Her Mountain Hero Read online

  He cupped the breast and then looked up at me. “You have perfect tits, Hope.”

  “I’m glad you like them.”

  He surprised me by getting up and putting my nipple in his mouth. It sent a delicious sensation straight to my core. I moaned and held his head to me, wanting to keep there. Never stop doing that, I thought.

  He pushed the other cup of my bra away, and then sucked on the other nipple while his hand pinched and kneaded my other breast.

  “So good, Mitch,” I managed to say as my breath began to come in harsher gasps.

  He took my hand and brought it to his groin. “Return the favor, Hope.”

  I couldn’t figure out how people touched each other simultaneously. With Mitch’s mouth on me, I couldn’t make my body do anything, and my mind was lost of all thought.

  I worked to focus. I managed to slip my hand under his boxer briefs to touch him. He was long and thick. The skin was soft like silk, and underneath it was hard as a rock.

  “Harder,” he said, squeezing my hand around him. “Ah yeah, just like that.”

  I wondered if I should tell him I’d never done this before. I’d heard that men like virgins. But then his finger slipped inside my panties and once again, all thought flew out of my brain. I hunched over his hand, wanting more from his fingers although I wasn’t sure what that was.

  He growled and rolled us until I was under him, and then he kissed me, and I felt like every fairy tale dream I’d ever imagined had come true. He tasted like I’d expected him to; dangerous yet sweet.

  His hand groped beside me until he found his pants. He rose up, his knees straddling me as he dug into his pants for something. His penis lay long and hard on my belly. A pearl of wetness dripped from its tip.

  “We shouldn’t be doing this,” he said as he took something out of his pocket.

  I stroked a hand over his hard length to keep him from changing his mind.

  He groaned and then rolled a condom on. He shifted, moving between my legs, widening my thighs. His mouth went to my breasts again, and I arched as pleasure filled me again.

  I stilled when I felt his tip at my entrance.

  “Tell me you’re ready.” His fingers stroked through me.

  “Yes,” I gasped, arching again.

  He pushed in, and my fingers dug into his shoulders as I prepared myself for his invasion. I’d heard first times could hurt. It was hard to believe because so far, what we were doing felt so good.

  He adjusted his hips, sliding deeper. “God, you’re so fucking tight.”

  In my mind, he was just big, but what did I know.

  He withdrew slightly and then pushed in again, and this time, I felt like my insides were splitting open. I cried out as a sharp pain speared deep inside.

  “Ah, fuck…are you okay?” He started to withdraw, but I hooked my legs around him, holding him to me. “You aren’t a virgin, are you.”

  “Don’t stop, Mitch.” I tilted my hips, and he slid in deeper. He growled, in response. He held still for a moment and then he began to move.

  At first, I was worried I was going to be disappointed because all those delicious feelings I’d had earlier were gone. But with each stroke inside me, pleasure started to build.

  Soon my hips were rocking to meet his as white-hot need coiled tighter and tighter.

  “Ah fuck yeah…Hope, Christ, I’m going to come.”

  More than my wanting my own pleasure, I’d wanted to give it to him. I looked up into his face, a mixture of torment and need.

  “Come on, Hope,” he shifted, and his fingers slipped between our bodies. He rubbed my sensitive nub, and all of a sudden, my world exploded and spun out of control. My entire body went taut and then convulsed in sweet ecstasy.

  Mitch let out a feral yell, then plunged in, grinding his hips against mine. He did it again and again until he collapsed on me.

  His breath was harsh in my ear. I was breathing pretty hard too.

  “You okay?” he asked, his body still pinning mine onto the blanket.

  “Yes.”

  A second later, he rolled off. “Fuck.” He rubbed his hands over his face. “Jesus Hope.”

  The tone in his voice suggested he wasn’t feeling as good as I was. Did he not like it?

  “Fucking hell, your brother would kill me if he found out about this.”

