Page 6

6

Traeger

T hey’re not coming back. His spineless little ass looked like he wet himself when I shot the blank off at the tree. For being so tough at the tongue, he sure showed his lack of a backbone, didn’t he? I should chase him back down the mountain and shoot the entitled jerk in the foot for leaving this girl all by herself. She’s hurt. And it looks bad. Though to tell you the truth, she’s probably better off without him. Or any of them for that matter. I was listening to the way they spoke to her this morning, and I wanted to come out of my hiding spot and tell them all off.

I probably would have, had that little shit pressed further for a blow job. It brought a big smile to my face when she refused to take care of his needs. Honestly, a girl of her caliber—so fucking pretty she’s blinding—deserves better than him. She deserves someone strong and capable. Someone who can keep her safe and has some brains. Someone who would take a bullet for her.

She’s the only smart one out of the bunch. More than once she insisted on them going a different way, but none of them would listen. They trekked right onto my property. acting as if they owned the place. Those three have no respect for authority or the law. And they definitely had no fear. Had I truly been a lunatic, I could’ve shot them for real.

Let’s hope the little punk has now learned a lesson. Though I fucking doubt it. Entitlement seemed to be bred deep in his snotty little ass. But I hope this pretty girl with raven eyes and the face of an angel has learned that she deserves better than a bratty little pipsqueak who leaves her alone in the woods with a man who’s carrying a gun. Though, I would never hurt one single hair on her beautiful head.

“Where are you taking me?” She cries. “Please let me go. I’m sorry we trespassed. I tried to tell them to go back, but they didn’t listen. Please don’t hurt me.”

I have no intentions of hurting her, but she’s not going anywhere. Not with that banged-up foot. She’d never make it down the mountain on her own. It looks broken. I watched it give out on her every time she tried to put weight on it. And if that’s the case, I need to wrap it up and elevate it. Even if it’s a bad sprain, she won’t be able to walk on the thing for a few days, which means I’ll have to give her a lift back to town. Or…she could just stay here for a couple of nights and heal up.

Bad fucking idea, Traeger . One look at the girl and I felt all my blood run south, turning hot in my shaft. I may not aim my gun at her, but something else was locked and loaded, ready to pump a few rounds into that tight little body. And I’m not shootin’ blanks.

“Let me go!” Her voice is even thicker with fear as she struggles in my arms, trying to get free, but I tighten my hold to thwart her efforts.

“Quit. You’re going to hurt yourself.” She’s liable to break something else if she doesn’t calm down.

I walk into the cave, winding through the old miner’s tunnel until I get to the other side. She finally starts to settle, either that, or her fear is locking her up in shock.

“I’m sorry. Please just let me go.”

We exit on the other side and I carry her right up my front steps and straight into my cabin, turning the lock to ensure those friends of hers don’t come busting into my place. Trespassing seems to be commonplace for them.

“You shouldn’t have listened to your friends,” I state. “Following the lead of people like that gets you into trouble.” She could’ve been shot or arrested had it been someone else’s property. She could be in danger right now, held prisoner by a monster, and her friends have left her high and dry. They didn’t even come back when they heard her screaming out. It makes me want to hurt the lot of them.

“I know, and I’m sorry. Just please don’t hurt me.”

I place her down on my sofa and crouch in front of her. The air sucks through my teeth on a ragged breath as I get an up-close look at her. Her eyes are like the feathers of a raven. Black at first glance, but in a different light, you see flecks of gold, amber, and a hint of blue. They’re fucking beautiful. And that beauty doesn’t stop there. She has little freckles painted across her nose. Her lips are plump and rosy pink and she doesn’t have a lick of makeup on. She’s akin to a porcelain doll. Fragile. Flawless. Innocent…and way too fucking young for me to be drooling over.

I reach for her ankle, needing to get those thoughts out of my head. She lets out a little whimper as soon as I touch her skin. I’m not sure if it’s from fear or pain, but I loosen my grip on her, giving her foot a closer inspection. It’s already the size of her calf and turning purple from where she banged it on the rock. I definitely think she broke it, which means I need to get it wrapped so she doesn’t do further damage.

“Stay put,” I grunt. It’s a challenge trying to keep the tension from my voice. It’s been a long damn time since I’ve been affected by a woman. And never with this much force. I storm from the room, grabbing the medical supplies I need along with an ice pack. Of course, when I come back into the room, she’s on her hands and knees, crawling toward my front door. I step in front of her path, and she stops. Have to admit, I admire her tenacity. But she needs to save her strength and get that ankle braced.

