Page 1 of Relentless Mountain Man

1

RACHEL

It was two in the morning. Who blew into town at two in the morning? Someone who was fed up with her overbearing parents, that’s who.

My former roommate, Joely, knew what I was going through and had urged me for weeks to come to Seduction Summit. Her friend’s boss was prepping a cabin to go on the vacation rental market. It was fully furnished but a bit messy. If I’d straighten things up and keep an eye on the place until my friend’s boss returned from vacation, I’d have a free place to stay for a couple of weeks.

I was already breathing better and far more relaxed by the time I pulled into the driveway on the charmingly named Memory Lane. These cabins were jammed in so close together, it was hard to make out one from the other, especially in the dark, but my GPS took me directly to the fourth driveway on the right. A driveway that was so close to the driveway for the cabin next door, I was surprised they didn’t touch.

Both cabins appeared empty. No vehicles in the driveways, no porch light, no lit-up windows…no signs of life whatsoever.Definitely indicators that these were rental cabins. I was in the right place.

After shutting off the ignition, I grabbed my purse and climbed out, retrieving my laptop bag from the backseat. That should get me through until morning. I could unpack the rest once I’d gotten some sleep.

Joely had said the door wouldn’t be locked—they hadn’t had a chance to put a lockbox on it. Crime was low up here, so she didn’t see anything wrong with unlocking it a few hours ago and leaving it until I arrived.

“I’m playing it safe,” I mumbled to myself as I used the key fob to lock my car door.

Seduction Summit may have had a small-town vibe, but at its heart, it was a tourist town. And tourist towns attracted transients—temporary residents who came here to party, honeymoon, and get away from the kids for a weekend.

There were tons of vacation rentals now. I knew that because all Joely’s friends worked in real estate and property management. I’d gotten the scoop in their video chats, where they urged me to come visit and find a mountain man of my own.

The cabin was in great shape from the looks of it. Sure, it wasn’t all that different from the ones I’d passed on the way here, at least from what I could tell in the dim lighting. But it was classy and charming.

What was weird, though, was the lack of personal touches. No chairs on the porch. No wreath or welcome sign on the door. Not even a mat to wipe my feet on before stepping inside.

I made mental notes of all of that in case the owner wanted feedback, then I pushed the front door open. They needed a keypad—one of those temporary locks. Just punch in a number, and you’re in. But Joely said this was a new rental. They hadn’t even put it on any rental sites yet. They’d probably add the temporary lock later, long after I was gone.

The place smelled like wood. That was my first impression. I assumed that was a log cabin thing. I’d grown up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before moving to Nashville after college to start my career. In other words, I’d gone from a two-story, twelve-thousand-square-foot house to a tiny rental home in Nashville that had definitely seen better days.

I inhaled deeply. Wood. I could definitely get used to that smell.

As I closed the door behind me and set my heavy laptop bag on the ground next to it, I looked around. Very minimalistic, but that was expected of a rental house. There wouldn’t be a lot of pictures hanging on the wall or knickknacks on tables.

But even at that, it felt very…impersonal and functional. Just furniture for sitting. A wraparound couch, a chair, and an end table next to the couch for setting drinks and other items.

The place had a very masculine feel. It was the type of décor that would go well with a deer head on the wall. Luckily, I didn’t see one—not in this big open main room, anyway.

Sleep. Sleep was what I needed, and I needed it now. I turned to make sure the door was locked before I started walking. Joely said I’d be sleeping in the guest bedroom, which was in the back left corner of the cabin. All I cared about was that it had a bed with at least a blanket. Maybe a top sheet to cover the mattress.

I let out a sigh of relief when I stepped through the door and saw everything I needed. A bed, a nightstand, and a plug to charge my phone. At least my charger was in my purse. But my pajamas were still in my car.

Crossing the room, I went straight to the lamp on the bedside table, switching it on. Was it worth going all the way out to the car to get my suitcase so I could sleep in my shorts and T-shirt? Hell, it didn’t matter. I’d sleep in my underwear like I did at home sometimes. I was alone here, so who cared?

The room held a king-size bed, which meant I’d have plenty of space to spread out. Who put a king-size bed in a guest bedroom? A vacation rental owner, that was who. It would be a selling point to groups looking for two good bedrooms. As a professional property manager in Nashville, I could see things like that from a business perspective.

Nothing had ever felt better than the sheets surrounding my body as I slid into bed. I’d taken off everything but my underwear. I didn’t even bother to plug in my phone. I’d deal with that in the morning. It had charged enough in the car.

I set it face down on the nightstand, flipped off the lamp, and turned over, facing away from the door. I’d left the light on in the living room, but I was too tired to get up and switch it off. I’d just face away from it, close my eyes, and drift off to sleep.

I felt the sheets move. That was what woke me up. My eyes popped open, and I frowned. Had I even fallen asleep? Why were the sheets moving? Had it been two minutes or two hours? I really had no idea.

“Who the hell are you?”

At the sound of a male voice, I jerked around to see a very tall, very muscular, veryangryman. Well, I couldn’t really make out his features, but he sounded angry. My first instinct was to grab the sheets and cover my mostly naked body.

“Get out of my room,” I said.

I should scream. I should grab my phone and try to call nine-one-one. I’d seen this movie. A guy creeps into a woman’s room in the middle of the night and murders her. If something like that ever happened to me, I’d always figured I’d scream bloody murder and kick and fight all the way. I’d go straight for the groin.

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