Page 78 of Shared By the Mountain Men

“Why do you have an ax!” I demanded.

“I own lots of axes.”

“No, I mean—why do you have one in your tent!”

He glanced at the ax in his hand. “If I keep them outside, they’ll rust.”

I stared at him like he was insane. “Noah has a tool shed.”

“Forhistools, not mine,” he replied, likeIwas the crazy one. “What are you doing here?”

“Why didn’t you stick around last night?”

“Bed was crowded.”

“And the other beds in the house? You’re too good for them?”

“I don’t like relying on people.” His eyes moved down my body to the open flap of the robe, then settled on my mouth. “You’re shivering.”

“I’m fine.”

He made a frustrated noise, grabbed me by the arm, and pulled me all the way inside the tent. After zipping it back up, he folded me into the sleeping bag with him until we were cuddling.

“Better?” he asked.

I sighed happily. “Much better. Wow, this sleeping pad is comfortable. It’s like a mattress.”

“It’s expensive. And light. Great for hiking.”

“How much did it cost?”

Ash barked a laugh. “You don’t want to know.”

“It’s still not as good as cuddling in bed.”

“We cuddled last night, but you fell asleep pretty quick.”

“Yeah, well, you guys wore me out.”

“Does that mean you had a good time?”

I twisted to look up at him. “Do you not remember the noises I made when I came?”

His chest rumbled with silent laughter. “I didn’t know ifyouremembered them. You were kind of drunk. I was worried about that.”

“You two were drunk,” I pointed out.

“It’s not the same thing.”

“Don’t worry. I was fully in charge of my faculties. Why were you drinking when we got there?”

“Don’t need a reason to drink,” he replied in that deep voice.

“You don’t,” I admitted. “But was there one last night?”

Ash was silent for a little while. I wondered if he was going to ignore the question and enjoy cuddling with me. I wouldn’t have minded that.

But then he said, “You kissed me. At the top of the via ferrata.”

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