Page 78 of Single Mom's Mountain Men
The realization doesn't hit like thunder, but more like a gentle wave. It sparks to life like a tiny flame that was smoldering for a while, finally given the breath it needs to come alive. I approach the mountain with a tinge of regret, not wanting the ride to end.
But as I slow my bike to a stop, Patty finally heaves a breathless, "Wow."
Her arms loosen from around my waist and I let her dismount from the bike first before I follow. She stares out at the sunrise with a wistful expression on her face, the delight still radiating from her.
I stare, taken with her expression, her face glowing in the sun.
That's when I realize. In all the time she’s been with us, this is the first time I’ve seen her totally relaxed, without that subtle air of watchfulness about her. Usually, there’s a slight tension even when she jokes around with us, the sense that she’s not entirely settled. That has bothered me for the longest time. The only time she doesn’t seem like that is when she’s in the throes of sex.
And now, as she opens her arms to hug the sunrays, she feels light and breezy and free.
I stare at her face and the feeling solidifies inside me.
I love her.
"This is beautiful," she says, finally distracting me from my perusal. She spins around to beam at me. "Do you guys always come here?"
"Sometimes." My voice is thick with emotion as I walk to stand next to her. "Sometimes we ride down the bend towards Benson Creek. But the creek is all dried up around this time so there’s really nothing to see there."
She nods and faces the sunrise again. "I get it now, I think. I get why you guys always go out riding. It’s freeing."
"It is. And I’m glad you like it, beautiful." I catch a strand of her hair as she turns to face me, resisting the urge to kiss her there and then.
She blushes at the endearment, and her eyes drop. I catch her chin bringing her gaze back up to mine.
"You are beautiful, you know?" I insist. "Did that asshole convince you that you’re not?"
She slowly shakes her head. "It’s just that…I mean I know I’m not bad looking but beautiful is a very specific word that I wouldn’t use…"
"You have hair like sunshine," I start, stepping closer to her, leaning down so our noses can brush against each other. "And the most adorable freckles on your nose. Your eyes are like the sea and you also have quite possibly the most seductive lips in the universe. Why on earth would you think that you’re not gorgeous?"
Her eyes meet mine, her face flushing a little and then I can’t hold back anymore. I lean down and capture her lips. Her hands grip my shoulder, and I feel her sigh, her body relaxing into mine as I sip from her.
Desire furiously rushes through my body. I want to take her right here and now, underneath the sunrise. Her soft pale flesh would look beautiful with the golden hour, and her eyes would glow even brighter. I want to see it more than I want my next breath.
Charlie would want to see it too.
The thought gives me pause because since when did Charlie play a role in my lustful thoughts?
Maybe I’m getting too used to our threesome but I can’t deny that our deal worked out better than I imagined. I love watching Charlie pleasure Patty, almost as much as I love pleasuring her myself. And now doing it without him feels weird.
We really must be as fucked up as everyone thinks we are.
I smile and pull away and Patty blinks at me. I cup her cheek and she stares at me with a smile of her own tickling her lip.
"What?" I ask.
"You have a gorgeous smile."
And now it was my time to blush. I’ve been called gorgeous before by many women but none of them were Patty and none of them had quite this effect on me.
"Now who’s blowing smoke up my ass."
"I’m serious." She giggles. "Have you ever thought of being a model?"
"Not really. If you haven’t noticed, there aren’t a ton of modeling agencies here."
"Yeah, but there might be if you were to go to a major city. Like New York for instance."
