My Mountain Man’s Desire (Rock Creek #1)

Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Griffin

I dip the bucket into the river and hold it in the stream, taking an extra moment to pull myself together.

When I arrived at the camp to deal with the fire, I’d expected a group of stupid drunk kids.

I hadn’t expected her.

She doesn’t belong there with these idiots. I heard the way they disregarded her as I walked through the trees to the fire, but the moment I laid eyes on her plump curves, silhouetted by the flames in the dark night, I felt a surge of protectiveness toward her unlike anything I’d ever felt before.

Unlike the way I want to protect my son from the evils of the world, this girl makes me want to scoop her up and carry her far away from these boys and anybody else who can’t see the precious prize she is.

Get ahold of yourself Griff. She’s just a girl. You don’t even know her.

I have to force myself not to look at her if I have any hope in dealing with the matter at hand which is to protect the forest from burning down.

Just as I knew they would, the boys jumped into action as soon as I raised my voice a little. I was used to their type, spoiled city kids who could do with a little authority in their lives. They muttered under their breath, but at least they did what they were told and it only took a few quick trips to the river to have the fire doused.

This last bucket would do the trick as far as putting the campfire out, but no amount of glacier fed river water could cool the spark that had been lit inside me at the sight of those luscious tits straining against the thin fabric of her t-shirt.

I can hear the kids mumbling and complaining about the lack of their fire as I approach and dump the final bucket on the smoulder pile of wood. “There.” I drop the bucket. “Now you idiots won’t burn the forest down tonight.” I scan the little group, but the girl isn’t anywhere to be seen. “Where’s the girl?” I have no business asking about her. It doesn’t matter that she’s lit something deep inside me, she’s a kid. Way too young for me.

“Who, Sophie?” The boy who appears to be the leader, sneers. “My stupid step sister? Who cares where she went?”

My fingers clench into fists by my side and I force myself to blow out a breath. It won’t do any good to punch this asshole out. Even if it will make me feel better.

Still. The last thing I need is to explain to Colton, the sheriff—and my cousin—that the reason he was called out on a Friday night was because some jackass kids pissed me off. I’m better than that.

Besides, I have a glass of whisky waiting for me.

Less than five minutes later I’ve left the kids—and thoughts of the curvy, petite blonde—behind me on the dirt road. Well, maybe not completely behind me. The image of those tits will be seared into my mind for some time to come. Never mind the way her ass filled out her?—

“Holy shit!”

The figure appears out of nowhere on the dark road in front of me. Our eyes lock, her pupils wide as she jumps out of the way. I slam on my brakes and swerve the truck to the left mere seconds before I crash into… her.

Sophie

Okay. It was probably a bad idea to walk down the middle of the dirt road in the dark, but I wasn’t thinking about how dangerous it might be and I certainly wasn’t thinking about a truck barrelling down on me out of nowhere.

At least not until I’m laying in the dust and the mud after leaping out of the way in order to avoid being road kill. And then all I can think about is the shooting pain in my ankle.

Even then, it takes me a moment to realize what had happened. I try to stand and immediately regret it as soon as I put weight on my ankle. “Ohhh.” I crumple to the ground and clutch my foot. “Oh my god. That?—”

“Are you okay?” The deep rumble of the mountain man’s voice cuts through the fog of my pain. A moment later, a dark shadow blocks the headlights of the truck as he looms over me. “Dammit woman. What the hell were you doing on the road in the dark? Were you trying to get yourself killed?”

They were the first words he’s ever spoken to me and all I can focus on is not the fact that he’s chastising me for almost getting hit by his truck, but that he called me woman.

Again, I try to struggle to my feet, this time, it’s his strong hand on my calf that stops me. “Don’t try to stand, Sweetheart.”

Sweetheart?

He drops to his knees in the dirt next to me. “Where does it hurt?”

