Protector of the Mountain (The Mountain Men of Fox Hollow Book 2)

by Frankie Love

  “Hey Reed, how you doing?” an officer named Coal asks. I’ve known him for years, since we were kids, really.

  “Been better. Been worse. Rainey is inside. Pretty scared.”

  “She doesn’t need to be.”

  I lift an eyebrow. “No?”

  “Let’s go inside so I can explain it to you both,” Coal says. Once inside, and after I’ve introduced him to Rainey, he sits and begins to tell the story of what has happened since we spoke. “After you called yesterday, I got in touch with the department in Kansas City about Tim Larson. Didn’t take long for them to identify him. He’s a wanted man.”

  I look over at Rainey. I never told her I was planning on calling. But I had to — in order to protect her, I need that man behind bars.

  “Did anyone find him?” she asks.

  “Oh yeah, it was his girlfriend who ratted him out. Carly-Anne?”

  Rainey shakes her head. “I can’t believe she told the truth.”

  “She wanted out of the ring as much as you. Guess after you left a week ago, he took it out on her.”

  “Oh my God,” she says, biting back tears. “It’s all my fault. I should have gone straight to the police.”

  “No, you were a victim,” Coal tells her. “And it’s because of Reed that you won’t have to worry about your safety again.”

  “It seems too easy,” Rainey says. “Too good to be true.”

  “Well, your brother confessed. Seems like after he realized he was in a corner, he decided coming clean was the best way to proceed. He took the blame. Said he wanted you and Carly-Anne to have a chance at a better life.”

  Rainey bites her bottom lip. “I can’t believe it.”

  “His lawyers will be in touch,” Coal says. “But in the meantime, I suggest you get used to Fox Hollow, Rainey. Sounds like you’ll be here a long time.”

  “Thank you for coming here, I was really scared. I’ve seen things I shouldn’t—”

  Coal cuts her off. “Bit of advice, Rainey. Your brother did you a favor, but if you need to talk, open up to a lawyer or a therapist, or better yet, this man right here. But not me.”

  I walk Coal to the door, thanking him for everything.

  Coal waves me off. “What’s the point of living in Fox Hollow if you’re not gonna look out for your friends?”

  Once he is gone, I lock the door, exhaling a sigh of relief. It’s my duty, my pride, to keep my girls protected, and that right there was a first step in doing that.

  I pat the pocket of my blue jeans and walk back toward the living room, toward Rainey and Rainbow.

  “Thank you, Reed,” Rainey says when I kneel before her, kissing Rainbow’s head. “For everything. I wasn’t brave enough to make that call on my own. But you were. You knew what needed to be done… and you didn’t hesitate. You are a real man. The best man. The only man I ever want.”

  “Well damn, girl, that’s good to hear because you are the only woman I want.” I pull the ring from my pocket and offer it to her. “Marry me, Rainey. Let me be your sunshine on a cloudy day.”

  “Oh Reed…” she shakes her head. “It’s all I want. All I want is you.”

  “Good,” I tell her. “Because you have me. Now and forever.”

  Epilogue

  Rainey

  One year later…

  When Reed proposed, I said yes, not knowing many of the details about the man I loved.

  I knew he would take care of me, protect me, and I knew he made me feel safe and secure in a way I’d never felt in my entire life.

  But I didn’t know that he was so much more than a safe place to land.

  Reed is not just a Prince Charming or a beast — not even merely a mountain man. He is my man.

  And his never-ending commitment has taught me that I am worthy of love. Real, true love. He’s taught me that I don’t need to settle. That I never did. A life on the road with Tim seemed like the only thing I was good enough for. But it turns out I was made for so much more.

  I was made to be Rainbow’s mother, for starters.

  And God, is that girl incredible.

  “Come here, Rainey,” Reed calls. “She’s gonna do it!”

  I wipe my hands on a kitchen towel from washing the dinner dishes and walk into our living room — finding my husband on the floor with Rainbow as she takes her first steps. He’s capturing it on camera and I gasp, amazed at how big she is.

  “We’re in trouble now,” Reed says as I get on the floor with my family. Rainbow is in her fleece sleeper for bedtime and I catch her in a yawn. “She’s gonna be climbing all over this cabin in no time.”

  “And she’s gonna be a big sister. A lot of changes around here,” I say with a smile, kissing my husband as he rubs my growing belly. Pregnancy this time around has been so much different.

  Besides having wonderful medical care from a local midwife, my heart isn’t wrapped in fear every waking moment. There is no looming threat of how I am going to get away from the guys Tim had watching over me, no anxiety over being caught.

