Daring Mountain Man (Seduction Summit Lodge #6)

Chapter 1

1

WAVERLY

I would wait here for Nick Landry if it took all night. Literally.

I’d already been pulled out of one bind on this ice- and snow-covered mountain. As soon as the tow truck driver got me back on the road, I made the tenth-of-a-mile drive uphill—against the tow truck driver’s recommendations—and pulled into the driveway of the quaint log cabin.

I’d made it this far. I’d be damned if I’d let Mother Nature stop me from doing my job.

I leaned back and closed my eyes. I could sleep here. I had heat. And my car wasn’t all that uncomfortable. I could just let it idle until I ran out of?—

My gaze landed on the gas gauge, cutting off that thought. I’d been so stressed about the weather, I hadn’t been watching my fuel levels. I’d swear last time I checked, I had three-quarters of a tank, but now there was only one dot on the little bar thingy that ran between E and F.

I considered my options. I should shut off the engine now, but damn, it was cold out there. Maybe I could hide out somewhere warm until this guy got home.

I could always check the front door. In a remote area like this, it was unlikely he’d lock it. But could I risk my career by going into someone’s house without his permission? In my line of work, people were just looking for a reason to get me in trouble.

Sighing, I cut off the engine. It wouldn’t be too bad. I dug my gloves out of my coat pockets, pulled the hood of my coat on top of my head, and squirmed a little. The sudden silence that surrounded me was unsettling. It wasn’t just the reminder that I had maybe a good half hour before I’d be freezing my ass off. It was the woods to my right—so many trees. Someone could easily hide in those trees and jump out and get me.

I looked over to my left and pressed the button to lock my doors. I had pepper spray in my console—a necessary tool of the trade. Grabbing the canister from the console, I shoved it in my right pocket, keeping my eyes peeled for trouble.

A sound cut into the silence. The faint crunching noise that came with tires rolling over ice and snow. This could be Nick Landry. Or it might be someone else altogether. Maybe that tow truck driver had decided to come back and find me. He was a nice enough guy who didn’t appear to be a murderer, but even notorious serial killers fooled some people.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Each crunch got louder, shoving my heart rate up until I was barely breathing. I couldn’t even fall back on the potential murderer theory. I’d been doing this job for two years, but I was still a nervous wreck whenever I approached a recipient. In fact, over time, it had gotten worse as I’d seen how people could react when they realized they’d been duped by a process server. Even though I was literally just the messenger, I took the brunt of people’s anger all too often.

The crunching slowed and suddenly, two headlights appeared. Those headlights swerved until they were facing me, filling my heavy-duty SUV with light.

I held up my hand to shield my eyes from the rearview mirror. It was almost blinding. The vehicle behind me was one of those gigantic trucks that had lights that could serve as spotlights on a stage, they were so huge and overwhelmingly bright.

I snatched up the envelope and reached for the door handle, only realizing as I stepped out that I’d broken the number one rule of process serving. Do not get trapped in the driveway.

I groaned. Rookie mistake. The snow had me all bumfuzzled.

The truck just sat there, its headlights like two giant eyes, glaring at me. I froze in my tracks, shifting the envelope to my left hand so I could shove my right hand into my pocket. My fingers wrapped around the pepper spray tube, and I settled my index finger on the trigger. I could whip this thing out, point, aim, and shoot at the drop of a hat.

Finally, the truck door opened, and one work boot landed on the snow-covered driveway. The calf looked ginormous—the part of it I could see under the door, anyway. I held my breath, trying to find courage.

What was wrong with me? I dealt with plenty of super intimidating guys. There was something about all of this that had me quaking in my knee-high, fur-trimmed boots.

The guy stepped around the door and shut it. I still couldn’t make out details. The headlights created such a glare, it was a wonder I could see anything but spots in front of my eyes.

I squinted as if we were standing outside in broad daylight on a sunny July day as the guy started toward me. His bulky build lumbered closer and closer, and my heart threatened to pound right out of my chest. I had to battle the urge to climb back in my vehicle and hide.

Soon enough. I just had to hand this to him, ask him to move his vehicle, and get the hell out of here.

“May I help you?” the guy asked.

His voice was intimidating too. Deep and sexy but intimidating.

Sexy? Where had that thought come from?

“Hi,” I said. “Are you Nick Landry?”

I tilted my head to the side slightly and gave a big smile. I couldn’t make out his details, but with the headlights blasting in this direction, I was pretty sure he could see even the tiny mole on my left cheek.

The goal here was to disarm him in every way. If he got even a hint that I was here on official business, he’d kick me off his property and not touch the paperwork I’d been sent to deliver.

“Who’s asking?” he asked.

Uh-oh. This guy was no fool. Normally, I had the option of dumping it at his feet and running, but I was kind of trapped here. I needed to find a way to make nice.

“I’m Waverly,” I said. “I have something for you. It’s a surprise.”

My voice started at a normal pitch but lowered to almost a whisper by the end of it. That was because I found myself staring at the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. He had stubble and full lips and light blue eyes that could set a woman’s heart on fire.

Holy shit, was this guy real? Who would sue him? Probably an ex-girlfriend or wife. Maybe it was a custody dispute. I’d seen plenty of those in my time.

“You came out in this mess, up this mountain, to give me something? No. Not buying it. What’s this about exactly?”

I lifted the envelope. “I have no idea. I’m just the messenger.”

I held it toward him, but he didn’t move to take it. That would have been too easy. It also would have sent me out of his life for good. I was surprised to find I didn’t want that.

“You have to be cold,” he said.

Oh my God. I was freezing my tits off. That was something a fellow process server said. She always made me laugh, especially since I’d grown up in a relatively sheltered environment compared to what I was exposed to in this job.

But if I could just get him to take this, I could climb in my car and blast the heater as I tried to get down the mountain before my gas ran out. I thrust the envelope toward him again, hoping he’d take a hint.

“The road’s blocked,” he said. “So you’re stuck in Seduction Summit for now.”

My hand dropped to my side, envelope and all. I also noticed my grip on the pepper spray canister had lessened in the past couple of minutes. I didn’t even notice that it happened. I must have subconsciously ruled him out as a threat.

‘Come on inside,” he said. “I’ll get you warmed up with a cup of coffee and get a fire going in the fireplace.”

I stared at him, my hand once again tightening around the small canister in my pocket. I didn’t get a dangerous vibe from him at all. If anything, I felt safer with him around. Worse—I was drawn to him. I wanted nothing more than to feel his arms around me.

Frowning, I ran that thought around in my head for a moment before shoving it aside. I didn’t have time to think like that about a man. Besides, this was business, and getting involved with a recipient was all kinds of unprofessional.

Right?

“Make it decaf and you’ve got a deal,” I said.

“I don’t have any of that stuff, but I’ll see what I can rouse up for you. Follow me.”

It went against everything I’d trained to do in these situations, but this had nothing to do with professional training. This was an invitation to adventure. And I’d never been able to resist a good adventure.