The Real Thing

by Paige Tyler

  Carefully making her way around to the passenger’s side, she opened the door and climbed into the seat. The inside of the Denali was invitingly warm, and she held her ice-cold hands up to the heater with a sigh of relief. She hadn’t been this frozen since going ice skating with her best friend Tracy Collins back in Michigan when they were in the fifth grade. The hot chocolate and s’mores they’d shared afterward had made nearly getting frostbite worth it. Raine smiled at the memory. She hadn’t thought about Tracy or that time in her life for years.

  The driver’s side door opened, letting in a blast of cold air, and Raine shivered as her rescuer climbed inside.

  “How far is this town?” she asked.

  He started the engine. “About fifteen minutes.”

  At least she wouldn’t have to suffer his company for long.

  “You warm enough?”

  She looked at him in surprise. Maybe Mr. Tall, Dark and Rude did have a good side after all. Who knew? “I’m fine. Thank you.”

  Raine turned to stare out the window, but almost immediately, her gaze was drawn to the man beside her again. Before, she’d been too cold and pissed off to notice how good looking he was, but with that rugged jaw with its perfect amount of stubble and golden brown eyes, she had to admit he put the leading men in every movie she’d ever been in to shame.

  “Shit.”

  The softly spoken expletive brought Raine out of her musings. She looked out the window and realized that he’d stopped in the middle of the street. “What is it?”

  “The garage is closed.”

  She leaned forward, squinting to see through the snow. She could just make out the silhouette of a building and a lone gas pump under the glow of a street lamp.

  “That’s okay. You can just drop me off at the hotel. I’ll stay here for the night.”

  He slanted her an impatient look. “There isn’t a hotel. I told you that.”

  She sighed. “Fine. Then whatever passes for one in this town.”

  “It doesn’t have a hotel, or a motel, or one of those bed and breakfasts you obviously like to frequent.”

  Raine ground her jaw. Mr. Tall, Dark and Rude was back. “Okay. Well, I was going to the spa in Mountain Ridge anyway. It’s only another thirty minutes from here, so just take me there. I’ll call someone to go get my car in the morning.”

  He stared at her. “Thirty minutes? Try four hours. And that’s in good weather.”

  Four hours? Crap. She tucked her wet hair behind her ear. “If it’s out of your way, I can reimburse you for your trouble.”

  He let out a snort. “Hell, yeah, it’s out of my way. But even if it wasn’t, there’s no way we’d get there in this storm.”

  She took a deep breath and counted to ten. “Then take me to the nearest town. Preferably one with a hotel.”

  He muttered something under his breath. “Look, the nearest town is about an hour from here on a clear day, and I’m not going to chance it in the snow. My cabin is only about another ten minutes up the road. You can spend the night there.”

  Raine blinked. Spend the night with a guy she didn’t know in some cabin in the middle of nowhere? She’d done that in an embarrassingly crappy low-budget horror flick back when she was first trying to make it in Hollywood. She’d played an unsuspecting hitchhiker who got a ride with a guy who turned out to be a serial killer. The ending for her character hadn’t been good.

  “Thank you for the offer, but I’d rather take my chances with the snow and drive to the nearest town.”

  “Yeah, well I wouldn’t.” He sighed. “Look, I’m not thrilled with the idea of spending the night with you, either, but it’s the only option. Unless you’d rather camp out in front of the garage tonight and wait for them to open up in the morning.”

  Like she was going to do that. She had no choice but to stay with him. And pray he wasn’t some psycho who’d murder her in her sleep.

  She folded her arms and flopped back in the seat. “Fine.”

  The ten-minute drive to the cabin ended up being more like thirty, and by the time they got there, the snow was falling twice as hard as before. As much as she hated the idea of getting out of the warm truck, the thought of the warm, cozy cabin that awaited her was inviting enough to make the trek through the snow worth it.

  The cabin, however, wasn’t warm or cozy. From what little she could see in the darkness, it was barely even furnished.

  She whirled around as he switched on the lights. “Doesn’t this place have any heat?”

  His jaw tightened. “It will once I get a fire going.”

