by Lauren Wood
“Alright enough gawking, Charles. We need to get some work done. Are you going to help me with those windows, or what?”
He gave me a dirty look and agreed. I could tell that he wasn’t worried about the windows. He was worried about the same thing that I was worried about and it gave me hope that the cabin wouldn’t be finished as quickly as it could be.
She bent over to pick up something form the porch ground and everyone there stopped. Mother of all gods, I could see right through her pants and all I could see was a thin string going up her derriere.
“Fuck me.”
I hit Charles in the chest and told him to grab the other side of the window. No, work wasn’t going to get done near as fast as it was supposed to, not if she kept bending over like that much more.
***
We were back at my house and it had been a long day. I was a little tired, but there was still dinner to make. I didn’t know what I was going to make because Ayla was here, so I saw what I had in the fridge. I needed to wash up in the other room and when she saw that I was getting something for dinner; she offered to make something for us. I wasn’t sure if she could even cook, but I wanted to make myself a little more presentable.
I had gotten so hot from working that I was sweaty, even though I had my shirt off most of the day. I had caught her eyes on me a couple of times and I wanted to see if I could get her attention more. The young woman made me think about women more than I had in a long time. I was drawn to her and it wasn’t just because of her beauty. She had been so naughty last night and I wanted more. I wanted to see how far she would go.
I needed a haircut to clean up a bit, but at the very least I figure that I should trim my beard just a touch. Once again, I was worried about my appearance when I was almost never too worried about it before. Now that she was there though and I had seen the way that the other men were looking at her, I knew that I was going to have to stake my claim now before it was too late. Charles was trying hard to get her attention and I had seen her touch his arm and laugh at something he had said. It bothered me more than I cared to mention and I wasn’t going to lose such a find because I was too lazy to try. I had to try and with her staying with me, it was easy to see how it could all work out.
Going into the small bathroom with the tub, I turned on the water heater and waited for it to heat up for a minute before I ran some bath water. It didn’t take long to get enough water, but I was still trimming my beard when I heard a knock at the door. Ayla needed help finding something and instead of just telling her, I wrapped the towel around my waist and made my way into the main room.
Her eyes were on me and it made another part of me stand up and take notice a lot quicker than I would have liked. This woman was driving me damn near crazy is what she was doing and I had to wonder if she knew that or not. It was maddening and I couldn’t help but do my best to hide the needs I had. I caught her eyes wandering down to my waist and I knew that I was out and she was able to see me. I almost covered up, but since she was interested and I wanted her in that train of thought, I tried my best to fight that urge. It was the only way I was going to get what I wanted. I wanted to ask her if she liked what she saw, but I thought that would be too much, so I refrained. Ayla seemed delicate and I didn’t want to scare her off.
I found her what she needed for gravy and I had to admit that it smelled good in there when I was checking. Ayla was paying attention to my face as well, telling me that I looked different with less beard on my face. She even touched it out of the blue and rubbed her fingers on the smooth skin. “You look so different Bill.
I had a feeling that she liked it and it made the effort all worth it. I knew I was going to get ribbed about it tomorrow by the guys, but I hoped that it was well worth it in the end. If it got me the attention I needed, I was convinced that it was going to be worth it. She was already eying me in a new way. She had been eying me all day while we worked on the cabin, but now it was something more that she had in her bright depths that made me a little harder than before.
When I came out, the whole cabin smelled good and I hoped that the food was half as good as the smell was. It would have just been another bonus, though I would rather have a hot girlfriend than a cook. I can cook well enough, but Ayla never ceased to amaze me it seemed like and I liked the idea that she did well in the kitchen too. Maybe she really was made tough enough for Alaska. She seemed like a city girl, but she had worked just as hard as everyone else today without a break and I was starting to think that I had underestimated her more than I had thought.
“Smells great Ayla.”
“Well I hope you like it. You guys helped out so much today. I think I should make the rest of the guys some cookies. Do you think that they would like that?”
I didn’t want to lie to her, but at the same time, I didn’t like the idea of her dropping off cookies up the mountain to the other guys, not until it was established that she was mine. They had behaved themselves before when we were all at the cabin, but one on one, I don’t think they would have been quite so gentleman like. They were animals, we all were and I know Charles in particular would be a lot more forward. I could still feel jealousy rising up in my throat with the idea of it all and I didn’t like the idea of it one bit.
“I’m not sure. We can always go hunting and bring them all some meat as pay back if you like. Do you hunt?”
She scrunched her nose up. “Not really, but I can butcher and cook it. It’s the killing part that I don’t like.”
I chuckled at her. Yea, she wasn’t as tough as she looked. Ayla was far more delicate than I was used to and I hated to think of her getting all upset about killing Bambi. She was going to have to learn a few things if she was going to stay up here and I was more determined than ever to make sure that she did.
