Page 8 of Lonesome Man
He put the pan down and turned, his perfect lips, surrounded by that sexy beard, curving when he saw me. His green gaze flicked down my body, taking in my bare legs and shorts, then the soft hooded sweatshirt I’d pulled on, then finally, my makeup-free face. He said in his brief that he liked bare skin or only a little makeup and so did I, which made things easier.
He walked across the kitchen and pulled me into his arms, wrapping me in a mountain-man bear hug. “Morning, Ruth,” he said, using the false name I’d given.
Could this get any more complicated? My real name was my “fake” name, and as far as Tucker knew, my fake name was my real name.
“Morning,” I said, running my hands up and down his bare back, while my face heated and I told myself over and over not to be weird or awkward now that I had to be myself, though this was more of an act than when we were role-playing. It was cold outside, a light dusting of snow on several of the mountain peaks in the distance, but his skin was hot.
“You sleep okay, darlin’?”
“Yeah, really good,” I said, sounding all breathless.
He lifted his head, his hot, rough-skinned hands going to either side of my face. “Yesterday… Christ, last night, it was fucking perfect.” He grinned. “You did so good, darlin’. Made my fucking year.”
His tone was different now, some of his intensity gone.
He searched my eyes, rubbing my back. “Things were pretty intense, huh?”
I nodded. “Yeah,” I said, my belly going all squirmy.
“You okay with everything?”
This was my Tucker, sweet and kind and gorgeous. Seeing this little show of uncertainty from him, making sure I was okay, washed my nerves away, and all I wanted to do was put him at ease. This was my chance to give him me, to give him his Libby, even if he never knew the truth. I smiled up at him. “Yes, absolutely.”
“I was so excited to see you, and you were just so fucking perfect, Ruth, I lost my head.” He gave me another devastatingly handsome grin. “I didn’t even tell you anything about the house or the property, but I really want you to enjoy yourself while you’re here. I don’t want you to think of this as work. I want you to think of this as a vacation…with a fuckload of orgasms. But if you’re not in the mood, or you’re sore or whatever, we’ll do something else, yeah? Though, I gotta say, you’re probably the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, so keeping my hands to myself won’t be easy.”
I blinked up at him, my face heating again. “No… I’m not…” I laughed awkwardly. “You don’t have to say?—”
“Not feeding you a line, darlin’. Don’t need to. The beauty of this arrangement is that we can both completely let go, no bullshit, even when we’re role-playing, because even then, what I say to you, I mean.” His hands slid down to my hips and he squeezed, making me suck in a breath. “This face,” he said, brushing his thumb along my jaw. “The hair, those lips, this…fuck, this body,” he said, giving me another squeeze. “It was like you were plucked out of my fantasies and delivered right to my mountain. No, I will never, ever force you to do anything you don’t want to, but know, I really fucking want you, and if you’re into it, I’ll indulge myself like a kid in a fucking candy store while I have you here.”
My face got even hotter, and he chuckled, brushing the backs of his fingers over my cheek. “Really like the way you blush all the time.”
“It’s a curse,” I rasped, still recovering from what he’d just said. He was making it clear he wanted me to be just as into him as he was me, as if he hadn’t gotten that point across from the moment I arrived. But he was right, I didn’t have to try to impress him or wonder if we were right for each other, that’s not what this was. In the spirit of that, I decided to be just as open with him, at least as far as my attraction to him went. “Oh, I’m into it. You are…” I chewed my lip. “Gorgeous, and if we’re talking about fantasies, you could have been plucked out of a few of mine as well.” I’d had more fantasies about this man than he’d ever know. “Sexy, huge mountain man all to myself? Yes, please.” His smile widened, and I couldn’t hold back my own, or stop my stupid hot cheeks that were probably glowing right now. “Honestly, last night was the best sex I’ve ever had.”
His smile slipped a little. “I’m not feeding you lines, Ruth, don’t want you to either.”
I held up my hands. “I’m not feeding you a line. I never come like that, not without a whole lot of foreplay, definitely not from sex alone.” I shrugged. “I don’t know what it is.” Yes, you do. It’s him. It’s all him. “But you make me feel at ease, safe, I guess, and being out here…” I shrugged again. “Like you said, there’s no need to bullshit.”
He stared down at me, his gaze searching mine, then he licked his lower lip, not trying to be seductive, but it just was. Everything about him was. I still didn’t think he believed me, though.
He thought I was a sex worker. “A lot of sex doesn’t necessarily mean good sex,” I said.
He nodded. “That’s true.”
“Not that I’ve had that much sex,” I said for reasons unknown. I mean, it didn’t matter how many partners someone had. I didn’t care, and obviously Tucker didn’t, but I wanted him to at least know one thing about me that was true.
His brows shot up. “No?”
That was probably the wrong thing to say, though, considering why I was here. Shit. “I mean, compared to some, I haven’t had that many, um…clients before you. I’m picky, I guess.”
He kind of stiffened. “Yeah? I assumed you’d been doing this a while…”
“Jess wouldn’t have sent me if she didn’t think I was the woman for the job.” I laughed, and it sounded a little strained even to me. “Do you have any complaints? If so, please report them to HR,” I said in a silly voice, then blushed again because I was a fucking idiot.
Luckily, his smile returned, full wattage. “Definitely no complaints.”
“Glad to hear it. Now, I assume that breakfast is for me? It smells freaking amazing, and as usual, I’m starved.”
He steered me toward the table. “Then sit, woman, and let me feed you.”
