Mountain Man's Virgin Read online

  Mountain Man’s

  VIRGIN

  Chloe Maddox

  Table of Contents

  Mountain Man’s Virgin

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  WARNING: This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language. It may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for sale to adults ONLY.

  Please ensure this book is stored somewhere that cannot be accessed by underage readers.

   Copyright 2018 by Chloe Maddox - All rights reserved.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

  Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

  Mountain Man’s Virgin

  Chapter 1

  “Move that to the left a little bit. Not my left, Renee, yours. Stop, stop!” I yelled as I flailed my arms about to get their attention, but instead all I got were weird looks from the neighbors who seemed to think this was some kind of free movie.

  A second later, the statue toppled over, and loud cursing could be heard.

  I sighed and shook my head as I ran my hands through my shoulder length bob. I did try to warn them, that this would happen, but they wouldn’t listen- whether it was because they thought they knew better or because I was a woman, I had no idea.

  Sexism was still very much alive, and most men still had an issue with taking orders from women. Especially when it came to heavy lifting.

  Today was no exception.

  The only difference was that unless I could fix this within the next hour, I was going to have one very ticked off client who might just give us a bad review.

  Even if everything else went swimmingly. A lot of clients tended to nitpick, and it was almost like they were just waiting for one thing to go wrong so they could tear it all to shreds.

  Mrs. Montgomery was no different.

  Throwing a swanky birthday party for her eight-year-old daughter, Laura, might’ve seemed like her idea of fun, but her poor kid just sat in the corner staring at everything with wide confused orbs and the unhappiest smile I’d ever seen.

  Clearly, this was not Laura’s idea of fun.

  What kind of an eight-year-old wanted a birthday with caviar and assigned seating? I was sure she’d much rather have a bouncy castle, a magic show, and maybe even a face painter or two.

  Kids went crazy over that sort of thing.

  When Mrs. Montgomery first contacted me, I suggested these things off the top of my head, but when I met her in person, I could see how wrong I was to even think it. Mrs. Montgomery was the type who wore pearls in the morning and never crossed her legs in public.

  The very definition of prim and proper in her expensive shoes and heavy perfume, she was what my mother would call a blue blood down to her pinkie toe. She practically exuded it, and she expected her daughter to be the exact same.

  It was obvious she was grooming her, but if my guess was right, she would have a little rebel on her hands. She probably already did because I saw the way Laura’s eyes lit up when I mentioned my ideas, and how they sparkled in delight.

  Then I had the unhappy task of watching as her mother shot down my ideas one by one, and the light went out of Laura’s eyes. I hated having to be the bearer of bad news, but I was just doing my job.

  I was definitely not in the position nor was it my place to intervene at a family affair like this. Eventually, her mother would learn to handle her, and in the meantime, she was still a paying client.

  If I had to throw a fancy part for an eight-year-old, so be it.

  I couldn’t claim that I’d done something like this before, not when the guest of honor was so young, but it was a challenge I welcomed, and I did my best to make Laura smile nonetheless.

  After a few minutes of deliberation, I finally walked over to the men who were in charge of the statue. Renee, their boss, sheepishly ran his hands through his hair and took off his cap.

  “I’m so sorry, Ms. Carter. That was not supposed to happen,” Renee said, apologetically as his dark eyes pinned every single one of his men with a dirty look that promised retribution at a later date.

  I drummed my fingers against the side of my hip. “These things happen. The question is, how do we fix this? We have less than two hours before people start arriving, and I’m not an expert, but that doesn’t look like a swan.”

  I tilted my head to the side to see if maybe the view was better, but no- a large section of its wing was jagged because of the break, and the wing looked disfigured. It really was a shame that something so beautiful was marred in this way.

  Renee scratched the back of his head. “No, it doesn’t. Maybe we should just take it away and tell the Missus that we didn’t finish it on time.”

  I immediately began to shake my head. “No, that won’t do. I already told her that it would be here in time, and I sent her pictures beforehand.”

  Renee made a noise of exasperation at the back of his throat as he stared at the swan in dismay.

  “I couldn’t agree more,” I conceded. “Nonetheless, the show must go on, and we must find a way to fix this.”

  “We could it melt into something smaller,” Renee suggested, hopefully as he gestured for his crew to get their toolbox.

  “Hmm. What if we shorten the wing? The one that’s broken I mean, so it can look like she has it tucked in or something,” I offered as I circled around the swan to see if it would work.

  Renee stayed quiet for a minute as he rubbed his hands against his jeans which were hanging dangerously low over his hips. Along with his flannel shirt and white wife beater on underneath, he looked every bit the stereotype of the handyman.

  I personally deterred stereotypes, but they persisted against all odds. I couldn’t do anything about it of course, and Rome wasn’t built in a day.

  Still, it felt like we made little to no progress in terms of acceptance.

