At All Cost: A Mountain Man Romance

by Katerina Winters

  Shaking her head, Alessia didn’t trust her voice as the goosebumps ran across her skin, pebbling her nipples within her bra. Picking up a square Band-Aid package, Jax ripped it open with his teeth before taping it in place.

  What had begun as a benign, even downpour suddenly turned into something overwhelming and tumultuous above their heads. The dissonant chord against the metal roof was the equivalent as covering the room with a large smothering blanket of noise. Lowering her wide-eyed gaze from the rafters, she looked to Jax, who was looking directly at her. Somehow the walls of the one-room cabin felt as if they were closing in around them, taking the once muted energy between them and setting it on fire.

  Pushing herself up, Alessia never took her eyes from Jax as he handed her pants back. Taking his place next to her on the sofa, Jax grabbed and pulled the quilt lying on the back of the sofa over on top of her legs.

  “Do you want to watch a movie?” The depths of his roughhewn voice captured her attention, drawing her eyes down the strong this column of his throat.

  She could see his Adam's apple bob slightly with every word. Entranced, she watched with no uncertain amount of ardent pleasure at the faint twitch of the muscle in his jaw working underneath his overgrown beard. Realizing he was waiting for an answer, she looked away and managed a strained yes.

  The kitten dozed off peacefully in his makeshift bed of towels and the crate. The little island of light around the couch was warm and cozy. Above them, the heavens opened up their gates and poured against the tender roof. Regret clawed at her soul because once this night ended and the light of day broke over the trees, tomorrow would be her final goodbye.

  Chapter 12

  It rained for four days straight.

  Each morning started the same way. Opening her eyes in her bedroom loft, Alessia would hold her breath for a moment as her ears picked up the audible pitter-patter of rain against the metal roof. By the third day, Alessia no longer felt any guilt when she gave a sigh of relief to the rain. The truth was, she didn't want to leave. She liked it here, and she liked Jax.

  It was startling a and a wholly unexpected realization, but she couldn’t lie to herself about it anymore. Her feelings were shallow and misguided, she knew that. Despite living with the man for almost two months, she knew next to nothing about him except for the tiny fragments of info she found while snooping. There was no deep, profound reason why she liked him, simply that Jax was a strong, attractive man. She felt safe under his dark watchful eyes. Falling asleep, knowing he was only a few feet underneath her, gave her an indescribable feeling of peace. Falling for Jax didn't fill her with elation or joy, it honestly just felt like another screwup on her part. Because adding feelings of attraction and a secret desire was probably not what she needed right now. But what would it feel like? What would it feel like for that hard, dark stare of his to turn towards her with a spark of desire glittering back? Alessia knew she would be inexplicably out of her league with Jax sexually. Just imagining his tall, toned body on top of hers, demanding her submission with every stroke and every kiss was enough to make her feel feverish.

  "I'm just going to assume you didn't hear a word I said," Jax's voice cut through her thoughts, forcing her attention back to the present.

  She was sitting on the rug in front of the wood furnace with her back against the base of the couch. Using a stick and a piece of shredded fabric, she had pieced together a makeshift cat’s toy for Whiskers. Bobbing the tails of fabric just out of reach, the kitten enjoyed hopping on its hind legs and swiping at the fabric with its tiny paws.

  Shaking her head, she gave an apologetic smile to Jax, who was standing next to an open storage bed on the kitchen table. "No, I'm sorry I zoned out for a moment."

  Just like it had been for the past few days while they have been sequestered inside due to the rain, Jax’s thick brown hair hung loosely around his shoulders. Occasionally a shorter section of it near the front would fall in front of his face, and Alessia had the overwhelming urge to push it back. She wondered what he would do if she did something so bold?

  "I was saying that, when I first moved out here, I expected there to be weeks like this where you're stuck inside," he said, reaching both hands into the black plastic container. "So, I bought a videogame system and a shit ton of games." Pulling out the console and controller, he gave her an expectant look.

  Smiling, Alessia got up on her knees to see them better over the couch. "Oh, wow, are you saying we are going to play…together?" She motioned back and forth between them.

  Furrowing his brow, he gave her a questioning grin. “Of course together, unless Whiskers here is hiding tiny thumbs from us. So, do you want to play?”

  “Yes,” she answered with a laugh, scooping the kitten out of the way as Jax walked over to set it up. “I haven’t played video games since freshman year with one of my neighbors and her brother.”

  Sitting on the couch next to her, Jax handed her a controller.

  “But that didn’t last long,” she said as Jax looked over at her with interest. “Because Corey, my friend’s brother, ended up selling it and nearly everything else of value at her house when he got hooked on meth.”

  Shaking his head, Jax gave her a low whistle under his breath. "You know one day, we're going to make hot chocolate and sit in front of the heater with blankets and I want you to tell me all the horrible things that went on in that damn trailer park."

  Laughter erupted from her mouth before she could stop it. She was not expecting him to say that.

  “The awful gossip from my trailer park is not some sort of camp side ghost story for you to enjoy,” she laughed.

