Chapter 4

Valery

T he next morning, I wake to the sound of the garage door opening and Kevin whistling an upbeat tune before landing a gentle rap against my fender.

“Good morning, Valery,” he calls. “I brought coffee.”

Grinning, I unlatch my side door. “Thank you, Mr. Barrington.”

“Kevin.” He smiles and hands me a travel mug with a lid on it. “If you’d like, you can freshen up at the house. There’s a bathroom at the top of the stairs with clean towels laid out for you. No one is there, but there is a lock on the door for your comfort. My daughter should be home in a few hours, but my boys will be gone until tomorrow afternoon.”

The idea of a full-sized shower sounds amazing. “I would like that very much. Thank you.”

He sets his mug down on a toolbox. “Don’t forget to pack what you need for the next few hours so you don’t have to climb in and out of the van while I’m working on it.”

Last night, after a bit of back and forth, Kevin agreed to let me sleep in my van inside his locked garage in lieu of sleeping in his guest bedroom. I mean, I like Kevin. He seems harmless and kind of reminds me of my dad with his upbeat attitude, but with no hotel in town his hospitality was my only option. While the town is supposedly safe, he stressed that wild animals roam through the yards between the houses at night, and I had to stay locked in my van parked in the garage all night.

He was oddly adamant.

“Got it.” I grab my toiletries, a small duffle bag stuffed with an outfit, and a pair of hiking boots. Jumping out of my van, I hand him the keys. “Are you sure you don’t need my help? I know nothing about engines, but I can hold wrenches and hand them to you as necessary.”

He chuckles and waves me off. “I’ve got it handled, dear. Go freshen up.”

“Okay.” I take my stuff and exit the garage, crossing a small yard to the old white farmhouse. It’s quaint, but antiquated with its weathered navy blue shutters and peeling paint. The rusty screen door screeches its protest as I enter an empty house. The scent of freshly brewed coffee greets me, the still air remarkably clean considering Kevin said he has four boys living at home. I remember my friends having brothers and they all smelled, so I assumed all teenage boys do. Not wanting to be too nosy—or more to the point, get caught snooping—I stroll up the stairs and take in the pictures lining the walls.

Kevin has a good-looking family. A photo with six boys ranging from elementary school to adult and one pre-teen girl. They all have brown hair, dark eyes, and good genes considering the older boys have strong jawlines and chiseled features. I’m not sure how old the photo is, but considering the gray drop cloth background and staged pose, I’m guessing it’s at least ten, maybe fifteen years old and was taken at one of those photography places in the mall.

I know because my parents had one from when I was in elementary school. It’s now encased in a storage box, along with everything else from our homes.

The memory sends a pang of heartbreak into my chest as I lock myself in the bathroom and strip off my clothes. I console myself by soaking under the hot spray coming out of the shower head. I miss my parents every minute of every day. This trip is partially an homage to their dream of traveling the country and visiting all the national parks, partially my own self-care remedy of photographing wildlife—the kind that got me through some of my darker days after they died.

After my shower, I use a small amount of the amazing honey and lavender lotion on the counter that matches the hair and body soaps I sniffed in the shower. I assume this is Kevin’s daughter's bathroom considering all the feminine products, and if we meet, I’m going to ask her where I can pick some up. They smell divine and I love the silky glide of the cream between my fingers.

I dress in a waffle knit Henley with the sleeves rolled up to my elbows, and a pair of cargo pants with a lightweight flannel wrapped around my waist. With my hiking boots laced up, I walk back to the garage to find Kevin on the phone.

“Yeah, set it aside for me. I’ll be there in three hours,” he says before hanging up.

“What’s going on?” I set my bag on the cushion of an old sofa and grab my coffee to find it lukewarm.

He sighs and slides his phone in his pocket. “I knew I didn’t have the exact belt you needed, but I was hoping the generic would work. Unfortunately, they don’t because you also have a damaged pulley, which is probably why the belt snapped. We’ll have to drive to Great Falls to pick up the right parts.”

I lean forward on the toolbox, something slick sliding over my skin. Jumping back I pull up a greasy forearm dripping with lubricant.

