Ruthless Mountain Man

  Ruthless Mountain Man

  Copyright © 2018 by Jenika Snow & Kelsey King

  jenikasnow.com

  authorkelseyking.com

  Cover photography by Wander Aguiar

  Cover model: Kerry Smart

  Cover design by Designs by Dana

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Newsletter

  Synopsis

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Coming next

  About Jenika Snow

  About Kelsey King

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  Synopsis

  I moved to the mountains to get away from everyone and everything. All I want is peace and quiet, and it’s worked well for me over the last decade. But then she moves in next door and disrupts my solitude.

  * * *

  Kylie—my new neighbor—with her smartass mouth and destructive dog. It’s obvious she doesn’t belong here with her designer boots and city girl attitude, but she’s stubborn and won’t listen to reason. Despite all that, there’s no denying I want her. Her sass and defiance get under my skin and admittedly turn me on. It’s a love/hate relationship in the most inconvenient way possible.

  * * *

  When a snowstorm comes barreling through, it’s Kylie who’s at my doorstep needing heat and food because she’s completely unprepared. Although I’d warned her, she finally admits I was right. Between my hatred for her dog and her distaste for me, things are bound to get complicated.

  * * *

  Secluded in my cabin together means the temperature rises, the gloves come off—but most of all—the arousal and chemistry moving between us reaches its breaking point.

  1

  KYLIE

  As I watch the movers unload the last box and pull away, it really sets in that this is my new home. I never anticipated moving to the mountains of Clearview, but after my great-aunt passed and left me her cabin, I knew it was the best place to start fresh.

  “What do you think, Kozmo?” I ask my German Shepherd mix who’s sniffing around with my French Bulldog, Rosie. Kozmo barks in response and continues scampering around the unfamiliar room. The cabin could definitely use a good, thorough cleaning since no one's been here in years. I took a month off work and plan to get this place back in mint condition while I can.

  Over the next three days, I continue unpacking the boxes and cleaning. My dishes are washed and put away. I make my bed with fresh linens and even set up my little desk and bookshelf in the corner. The bathroom and kitchen need the most work, so I save that for last. Starting out with the easiest tasks first, I’ll knock through my to-do list much faster.

  It’s chilly even for October, but it’s bright and sunny out, so I decide to take the dogs out for an afternoon walk. I’ve been letting them wander outside to explore, but I could use the fresh air myself. My blonde hair is piled on top of my head like a wild rat’s nest, and I’m still in the same leggings I went to sleep in the night before. Instead of worrying about it, I pull on my winter jacket and boots before heading out.

  “Let’s go!” I tell Kozmo and Rosie. The moment we step out, I feel the crisp coolness of the air against my face. I pull my hoodie up, but it doesn’t do much to shield me from the wind. Hell, even the air feels thinner up here.

  Regardless of the weather, I love it in the mountains. It’s so quiet and peaceful. The neighboring homes are far enough apart to have privacy, but close enough to feel like you’re not completely alone.

  Once my time off ends, I’ll have to decide if I’ll commute to work every day or rent a small apartment in town until I find a job closer to my new home. I know I don’t want to let this place go. It’s far too beautiful and serene here for me to sell.

  “Kozmo, stay here,” I remind him, but his nose has a mind of its own. He’s my baby though he’s bigger than Rosie. Filled with so much life and energy, he definitely keeps my boring life interesting. Rosie doesn’t stray far from me; she’s my sweetheart, but Kozmo loves to explore and wander. “Kozmo, get back here!” I yell when I see him running toward the cabin that’s closest to mine.

  “Dammit,” I mutter, following behind in his trail. Once his nose gets a hint of something, he’s on a mission, and no amount of yelling at him will snap him out of it. “C’mon, Rosie,” I encourage when she hesitates.

  Halfway up the snowy cliff, I hear chopping noises and Kozmo’s barking.

  “Shit.” I try climbing faster, but my body is sore from unpacking and cleaning nonstop so I slip and fall more times than I’d like to admit. Once I finally make it over, I follow the sound to the side of the cabin.

  “Kozmo?” I cup my hands around my mouth, hoping my voice echoes. He continues barking, and when I finally round the corner, my breath hitches the moment I spot who he’s barking at.

  A six-foot plus god of a man who’s holding a massive ax over his head and throwing it down against a block of wood. Sweet Jesus. He’s wearing a heavy plaid jacket, dark jeans, and Carhartt boots. He looks like he came out of one of those men’s outdoor fashion magazines. Unruly dark hair and all.

  “Excuse me,” I shout, but he doesn’t hear me over Kozmo or the rustling of the wind that’s suddenly picked up. Stepping closer, I try to get his attention, but by the way his jaw is firmly set, I can tell he’s too focused to hear me approaching.

