Page 4 of The Mountain Man's Secret Bride
“I was thinking one million dollars for your trouble.” I hold my head high and look him directly in the eyes, refusing to let him see how his words hurt me—of course, he’s in it for the money.
“That’s a lot of money.” He con You got yourself a deal.” He holds out his right hand for me to shake, and when our hands touch, I feel electricity like I’ve never felt before shoot all the way from my fingers to my toes.
How in the world am I going to keep this marriage fake?
four
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Her plan is simpleenough--get married so she can access her inheritance, and I get a cool million dollars to open the wounded veteran's sanctuary I’ve dreamed of for my fellow brothers in arms.
Then why does the plan leave a sour taste in my mouth?
“So, I was thinking, we could go to the courthouse now and get married. Once everything is signed, we can go our own way, and I’ll contact you with the divorce paperwork and the million dollars in a couple of months.” She’s smiling as she repeats the plan, but the smile doesn’t reach her eyes.
Could she possibly want our marriage to be real?
No, that’s just wishful thinking on my part. She only needs a fake husband, not a real one who would worship her curves day and night like I would if our marriage were real.
“Have you looked at the sky recently? We aren’t going anywhere for a long time.”
Her eyes dart to the sky as dark rain clouds roll in. “But it’s just a little rain.” She blinks in confusion, and I have to fight the urge to kiss her.
“Any rain on these gravel mountain roads turns the dirt into a mudslide.” Her eyes widen as my words sink in. “We’ll be stranded here until the rain stops and the roads dry out.” I pat Charlie’s head, needing the distraction of thinking about the three of us stranded for the next couple of days.
“Oh.” Her sexy mouth puckers, and my damn cock takes the bait, rising to the unintentional invitation of having those lips wrapped around it.
I shift uncomfortably on the porch swing, silently praying this isn’t going to be my normal response to my sexy fake fiancée,especially since we agreed the marriage will be in name only and no sex.
“We should probably head inside before it gets bad.” I scoot Charlie off my lap and onto the porch. He gives me a snort of disgust as he trots off to wait for me at the front door.
“I’ll just grab my suitcase from the back seat.” She stands. “I’ll be right back.” The rain begins to fall harder now, soaking the ground and everything else.
“The hell you will.” She blinks at me in surprise. “I mean, you stay here where it’s dry, and I’ll go grab your suitcase.” I don’t give her a chance to argue as I rush down the steps to her car and grab her bag from the back seat.
I rush back up the steps with her suitcase in my hand, trying to shield it from the worst of the weather, but like all heavy rainstorms, I get soaked to the skin in no time; luckily, her bag doesn’t seem wet at all.
Jessa is holding the front door open for me, Charlie having already gone inside. The genuine smile on her face catches me off guard. This moment feels authentic, like she’s my wife waiting for me to come home.
I shake my head, clearing those dangerous thoughts, “Better get inside before the wind picks up.” I usher her in first, and the need to protect her from the elements or anything, for that matter, hits me hard. “You can have my bedroom,” I say. “It’s the only room with a bed.” I don’t add that even though there are four other bedrooms, I’ve only furnished one other bedroom,and that’s Molly’s. Her princess bed is too small for either one of us.
I try not to dwell on the decision not to furnish the other bedrooms. Aside from the fact that I never planned to get married or have kids, I don’t need a reminder that there are bedrooms all set up just waiting for the children I’ll never have. Even the master bedroom and bathroom were prepared for a wife.
“I can sleep on the couch. I really don’t mind.”
“You’re my guest, you’ll take the bed,” I growl, causing her eyes to widen as she nods her head in agreement. “Good girl.” The words slip out, and I wish I could take them back until I see how her eyes dilate. “Now that’s settled, I’ll take your suitcase into my room and take a quick shower before I make up something to eat for supper.” I turn to walk to my room.
“Wait, I’ll follow you. I want to get my tablet out of my bag.”
Once inside my room, I look around to make sure I’ve picked up my dirty clothes. I definitely don’t want Jessa to think I’m a slob, even though it’s going to be a fake marriage.
"Thanks," she says, taking her suitcase from my hand, and that damn shock of electricity runs through me again, just like it does whenever we touch.
I grunt in response before turning my back to her. Needing a distraction, I focus on unbuttoning my shirt rather than on the beauty so close to my bed. My eyes flick to the mirror above mydresser as a flash of pink, sheer, lacy material peeks out of her suitcase as she searches for her tablet.
A vision of her standing in front of my bed in only those pink lacy panties pops in my head. She gives me a shy smile before dropping to her knees--her hands reaching for the button on my pants. Slowly working the button through the hole before sliding my zipper down.”
“Got it!” She holds up her tablet in triumph, snapping me out of my daydream. Her eyes meet mine in the mirror. Her mouth drops open as her eyes slide down my body to my naked chest. Shit, I was so distracted by her panties I forgot I was unbuttoning my shirt. “I’ll be out in the living room.” She lowers her tablet and rushes out of the room.
