by Skye Tisdale
PROTECTING
HIS MOUNTAIN BRIDE
SKYE TISDALE
CONTENTS
About
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Thank you!
Copyright © 2020 by Skye Tisdale
All Rights Reserved.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Artwork - © 20XX L.J. Anderson of Mayhem Cover Creation
ABOUT
PROTECTING HIS MOUNTAIN BRIDE
They forced me to run away.
I ran to the mountains—straight into the heart of a blizzard that threatens to bury me alive.
I don’t know if anyone would find my body if it did, but I do know one thing:
I don’t have a choice.
And when I have nowhere left to run, that’s when he shows up.
The silent, mysterious Axel…
He’s got icy blue eyes and an equally frozen heart—and he’s the sole reason I’m still breathing.
The sole reason I still haven’t given up.
He makes it easy to pretend that things are going to be okay.
Key word: pretend.
Things can never be okay, because they‘re coming for me, and they won’t take no for an answer.
…but what they don’t realize is that he won’t either.
Axel may be rough around the edges, but when it comes to protecting what’s his, he’s absolutely ruthless.
And I’m his now.
CHAPTER 1
MORGAN
Mother tells me that all girls in arranged marriages learn to love their husbands eventually. But when exactly is “eventually”? Because it’s been months, and I still don’t feel a thing. I think it should’ve happened by now.
There must be something wrong with me. Maybe I just can’t feel love like normal people can. Maybe I didn’t try hard enough...
I wasn’t even happy that day at mass when he dropped to one knee. Instead, I remembered feeling so afraid; like the world was closing in on me. I remembered wanting to run outside through the massive church doors and hide in the woods until it was all over; until everyone forgot that I ever even existed. But, of course... that was just a dream. It was an intrusive thought that I did my best to suppress. I could never actually run away—especially not when our families were standing there, surrounding us with those big and happy smiles on their faces. They weren’t just waiting for me to say yes—they were expecting it. I’d never seen mother look so proud before. Even father, who was always stone–faced, had that certain glimmer in his eye.
I didn’t have it in me to let everybody down, so...
I said yes.
David and I had been living together since, even though we weren’t married yet. It was supposed to help us get into our roles: him as the man of the house, and me as his wife. Well, his soon–to–be wife. Until then, we slept in separate bedrooms. I was dreading the change. Every night, I thanked God that it was inappropriate for an unwed couple to share a bed. David wouldn’t even dream of putting his hands on me until we were properly married.
If you asked him, the big day couldn’t come fast enough. Sometimes I wondered, though… What was he looking forward to the most: the wedding itself, or just the wedding night? More often than not, I got the feeling that it was the latter. We were both saving ourselves, but men are different from women, aren’t they? Everybody knows that. Men have… needs.
To me, the wedding felt more like a dark cloud looming in the distance. It was just waiting to swallow me whole. Once I said “I do” there would be no turning back. So, I made excuses. First, I blamed the weather. Then I had the flu. Lately, I’d started pointing my finger at our financial status. Weddingsif are expensive, after all, and I knew that David was too proud to get married in a simple, cheap ceremony down at the courthouse. That was for… “lesser people“. His words, not mine. Yes, money was a convenient excuse… But it was just that: an excuse. And sooner or later, I was going to run out of excuses.
David was taking me out tonight. A date, he called it. I was surprised. It wasn’t often he tried to woo me like this—and he was trying especially hard tonight for some reason. He’d wrapped a thick blindfold around my eyes, stashed me in the front passenger seat of the car, and driven us somewhere. My head was spinning from riding the whole way without being able to look out the window. I was relieved when it finally ended.
Now, he was holding my hand and leading me down a long and unfamiliar hallway that smelled overwhelmingly like air freshener. His hand moved up and tugged at the blindfold. I felt a shiver shoot down my spine when his cold fingers brushed against the back of my neck. Hopefully he couldn’t tell how nervous I actually was.
“Are you ready for your surprise?” he asked.
I nodded quietly. I tried to say something, but the words got stuck in my throat. They’d been doing that a lot lately.
The blindfold came off and I blinked a couple of times to adjust to the bright light. I saw the hallway for the first time. The carpet on the floor had an obnoxious pattern that disguised any stains, and the cream walls were lined with numbered doors. I felt myself deflate. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, but this wasn’t it…
“A hotel room?” I asked heavily. “Why?“
David’s face shifted to annoyance. “Don’t be like that,” he complained. “You’re such a killjoy, Morgan. Can’t you loosen up and try to have some fun for once? For God’s sake!”
“I’m sorry,” I said and quickly hung my head. My heart was pounding painfully inside my chest. I didn’t feel like I had done anything wrong, but I knew just how quickly David could go from 0 to 100… It was best to defuse him early, before this turned into an argument. Our arguments always seemed to end with me apologizing, anyway. What difference did it make if I apologized now instead of later?
