Page 8 of Tormented Mountain Man

She arched toward me, rubbing against my growing erection in the process. A low growl escaped at that, and I immediately wanted to take it back. This was supposed to be just a kiss. Letting her know just how much she was revving me up would be a bad idea. It might signal to her that I wanted more.

When she pulled back a little, I worried she was putting an end to this. But she didn’t break the kiss. Instead, her hands moved between us, and much to my surprise, she began unbuttoning my dress shirt. I’d worn that with jeans. It was the closest to dressed up I got—well, aside from tomorrow, when I’d be wearing a shirt, tie, and dress pants I’d bought specifically for the wedding.

When she finally had my shirt unbuttoned, Joely ran her hands up my frontside, taking her time as she slid her fingers over the contours of my muscles. Her touch was doing things to me. I forced myself to focus on something else. Otherwise, I might come in my jeans.

But she wanted to explore. And damn it, if she wanted to touch me anywhere, I wasn’t going to stop her. When her hands went for my jeans, though, I had to say something.

I pulled away and looked down at her. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

I was a fool for stopping her. I’d probably kick myself for the rest of my life if she said she wasn’t sure and walked out of here.

But something about her told me this wasn’t an everyday thing for her. She had a sweetness about her that was rare. Joely was the woman you took home to meet your parents. The type you married. And I never, ever chose that type of woman for a one-night stand. I always wanted to make sure both parties were on board for it being casual.

“I’m sure.” She tilted her head and studied me the way she’d done downstairs. “You aren’t?”

I wasn’t even sure what she had in mind. I had to force myself to clarify. I was still in “don’t fuck this up” mode.

“I don’t have a condom,” I said.

That would make it clear what I had in mind. She’d either run away, horrified, or this would continue.

“I’m on birth control,” she said.

I breathed a sigh of relief—and not for the reasons I normally would at such an announcement. Getting her pregnant wasn’t a concern for me, and that surprised me. I knew I was safe. I hadn’t been with a woman in a couple of years, and I had a feeling she’d been with very few men. But pregnancy would have normally been my number one concern.

Suddenly, the idea of knocking up a woman wasn’t so scary. In fact, it was almost appealing. But only if that woman was the one standing in front of me. The one whose hands were still grasping the fastening of my jeans.

“There’s something you should know, though,” she said.

Uh-oh. This was where I found out she was married. Or that she had an STD. I would be shocked beyond belief if the latter was the case, but the former—a woman that beautiful having a man in her life? That wouldn’t be a surprise.

“I’m a virgin,” she said. “I’ve never gotten past first base.” She frowned. “Or is it second? Or third? I can never remember.”

There was a big difference between the bases, but I probably didn’t want to know how far she’d gone. The fact that she’d never gone all the way—that was the news flash here.

“You don’t have a boyfriend? Husband?”

“No one.” She shook her head. “If I had a husband, I would hope he would’ve come to this wedding with me. But it doesn’t bother you?”

“That you’re single? Not at all.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “You know what I mean.”

“No, it doesn’t bother me that you’re a virgin.”

A surge of something was running through me, and I was almost embarrassed about it. It was primal—probably straight out of caveman days—the thought that I might be able to have this woman all to myself. That I might be the only man she’d ever sleep with.

Was I thinking forever? Oh, crap. I was.

“So you don’t mind if I do this?” she asked, lowering her gaze to her hands.

“Mind? If you don’t do it soon, I may explode.”

5

JOELY

Ididn’t miss Hunter’s wince after he said he might explode. I wasn’t even looking directly at him, but I saw it out of the corner of my eye.

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