Claimed by the Mountain Man (7 page)

The spanking he’d given her that day was far more gentle than the previous. As she laid over his hard thighs, she’d felt a building ache in her core and a longing to have it soothed by his rough hand or filled by his cock. When he wasn’t smacking her, his hand rested very near to her ache, and she desired for his hand to find its way to between her legs. She mentally shook herself out of her bawdy daydream. Like feeling sorry for herself, imagining sex didn’t have any place out in the woods.

As Nettie lay on her bed of pine needles in the cave, she forced her thoughts away from Jack and planned out her next day. The sky had been clear, so it seemed that she would have the fortune of good weather. Her last thought before drifting into sleep was that she would fish come morning, and while she was there, she would examine her reflection in the sparkling water of the river.

Morning arrived. Stretching the kinks out of her worn-out body, Nettie rose and ate some berries Jack had found while she fished the previous day. Feeling halfway satiated, she took hold of her new fishing pole. After checking the box trap and seeing that it was still empty, she walked to the river. It was a chilly morning. Having nothing to keep her warm other than the fur blanket Trapper Jack had given her, which she left in the cave, she had no choice but to endure the cold. She shivered in her thin shirt and trousers, longing for the warmth of afternoon when it would be more pleasant to carry out her tasks that required her to be away from the fire.

She waded into the frigid, shallow edge of the river, careful to not go too far in, as the water’s current was strong and could easily pull her under if she didn’t pay mind to it. She found a stable rock to stand on, then cast her line into the river. Allowing the fly to settle for a few moments, she brought it up and with a smooth movement, cast the fly near to where it settled before, just as Trapper Jack had shown her. She went into a sort of trance. Her movements helped her to warm up, and her racing thoughts slowed to a crawl. She felt at peace, standing there surrounded by such beauty and the sounds of water and chirping birds. There was a purity in nature, and being part of it made her feel pure as well. It allowed her to forget the last two years of her life.

A thrill went through her when she felt the first tug on the line. Although the fish got away, the bite gave her a surge of confidence. Not too long after, she actually hooked one. It was only a medium-sized perch, but Nettie thought she’d never seen anything so magnificent. She realized that it was her first time successfully catching an animal, without stealing and without anyone’s assistance. She skipped back to her cave, delighted and wishing she could brag about her success to Trapper Jack, who would surely give her a word or two of praise.

Try as she might, she couldn’t get Trapper Jack out of her mind. She recalled his deft handling of the tools, from the fishing rod to the trap to the gun. She recalled how his corded forearms, tanned from the sun, flexed with every movement. Nearly every time she’d stolen a glance at his face, his features revealed a calm, stern expression. She knew he had little patience for mirth or playfulness. Whenever she showed the slightest attempt at humor or lightheartedness, he brought her back to the harsh reality she faced with only a few strict words. She wasn’t used to such behavior from a man. Her husband had joked around with her often and always managed to make her laugh. The men she serviced after her husband’s death found great joy in her playful demeanor.

Trapper Jack was different, and the difference unsettled her. She could see that he took her safety and survival seriously, and the feeling his seriousness generated was one of warmth toward him. She still thought he was a brute who could use a lesson on manners, but she reckoned that was much less important than the survival lessons he’d imparted. Nettie fell asleep that evening with a full belly and a desperate longing to see the brute again as soon as possible. She could hardly wait for him to visit her again.

* * *

Jack set off early the next morning for Nettie’s neck of the woods, carrying in his sack a live rabbit he had trapped. If the woman hadn’t managed to catch one yet, and he highly doubted she had, he planned to fill the trap for her. He had no intention of alerting her to his presence, however, since her words rang clear in his head.

I’ll be fine on my own now, Trapper Jack. I ain’t afraid. You don’t need to come again to teach me things.

