Page 5 of Mountain Man's Treasure

Explaining romance novel tropes to Oz should not have me feeling on edge like this. My nipples should not be pebbled under the starched shirt of my uniform, I should not have to press my thighs tightly together under the desk to keep myself from squirming against the tingle that's running through my body and making me buzz uncomfortably between my legs.

I should not be picturing Oz in Fabio's place on all those book covers in the box shoved under my bed.

Damn. Too late. An image of Oz in one of those loose-fitting shirts, open to the waist with that thick, manly beard brushing some heroine's heaving bosom with her bodice savagely unlaced as she clings to his muscled arms has me practically swooning…a heroine who looks suspiciously like me, mind you.

"I dunno, Red, kinda sounds like you're into them-- what is it about these books that you don't like?"

"They just tend have some particular elements in common that aren't how I want my first time to go."

Immediately, I regret the whole conversation.

Ozzie's boots land with a thud on the floor hard enough to shake the whole tower.

"Holy shit, Red! Are you still a virgin?!"

Shit.

"My V-card status is none of your business, Osprey Lancaster!"

This is not a conversation I want to be having with Oz. Especially not this new, grown-up Oz; the six foot, four, built-like-a-Mac-truck, Oz; with the muscles that make Dwayne Johnson look like he skipped too many days at the gym; and the thick beard that grows in in that Viking marauder shade of red that makes a liar out of me for saying the idea of getting ravaged by a lust-crazed mountain man doesn't turn me on...just a little.

"Look, Red, you're the one who just outed yourself. I was just asking what you don't like about those books."

"And stop calling me 'Red!' You know I hate it when you call me that"

What the fuck is that noise?

A high-pitched buzzing sound like a giant mosquito punctuates my lecture.

One quick glance out the window and it's easy to see the high-tech drone hovering above the tree line not far in the distance.

"Dammit, those aren't legal here."

Slipping on my jacket and squishing my hat down over the hair that I am particularly self-conscious about right now, I head for the door. Secretly, I'm all too excited for an excuse to get out of here.

"I can't believe I was starting to think you'd grown up to be a decent human being," I shout at the stunned-looking Oz right before I start down the steps.

Osprey

"Since when do you hate being called 'Red?'"

How did she get so far ahead of me so fast?

I call out to her as I slow my pace when I catch up to her.

"I didn't know you didn't like me calling you 'Red.'"

Thank God for that drone somebody's flying out there. Drones aren't allowed in the wilderness area and I've never been more grateful for someone breaking the rules.

Things were definitely getting out of control back in the tower.

If we'd kept having this conversation in those tight quarters, I was probably going to lose my mind and do something extraordinarily stupid. Like kiss her senseless.

"You know I hate my stupid hair, Oz."

"What? No! I didn't-- why would you hate your hair? It's fucking sexy."

Her steps slow for a minute but then she speeds up, taking on the narrow path that climbs up to the nearby camp with a determined pace that has me jogging to keep up with her.

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