Page 5 of Wild for the Mountain Man

But my whole belly tingles with want when his dark eyes drift down my body and heat up with something dark and dangerous. He doesn’t touch me but he doesn’t have to. I feel like he’s marked me. Branded me. I jerk myself up tall, firming my lips.

That can’t happen ever again. I’m no man’s. And certainly not the older brother of my son’s dad! That’s just…wrong. Immoral.

He steps forward and I step back, keeping a fair amount of space between us in order to keep my sanity. I’ve apparently lost my mind. Or my girl parts have, anyway. My brain is flashing a million warning signs at me.

My raging hormones are firing up like they’re fixing to throw a kegger party and they know exactly who the guest of honor is going to be.

He clears his throat and drops the bag of donuts to the thick wooden table. “Ummm. I don’t know if you like coffee or not but I got a couple different kinds so feel free to take a look. I know how you girls like your fancy coffees.”

Glaring at him, I study the coffee drinks. “Don’t you think that’s just a little sexist of you?”

He shrugs a boulder of a shoulder and grins cheekily, a dimple flashing in the hollow of his diamond-chiseled cheek, peeking from behind his thin layer of scruff. “I am what I am. I don’t think I’m sexist but I guess I could be. Just not in a bad way.”

I cock my head at him. “What is a good sexist?”

“I’m not sure but I’m him so just stick around and you’ll find out.”

“What exactly do you want from us, Adam Redfern?”

“I want to get to know Sam here. I’m retiring from the Army and I want to get to know my family again.”

I smirk. “Your parents don’t believe that he’s Jesse’s son. That means he’s not your family.”

“My parents are sadly deluded.”

“There hasn’t been a paternity test done so you can’t be sure.”

“He’s the spitting image of my baby brother at that age. Have they seen him?”

“I don’t know. They’ve certainly never asked to see him.”

“Well, I don’t need a paternity test to realize that he’s our family.”

Cocking my head, I stare at him, stunned that for once I don’t have to keep trying to make someone believe something. He just knows it.

I know that he looks just like his father. So I don’t understand how anybody could look at him and not know with one single glance that he’s his father’s son. I was starting to think I was crazy.

On one level it’s reassuring. On another level….”What exactly does that mean to you? What do you want?”

“I just want to get to know him.” He looks around the place and smiles at my rag rugs on the scarred hardwood floors and the mismatched furniture. “Your place looks really…homey.”

“Thank you?” I lift a brow at him not sure if he’s serious or if he’s saying something else but so far he seems to be pretty legit.

He holds out the donut bag and nods towards Sam who’s staring at the bag like it’s the holy grail. I don’t usually allow donuts for breakfast so this is a major treat.

“Go ahead,” I sigh and Adam squats down, his dark jeans tightening on thick, muscular thighs. My mouth goes dry again as he holds out the bag to Sam and nods.

“Here, buddy. Take your pick.”

Sam’s bright blue eyes dart to mine and I nod, smiling slightly when he practically stuffs his whole head in the bag and then pulls out a chocolate-frosted donut with pink and blue sprinkles.

Adam stands up tall and holds the bag out to me. I glance inside and grab a maple-frosted cream stick and move to the table, eyeing the coffee cups. There’s an espresso with a dark chocolate spritz and a vanilla cappuccino and a caramel cappuccino along with a regular black coffee. I grab the caramel cappuccino and my maple donut and sit down at the table, nodding at him. He grabs the black coffee and a bear claw and sits down, his dark eyes never leaving mine.

“So tell me everything about Jesse and you and Sam. I want to know all of it.”

Sighing, I take a sip of the rich, buttery goodness and then take a bite of the maple cream donut. “Well, I was just turned eighteen and Jesse was about to turn eighteen as well. His parents didn’t like me so we…snuck out together for awhile. About a month. And then…”

“You guys got a little carried away one night?”

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