Crap.

Kevin cringes and hands me a red rag. “Sorry about that. You really shouldn’t lean on anything here. Go back to the house and clean up. I’ll lock up the garage and meet you in the kitchen. We’ll grab breakfast and freshen up our coffee before hitting the road.”

I wipe my forearm and hand back the rag. “Okay.”

Re-entering the house I left only ten minutes ago, I immediately sense there is something different. There’s a scent in the air, something warm and inviting, but not the honey and lavender fragrance I discovered in the bathroom.

No, this scent is something that fills me with visions of snuggling on a couch with someone I love as we watch cheesy Hallmark movies and explore each other, our limbs tangled and fingers roaming under a giant blanket spread over us. The phantom taste of cinnamon apple pie touches my tongue, and a wave of calm washes over me as the last three months of heartbreak lifts for the first time. I’m so enchanted by the odor and the feel good vibes running through me I don’t realize there’s somebody in the house until I hear the water turn off and the shower curtain rings scrape against the metal rod.

Before I think to announce myself, a door on the first floor flings open and a billow of steam wafts into the foyer. A mountain of a man emerges from the small bathroom as if from a dream, dark brown hair hanging over his forehead into his closed eyes.

The man is enormous. Tall and wide, he has a week’s worth of growth on his jaw, chest hair decorating his thick pecs, and muscles upon tattooed muscles that tell me his impressive build is from hard work and not the gym.

And he’s naked. Unbelievably and unabashedly naked with a long, thick member hanging between his legs.

He reaches for a doorknob as a muffled squeak escapes my lips, my mind searching for the right thing to say.

But it doesn’t matter that no words escape, because he twists his head, his nostrils flaring as he takes in a lungful of air. He takes four steps across the foyer and comes nose to nose with me, or more to the point, toe to toe considering the top of my head hits his chin.

Without speaking a word or opening his eyes, he pins me against the wall, my breast pressed flat against his chest. With his head tilted down and his hot breath on my neck, he inhales deeply with his nose in my hair. Something like a growl rumbles in his chest as he hisses, “Mate.”

Mate? Is he saying he wants to fuck me? Because I’m not sure I’m able to say no. I’m equal parts terrified and aroused to have this massive man pressed against me, and I don’t have the brain capacity to understand my reaction—or lack of reaction—to him. I grip his shoulders and pant for breath, my entire body on fire with his proximity—unsure if I should push him away or pull him closer. Not that I think I could move him if I wanted to. It’s almost as if he doesn’t know I’m here as he continues to sniff my hair and skin.

“Mate,” he says again.

“What?” My question comes out more like a breathy plea.

He responds by wrapping his hands around my waist, pulling me closer and holding me in place while he continues his exploration by dropping into a crouch in front of me.

Sniff. Sniff . Sniff.

He trails his face between my breasts and down to the apex of my thighs, dragging in an obnoxiously loud breath while his fingers flex and dig into my hips.

“Mate,” he growls again.

“Uh…” I half-moan, half-gasp while clutching the top of his shoulders. He pops back up to his full height, once again using his chest to push me flush against the wall.

“Mine,” he says with finality.

“Karter!” The screen door flings open and an appalled Kevin shouts from the doorway. “Release her now!”

“Uh…” I say again, tearing my gaze away from the man whose name is apparently Karter to see the horror on Kevin’s face.

Yeah, I guess this looks pretty bad and I should be way more terrified than I am.

Every muscle in Karter’s body tenses, but his roaming hands stop, and his eyelids pop open to reveal a set of brown orbs unlike any I have ever seen. They are inhumanly dark, the irises large and rimmed in a golden amber that makes them glow.

“I said to unhand her and go to bed,” Kevin barks and takes a step inside, letting the screen door slam shut behind him.

Blinking rapidly, the eyes that I thought I saw clearly morph into a set of bloodshot hazel irises with specks of green, brown, and gold. Unfocused, he stares at me while dropping his hands and taking a step back. His gaze travels down my body causing my gaze to do the same.

Involuntarily I gasp as my eyes land on his fully erect cock. Good god, the man is huge.

