Page 38 of Protected By the Mountain Man

He thrust deep, held me to him, and he came. Heat filled my belly, raced through me as I fell over the edge with him. I tucked my head into his shoulder and placed messy kisses over his pulse, found tiny scars with my tongue.

I’d never felt anything like it…never felt anything like him.

The first sensation that came back to me—beyond the persistent fullness of his cock inside me—was his scent. That mix of sweet hay, sweat, and Gabe was intoxicating. I breathed him in, my fingernails skating over his broad back…and I groaned when I felt him kiss my shoulder, then my neck, my cheek…

He pulled out of me slowly, met my eyes. He held my face in his hands and kissed me…and I was done for.

There was no coming back from this. Not after what he’d made me feel.

“Shit,” I whispered.

He huffed out an incredulous laugh, resting his forehead against mine. “Damn right.”

FIFTEEN

Kat

I didn’t want to stop kissing him—in fact, I wanted him to fuck me for hours—but there was work to do.

We disentangled ourselves and dressed in silence, the only sounds our rustling clothes and the whinny of horses in the barn outside the door. I snuck glances at him, trying to read his expression, but Gabe had averted his eyes and I couldn’t see his face.

I fumbled with getting my shirt over my head and tidying my messy hair, stealing nervous glimpses as he slid his belt through the loops of his jeans with mechanical precision. I didn’t know if he was trying to give me privacy to get dressed—which felt odd, given the circumstances—or if he regretted this already.

I was about to ask when voices—unexpected, unwelcome—filtered through the wooden slats of the storage room. My heart kicked against my ribs. Owen? Livy? Anyone's guess. Panic lanced through me, sharp and sobering. I met Gabe's eyes, and saw my own alarm mirrored there.

“Shit,” I muttered. We couldn't be found like this—not now, not ever. Like we were teenagers sneaking around rather than adults who knew better. I scrambled for my boots, shoving my feet into them as I stood. Gabe's movements were just as rushed, his fingers working the buttons of his flannel shirt with quiet efficiency.

We didn’t speak; we didn’t need to. The urgency was clear. We were a mess, but at least we looked like a regular kind of mess now—hay in our hair and the scent of sweat on our skin.

I edged toward the door, pressing an ear against the rough wood, trying to make out the voices. Livy’s pitch—a touch too high, laced with nerves. And another voice…a man's, deep and unfamiliar, twisting my stomach into knots.

What the hell?

“Stay close,” I said over my shoulder to Gabe, though I knew it was unnecessary. He was already there, a reassuring presence at my back.

With a shared look, I pushed the door open and darted out, Gabe matching my pace as we moved down the aisle. Shadow snorted and stamped his hooves, eyes rolling with unease. The other horses shuffled, their agitation fueling mine.

“Easy, easy,” I whispered to them as I passed, though it did little to calm any of us.

We burst through the barn doors and rounded the corner, and I felt rage inching up my throat when I recognized the man talking to my niece. Livy stood facing Everett Jones—that snake of a developer who I’d met at Ben’s funeral.

“Aunt Kat!” Livy gasped, relief and worry mingling in her eyes.

“Mr. Jones.” My tone was ice, even as my heart pounded fire in my chest. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Kat, always a pleasure.” Everett's voice slithered out as he shot me a plastered-on smile. He extended a hand toward me, but it wavered for a fraction of a second when his gaze flickered over my shoulder and locked onto Gabe looming behind me

I ignored the offered handshake and moved closer to Livy instead, taking her arm with a firm but gentle grip to guide her back, positioning myself between them. “What do you want?”

He cleared his throat, regaining some of his composure. “It's simple, really. I want you to reconsider my offer to buy this ranch. It’s worth a fortune, Kat. Think of the life you and Olivia could have.”

The fact he used Livy's name sparked a flare of anger inside me. “You leave her out of this.”

“Kat, I'm just saying?—”

Gabe, who'd been a silent giant up until now, stepped around Livy and stood by her other side. His voice was low and even, but it carried a threat that was all too clear. “The land isn't for sale.”

Everett's face shifted from that smarmy grin to something harder, colder. “You might want to be careful,” he says. “Or?—”

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