The Mountain Man’s Reward

by Nicole, L.

  I inspect her car, kneeling down to look underneath long enough to see there is some damage there. There’s no way she is driving this vehicle for a while. I turn back to her, this time avoiding her fiery gaze.

  “I’m going to pull you out of the ditch myself, Cora. Why don’t you wait in the cab of my truck while I get you hooked up? You can stay dry in there.”

  “Oh…okay,” she answers, pausing for a moment. “Are you sure?”

  “You got a better idea?” I mutter.

  “No, I guess not,” she responds with a sigh, before turning away. I watch her walk away, my gaze falling to her curvy hips. I can’t look away—and I do try—until she jumps into my truck and slams the door.

  “Un-fucking-believable,” I grumble under my breath.

  Fate sure has a funny way of torturing me.

  5

  Cora

  “Un-fucking-believable,” I hiss as I slam the door to Judd’s truck. I can’t believe my bad luck. First, my car slides into the ditch. Then, my cellphone won’t work. And now, I’m stuck getting rescued by the one person in the entire universe that I should stay away from.

  Judd Wellington.

  I just can’t win.

  I hold my breath and watch silently as he jumps in the truck, pulls it forward, before backing it up to the front of my car and then jumping out again. It doesn’t escape my notice that he does all of this without a word to me. I’m used to his silence, but it still hurts.

  I watch in the mirror while he works, making the entire thing look easy, despite the relentlessly pounding rain. I thought it couldn’t get any harder when I was driving, but the amount of water falling from the sky right now is tremendously impressive.

  And scary. Thunder and lightning crash through the darkness with an increasing violent roar.

  Being at the base of a mountain during a huge storm, and just after a big snow fall, are ripe conditions for being hit by a falling tree, large boulders or even getting caught in a flash flood.

  I have to admit, I am thankful Judd came along when he did. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without his help. With no way to call a tow truck, or my father, I was out of luck out here in the middle of nowhere by myself.

  Odds are someone would have come along eventually, but at least with Judd, I knew he wasn’t going to murder me in the woods.

  The biggest problem with Judd helping me… is me.

  As long as I can keep my hands to myself, we’ll be just fine.

  After just a few moments, he has my car hooked up to his truck. He works in my vehicle and I can tell he’s knocking it out of gear. Then, he’s jumping back into the cab with me again.

  “Put on your seatbelt,” he says, putting his truck in gear and slowly inching forward, pulling my car along with us. I watch him carefully, my eyes practically drinking him in.

  Judd is one of the sexiest men I have ever seen in my life. Dripping wet, he’s even better. His dark hair is slicked back in short waves, with tiny droplets of rain clinging to his olive skin. His thin t-shirt stuck to him like glue, highlighting every rippling muscle of his ripped torso underneath. A wave of heat washes over me as I imagine running my fingertips over each tight ripple, relishing in the hardness of each one.

  Expertly, he guides my car out of the ditch, and somehow safely getting it to a wide area beside the road.

  “Stay here,” he demands, and I don’t know why his quietly whispered order makes my heartbeat speed up, but it does. I watch as he unhooks my car, shifts it in gear and takes the time to lock it up. The rain blurs his actions, even with the wipers going, but I still don’t look away. Soon, he’s back in the truck and headed back down the road.

  “Thank you,” I whisper to him, a wave of shyness hitting me as I try to push away the inappropriate thoughts I’m having.

  “You’re welcome,” he responds. His voice was deep and thick with emotion. “But you could have been hurt, Cora. You have to be more careful.”

  “I was being careful,” I argue, my voice laced with defensiveness.

  “I’m sure you were, but this isn’t the best road to go down for a drive in this weather.”

  “Well, obviously,” I snap, rolling my eyes, suddenly irritated with him. Did he think I’d be reckless on purpose? Has he seen my beloved car? My prized possession? I’d never risk damaging my car.