  The music for the game began as Jax gave her a wink. “No, they sound much better.”

  Nestled in her lap, the kitten tugged them played with the scrap of fabric she gave him as she and Jax both focused on the game. Eventually, however, she thought of what he said earlier. “One day…”

  One day meant in the future, right? Meaning he saw her still here, still with him. Or was that just a figure of speech? What if it stopped raining tomorrow, would that mean this would be her last day with him? Her movements in the game became sluggish as she thought of Jax dropping her off in Eugene and driving away. She didn’t want to leave this hidden world in the forest. She liked being surrounded by nature, she liked the peaceful serenity the quiet forest provided, but above all else, she liked Jax.

  Hitting the pause button on the game, Alessia stared at the wall ahead of her. She could feel Jax turn and look at her but said nothing. She didn’t have the courage to face him, so she focused on the symmetrical groups of the wooden wall in front of her.

  “I don’t want to leave,” she whispered.

  She heard the springs in the old couch shift before she felt his hand. Warmth spread through her shoulder as he stretched one arm across the back of the sofa and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

  “Good, because I only have a couple of zip ties left and I didn’t want to have to use them all as I tried to convince you to stay.”

  Chapter 13

  “Hey, you shaved,” the surprise in her voice normally would’ve earned her a glare, but Jax couldn’t justly give one because her surprise was well-placed.

  Stepping up into the truck, Jax leaned over and checked his freshly trimmed beard in the rearview mirror. "Yeah, I had to," he grumbled, running a hand over the light brown stubble one last time before sitting straighter. "The people in town already think I'm crazy, I don’t need to go looking like a complete mountain man.”

  Alessia laughed. “So, this is your going out into town look? A trimmed beard and your hair pulled back into your signature man bun?” She waved towards his hair. “Meaning, your hair being down is only for the privacy of your cabin?”

  “The cabin and you, gorgeous, don’t forget that,” he wiggled his eyebrows towards her suggestively as he pulled the truck down the narrow path in the trees.

  Jax could see the rise of her cheeks as she suddenl
y turned away. She was smiling in embarrassment. Good.

  “Well, I like your hair either way, but I really like it down,” she confessed softly, still not looking at him.

  The urge to snatch off the rubber band holding his hair back was ludicrous but tempting. Pulling out onto the highway, Jax wanted to say something else smart or witty, but nothing came to mind.

  “Just so you know, I was sorely tempted to sneak Whiskers in my coat as we were leaving,” she admitted, turning her face into the bright ray of sunlight shining through the passenger window.

  Jax forced himself to focus on the road and not at her highlighted face. “Oh, I know you were. I heard you baby-talking him on our way out.”

  "You should have seen those big eyes, though," he could hear the pout in her voice. "They were just looking up at me; I thought I was going to die."

  Jax shook his head, that cat was going to be so spoiled, he thought. “He will be fine in the bathroom until we come back.”

  “I know,” she said. “I’m excited to go back into town though, I never really had an opportunity before just to really take my time and look around. I wonder if the library will let me check out their books?”

  Leaning on his windowsill, he gave her a long pointed look. "It's an ass library, don't get your hopes up. It's literally funded by donations and stocked from the lost and found pile from the tourist season."

  “Ooh, so does that mean smutty romance novels and books from the fifties with not-so-subtle sexist and racist undertones?”

  “If you mean American Standard literature, then yes indeed. If that’s what you’re into prepare to be blown away.”

  Her laughter was as rich as honey, drawing him closer, compelling his body to action. This girl was killing him. Last night something new between them emerged. Something intimate and undefined, something Jax wanted a lot more of and hated himself because of it. When she confessed that she didn't want to go, Jax stopped himself from letting out a huge breath of relief. Instead, he simply joked and admitted he too wanted her to stay. He caught sight of the moisture in her eyes as she gave him a large smile in return. When her arms slid around his shoulders, Jax had frozen in his seat. The embrace was given in innocence, he was aware of that, but his mind and body couldn't take it as such. In that moment, with her soft body pressed into his, everything he had been suppressing inside of him broke free of its restraints.

  God how he wanted her. Images of her bare legs and thighs haunted his every dream since the night he brought her back to the cabin. Watching her embarrassed face turned from his as he sat eye level with her plain cotton panties was a cruel brand of torture, he found himself too happy to inflict on himself. Fuck, he wanted her. He wanted Alessia's touch, her smiles, and her laughter. Jax wanted her beneath him moaning and writhing for him as he dedicated every cell in his body to her pleasure. The revelation of that didn’t please him. Alessia needed a friend, a confidant, a man she could trust. Not an asshole who stared up at the loft where she slept in brooding silence or a man who jerked his dick in the shower each night at the memory of her naked body.

  Gripping the wheel tighter, Jax adjusted himself straighter in his seat. Weeks ago, he stood on the beach and made an agreement with her that she could trust him, that she could be safe with him. Nothing has changed. He would ignore the unnamed emotion between them and forced himself to turn a blind eye to her curious stares. Somewhere along the way, he had come to care for Alessia, her overconfident decisions, and her sense of humor. Everything about her made his day brighter, and he didn't want to lose that.