  “Yes, that could work,” Renee said, finally as I gave a start of surprise. I thought he didn’t like the idea, but now I realized, he was just analyzing it. He nodded and barked out orders to the rest of his crew. “I will do my best, Ms.Carter.”

  “Please, Renee.” I clasped my hands together. “You and I both know that Mrs. Montgomery doesn’t seem like the type to forgive easily.”

  Renee grimaced as he visibly blanched. “No, she doesn’t.”

  I left him to ponder while I went around to check on how everything else was going. At twenty-four, a lot of people my age were doctors or lawyers. Some of them were teachers or artists, but I was the only one who decided to become an event planner.

  My parents were stunned when I announced my intentions. I took a couple of random courses in college during which my parents did everything they could to understand my fascination, and on several occasions redirect it in what they thought was a more stable career, but eventually they got on board.

  Thus, the inception of Nia Planning began.

  And here we were. Three years later. I interned every summer during college and learned everything I could, so that by the time I graduated, I knew as much as I could about the business, and the only thing left to do was dive right in.

  It was a high-risk venture, or so everyone kept telling me. Investing in my own business right off the bat with such little experience very rarely succeeded, but I was determined to prove them wrong. I had already figured out my game plan, and my summers working at different companies gave me the rapport I needed with a massive clientele list.

  The hard part was getting the bank to agree to take out a loan. Once that happened, I was ready for business. The first few months were as I expected- a struggle. Then everything just clicked. A steady stream of clients ensured that I had a foothold in that world, and soon I built a reputation for myself.

  I was proud of myself for what I’d accomplished. It was rare when a woman got to own and run her own company at twenty-four, and I was happy that the fruits of my labor were seeing the light of day. I was at a point in my career where I was able to not only call the shots, but I could afford to pick and choose which clients I wanted.

  My business had grown from a modest little boutique to a large store, and I brought in more people as soon as the business grew. I regularly screened college applicants because they were tech savvy, and they understood what sold better than a lot of people.

  As a result, I was able to stay ahead of the game.

  “You look stressed,” my best friend Heidi commented as she gave me a sympathetic look. She paused to give the person passing by instructions. Heidi had come in a year after Nia Planning opened, and with her natural charisma, she was able to quickly become an asset to my company.

  Usually, I thought it was a bad idea when best friends worked together because then the competitive streak tended to be high, and a lot of the times, they would have to backstab each other just to get ahead, and I didn’t want that.

  However, with Heidi it was different.

  Heidi wasn’t here to try anything fishy, she simply enjoyed her job, and as a result, we became fast friends. I co
uldn’t imagine my life without the tall feisty blonde with a smart mouth and fierce loyalty.

  “Renee and his crew broke one of the wings,” I informed as I felt the beginning of a headache form. I began to rub my temples in slow soothing gestures to ward it off because we still had a long night ahead of us.

  “Damn,” Heidi muttered under her breath. “So, what’s the plan?”

  “Well, I came up with something, and I hope to God it works,” I confessed as I shoved my hands in my pocket.

  “Cheer up. If it doesn’t work. I’m sure Mrs. Montgomery could display you instead,” Heidi teased as she bumped her shoulder against mine.

  “I don’t think stuffed event planner has the same appeal as a sculpture of an ice swan.”

  “Who said anything about stuffed? I meant bound and gagged,” Heidi whispered, mischievously.

  I barked out a surprisingly loud ‘Ha’ causing several passerby’s to pause in confusion before I waved them on sheepishly.

  “Heidi, I know she’s high strung, and a bit high maintenance—” I began.

  Heidi snorted. “A bit high maintenance? Understatement of the century. She could give Kim Kardashian a run for her money.”

  I smiled in spite of myself. “Well, I mean, I wouldn’t go that far.”

  Heidi waggled her eyebrows. “You totally would. You kind of agree with me. Come on.”

  “I wouldn’t say that about a client,” I insisted.

  “Sure, but she isn’t around right now,” Heidi pointed out. “It would feel so good. Just try it out.”

  I rolled my eyes at Heidi. “Some of us have to be the adult around here.”

  “Adults? Nah, we don’t have to do that.” Heidi waved my comment away. “No responsible nor professional adults here. Just a bunch of twenty-something year olds who are very good at faking it.”

  This time, I began to laugh in earnest. “Truer words have never been spoken. Oh, Heidi, you are so bad.”

  “And you love me for it,” Heidi countered. “By the way, you are rocking that new bob. It’s giving me major Rachel Leigh Cook vibes.”

  “You mean She’s all that vibes?”

  Heidi snapped her fingers. “Exactly, now if only we had a Freddie Prinze Jr. to ogle you right now.”

  “Not this again. Come on, Di, we’ve talked about this.”