  “I didn’t mean it that way,” he mumbles, after a few seconds. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” I exhale, shaking my head. “The rain came on fast tonight.”

  “Yes, it did,” he agrees. I tear my eyes away from him, forcing myself to think about something else besides the way his large fingers wrap around the steering wheel. “Listen, I really do appreciate your help. I’m sorry for the hassle. I’ll repay you, I promise. It’s not too far to my house from here. Only about twenty minutes or so back the other direction. I think you can turn around up ahead.”

  “Uh, yeah, I don’t think so.”

  “What?”

  “I’m not taking you home, Cora. Look at this rain. Did you see the lightning earlier? You’re going to have to ride this out at my place.”

  “At…wait. I’m sorry, what did you say?” My eyes are so wide they are practically bulging from their sockets.

  “There’s no way I’m driving all the way back to town, Cora. It’s too dangerous. You’ll have to just hunker down at my cabin and I’ll take you home in the morning.”

  “The morning! What! I can’t go to your place, Judd!” I shout, a little too loudly.

  He looks over at me with surprise. “Why not?”

  “Because! Well…I mean, it just doesn’t seem right. We barely know each other.”

  “Well,” he said, rubbing his chin, “I guess we’re going to get to know each other, Cora, because the way I see it, you don’t have much of a choice.”

  “Fuck,” I whisper, sitting back in the seat and painfully submitting to my fate.

  The rain pounds hard on the windshield, reminding me of exactly who is in charge tonight.

  Mother Freaking Nature.

  6

  Judd

  Cora is pouting during the short ride to my cabin and I do my best to ignore everything about her — her dripping curls, her pouty wet lips, her rosy nipples on full display in that damned dress. Which means this short ride to my cabin is hell.

  The rudeness she’s showing is grating on my nerves, too. It’s not like I’m looking forward to what is going on. Still, I’d literally pulled her from a ditch, and she’s acting like I’m taking her to jail or something.

  Is she that opposed to being alone with me?

  I ignore my hurt feelings, pushing them aside. Then, I ease into my driveway. I didn’t leave my porch light on, and I’ve never gotten around to putting an outside or floodlight up. In hindsight, I probably should have, since as soon as I turn off my truck and the headlights cut out, we are blanketed in a quiet darkness, with only the relentless sound of the storm churning around us.

  “I’ll get my dolly and get your car and you home in the morning,” I reassure her.

  “Okay,” she murmurs. “But, now what?”

  “Now what?”

  “Yeah.”

  I turn to look at her again and instantly regret my decision.

  “Well, Cora, you have two choices. You can stay inside the cab of my truck all night, freezing your ass off, or you can come inside and change into some dry clothes and sleep. Trust me, I’m not going to touch you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  She’s pissing me off, sitting there looking like a trauma victim, when she really needed to be thanking me. Suddenly, my training kicks in.

  “Wait. Did you hit your head?”

  “What? No, why?”

  “You sure?” I prod.

  “God, Judd, yes! What the hell…”

  “Well, you’re acting like an ungrateful brat, so I wanted to make sure you aren’t mentally impaired.”

  “A brat!” She huffs, ann
oyed with me. It takes everything I have not to laugh.

  “Sorry,” I laugh. “Look, just come inside. I’ll build a fire.”

  She looks at me suspiciously.

  “It’s okay, I’m qualified to build them as well as put them out.”

  “Very funny.”

  I wink at her, and a faint smile spreads across her lips.

  Much better. Cora was born to smile. Every time she does, her eyes twinkle and I know they are now, I can see it despite the darkness.

  “I am thankful,” she says, with a dismissive wave.

  I smile at her, a jolt of electricity shooting through me. Cora Lance was beautiful every time I’d ever seen her before, but something about her sitting in my truck, her voice soft feels like a dream.

  A very wet dream.

  I steal another glance at the outline of her nipples, then reach over her and open the door.