“Good…“ David’s face softened somewhat. He reached up and ran his fingers through my hair, smiling faintly. “You don’t need to be so tense. We’re just going to talk, okay? That’s what the hotel room is for. Think about it, though. Just you and me, alone in a dark room… Who knows what will happen?”
I felt myself stiffen up. “What does that mean?”
He sighed and unlocked the door. “Just… get in the room, Morgan.”
I hesitated in the doorway. The room was definitely in our price range. There was a queen size bed, two night stands, a dresser, and… not much else, really. Lit candles were scattered throughout the room and there was a bouquet of roses on the bed. A few petals had been pulled off and scattered on the floor leading from the door to the bed. The floral scent was strong, but not strong enough to mask the musky smell of the hotel. I wondered how many people had stayed in this very room before us.
David put his hand against my lower back and pushed me over the threshold. I had to grab the dresser to steady myself. As I was doing so, I heard the door click shut behind us. I turned around and looked up at David with a hesitant, but hopeful smile. I wanted this to be a nice night.
“It was sweet of you to do all this,” I
said. I meant it, too.
“I did it for you,” David said with a light smile.
He reached his arm around my waist and pulled me close. So close that our bodies were touching, and I could feel his heart pounding against my own chest. I hated myself for the way it made my skin crawl. Why did I have to be like this? Why couldn’t I just love him? It’s not like he was some stranger on the street. He was my fiancé.
“I’m sorry..” I mumbled. I felt so guilty.
David just hushed me. He had been looking into my eyes, but now his eyes wandered down to my lips. He closed his eyes and leaned in towards me. As soon as I realized what he was doing, I panicked and pulled away.
“What has gotten into you?” I gasped in surprise. “We can’t kiss until we’re married. You know that.”
David scrunched up his face. “What difference does a couple of months make? I’m sick of waiting.”
“It makes all the difference in the eyes of God,” I told him in a shaky voice. In truth, it wasn’t so much about God as it was about me. David and I had taken a vow to remain chaste until our wedding night, and that vow was the only thing that made me feel like I had any kind of control. I wanted to decide when I was ready. I didn’t want David to make that decision for me. But he was going to be my husband one day, which meant that his word was law. If he was truly determined to break our vows tonight, did I even have the power to stop him? Suddenly, I was sweating. “David,” I croaked. “Why are we here?”
“Relax,“ he groaned, completely ignoring my question. “Why do you have to be so tightly wound? Ugh. Listen, I’ve actually got some good news. Maybe that’ll make you feel better.”
I glanced up at him. “What is it?”
“We don’t have to worry about money anymore!” He grinned. “At least not for a while. Also, I talked to Pastor Green. He’s setting everything up for us to get married already next month! Isn’t that great? The ceremony won’t be as big as we envisioned on such short notice, of course, but at least it’s finally happening.”
My heart sunk like a lead weight in my chest. I knew I was supposed to be happy, but I didn’t feel that way. I felt like screaming. “Oh,” I managed weakly. “I… I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything,” David assured me warmly. “All you need to do is show up and say the words when the time comes. Oh, and one more thing…” He took a step back and looked down at me with a strange look on his face. “Take off your dress, please.”
I stared at him in disbelief. Either I misheard him, or this was some kind of sick joke, because the David I knew would never say something like that. “S–sorry?”
“I said: take off your dress, please,” he repeated, annoyed this time. “I’d never buy a new car without test driving it first, and why should a wife be any different? Go on, it won’t take long. I just want to make sure that everything’s the way I like it so I know I’m not wasting my time.”
A few seconds passed while I stood frozen in place. When he realized I wasn’t going to remove my dress, David grabbed it by the shoulder and began pulling it off himself. I realized he was serious and took a panicked step backwards, frantically pulling at my dress to cover myself.
“Wait!” I cried. “David, please. Stop!“
“Morgan.” David sighed and followed me as I backed away from him. “Morgan, Morgan, Morgan… I know I said ‘please,’ but I wasn’t really asking. You will take your dress off—or else I’m going to do it for you. So, which will it be?”
I took a step backwards and felt my back press up against the wall. The door was way on the other side of the room, with David blocking my path. I was trapped. “Give me some time,” I pleaded. “One week. That’s all I ask for, David. Just one week. Please. Then I’ll do whatever you want.”
He shook his head. “If only I had one week to give you, then I might consider it… But I don’t. It’s too late, Morgan. I already took the money.”
“What money?!“ I cried out.
“The money that’s going to allow us to get married and live a good life!” He screamed back at me. “That money! But it didn’t come for free… We still have to pay for it, just in a different way. You’re going to help me pay it back, Morgan. But first, I want to have you. You know how much I hate second place.”
I shook my head. “David, stop it! It’s not funny.”
