Page 2 of Cozy with the Mountain Man
I knocked one more time, and finally, I heard the lock on the door unlatch.
A large gust of wind hit me sideways as the door flew open. Louie never quite caught on to the idea of strangers, so his tail wagged happily as the doorway filled with a very large, very tall, very handsome man.
I dragged my eyes upward over his sexy, tight jeans and unbuttoned flannel shirt, revealing a tight black T-shirt underneath. He rolled the sleeves of his flannel shirt halfway up his arms, revealing muscular, inked forearms.
One I suddenly very much wanted to bite into.
A six-pack had to be underneath that T-shirt of his, and I pictured it in my mind as I ran my eyes over his broad, muscular shoulders and up to his deliciously handsome face. Dark brown eyes I could get lost in, and a strong, wide jaw covered in a sexy, well-trimmed beard, just long enough to run the tips of my fingers through. I imagined his face between my legs, the scratchiness of his stubble sending chills up my spine.
Our eyes connected, and my cheeks heated, a fiery asteroid running through every part of me.
Who is he, and why am I so damn attracted to him?
“Who the hell are you, and who sent you?” His loud, booming voice took me by surprise, and I stepped backward. Louie scrambled behind me as snow whipped by us.
“Whoa, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to disturb you, but my dog and I are kind of lost.” Despite the tornado of emotions whipping through me, I smiled with as much kindness and friendliness as I could muster.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Who goes for a walk in a blizzard?”
“Well, it wasn’t a blizzard when we started, and now the snow covered our tracks. Would you mind letting us warm up for a minute, and I can try to get a call to go through? I wasn’t getting service out in the woods.”
He said nothing, his chest heaving as he stared at me. He glanced at Louie, and his features softened for a mere second before turning icy again.
Was he really this mad at a disturbance?
Maybe I shouldn’t go inside. Perhaps he wasn’t friendly. He sure didn’t look it despite being devilishly handsome.
But a quick look behind me told me there was no way I was going back into the snowstorm and making it out alive.
“One phone call and I’ll be out of your way. I promise.” I smiled brightly. “We won’t be any trouble.”
“Fine,” he gritted out. “You have five minutes.”
CHAPTER TWO
Beckett
My heart wasn’t supposedto beat like this anymore.
It was cold.
It was dead.
It was lifeless.
Until she showed up on my doorstep.
There she stood, snowflakes falling around her with the largest smile I’d ever seen before, not at all intimidated by the weather. Her dog happily wagged his tail from where he sat beside her, their happy personalities infectious.
I didn’t know her name or anything about her, but I couldn’t ignore her. I couldn’t ignore the way she made me feel alive, a way I hadn’t felt in a long time.
When she showed up on my doorstep, I wanted to be angry. I wanted to rage. But then I saw her beautiful face and my cold, dead heart jolted to life.
She was mine.
It also didn’t help that her dog was adorable. A golden doodle with curly hair and a goofy smile, slobber hanging from the side of his mouth as he waited patiently.
“You have five minutes,” I grunted, not ready to show my hand yet. Because a part of me couldn’t let go of the anger at being disturbed. People in this small town knew to leave me alone, to let me live in peace in my cabin in the woods. I hated being bothered, or when people showed up unannounced, usually with some trivial bullshit the town must notify me of, instead of simply sending a letter.
