Page 16 of Mountain Man's Obsession

Cupping the side of her face, I tip her head up and kiss her closed eyelids and flushed cheeks. She gasps and blinks her eyes open, her eyes darting around and then landing on mine.

“Woah,” she breathes out. “I think I passed out there for a second.”

“Are you okay?” My brows furrow as I push the hair out of her face and look her over for damage.

“I’m so, so, good. I mean, I can’t move, but I don’t want to.”

I take a deep breath, relieved she’s not hurt, and then chuckle at her response. “I don’t want you to move either,” I murmur, circling my arms around her and sliding a leg in between hers. I want us tangled up forever.

After a few moments of peaceful silence, Ainsley turns around to face me, though I still keep her in my hold. Her teal eyes find mine, such love and contentment in their depths.

“I told you all about me, but what about you?” she asks softly, an adorable smile tugging at her lips.

“What would you like to know?”

“Everything,” Ainsley sighs, curling up on my chest.

I chuckle and comb my fingers through her hair, letting the silky strands ground me in this moment. “You’ve seen my home, my land, and my animals. I’m really not much more complicated than that,” I tell her, though deep down, I know there’s more to my story.

I can’t bring myself to tell her just yet. I need to make a phone call first and cash in a favor from an old friend. Once I know my Firefly is safe from her family for good, I’ll tell her everything. I can’t risk her freaking out and running right back to her awful family.

At least, that’s how I’m justifying keeping a secret from Ainsley.

“What about your family? And friends? Tell me about your life,” she encourages.

“It’s just me up here these days,” I start. “Used to live here with my ma and pa, but they passed on five years ago.”

“I’m so sorry,” she whispers, pressing a kiss to my chest. “I can tell you loved them very much.”

I nod my head in confirmation. “Best people I ever knew.” I swallow back the unexpected lump of emotion in my throat. “I wish they could have met you. They would’ve loved the stuffing right out of you, Firefly.”

My girl giggles, her cute little nose scrunching up as laughter fills the room. “I want to hear all about them,” she says, her eyes sparkling. “But first, can I ask what you do for a living? I mean, is that rude?”

“It’s not rude,” I tell her with a smile. “But even if it was, we don’t care about social conventions up here, remember?” Ainsley smiles as she nods, then waits for my answer. “A lot of my time is spent keeping up the gardens and tending to the livestock. I also run a side business making furniture. Mostly rocking chairs and bed frames, though I also take custom orders.”

“Really? Brewer, that’s amazing! Can I see your work sometime?”

I grin down at my Firefly, loving the look of excitement and admiration in her teal eyes. It makes me damn proud of everything I’ve accomplished. I just hope she’s still this enthusiastic when she finds out exactly how much money my “side business” makes.

Just then, Ainsley’s stomach lets out an angry grumble. Her cheeks burn bright red, and I’m sure she’s about to apologize. Instead, my girl pats her belly and looks toward the kitchen. “I’ll wrassle us up some food,” she says, hopping out of bed.

“Wrassle?” I ask, barely containing my grin.

Firefly shrugs, looking at me over her shoulder with the most adorable smirk. “Just testing out some new vocabulary words now that I’m basically a wild mountain woman.”

This draws a chuckle out of me. “Test away, love. I’m going to make a quick call while you see what we have to eat?”

“You have a phone?!” she gasps.

“And internet,” I confirm. “I need both for my business, though I won’t lie, I forget to charge my phone more often than not.”

“Could I make a call later? Not to my family. No way,” she rushes to say. Ainsley makes a gagging motion and imitates throwing up. This woman. I know I’ll never be bored around her.

“Of course. What’s mine is yours, Firefly. You’re not trapped here.” She gives me a smile and a nod, pulling one of my shirts over her head as she waltzes toward the kitchen.

I dig around in the bedside table drawer for my phone, pleased when I find it with almost a full battery. Scrolling through the ten contacts I have, my thumb hovers over the name of the man I never thought I’d talk to again.

Valentino.

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