  It didn’t have electric heat? When was it built, the Stone Age?

  She looked around the small cabin. It was little more than one room, with a fireplace on the wall opposite the door, a couch in front of that, and a tiny eat-in kitchen that had a table barely big enough for two people.

  She hugged herself to keep from shivering. It didn’t help. “Next, you’ll be telling me this place doesn’t have running water, either.”

  “It used to, but I thought having an outhouse would add a certain kind of charm instead.”

  She jerked around to look at him so fast she almost gave herself whiplash.

  “I’m just kidding.” His mouth twitched in amusement. “The bathroom’s through there.” He gestured to one of the two doors on the far side of the cabin. “There won’t be any hot water for a while, though. Help me get some wood off the back porch and we’ll get this place heated up.”

  Raine gaped. “Excuse me?”

  He halted in his tracks, turning to face her. “The faster we get the wood in here, the faster I can get a fire started.”

  She lifted her chin to look down her nose at him. Which was hard to do since he was much taller than she was. “Don’t you know who I am?”

  He lifted a brow. “Should I?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m Raine Montgomery.”

  “And that should mean something to me?”

  “I’m Raine Montgomery, the movie star.”

  He regarded her for a moment. “Sorry. Never heard of you.”

  He had to be joking. But the blank look on his face told her he wasn’t. He really didn’t know who she was. Considering the source, that shouldn’t have been a blow to her ego, but it was. “Everyone’s heard of me. Unless they’ve been living under a rock somewhere.”

  He clenched his jaw. “I don’t watch a lot of TV. Apparently, you don’t, either.” He looked pointedly at her shoes. “At least not the Weather Channel, anyway.”

  She lifted her chin. “The weather was beautiful in LA when I left.”

  His mouth quirked. “Yeah, well, this isn’t LA. I’m going to get some wood. Are you going to help, or not?”

  “Not.”

  His only answer was a snort as he walked out.

  Raine hugged her jacket closer and sat down on the couch. It was his cabin. Let him get his own damn wood. Reaching for her purse, she dug out her cell phone.

  “You won’t get a signal.” Mr. Tall, Dark and Rude came back in carrying an armful of wood. “Not with this storm.”

  She unlocked the screen to see for herself, only to find that he was right. She cursed under her breath and dropped it back in her purse. “How long do you think this will keep up?”

  He glanced at her as he stacked the wood on the hearth. “In these mountains, it’s hard to say. It could be a day or two. Maybe three.”

  She could be stranded in this cabin with him for three days? Yikes. She chewed on her lower lip, watching him make a fire. He waited for it to crackle to life, then got to his feet and shrugged off his heavy coat. Raine’s gaze was drawn to the broad shoulders flexing under his button-up shirt. She could just imagine what he’d look like without it.

  Angry with herself for even having such a thought about someone like him, Raine grabbed her bag and got to her feet. “I’m going to see if there’s any hot water yet.”

  The bathroom was smaller than she was used to, but the wate
r was warm enough to wash her frostbitten hands. She would have loved a shower, too, but the water wasn’t quite hot enough for that, so settled for changing into a pair of jeans and a sweater instead. After drying her snow-dampened hair, she quickly ran a brush through it, then gazed at her reflection in the mirror above the pedestal sink. Her make-up was all but gone. She considered touching it up, but couldn’t be bothered. It sure as hell wasn’t like she wanted to impress Mr. Tall, Dark and Rude.

  He was at the stove stirring something in a pot when she walked into the main part of the cabin. He glanced over her shoulder at her, his dark eyes taking in her change of clothes. Was it her imagination or did they linger a little longer than necessary on her curve-hugging jeans?

  He turned back to the stove. “There’s stew if you want some.”

  Her stomach growled at the mention of food. She walked over to see what kind of soup it was, only to wrinkle her nose when she saw all the chunks of beef in it. “Don’t you have anything that doesn’t have a dead cow in it?”

  The muscle on the side of his jaw flexed. “Should have known you’d be a vegetarian.”