  “Really? You’re thinking about him now?” I might be a virgin, but I wasn’t naïve, and I wasn’t my brother’s responsibility.

  “He’s my best friend, Hope and I just betrayed him.”

  All of a sudden, I felt vulnerable and stupid. I reached over to get my clothes.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m leaving,” I said.

  “Hope.” He reached for me, but I pulled away.

  “Do you know how you just made me feel?”

  “I just gave you an orgasm. A good one by the sound of it.”

  I wanted to slap him. “And then you ruined it.”

  “I’m sorry,” he shook his head as if he regretted his words. “It should have never happened.”

  I felt tears spring to my eyes. “And now you’re ruining it more. But no worries, Mitch. Your friendship is still intact with Parker.” I finished dressing as Mitch scrambled to get dressed as well.

  “I’m handling this all wrong, Hope. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Too late.” I picked up the blanket and started back to the house. “Perhaps you should wait a minute. You wouldn’t want people to think we were fucking along the river.” I never used that word, and up until a few minutes ago, I would have used “making love” or maybe “sex.” But Mitch’s response to what happened made everything clear to me. He might like me as a friend, but this was just a hookup. It was a hookup that shouldn’t have happened because he was my brother’s friend. At least that was how he felt. For me, it had been a beautiful moment with a man I’d cared for. I was an idiot. I wouldn’t ever let that happen again.

  Hope—Stranded

  Hope

  I wasn’t a country girl, but I had to admit that I felt like I could breathe when I finally left the congestion of Northern Virginia as I headed west to the Blue Ridge Mountains. I also felt free. It was like I was finally moving toward my life’s goal. For nearly a decade I’d been working for my father, and while I’d learned a lot, my own dreams eventually faded.

  Now I had the opportunity to finally get back to my goals. I was excited, even as the move for me was bittersweet. The chance was here because my father’s business had taken a turn for the worse. Both my brother and I had warned him that the investments he wanted to make could turn out badly. But my father was anxious to retire early, mostly to appease my mother, who wanted to move out of Northern Virginia and head further south. She was now acutely aware of the statement, “be careful what you wish for,” because my father’s plan failed tremendously and now they had to sell everything. They could move south, but not with the money they’d wanted.

  My father had wanted to hold onto the business, but he was having difficulty, not because he wasn’t capable, but because he was broken down. I didn’t help when I told him my plan to stop working for him and leave my job. At first, he took it as abandoning the family. Luckily, Parker helped dad see that my absence freed up some money so he could pay the rest of his staff.

  While I hated that financial troubles in my father’s business were what had prompted my current freedom to pursue my goals, I couldn’t help but feel elated at finally being able to create my best life.

  Over the last nine years, I’d lived in my parents’ weekend home, now for sale, which allowed me to save money. Part of that money was going to fund this four-week retreat in the mountains, and then hopefully, the rest would be invested in my clothing line.

  It was September, which meant it was still hot, but the humidity was starting wane as fall approached. The leaves weren’t changing yet, which was probably why I’d been able to book the monthlong stay in the historic lodge o
utside of Front Royal, Virginia. It butted up to a national park, which was always busy in autumn with tourists who wanted to see the changing fall foliage. It was not that I’d be hiking or camping. No, my outdoor activities had only ever been swimming in the river outside my parents’ weekend home. But I did hope the lack of people and clean, and fresh air would help me focus on getting my business plan written, designs drawn, and research of all the support services I’d need such as garment manufacturers.

  I’d left my house later than I’d hoped, and it was nearly dusk when I pulled into the parking lot of the log and stone lodge built over a hundred years ago. I smiled as I looked at it nestled in the pretty green protection of trees. While the back was wooded, the front looked out over the lovely Shenandoah Valley. The picture the scene made was quaint and beautiful as a postcard.

  I exited my car and inhaled the fresh air. Yep, I was on the right path. The lobby was open and rustic, decorated with pictures and artifacts from the past, such as old snowshoes.

