Page 5 of My Guarded Valentine

“I almost ran over you.”

I beamed at him. “But you didn’t.” Standing up, I grabbed my plate and walked to the sink, and started to wash my plate.

“You don’t have to clean that. I can do that.”

Quickly, I washed the plate and put the plate in the dish strainer. I turned around and waved my hands. “I cannot be a bad guest!” Swanning past him, I picked up his dish and tossed it in the sink. Before I could flip the water back on, Buck grabbed my hips and twisted my body around.

“Don’t wash that dish, “ he growled.

My cheeks grew warm as I tried to suppress a smirk. “What are you gonna do if I don’t listen to you? Are you going to punish me?”

His eyes darkened, and my breath quickened. His hands were firm on my hips and I could only imagine how they would feel spanking me. He was still touching my hips, and a heat bloomed bright inside my core with his touch. Maybe being stuck in a small town might not be so terrible after all. My eyes darted down towards his hips. The realization that he was still touching me must’ve dawned on him, because he pulled away from me like I was on fire. “Sorry.”

But I was on fire on the inside.

“Don’t run away like I’m contagious or something,” I said. I sashayed past him as I laughed at him. Maybe I threw in anextra wiggle as I walked. As I climbed the stairs, his heavy steps echoed behind me.

“I swear I didn’t mean any offense when I touched you. I wanted to make sure that you knew I didn’t expect you to be my maid,” he babbled.

Turning, I smirked at his reaction and raised my eyebrows.

Guilt streaked his face. “I really am serious.”

I winked. “Blah blah blah, just a horny man with an excuse to touch a pretty girl,” I said, as I stopped in front of my door and turned towards him. He’s probably being the most polite guy I could ever, ever meet on this mountain. How many people were here for the coming holiday? Somehow, I landed the sweetest and most honorable man on this mountain and he looked single so far. I tried to shake my thoughts out of that way. I’m sure this mountain man had a townie honey or something.

Buck lifted his hands up. “That’s not me. I don’t fuck around like that. I don’t want you to think I’m that sort of person.”

I laughed and patted him on his shoulder. “I’m just fucking with you. It’s been a long day. Should’ve waited one day before driving up here. I was just so revved up and needed to leave, and I was mad at my boss. I wanted to spend money on the company card and go. Instead of leaving, I should have gotten an oil change first. I think my friend tried to warn me, but I ignored her.”

Buck seemed to relax, as I smiled at him and opened my door without turning around. “I’m glad. I just didn’t want you to think that I wanted to use you. I’m not really good at this. I’ve kind of stuck to myself the last few years.” When he said that, his face shifted like he was hiding a great pain. Since I was still touching him because, like him earlier, I forgot to let go of him. I squeezed his shoulder and stepped into the room without turning around.

“It’s okay. But I hope whatever hurt happened to you, which caused you to run away to the mountains, I hope you find achance to heal one day. But I am going to go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Sweet dreams, Mitzi. I’ll see you in the morning and I will call my friend to get your car. He will love to have some work to do.”

I shut the door, grabbed my pajamas on my suitcase and climbed into the bed. This wasn’t how I planned my weekend. I would have to figure out how I could somehow make a thrilling article in the small town. It would have to help me not lose my job, but small towns always had inspirational stories. I just needed to look around and open my eyes. Something has to be here.

Chapter 4

Buck

That next morning, I scrolled through my phone to find my friend Mitch‘s number. I had known Mitch for years, but he lost his job recently. Since it stopped snowing, the tow truck would be able to take her car to Mitch’s place. He had a deal with the local mechanic to work there because they had an extra bay open most of the time. I always let him look at my cars and my snowmobile. Whenever they needed to be fixed, I knew he would do a good job with Mitzi’s car. I blew a breath out before I started texting him. There was something alluring about the stranger, Mitzi. It had been years since I’ve wanted another woman. I liked my solitary life in the mountains. It beat the hustle and bustle of the city, even though I still kept up with work through remote work. I own the company and have other people to do the big business in town. Occasionally I go into town to check on things and make appearances, but I always keep it on the down low. I was just a figurehead at this point. Just a name on a sign; they didn’t need me. All the vital work was done; a weight lifted from my shoulders when I gave up a portion of it. I had sacrificed years in that company. I didn’t spend enough time with my brother. Years I didn’t spend finding love and slept around. After I woke up, I swore off relationshipsand moved to the mountains. Did her words spike something inside me? Did she see the hurt on my face? But I hated the hurt on her face when she pouted about her job. I wanted to help her.

What was worse was that I wantedher.

There was something inside me that wanted to fix everything that made her sad. Which meant I needed to get her car fixed. I texted Mitch and got dressed. After I walked to the kitchen, I’d make her breakfast and then I’d log into work for a few hours. This was my simple life. I enjoyed it…before Mitzi.

Just as I was about to finish my pancakes, I was captivated by the sight of her breasts jiggling as she descended the stairs. As need rose in my body, I swallowed. I needed to be better than this. I didn’t deserve to have someone in my life like that. At the perfect time, my phone buzzed, and I noticed the text from Mitch. He agreed to take her car and was going to pick it up within the next few hours once he was able to get one free. I needed to talk to his husband about maybe setting up a mechanic’s shop for him. I know if I told him, he’d refuse it.

Turning the phone off, I looked up and smiled at Mitzi. Her hand crept up to her hair, and she spun it around her finger. Perfect…maybe she was perfect. “Good timing. My friend Mitch is going to pick your car up in the next hour, depending on what’s wrong with it. He’ll fix it. I don’t know if an oil change could do that to your car. Maybe there was something else wrong with it?” I said.

Her face lit up and my heart burst at how I could give her that genuine ounce of happiness. “Ugh. I don’t like that you’re probably not feeling like it will be fixed in an hour?” she asked. Her laughter filled the room. Hearing her laughter bounced against the walls of this cabin made me realize how utterly alone I’ve been over the last few years. I’d spent so much time running away from the pain and forcing myself to punish myself. It was nice to hear another. I noticed she laughed when shewas nervous. Deep down, I wanted to know her more. I hadn’t responded to Mitch. There was a part of me that wanted to keep her forever. Quickly shook my head and typed okay to Mitch.

“I am not sure what kind of thing caused the problem. Maybe you’ll be lucky. Do you have luck like that?” I asked as I texted.

She laughed. “No, absolutely not. My luck is exactly what happened. Important things are going on and my car breaks down.”

With a groan, I stood up, my muscles protesting the sudden movement. “I have to get some work done. I hope you enjoy breakfast.”

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