“Well like I said before, you don’t have to thank them. They are doing it for me because I asked them to. You don’t owe anyone Ayla. We like to help each other out here in Alaska.”
She was quiet for a time and I wondered what was on her mind.
“You sure are quiet tonight.”
“I know, sorry. I just… I don’t know. This is not how I envisioned at all coming to Alaska. I came here to get away from men and to find myself.”
Her voice trailed off and I waited for her to say something else.
“Why would you come here to get away from men?” It seemed silly when I am sure that anywhere she went she was going to be admired by a slew of them.
“Because I just had a bad break up a while back and I have been single for a while. No one has really enticed me, so I thought that if I came here, out in the middle of nowhere, I wouldn’t really be tempted.”
I liked where this was going and I liked that she wasn’t so sure about the temptation part of it. Was I the temptation? It was a damn shame how much I wanted to be. So damn badly I wanted to be the reason that she was having second thoughts.
“So are you tempted?”
Ayla smiled at me and nodded her head that she was, but she was too shy to look me in the eye during this time. I found her innocence intriguing and like most men, I wanted to take it away. There was something sweet about her that called to the part of me that wanted to change it.
“Temptation is a good thing Ayla.”
“Not when it is a stranger and you don’t know the outcome.”
She had a point about the stranger thing, but I wasn’t going to voice that out loud. I wanted her to feel safe with me and I asked her some questions throughout the evening so we would be less strangers.
We sat on the couch together and got cozy, but it was a far cry from what I wanted. I could tell that she was thinking about it too, as I was, but it was hard to gauge what was going on in her mind.
Ayla told me about her ex and what he was like. I told her that he didn’t deserve her. I talked about the few women I had had since I had been here and it was something that I never really shared with anyone before. Up in Alaska, there wasn’t a l
ot of conversation about feelings. We talked about hunting, fishing and survival, but emotions and feelings usually took a backburner to all else. It was actually nice to talk about things that didn’t matter so much.
“You’re unlike anyone that I’ve ever met before Ayla.”
I noticed that she was closer to me on the couch and I pulled her a little closer so that she was leaning on my shoulder. When she looked up at me, I had this undying urge to kiss her that I didn’t give into. I didn’t want to go too far or too fast. I knew that once I got my hands on her, I wasn’t going to be able to stop myself. I was teetering on the verge of no control as it was. I didn’t want to lose myself. I wanted everything to be perfect because she deserved nothing less.
“It’s getting late Ayla and we’ve got a long day ahead of us.”
She looked almost disappointed and I had to ignore the need in her eyes, reminding myself of what would happen if I did what those eyes asked of me. I couldn’t take the chance of losing myself because I might not get another chance.
**END OF PREVIEW**
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MOUNTAIN MAN’S PROPOSAL - SNEAK PEAK
PREVIEWS
MOUNTAIN MAN’S BRIDE
BLURB:
Her smile was innocent, but her body was so damn hot.
She got a job and I got a new outlook on life.
As soon as I saw Merle, I knew that she was going to have to be mine.
She brought out the side of me that I didn’t even know was alive.
With her, I started to think about the future.
Merle:
As soon as I got to Nome, I knew that I was in for a rough ride.
Coming up in a hurry, I wasn’t prepared for what came next.
Charlie came out of nowhere and saved me.
Now I was around him all the time and I wanted him.
It was all that I thought about; his hands, his thick thighs and my own needs.
My mind was lost and when he touched me, my body was as well.
My mountain man changed everything.
Charlie:
I found her walking the ocean’s edge.
She was perfect, down to earth and sexy as hell.
Merle started diving for me and then everything got complicated.
I shouldn’t think about her in such naughty ways, but I did.
Her body writhing beneath mine was the goal.
I never lost and I wasn’t going to this time.
I was going to claim Merle for my own.
***
Chapter 1
Merle
Getting a ride the last part of the journey was easier said than done. I had several offers but they were from sketchy people and I was sure that I would be found next year when the snows melted in some far off place by hunters.
I finally found a female that was going to Nome and I was lucky enough to talk her into letting me tag along. I had a couple of duffel bags with all of my equipment in it, so I had to toss those in the back of the truck and get in. It was a couple of hours and that gave me time to learn more about the place where I was headed. Molly was an older woman and she liked to talk. I got a basic tour of everywhere we passed by and when we got to our destination, I felt like I had actually learned quite a bit. She would have been perfect to do tours. It was like Molly was made for it.
“Well good luck Merle. I hear that the diving out there right now is dangerous. Have you ever done it before?”
I told her that I had, just not with the cold that was Nome, Alaska right now. It was easy to see how it was dangerous, but I’d always wanted to dive for gold. It was literally just sitting on the bottom of the ocean and I wanted to go scoop it up. This was to be how I paid for my last year of school. I came up here with high hopes and a name that I was supposed to contact when I got here.