The woman wanted to be left on her own to prove something to God-knows-who, and Jack was going to do his level best to respect her wishes. As he let the rabbit loose in the box and closed the door, he shook his head.
This is ridiculous
, he thought. It was taking too much of his time, seeing to this woman, when he should be spending the early morning hours seeing to his traps and earning his living. It made no sense for her to be living separately, and his impatience over the situation grew. He stalked a few paces away and sat on a tree stump to wait for Nettie to discover the contents of the trap.

She rose entirely too late. She should have been up a full hour before she was, since morning was the best time for fishing. He hadn’t told her that, so he didn’t blame her too much. He hadn’t told her many things she still needed to know, on account of her refusal to stay with him, and for that he did blame her.

His ire over the situation lessened as he watched Nettie discover that the trap door had been triggered. She fell to her knees and bent her ear to the box to listen. Then she let out the cutest squeal of delight and jumped to her feet, clapping her hands together once. After dancing around the box, she excitedly bent down and slid open the door.

Jack watched helplessly as she gave the rabbit enough space to escape with no thought as to how to catch and kill it. His ire returned in spades as the rabbit dashed away from her.
Foolish woman!
What happened next was even harder for him to watch in silence. What followed was the greatest tantrum in the history of tantrums. She let out a wail as the rabbit bolted away. She proceeded to kick the trap with all her might and let loose a slew of obscenities that made his army comrades sound like choir boys. After stomping around and cursing everybody from the angels in the sky to the rabbits on the ground, she stormed away in tears and disappeared into the cave.

Jack stood and walked in the direction of his cabin. He doubted that ever a woman existed that deserved a licking more than that one did just then, not for accidentally letting loose the rabbit, but for not dusting herself off and setting the trap again like a rational human being.

He returned the following day with another rabbit. Pleased upon seeing that she’d reset the trap after his departure, he again deposited a rabbit inside. Walking back to the same stump, he waited for Nettie to discover what he’d left. This time when she discovered that the trap was occupied, she showed no emotion. Instead, she retreated and reappeared with a length of rope. Jack held his breath as he watched her very slowly slide the door open a crack. When the rabbit’s head appeared, she pressed the door down on its neck, pinning it into place. Quickly, she wrapped the rope around his neck and tightened it. With her foot, she kicked off the trap and simultaneously yanked both sides of the rope, breaking its neck in one solid motion.

Jack felt proud of her. He watched and waited for her to show signs of triumph, but she seemed frozen into place. For some time, she held the rope and stared at the limp animal that dangled from it. Then she slowly placed it on the ground and sat next to it. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her head. The most heartbreaking sobs followed. Her shoulders shook harder the longer she cried. It took everything in Jack’s power not to abandon his hiding place and go hold her in his arms. He’d become used to killing animals, and he hadn’t considered the effect it might have on Nettie. He wondered if she cried like that after she’d stolen and killed his chickens.

Jack realized in that moment that he cared enough for the woman that he might even be in love with her. He wanted her, but he wasn’t sure how to get her. It had been a long time since he’d wooed somebody, and he wasn’t sure how to go about it, considering their situation. From what he knew, wooing and courting involved a lot of flattery and idle chatter, neither of which would serve her well out here. He would have to think about it. Surely he could come up with a good way to make her his.

Chapter Seven: Back at Jack’s

A week passed, and there was no sign of Trapper Jack. Nettie found herself missing him terribly, but she tried to convince herself she just needed to get used to living on her own. Nettie felt that she did quite well during his absence. She caught a rabbit and seven fish. She also located a large patch of huckleberry bushes at the base of the Elkhorn Mountains that grew scores of the bushes. Using the sack Trapper Jack had supplied her with, she gathered berries for nearly an entire day, then stored them in the back room of her cave. On another day she gathered wood for the fire and stored that in the back room too. When it rained on the eighth day, she had plenty of food and wood to keep her full and warm. However, she was out of both by day nine, so she was grateful for the break in the storm, which allowed her to forage again.

