Page 29 of Her Silver Fox Mountain Men

Elise allows herself another smile, followed by a sip of wine. The way she licks her lips afterward makes my cock twitch. “Mike is more into seizing opportunities and building power. He’s ambitious, and, yeah, he has a way with words, in a sense. I let him down when I left, though, so we’re trying to work that out. He’s still getting used to my absence, and that causes him to lose focus once in a while. But I do believe he is going to be a leader of sorts someday.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It really depends on who gets behind him in the process. Michael is a good man, but a young man. Easily influenced and devoted— a little too much—to the wrong people.” She pauses and glances around. “I wonder what’s taking them so long with the main course.”

Not the smoothest subject change, but it leaves me with no choice but to respect her need for privacy. She’ll have to give me more eventually. Tonight, however, I aim to make her feel safe and comfortable, so I switch off the interrogator role and slide back into fun Oliver.

“I’m glad you agreed to have dinner with me,” I say.

“I’m glad you insisted.” Elise smiles and leans forward, shortening the distance between us. I notice how the overhead light casts soft shadows across her sweet, oval face. “I’ve been living here for a year, yet it’s only since I moved in with you guys that I’ve begun to actually explore the place.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“It’s a great thing. I’m actually a bit sad that I didn’t do this kind of stuff sooner. I mean, I’ve had a meal here and there before, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve been keeping my distance from people in general.”

“And look at you now.”

“Yeah, look at me now.”

12

Elise

The wine doesn’t fully kick in until after dinner.

I’m buzzing and tingling all over, my inhibitions disappearing with each mile. The food was fantastic, the atmosphere indulging, and the company, well… Oliver has stirred me in a different way, and it makes me feel guilty given what I’ve already started with James.

“Is everything alright?” he asks softly as he pulls up outside the cabin.

“Yes, just super relaxed and super full,” I reply, smiling as he gets out and opens the passenger door for me like a gentleman.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” he says. “You up for a night cap? The girls are fast asleep, we’ll have the living room all to ourselves.”

It’s definitely enticing.

Tall firs and pines stand guard around the property. I look up and see a starry sky, the moon keeping watch over everything. I can hear bugs and peeper frogs chittering in the underbrush nearby.

Somewhere far away, a wolf howls, calling for his pack perhaps. I feel like that wolf sometimes. Lost.

But tonight, Oliver has managed to make that feeling go away, and I don’t want to fall back into it.

“Yeah, let’s grab a nightcap,” I tell him.

We enter the cabin, and he locks the front door behind us, quickly switching his focus back on me. It feels good to be around him. I’ve been more relaxed since living here than at any other point in my life.

“What’s your poison?” Oliver asks, stopping in front of the minibar.

I make myself comfortable on the sofa, delighted to see embers still glowing in the fireplace, radiating a soft heat. “That smoky whiskey from the other night was really something.”

“Ah, yes, Irish finesse. I’m with you there, darlin’,” he says and pours each of us a double.

Tonight wasn’t supposed to be a date, but it sure felt like one. I was completely caught off guard but pleasantly surprised. My thoughts drift back to Shauna, to what she said and the way she said it. It echoes in the back of my head, and it’s got me curious.

Oliver hands me a glass and sits down next to me. His cologne invades my senses, making me dizzy as a familiar tingle travels through my limbs.

“I told you the uniform would work just fine at Candy’s,” he smiles, nodding at my attire.

“You were right.” I giggle and take a long sip. I had forgotten all about it and it now seems silly that I had worried at all.

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