Page 12 of The Minx and the Mountain Man

I huff out a breath, sinking deeper into the couch. “It’s not exactly a happy story.”

Reid waits.

I glance at the fire, watching the flames curl and flicker. “I turned my old boss in for some shady business dealings. And by shady, I mean illegal. It was the right thing to do, but it didn’t exactly win me any friends. Everyone back home treated me like I was the villain.” I swallow hard. “I lost my job. My apartment. Pretty much everything.”

Reid is silent, but I feel him listening.

“So,” I continue, “when I saw an ad looking for a wife in a quiet little town where no one knew me? It felt like a sign. A fresh start.”

Something shifts in his expression. His hand loosens around the glass. He exhales, long and slow, then does something that completely takes me by surprise.

He reaches out and brushes a loose strand of hair from my face. It’s the lightest touch, rough fingers grazing my cheek, but it steals my breath.

My heart stutters. I blink up at him, thrown off by the warmth in his eyes, by the softness in his touch.

“Reid…”

“You’re not a traitor,” he says quietly, his voice rougher than before. “You did the right thing.”

Something warm blooms in my chest. I tilt my head slightly, pressing into his touch just a fraction. “Well, well,” I tease,trying to ignore the way my pulse is hammering. “Turns out the grumpy mountain man is secretly sweet.”

His lips move into an almost tortured expression. And then, without any warning, he kisses me. It’s not slow. It’s not tentative. It’s hot.

Reid’s mouth claims mine, fierce and demanding, his hand tangling in my hair, his other gripping my waist. A low, rough sound rumbles in his throat as I press against him, my fingers fisting in his flannel, pulling him closer, needing more.

Heat crashes over me, melting through my limbs, curling in my stomach. His fingers tighten on my hips, sending sparks dancing across my skin. The cabin disappears. The fire, the storm, everything except this.

Except him.

I whimper into the kiss, and Reid answers with a low, tortured groan like he’s fighting himself. Like he wants this, but just as quickly as it started, it ends.

Reid jerks back, breath ragged, eyes dark with something I can’t quite name.

I blink up at him, dazed, lips tingling. “Reid—”

But he’s already pushing to his feet, raking a hand through his hair, looking anywhere but at me.

“That was a mistake,” he mutters, voice rough.

The words slam into me, cold and sharp.

“A mistake?” I echo, trying to keep my voice steady.

His jaw clenches, shoulders rigid. “This isn’t what we signed up for.”

I stare at him, trying to make sense of the way he’s shutting down, closing himself off just when I thought we were finally getting somewhere.

For a second, something flickers in his eyes, possibly regret. But then it’s gone, buried beneath that impossible, impenetrable wall. He turns without another word, disappearing into hisbedroom, leaving me alone in the firelight. Leaving me with lips that still burn from his kiss and a heart that’s more restless than ever.

Chapter Eight

Reid

I wake up feeling like I swallowed barbed wire. Last night was a mistake. A mistake I can still taste.

I rub a hand over my face, trying to push away the memory of Sadie, soft and warm in the firelight, looking up at me like I was worth kissing. Looking at me like I was hers.

I sit up abruptly, my heartbeat hammering in my ears. This was supposed to be easy. Simple. A business arrangement. But now my body aches for something I have no business wanting, and worse, I know she also wants it.

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