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  Sometimes we get what we pray for but when Storme gets handsome Craig Knight, will all hell break lose or will she have heaven on earth?

  Feisty Storme Weathers is as volatile as the sudden pop-up storms in springtime. As unpredictable as the weather, her name fits her personality to a T. One minute she is happily crushing on red hot Craig Knight and the next she is leaving the peace and quiet of the Great Smoky Mountains for the bright lights of the city. Too bad she left her heart behind with him.

  Craig is a handsome hunk in a suit who didn’t leave the hills. He loves his mountain life and heritage. He can’t fathom living anywhere else.

  When Storme’s beloved Gram dies, she and her estranged sisters, Skye and Sunny, must return to the mountains to run the family lodge they inherited. The only hitch is she must do so with her sisters and Craig, executor of their grandmother’s will. She feels more than a tug in her girlie parts at the mere thought of seeing him again, but working with him and her temperamental sisters does not thrill her at all.

  Will Storme head for the hill and heat up Craig’s nights or will she run away? She’ll lose more than her inheritance unless she fights to claim what’s hers once and for all.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Mountain Hot

  Copyright © 2017 Kathy Kalmar

  ISBN: 978-1-4874-1123-7

  Cover art by Angela Waters

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by eXtasy Books Inc or

  Devine Destinies, an imprint of eXtasy Books Inc

  Look for us online at:

  www.eXtasybooks.com or www.devinedestinies.com

  Mountain Hot

  By

  Kathy Kalmar

  Dedication

  To my Mom and Dad who introduced me and mine to the Great Smoky Mountains and taught me how to be both mountain strong and mountain tough.

  Thanks to my Beta readers, Larry Kalmar, Carolyn Gilbreath and Keely Marple with Webmaster, Doug Marple. To the Greater Detroit Romance Writers of America, thanks.

  Chapter One: Storme

  Where am I? Storme Weathers couldn’t believe it. I’m alone—again. Abandoned by her sisters who left yesterday, she was on her own to get to the airport. Sweeping her curly black mop out of her eyes, she yawned. Shit, it’s true. How can it be? Did I really just bury my precious Gram yesterday? Is this some sort of a bad dream? Did I really go to Gram’s funeral and even helped to plan it? Is this nightmare real? Disbelief clung to her like smoke.

  Storme was completely worn out. Bright, broad daylight streamed through the burlap curtains nearly blinding her. Confusion held for a moment and she struggled to focus. Ah, home sweet home. Shoving her feet into moccasins and feeling like the last of the Mohicans—Wait, wrong tribe—the Cherokee are mine, last of the Cherokee-whatever... Making her way to the main house of the lodge where she grew up, she entered through the kitchen door. It creaked on its hinges and banged closed when she entered. Her face, still flushed from sleep, froze when she spied Craig Knight, lawyer and executor of her grandmother’s will, sitting there drinking coffee. Sleep-rumpled and groggy, she sank into the chair next to him and accepted the coffee he placed in her hand.

  “Good afternoon, Sunshine,” he all but sang.

  “Sunshine? That’s my sister. And her name is Sunny not Sunshine. Wait. Afternoon? Whoa!” Storme said, jerking awake as the caffeine reached her brain.

  “Yup. I’m here for lunch,” Craig said. “Grief’s exhausting. It sneaks up on you.” His hand covered hers. A bolt charged through her bloodstream. In a heartbeat, Millie rushed to her side. “Poor little lamb. Things always did hit you the hardest. Despite your tough ways, there beats a soft heart in that chest of yours. Your sisters should have made better plans. How are you going to get to the airport?”

  Tears filled Storme’s eyes. “Thanks, I think,” she murmured, “Call a cab?”

  “Some of my home cookin’ will fix what’s ailing you,” Millie said briskly, tucking a full plate in front of her.

  “I’ll leave her in your hands then,” Craig said as he rose, smiling his goodbye, “I’ll take you to the airport. You don’t need a cab.”

  “Just kill me now. Aren’t I a sight?”

  “Don’t worry,” Millie countered, “men like that just-out-of-bed look. They think it’s sexy. Trust me...”

  Storme brightened at Millie’s words. Sexy? I can handle looking sexy. Polishing off her scrambled eggs and grabbing the honey for her biscuit made her wonder. Just who is crushing on whom? Her girlish fantasies were beginning to cause a flutter in her girlie parts.

  Once breakfast was finished, she pushed her plate aside and took the scenic route along the stream back to the cabin. Storme couldn’t help but think Perfect for tubing!

  Foregoing a bra, she pulled on a t-shirt and grabbed cut-off jean shorts, poached a tube left behind on the cabin’s porch, and set off to launch. She screeched when her feet and butt hit the cold spring-fed water. Usually proud of her trim body, right now she wouldn’t mind some padding back there where water touched her tush. Steadying herself inside the old black inner tube, she set off just as she had hundreds of times in her youth. The speed of the rushing water caught her by surprise! The tube shot out from under her, and she yelled as the force of the water pushed her body downstream. The torrent tossed her like a rag doll as the stream, swollen from yesterday’s rain, picked up speed.