  “I’m not a vegetarian. I just don’t like to eat a lot of red meat.”

  “There’s a can of tuna in the cabinet. Or is fish is off limits, too?”

  Jackass. He was probably one of those jerks who came up here to hunt simply so he could put a trophy up on the wall. She didn’t want to get started on that topic, though, so she bit her tongue.

  Ignoring her, he ladled stew into one of the bowls on the counter, then walked over to the table. She frowned at the remainder of the stew. Despite her comments about red meat, she couldn’t deny it smelled delicious. Plus, it was hot. Picking up the ladle, she filled the other bowl, then carried it over to the table and sat down opposite him.

  “So, what’s your name?” she asked. “You didn’t say.”

  He lifted his head to look at her. “Logan McBride.”

  Not only did he have movie star good looks, but the perfect name to go with them. She dipped her spoon in the stew. “How can you stand it out here? I mean, this is as in the middle of nowhere as you can get.”

  He shrugged. “I like the solitude.”

  “Me, too. In small doses.” She shook her head. “I could never live here.”

  “I don’t live here. I live in Seattle. I only come out here to paint.”

  “Oh.” She glanced at him as she chased a piece of carrot around the bowl with her spoon. “You mean, like houses?”

  “No.” The word was curt. “I’m an artist. I paint landscapes.”

  “An artist?” Huh. “I wouldn’t have guessed that.”

  She must have insulted him again because that little muscle on the side of his jaw flexed dangerously.

  “Well, you can’t paint all the time,” she hurried on before he could say anything. “And I don’t see a TV or a computer. What do you do to keep from being bored out of you mind?”

  “Sleep.”

  Picking up his empty bowl, Logan pushed back his chair and got to his feet. She watched in silence as he washed out the bowl and placed it in the dish rack. If she knew what she’d done to offend him, she would have apologized to him. But what would she say? I’m sorry for insulting your man-cave?

  He dried his hands on a dish towel. “I’ve already put out a pillow and some blankets so you can make up the couch.”

  Her spoon clattered in the bowl as she pushed back her chair. “A gentleman would let me use the bed.”

  He scowled. “That is the bed. I’m sleeping on the floor.”

  Okay, this time she really should have apologized because she’d definitely insulted him. But she was too shocked. “You’re telling me that you don’t have a bedroom? Then what’s in there?” She jerked her chin toward the door beside the one that led to the bathroom.

  “The bedroom. I converted it into my studio.”

  That had to be one of the most stupid things she’d ever heard. She would have told Logan as much, but he’d already picked up his bag and disappeared into the bathroom. A moment later, she heard the shower running.

  Raine dropped the dishtowel on the counter and went over to where her bag sat on the floor. Listening to make sure the shower was still running, she quickly undressed and changed into her pajamas. They were little more than a snug little tank top and skimpy pair of shorts, but huddled beneath the blanket, Logan wouldn’t be able to tell what she was wearing.

  She just finished making up the bed when the shower turned off. She quickly jumped under the blanket and pulled it up to her chin. It was silly to be so modest, especially since she’d been in movies wearing less clothing than she had on now. But that was with a camera crew and an actor she knew, not some guy she’d just met.

  Logan barely glanced her way when he came out, though. He’d changed, too, trading in his jeans and button-up shirt for a pair of dark blue pajama bottoms and a long-sleeved T-shirt. She watched in silence as he stoked the fire, then made up his own bed on the floor. When he was done he turned off the light without so much as a good night.

  Raine rolled onto her side. She thought she’d be tired enough to fall asleep right away, but the couch wasn’t nearly as soft as a bed, and no matter which way she laid, she couldn’t get comfortable. She punched her pillow and turned onto her back again.

  Logan swore. “Just go to sleep, would you?”

  “I can’t. This couch is as hard as a rock.” She threw back the blanket and got to her feet. “If you’d just taken me into a hotel like I asked, we’d both be sleeping right now.”

  She tried to straighten the blankets, but all she did was make more of a mess out of them.

  “You can leave any time you want, you know,” Logan said tersely.

