Page 18 of S'more Mountain Man

"Definitely not. Usually it's just star charts and juice boxes. The occasional stomachache from too many s'mores."

"Disappointed?" His hands tightened slightly at my waist.

"Do I look disappointed?" I wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning in until our foreheads touched. "We're under the stars. Might as well make a wish."

"What would you wish for?" His voice was so low I felt it more than heard it, rumbling through his chest and into mine.

In answer, I kissed him again, slow and deliberate, showing him exactly what I wanted. His response was immediate and electric, hands sliding up my back, holding me to him like he was afraid I might disappear.

"Inside," he murmured against my mouth. "My tent's set up behind the counselor's cabin."

I pulled back slightly, searching his face. "You planned this?"

"No." He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, the gesture surprisingly tender. "But I wasn't planning to drive back tonight. Mandy offered the space."

"So thoughtful of her," I said dryly. "I bet she didn't have any ulterior motives at all."

Leif's low chuckle vibrated through me where our bodies pressed together. "Your friend's not exactly subtle."

"Subtlety has never been Mandy's strong suit. She once tried to set me up with the barista at our coffee shop by asking him, while I was standing right there, if he was single and if he thought science teachers were hot."

"Are they?"

"Are they what?"

"Hot." His hands slid under the hem of my tank top, calloused fingertips tracing patterns on my lower back. "Science teachers."

"This one is about to spontaneously combust, so I'd say yes."

That earned me another smile, small but real, and something fluttered in my chest that had nothing to do with physical attraction and everything to do with how rare and precious those smiles seemed.

He stood suddenly, lifting me with him as if I weighed nothing. I wrapped my legs around his waist instinctively, a squeak of surprise escaping me.

"Show-off," I accused, but I couldn't keep the grin off my face.

"Practical," he countered. "Faster this way."

"Worried I'll change my mind?"

His eyes found mine in the firelight, suddenly serious. "Will you?"

"Not a chance, Mountain Man." I kissed him again, because I could, because he was here and solid and real beneath my hands. "Lead the way."

We made it to his tent in a series of stumbling steps and stolen kisses, laughing quietly when we nearly tripped over a support line. The tent was simple but spacious—a two-person dome in dark green canvas with a sleeping bag already laid out on a foam pad.

"Very presumptuous," I teased as he unzipped the flap.

"I sleep outside most nights," he said, letting me slide down his body until my feet touched the ground. "Force of habit."

"Even in your own cabin?"

"Even then. Sometimes." He cupped my face in his hands, studying me in the dim light filtering through the tent fabric. "You're sure about this?"

"Leif," I said, placing my hands over his. "I've been sure since you caught me staring at you chopping wood this morning. Possibly since you found me in the mud looking like a drowned rat. Definitely since you fixed my tire and didn't make me feel like an idiot for getting lost."

"You're not an idiot."

"Tell that to my soggy sandals." I rose on tiptoe, pressing my mouth to his. "Now, are we going to keep talking, or...?"

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