Page 8 of Her Silver Fox Mountain Men

There’s something beautiful about the way the morning light cuts through the room and dashes across his face. It brings out the golden flakes hidden in his eyes. I’m mesmerized, trying and failing to think straight while swimming in a pair of sweats and a tee shirt that James found in Janice’s room.

“I really don’t want to be any trouble,” I say.

“You’re no trouble at all, Elise. In fact,” he inches even closer, “you’ve piqued my curiosity in more than one way.”

I can’t breathe anymore.

“How so?”

Every word escaping from his lips comes with a subtle movement. Just enough to close the distance between us to the point where I swear I can hear his heartbeat echoing mine. His cologne fills my nostrils and makes my senses drunk with notes of orange and saffron. Light and fresh but also powerful, dominant, and all-consuming.

“I told you I’d seen you around,” he starts, his voice low, dripping with something dark and hungry, reflecting the shadow in his eyes. “What I didn’t tell you, however, is how often I’ve thought about approaching you.”

“Oh, I’m nothing special,” I nervously laugh.

His hand comes up and he cups my cheek. His touch is tender but firm. My skin catches fire.

“You most certainly are special, Elise, and I intend to figure you out, one layer at a time.”

“There’s nothing to figure out,” I mumble. Fear tests my resolve. It muddles my brain, and I feel like I’m stuck between something mind-blowing and the imminent impact of no turning back.

“I disagree.” Before I can protest, his mouth captures mine in a kiss.

Liquid heat rushes to pool between my legs as his lips press against mine, as his tongue slips through and sets my soul on fire. I welcome him, tasting coffee and a hint of berries frombreakfast. He deepens the kiss, and all I can do is surrender, as eager to explore him as he is to explore me.

I moan against his lips, high on the taste of him as his fingers move downward, tracing the curves of my back and my hips. Every touch makes me inhale sharply as I lean upward, my breasts pressed against his rippling pecs.

He’s driving me crazy in the best way, and I can’t control myself.

For too long I kept to the shadows, hiding in this wretched cabin and under that waitress uniform, praying that nobody would notice me. But James… he noticed me. His kiss tells me that much.

“I’ll stop anytime you want me to stop,” James whispers as his hand comes up under my shirt.

“Don’t you dare stop,” I command.

He’s dangerously close to finding my bare breast when approaching footsteps have us both jumping apart. All the blood rushes up to my face as I do my best to smooth my hair just enough so as not to look disheveled.

We turn to see two officers from Wildlife Services coming into the cabin.

“Mornin’,” the first one says. He’s the eldest of the two, stocky and grey-haired, a hint of experienced wisdom in his eyes. He doesn’t seem impressed by the damage the mountain lions have caused. I’m guessing he’s seen way worse over the years. “You must be Miss Morris.”

“Hi, yes,” I manage, still catching my breath from the passionate kiss James and I just shared.

James is remarkably composed, given what just happened. The fire still burns in his eyes, and his breath is still ragged, but he’s handling the unexpected interruption a lot better than I think I am.

“We’re officers Porter and Johnson,” the elder man says. “We got here as quickly as we could.”

“The next morning?” James questions with a skeptical raised eyebrow.

The younger one, Johnson, makes a feeble attempt at an apology. “We had an issue on the other side of the mountain, Mr. McTierney. Way worse than what you’re dealing with here. It was an all-hands-on-deck type of situation.”

“More mountain lions?” I blurt out.

“A grizzly got too close to Pebble Hill. We had to find the poor fella, tranquilize him, and move him to a safer location before anybody got hurt,” Porter says. “It’s the downside of summer in the Rockies. You gotta keep an eye out at all times.”

“Well, this is what we’re dealing with,” I say as I motion to the damage around me.

“It could’ve been worse,” Porter says. “We’ll survey the area and see if we can track the cats. How many did you say there were?”

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