  “Welcome,” the man behind the desk said as I approached. “How can I help you?”

  “I’m Hope Caldwell. I have a reservation.”

  The man looked down and started tapping away on his computer. Not everything at the lodge was old. My research indicated that it had updated and remodeled many times over the years, but more recently, it added a few spa features and a top-notch restaurant. I’d booked a suite with a kitchenette since I didn’t want to waste too much money dining out.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Caldwell, I don’t have a reservation in your name. Would you have used a different one?”

  “What?” That wasn’t possible. “I booked this several weeks ago.”

  He shrugged. “Through our reservation line?”

  “I don’t know.” I pulled out my phone looking for the email receipt of my reservation. When I found it, I handed it to him.

  He looked at and then winced. “You booked through a third party. It appears they didn’t complete the transaction with us.”

  “How is that possible? Where did my money go?”

  “I’d suggest contacting them.”

  I stared at him in disbelief. Months of planning, and now that I was on the verge of taking the next step, I was blocked. “In the meantime, can I book a room? I want to stay for a month.”

  He shook his head. “The Pioneer Jamboree and the Foode Fest are both this week. We’re booked.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. What am I going to do?”

  “There are several hotels and motels in Front Royal. They might be booked too, but it’s probably your best bet.”

  I wasn’t a woman prone to weeping, but it felt like my dream was slipping away again, and my eyes started to well with tears.

  Pull it together, Hope. All successful businesses had obstacles. I knew my success would be directly related to how well I could manage setbacks.

  “Fine.” Even though it wasn’t this man’s fault, I found it difficult to be civil. I left the lodge and went to my car. “Now what?”

  He was right about finding a hotel room. Since it was getting dark, my best option was to head back to Front Royal and hope there was a room.

  I started my car and headed down toward town. It wasn’t very far in miles, but the road was curvy, and the speed limit was forty-five, so it would be totally dark when I arrived. If there was nothing there, I might just have to drive the nearly two hours back home. My heart would break if I had to do that. While I could have my retreat at home, I’d been looking forward to getting away and focusing one-hundred percent on starting my business.

  I was coming around a curve that had a slight uphill, so I pressed a little more on the gas, but nothing happened. I tried again, but nothing.

  Then my headlights went out.

  “Oh, God.” I looked at the road ahead. It wasn’t pitch black out yet, but I definitely needed my lights. Next, the dash lights went out.

  I tried not to panic, but aside from the fact that I was going over forty miles an hour in a car that was dying, was that I was on a dark country road by myself. I’d seen all the slasher movies growing up. Sometimes that sort of horror happened in real life. This felt especially scary as a woman alone on a dark, not highly trafficked road.

  And then my engine died.

  Now I panicked. I scanned the road, trying to find a place to pull over. There wasn’t much of a shoulder, but I saw a small pull out a few hundred feet ahead. I coasted and pulled into the tiny area. I stopped the car and looked at my dashboard. I wanted to see if there was any indication of what was going on.

  I knew I had gas, but I was pretty sure that running out of gas wouldn’t have caused all the electric mechanisms to go out. I turned the key to off and then on again, but the car remained eerily quiet.

  I rummaged in my purse and pulled out my cell phone. Thankfully, it still held a charge. I found the number for AAA stored in my contacts and poked the call option. I put the phone to my ear but didn’t hear anything. Pulling the phone down, I looked at it and saw that I had no reception.

  What was one notch up from panicking? Whatever it was, I was feeling it. I sat in the car, willing my brain to settle down so I could think.

  I remembered my brother telling me that Mitch had moved out to this area a few years ago, maybe I could call him. While the humiliation of our last encounter stayed with me, it had been long enough that he’d probably forgotten it. Plus, I was stranded in the dark on a deserted road. I couldn’t let old grievances get in the way of safety.

  But then I remembered my phone didn’t work, and if it did, I didn’t have his number. I supposed my brother did, but I’d have to call him to get it.

