Her Silver Fox Mountain Men (Lucky Lady Reverse Harems)

Chapter 4

4

Elise

“ L ooks like those cats did quite the number on the cabin,” James mutters as we come up to the old wooden porch.

“Yeah. Those are some big cats, huh?” I gasp at the sight of the damage the mountain lions left behind. Scratches everywhere, broken windows, various objects strewn across the floor. It smells awful. They sure took their sweet time marking their territory.

“I’m sorry,” James says as we cross the living room.

“It’s not like you trashed the house,” I reply, making my way into the kitchen. The window is half-open, wide enough for the cats to come through. “Wow, the damages are quite something. Mr. Ronald will have his hands full.”

“We just need to make sure he doesn’t limit himself to changing the locks and the latches. This cabin is in dire need of repairs on a fundamental level. What the mountain lions did comes on top of some preexisting issues.”

“I took what I could get at the time. Don’t let the rugged look fool you. This place is actually pretty comfy,” I say.

James comes closer to where I’m standing. He’s inspecting the window, and I wonder if he realizes how the air thickens between us with the close proximity. Quietly, I take advantage of the moment to admire his noble profile: the straight blade of his nose, the piercing glare of his green eyes. I see the vitality in them, just as I’ve seen it in Tricia and Ainsley’s. They sure take after their daddy.

I wonder what it would be like to be with someone like him.

“He’ll have to change the windows out completely,” he says, pointing at the shabby hinges. “This whole thing is going to come off at the slightest disturbance.”

He turns his head. Our lips are within reach. All it takes is one subtle move. One tilt of my head. A jump in my heels. Then, sweet, steamy contact. I can almost hear my body sizzling with increasingly dangerous thoughts. I pull away, my breath barely there.

“I should pack a bag,” I say quietly.

“Yeah, I doubt you’re coming back here anytime soon,” James agrees.

There’s something beautiful about the way the morning light cuts through the room and dashes across his face. It brings out the golden flakes hidden in his eyes. I’m mesmerized, trying and failing to think straight while swimming in a pair of sweats and a tee shirt that James found in Janice’s room.

“I really don’t want to be any trouble,” I say.

“You’re no trouble at all, Elise. In fact,” he inches even closer, “you’ve piqued my curiosity in more than one way.”

I can’t breathe anymore.

“How so?”

Every word escaping from his lips comes with a subtle movement. Just enough to close the distance between us to the point where I swear I can hear his heartbeat echoing mine. His cologne fills my nostrils and makes my senses drunk with notes of orange and saffron. Light and fresh but also powerful, dominant, and all-consuming.

“I told you I’d seen you around,” he starts, his voice low, dripping with something dark and hungry, reflecting the shadow in his eyes. “What I didn’t tell you, however, is how often I’ve thought about approaching you.”

“Oh, I’m nothing special,” I nervously laugh.

His hand comes up and he cups my cheek. His touch is tender but firm. My skin catches fire.

“You most certainly are special, Elise, and I intend to figure you out, one layer at a time.”

“There’s nothing to figure out,” I mumble. Fear tests my resolve. It muddles my brain, and I feel like I’m stuck between something mind-blowing and the imminent impact of no turning back.

“I disagree.” Before I can protest, his mouth captures mine in a kiss.

Liquid heat rushes to pool between my legs as his lips press against mine, as his tongue slips through and sets my soul on fire. I welcome him, tasting coffee and a hint of berries from breakfast. He deepens the kiss, and all I can do is surrender, as eager to explore him as he is to explore me.

I moan against his lips, high on the taste of him as his fingers move downward, tracing the curves of my back and my hips. Every touch makes me inhale sharply as I lean upward, my breasts pressed against his rippling pecs.

He’s driving me crazy in the best way, and I can’t control myself.

For too long I kept to the shadows, hiding in this wretched cabin and under that waitress uniform, praying that nobody would notice me. But James… he noticed me. His kiss tells me that much.