  Raine whirled around to face him. He was lying on his back, his arms behind his head. She glared down at him. “You’ve got to be the most annoying man I’ve ever met. First, you almost run me down. And instead of apologizing, you tell me I’m an idiot for standing in the road trying to get your attention. Then you don’t even try to dig out my car. Nor do you take me where I want to go because you don’t want to drive a few hours out of your way, even though I offered to pay you. Instead, you drag me off to this cabin where there’s no heat, barely any hot water, and no bed. I—”

  “Dammit, that’s it,” Logan growled.

  Raine took a nervous step back as he got to his feet and came toward her, dark eyes glinting in the firelight. “What are you—?”

  The words turned into a startled gasp as Logan grabbed her arm, then sat down on the couch and yanked her over his knee. For a moment, she was too stunned to do anything but lay there. When she finally pushed herself up, he pushed her back down.

  “What the hell do you think you’re—?”

  A sharp smack landed on her ass. Oh. My. God. The bastard was actually spanking her!

  She craned her neck to glare at him over her shoulder. “Let me up right now.”

  “Not until we get something straight.” Logan smacked her on the opposite cheek, harder this time. “I’ve had it with you and your I-think-I’m-better-than-everyone-else attitude. You’ve done nothing but complain since I picked you up, and I’m sick of it.”

  His hand connected with her butt again, coming down on the tender skin where her shorts had ridden up. She probably would have blushed if she wasn’t busy thinking about how much the spanks stung. Ouch!

  “I saved your life. If it weren’t for me, you’d be sitting in that stupid little car of yours freezing to death. You’re nothing but an ungrateful, stuck-up snob.”

  “And you’re a rude jackass.” She yelped as he delivered another, even harder smack. “Let me up, damn you.”

  But Logan ignored her demands and her struggles. Instead, he tightened his hold around her waist and spanked her even harder. It didn’t help that her skimpy shorts had ridden up even more so that every smack landed on her bare ass cheeks. Damn, they stung!

  She reached back with one hand
to shield her poor derriere, but he pinned her wrist against her back without missing a beat and kept spanking her. She squirmed as heat spread over her ass, but it was impossible to escape the spanks. When he finally let her up, she was going to…

  Logan jerked her to her feet before she could finish the thought. Instead of slapping his handsome face like she should have, she reached back with both hands and cupped her stinging ass cheeks.

  She glared up at him. “I can’t believe you spanked me.”

  “And I’ll do it again if you don’t stop acting like a spoiled brat,” he ground out. “I came up here for some peace and quiet, not to babysit some self-centered movie star. Now, go to bed and let me get some damn sleep.”

  Raine stood there with her mouth open. Her butt was still stung and she massaged it through her shorts. She’d never been spanked in her life. Not only had it hurt, but it had been embarrassing as hell. Which was probably why he’d done it. His way of taking “the self-centered movie star” down a peg or two.

  She glowered at his broad back. She was leaving first thing tomorrow whether it was snowing or not. Then she was going to stop at the first town she came to and report Logan McBride to the cops for assault. He wouldn’t think putting her over his knee had been such a good idea when he was rotting in a jail cell.

  Chapter Two

  Raine woke up the next day to find Logan gone and the blankets that had made up his bed neatly folded. A quick look around confirmed she was alone. She flopped back on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling. What happened last night had to have been a dream. Logan McBride hadn’t done something as Neanderthal as put her over his knee and spanked her. But as the images came flooding back, she knew it hadn’t been a dream. The son of a bitch had spanked her.

  She glanced at the bathroom door and saw that it was ajar. Was he in his studio? She listened to see if he was moving around in there, but didn’t hear anything. Maybe he was out chopping wood. She hoped so. She didn’t want to see him before she left. And she was leaving, snow or no snow.

  Tossing aside the blankets, she hurried to the bathroom, grabbing her bag on the way. She stripped off her shorts and T-shirt, then pulled on the jeans and sweater she’d worn last night. She wished she had a heavy jacket to wear, but she hadn’t thought to bring one. At least she’d packed sneakers. They weren’t as good as snow boots, but they were better than sandals.