Take Me To The River: A Mountain Man Romance (Mountain Men of Whiskey River Book 1)

I take off the sweatshirt and set it on the wood coffee table in front of me. I instantly feel better and not so overheated. In an effort to try desperately to hide how turned on I am, I pull the shirt away from my chest.

Because I’m preoccupied, I don’t realize he’s moving next to me, until he gently takes my hand in his and holds it out for him to look at it. He’s examining all the scratches on my arm from where I was setting up the campsite.

A crease forms between his eyebrows, and he glances at my other arm and stands.

‘Come, I’ll clean these up.’

Another command I don’t want to follow.

‘Oh, they are fine. Just some scratches from setting up the campsite earlier.’ I wave him off even, as I stand to follow him wherever he’s leading me.

‘They could get infected and need to be cleaned,’ he insists.

‘The ones on my legs are worse than this.’ I let slip and worry crosses his face.

‘Come on,’ he pulls on my hand, and I go with him to the bathroom.

He holds my hand all the way down the hall, and even into his room, and then the bathroom. His large hand engulfs mine, but yet, they fit almost perfectly.

Then, he turns to look at me, gently taking a step towards me, dropping my hand. I miss it instantly. I don’t see him move again until he wraps both of his large hands around my waist, lifts me and sets me on the cold counter.

I can feel how cold the marble on the counter is through the sweatpants I have on, and I let out a small squeal. He looks at me with concern all over his face.

‘The counter is cold.’ I shrug, and he still gives me another once over, before he starts moving around, gathering up first aid supplies and putting them next to me.

It’s enjoyable watching him like this. He’s confident in his movements, and what he’s doing. I try not to compare him to Chris, but Chris wasn’t as confidant as Axel is, and he wasn’t anywhere near as muscular or masculine. Maybe, that’s why my body is acting this way.

I remember reading a book that talked about how in the caveman days a woman would be attracted to a man who she thought could care and provide for her and their family.

There’s no doubt Axel can take care of me and provide for me. Chris couldn’t even make a grilled cheese sandwich. Where Axel looks like he could rough it out in the woods for months and be fine, I’d be shocked if Chris made it a week. That has to explain my body’s reaction, doesn’t it?

His nerves seem to settle, once he has everything, and then he turns to look at me. That’s when it hits me. I make this large man nervous, and I kind of like it. At least, I’m not the only one to feel this way.

Then, he looks over my arms again, like he isn’t sure where to start. So, I hold out the arm closest to him, and he gently takes my hand and starts cleaning each scratch, no matter how small.

Each of his touches has my whole body tingling, as goosebumps cover my skin, and there’s no hiding it.

‘I don’t think they’re too bad,’ I say, needing to fill the silence. ‘I got them, as we struggled to put up the tent. The one Chris said he was a pro at putting up. I’m guessing you can tell he lied. Apparently, he lied about a lot of stuff.’

Sighing, I look around the bathroom. That tub is calling to me again, but with Axel taking the time to clean my cuts and scrapes, I don’t think tonight will be the night I get to use it, if at all.

‘I don’t know how he got the tent down and everything back to the car the way he did, unless I was gone a lot longer than I thought.’

‘It’s possible. When you are in your own head, time flies by faster than you think.’

‘Maybe, it could be. I was so lost in my head after I found the texts and photos from that girl.’

‘Pictures?’ He asks curiously.

‘Yeah, the full-on boob shot she sent him to ‘spice up his family camping trip.’‘ I use air quotes with my free hand. ‘He works more than I do, and I barely had time for him, so how did he have time for another girl?’

‘I don’t know, Little One.’ The nickname calms me in a way I have never known.

Then, he switches to my other arm.

‘Wow, that didn’t hurt at all.’ I smile at him, and while he doesn’t smile with his face, I see it in his eyes. Those beautiful, whiskey colored eyes that are so inviting. They suit him, and oh man, are they easy to get lost in.

He starts cleaning my other arm, and the light touches are driving me crazy. I’m beginning to regret keeping my panties on after my shower because they are now soaked, and he’s just doing first aid, nothing sexy.

This definitely has to be the caveman effect. He’s more than able to take care of me, so my body is reacting. Now, how the hell do I get it to stop?

‘Are you sure that you went back to the right campsite?’ He asks, catching me off guard.

‘I thought the same thing, but before I left, Chris went and got wood for the fire pit and asked what I was making for dinner. I watched him set the wood down, before I left. When I got back, the wood was in the same place. Plus, it was a straight path with no turns. I guess I was just gone longer than I thought.’

