Page 251 of Mountain Men Heroes

But his eyes and his mouth had changed. Before his dark eyes were stony, they didn’t give away even a tiny flicker of emotion. His mouth had been a sharp slash. When I’d managed to tease a small smile out of him, I’d felt like I’d been given a gift.

Now, his eyes crinkled in the corners. His mouth tipped up a tiny bit as if he was just waiting for an excuse to smile. There was an ease about him here that had been missing when I met him in Lover’s Cove.

And as impossible as it seemed, that ease, that smile waiting to break the surface and share a joke, made him even more attractive than he’d been three months ago.

I couldn’t move. But that didn’t seem to matter. Mac scanned the room and as his gaze landed on Chief Marion, he stepped forward. Mid-step, his gaze found me. He paused for less than an instant before his long legs ate away the distance between us.

He reached us and didn’t bother acknowledging Chief Marion. His hands came out and slid over my arms, pulling me closer until only inches remained between us.

“Gabriella, baby, what are you doing here? Are you looking for me?”

I jolted at his touch, every nerve-ending coming to life as if I’d been waiting forever for this contact. I couldn’t find the words to describe the look on his face, but if I had to give it a label, I’d say it was wander. I braced my hands on his strong forearms and stared up into his too-handsome-to-be-real face.

I managed a nod but had trouble finding the words I’d painstakingly planned the entire time I spent on the bus.

“Are you okay? Is everything alright?” His big, warm hands—hands that were well acquainted with every inch of my body—moved up and down my arms as he spoke. I shivered and goose bumps rose along my skin.

I nodded again, and then realized I must look like an idiot. “I’m sorry for just showing up here like this. I know it’s not what you…um, signed up for.” I slid my eyes to the side, very conscious of Chief Marion standing a few feet away. Spitting out a string of lies to explain my presence would be hard enough without the overly suspicious police chief listening in.

Mac followed my gaze and grinned. “Sorry, Chief. I didn’t mean to ignore you. I was just taken by surprise.”

“So I see,” Chief Marion said drily. “I didn’t want to send Miss Cole to you in case you wouldn’t be pleased with her unexpected visit.” The chief’s eyes traveled to his possessive grip on my arms and she pursed her lips. “But I can see that’s not an issue.”

Mac laughed and maneuvered me even closer to his body. “No. Not an issue at all.” He shook his head and returned his attention to me. “More like a surprise. A very welcome surprise.”

Warmth shot through me at his words, and without conscious thought, my body melted into his. I mean like really melted. There wasn’t an inch of me not touching him. And I’m not sure how, but I could feel his steady breathing and heartbeat and it calmed mine to something resembling normal. I moved my hands up to rest on his chest and he pulled me tighter to him, linking his arms around my back.

“Apparently.” Chief Marion’s dry tone caught my attention and I couldn’t miss the smirk and the raised eyebrow she sent Mac’s way. “I’ll leave you two to get reacquainted. Somewhere not in the middle of my department,” she said pointedly. “Not everyone here can handle the heat coming off you two.”

A glance around showed me we were the center of attention. I could feel my cheeks heat, and something down deep inside me felt restless and snarly.

Mac just laughed it off. “Don’t worry. We’ll clear out.” He turned back to me. “Where are you staying?”

I shrugged and nodded at the suitcase I left next to the chair I’d been sitting in while I waited. “I hadn’t exactly gotten that far. Is there a hotel nearby?”

I sank my teeth into my lower lip and silently cursed my own stupidity. Why hadn’t I planned this part? I’d spent so much time thinking about what I was going to say to him and how I’d break the news of my pregnancy if I decided to tell him, and not one thought on the logistics entered my cloudy brain. Not like me. Not like me at all.

Mac released me only to slip my hand into his. He snatched the suitcase and led me toward the door. “No worries, gorgeous. You will stay with me.”

I stood stock-still, yanking at Mac’s hand when he kept moving. He turned to face me. “What’s wrong?”

My breath caught in my throat and a powerful heat pulsed through me at the memory of what happened last time I shared a room with this man. “I can’t stay with you, Mac. I don’t even know you.”

He grinned, a wolfish expression crossing his face, and damn it the man made my panties more than a little damp. He closed the distance between us. Towering over me, he gave me a smile that said he’d been thinking about the same things I had.

“Beautiful girl,” he whispered close to my ear. “I’d say we know each other pretty fucking well. Biblically, you might say. There’s not an inch on your body I didn’t memorize with my hands, cock, or tongue. Or have you forgotten everything we did?”

His voice dipped low and growly, inviting me in, teasing me, igniting those same flames that drew me to him in the first place.

My breath left me on a huff, and I didn’t want to smile, but I could feel my lips twitching. “You know what I mean! How do I know you’re not a mass murderer or a psycho or some kind of perv? I can’t go home with you.”

His grin only grew. “There are lots of things I can imagine doing with you, beautiful. Murdering you definitely isn’t one of them.” His head tipped to the side. “Perverted might be up for debate. But I promise you’ll like all the things I want to do to that curvy body.”

I blinked up at him, my eyes going wide and my lips falling open with surprise. He thought my being here was a booty call. That he’s my fuck boy and I’ve come looking for some action.

I didn’t know if I should laugh, cry or take him up on the offer.

My hormones screamed all three were viable options.

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