He says nothing, his fists clenching at his sides before he abruptly turns on his heels and takes the four steps to the door he’d been about to enter, walking through and slamming it shut behind him.

Something about his abrupt exit sucks all the oxygen out of the room and my flushed skin prickles with his absence. I gape after him, a weird sense of loss filling the rapidly dissipating arousal and fear swimming in my belly seconds ago.

Kevin’s at my side, his hands wrapped around my shoulders as he turns and guides me into the kitchen. “Are you okay? My son has a… sleepwalking disorder.”

“Sleepwalking?” I respond dazedly as he unhands me and directs me to sit.

“Oh, Valery. I’m so sorry. Please forgive him.” Kevin watches helplessly as I fold into an old wood chair next to a butcher block kitchen table, my bones and muscles nothing more than jelly at this point. His face is genuinely apologetic, but instead of whispering, he raises his voice. “If Karter remembers any of this when he wakes up, he’ll be horribly embarrassed by his conduct.”

“He said mate.” Murmuring more to myself than Kevin, I wrap my arms around my torso as a chill replaces the heated sensual fog.

“He said what?”

“Mate. He said mate several times,” and ended with mine , but I don’t tell Kevin that.

“Mate…” Kevin hisses and turns his back to me, popping the lids on our travel mugs and grabbing the pot. “You know, let’s freshen up our coffees and skip breakfast so we can get on the road. I’ll treat you to one of my favorite diners. How’s that sound?”

“Where are you going?” The rough timbre of Karter’s voice has me jumping out of my seat to face him. He’s dressed in a pair of well-worn jeans that hug his thick thighs perfectly, and although it is completely inappropriate, my eyes drop to his crotch where I know a long and thick cock hangs. Good god, where is he hiding that thing now? Considering my first glimpse of him was naked, I’d have bet pants would be impossible, but somehow he’s wearing them.

Although, I bet his ass looks amazing in the form-fitting denim.

Val! Stop ogling the man.

But… he did pin me against a wall and damn near dry hump me without asking my name, so I’m well within my rights to take in my fill and then some. Right?

To my dismay, he’s wearing a gray T-shirt and an unbuttoned flannel which cover the pounds of well-worked muscles pressed against me minutes ago. With his hands shoved in his pockets and his gaze locked on the ground between us, he looks smaller, but I know that’s an illusion.

How the hell did he get dressed so fast?

“Why are you awake?” Kevin accuses.

Karter brings his eyes up to me, ignoring his father. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t mention it.” The words fly out of my mouth before I can think twice about this. I should be terrified. Or outraged. Or both. Definitely both. Instead, I’m turned on and mildly amused by the blush hitting his cheeks.

We’re locked in a staring match, his features soft as his gaze flitters over me in pure curiosity. Once again I smell apple pie sweetness in the air infused by fresh brewed coffee. A wave of calm and sense of home makes my muscles relax as I lean my hip against the butcher block table.

“Where are you going?” Karter asks again.

“Valery’s van broke down outside of town,” Kevin explains while I’m transfixed by his son’s hazel eyes and full lips. I bet he’s a good kisser and even better at going down?—

Karter drags his eyes away from me and raises his brow in his father’s direction. “And we need to pick up parts in Great Falls?”

Kevin’s shoulder sag. “Yes.”

“I’ll take her,” he says with finality.

Shaking his head, I catch Kevin glancing at us nervously out of my peripheral vision. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, son.”

“It’s got to happen, Dad.” Karter presses his lips together and closes his eyes. “I have to pick up something from Kade in Broken Falls anyway, and you need to get that transmission done. We’ll be back with the parts this afternoon and I’ll help you fix the…”

“Serpentine belt and pulley.” Kevin sighs, turning back to the counter and popping tops on two travel mugs.

Karter nods and brings his eyes back to me. “I’ll lace up my boots and grab my wallet and keys, if that’s okay with you?”

I’m surprised he’s asking my permission considering his tone brokered no argument with his father.

“That’s fine.” I straighten and roll my shoulders back. “Unless you’re too tired to drive?”

He chuckles and runs his hand down his face. “I couldn’t sleep if I wanted to.”