  “Yes, but you’re sure you aren’t a lesbian right?” Heidi lowered her voice. “Like I said, it’s totally okay that you are even if we do live together, I wouldn’t be weirded out or anything.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Okay, we’ve discussed this before. I’m not into women. Also, number 1) I know you wouldn’t be weirded out 2) Why do you keep circling back to that?”

  “Because it’s been forever since you’ve dated,” Heidi said. “The more time goes by, the more female friends you acquire.”

  “That proves nothing, Heidi. Really, conspiracy theories are beneath you,” I teased as I briefly squeezed her shoulder. “I know this is coming from a place of concern, but you really do need to relax. I’m fine.”

  Heidi exhaled. “Fine isn’t necessarily happy.”

  “I am though, really, and if I’m supposed to meet a guy, I will. There’s no rushing these things. I’m going to do a walk through and make sure everything is set.”

  The truth was, Heidi was right. It had been entirely too long since I had last dated, and I did miss it terribly. I craved a man’s touch when I’ve had a long day at work, those stolen kisses when we’re out of time, hot breath against my neck and someone to cuddle up to. Someone I could share stories and laugh with.

  Of course those were things I missed. I was a warm-blooded woman who had needs and desires, just like everyone else. Contrary to what Heidi might believe, I hadn’t actively planned for this to happen.

  It just sort of did.

  Because I was tired of being manipulated and lied to.

  A series of failed relationships, maybes and almosts had pretty much guaranteed that I wouldn’t be looking at any man for a long time, but now that I was finally ready to try again, I was much pickier.

  Could you blame me?

  After everything I’d been through, I deserved someone who would actually treat me right. No more drama or mind games.

  I didn’t think that what I wanted was that hard to find.

  I wasn’t being unreasonable, after all.

  Wanting a man who was loyal and honest didn’t seem that far fetched to me. In fact, considering what a lot of women demanded of men these days, I thought my standards were fairly low.

  Income and physical attributes were not of consequence to me.

  However, given how I’d hit a dry patch recently, you’d think I wanted Prince Harry to come galloping in on his steed.

  Why was I even thinking about this?

  I shook my head as I continued to inspect the party and make sure everything was coming along nicely. The chef was almost done with the food, and the caterers were already laying it out in the exact manner Mrs. Montgomery specified.

  The entire house was decorated in shades of silver and a soft white that made it seem like a winter wonderland. It was more like a mansion than a house with its huge lawn, massive patio, high vaulted ceilings, marble foyer, seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and the backyard.

  I had no idea how someone could be comfortable living in such a huge, soulless house, but it wasn’t for me to judge. They seemed to enjoy it.

  As per Mrs. Montgomery’s request, we left the lawn untouched and perfectly manicured to a T. The grass looked like it was imported as opposed to the natural look Mrs. Montgomery was going for, so I went inside to instruct them to switch on the sprinklers for a bit.

  Also, I would need to search for a watering can because some of the potted flowers looked like they were in desperate need of watering.

  I took a quick look at Heidi to make sure she didn’t need any help, and when I found her occupied with the musicians, I gave her a thumbs up and relaxed. All the people working this job tonight were people I’d done business with before.

  They were my preferred partners because they knew exactly what they were doing, and they were smart enough to realize that we needed to stick together to make it in this cutthroat business, so we had an arrangement. One that worked out well for both parties.

  I knew the party was in good hands.

  I was so focused on finding an empty spray can that I didn’t notice Laura hiding behind one of the potted plants and gazing morosely at her party. She had on a pair of designer jeans, and a top that made her look older than her age. With her dark brown hair and blue eyes, she looked like a porcelain china doll.

  I pretended not to see her until I was directly in front of her, when I bent down and patted her head. “Are you okay?”

  She looked up at me with solemn eyes. “Mummy doesn’t like it when I stare.”

  “It’s not fun to stare, Laura, why don’t you go play with your toys? I’m sure you’d enjoy that way more.”

  “I’m not allowed to play upstairs. Mummy says I need to see how everything is done, so I can learn stuff.”

  She bounced on the tips of her toes as she clasped her hands behind her back. Here was a kid who clearly had a lot of pent up energy and needed to release it, but she wasn’t allowed to because of familial expectations.

  It annoyed me to no end. Why weren’t this generation of parents allowing their kids to be kids? They were in such a hurry for them to grow up and take responsibility that I don’t think they fully realized what that entails.

  Who didn’t want to get scabs on their knees and dirt beneath their fingernails? It was a sign of a childhood well lived. Something told me that Mrs. Montgomery didn’t allow her daughter to do that, and I knew it wasn’t my place to intervene, but Laura looked so sad, and I couldn’t help myself.

  “Why don’t you help me spray some plants outside?” I held out my hand and smiled at her encouragingly.

  She stared at as if unsure what to do her until her warm hand clasped in mine, and I tugged on it. She showed me where to find empty watering cans, we filled them up with water, and we set out.

  “You know, my little sister loves garden,” I said, conversationally. “But she always did make a mess.”