  “Kozmo, get over here!” I walk over, ready to grab his collar but before I can reach him, I’m pushed to the ground in a bank of snow. The weight of his body presses into mine, and it feels oddly intimate as he wraps his muscular arms around me. I miss it the moment he leans back.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” he growls at me before noticeably studying my face and wandering his gaze down my body. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

  His remark has me flinching because I have no idea what the hell he’s talking about.

  “What? No! You’re the one who pummeled me to the ground like an animal,” I retort, blinking the dryness from my eyes.

  He stands and holds his hand out for me. Once I grab it, he pulls me up to my feet. Staring up at him, I realize how much taller and bigger than me he is. Much, much bigger.

  “You don’t just go up to a strange dog,” he says, breaking the tension. I realize he’s referring to Kozmo whose bark is much bigger than his bite. “He’s been barking at me for the last ten minutes and probably has rabies.”

  I burst out laughing at this massive, rugged man worried about a dog who’s now rolling around in the snow and kicking his legs up to the sky.

  Narrowing his eyes at me, he stands taller and crosses his arms over his chest. “What’s so funny?”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh at you, but Kozmo is my dog. He got away from me, and I was trying to grab him. I hollered, but neither of you heard me over your wood chopping.”
/>
  He grimaces. “That’s your dog?” he asks with such distaste in his mouth, I furrow my brows in defense. “So you’re the new neighbor.”

  “Yeah, I just moved in.”

  “I know.” He brushes the snow off his jacket. “He’s been wandering in my yard for the past three days.”

  “Oh,” I say, shocked. “I hadn’t realized. He’s just exploring the new territory.”

  He grunts, grabbing his ax off the tree stump. “Think you can manage to keep your damn animal on your own property? I don’t care for dog shit in my yard, and I definitely don’t like picking it up.” His voice is deep and demanding, and if he wasn’t scolding me, I’d be tempted to say sexy.

  “And how do you suggest I do that without a privacy fence?” I cross my arms now, guarded and annoyed he’s being so rude. “I’ll come pick up after him if it’s that big of a deal.”

  He grunts again, which isn’t the answer I was hoping for.

  “It’s not like we aren’t in the mountains or anything, where wild animals shit everywhere,” I say under my breath.

  “I have some chains if you want to leash them up,” he offers but not in that nice neighborly kind of way.

  “That’s dangerous with all the surrounding trees in my yard,” I tell him. “But I’ll try harder at keeping an eye on them.” It’s the only thing I can offer at the moment until spring, and at that point, I can put a fence up. “C’mon, Kozmo. Let’s go home.” I grab his collar and drag him with me.

  “There’s animal traps on my property,” he calls out, and I look over my shoulder at him. “So it’d be in your best interest to keep them close to home from now on.” His voice is filled with a sugary sweetness I don’t trust.

  “Thanks for the heads-up.” I roll my eyes.

  “Anytime, neighbor.”

  “Asshole,” I mutter to myself, though I’m pretty sure he overheard me when I hear him chuckling behind me.

  Well, that’s one thing I hadn’t anticipated on when moving to the mountains—a sexy as fuck neighbor who coincidentally is an arrogant jerk.

  Great.

  2

  LUKE

  I carry another armful of logs toward my woodshed and start stacking them up. Winter has already come, especially being this high in the mountains. The air is crisp enough you can feel it as you inhale—that chill that seeps right to your very marrow. But this is the life I’ve chosen to lead, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  All year I prepare for the brutal winters, making sure I have gas for the generators, propane for the heat, and plenty of firewood as a fail-safe. After inheriting this property a decade ago, I built my cabin with the help of a team to design it just how I wanted it, and I’ve spent these years enjoying the peace and quiet. A solitary life. Even the one neighbor within earshot had been an older woman who kept to herself. And that suited me just fine.

  But looks like that’s changed with the new resident.

  I grit my teeth as I stack the last log and head over to the chopping block to collect more. Just thinking about Kylie and her damn dogs has my blood boiling. I can tell she’s not the type of person used to this kind of living. Or maybe I’m just so out of touch with people. Either way, I don’t like it. I’ve only actually seen her one time, and that was enough to know she had a mouth on her and was stubborn as fuck.

  Her dog, on the other hand, is another story. I saw him daily as he came barreling onto my property like he owned the damn place. I growl low at the thought of him invading my space.

  And just the thought of her infuriates me…and unwillingly turns me on.

  Once I finish stacking the wood, I head inside and down a glass of water. I’m sweating despite the chilly weather outside, but that’s not going to stop me from getting a caffeine kick. I grab a mug and pour myself a cup of scalding hot coffee—my heart racing at the thought of the black gold about to hit my system. The sound of a dog barking has me exhaling in irritation. Coffee in hand, I head outside.