  * * * *

  When Craig left the lodge he was glad he had hiked over from his office instead of taking his truck. Couldn’t ask for a prettier day. You’d never know it rained like hell yesterday. Think I’ll take the scenic route to the office. Sunlight streamed through the trees and made the clear water of the nearby stream sparkle. A great day and it got even better seeing Storme all sleep-tossed and wild looking... A high-pitched scream broke through his reverie and then he saw a tube minus its passenger shoot past him. Tourists. Knowing someone had to be with it, he went on high alert. A moment later he was shocked into action as a familiar midnight-black head sped past him. His heart in his mouth, he raced further ahead to the bend in the stream, dove in quickly, and went after what could only be Storme Weathers. Gotta catch her before she gets caught in the rapids.

  Knowing his body could withstand the force of the stream was one thing but rapids were another story. Fear for her safety nearly choked him. His mother claimed he was as strong as an ox. Hell, he hoped she was right because the force of the stream was strong—way too strong. When Storme plowed into him, his body met the supernatural strength of the river. Damn! His body fought the stream as his foot slipped, and he grabbed a low-hanging branch to steady himself. Whoa, close call. Shaken by the strength of the impact, he fought off her legs that were striking out hither and yon, hitting him nearly as hard as the rushing water. “I got you. You’re alright. Relax against me. Let go.”

  “Let
go? Are you crazy?” Hanging on for dear life, she wrapped her legs even more tightly around him.

  “Stop flailing around like a flounder so I can get us outta here. I can’t walk.” There was no choice. No time to be a gentleman. Grabbing her ass and hoisting her up and off his legs, he stalked to the bank. When he moved to set her down, she continued to cling to him.

  “Don’t let me go.”

  While he tried to pry her off him, she began shaking violently. With her soft body practically plastered to his, he groaned. Gotta get her off me. I’m getting a freaking hard-on. Shit! Storme’s hot even when she looks like a drowned rat.

  * * * *

  At last her shudders stopped, and her head cleared. She still clung to him like her wet t-shirt was clinging to her, accentuating her reaction to the frigid water. The cold had raised her nipples and turned them into hard pebbles, but the only way to hide them was to let go of him. Loosening her grip from his neck, she folded her arms protectively over them, trying to shield herself from his view.

  “Leave you alone for five minutes—” he grumbled—“and you go off and drown yourself! What were you thinking? You know recent rains make the water fast and furious. Always has, always will.”

  “Opps my bad. I was merely reliving my youth. I didn’t think.”

  “No, you didn’t think, you just plunged in there and look what happened. You could have knocked yourself out on these boulders—you could have been swept down the river headed to sea...”

  “This is just a teeny, sliver of the river, technically,” she pointed out. A tic worked in his cheek. Not at all amused—despite her efforts to lighten the situation—he obviously struggled to control his emotions.

  “I don’t know if I should strangle you or...” His eyes glinting, he grabbed her and kissed her fiercely.

  The shaking started again. His hot kiss reminded her of how cold she was.

  Like a wet dog, he shook off the stupor that her kiss was causing. “You’re cold.”

  Gathered in his arms and carried back to the lodge, she didn’t protest. Even though his clothes were wet, he was hot, and she nestled in against him.

  Once Craig deposited her in front of the roaring fireplace, he yelled, “I need blankets.” Then he began pulling her wet clothes from her shivering body.

  “Stop!” she cried, struggling. “I can do it.”

  Growling, he threw the Hudson Bay blanket that Millie found to her. “Then do it and cover up while you’re at it.”

  Millie walked him to the office carrying towels and a blanket. “Give me your clothes, I’ll dry them with Storme’s.”

  Storme overheard her and thought about their clothes tumbling in the heat of the dryer. Imagine tumbling into bed with him and his hot body... Whoa, Nelly! “Drink this,” he said curtly, handing her a cup of hot coffee, “and stay out of trouble.”

  Meekly she drank it and warmth curled through her. When she realized she was naked under the blanket, her face flushed. Not sure if the hot flash was on account of the blanket, the coffee, or the knowledge that Craig had stripped her naked, she kept quiet.

  When Millie brought out his clothes, Craig donned them and left. Over his shoulder, he said, “I mean it. Be careful. Watch yourself.”

  The rest of the day was spent walking the trails near the cabin, not daring to step off the path not even to identify the wildflowers blooming nearby. Enough was enough. No more excitement was necessary, thank you very much. When she returned to the lodge, she took her ereader and read a romance novel entitled Beyond the Beach while she sat on the veranda.

  Reading until dinner and eating in the dining room for the first time in years, she noticed the service was slow and the staffing thinner than she remembered. After finishing her peach cobbler, she returned to the veranda to the hanging swing until bed beckoned.

  Storme was tired to the bone and set her alarm on her cell so she’d be ready when Craig came to take her to the airport. Sleep claimed her, and she had sweet dreams that soon turned steamy when Craig entered them.