“I’ll stop anytime you want me to stop,” James whispers as his hand comes up under my shirt.

“Don’t you dare stop,” I command.

He’s dangerously close to finding my bare breast when approaching footsteps have us both jumping apart. All the blood rushes up to my face as I do my best to smooth my hair just enough so as not to look disheveled.

We turn to see two officers from Wildlife Services coming into the cabin.

“Mornin’,” the first one says. He’s the eldest of the two, stocky and grey-haired, a hint of experienced wisdom in his eyes. He doesn’t seem impressed by the damage the mountain lions have caused. I’m guessing he’s seen way worse over the years. “You must be Miss Morris.”

“Hi, yes,” I manage, still catching my breath from the passionate kiss James and I just shared.

James is remarkably composed, given what just happened. The fire still burns in his eyes, and his breath is still ragged, but he’s handling the unexpected interruption a lot better than I think I am.

“We’re officers Porter and Johnson,” the elder man says. “We got here as quickly as we could.”

“The next morning?” James questions with a skeptical raised eyebrow.

The younger one, Johnson, makes a feeble attempt at an apology. “We had an issue on the other side of the mountain, Mr. McTierney. Way worse than what you’re dealing with here. It was an all-hands-on-deck type of situation.”

“More mountain lions?” I blurt out.

“A grizzly got too close to Pebble Hill. We had to find the poor fella, tranquilize him, and move him to a safer location before anybody got hurt,” Porter says. “It’s the downside of summer in the Rockies. You gotta keep an eye out at all times.”

“Well, this is what we’re dealing with,” I say as I motion to the damage around me.

“It could’ve been worse,” Porter says. “We’ll survey the area and see if we can track the cats. How many did you say there were?”

“I counted four last night,” James replies. “One large female, possibly an older cub, and two younglings.”

“Yeah, that tracks. I think we’re familiar with this particular family,” Porter replies. “They’ve had run-ins with other Rustic locals over the past few weeks. Someone fed the cubs, and now they’ve gotten a little too comfortable around humans, hence why they’re coming down the mountain more frequently.”

“What can we do?” I ask.

James exhales sharply. “I reckon we’re going to have to get some dogs.”

“That will help scare the cats away,” Johnson agrees. “There’s a particular breed of mountain shepherd dogs from Eastern Europe that might fit in beautifully out here. I can give you a website. You can look ’em up and talk to them.”

“Oh, yeah, the Romanian Carpathian Shepherds!” Porter exclaims, smiling. “Resilient, fearless, and good with kids. Great dogs.”

“Okay but until we can get the dogs, what else can we do?” I ask.

Porter looks at James. “You said Miss Morris is staying at your house for the time being?”

“Yes, sir.”

“As she should,” Porter sighs. “I’ll issue old man Ronald a warning regarding the state of this place. The sheriff will back me up on that. He needs to do a better job of securing the windows and the door.”

“Jesus, I’ve been living this close to disaster for a year? Is securing the windows and doors all we can do? Should I crash at their place until it’s sorted?” My mind is racing with question after question.

Johnson sighs deeply. “Ma’am, it’s the best we can do right now. We’ll see if we can push the cats farther up the ridge. We’ll drop some fresh animal carcasses closer to the peak. That’ll keep them away for a little while but it’s only a matter of time before they’ll be tempted to come down again, searching for food.”

“Welcome to the Rocky Mountains,” James scoffs.

What the hell am I going to do? I thought it would be weird sharing a house with three stupidly hot men, but after what just happened with James, my concern meter just shot through the roof. I’m in for a heap of trouble. The spicy, rowdy, sexy, potentially devastating kind of trouble.

“I guess you’re stuck with us for a while,” James says to me, a playful flicker dancing in his eyes. “Not that I mind.”

Deep down, I don’t mind it either. It’s the voice in my head that minds; it keeps announcing the trainwreck that I’m about to step into.

All I can do is brace myself.