‘Or he was more experienced with the tent than he let on.’ He says softly, looking me in the eye.

The meaning is clear. If he was willing to lie to me all this time and cheat on me, can anything he said be trusted?

‘Maybe, but I don’t want to talk about him anymore. How long have you lived out here?’ I ask.

‘Many years.’

‘Do you enjoy it? I mean really?’

‘Yes.’ Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ FɪndNovᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

I guess, I’m going to have to dig conversation out of him. If I’m going to be here for a few days like he says, I want to at least know the guy I’m sharing a cabin with.

‘Are you sure? Because this bathroom is nicer than many luxury hotels. Seems odd for someone who wants to be away from civilization.’

‘I wanted away from people, not the comforts I had.’

Hell, I understand that. People suck, but I know there’s a story there, but he doesn’t seem open to talking, so I don’t push. He starts working on a cut just below my shoulder, and his hand brushes against my breast. The sensation is overwhelming, making me jolt like my skin is on fire. He jerks his hand back like I just tried to bite him.

‘Sorry,’ he mumbles.

But there’s no hiding how much I liked it. My nipples are hard and tenting the front of the shirt he let me borrow, and they are right in his face, especially as he is still working on my arm. So, when he brushes up against it again this time, I don’t think it’s an accident. He doesn’t apologize. He just looks at me, waiting for a reaction.

Not sure what to do, because I’m not sure I want him to stop, so I don’t move. Though, I don’t even notice he’s breathing as hard as I am. Finally, he clears his throat.

‘You said there are ones on your legs?’

‘Yeah, from getting lost in the woods.’

I try to pull the sweatpants up, but they are so bulky, that I don’t get far. It looks like I’m going to have to take them off. There’s nothing sexual about it, I tell myself, though even I don’t believe it.

I slide off the counter and don’t look up at him. Thankfully, the shirt is so large that it’s more like a dress and hits just above my knees. I slide the pants down, and they pool on the floor. I step out of them and then meet his eyes again.

The heat I see in them matches the heat I feel inside of me. He takes a step forward, and at that moment, I want nothing more than for him to kiss me; to feel his hands on me again. I lick my lips, and his eyes follow the movement of my tongue, and his lips part almost in awe.

When his hands wrap around me, I close my eyes, but instead of his lips landing on mine, he gently puts me back on the counter. Then, he picks the pants up and neatly folds them, setting them next to me, as I try to hide my disappointment.

Though, when he turns around, it’s impossible to hide the tent in his pants. I bite my lip to hide the smile that tries to slip out. He’s as turned on as I am, thank God. But when this giant of a man kneels in front of me, I’m a goner.

He takes my right leg and gently places my foot on his leg and looks it over. I send up a silent prayer of thanks that I shaved my legs, before our camping trip.

Axel gently runs his finger over one of the larger cuts around my ankle and goes about cleaning it, but the liquid stings this time, and I jerk my foot back.

‘I’m sorry. I know it stings.’ He says in that rough, deep voice that sends tingles to more than just the skin he’s touching.

‘It’s okay. I just wasn’t ready for it,’ I say, as he gently cups my foot and brings it back to resting on his leg, while continuing to gently clean the cut.

This giant man is down on his knees, taking care of me, and he’s being so gentle and tender that it grips my heart. It’s also so much more of a turn on than I ever expected it to be, and the throb between my thighs grows with each touch.

I shift, hoping to get a little relief, but it has the opposite effect. Any touch drives my desire hotter. As he finishes with the cut, he then tries to pull my legs apart, but I clench my thighs together.

‘I need to see the inside of your leg to make sure there are no other cuts.’ He says, not understanding why I’m not moving.

‘I know there isn’t any there.’

He looks up at me and gives me a pointed stare that I know he won’t break until I do as he asks. I take a few deep breaths before I get the courage to move my leg for him.

In this position, he’ll have a clear view of my soaked panties. Then, as he trails his eyes back down to my leg, I know the moment he sees them because his sharp intake of breath fills the room.

He gently runs his hand up the inside of my leg, like he’s checking for cuts, but he stops at my knee, before yanking his hand back. He clears his throat, and then sets my leg down, and takes the other one to care for the few cuts around my other ankle.

Once he’s finished, those large, calloused hands slide up my leg again, stopping at the knee, but lingering for a moment, glancing between my thighs. He lets out a whispered curse, before pulling back.

I stand, and he picks up the sweatpants I was wearing, and then he helps me put them back on. In essence, putting the barriers between us back up. Then, he helps me off the counter.

‘Go sit on the couch. I’ll clean up in here.’

Not knowing what else to do, I nod and run out of the room.