Page 3 of Possessive Mountain Man

But no dim memory, no photo, could prepare me for the man standing in front of me now.

Gone is the friendly, if reserved, face I once knew. In its place is someone stronger. Tougher. He’s not my father’s best friend. He’s a man. All man.

His piercing gaze pins me in place. Something hot and dangerous flickers in his gaze, sending a shiver of anticipation down my spine.

It’s… unexpected. But not unwelcome.

The way he’s looking at me—really looking at me—I get the impression he isn’t seeing me as his best friend’s daughter either. Interesting. Way too interesting.

“Elise,” he says. His low voice somehow somehow drowns out the shrieking storm.

Despite the cold, heat spreads low in my belly, settling between my thighs.

Hayes. Freaking. Carter.

“Come on.” He steps closer again. “We need to move. We aren’t safe here.”

I nod, but as I take a step, I move like I’m ninety-seven instead of twenty-seven. my limbs are stiff. It’s a sign of just how cold I’ve become.

Without tearing his gaze from mine, Hayes shrugs off his coat and drapes it over my shoulders.

“No.” I shake my head. “I couldn’t?—”

“Take it.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine. I run hot.”

I believe him. His jacket is like a furnace, warmed by his body heat. I reluctantly slide my arms into it, and the scent of pine and something else—something uniquely him—envelops me.

I tug it tighter around myself, grateful for the immediate comfort. Even if it has me feeling a little weak in the knees.

“Stay close.” He tilts his head toward the storm. “I don’t want to lose you out there.”

My eyes grow wide.

“It isn’t quite a white-out, but it’s damn close,” he says. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

He has no idea just how good and truly he’s captured me.

Following his lead, I fall into step behind him. I struggle through the snow as we leave the cave. The snow swirls so thick it’s hard to see more than a few feet ahead.

And while my hiking boots were perfect for traipsing through a summer wilderness, they leave something to be desired in these new conditions.

Without even glancing back, Hayes’s hand reaches for mine. “Here.”

His gloved fingers wrap around mine. The contact sends a jolt of heat through me. My pulse quickens, even as I try to keep my focus on taking each step.

With his hand wrapped around mine, his coat around my body, and his presence permeating my soul, I trudge through the snow with him.

I almost hate that I stumble more than a few times.Almost, because each time I do, he pulls me closer. His firm body offers me strength and foundation. His increasingly familiar rugged scent gives me comfort.

His quiet determination fuels mine.

After what feels like forever, the faint outline of a cabin appears. A rush of relief washes over me like a flood.

Hayes throws open the door and ushers me inside. Heat radiates from a towering stone fireplace, nearly knocking the breath out of me. As I catch my breath, I turn my gaze around the cabin.

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