David’s face tensed. “I wasn’t trying to be funny, Morgan,” He said. “A man is standing outside this hotel room right now, just waiting for me to open that door so he can take you to where you need to be. There, more men will be waiting for you. If you don’t understand yet, I’m sure you will soon. Don’t worry, though.” He smiled. “You’ll still be home in time for the wedding. I’ll make sure of it!”
I stared at him, and he stared back at me with dark eyes completely void of emotion. He meant every word. As soon as I realized that, it was like a heavy weight was lifted off my shoulders. No wonder I could never bring myself to love him. He was a monster. One thing was strange, though… Even though I’d never been in more danger before, I didn’t feel scared. I felt calm. Focused. It was like something had woken up inside of me, and now that something was guiding my decisions. I didn’t know if it was some kind of spiritual presence, or just my own primal instincts, but I welcomed it either way.
I’d been saying yes to everything for far too long. It was time to start saying no.
I glanced at the door and wondered if I could make it through, but David noticed and put his arm out to block the way. I took a deep breath and lunged past him anyway. For a moment I thought I was going to make it, as I felt my fingers wrap around the metal door handle, but David grabbed my wrist and jerked me back at the last second. My arm twisted painfully and I cried out in pain and shock. He’d never put his hands on me before. Then again, he’d never needed to.
“Let go of me!” I howled at him. “You’re hurting me!”
“Shut up!” he growled and threw me down onto the bed. “I’m not warning you again, Morgan. I’ve run out of patience. If you don’t start doing what I ask of you very soon, you’ll be sorry!“
He reached for his belt and began to unbuckle it. I scrambled backwards on the bed to get as far away from him as possible. My back pressed up against the wall again, but this time I felt a strange, cold chill against my skin. Glass. I had my back pressed up against a window. My hands trembled as I reached behind my back and fumbled around for the latch. Meanwhile, David rolled up his belt and placed it on top of the dresser. He moved on to unbuttoning his shirt. By the time he was half–way down, I had managed to find the latch and unlock it. All it needed now was one little push…
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. It sounded impatient.
“Not yet!” David snapped angrily at whoever was on the other side. “I’ll tell you when!”
But the knocking continued, and David dropped what he was doing and made his way over to the door. It was now or never. As soon as he turned his head, I turned around and shoved the window wide open. There was an instant, cold breeze. I threw myself out without looking and landed face–first in a thorny bush. The sharp thorns stung and dug into my clothes and purse, but I tore myself free and began sprinting across the parking lot. My hair fluttered in the winter breeze, and my heart was racing like never before. Somewhere far behind me, I could hear David screaming my name.
I saw David’s car parked in the lot. Never before had I been so relieved to set my eyes on that crappy, worn–down piece of trash. I ran up to it and clawed at the door handle, which of course was locked. I panicked for a second before ripping my purse open and dumping the contents directly onto the ground. I sifted through them as fast as I could before finding the spare key. I snatched it up, along with my wallet, and unlocked the car before diving into the driver’s seat.
Looking back over my shoulder, I spotted David running down the front steps of the hotel, trying to catch up with me. He wasn’t alone. He was with a big man—bigger
than any man I’d ever seen before in my life—who was dressed from head to toe in black clothing. Other people might mistake him for hotel security, but I knew better… As soon as he spotted me, he stopped running and locked eyes with me from all the way across the parking lot.
Then, he smiled.
I twisted the key to start the car and stomped my foot on the gas pedal. The tires screeched loudly as I took off, leaving everything that I thought I knew behind. I was so desperate to get away that I shot straight past a red light. People blared their horns at me angrily, but I just clutched the steering wheel harder. I’d made it out. The question I asked myself was: where do I go now? My first instinct was to run back to my parents, but they were the ones who set me up with David in the first place, and I wasn’t so sure they would understand. On top of that, I knew that my parents’ house was the first place where David would come looking for me. I wasn’t safe there.
My eyes fell on the snowy peaks of Rodite Mountain. In the summer months it was a popular destination for camping and hiking, but right now a snow storm was rolling in and the frozen cliffs looked anything but inviting. A stream of cars was leading away from the mountain, but none were going up. People were evacuating. The only people who remained up on the mountain right now were the rough and hardened locals who knew how to fend for themselves. Only a crazy person would try to make their way up the mountain right now…
But I wasn’t crazy.
Just desperate.
***
CHAPTER 2
AXEL
“Hey Axe.” Jennifer put her elbows on the bar and leaned in.
“Hm?” I grunted without looking up, continuing to wipe down the counters.
“Pretty sure that counter’s clean enough by now.” She chuckled. “Come on! The rest of the crew and I are all going down the mountain before that blizzard sweeps in and buries us alive. I saved you a seat in my car.”
I glanced up at her. She’d changed out of her work clothes already. It always made me feel a little bit uneasy, seeing the crew like that. I didn’t like being reminded that they all had a life outside of this place… unlike me. The only thing I had to go home to was a cold and empty cabin.