Page 6 of Her Mountain Man Outlaw
5
SOPHIA
I followMaddox toward a door at the end of a small corridor. He opens it to reveal a bedroom taken up almost entirely by a giant four-poster bed and a small closet in the corner. It smells like him—woodsy and masculine—and realization hits me as I eye the rumpled bedsheets.
“Is this your room?” I ask.
“Yeah. But you can have it tonight. I’ll take the couch.”
When Maddox told me he was showing me to my room, I assumed he meant a guest bedroom. I didn’t realize he was planning to give me his own bed.
“I can’t take your room,” I say. “You’ve already done enough for me. I’ll be perfectly fine on the couch.”
He looks at me pointedly. “I’m not debating this with you, Sophia.”
We stare at each other for a moment, almost like we’re arguing with our eyes alone. But eventually, I relent. It’s clear Maddox has made up his mind.
“Thank you,” I tell him. “I feel like I’ve said it a million times, but really, thank you for everything.”
Maddox frowns. He doesn’t seem to like being thanked or praised. Heck, he seems to react to praise the same way otherpeople would react to insults. Like kind words cause him pain. I can’t make sense of it, but I make a mental note to stop thanking him so much.
I’ll have to think of another way to show my appreciation.
The innocent thought sends my mind straight to the gutter. I can’t help it. I’m standing next to a bed with a gorgeous grumpy giant who seems to be a heck of a lot nicer than he looks. He seems to take up the entire room, his hulking frame at least a foot taller than mine. But he’s not just tall—he’s so big and brawny.
And that beard…
And those eyes…
Maddox is looking at me, and for a moment, I’m scared he can read my thoughts all over my face. His gaze makes me feel like I’m being held down. I like it way more than I should. I could lose myself for hours in those eyes, and the room seems to melt away as we stare at each other for several beats too long. It feels like an invisible hand is pulling my body forward, drawing me closer to Maddox. I see his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows, his gaze dropping to my lips.
Is he about to kiss me?
The thought terrifies and exhilarates me all at once. I don’t typically go around kissing strangers, but ever since Maddox walked out of the forest and came to my rescue—all scowls and silence—I’ve been drawn to him in a way I can’t explain. A way that makes my heart thud and sends desire pulsing between my thighs.
But he doesn’t kiss me.
The moment falters, and I come back to myself all at once, feeling like an idiot.
Of course he wasn’t going to kiss me.
Don’t be ridiculous, Sophia.
“I’ll let you get some sleep,” Maddox says after a tense pause.
“Right.” I fiddle with my sleeve. “Sure. Thanks.”
He’s halfway out the door before he adds, “Help yourself to anything in the closet, if you want something to sleep in.”
I thank him one last time, then he’s gone, closing the door behind him. I hear his heavy footsteps disappear down the hall and can’t help feeling a flicker of disappointment. It’s not late. I wish I could have spent more time with him. There’s still so much I don’t know about Maddox and his reclusive life up here in the mountains, and now I might never get a chance to learn more. The snow will probably clear up by the morning, and Maddox will want me out of his hair as early as possible. Then I’ll have to go back to reality. Back to searching for a job that doesn’t seem to exist.
With a sigh, I head to Maddox’s closet and open the doors, feeling my mood lift as his scent washes over me. I shrug out of my clothes and pull on one of Maddox’s sweaters—an enormous, knitted green one that I can’t picture him ever wearing. It’s warm and cozy and almost reaches my knees, and I sit on the bed, grabbing my jeans from the floor to get a tube of lip balm from the back pocket. I coat my lips in cherry balm, then lean forward to stuff the tube back in my jeans. It slips from my fingers, dropping to the floor and rolling under the bed.
Shoot.
I reach blindly under the bedframe, feeling nothing but bare wooden floorboards. Finally, I sink onto my hands and knees, scanning the shadows. I find the lip balm, but there’s something else just beside it. As my hand tightens around the mystery object, my first thought is that it’s a book of some kind. Maybe a hardback that accidentally slipped under the bed when Maddox was finished reading. But as I pull the mystery object into the light, I realize it’s a photo album, made of shiny brown leather.
I lie back on Maddox’s bed, the photo album tight in my grip. Curiosity overwhelms me as I stare at it. I know it’s none of mybusiness—it’s not right for me to go through Maddox’s private things. He’s been so kind to let me stay, even giving up his own bed for me. But I know I’m just kidding myself, acting like it’s some kind of dilemma. I knew I was going to open it the minute I laid eyes on it. I’m desperate to know more about Maddox, and a photo album seems like a good place to start.