Her head lifts, and she looks just like a baby doe afraid of a predator. She really is a small little thing. Petite with some curvy hips. But she’s way too fucking young. “Where do you think you’re going with that ankle?” My voice is locked with the tension that’s bearing down on my nerves. “Huh? A bear will get you before you make it halfway down the mountain. Now, why don’t you turn your little behind around and crawl back over to the couch so I can bandage up that ankle.”

“I want to leave.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” It would be on my damn conscience if anything happened to this girl, and I’m not willing to live with that shit. “Now, crawl on back over there or I’ll pick you up and carry your ass over.”

There’s a glimmer of defiance shimmering right below the surface of her stare, puckering up those plump lips, but her mouth stays closed. She tries to stand and hobble back over to my couch, but she loses her balance and falls right into my arms. “Easy, cowgirl. I got ya.”

I swoop her up and carry her back over, tempted to keep her locked on my lap, but then she’ll feel how perverted I am. Getting aroused over some young girl. “We need to get this ankle of yours bandaged up so you don’t do further damage. Here, take these.” I sit her down then hand her two Advil and a glass of water, but she pulls back, shaking her head.

“I’m not taking anything. No way.”

She assumes I’m trying to drug her. Again, she’s playing it smart, but I need her to take the pain meds or else she’s going to be hurting even worse. I put them in my mouth and toss them back, proving they aren’t poisoned. As soon as I’m done wrapping her foot, I’ll grab the bottle and leave it out on the table so she can see that it’s legit.

“Suit yourself, but you’re going to be in some serious pain soon.”

I place the glass of water back on my coffee table and reach for her foot, running my thumb over her bones. She flinches under the pressure, and I know it hurts, but I need to check things out. Feels like a clean break, so that’s good. As long as I can get it bandaged tight and keep her off her foot, it will set proper and she’ll be just fine.

“Who are you?”

My eyes lift and I’m nearly blinded by her looks again. She’s something straight out of heaven. An angel with some killer eyes. And those plump pink lips… Fuck me.

“Name is Traeger,” I grunt, looking back down and reaching for the roll of bandage. The sooner I get it done, the sooner I can get the temptation out of my sight.

“Why do you live all the way out here?”

Because it’s the only place I can breathe. And I don’t have to look over my shoulder and wonder if someone’s going to stab me in the back.

“Because the air is clean, and the views are beautiful.” Though, the view I’ve got right now is more breathtaking than anything I’ve ever seen. “I retired up here three years ago.”

“Retired? But you’re so young. Did you play football?”

Her eyes trail down my frame, carving a path over my muscles and leaving a trail of tingles every place they land. The fire in my gut is burning so hot it’s near its boiling point and already spilling out the end of my dick. I think I’ve been without a woman for far too long. My need is making me crave things that are forbidden. I’m probably not much younger than her father.

“I’m not that young, doll. I’m forty. And no, I only played ball in college.” Then I realized I wanted to do more with my life, so I became a special agent, worked my way up through the system until there was no place to go other than ten feet underground. So instead, I went six thousand feet above. “How old are you?” I dare asking the question.

“I’m twenty-one.” That’s a fucking relief, given the stiff state of my dick. “Thank you for helping me, by the way. I really am sorry for trespassing and imposing on your life.”

She’s not an imposition. A surprising distraction, a gorgeous temptation, but surprisingly not an imposition.

“The only ones who need to be apologizing are the ones who left you out here by yourself. You never leave a man behind. If you were mine, I would’ve carried you down that mountain. That boyfriend of yours isn’t a man.” He’s a little pipsqueak who probably couldn’t even lift her up if he wanted to.

“He’s no longer my boyfriend,” she’s quick to respond, and damn if that doesn’t make my dick pulse. “I can’t believe they left me. Who does that?”

“A kid with no sense and no backbone.” It’s been how long since they took off running, and my surveillance alarms haven’t gone off, which means they aren’t coming back for her.

Good .

“You’re going to need to keep this elevated.” I grab the ottoman and stack up some pillows for her to prop her foot on. “Need anything to eat or drink?”

I have to keep my mind busy or else I might try to act on these inappropriate thoughts.

“I’m okay. Thank you.”

Yeah, well I need to fucking eat before I bury my head between those little thighs and devour her pussy. I stalk into my kitchen, banging the pans around as I work. I’ve never been so on edge. This young girl is turning me into a madman.