Man of the Mountain (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Rosemary J. Anderson

  “What’s up, princess?”

  Alice blinked. Hawk was awake.

  “Nothing, why?”

  “Just now you looked so sad, kinda lost somehow.”

  Shaking herself out of her dejection, Alice summoned up a smile. “No, I’m fine, you must have imagined it.” Sitting up she began searching for her clothes.

  Hawk captured her arm, his hold firm, his thumb gently brushing the soft skin.

  “Don’t sweat it, princess, I’ll get you home. You can be sure of it.”

  Not bothering to correct his mistake she gave a winning smile. “I know you will,” she whispered softly.

  Looking intently into her eyes, Hawk’s grip tightened on her arm.

  “In that case, what’s your hurry?”

  “What do you mean? I, err… Isn’t it time we were going?”

  “No.” He looked toward the cave’s entrance. “It’s not light yet. If we stumble around in the dark we could miss our footing and take a tumble.”

  “Oh, oh well, I…” She smiled shyly. “I’m not tired anymore.”

  Hawk grinned. “Well what would you suggest we do instead?”

  Suddenly confused she stared indecisively at him.

  “Well, I… I...” She took a deep breath. “I think…”

  Suddenly she found herself pressed against his chest.

  “Don’t think, princess, just feel,” he murmured moments before his mouth captured hers in a deep, satisfying kiss.

  Alice’s tummy muscles tightened, and heat invaded her insides as moisture pooled at the apex between her thighs. This was what she wanted, where she wanted to be.

  Pulling slightly back she smiled coyly into his questioning eyes and ran her hands over his broad shoulders, across his muscular chest, and around his ribs before traversing lower. Hesitating only briefly she tentatively drew her fingers across his flat stomach, stopping as his muscles contracted beneath her touch. Holding his gaze she leaned forward and tenderly licked his chest before taking his hard masculine nipple into her hot, moist mouth. Hawk groaned and suddenly feeling empowered she smiled against his skin and suckled harder.

  * * * *

  Unable to bear the painful pleasure of her mouth on his skin, Hawk caught hold of her hips and lifting her slightly impaled her with his cock. She felt so good. The velvety heat of her pussy, the musky moisture of her essence, and the tightness of her internal muscles as they sheathed his penis sent the blood coursing through his veins at the speed of light. His blood boiled for her, the touch of her fingers, the caress of her mouth, and the sensual lick of her tongue. But most of all he burned for her love. Gritting his teeth as her soft rounded bottom bounced on his thighs he slowed her actions by firmly grasping her hips.

  “Gently,” he growled.

  * * * *

  Alice’s breath was coming thick and fast, and she measured her movements. Hawk was in so deep his cock felt like it was brushing the back of her throat. Ripples of pleasure seemed to emanate from her very core to each and every nerve. The brush of his pubic hair against her smoothly waxed pussy felt abrasive yet erotic, and she felt the rise of a climax. Grinding down onto his cock she tightened her muscles before drawing herself up and almost off his thick inflexible manhood. Then sinking with a deep sigh of satisfaction back down, she encased him to the hilt in her moist, inflexible sheath. Hawk’s hands tightened on her hips and he gave a wild and primitive growl. The sound primal in its intensity had her spinning over the edge to topple into the whirling kaleidoscope of an explosive orgasm. The jerk of his cock as he pumped his hot seed into her womb tumbled her further into the velvety arms of a spinning climax.

  * * * *

  Alice stumbled along behind Hawk. It seemed eons since she’d been lying bathed in sweat in Hawk’s arms. Ever efficient he’d woken her at first light and chivvied her relentlessly until she’d dressed, eaten a quick snack of trail mix, and fell in behind him. So much for love!

  Snow still covered the ground, and the temperature was now well below freezing. The light clothing she wore barely kept the cold at bay, and she shivered with every step. The terrain was harsh. Besides the cold, the air was thin, and she found breathing difficult. Ice crusted the ground, and for every step she took forward she slipped back a step. Hawk pressed relentlessly on, only looking back briefly from time to time to ensure she was keeping up.

  Hours later Hawk called a halt. Her breath clouding the air Alice waited to see what he had in mind. Were they stopping for a short break? A well-earned rest? Or for the night? Gazing upward she noticed the clouds were large, fluffy white, and looked heavy, ready to spill yet more snow. A wind had got up whipping around the mountain and corkscrewing the snowfall. It was late. She judged around six in the evening, and she was exhausted. They’d barely stopped all day.

  Hawk drew out his binoculars and standing at the edge of a ridge silently scanned the area. Watching his economical movements, Alice couldn’t help but admire him, not only as the man she loved, but as the man of the mountain, her rescuer. He was strong, resourceful, capable, and at times as cold as the mountain itself, but that made him the man he was.

  Smiling she decided there and then that this was it! This was the moment she was going to declare her love for him, and no matter what happened she would tell him he had her love forever—no strings attached. Stepping forward she reached out to capture his hand but….

  She couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t stopping. She stared at him in helpless anger as he once again hit the trail, taking it for granted that she would follow.