“My…it’s…ow! It’s my…my foot.” I’m a stuttering idiot and if I wasn’t in so much pain, I would be embarrassed in front of this strong, confident, incredibly sexy man that’s making something deep in my gut clench with a need I don’t totally recognize.

His hands are massive, but his touch is light as his fingers dance over my throbbing ankle. “It’s likely sprained. I don’t think it’s broken.”

Broken or not, there’s no way I’m walking into town on it now. I bite my bottom lip and suck it between my teeth, wiling myself not to cry.

Before I even have a chance to consider my options, I’m lifted in the air. “What are you?—”

“There’s no way you’re walking on that foot.” As if I weigh nothing at all, my mountain man stands and shifts me closer to his chest. Reflexively, I cuddle in close to his warmth.

I didn’t realize how cold I was until I’m surrounded by his heat. Like a moth to his flame, I need to be closer to him.

“I got you, Sweetheart.” He stands still for a moment, inhales deeply and finally walks to closed his truck. Without asking, he opens the door and sets me gently in the front seat. I feel the absence of his touch immediately and suddenly the night air is too cold.

“Shit. You’re freezing.”

Without a word, he strips his flannel off and wraps the huge shirt around me. Immediately, my senses fill with the scent of him, but all I can focus on are his massive arms and the tight, white t-shirt that hugging his chest like a second skin.

“Better?”

I nod and wrap the flannel tighter around me. It smells of him. Traces of pine, woodsmoke and…all man. I nuzzle my face into the fabric and inhale deeply, letting the scent of him surround me.

“What were you thinking walking down the middle of the road like that? You could have been killed.”

“By you?” I peek up over the flannel. Up close, he’s even bigger, and it’s true that I could have been struck and killed by his truck a moment ago, yet I’m not scared. Quite the opposite.

“Yes,” he growls. “Dammit. I almost hit you and?—”

“But you didn’t.”

He’s silent for a second. “You didn’t answer the question. What were you thinking?”

Tears prick hot at the back of my eyes as I realize exactly how screwed my situation is now. I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere and now I can’t even walk.

I swallow back the tears before I can embarrass myself any further. “I was walking to town.”

“From here? Why would you do that?”

I set my jaw and look straight ahead into the darkness. There’s no way I’m going to let him take me back to the campsite. I’ll never hear the end of it. “Because I can’t be there anymore. Not with them.”

“Did those assholes hurt you?” He closes the small distance between us, puts his hand under my chin and turns my head to face him with a remarkable tenderness in direct contrast to the tension in his voice. “I’ll kill them if you?—”

“No.” My hand slips out from under the flannel and squeezes his thick forearm. “They didn’t hurt me. I just…can you please take me to town? I’ll get a room and figure things out in the morning.”

He looks like he’s going to argue with me. Instead, he pulls the seat belt out and reaches around me before sliding the buckle into place.

“I’m going to have to take you back to my place,” he says a few minutes later once we’re already bumping along the dirt road.

“What? I can’t?—”

“Don’t worry, Sweetheart.” He puts his hand on my leg to still me. Surprisingly, it works. Which is completely crazy considering I have no reason to be calm. I should be freaking out. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

I look from his hand, up to his bright blue eyes and I believe him.

“It’s late,” he explains. “And I happen to know the only rooms in town are in The Den. And you’re not staying there on a Friday night. It’s not safe for a girl like you.”

A girl like me?

“I have an extra room, and first aid training.” He keeps talking before I can ask when he means by that. “I’ll be able to get a proper look at that ankle and?—”

“I don’t even know your name.”

He yanks his attention back to the road and answers gruffly, “Griffin Wolf. Everyone calls me Griff.”

“Well, since apparently I’m going to be your houseguest, my name is Sophie,” I say with as much sass as I can muster under the circumstance before adding, “Not that you asked.”

Griff takes his eyes off the road, and for the first time, under his big beard, I see a small smile tug at his lips.

“Nice to meet you, Sweetheart.”