Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 67(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 67(@300wpm)
One look at my tanned, calloused hand against her pretty porcelain face has me backing away.
I have millions more than I know what to do with thanks to my automotive company and smart investments I made along the way. But this woman and I are from different worlds. I’d be a fool to forget that.
Maggie
There’s heat surrounding me. It’s so inviting that I snuggle deeper into it. I can’t remember the last time I felt this safe and protected.
A rumbling noise is against my ear, and I finally force open my tired eyes. I haven’t slept so peacefully in ages.
Something cold hits my face and I realize snowflakes are falling. Images of the past twenty-four hours come together. Suddenly, I remember the stranger at my car. Despite his rough mountain man appearance, he smelled so good. Like woodsmoke and raw masculinity.
“You’ll be warm soon,” a deep voice promises.
I glance up, finally connecting the dots that I’m in his arms. I’m in the arms of the handsome stranger from earlier.
“Where—?” My voice sounds rough and scratchy. I clear my throat, my head still feeling funny.
He kicks open a door and carries me into a cabin with a bare living room. The only pieces of furniture in it are a bearskin rug in front of a fireplace, a brown leather couch, and a wooden coffee table.
He deposits me gently on the couch before moving to the fireplace. He squats in front of it to start a fire. Despite how disoriented I’m feeling, I still notice the way those black jeans are clinging to his hips and outlining a very firm ass.
There’s an answering hunger within me. It’s primal and fierce, something I’ve never felt before. All I know is I want to reach out and trace the curve of his ass. I want to know what it would feel like beneath my hands.
When he’s done with that task, he rises and his fine figure is no longer on display. He doesn’t even glance in my direction.
“Where am I?” I ask again as I suddenly realize the gravity of my situation. He might be hot. But I’m alone with a stranger in an unfamiliar place. An unfamiliar remote place. No one knows where I am.
He doesn’t answer as he stalks from the room and back outside, his heavy boots thumping along the porch.
“Not a very talkative host,” I mutter under my breath as his footsteps fade. I shrug out of the coat he covered me with and find I’m still clutching my purse on my shoulder.
Keeping one eye on the door, I start searching through my bag. I don’t know what this stranger wants from me or what his plans are, but his quiet ways are unnerving.
Fortunately, he left my cellphone in my bag untouched. I turn it on, breathing a sigh of relief when I see it still has some battery life left to it.
But my relief is short-lived. There’s no cell reception. I try to send a text message to my friend and call my grandfather. The message won’t send, and the call won’t go through.
“Tower is down,” my mountain man grunts as he enters the cabin again. He drops one of my suitcases on the floor. There was supposed to be a matching second one.
“I want you to take me into town,” I say the words firmly. The past year of taking over my grandfather’s business has taught me to be assertive. The first step to getting what you want is to state it firmly and clearly so there are no misunderstandings.
Mountain man snorts. “Keep wanting, sweetheart.”
My body stills at his words and my heart rate speeds up. I work to keep my tone calm and unaffected as if I were negotiating with a vendor that’s trying to raise his prices far above the market value. “Are you keeping me here?”
3
MAGGIE
He chuckles when I ask if he’s keeping me here. “You’re welcome to climb down the mountain in the middle of a blizzard. One less annoying houseguest for me.”
I pause at his words. “I’m a guest? That means I’m free to leave at any time?”
Something in his expression softens for a second before it’s gone again. “You damn near died on the side of the road. I’m not the villain here, sweetheart.”
I like the way he calls me sweetheart. The endearment is spoken with a kindness and gentleness I wouldn’t expect from someone with his exterior. “You don’t plan to hurt me?”
He scowls. “I’m Crew. I work at the lumber mill in town, and I won’t let anything bad happen to you while you’re here.” He grabs my suitcase and gestures for me to follow him.
I hesitate for a moment before I finally stand. I have to move slowly because there are still waves of dizziness. That might have less to do with the accident and more to do with the fact that I was too nervous to eat anything earlier today.