Page 61 of Entangled with a Mountain Man

I'm so close. My cock aches as I teeter on the edge.

Her nails rake down my back, sending a surge of heat through me.

"Damn…Everett. That's what I needed," she moans, her voice hoarse with desire.

And that's all it takes. The dam breaks, and I come undone. I growl, my hips jerking as I find my release, the pleasure coursing through me.

"Fuck!" I pant, my chest heaving.

I hold her close, breathing in her scent, feeling her heartbeat thunder against my chest.

It's the most incredible feeling.

I kiss her temple, and she smiles, the expression lazy and content.

"Kenzie, if we don't stop now..."

A knock at the door freezes us both.

"Daddy?" Harper's voice calls out. "Are you in there?"

Reality crashes back in like a bucket of ice water. Kenzie's eyes widen, and she scrambles to disentangle herself from me. I step back, running a hand through my hair in a futile attempt to smooth it.

"Just a minute, peanut," I call out, wincing at how wrecked my voice sounds.

Kenzie straightens her clothes, her cheeks flaming. "I should go," she whispers.

I nod, not trusting myself to speak. She slips out the door, murmuring something to Harper as she passes. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart.

As she leaves, I sink back into my chair, my head in my hands.

"Fuck…" I whisper, folding forward.

What was I thinking?

I wasn't thinking. That's the problem. For one moment, I let my guard down. Let myself feel something other than guilt and duty and fear. And look where it got me.

I sit, trying to sort through the competing thoughts in my head. The mission. The girls. Ian skulking around town. And now this... whatever this is with Kenzie.

It's too much. I can't handle it all. I need to focus, to compartmentalize. To be the soldier, the father, the protector. I can't afford to be... whatever it is, Kenzie makes me want to be.

I stand, suddenly needing to be anywhere but here. The walls of my office feel like they're closing in on me, suffocating me.

"Daddy?"

I spin, and Harper's watching me. I forgot she was still here.

My little girl is growing up too fast. Her eyes are wide, brimming with questions I'm not ready to answer. I forgot how perceptive she is, how little escapes her notice.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, love." I notice a picture in her hand. "What's that?"

Harper's smile widens, and she shows me her picture. She doesn't have to explain what I'm looking at.

"That's you, Hazel, me, and?—"

"Kenzie…"

---