  “Make a run for it. I’m right behind you.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she muttered, slipping off her shoes, then pushing open the door and jumping out. I wait a few seconds, watching her run through the darkness towards my porch — her wet dress, her bare feet, her drenched hair — the image imprinting itself into my brain.

  My hand presses against my chest as a sharp pain hits me. Hell, who am I kidding? Everything about Cora has always hit me straight in the damn heart.

  I swallow hard, then jump out, following her onto the porch.

  7

  Cora

  Judd’s cabin smells like pine trees and firewood.

  It’s cozy, but also very small. I’m instantly uncomfortable as soon as he closes the door. I’m standing in the living room and it’s decently sized, the attached kitchenette however is small, and the only other room seems to be his dark bedroom just off the front entrance. It’s a cabin made for a man, which is fine, but considering I’m fighting the urge to beg Judd to ease the ache inside of me… it’s bad.

  That ache has Judd’s name on it. It’s always had his name.

  I sigh as I stand in the center of the living room, trying to put some space between the two of us. I become acutely aware of just how large Judd is, because he seems to take up the entire cabin with his presence and there’s nowhere for me to escape, even if I want to.

  At this point, part of me doesn’t want to.

  He shakes off the rain at the front door, turning to me, seeming to inspect me.

  His hot gaze rakes over my body. I look down and only then realize what he must have seen from the first moment he pulled up to help me. The white dress I’m wearing is completely showing off everything I have on underneath, which to be honest, is hardly anything at all. I had a thin white bra on that clearly did nothing to hide my breasts. Shit, my nipples are hard as rocks and on full display.

  “Oh, hell,” I said, wrapping my arms around my body.

  “Yeah, I noticed,” he responds with a smirk.

  “I’m sure you did,” I chastise, blushing. Then, I remember the tiny G-string I’m wearing and a wave of dread washes over me.

  “Let’s get you out of those clothes,” he says, his voice a low growl as he takes a step toward me, his eyes glued to my breasts.

  “Excuse me?” I gasp, feeling naked enough already. Did he just expect me to strip in front of him?

  “You can borrow some of mine,” he explains, shaking his head. “Stay there. I’ll get you a towel, too.”

  I nod, but he’s ignoring me now and I’m wondering why I feel disappointed all at once.

  He kicks off his boots and walks into what I assume is his bedroom, leaving me all alone and dripping water all over his living room rug.

  I stand here trying to figure out how in the hell I’d gone from avoiding Judd at the station, to standing in his living room, all in just a matter of a few hours. I shake my head, my wet curls clinging to my face. I push them back and take a deep breath, looking around again.

  It’s obvious a single man lives in this cabin. It could use a few quilts and flowers and definitely a little color. Everything is dark brown or green, there are way too many earth colors, for my tastes. Still, it suits Judd.

  He comes out of his room wearing a pair of sweats and a Colorado State t-shirt. He has two towels in his hand. He hands me one, before putting the other one on top of his head, rubbing his hair dry.

  “Thanks,” I murmur, feeling shy and out of my depth. I take the towel and immediately wrapping it around my torso.

  “I left a t-shirt and a pair of sweats on my bed for you,” he says.

  “Oh,” I murmur, looking towards his room. The last thing I want to do is to walk into Judd’s bedroom.

  “The bathroom is through there, too,” he said. “Why don’t you change, and I’ll try to find us something to drink?”

  “Thanks,” I reply. I’m hoping like hell it’s booze he will be offering up.

  I silently walk into his bedroom. The clothes laid out on his bed are going to be way too large but I’m thankful to see the shirt is black, and would adequately cover my rogue nipples.

  I grab the clothes and headed to his bathroom, locking the door behind me. Instantly, the smell of his soap hits me. It smells all man, spicy and sexy and I bite my lip as I quickly peel off my wet clothes and dry off.

  This is way too intimate.

  Being in Judd’s cabin, in his bedroom…in his damned bathroom and even his clothes, for fuck’s sake.

  It’s all too much.

