Mountain Lumberjack

by Sienna Chance

  “I really could use some time at the beach,” I said, looking out the window again, out at the clear blue waves. I picked up my purse, deciding to go. I couldn’t waste another minute inside this place, not knowing what else was out there for me to experience. Since I’d been back, my office felt almost like a prison, one that I had to escape from at every chance.

  I left the building, breathing in the fresh, salty air as I walked home to my apartment. I looked around as I made my way toward the beach, taking off my shoes so I could walk barefoot through the warm sand. I felt somebody come up behind me and wrap his hand around my waist and I jumped, swinging my arm to hit whoever it was. A familiar laugh stopped me and I turned to see Logan grinning down at me, dressed comically in clothing that was much too warm for California.

  “Logan,” I said, my eyes widening when I saw him. I couldn’t believe that it was him, that he was real. “What are you doing here?”

  “God,” he said. “I know you were supposed to come back in a week, but I couldn’t—I couldn’t wait to see you.”

  I grinned at him, my whole body lighting up as he took me into his arms and took my mouth in a slow, sweet kiss.

  “Did Marilyn know you were out here?” I asked him.

  “I asked her to help me set this whole thing up,” he said. “She did perfectly.”

  “Set what up?” I asked him. He smiled at me, taking my hand and pulling me through the sand and away from my apartment.

  “Where are we going?” I asked him.

  “Marilyn showed me a good place to take you somewhere private,” he said, leading me down to the beach and toward a rocky outcropping. I looked at him, puzzled, as he stepped on top of the rock and reached down to take my hand.

  “What is this?” I asked him skeptically.

  He smiled at me, gesturing for me to take his hand. He pulled me onto the rock, then down onto the other side and into a small cave I’d never known was there. I looked around in wonder at the dark, craggy rock, at the blanket set out on the ground next to a wicker picnic basket. I grinned at him as he led me over to the blanket and we sat down, crossing our legs in the sand.

  “What are you laughing at?” he asked as I looked him over.

  “You’re dressed like you’re still in Colorado,” I said, reaching over to finger the hem of his shirt. “Why didn’t you wear something cooler?”

  “I had a feeling I wouldn’t have my clothes on for long, anyway,” he said, his eyes sparkling.

  “Don’t you think highly of yourself?” I asked, smiling as I opened the basket. The moment I did, my heart stopped in my chest. I looked from the basket to his face with my mouth open.

  “What?” I asked him.

  “Open it,” he said. I reached in and pulled out the small green velvet jewelry box, holding it in my hand. I didn’t open it, but looked at his face.

  “What are you doing?”

  He laughed. “Open it, Lily,” he said.

  I flipped it open, nearly gasping when I saw the ring inside. It was old, obviously an antique, glittering in the light that was coming into the cave. My breath caught as he took the box from me and gently pulled the ring out of it, holding it up to me.

  “Lily,” he said softly. “I tried to plan a big romantic speech for you. I did. But it all came down to the same sentiment, over and over. I—I really did love you the very moment I met you. I knew it the first time we went on that mountain.”

  “Oh,” I said to him, trying to keep myself from tearing up. The truth was, I felt the same way. When I thought back to it, I’d fallen in love with Logan the first day we’d gone to the mountain together, and every moment I’d spent denying it afterward had been a waste of time.

  “Will you marry me?” he asked, taking my hand in his.

  I nodded as he slipped the ring onto my finger. Then he leaned in and took my mouth in a slow, luxurious kiss, tasting me as he held me close against him. I could feel the familiar heat spreading through my body, the one that always came at even the slightest of his touches. It was something that had always overwhelmed me and something I knew always would. I breathed against his lips, deepening the kiss while he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against his body. I found myself rubbing against him, pushing him onto his back in the sand and climbing on top of him.

  “Are you hot in these clothes?” I asked him.

  He nodded, grinning at me as I started to unbutton his shirt. His body was glistening with sweat by the time I stripped him of all his clothes, and I took a moment to look him over with the beams of sunlight radiating off him. He was perfect—his skin smooth, muscles hard and well-lined. I wanted to lick him all over, but what I wanted more than anything was to have him inside of me. I knew he could read what I wanted just by looking at my face—he took my jaw in his hands and pulled me down to kiss me fiercely as I started to take his pants off, stripping him naked on the blanket.

  “Lily,” he said as I planted kisses on his neck, his chest and his abdomen. I wanted to taste him, to take him into my mouth like he did with me. He inhaled sharply when I brushed my lips over the swollen head of his cock, tasting just the tip of it with my tongue. I teased the head in a circle, tasting the rim before taking the length of him into my mouth. I sucked on him gently, slowly, using my hand at the base to stroke the area I couldn’t reach with my mouth. He groaned softly when I pulled back, focusing only on the head, sucking it firmly between my lips as he stroked my hair.

  “God, I have to fuck you,” he said in a low voice, trying to pull me upward, but I planted myself between his legs and continued to suck and lap at his cock. I wanted to enjoy it, to make him need to fuck me before I let him. I knew that the longer I used my mouth on him, the more urgent his desire grew. It only fueled me more, and I happily took him into my mouth over and over, tracing along the bottom of his cock with my tongue in just the way he liked it.