  Chapter Fifteen

  On and on Alice stumbled bent double against the howling wind and driving snow, her anger growing as fast as her exhaustion. Her clothes were plastered to her body by the wind, and she’d lost her hat. Hawk had given her the blanket, and she’d wrapped it around herself and up and over her hair. Gripping the edges of the blanket together her knuckles in the overlarge gloves were white with tension. Time passed, and hardly able to keep upright let alone put one foot in front of another she finally broke. Digging her heels into the snow she stopped dead, the rope pulled taut, and Hawk feeling the pull turned to look at her. Staring at each other Alice was the first to give in and lowering her eyes sat down.

  “Alice, what’s up?” Hawk towered over her, his feet braced against the wind and his hands on his hips.

  “I’m tired, cold, and hungry, and I refuse to go another step.”

  Grabbing Alice’s arm, Hawk hauled her to her feet. “You can’t stop here.”

  “Then where, Hawk, where?”

  “Not yet, just keep moving,” he snarled impatiently.

  She pulled her arm out of his grip. “No, you’re inhuman. We’ve not stopped for hours and hours,” she cried, barely suppressing the tears.

  “Just move, Alice, just move.”

  “No, no, and no!” she shouted, her voice taken by the wind.

  Hawk ground his teeth, and once again grabbing her arm he pushed her forward. “Move, and I mean now!”

  Staring at him in bewilderment, Alice could hardly believe this harsh, cold man was the same tender man of last night. His face was set and angry, his jaw tense, and the look in his eyes was…indefinable. Lifting her chin Alice rubbed a fist across her runny nose and hating him with every fiber of her being slowly placed one foot in front of the other. Slowly and surely she shuffled across the snow, one dolly step at a time, defying him with her eyes.

  * * * *

  Hawk pressed his lips firmly together. This was a side of Alice he’d never seen before, and in different circumstances he might have found her defiance amusing, but this was not the time or the place. So with that in mind he swung her off her feet and threw her over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift. Her weight was slight, but he was exhausted, so carrying her slowed his steps. He knew she was frightened and that manifested itself in defiance, yet he needed to keep her moving. The risk of frostbite and hypothermia was a worry but more so was the risk of being caught. So with th
at in mind he shifted her weight and gritting his teeth began to move in a steady but resolute pace.

  * * * *

  Hanging upside down over his shoulder, Alice whilst feeling undignified and slightly sick gave herself up to whatever he had in mind. Closing her eyes as the world turned into a dizzying spiral of whites, blues, and grays she fought the sickness that rose into her throat and hoped for oblivion. However, the universe was not forthcoming, and she hung blindly on to his jacket as with every one of his steps her body was jolted until she feared the meager contents of her stomach would end up down his back.

  To Alice time had no meaning. The snow still fell, the temperature stayed below freezing, and her stomach contents amazingly stayed put. Finally Hawk came to a halt, and she was quickly lowered to the ground. Placing a restraining hand on her shoulder as she sat propped up against the rock he murmured a “Stay put.”

  Gazing up at him, feeling as if her eyes were too big for her face she waited. It was dark now and the moon appeared like a hazy specter in the sky shedding little light onto the objects below. Hawk was on high alert, his body language was tense, and his face was set and hard. There was a deathly silence, eerily so, and she peered into the gloom, for what she knew not. However, she felt an indefinable something…

  Suddenly it was as if all hell broke loose as moments later they were surrounded by men all brandishing rifles. Fear clawed in Alice’s stomach, and her limbs now trembled not from cold but from fear. The men were not the friendly bandits of before. These appeared savage, confrontational, and dangerous. Hawk dropped his weapons and raised his hands. One of the men spat on the ground just missing Alice’s foot, and she stared at him in disgust. An excited babble of words followed as the men all began talking at once.

  Suddenly one man, a man who appeared to her inexperienced eyes to be the leader lifted a hand which inspired instant silence. Stepping forward he spoke to Hawk, who, keeping his voice low and nonconfrontational, responded in the same language. The leader of the bandits pointed to her with his rifle, and she shrank back against the rock curling her legs under her in a subconscious attempt to appear smaller.

  Alice was worried. She didn’t understand what was being said, and that in itself frightened her half to death. Her arm was grabbed by one of the men, and she was hauled struggling to her feet.

  “Don’t fight them, Alice, just do as they say, and you’ll be all right,” Hawk tried to reassure her. Feeling far from comforted she reluctantly did as Hawk advised and stopped struggling. Her hands were tied with thick rope, and she was tethered around the neck like a dog on a leash. Hawk’s hands she noticed were tied behind his back.

  Feeling a hard hand between her shoulder blades, Alice was unexpectedly thrust forward.

  The rope around her neck tightened, and to save from being strangled she gave a little trot. Nearly blinded by the flurries of snow she struggled to keep up. Her hands and feet felt like blocks of ice and were beginning to go numb. The wind whipped at her face, stinging her cold cheeks and plastering her clothes against her body, and worriedly she could no longer see Hawk. Frightened beyond anything she had ever experienced before, she prayed fervently that whatever was to happen to them would be over quickly. Now for the first time she really did think she would never see home again.

