Page 21 of Snowed In with Three Mountain Men

“Because if I’d kept my hands to myself out there, you would still be in that car,” I remind her. “So I think you could stand to show me a little gratitude?—”

“Tell me why I should be grateful to you when you’ve been nothing but an asshole to me?” she counters. “Your brothers have been so kind, and then you’re in the middle of it, acting like a total jerk. You want to explain that? Is it just me who gets that treatment from you? Or are you just an asshole through and through?”

Neither of us says a word for a moment. We’re just staring at each other—she’s breathing hard, her chest rising and falling, her eyes not moving from mine for an instant. And I want to tell her that she doesn’t get it, that if she understood everything that I’ve been through she would never in a million years be speaking to me like this. That she doesn’t know how important this place is to me. How close I came to the same fate our father faced, how this place was a sanctuary, how she’s invaded and thrown off the balance and made it all the kind of mess that I can’t figure out any longer.

But I don’t. I don’t, because right now there’s nothing I want to do more than kiss her.

I’m not sure which of us moves first—but a second later, her mouth is against mine, her hands hooked into the loops of my jeans, pulling me against her like she’s starving for me.

And I am hungry for her, hungrier than I have been in a long time. I haven’t been this close to a woman in years, and it’s sparked something in me that I can’t deny, no matter how angry I might be at her presence here. Shit, maybe the only reason I’m angry is because of the way she makes me feel—because I want, more than anything, to be better than this, to be stronger, to not fall for my desires so easily.

But I can’t help it. I push my tongue into her mouth, sinking our lips together as I wrap my arms around her and pull her in close. The feel of her body against mine—that soft, small body crushed against my chest—it’s so fucking hot to me. I had forgotten how addictive this feeling is, taking complete control of a woman, letting all my tension and self-doubt fall away as I lose myself to a kiss.

She lets out a slight moan against my mouth, and I sink my teeth softly into her bottom lip. I want to hear that noise again. More than that, I want to see what other noises I can coax from between her lips. I can already imagine just how good she’ll sound when I’m inside of her, when her body is moving against mine. I slide my hands to her waist, pushing them beneath her shirt, feeling the soft curve of her body under my fingertips.

Fuck, the things I could do to this girl…

But before I can take it any further, I hear voices—Callum and Chuck, chatting as they head back to the cabin. I spring away from her, putting as much distance between us as possible, just as the door opens and the two of them step back inside.

I stride back over to the chair, slipping down in front of the fire and picking up my book as they come in. I can still feel the pressure of her lips against mine, my cock responding to it in a way I can’t deny. If they hadn’t interrupted us, I know I would have taken it further, and that angers me as much as it excites me.

Nobody makes me lose control. Nobody. But her…

“Hey,” Chuck greets the two of us. “You alright?”

“Fine,” Charli shoots back, and I hear her clattering around with plates in the kitchen. I don’t dare look over my shoulder, certain that if I do, it’s going to be totally obvious that something happened between us.

“What are you doing, Charli?” Callum asks, his voice softening when he realizes she’s out of bed. I close my eyes for a moment as it hits me—of course. The two of them were together. And as much as Callum might be trying his best to deny it, I can tell hestill has feelings for her. What kind of asshole am I, making a move on her when I know my brother wants her…?

“Just cleaning up,” she replies. Her voice is laced with a little edge, higher than it needs to be. I can hear a slight tremble to it, and I know that if I spoke, I’d give the same game away. I lift my book up to my face, though the words do nothing but dance on the page before me.

Chuck heads over to the fire and dumps the wood that they collected next to the hearth. He looks over at me, and as soon as his gaze lands on me, he frowns.

“You okay?” he mutters, keeping his voice low as Callum and Charli talk in the kitchen. I take a deep breath, then lower my book to look at him, shrugging as though it’s a stupid question.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I reply. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

He eyes me for a long moment. Chuck has always been the sharpest out of the three of us, able to read what’s truly going on in someone’s head, and for a second I fear he’s going to guess why I’m sitting here with such a strange look on my face.

“No reason,” he replies, straightening up, and I lift the book back in front of my face and let out a sigh of relief. Chuck heads to the kitchen to start making dinner, and I do my level best not to think about what just happened.

Because if I do, I know I’m going to want more. I’m going to want her. This woman who has come crashing into our lives. I’ve been doing my best to disguise it, but I want her. And I don’t know where the fuck that leaves me—or my brothers.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Charli heading back to her room. Before I can stop myself, I glance up at her—and sureenough, she’s staring down at me like she’s doing her best to make sense of what just happened between us.

But before I can say a word, she dives into the bedroom and pulls the door shut behind her, leaving me sitting here in silence—and realizing just how much more complicated I’ve made things.

And just how badly I want to follow her into that bedroom, lock the door, and spend the rest of the day with my mouth on hers.

10

CHARLI

I pushthe lace into the boots, pinching my tongue between my teeth as I line it up with the holes. Callum pulled them out of storage for me, a pair that were too small for him, since all the shoes I have are those little kitten heels I wore for the wedding. While these boots are still way too big for me, I know I don’t have much of a choice of clothing here—I’ve been wearing Callum’s jeans and shirt for days now, hardly my sexiest outfit choice…

Not that it matters about looking sexy here, of course. That’s what I keep telling myself, anyway. Because there’s no way I’m going to start worrying about what I’mwearingwhile I’m staying in this place, right? I’m on the run from my damn ex, doing everything I can to keep my head down and avoid landing in any more trouble, praying that he’ll lose interest in me and move on with his life, and yet…

And yet, that kiss with Dax has been the only thing I can think about these last few days, and I don’t know when that’s going to change.

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