Page 9 of Fierce Mountain Man

“I guess I’d have to sleep in the nude too.” She leaned back a little from me and looked down at her body. “I have nothing to sleep in.”

“I’ll loan you a T-shirt,” I said. “Or anything else you want. My clothes will probably be big on you, but it would make a good nightgown.”

What was I doing? If she wanted to sleep naked, I should let her. That might make it more tempting for her to slip into my bed.

But I wanted her to be comfortable, first and foremost. And we’d take this slowly. I was cool with that. She’d be well worth the wait in the end.

“Seriously, I’ve already been enough trouble,” she said. “You could just drop me off, and I’d be out of your hair. You could go on with your life if that’s what you want.”

She looked at me then, as if to see how I felt about that. Was that what I wanted? Hell no. The thought of dropping her off at the lodge and never seeing her again filled me with dread. That would never work. If she wanted to stay, I had to make it clear that I wanted that too.

“I like having you around,” I said. “It gets kind of lonely up here in the mountains.”

I hadn’t met anyone in a long time that I wanted to have under the same roof with me. She might be the first in my life.

“Then I’ll take you up on it,” she said. “On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“I make breakfast in the morning.”

I chuckled. “If you can find anything in my kitchen that will make a meal, go for it. I usually just grab an egg sandwich on my way to the job site.”

“Work?” she asked. “You have to work in the morning. I’m so sorry.”

I shook my head. “I was just going to crash in front of the TV. This has been far more interesting.”

She stepped away from me, dropping her arms to her sides. I missed her touch already. But yeah, it had been a little awkward standing there, embracing, while we talked about something as innocent as her making me breakfast in the morning.

My thoughts were anything but innocent.

“I’ll show you the guest bedroom.” I paused. “And if you want me to run to the lodge and grab your stuff?—”

She shook her head. “No, but if you could give me a ride to my car in the morning, I’ll go pack up and check out.”

“I get up at five,” I said.

She smiled up at me. “Five it is, then. I guess that means I won’t be able to sneak into your room tonight and keep you up.”

Oh, fuck. She could sneak into my room anytime she wanted, but I didn’t say that. Instead, I just gave her a smile before I turned and led her to the guest bedroom.

Yeah, it would take everything I had not to sneak into her room. But I’d do it. I’d have restraint.

I couldn’t promise that would be the case every night, though. Not by a long shot.

5

EMMY

Iwas getting pretty good at moving around on this boot. As I stepped out of my car onto Tobias’s driveway and opened my trunk, I couldn’t help but smile to myself. This had been the day from hell, but picking up groceries to make dinner had been the bright spot.

The driveway was empty, which meant Tobias was still at work. That would give me a little while to get dinner started at least.

Breakfast had been a bust. He wasn’t joking when he said he had nothing in his kitchen. No salt, no pepper, no milk, no eggs… Nothing. He did have a six-pack of beer—packaging included, with two beers missing. But that was it.

I’d just finished unloading the rest of the groceries into the fridge when I heard the key in the lock. Tobias had given me an extra key, which felt pretty serious, considering we’d just met, but I was only his guest. There was nothing romantic about it, aside from that kiss that had blown my mind.

Definitely the best kiss of my life. Nothing that came before even compared.

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