Page 16 of Protected By The Mountain Man

“As I fled from a pack of wild hogs,” she interjected.

“You would have jumped on my boat even if the pigs weren’t there.”

She laughed. “I would have jumped onanyone’sboat.”

“I guess we’re both lucky it was my boat. If the Harrison brothers had found you, they’d still be in the middle of the lake fighting over who would get you.”

Mia shook her head. “You think I’m a prize that someone can win? I’ve got my own autonomy. I get a choice in who gets me, too.”

My heart felt warm as I gazed at her. “I know you, do, Mia. I was just playing. But I’m serious that all the single men in this town would be jealous if they knew I was the one who spotted you naked on that shore.”

A loud gust of wind blew outside, and the tent shook on its poles. I felt selfish for having her out here in a tent instead ofin the relative safety of her car. But I knew if the weather took a turn for the worse, we’d skedaddle back up to the car.

She’d picked today of all days for her lake adventure, never checking the weather forecast. I hadn’t told her that there’d been a tornado watch issued. Tornadoes were an unfortunate part of life here in the Ozarks. You can’t control where they land orifthey land. But I’d prefer the false security of a roof and four walls over the flimsy tent we found ourselves in.

I should have pushed harder to take her to my place.

That was behind us now, though. And how could we have predicted that a tree would have blocked the exit road?

This was the situation, and we’d deal with it. And there were certain benefits to it.

At least I get to hold her in my arms tonight.

She was amazing. And not just because it had been eight months since I’d been with a woman.

Mia excited me in ways I’d never felt before.

Out of nowhere, she broke the silence and asked, “Do you have a girlfriend? I assume not, since you asked me on a date, but I want to make sure.”

“Nope. No girlfriend. Last girlfriend was eight months ago. We split up and I haven’t been on a date since.”

“Really? Why not?”

“No one caught me eye.” Was I going to say it? Yeah. “Until today.”

She peered up at me. “Did someone catch your eye today?”

I hooked an arm under her and pulled her closer. “Yeah. There was this naked woman standing on a beach. She was jumping up and down, trying to get my attention. It worked.”

Mia started laughing. “I must have made quite a sight.”

“It was definitely unexpected,” I rumbled before adding, “And what a beautiful sight you were.”

There was no reason not to tell this woman how I felt about her. The air between us was crackling with tension and I’d been hard for hours at this point. Now that we’d had our dinner, the only thing left to do was enjoy dessert.

And it was just my luck that we had all night to savor it. But was I asking too much of her? We’d only known each other for a few hours at this point.

I was trying to slow my roll and keep my horses in check. Isn’t that how the saying goes? It all translated to me keeping my cock in my pants… or in this case, in my shorts.

Mia deserved something better than tent sex. If I got a chance to make love to this woman, I wanted it to be in a proper bed.

We ended up talking for hours, our bodies pressed together, whispering out secrets as the storm raged on.

I told her things I’d never told anyone before in my life. Things like my crush on Betty Jo Allred in the fourth grade. And how one of the Harrison brothers, Winslow, had talked me into playing hard to get with her. Then the bastard had swooped in and held her hand before I ever got a chance.

And I told her about my time in the military, and how Army life hadn’t been for me. How I’d ached to come back to Red Oak Mountain, dreading every day I spent overseas. Since the end of my service days, I hadn’t left Arkansas once.

She told me things, too. Like how her piano teacher was too strict growing up, and how her mom had made her keep practicing because ‘winners win and quitters quit’. And how her mom hadn’tmeantto drive her hard. It had just happened. Piano. Ballet. Tap. Chorus. Theater. Ice skating. It boggled my mind that someone could make their kid do so much. It would be different if Mia had enjoyed any of it.

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