What the hell was that? I asked him a simple question and he stalked off like a savage without so much as a response. He dismissed me like I was the one who’d intruded on his private moment, not the other way around.

Fueled by anger, I make my way down the trail toward the main house, following the light just as he told me. My legs ache, the strain from the hike making each step feel like it may be my last.

Leaning forward, I rest my hands on my knees, giving myself a moment to catch my breath. All I can think about is him—the sexy stranger who came out of nowhere and, although he’d watched me, hadn’t wanted to engage.

The lights from the expansive windows spanning the back of the lodge illuminate the clearing only a dozen yards in front of me. Pushing off my knees, I propel myself forward to the only place I want to be—my room.

I take a few steps and the memory of touching him stops me. Oh God. I touched him too. Why did I do that? Maybe I misread the look in his eyes before I slid my hand up the front of his chest. The hard muscles underneath my palm felt like steel. He brushed past me and disappeared like I’d offended him in some way.

As I break through the brush and reach the clearing, I see Indigo standing on the wraparound wooden deck, staring off into space.

When she spots me, she waves frantically. “Oh my God, Ms. Atwood! We were looking for you.”

I climb the steps slowly and hold onto the railing to keep my balance. “I didn’t mean to be gone so long.”

“I almost sent out the search party when you weren’t in your room and didn’t show up at orientation.”

“Sorry.” I’m not being sincere. The last thing I wanted to do tonight was go to an orientation. I came here to be alone and get away from it all. Not be surrounded by strangers and follow a schedule.

“It’s okay. I made you an appointment with Vi tomorrow.” She smiles brightly, coming to my side when I finally make it to the main level. “She’s going to give you a private tour of the property. It’s very important to us that our guests have the best experience possible.”

“Uh, thanks.” My lack of enthusiasm is evident in my voice, but when her smile fades I try to recover. “I appreciate you looking after me, Indigo.”

She places her hand on my arm and gives it a light squeeze. “We’re only trying to help.”

“I know. It’s just been a long day.”

“Well,” she says filled with excitement, “I can make you a nice cup of cocoa to help you relax.”

“No.” My refusal comes a little too fast, but I’ve hit my limit of happy people for today. “I just need a bath and some sleep. I appreciate the offer though. It’s very kind of you.”

“All part of the job. If you change your mind, we’re going to be having a campfire starting around nine down there.” She motions to the right side of the clearing where a man is throwing logs into a pit and another is rearranging chairs in a circle. “Stop by maybe. It always helps me sleep.”

I have a feeling that nothing has kept her up a night in her life. There’s a lightness to Indigo that I wish I could feel again. Something I’m sure I had in my youth, before reality slapped me in the face. “Night, Indigo.” I smile softly.

“Night, Ms. Atwood. Sleep tight.”

Restful sleep has eluded me since news of Jeremy’s infidelity graced every gossip rag in town. Some of the more serious news outlets even picked up the story, making the affair inescapable. The incessant phone calls and text messages had kept me awake and unable to move on from the heartbreak with the constant reminder of how I’d been wronged.

After I make my way to my room and take a shower, I crawl under the covers and stare up at the ceiling. No matter how hard I try, sleep escapes me. The only thing I can think about is the mysterious man in the woods. The asshole who brushed me off. The one I wanted to touch again. What would his bare chest feel like against my palms?

“Fuck.” I hiss and slam my hands against the mattress.

I should be pissed at him for watching me, but remembering the look in his eyes when I caught him turns me on. No one has looked at me like that in ages. Living in LA does little for a woman’s ego. Girls barely out of high school are all the rage and everyone else is getting plastic surgery to look more youthful than they really are.

But he looked at me with pure lust, the same way Jeremy did before he strayed. The mystery man may have stalked off, but I know that he wanted me in that moment. Feeling the familiar, dull ache between my legs, I reach under the covers and touch myself. My eyes seal shut and images of the handsome, mysterious man flood my mind.

Something about his beauty… His eyes were hooded and rivaled the darkest night sky. Though his eyes were striking, his hair surprised me the most. The dirty blond streaks in his long wild hair matched the honey, tanned skin on his face. Even pulled back into a messy man bun, the look worked for him. His beard, something I’d never found attractive on a man, made his features more pronounced and impossibly more manly.

Picking up where I left off in the springs, I pretend instead of my own fingers, he is pounding into me. There’s hunger in his eyes as he moans my name. He glides his rugged hands across my skin, scorching my flesh in their wake. I dig my heels into his ass, feeling the clench of his muscles with each pump. I’m unable to control my voice, my moans growing louder with each stroke.

The orgasm that eluded me earlier hits me hard now. I cry out, working my fingers in and out while rubbing my palm against my clit. My muscles tense as the waves of pleasure crash over me repeatedly and my body twists to one side. When the final crest crashes down, my eyes fly open and I gasp for air.

“Huh,” I mutter on an exhale, still trying to catch my breath. Never in my life have I come so quickly. Not even after Jeremy spent so much time working me up that I couldn’t even see straight. Even then, it took me at least ten minutes to reach an orgasm that was anything close to earth shattering. But this one, thinking of him, rocked my fucking world.

I’m too exhausted to overanalyze the situation. Closing my eyes, I try to clear my mind and focus on the crickets chirping outside my window. But it’s no use. All I see is him.

