Page 13 of Charming Mountain Man

“Admit it,” I tease, nudging Garrett’s boot with mine. “You missed my terrible fire-building skills.”

He smirks, that rare, devastating smile that’s started showing up more often these days. “Missed watching you nearly burn off your eyebrows? Every damn day.”

I giggle and toss a twig at him. “Rude.”

“Accurate.”

We fall into easy silence, watching the flames dance. Garrett’s hand finds mine, rough fingers curling around mine like they were made to be there. He’s still quiet, still gruff most of the time, but now he lets me in. He smiles more, touches me more, and every so often, he surprises me with something soft and sweet that knocks the breath out of my lungs.

“You still want to build that garden behind the shop?” I ask.

He nods slowly. “You’re serious about sticking around?”

I lean over and kiss the edge of his jaw. “Dead serious.”

Garrett shifts beside me, reaching for something tucked in his jacket. My breath catches when he pulls out a small velvet box and opens it to reveal a ring that glints in the firelight.

“Callie,” he says, his voice low and steady, but his eyes are soft. “I never thought I’d want more than the quiet life. But then you came along, and suddenly the quiet felt empty without your laughter. I don’t want a single damn day without you in it. Will you marry me?”

Tears spring to my eyes, my whole heart expanding in my chest. “Yes,” I whisper, then louder, laughing as tears spill down my cheeks. “Yes!”

He slips the ring onto my finger, then kisses me again—slow, deep, reverent.

We tumble down onto the blanket, urgency crackling between us like the fire beside us. Garrett’s mouth finds mine, and then my throat, his hand sliding under my shirt to palm my breast, his thumb teasing my nipple until I’m gasping into his kiss.

“Off,” I pant, tugging at his flannel. “I want skin.”

“You want everything,” he mutters, voice gravelly with lust, “and I’m gonna give it to you.”

He strips me slowly, possessively, eyes drinking in every inch of skin revealed. My thighs tremble when he bends to kiss the inside of my knee, slowly dragging his mouth higher. I reach for him, desperate, and he chuckles darkly.

“So needy, sunshine.”

“Only for you.”

When his tongue meets the heat of me, I cry out, hips jerking as he licks and sucks until I’m a breathless, writhing mess. He doesn’t stop until I’m begging, my thighs clamping around his head, tears pricking the corners of my eyes.

Then he’s above me, eyes burning, cock hard and thick as he sinks into me in one slow, brutal thrust. I arch up, moaning his name as he starts to move—hard, relentless, punishing.

“Say it again,” he grits, his hips snapping forward. “Tell me who you belong to.”

“You,” I gasp. “Always you.”

His hand wraps around my throat—not tight, just enough to ground me—and I shatter again, screaming his name, gripping his back as he drives me into the earth.

When he comes, it’s with a hoarse shout, his body shaking over mine, our sweat-slicked skin clinging in the cool night air.

We collapse together on the blanket, the fire dying down beside us, stars blinking overhead.

“You okay?” he whispers, brushing my hair off my damp forehead.

“I’m perfect.” I smile, stretching languidly beneath him. “And I’m marrying you.”

He kisses me slow and deep, still buried inside me. “Damn right you are.”

And under the stars, with the fire glowing low and Garrett’s body wrapped around mine, I know this is exactly where I’m meant to be.

Forever.

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