  There’s no way this night was going to go well, I know that much. Hopefully, we’d manage to just go to sleep and it would all be over in the morning. That’s all I could pray for at this point.

  I hang my wet clothes up on his shower curtain and then head back to the living room. Judd’s in the kitchen, his back to me, as he pours whiskey into two coffee cups.

  “Hey,” I murmur, thankful to see the booze.

  “Here,” he says, turning to offer me a cup. “This should warm you up. I’ll make a fire, too.”

  “Thanks.”

  I take the cup and sip the whiskey, hissing as the warmth runs through my body immediately, relaxing me just a bit. “This is just what I needed,” I mutter lamely, thinking it could also be my downfall. I’m not much of a drinker and alcohol and Judd could prove to be a deadly mix for me.

  “Are you sure you weren’t hurt?” he asks, his eyes squinting in concern. “You didn’t hit your head or your leg or anything?”

  “No,” I reply, touched he’s so concerned. “Really, I’m fine. Promise.”

  “Good,” he nods, staring into my eyes. I swallow hard, the electricity flowing between us like crazy. Suddenly, he turns and walks away, heading towards the fireplace and getting to work.

  I watch from the kitchen quietly, my eyes drinking him in, as he leans down and begins carefully stacking the wood and lighting the kindling underneath. A wave of desire washes over me, a heat building deep in my belly as I realize just how difficult it’s going to be to stay in this cabin with him alone all night.

  That desire turns to panic as I remind myself just how off-limits Judd is.

  “I need some air,” I murmur, heading for the front door.

  “We can sit on the porch,” he said.

  “Sure,” I said, making a beeline for the front door. I need to put as much space between us as humanly possible. My stomach sinks as he stands up, grabs his cup and follows me out onto the porch.

  It’s so dark we can hardly see ten feet off the porch, but I stand there, staring out into the darkness, feeling the heat rolling off his body as he stands behind me.

  “Oh wow. Judd, look!” I cry, pointing to a couple of figures in the darkness on the side of his cabin. They turn to look our way and I see it’s a man and a woman embracing. They pull away and Judd speaks up behind me.

  “Braden!”

  “Judd, I thought you weren’t going to be here?”

  “Hell, Braden, get under the porch and out of the rain, before you drown!”

  The woman grabs
the man’s hand and pulls him up onto the porch and it was then that I realize who I’m looking at.

  Braden used to work for my Dad until he had a bad accident in a fire one night and decided to retire. I hadn’t seen him in years.

  “Why did you ask me to come by, if you were going to be here?”

  “I had a small change in plans,” Judd said, rubbing his neck and looking uncomfortable. Something nudges my leg, and I looked down and saw a pig rubbing up against me.

  “Is this your little piggy?” I ask, leaning down to pet him.

  “Hey, Cora,” Braden mumbles.

  “Hey, Braden. Long time, no see. You’re looking good,” I reply, smiling up at him. He snorts, then looked over at Judd in confusion, but I ignore them both.

  “We try not to use the P word,” the woman with Braden says. “He’s sensitive, but his name is Bogo.”

  “He’s adorable, I’ve always wanted one, any pet really, but my father is allergic to all animals.”

  “All animals?” she asks, her voice laced with surprise.

  “Oh, he’s not really allergic. He just uses is it that as an excuse, he’s kind of OCD when it comes to cleanliness,” I assure her.

  “I get you. But, Bogo is really clean.”

  “It really is a cute name, is it like buy one, get one?” I question.

  “More like, bacon on the go,” she replies.

  We all laugh.

  “Why don’t you come inside, and we can dry Bogo off?”

  The woman hesitates, looking at Braden.

  “Go ahead and dry him off. You don’t want Bacon to catch the swine flu or something.”

  “Braden, did you just make a joke?” she asks, with awe.

  “Just get inside with the damn pig,” he barks.

  “Stop using the P word!” she insisted. Judd’s laughter rings out as the woman and I turn to go inside.