  Tim was given a sentence after pleading guilty. Carly-Anne enrolled in a program with a women’s shelter and is getting job training.

  And I am free to dream about what lies ahead for my sweet little family.

  “Next week is the twenty-week ultrasound,” I say as Rainbow toddles to me, landing in my arms. I lift her from the floor and kiss her head. “Think it’s going to be a boy or girl?” I ask Reed.

  “Either way, what do you think of the name Sunny? With a u or an o.”

  I lean over and kiss Reed, loving his sentimentality. “I think it’s perfect.”

  “That was easy,” Reed says with laugh.

  With Rainbow in my arms, I tell Reed I’m going to put her to bed. “Then… maybe we can go to bed?” I ask with a glint in my eyes.

  “You’re tired?” He looks at his phone. I know what time it is.

  “No, I’m not tired at all,” I say with a grin before carrying our one-year-old toward her bedroom.

  Reed gets a clue and smacks my bottom as I pass him. His touch always sends my heart racing.

  I read Rainbow two board books, and hear Reed finishing the dishes in the kitchen. Why does the sound of a man loading the dishwasher seem so flipping sexy?

  “Okay, love you sweetie,” I say, giving Rainbow one last kiss and hug, and turning off the nightlight. She is still in a crib, but I’m guessing with her new walking skills we will need to get her in a toddler bed.

  A smile crosses my face, knowing her daddy will be able to build her a beautiful one.

  I stand at her bedroom door, watching as she curls up with her stuffed horse, and Reed comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

  “Here comes the sun,” he starts to sing softly in my ear. Our song. I melt against him, feeling his love surround both of us girls.

  “Come on,” I say, taking my husband’s hand and leading him to our bedroom. I undress quickly, watching him as he unbuckles his belt, tugs off his flannel. Every inch of him is chiseled, masculine, mine.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he says, moving close, his eyes on mine. His kiss is so inviting that I close my eyes and sink right in.

  We move to the bed, our skin hot as we move as one. My body was made for his, and his for mine, and there is no denying that as I roll on top of him, taking hold of his thick cock and stroking him. My pussy is wet as I eagerly touch him. I turn around, offering him my ass as I lower my mouth to take his full cock.

  I can’t help it, I love sucking him off. He squeezes my butt, and his tongue runs up and down my pussy, my slit so wet for him as he pleasures me.

  Moans escape me as I bob my head up and down, his thickness filling me up the way I crave.

  I never want to be apart from him, this man who would do anything to keep me safe and protected.

  “God, you taste good, love,” he says, his tongue fluttering over me. “I’m so fucking close.”

  I feel his growing cock, the ridges needy
, ready to spill. I suck him harder, wanting to taste his come, wanting it to slide down my throat, wanting to be filled with him in this primal, intimate way.

  We were both each other’s first. Our only ones.

  “Oh Reed,” I moan, pumping his cock as he comes, my head moving up and down as he fingers my folds, opening my pussy the way we both love. I’m so slick and wet, and I whimper as he fingers me, deep and hard. I come too, my need for him only intensifying as the orgasm moves through me.

  I spin, licking my lips, and sink down on his still hard cock, circling my hips as I take him deep inside me.

  “You like that?” I ask him, knowing full well he loves it.

  “You know I do,” he says, massaging my breasts tenderly as my pussy releases down my thighs. Slick and squeaky, he takes my hands, lacing his fingers with mine. “I’d do anything for you, my family. You know that, right?”

  His eyes search mine and I nod, the heat of the moment overwhelming me. I am his, and he is mine. He is the protector of more than this mountain — he is the protector of me.

  More!

  SIX MEN OF ALASKA

  A Six Book Full Length Series in Kindle Unlimited!

  Six men, one wife.

  And I have no say in who those men will be.

  It's more than a game of chance—it's my life falling into the hands of strangers.

  But the men who win my hand are ruggedly handsome and promise to protect me until death do us part.

  Fallon and his strong will.

  Giles and his protective streak.

  Salinger and his easy smile.

  Banks and his intellect.

  Emerson and his faith.

  Huxley and his charm.

  I want them all, each for a different reason. My body is awake, my heart beats wild. But I’m also a woman running from a past that’s catching up. Fast. My father is coming for me and he'll make my husbands pay--and that’s not a gamble.

  That’s a guarantee.

  DOWNLOAD NOW: SIX MEN OF ALASKA

  About the Author

  Frankie Love writes filthy-sweet stories about bad boys and mountain men.

  As a thirty-something mom who is ridiculously in love with her own bearded hottie, she believes in love-at-first-sight and happily-ever-afters.

  She also believes in the power of a quickie.

  Find Frankie here:

  www.frankielove.net