The last thing I expected last night was a naked woman, alone, pleasuring herself at the springs. Orientation day at Avalon should’ve been my time to enjoy that slice of the property without worry.

My grandfather left me the land—over fifty acres of pristine, secluded mountaintop in Northern California. I never planned to make it my home. The site sat abandoned for years with the cabin falling into disrepair. But when my last tour of duty ended, the thought of going back to my old life and being part of civilian society sent me into a tailspin.

Instead, I put my blood, sweat, and tears into this place and made it my home.

This was supposed to be my escape.

My haven from the outside world.

Until she showed up.

I sit and stare into the fire while I sip my morning coffee. I can’t stop picturing the way her chestnut hair, dampened and wild, clung to her clothing, outlining her breasts. Her perfect breasts. Her perky breasts. Her plump breasts. Think about something else, dumbass. The last time I touched a pair was… Hell, it’s been years.

Before joining the Navy, I’d had dreams of a normal life. None of them involved living in the woods, high up on a mountain, alone. I always thought I’d have the American dream—get married, buy a house, and fill it with so many kids I’d eventually end up driving a shitty minivan.

But my time in the military fucked that up. I thought I was prepared for whatever I was going to experience during my enlistment. I’d seen and done things I didn’t want to relive or repeat, but I didn’t have any issues coping until my last tour of duty. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to our assignments. The violence seemed senseless.

By the time I was discharged as a decorated Navy SEAL, I couldn’t imagine going back to “normal” life. My PTSD was so severe that even the sound of a car backfiring set me off. The only cure was self-imposed isolation.

I can function around people if I need to. Every now and again I venture into town but never stay long. I know the way everyone else lives, but that’s not my world anymore. I’m better off alone. I prefer the peacefulness of my mountain.

Typically, my daily chores keep me occupied enough that my mind doesn’t wander. But today all I can think of is the brown-haired beauty with her soft moans and killer tits. I should’ve left as soon as I laid eyes on her, but something about the way the moon glistened off her damp skin kept me glued to the spot. When she cried out, I lost all ability to think straight.

When she saw me, there was nothing but fear in her eyes. I’d seen that look a million times when I served in the military. I couldn’t take the weight of it again. I couldn’t leave without easing her mind and trying to satisfy my own conscience. I would never hurt her. Violence wasn’t my style or in my nature. I’d sworn to serve and protect, not attack and scare.

But…I couldn’t deny wanting to lean forward and press my body against hers… Plunge my tongue deep into her mouth. When she touched me, I’d wanted to act upon the fantasy, but then reality set in.

How could she be so frightened one minute and touching me the next? She had looked like she wanted me to kiss her… Of course I did the only thing that felt right—I ran.

The contact had shocked me.

Completely rocked me to my core.

Like a fucking asshole I turned my back on her, leaving her to fend for herself. I shouldn’t have left her, but I didn’t ask for company. Fuck. If she didn’t make it back, Vi, Lou, and an entire search party would be canvassing the area, looking for her. I groan into my mug and regret leaving her to find her own way back. But it’s been over ten hours and no one has knocked on my door. The likelihood that she survived is pretty high, right?

Over the next ten minutes, I push her out of my thoughts and make a mental list of the chores I have to get done today. Living the way I do takes planning, time, and most of all, effort. I don’t run to the store for groceries. I grow my own food and raise my own livestock. Something as simple as heating my cabin has to be done by my hands. I spend hours a day chopping wood so when winter hits I’ll have enough to get me through the season.

I toss my coffee cup in the sink and stare out the window that faces Avalon. It’s a tiny speck in the distance, but it reminds me of her. When a fantasy of her moaning my name starts to take hold, I shake the thought from my head.

“Get a grip, Luke,” I say. She’s invaded my thoughts enough.

I head out into the crisp morning air, feed the chickens and other animals, and start on my daily task of splitting wood. The last thing I want is to be idle.

Sexual frustration courses through my veins, barely waning with every strike of the axe. I grip the handle tighter, swinging harder as she flashes through my mind. Images of her naked and the sounds of her moaning flood me like a seductive slide presentation only my sex-deprived mind could dream up.

Turning my face toward the sun, I wipe away the sweat that’s starting to trickle down my temples. I silently curse my body and the woman who has worked her way inside my head. Even with my flannel unbuttoned, the cool morning air feels like a furnace blowing across my skin. Everything about my body is alive and burning with desire. My cock has stiffened to the point that I can barely think straight. Something has to be done about it before I end up cutting off my leg because I’m so fucking distracted.

I throw down the axe and stalk toward the cabin. I kick off my jeans and leave them on the bearskin rug in front of the fire before collapsing with a huff into my favorite chair. I grip my cock roughly. I give it a squeeze to settle it down and quench the dull ache that’s plagued me since last night.

I lift my hips, chasing my hand with each stroke. The orgasm inside me builds with each pump of my fist. To get me there faster, I close my eyes and picture the moonlight sparkling off her naked flesh like a thousand diamonds set ablaze. I need this. I want this. I can almost feel her mouth wrap around the tip of my cock, languidly licking it as she moans in appreciation.

I grip hard. Pump faster. Straining to reach the orgasm that’s just out of my grasp. Every time I get near, it eludes me. A tease within me—just like her.

“Hello,” a voice says.

My heart stops, slamming against my chest like a truck hitting a brick wall at full speed.

My eyes fly open, and what do I see?

The object of my desire.