Page 7 of Rough Mountain Man

I took another bite of my sandwich and tried to focus on the taste, but suddenly all I could think about was Gennie, handcuffed and blindfolded. Gennie spread out naked in front of me. Gennie moaning and sighing as I kissed every inch of her beautiful, naked body…

I had to change the subject, and I had to change it fast. “They’re probably hiking. That would be my guess.”

Her eyes widened. “That means they could be anywhere. There’s a lot of hiking trails in the mountains, right?”

I thought about that for a second. “Not as many as you’d think. Some are more popular than others. Anyway, we could go check to see if Dayton’s truck is there.”

“Dayton,” she said. “I guess that’s my friend’s boyfriend’s name. I just realized something, though. I don’t know your name.”

Oh, yeah, I hadn’t introduced myself. I knew her name from looking at her driver’s license back at the shop. Maybe I should just remain a man of mystery for a while. But no, I had an even better opportunity here.

I thrust out my hand. “Ryan.”

She lowered her gaze to my hand and looked at it like it might burn her. I didn’t want her to be scared to touch me. The opposite, actually.

Finally, she slid her hand into mine. I had to remind myself that this was a handshake, and I went through the motions—lifting gently up and down—but all I could think about was how good her small, soft hand felt in my large, rougher one. It made me long to run my hands over the rest of her.

Finally, I noticed she hadn’t separated from me, and her eyes remained fixed on mine. Yeah, she definitely felt this too. And I was about to take her farther into the mountains. I needed to stay focused on helping her out. If things got physical between us—maybe just a kiss, maybe more—it couldn’t hurt anything.

Getting physical with Gennie wouldn’t mean I was committing. If I told myself that enough, maybe I’d believe it.

5

GENNIE

Just hours ago, I’d been perplexed at how my best friend could disappear in the mountains with some guy she’d just met. And now here I was, doing the very same thing.

It was different, though. If anyone texted me wanting to know if I was okay, I’d text back. It was the right thing to do.

Besides, I wasn’t getting lost with a man I’d fallen in love with. I was looking for my friend.

I could say it all I wanted, but a large part of me didn’t believe it. I was getting lost with a man I was attracted to. Maybe I wasn’t in love, but I was definitely experiencing big-time lust.

“That’s his truck,” Ryan said as we reached the end of a dirt road that dumped into a big dirt lot.

One vehicle was parked there. A gigantic black pickup. It looked like something a lumberjack would drive.

“I’d say that’s a good sign Dayton’s here…somewhere,” Ryan said as he pulled in next to the truck.

“Now what?” I asked.

Ryan cut the engine. “Now we walk.”

He opened the door and hopped out. Were we actually trudging up this trail? I looked down at my feet. I was wearingsandals. They were plenty comfortable for walking, but a hike was a different matter. If I wanted to protest, I’d have to at least walk part of this trail, if only to catch up with him.

Luckily, he stopped at the trail entrance, next to a map with a big smiley face on the “You Are Here” spot. I thought he was waiting for me, but when he pulled the key fob from his pocket and pointed it at his truck, I realized he was waiting to lock up.

“We’ll just look for signs our friends were here.”

Our friends. It was accurate. Dayton was his friend and Vanessa was mine. But calling them “our” friends made me feel warm and cozy. It almost sounded like we were a couple.

“Vanessa!” I called out.

Up ahead, Ryan’s footsteps slowed, then stopped. He turned to face me.

“Are we going to just shout their names?” he asked.

“How else are we going to find her? That’s how you look for a missing person. Pretty standard.”

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