Page 8 of Devoted Mountain Man

4

DAYTON

I’d cleared the cabin.

That was a law enforcement term, and I was far from a police officer. But tonight, I felt like one. I didn’t head back toward the front door until I’d checked every square inch of the cabin, along with the area out back.

Nothing. I didn’t know what Vanessa had heard, but if it was an intruder, the person had vanished before I got here. I was thinking about heading out the front door when I heard footsteps on the front porch.

“Don’t shoot, it’s me!” a feminine voice cried out.

Holy fuck. I was glad she’d said something. Otherwise, I might have cocked my pistol and been ready to fire as Vanessa came through the front door. I was always careful with my gun, so it probably would’ve been fine, but I didn’t want to even think about harm coming to the beautiful woman who’d rescued my dog just hours ago.

I pocketed my pistol and started toward the door. I didn’t want to scare her by waving a gun around or anything. But I also wanted the weapon at the ready, just in case.

The door opened slowly, and she peeked her head inside. “Is everything okay in here?”

“Yes, but you should’ve stayed next door. It could have been a dangerous situation.”

In a way, I was disappointed it wasn’t. I’d come over here to save the day and done little more than open doors and showers and cabinets.

Oh, and I’d checked under the bed too. Her suitcase was still on the floor next to it, unzipped but closed. It felt like an invasion of privacy being in her bedroom, but at least she didn’t have underwear strewn everywhere.

Underwear. That brought to mind an image of Vanessa wearing nothing but a bra and some cotton briefs. My dick jumped to life at the thought.

Down, boy. Now is not the time for that.

“I couldn’t see anything, so I stepped out on the front porch, and I couldn’t hear anything, either,” she said. “I was worried. I thought something might have happened to you.”

She was worried about me. Did that mean she cared? Hell no. Natural human response. I shouldn’t read into it.

“I think it’s fine,” I said. “I checked everywhere, even out back. I don’t see anyone around, so if someone was trying to break in, they’re gone now.”

I was doing everything I could to sound confident and unworried, but the look on her face had me second-guessing myself. She definitely looked worried.

“I heard something.” She scanned the room. “I know I did.”

It was likely the house settling or critters running around on the roof. These log cabins could be noisy. But I didn’t tell her any of that.

“The second you leave, the noise is going to start up again.” She leveled her stare at me. “You know that, right?”

“So come stay with me.”

The words were out before I really thought them through. It was honestly the same offer I’d make anyone in this situation, but once I’d spoken, I mulled over the offer. I liked the idea of having this beautiful woman under my roof for the night, even if she was sleeping on the twin bed in the guest room.

“I don’t want to be any trouble,” she said, looking around. “I’ll be fine.”

Her expression told me everything. There was no confidence behind those words. It was clear she wasn’t comfortable at all with staying in her rental.

“Come on,” I said. “Actually, you lead the way. I’ll lock up. Do you have your keys?”

It took her a couple of minutes, and she was adorably disoriented during that time. But she tracked them down in the kitchen, of all places.

As she led the way off the steps of the porch to her front yard, I couldn’t help but notice how perfectly round her ass was. Everything about her was just…perfection.

But she also seemed a little shaky. Whatever happened in there had freaked her out. I’d do anything to make her feel safe. In this case, that meant showing her to the guest bedroom and leaving her with instructions to yell out if she needed anything.

“I could go back and let you know if anything weird happens again,” she said as I grabbed pillows and an extra blanket from the closet in the guest bedroom.

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