  I lean against the deck railing and stare off at my neighbor’s place. Since I’m on higher ground than her, it gives me the perfect view. Since our last interaction, just two short days ago, her dog has been in my yard, using it like it’s his damn toilet. I had to chase the mangy mutt away from my trash cans, knowing he would have no doubt gotten into them and scattered garbage all across my property.

  I hadn’t been kidding when I warned her about the animal traps. Being surrounded by trees means we get all kinds of predators coming around at night. Raccoons, foxes, wolves, and even bears are no stranger to these parts. As much as her dog is pissing me the hell off by shitting on my property, I don’t want to see it get trapped and hurt because she didn’t heed my warning.

  I consider myself a patient man, but I moved out to the mountains to get away from people and anything that would stress me out. And her nosy dog is stressing me the fuck out.

  Bringing my mug up, I take a sip of the coffee. My whole body straightens when I see Kylie come out of her front door. She’s wearing skin tight pants with a crazy ass pattern scattered across them. And her shirt, this neon yellow with bright pink flowers all over it is enough to give me a headache. Hell, even her slippers have this bright white fur lining the edges.

  Where the hell does she think she’s at? She certainly doesn’t look like she just stepped out of a cabin in the middle of the woods.

  She starts hollering for the dog to come back inside, and I can’t help but chuckle as Kozmo starts running around in circles, clearly not giving a shit that his owner wants him inside. The smaller dog she has with her seems far better trained and behaved, as it sits by her feet.

  I can see her aggravation as her voice rises and she starts flailing her arms around. But it’s clear he’s the one who has the upper hand and calls the shots. I shake my head and grin. No way she’s going to be able to keep her dog off my property like she said, not when the damn thing doesn’t even listen to her.

  But what pisses me off even more, is the fact I want her. From the moment I saw her, or more accurately tackled her sweet little ass to the ground, I wanted her. But it was clear she and I wouldn’t be getting along anytime soon. From our short interaction, I could tell she was stubborn and probably used to getting her way.

  Does she even know how to tend to a cabin out in the middle of the woods? Does she know how to survive out here? I don’t know where she came from, but I see her as a city girl—high heels and pencil skirts.

  I finish off my coffee but don’t move as I watch her continue to yell at the dog. Finally, she gets fed up and stomps off the porch and toward him, where he’s currently rolling around in the snow. She bends over, reaching for his collar, and I can’t help but zero in on the perfect mounds of her ass—the material hugging them like a second skin.

  I feel my cock stiffen behind the zipper of my jeans and reach down to adjust myself. I should turn around and head back inside, not watch as she tries to wrangle the shaggy beast. But I don’t. I stand there and watch her, smiling as she finally manages to get the canine onto the porch and in the house.

  I’m standing there grinning from ear to ear, watching the scene unfold when she stops and faces me. Maybe she knew I’d been watching this whole time. I kind of hope she does. I can’t help but chuckle at the fact she’s got this intense glower covering her face. Hell, even from a distance I can see the daggers she’s shooting my way. And then, as if she couldn’t wait to piss me off even more, she lifts her hand up and flips me off.

  3

  KYLIE

  Of course he saw the whole damn thing. Just my luck.

  Mr. Ruthless Mountain Man stood and watched while I nearly fell face-first into a snowbank trying to get Kozmo back into the house. He’s been more stubborn than usual, which is probably due to moving and having new land to explore.

  The internet service out here is choppy and unreliable, which is why it takes me twenty minutes just to check my email. Though it was a waste of time considering it was all junk
mail.

  “Alright, back to cleaning I go,” I say to myself though Rosie looks up at me as if she can understand me. “You wanna help?” I muse, petting her on the head. Rosie nuzzles her nose closer and licks my face. “I’ll take that as a yes.” I laugh when Kozmo trots over and starts whining. “Stop being so jealous.”

  I clean and do laundry for the next few hours. When the sun starts to set, I make a fire and a mental note to double-check the wood stock in the morning. It’s been years since anyone in our family’s been up here, but I’m determined to get this place up and running for the winter months.

  Just as I settle into the loveseat with a mystery murder book, Kozmo starts whining to go outside.

  “Stay in the yard,” I warn him as he bolts out. Rosie follows behind, but I can’t see a damn thing past the patio.

  Keeping the door slightly ajar, I stay inside and go back to my book while I wait. I’m right in the middle of the story where the pieces start to come together yet the heroine is still in the dark about who the man she’s sleeping with really is. I’ve been obsessed with this author for years and usually binge read every new book that she releases but when Aunt Mae passed, I helped with the funeral and then started packing.