Page 7 of Glacial Mountain Man
The silence stretched between us, charged with something I couldn't name. Outside, snow continued to fall, blanketing us in white isolation.
"We're going to be stuck here for a while," I said, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Maybe…maybe you could help me with that experience thing."
Tank's knuckles went white around his coffee mug. When he spoke, his voice was rough. "Candace."
"I'm not asking for forever. I'm not asking for love. But you're here, I'm here, and…” I swallowed hard. "I trust you."
He stared at me for a long moment, and I saw the exact second his control started to slip. "You don't know what you're asking."
"I think I do."
"Do you?" He leaned forward, and the air between us crackled. "Because once we cross that line, there's no going back."
"Maybe I don't want to go back."
4
TANK
"Itrust you."
The words echoed in the cabin, running through my mind so furiously it made me a little dizzy. This woman—this beautiful, amazing woman—wanted me to take her virginity.
That thought alone should have sent me running for the hills. There was nowhere to go, though. I could slam a wall down between us and make it clear nothing physical was going to happen. That's what I should do. It would be the best way to safeguard my heart.
But I didn't want to do that. I couldn't even bring myself to do it if I wanted to. In front of me was a woman I couldn't resist.
So I wouldn't resist her.
"Maybe tonight," I said. "When it's dark. It'll be more romantic."
"No," she said. "I want to be able to see everything. I'm ready. Do you have protection?"
That last question threw me off. That should have been one of my first thoughts. But my fear of getting a woman pregnantseemed to have taken a back seat to whatever else was going on with my body and my mind.
An image suddenly took over—Candace, pregnant with my baby. Then later, Candace and I sitting on the sofa in this very cabin, kids playing on the floor in front of us as we held hands and sipped our morning coffee. It wasn't a premonition. It was more of a fantasy.
And that was when I realized something was different with this woman. Something permanent. Something I'd avoided all my adult life.
"I don't know what I'm doing," she said, pushing away from the table and standing. "So you'll have to teach me."
And then she did something that had me choking on the sip of coffee I'd just taken—I hadn't even realized I was drinking until then. She grabbed the hem of that ugly T-shirt and lifted it up over her head, revealing she wore only a pair of skimpy pink bikini briefs.
She may as well have been naked.
My dick stirred at the sight. How could it not? I set my coffee cup down and gripped the table with my left hand as a way of forcing myself to stay in my seat.
"I have condoms," I said, "in the bedroom. We can go in there."
She shook her head. "Beds are boring. Go get a condom. Maybe two, in case we want to do it twice in a row.”
Normally, I hated being ordered around, but today, it was turning me on even more. Mostly because it was coming from this woman.
My legs were shaking as I stood and headed toward the bedroom. The condoms were in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. It had been so long that I had to check the expiration date. They were still good, but barely. I'd have to be better about restocking them now that Candace was in my life.
That thought froze me with a strip of packets in my hand. These condoms had a good month on them. Was I thinking I'd run out? I knew better than that. No, my thoughts were going long-term. Candace needed to be in my life long after the snow melted. Maybe even long enough for the next snow to come around.
I tore off three condom packets, my hands unsteady with anticipation, and headed back to the main part of the cabin. When I stepped into the room, my breath caught.