When the twelfth day came around, and there was still no sign of Jack, her thoughts turned in a new and alarming direction. Their discussions had always been about keeping her safe and ensuring her survival, but it occurred to her that this was a dangerous place for a man too. Fear seized her upon that realization. What if something happened to him? She didn’t think she’d be able to bear it. To her, he seemed invincible, and if he couldn’t survive, what hope did she have? She tried to ignore the sadness she felt at the thought of never seeing him again. The only other man she’d ever missed was her deceased husband. Surely she couldn’t have the same feelings for a brute like Trapper Jack. Could she? Nettie forced the thought from her mind. She packed her sack with food and water, slung it over her shoulder, and hiked the mile to Trapper Jack’s cabin.

It was midday, and there was no response when she called out for him. She scolded herself over her prickle of fear. There was no need to worry. He was likely out and about collecting animals and resetting his traps. She opened the door to his cabin and walked in. Nothing seemed amiss. The few dishes he owned were soaking in the basin. She set her sack down and got to work washing them. After that she opened the cellar and located some potatoes he’d grown from his small garden out back. They would do nicely for supper. As the water over the oven heated to a boil, she swept the floor. In an hour, the potatoes were cooked, and she’d also scrambled some eggs.

Although she knew logically that Jack was likely fine, she felt tremendous relief when she heard his heavy boots stomp outside the door. The door swung open. Jack’s foreboding image appeared and Cager leapt toward her.

“Hi, boy,” she exclaimed, bending and scratching his wriggling body from head to butt. His tail wagged furiously, and he turned in circles as she scratched him. She looked at his master, who was observing her with his usual calm, stern expression, which she had missed over the last two weeks.

“Looks like he’s happy to see you,” Jack said.

She straightened. “Are
you
happy to see me, Trapper Jack?”

He stepped inside and closed the door. “That I am, Nettie.”

“It’s been a long time since you visited me.” It was meant to just be a statement, but it came out sounding like an accusation.

He didn’t respond. He dropped his sack of animals and took off his hat. He hung the hat on the hook next to the door and walked to the sofa, where he sat and struggled out of his boots. It was muddy outside, and he tracked in the mud on the hardwood floor.

For some reason, this annoyed her, even though it wasn’t her house. “I just swept the floor, you know.”

He looked down at the floor, then up at her. “Not sure why you bothered, when it’s just going to get dirty again in this kind of weather.”

“That’s ridiculous reasoning,” she exclaimed. “That’s like saying it’s unnecessary to eat because you’re just going to get hungry again.”

He stood and walked to where she stood by the oven. “Not exactly. I doubt anyone died from not sweeping the floor.”

He felt so near, and her skin tingled in sudden desire. His eyes bored into hers, challenging her to argue further. He looked very intimidating, and she didn’t have a good response, so she huffed and turned her back to him. It was a silly argument. It was the kind of argument a man and his wife would have, which served to point out exactly what they weren’t. It hurt her feelings that he hadn’t visited her for nearly two weeks, though she was only now admitting it to herself. She hadn’t realized how much it meant to her that he cared about her. Now she had doubts that he did. She spooned eggs out of the frying pan onto the plate.

Her hand stilled when she felt his touch. He lightly grazed her shoulder with his fingertips and moved her hair to one side. Gently, he kissed the nape of her neck. It sent a shiver of delight down to her toes.

“I’ve missed you, naughty Nettie,” he said, his voice husky. “And I’m proud of you.”

Her heartbeat quickened, and she felt another delightful tremor. She set the spoon down noiselessly. “Proud of me?” she squeaked.

He wrapped his arms around her waist. When she relaxed and tilted her head back to rest on his chest, he kissed the shell of her ear. “Mm hmm. You’ve been catching fish, and you did well in the rain because you prepared for it.”

“Yes,” she said breathlessly as he reached up with one hand and pushed her shirt aside. He kissed along her bare shoulder. She felt hazy with desire until a sudden thought struck her, jolting her out of her reverie. “Wait. How did you know I did well? Were you spying on me?” She turned her head to try to see his face.

He continued to hold her against him with one strong arm. “That’s one way of looking at it,” he said between kisses on her shoulder. “I checked on you a few times.”