  “Come on,” he growled, grabbing me roughly and pulling me upward before I could stop him. I couldn’t help but mold to his body and give him what he wanted, though I did hesitate again by simply rubbing my lower lips up and down over his shaft, coating him with my juices. I rode against him like that, fighting him every time he tried to take control. The head of his cock rubbed against my clit whenever I moved, and I found myself close to coming as I tried to tease him.

  “This is backfiring,” he said with a chuckle, lifting his hips against mine, grinding harder against my clit. I moaned as my hips started to move beyond my control, my breathing growing ragged as I rubbed against him. I felt myself starting to come but he stopped me, lifting my hips so that my needy pussy throbbed with frustration. I almost growled when he continued to hold my hips away from his, especially when he lowered his mouth to take my nipple between his lips. He sucked on it tenderly, tasting it with his tongue as he slowly aimed his cock inside of me from below. I pushed myself onto it, taking him deep inside of me and beginning to rock back and forth on his lap, moaning softly.

  “I can’t wait to do this every fucking day,” he said underneath me, his voice low and gruff as he raised his hips to meet my rhythm. “Every fucking morning and every night.”

  “What if I get tired of you?” I asked him.

  He grinned, jerking his hips upward to knock hard against the back of my pussy, nearly knocking the wind out of me. He did it again, then again, so that he was fucking me hard from below, just as hard as I liked it.

  “Do you think you’ll get tired of this?” he asked, thundering into me, holding my hips still while I moaned.

  “Yes,” I said teasingly, wanting more from him, wanting him to prove to me all the ways in which I was wrong. He flipped me over onto my back then and wrapped my legs around his hips, his hand under my ass to hold me as close as possible. He started grinding inside of me in shallow strokes that he knew drove me crazy, made me desperate for more and more.

  “Still?” he asked. “Even this, baby?”

  I nodded, though I wasn’t able to speak anym
ore. He reached down and started to rub my clit, slowing his hips down so that his movements were long, hard, and deep.

  “What about this?” he asked, his face in my neck, his teeth sinking into me as his hips started to pound into mine. I accepted him eagerly, moving against him, our bodies dancing together on the ground in passionate embrace.

  “This is good,” I said to him, and he smiled while he continued to pound me, occasionally slowing down to savor the feeling. It took him a long time to make me come but it was worth it—I felt it building and building for what felt like hours until I finally let go, wrapping my legs around him as he filled me with his come at the same time.

  “So what’s happening at the retreat?” I asked when we were finished, our bodies intertwined on the blanket on the ground. We ignored the food beside us in favor of laying together, kissing often, breathing each other in.

  “We’re upgrading. Getting a new lift,” he said.

  “I’m still never ever going on that thing again.”

  “You will,” he assured me, kissing me. “I’ll hold your hand, Lily. Always.”

  The End

  Hot New Neighbor

  Sneak Peek

  1

  Lucas

  “I just can’t go,” huffed Maria, her arms crossed over her chest in bed. I sighed, running my hand through my hair as I slipped out of bed, away from my wife and her excuses.

  “It’s Luna’s first play, Maria,” I said, looking over at her as I got dressed. “She’s really excited for you to be there.”

  Maria waved my words away. “She won’t even notice I’m not there. Not with Daddy there cheering her on.”

  “Why are you missing our four-year-old daughter’s first play?”

  “I have a job,” Maria said, staring at me with her wide dark eyes, her hair wild around her face. She really was beautiful—still the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.

  “What job?”

  “A commercial,” she said, a smile spreading across her face. She tossed her hair over her shoulder.

  “Congratulations,” I said through clenched teeth. Maria was getting steady work as an actress and yet there was still an eviction notice on our door. Judging from the car she’d bought a month ago and her freshly-manicured blood red nails, I knew exactly where the money was going. I couldn’t bring it up, though. Last time I did, Maria threatened to take Luna away from me for good.

  “Thank you,” Maria said, as if she didn’t hear the anger.

  “What do you even come home for, Maria?” I asked her. She stood up naked, letting the sheet drop from her breasts. I couldn’t help but stare at her, so beautiful yet so poisonous and toxic in a way I’d never anticipated when we’d started dating. I’d been head-over-heels for Maria from the moment I’d met her, and when she’d fallen pregnant three months later, I had been happy to settle down and marry her. I had no idea what kind of a person she was—what kind of mother she would be.

  Maria approached me and wrapped her arms around my neck, rubbing up against me like a cat.

  “You know what I come home for, baby,” she purred, reaching down to slip her hand into my jeans, taking my cock out and stroking it with her palm. I pushed her hands away and readjusted myself, walking away and into the bathroom. She followed me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and burying her face in my back.

  “Why are you mad at me?” she asked. I turned around and looked at her incredulously. There were dozens of reasons to be angry at her, but the way she treated Luna was the worst.

  “You don’t give half a shit about our daughter, Maria.”

  “I love Luna,” she said defensively, though there was an emptiness to her voice that I recognized all too well. It was the same way she’d always spoken to and about our daughter, like she was nothing but a burden.