  The next morning, Millie told her Craig, surprisingly, was running late. She dressed smartly, wearing skinny jeans with strappy shoes from which pink pedicured toes peeked and jammed all her other shoes and Tory’s Secret Lingerie in her suitcase, hoping it still qualified as a carry-on. Millie had to sit on it so she could zip it up. The case bulged at the soft sides but then that’s why she’d bought soft-sided luggage to begin with.

  Craig strode into the room. His eyes roamed the length of her and a slow grin spread across his face. “Ready?” He picked up her red suitcase and placed it in the bed of his pickup truck that was jet black, sat on huge wheels, and had flames detailing it.

  “Some truck,” she said, wolf whistling as she attempted to navigate the running board but failed. Her strappy heels didn’t give her purchase. “Give me a boost?”

  “I can do better than that,” he said, gathering her in his arms and lifting her inside.

  “My hero, thanks,” she said, giggling.

  “For helping you into my truck or for rescuing you yesterday, Lady Godiva?”

  “Both. But I was hoping not to talk about the past.”

  “You could always write me another note,” he said with a teasing tone in his mellow voice.

  Remembering the note in question, she heatedly retorted, “Sunny or Skye wrote that. Not me.” A tell-tale blush stained her cheeks. “That S could stand for them too, ya know.”

  “Only the author would know how it was signed,” he stated. “Good thing, you’re not the writer in the family.”

  “Why do you say that?” she asked.

  “The note was redundant. Never got one like that before or since.”

  “Oh? Redundant, how?”

  “Let me quote, Dear Craig, I love you so much. I know you love someone else but I love you anyway and I always will love you. Love, S. That’s redundant.”

  “People do dumb things when they are young,” she said.

  “I got teased by my pals, you know.”

  “Seriously?”

  “You left it folded like an accordion in my catcher’s mitt, and Luke read it out loud when he picked it up. We were about to play baseball.”

  “Ancient history. Doesn’t matter. You already had a crush on Sunny. Sunny was always disappearing into the woods. She implied she was with you each time.”

  His head jerked in her direction, and the surprise was clear on his face. “I beg to differ. It was you. I had a crush on you. It was always you.”

  “What about those kisses with Sunny behind the springhouse?”

  “Smokehouse,” he corrected. “I kissed everyone behind the smokehouse.”

  “Not me.”

  “I didn’t want you to know I liked you.”

  “So, you kissed everyone but me?” she asked incredulously.

  “Yep. That’s what twelve-year-old boys do.”

  “You liked me but kissed Sunny?”

  “Yep.”

  “Why?”

  “Practice.”

  “What!”

  “Those kisses were practice... for this,” he said, pulling off the road and kissing her thoroughly.

  Practically inhaling her, his lips caused eagles to soar, making her breathless with want and truth be told, joy. “Looks like practice made perfect,” she mused, smiling and tracing her kiss-warmed lips with her fingertips.

  While he concentrated on pulling back onto the road, she wondered if he would kiss her goodbye at the airport.

  They were running late due to their off-road kiss. In the nick of time, he drove as close to the entrance as he could, got her luggage out, and sent her on her way kissless but with promises in his eyes.

  “Next time,” he said. “Hey, were you jealous?”

  “Of what?”

  “Sunny and me in the woods?”

  “I thought you said you weren’t in the woods with Sunny after all?”

&nb
sp; “You are! You seriously are jealous of Sunny.”

  “Jealous of my identical twin? I think not.”

  A small mass of harried people pushed her through the entrance of the McGhee-Tyson airport. When she found the correct gate, she sat in a Tennessee rocker and remembered his kiss. A blush warmed her cheeks, and she wished she was naked and entwined with his well-toned body. Not able to help herself, she imagined the fine black hairs on his ripped chest, longing to trace the hairline from his muscled chest and six pack abs down to his pelvic bone and his swollen, rock-hard—

  “Flight 333 to Detroit now boarding,” the melodious voice of the airline agent announced. “Be sure to have the barcode showing at the door.”

  The flight to Detroit was too short to resume her musings but she was not sure if that was a good thing or not since she was getting seriously horny.

  Storme heaved the bulging suitcase up and, standing on tiptoe, barely managed to shove it inside. A rather large man with a bulbous red nose, a fringe of hair leaving his dome with a seriously awful comb-over, nearly pushed her luggage out. The man gave it a hard shove and closed the luggage compartment and then sat down and promptly went to sleep, waking only when the flight ended and while moving his luggage aside to get hers, she heard a loud pop. The next thing she knew her suitcase and Tory’s Secret Lingerie literally exploded. The zipper gave way and sexy panties and bras were scattered around the passengers. The big nosed man shoved her leopard print push-up bra off his eyes.

  Confused, he held it up. It dangled from his fat fingers. When he saw what it was, he put it back over his eyes like a sleep mask saying “I thought I was only dreaming but apparently not.”

  Mortified, Storme’s cheeks burned like fire.