  ~*~

  From the moment they stepped through the foggy glass doors of the grocery store, all eyes centered on them. The store wasn't very big at all; there looked to be about twelve aisles in total. The linoleum floors were an aged yellow with pea-green flecks speckled across the floor. Long metal beige shelves dominated the space, filling the store from one wall to the other. Although, despite the cramped feeling they gave, the shelves were rather bare. Alessia could clearly see the empty space behind the small stack of cereal boxes and the big blank spaces on either side. It was as if the store had just survived an apocalyptic raid by scavenging citizens and was now trying to sell whatever was left behind.

  “Try not to be overwhelmed,” Jax murmured to her under his breath as he led the way down the aisle.

  Biting the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing, Alessia hurried after him and away from the cashier’s curious stare.

  "Hey, where's the pet aisle? I want to see what…" She began to ask, but Jax cut her off.

  “Pet shelf,” Jax corrected.

  Stopping, she tilted her head in question. “Shelf?”

  Crooking his finger to follow him, they walked past the back wall of freezers and turned down an aisle. Stopping, Jax waved his hand stiffly in front of him.

  “Here is the pet shelf,” he announced.

  Blinking, Alessia just stared at the two barren shelves. One for dogs and one for cats. Slowly, she turned and looked back up to Jax. The glimmer of amusement in his eyes betrayed the stoic face he was trying to maintain.

  She narrowed her gaze at him. "You're taking real pleasure from this, aren't you?"

  Giving her a wide grin, he nodded.

  “Fine,” she said with a huff. “Leave me to my oh-so-many choices, and I will meet back up with you."

  Alessia couldn’t help but smile at the sound of his retreating laughter. She was going to get him back.

  Selecting a few cans of food and one of the two toys they had to offer, she meandered farther down the long aisle. Passing by the basic kitchen supplies, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies, Alessia stopped at the end where the snacks were kept. Stepping around to the end of the aisle, Alessia noticed a display of homemade jellies and preserves. Reading the handwritten labels, she paused, feeling the familiar sensation she was being watched. Turning, she inwardly groaned when she caught the overly curious eye of the cashier in the front.

  Nodding with a smile, Alessia immediately refocused her attention at the mason jars. Please don’t come over here. Please don’t come over here, she repeated in her head. The last thing Alessia wanted to do was fend off inquisitive questions.

  Turning a bottle of marmalade around to read the ingredients, Alessia’s hand froze when she heard the deep growl of a motorcycle outside. Her stomach tightened as she whipped around to face the front windows. Outside, a thin man with greasy brown hair stepped off his bike with his back towards the windows.

  One of the cans of cat food fell from her hand as she froze in trembling terror.

  “Miss, are you okay?” The lady at the cash register called out to her.

  Stiffly, Alessia turned and ran back down the aisle to the back of the store. He was here, he had found her! Desperately, she looked around for an exit. Seeing a cut in for a hallway in the back corner, Alessia dropped the items in her hand onto a nearby shelf. Panic made her legs shake as she ran for the hallway, ignoring an old man giving her a quizzical stare as she passed.

  “Alessia!” She heard the deep shout of her name and she nearly screamed

  Nearly tripping over a pile of boxes, Alessia fell against the push handle of the large metal exit door. It wouldn't budge! Wildly, she shoved at the handle, hearing a click repeatedly with each attempt but not opening. Looking around frantically, she found the pin lock with shaky hands. Pulling the pin out of place, she was shoving the door open when the grip on her elbow hauled her back.

  Alessia was about to let out a scream when she recognized the face in front of her—Jax.

  Confused, Jax steadied her by the shoulders. “Alessia, calm down and tell me what’s going on.”

  Still standing in the cramped back hallway, Alessia tried to control her erratic breathing. Nervously, she tried glancing past Jax to the front. Was Gary inside the store now? Did he see her through the store’s windows? She couldn’t see anything though, Jax’s tall form and broad shoulders blocked anything past him.

&nbs
p; “We have to get out of here!” She whispered frantically, clutching at the material of his jacket. “I can’t let him see me. He will kill me…”

  She was hyperventilating now. Her hands were cold and clammy with terror.

  “Sshh, baby calm down,” gently, she felt him push her back behind a stack of boxes by the exit door, blocking her from the view of the store and cornering her against him. “Just tell me what you saw.”

  His tone was so deep and calm, it infuriated her, she wanted to leave. She wanted him to run with her back to the cabin, but she knew as she looked up at the controlled power in his eyes, running would not be an option for Jax.

  Taking a deep breath, Alessia's hands wrinkled the fabric of his coat tighter in her hands. "I think Gary found me. I saw his motorcycle, and then I saw… I thought I saw," she was rushing over her words as she explained. "I saw him walk across the street... Please, Jax, can't we just leave and go home?"