  “Then do something for her for once. Go to her play. If you’re starring in this commercial, they can reschedule it. Or you can just cancel it.”

  She snorted. “And wait for you to make some money?”

  The words hit me like a blow to the chest. It was a good point. I’d started out as an actor along with Maria but hadn’t had much success—I never really had time to go to auditions because I was too busy picking up Maria’s slack with Luna. I was the one who went to our daughter’s daycare trips, took her to the zoo and made her dinner, tucked her into bed at night after reading her at least two stories. I didn’t have time to find jobs like Maria did.

  “Maria,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. “When am I supposed to look for jobs if you’re never home to help me take care of our daughter?”

  “I’m out making money!” she said, raising her voice. “I don’t see why you can’t handle a four-year-old on your own.”

  “I can handle Luna. But I can’t be her mother and her father at the same time.”

  “Well, it’s a good thing you don’t have to be her mother,” Maria said, putting her hands on her hips. “She’s already got one.”

  “She’s got a fucking lousy one.”

  Maria’s eyes narrowed. “Fuck you, Lucas. You’re just a loser who can’t even provide for your family.”

  I sighed. It was always the first thing she went to in order to insult me, and it always got under my skin.

  “I want you out of here, Maria,” I said. She stared at me for a moment, mouth open. Then she gave a small laugh and wrapped her arms around me again.

  “No, you don’t,” she said, tilting her face to kiss me. I moved away from her, into the bedroom.

  “I do,” I said, pulling her suitcase out of the closet. “I want you out. Now.”

  She glared at me, realizing I was serious.

  “Fine,” she said, stomping across the room. She put her hands on my chest and shoved me away so hard I nearly stumbled. Then she started to pull her things out of the closet, folding them carefully before putting them in the case. She carried it out to the front room where Luna was asleep on the couch. I’d wanted to move her to her room but Maria wouldn’t let me. Instead, she’d dragged me into the bedroom as soon as she got home, taking the one thing she wanted from me.

  Maria opened the door and rolled her suitcase out. She looked at me over her shoulder, a cold look, one that made me shiver even in the warmth of the house.

  “I really don’t ever want to see you or the brat again,” Maria said, her voice like ice.

  I shut the door, a lump forming in my chest. I turned around to see Luna sitting up on the couch with the blanket wrapped around her shoulders, a frown on her tiny face.

  “Where’s Mommy going?” she asked.

  I didn’t know what to say. I went over to the couch and sat down, pulling her into my lap. “Doesn’t matter, baby,” I said. “Daddy’s still here.”

  She snuggled into me and I heard her sigh contentedly. She’d never formed the bond with her mother that she had with me, but it still made me furious to think Maria had just left her without a thought, without even a goodbye.

  Luna fell asleep in my lap after a few moments and I slid out from underneath her. I went into my room and sat at the desk, pulling the eviction notice out and staring at it. Thirty days. I had thirty days to find somewhere cheaper to live. I would have to sell my car for a down payment, but it was something I was willing to do if it meant Luna and I could start a whole new life without Maria.

  While Luna was sleeping, I spent the rest of the morning looking for apartments, bookmarking them for later when I had more time. I had no idea what we were going to do without Maria, how I was going to pay the rent, but every moment I started to feel desperate made me think of Luna and how I had to keep going to take care of her, knowing nobody else would.

  2

  Ellie

  It was hard not to scream in frustration when I looked at the screen of my publishing website. The change in their terms of service was written in a tiny font that I scrolled through numbly, chewing on my lip. I didn’t read every word but I got the gist of it—they were changing the
way they allowed authors to advertise their work on the site and off of it, and it meant I’d have to change my entire marketing campaign to make up for the changes. I sighed, accepting the terms, and clicked through my stats to see how my most recent books were doing. As far as the romance genre went, I was pretty successful in self-publishing my own work. I’d made a living out of it and it was paying the bills fine, but I wasn’t sure how long that would last with these new website terms.

  I sighed when I saw how little my books had sold in the past few days. The update to the website had taken place a week ago and already my sales were tanking. I felt like ripping my hair out—if there was one thing I hated, it was feeling helpless. I wanted to be in control of what happened to me, and right now I felt like there was nothing I could do to get my revenue back up without making a huge change.

  I was flipping through the website when I heard a noise outside, a loud crash coming from the hallway. I heard someone grumble something through the wall and got up to check on it, opening my door to see a man crouching down in front of the apartment door just across the hall, picking up several kitchen items and tossing them haphazardly back in the box. He looked up at me when I walked out. Just the sight of him nearly took my breath away—he was extraordinarily good-looking, with dark wavy hair and bright blue eyes. He smiled politely when he saw me and stood up.

  “Hi,” he said, reaching his hand out to shake mine. I was frozen for a moment just looking at him, drinking him in. When he stood, I noticed his size; over six feet tall and broad, big enough to pick me up and carry me to bed like a doll. I blushed when I thought about it. I noticed that he was still holding his hand out and I took it, slipping my palm into his.

  “I’m Lucas Garvey,” he said. He gestured at the door behind him. “Just moving in. Badly.”