”
“The precipice?” I squeaked.
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
“Watch your footing going down these switchbacks. They look well-traveled. Probably by animals, so they shouldn't be too bad. Just watch your step,” he warned me.
“Okay.”
Alec stayed in front of me on the way down. At one point, there was a big drop off, and I just stood there looking at it. Alec sensed I wasn’t behind him anymore and turned around to see me still standing on the rock. To my surprise, he didn’t make a remark. He returned and offered his hand, which I gladly accepted. He held my hand tightly so I could step down.
“Thank you.”
He smiled at me. I returned his smile, and we resumed hiking. The trail evened out, and Alec stopped, staring ahead.
“What? I asked him.
“I see something up ahead,” he said. “Follow me for a sec.”
I followed Alec until we came to a clearing in the pine trees. Under our feet was a mound of dirt. Alec rubbed it with his boot and looked around.
That look made me nervous. “What is it?”
“Looks like someone buried something here. Something big,” he added grimly, still looking around. “Look, there’s nowhere near as much snow on the dirt as there is around it, so it’s been dug recently,” he said, bending down and studying the mound.
“It looks big enough to be a body,” I said quietly.
Alec looked up at me, wide-eyed.
I gasped. “You don’t think it’s a body, do you?” I asked, thinking of Lindsay.
“No,” he said at first. I gave him a skeptical look. Then he said, “I don’t know. Maybe. But it could be anything. An illegal kill. Someone’s dog...” He trailed off.
“Or a body.”
Alec straightened just as we heard a cracking sound in the woods some distance away. My eyes must have gotten as big as saucers because Alec immediately slipped his pack off his back and pulled out the pistol I’d seen earlier. He slid the pistol into his waistline.
“Just in case,” he told me when he saw me staring at it.
“What should we do?”
“Well, since we don’t know what this is, I say we do nothing right now. We haven't reached the location of the nest on the map. If you wanna keep going, it should only be a little bit further up the path,” Alec said. “We should check there and see if we can tell if your friend was there.”
“Okay,” I agreed, nodding.
Alec led the way. We looked back at the fresh mound of dirt and then looked at each other. “It’s not her.”
“I know,” I answered, swallowing hard. But I didn’t know.
I followed Alec to the X on the map that marked the Ptarmigan nesting area. We didn’t see any signs of the bird or Lindsay. Alec looked for tracks, but he told me it had stormed a few days back, so all the tracks would be covered by this point.
I sighed. There was no sign of Lindsay. That could be good or bad. Good if she was here and left without incident. Bad if she was here and under that fresh pile of dirt.
Cole
A few uneventful days had passed. I could tell Lindsay was frustrated because her memory was still foggy, if not downright blank. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and I felt really bad for her. Certainly she had friends and family who were missing her. And it was tough for her because she couldn’t spend the holidays with her family. Or even tell them she was alive.
Lindsay was staying with me at the cabin. She still had a room at the resort but wasn’t occupying it often. Against my better judgment, I allowed myself to get close to her. I kept telling myself that anything could happen. She might have a boyfriend. She might get her memory back and realize she lived across the country. The world even. I had to prepare myself for that.
But for now, I was just enjoying how I felt around her. Damn the consequences.
Of course, I was hoping she didn’t have a significant other and that she would stay here, even when she remembered her other life. But that wasn’t realistic. More than likely, she would leave when she fully regained her memory. Maybe one day soon. I had to be prepared for that day when it came.
How do you prepare yourself for heartbreak, though? I wanted to talk to Lindsay about it but didn’t know how to bring it up. It felt selfish to do so. She had enough on her plate. How could I ask her to worry about my feelings?
I was working in the woodshed, putting the finishing touches on the wooden rocking horse for Abby when Lindsay came in with the red satin bow we’d picked up in town the other day. When I finished, she tied the bow around the horse’s neck.
“It’s lovely, Cole,” she sighed, smiling.
“Thanks. It is nice if I do say so myself,” I said, returning her smile. I was pleased with the outcome.
“Abby’s going to love it,” she added.
I hoped so. I popped open a beer and asked Lindsay if she wanted one.
“Sure,” she answered, restless in her seat.
“You wanna talk about it?” I asked her.
/> She sighed. “It’s Christmas, and I still can’t remember. My family. My friends. I’m sure they think I’m dead. Maybe they have hope that I’m still alive out there somewhere. What kind of holiday are they going to have? It’s worse for them.” After a silence, she smiled slightly.
“What?” I asked.
“Them. I don’t even know who they are. Or if they even exist.” She threw her hands up in exasperation. “This is such a mess!”
“I know,” I agreed with a sigh. “I wish I could say something to help.”
“Cole, you do help. And, you know, I’m worried about you, as well. What’s going to happen when I get my memory back?”
There it was. The dreaded question. I looked down at my feet. I wasn’t sure how to reply.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she continued, sincerity in her voice. “I don’t want to hurt anybody.”
“I know. It’s not your fault. That’s why I tried to put you in a room at the resort at first. I didn’t wanna get involved with you just in case. But here we are.” I offered her a small smile that was probably sad.
She shook her head. “Maybe I should go back to the room and not stay here?” she suggested. “It’s probably not good for either of us to be spending so much time together. It’ll only be harder on us later on.”
I shook my head. Part of me wanted to say yes, go back to the resort. But I’d never say that. “I think that it’s too late for that. For me, anyway,” I told her. I looked her in the eyes to try to read her thoughts, her feelings.
“Me too,” she whispered, gazing at me.
I felt that she was being sincere with me. I’d been so focused on my own feelings that I hadn’t considered hers. If she had really fallen for me, as I had for her, it would be just as hard on her when the time came to leave.
Take a Mountain Man Home for Christmas: A Mountain Man Romance Christmas Collection Page 31