Page 75 of Recurve Ridge

A big fucking mountain.

Also a very sexy one.

“What are you doing in here?” I gasped at thin air, unable to suck in a full breath when he stood so close. Nothing in this world came close to the feeling of curling up against his warmth, all comfort and sweetness and innocence. I’d broken my habit of sleeping with him to poke the literal bear, and look what happened. My eyes closed as I offered an undying pledge that I’d never deny my OCD needs ever again.

“I’m going to bed, Mari Merripen. Care to join me?” His breath brushed my cheeks, and the fire rekindled low in my belly.

Thank you, Everest.

My heartfelt gratitude resulted in a hooded gaze. His sexy-as-sin offer wavered between us, solid yet not.

Robe freed one arm to extend a hand. I stared at it, unable to lift my frozen one for too long a moment. Worried he’d withdraw his offer, my palm rose of its own accord. Long, roughened fingers curled around my softer ones.

I let him draw me the few paces to the hard mattress I now thought of as soft, crawling backward onto its surface and tucking my knees beneath me to stare up at him.

“This wasn’t what I had planned,” I whispered.

Unable to tear my gaze from his, I fidgeted with my lacy covering as he shucked his shirt into a puddle next to his jacket. His pants went next, and he advanced on me, closing the meager space between us. The wrist-thick erection that protruded from his groin drew my attention and held it.

Because who could take their eyes off a log like that?

I’m insane. I’ve been assaulted, andthisis what I think will heal me?

He could rip me in two. Or three. Or four.

Chest heaving, I scooted back a few inches, as if that would protect me from the beast I’d incited, and reclined on his bed.

The lace negligee seemed a wonderful temptation on my behalf and a terrible accident all at once.

Robe loomed over me, his forearms braced on either side of my head where I lay on the pillow. The space between us shrank, allowing a sliver of air to pass beneath him but in no way large enough to permit me a full breath to combat his overpowering presence. His knees fell to encase my hips. The warm, rock-hard mass of my Everest arced over me, though not a single square inch of our bodies touched.

My chest clenched, waiting for his rejection to cleave my heart. Would it sting or offer relief? A large part of me knew that as daunting as being loved by him seemed, it would break me if he pushed me away now.

We hadn’t come this far together before. Every time we flirted, he disappeared or shoved me away before we made it to this point. My heart tried to hope, but I quashed the tiny seed before it could bloom, knowing the negative that hovered between us should he hold to his impossible—hisuntouchable—standard.

Refusing to let him go this time, I lifted my head, lips parted. An offering in the silence that permeated the sliver of light against dark that flitted between us.

A steely glare flattened me back to the pillow.

I wanted to growl at him or tug at his hair until I got a different reaction from him. The oneIwanted. “Robe, I don’t know what you want.”

He surveyed me in the darkness. One corner of his lips moved, working upward as though he might smile. “Then that makes two of us, Mari Merripen.” He dipped his head. His lips were millimeters from mine as his breath kissed my lips. “Something involving diving in without thought.”

His words came out musingly, and I wondered if he’d spoken to himself or to me.

I didn’t have to wonder anymore when his mouth covered mine in a gentle pressure that sent tingles rioting through my body. Nerve endings fired up all over me, pleasure lancing straight through my center until every surface was stripped raw and aching.

Robe pressed his forehead to mine, heat emanating over me from the single point of contact. Breath sighed from lips feathering and light. What started as a soft, sweet kiss changed within seconds. A groan ripped from his chest as his tongue swept over my bottom lip before he delved deeper.

Exploring became devouring, and devouring twisted into something deeper, darker, a whisper that etched itself on my soul, bearing his name. I arched into him, linked my arms around the back of his neck, and pulled his mouth down to mine. Our tongues danced and swirled as he let me press my body to his. A soft sigh left my lips, matching the thunder that rumbled in his chest, unvoiced.

Robe held to his frustrating position above me, unyielding. I shoved the naggingwhat-ifsaside and lost myself to him, letting the world and all my doubts fade beneath his onslaught. His skin heated from my touch along the back of his neck. I dug my fingers into his scalp, massaging the delicate flesh there, tracing over the heavy lines of muscle that extended into his hairline.

Robe groaned into my mouth and broke the kiss with wild eyes. His fist slammed into the pillow next to me, jostling me with its violence.

I squeaked, loosing the sound of something terrified of its impending fate.

He is more dangerous than the man I escaped.

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