  Hours seemed to pass before with a shout the men stopped. Peering through the snow into the darkness she attempted to see what was going on, but apart from the gathering of men in front of her she couldn’t see anything.

  All of a sudden Alice jumped, staring around in shock. The noise was loud, teeth jarring, the sound of grinding rock against rock. Was it a landslide? When nobody else seemed perturbed, after the first cry of surprise she kept silent. It was only when she was jerked forward did she realize that the noise she had heard was the sound of a giant boulder being moved away from the mouth of a cave. A secret hideaway.

  The cave was cold and dark, and as she was being pulled forward she stumbled over something and fell to her knees only to be savagely dragged back up. Lifting her tied hands she pulled at the rope around her throat feeling it tighten unbearably. The boulder was dragged back into place and the darkness became impenetrable. A push from behind, and she was thrown against the wall of the cave. It felt damp and mossy, but thankfully the savage hold on the rope had slackened. After a moment of indecision she slid down to sit on the ground her back against the wall. Seconds later there was light as torches and a fire were lighted. As the glow of the flames flickered around the wall illuminating the interior Alice looked around. The cave was large. There was no furniture except rolls of thin mattresses. A few pots and pans were scattered by the fire as were some wood and scrub. Farther on she could see crates, but as to what they contained she had no idea. There were around a dozen men in all, but where was Hawk? Fear spiraled, turning and twisting her insides into knots. What had happened to Hawk? She now realized that she had been unaware of his presence since their capture. Surely… Briefly she closed her eyes, her thoughts unthinkable. Surely they hadn’t done away with him? Killed him in cold blood, shot him or stabbed him or worse still, thrown him off the mountain? She gave a small cry of distress. Please God—no!

  Chapter Sixteen

  Alice sat huddled against the cold stone wall for what seemed like hours. Mostly she was ignored, but now and again one of the men got curious and touched her hair or pulled at her clothing. Her neck was sore where the rope had chafed her skin. Ghoulishly she hoped that the rope wasn’t the one they were going to hang her with. Now and again she looked around hoping for some sign that Hawk was okay, but mostly she kept her eyes on her hands, not wanting to give any of the men a reason to engage her.

  The fire was burning brightly, but she was too far away from it to feel any real warmth, and her hands and feet still felt like blocks of ice. She was also hungry, and the meal that was bubbling in the pot on the fire smelled divine, causing her gastric juices to flow.

  Tiredness washed over her, and too frightened to sleep she opened her eyes wide in an attempt to stay alert. However, it wasn’t long before her head was nodding, and on one such occasion her head dropped, jerking her awake. Opening gritty-feeling eyes she encountered a pair of bright blue ones.

  “Hawk!” she cried, more relieved than she could have thought possible. “You’re here. Where were you? What happ—?”

  “Shush, Alice. Calm down. You’re attracting too much attention.”

  Sitting beside her he wrapped a strong arm around her shoulder. “Keep calm and act natural. Getting too excited is liable to get you killed around here.”

  He fell silent as one of the bandits tied his feet together and tethered a rope around his neck and attached it to a thick hook protruding out of the wall, the same as they had done to her. Satisfied that their prisoners wouldn’t be able to escape, the man nonchalantly wandered back to the fire.

  Fear churned in her stomach, and Alice once again took the opportunity to surreptitiously look around, storing what little information she gained for another time. Thankfully no one was taking any notice of them.

  “What happened to you? You’ve been gone for ages.”

  “I was trying to negotiate with the head man, trying to get him to release us, but I’m afraid I was unsuccessful. It seems we have a price on our head.”

  “Abdul?” Alice whispered.

  “Abdul.” Hawk nodded.

  “So what happens now?”

  Hawk sighed. “Now, princess, we wait. As long as they think we’re valuable they’ll keep us alive. The head man”—he nodded at a particularly fat man sitting spooning stew out of a dish—“has dispatched a messenger to Abdul’s men demanding a ransom.”

  “Do you think they’ll pay it, Hawk? And if they do, what then?”

  Giving a tight smile Hawk pulled her closer, gently rubbing her arm in an attempt to warm her up. “Maybe they’ll pay, and if they do, you will probably be taken back to the inn. You’re worth money to them. But as to me, well…” He did a cut
-throat action and Alice’s heart sank.

  Snuggling closer to Hawk, Alice listened to the heavy thump-thump of his heart. She hadn’t put it into words, not wanting to make Hawk feel guilty, but she wasn’t the valuable prize Abdul had once thought her. She was no longer a virgin. So her fate was something that was now up to the universe. But as to Hawk, he was so alive, a true man of the mountain, he was at one with the elements and slightly larger than life, and to think of him dying…

  A loaf of bread was thrown on the floor, and Alice lifted her head. One of the bandits stood over them, his rifle poised at the ready. He nudged the bread with his foot and engaged in a rapid conversation with Hawk.

  “You eat,” the bandit mimed.

  Scooping up the bread, Alice held it to her chest whilst the conversation continued and only breathed a sigh of relief when the man moved away.

  “What was that all about?” she whispered, still hugging the bread to her.