At the moment I was outside of a small bar that had drink specials on a board. I wasn’t here for a drink, but directions. Molly hadn’t known the man I was looking for. His name was Kevin and that made me nervous that she didn’t know him. Everyone kind of knew everyone in places like Nome and I wasn’t sure what that meant for the man who had a rig and was supposed to hire me. I had come a long ways and I didn’t even want to think about the idea that I was not going to have a contact here. The season was already in full swing and it might be hard to pick up some work now. I certainly wouldn’t get the good percentages that I was promised before by Kevin.
When I made my way in, it was hard to see because it was so dark in the interior. I had to go slow and let my eyes adjust to the new surroundings before I was able to start noticing faces and trying to find the one face that I was there for. Kevin told me to meet him here. He said he was here if he wasn’t on the rig. Now I was sure that it was a dead end, but I went up to the bar and waited for the bartender to make his way to me.
The bushy-haired man’s eyes matched the brown hair on top of his head. He looked like he was fresh from electrocution and I had to look away before the smile on my face got bigger. It wasn’t a good way to start the day. Of that I was sure and I straightened up enough so that I could ask about Kevin. I half figured that the bartender wouldn’t know who I was talking about and I was going to be stuck here with no real direction of what to do next. I didn’t have a plan in place and I was nervous now. It had been a big leap of faith, I knew that, but maybe it was bigger than I would have imagined.
“Oh Kevin Leer. You must be talking about that newbie that came down. He says he is going to make his fortune on the gold here, but I don’t think he will. He is usually held up in that back booth, shooting the shit with someone, but he is out on the water today.”
I was worried that he had found someone else to take my place and I wasn’t going to be wanted or needed when it comes down to it. I was so afraid of him picking a local that had more experience than taking a chance on me. I knew that I had what it took, but as I had never dove in these conditions before, I know there was a question of if I was going to be able to do it or not.
“Do you know where I could find him?”
The bartender gave me direction, but told me that I had most likely missed Kevin. If he was sober before noon, he would be out on the water early. It was sounding like he liked to take his gold and melt it down for cash pretty quickly and once he had ran out, it was time to go out and get some more. I wasn’t sure if I was comfortable with that arrangement, but I just needed a chance. If I could have a few good dives, there is a possibility that I could find a spot with another captain and boat.
So I made my way down to the shoreline. He was in walking distance from what the bartender told me. I just had to find the boat, Second Chances. It was a name that sounded about right for Kevin. He was fresh from a divorce and after losing everything in the divorce, he planned to get his money back by picking it up off the sea floor. It was one hell of a gamble, but it was the same one that brought me here so I knew the chances too, yet here I was, gambling it all.
I walked down the dockside and saw hundreds of boats of all shapes and sizes. It looked like about half of them were set up to gold mine and I started to get excited. It was strange to realize that I was finally here and I had a feeling that I was going to find my fortune out here as well. It may have been misplaced, but I was starting to have hope again. I just had to find Kevin and I was sure that I was going to get what I came here for.
Chapter 2
Merle
“Hey are you looking for me?”
I turned around, hoping that it was Kevin, but it wasn’t and my face must have showed my disappointment.
“Not used to that sort of reaction.”
“Sorry, I thought you were Kevin. I have been waiting out here for quite some time. His boat is here, but Kevin is nowhere to be seen.”
“He is most likely passed out in the
re the whole time. He must not have been sober enough to get it started. That pull start can be a bitch. Do you want me to check and see if he is in there for you?”
I looked to the rigged up boat in front of me and I knew that if what he said was true, I was going to be pissed. I had been waiting for quite some time for this guy and if he was in the boat the whole time, I knew that I was going to be pissed. I was freezing and I didn’t have to wait this long, yeah I was going to be mad that I hadn’t thought to check.
The man that had walked up and asked if I was looking for him was studying my face.
“You are new around here, huh?”
I told him that I was. It was a small town and I was sure that everyone would know that I was new here soon enough.
“Yeah, just got in this afternoon and I have been looking for Kevin ever since. I have a job with him, but I haven’t made contact yet. Would you mind checking the boat? I don’t know if barging in on him with me being new and all is a good idea.”
“Sure, Kevin is a bear in the morning, but you just ignore him and he is fine after he gets some coffee in him.”
“Well thanks for the heads up. I am starting to worry that I hitched my wagon to the wrong boat. Is he doing any good this year?”
The man that introduced himself as Charlie grinned and then shrugged a little. “When he is sober, he does well. Always have someone else on deck to keep you safe while you are down there. Don’t trust Kevin to do it for you. And I think he is going to have a field day with a pretty thing like you. Does he know what you look like?”
