Page 5 of Hiding with the Mountain Man

She nodded. “It’s part of my research. My hero will be in full gear when my heroine meets him. I want to see what that’s all about. I’ll go outside while you change.”

Not even waiting for my response, she turned and walked out of the locker room, leaving me standing there. Just how much research did she plan to do here?

Something else bothered me. Her use of the word hero. I wanted to be her hero, and I was ridiculously jealous over a fictional character that existed only in her head.

4

MINA

Abig part of me expected to walk back into that locker room and find Wyatt still wearing his jeans and t-shirt. I even thought about sneaking in there a couple of times. Maybe I’d catch him naked.

But no, that didn’t make sense. He didn’t have to get naked to put on the gear. He could put it on over his clothes, right?

When he finally called out that I could come in, I saw that wasn’t the case. He wore khaki-colored trousers that matched the oversized jacket, which had reflective strips. He also had on a helmet and face shield.

The best part was his pose. His hands were on his hips and he’d turned his head sideways and puffed up his chest. Even through the oversized jacket, I could see he was doing that.

“What do you think?” Wyatt asked.

The pose was funny. Like a superhero.

I giggled. “Perfect. In fact, maybe you could pose for the cover. I could ask my publisher.”

His head snapped toward me. “No way. They’ve talked about doing those fireman calendars. That’s not me.”

Those words made me admire him even more. Was there anything hotter than a super gorgeous guy who didn’t want any attention for being super gorgeous?

“Well, nobody they choose for the cover is going to live up to this,” I said.

It was a thought I probably shouldn’t have said out loud, but it was what I’d been thinking since he’d walked into that classroom. No matter what we talked about, all that was on my mind was him. Naked. Both of us naked, actually, doing things I only knew from reading and writing romance novels.

But if the words hit him a certain way, I couldn’t tell. That face shield made it tough to even see his expressions.

“So what do you think?” he asked.

“Hot, but I’m not sure how my characters will have sex with him dressed like that.”

I could feel his eyes on me, but I couldn’t see what was going on beyond that. Was he squinting? Were they narrowed while he tried to figure me out or wide with surprise?

I held my breath in the silence that followed. He could go in several directions, but my money was on him keeping this professional and staying focused on the class. I hoped we were on the same wavelength, though.

“I’d say that depends on the story you’re telling,” he said. “Is he rescuing her from a burning building and they suddenly decide to stop and have sex?”

He took a step closer, but he crossed his arms over his chest at the same time, so I wasn’t sure how to read it. At least now that he was closer, I could see his expression through the mask a little better.

I tore my gaze away and looked around as I took a couple of steps forward too. Then I returned my gaze to his face.

“No, that wouldn’t work,” I said. “Maybe she’s taking a class from him and she asked him to dress up like this and things get steamy from there.”

I was feeling pretty bold right now. I couldn’t even believe the words that were coming out of my mouth. He brought that out in me.

“This is starting to feel less like fiction,” he said.

I shrugged. “I guess you just inspire me.”

I took another step. I could see his eyes much better now, although I’d prefer that he lose the face shield.

“There’s something to be said for experiencing something firsthand,” he said. “Have you ever acted out one of your sex scenes?”

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