  The other option was to turn my hazards on, assuming they’d work, and wait for help. But all that I could think of was some serial killer stopping. Perhaps I should walk to get help. The question was, which was closer, the town, or the lodge? And did bears hunt at night? What about bobcats?

  Perhaps my best option was to hide in my locked car until morning. It was still September so it wouldn’t get too cold out, even in the mountains. Unable to decide what to do, I sat in my car. Why hadn’t driver’s ed covered this topic? Or self-defense class?

  I didn’t know how long I was there when I found myself going stir crazy. No cars had passed, and I still wasn’t sure of the wisdom of stopping one if it did.

  I picked up my phone and tried to call again. No luck. Maybe if I got out of the car, I could find a patch of air that carried a cell tower signal. I got out of the car. The air was cooler but pleasant. It would have been perfect for sitting on a deck overlooking the Shenandoah, drinking a glass of wine.

  Instead, I was stranded on the side of the road. I held my phone up. There were no bars. I moved to the stone wall built to prevent people from falling down the mountain. No bars. I looked across the road. There was no turnout, but there was a shoulder. Since no cars were coming, I could safely cross and see if perhaps that little spit of land had cell reception.

  Thank goodness I was wearing my black and gold sneakers. I couldn’t run a marathon, but I could trot across the road. I reached the other side and held my phone up, and still nothing.

  “Dammit.” It was then I realized that I was well and truly stuck. I’d thought it before, but at that moment, I was alone and vulnerable in the world. It was the scariest feeling I’d ever had in my life.

  Still unsure as what to do, I started back to my car as that was the safest place for me to be until I could decide my step. I was almost to my car when I heard the engine of another vehicle. It was loud and rough, like a pickup truck, and in my mind, that meant it was likely a man, instead of a woman.

  Do I flag it down and hope it’s not a serial killer?

  Mitch—To the Rescue

  Mitch

  I was sitting on one of the deck chairs in my mother’s backyard, watching my dog, Duke, a German Shepard I’d rescued three years ago, play with my mother’s dog George. There was a little less running room ever
since my brother Gabe had to arrange for a pool to be put in after my other brother, Nate, had one installed for his wife’s parents. My mom had seen how much Hallie’s folks enjoyed theirs, so she had to have one too.

  “Besides there’s a grandchild on the way. I need something fun for them to do at my house,” she’d said.

  That grandchild was here now. I looked over where Gabe and Samantha sat on the deck swing cradling their six-month-old daughter, Annabelle.

  “I suppose Nate and Hallie will be next,” my brother Will said coming to sit next to me on the deck. We’d already eaten dinner together as my family did every Sunday night.

  I glanced at Nate and Hallie, chatting with my mother. Nate held Hallie’s hand and occasionally would bring it to his lips for a kiss. It was sweet, although I’d never tell him that. We were brothers, which meant my job was to hassle him.

  “Probably,” I agreed. The scene was a happy one, and yet, I felt bad my father hadn’t lived to see it. I was sure he’d have been thrilled to see Gabe and Nate settled and having families.

  “You’ll be next after that,” Will said, taking a sip of his beer.

  I looked at him. “I doubt it. I live secluded in the woods. I don’t run into many women. You, big brother, will be next.”

  He shook his head. “As happy as I am for them, I can’t see myself in their position.”

  I had to agree with that. At one time, I had, but that time had come and gone. There was a time, I’d thought a lot of things about my life and its possibilities. Since then, I’d learned that the world could be a harsh place. I wasn’t ever again going to put my faith and trust into another person. The only people I could count on were my family.

  “How’s that extension on your place working out?” Gabe called over to me.

  “I’ll know for sure if any of y’all come and stay.” I had a good size home tucked away in the woods of the Blue Ridge, but recently had Gabe help me add on a guest suite. I wanted a place that was part of the house, but also separate from it where my mother or my brothers could come and stay and feel like they had their own space.