Page 28 of Stranded with the Mountain Man

I dress quietly, not wanting to wake her just yet.She needs the rest after I kept her up half the night making up for lost time.Making love to her felt like coming home in a way nothing else has, not even returning to this mountain after years with the Saints.

In the kitchen, I start coffee, the familiar routine grounding me.How quickly I've gotten used to making it for two instead of just myself.Bear nudges my leg, looking up with hopeful eyes.

"I already fed you, boy," I remind him, though I slip him a bit of jerky anyway."Don't tell Deena I'm spoiling you."

"Too late," her voice says from the doorway."I saw that."

I turn to find her wrapped in my robe, hair wild around her shoulders, eyes still soft with sleep.The sight makes my heart stutter.

"Caught me," I admit, holding out a mug of coffee as a peace offering.

She accepts it, our fingers brushing in the exchange."How long have you been up?"

"Not long." I lean against the counter, watching as she takes her first sip."Had some thinking to do."

Wariness creeps into her expression."Thinking about what?"

"About what happens next." I gesture to the window, where the mountain valley stretches below."About what we both want."

"And what conclusions did you reach?" She sets her mug down, giving me her full attention.

"That I want you to stay." The words come easier than I expected."Not just for your sabbatical.Not just on weekends. I want you here, with me, building a life."

Her eyes widen. "Ross--"

"Let me finish." I take her hands in mine, needing her to understand."I'm not asking you to give up your career or your research.I'd never ask that. What I'm suggesting is... a compromise."

"What kind of compromise?"

"The position at Riversend is a start.But I've been thinking about the property." I lead her to the window, pointing down toward her great-aunt's land."The west side of the house is salvageable, according to Earl.What if we rebuilt it together?Made it your research station?A place where you could work without having to leave the mountain."

She looks up at me, surprise and something like wonder in her expression."You'd do that? Help me rebuild?"

"I'm pretty good with my hands," I remind her, a smile tugging at my lips."And I know some guys who owe me favors.Construction types."

"It would take months," she warns.

"I've got time." I tuck a curl behind her ear."Do you?"

She's quiet for a long moment, gaze returning to the valley below."What about your life here? Your woodworking, your solitude?"

"None of it means much without someone to share it with." I wrap my arms around her from behind, resting my chin on top of her head."I built this place thinking isolation was the answer.Turns out, I was asking the wrong question."

"Which was?"

"How to feel alive again." I press a kiss to her temple."The answer wasn't hiding on a mountain.It was finding my way back to you."

She turns in my arms, studying my face with those scientist's eyes that see too much."And the MC? That part of your life isn't completely behind you, is it?"

"It's complicated," I admit. "Tank and the brothers--they're family.But I'm not going back to that life.Not fully. I'm done with the violence, the constant looking over my shoulder.I want peace, Dee. With you."

"Peace sounds nice." She rises on tiptoes, pressing a soft kiss to my lips."But what happens when our two worlds collide?When your MC brothers need you again, or when my research takes me away for weeks at a time?"

"We figure it out. Together. One day at a time." I pull her closer, needing her to feel the certainty in my touch."I'm done letting fear of what might happen stop me from having what I want now."

"And what's that, Mountain Man?" The question is a whisper against my lips.

"You." I capture her mouth, pouring everything I can't say into the kiss."Always you."

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