Page 15 of Mountain Man Grinch
“Probably not how you wanted to spend Christmas,” Davin mutters, catching me by surprise.
“Not what I expected,” I confess. “But despite everything, I have nothing to complain about.”
“Nothing to complain about?” he asks, voice softening a tick. “Getting shot at. Hiding with a grumpy asshole, making a snowy escape only to end up in this little shithole? What would it take to make you complain?”
I giggle, though it comes out tight. “What’s to complain about? I’m safe. I’m warm?—”
“Mostly warm.”
“Getting warmer by the minute. And the company’s not as bad as I originally thought it would be.”
“How so?”
“Well,” I say, snuggling against his hard chest. It’s bizarre to be this intimate with someone I barely know, and yet it’s not optional. A necessity that I’m really starting to like. “You quit trying to throw Gus out into a snowdrift.”
“Thereisthat,” he murmurs against my ear. Shivers follow the heat of his breath across my flesh. “Kind of figured if I tossed him out, you’d toss me next.”
“You’ve got that right, Ranger.”
His hand slides beneath the blanket, settles on my upper thigh, infusing heat through my leggings. Despite the fabric, sparks fly—heated, dangerous, ready to explode.
“You know, you’re not so bad yourself. Different than my first impression. Though your cousin would kill me for this.”
“Yes, Mateo would. But he’d also be grateful for how you’re keeping me alive …and safe.”
I turn my head to look up at him, only realizing after the fact how close it puts our mouths. I can feel his heat on my face, almosttastehim. My eyes drop to his generous, kissable lips. The world narrows to a single hot breath between us as he closes the distance.
Crack!Air catches in my throat, and my hand flies to my chest. Davin’s head snaps up.
Adrenaline and need throb through me as he breaks our hold, rising to his feet and heading for the door. “Have to check things out. Be right back.”
“Okay,” I croak, barely able to form words.
Time slows to a crawl as I wait for his return. Panic gnaws at the edges of reason, a thousand thoughts terrorizing me.
What if I’m left here all alone? What if the bad guys come for me? What if something happens to him?
My stomach knots at the last question, brain roiling over its meaning. Cold seeps back in, the fire, the blanket not doing nearly as much as Davin’s rugged frame. My teeth chatter, matching the swirling anxiety inside.
Gus nuzzles my hand, and I pull him into my lap, hugging him tightly. “Davin will be back. He’s too tough to let anything happen to himself.” Despite the words of confidence, my core quivers.
Finally, I hear the hush of footsteps in fresh snow. My hold tightens on Gus, throat constricting as I eye the door nervously. The burly black-haired, bearded mountain man pushes through, locking the door against a great gust of wind.
I sigh with relief. “Everything okay out there?”
“Tree branch broke off under the weight of the snow. No footprints, no engine sounds, no signs of life.”
I swallow hard. “So … you don’t have to go back out?”
His jaw ticks like he doesn’t know what to say.
“Good,” I whisper. “Come sit with me. Please. I’m freezing.”
He hesitates. Then moves toward me.
A decision.
A surrender.
