Page 18 of Loved By the Mountain Man

As his cum dribbles down my chin we kiss hard, sharing each other’s juices, our bodies sticky and messy with them.

Kobe’s hard again and I roll on top of him, keeping our bodies close and our lips locked as I slide down his beautiful cock. He grabs my hips, pulling me down his shaft at a furious pace. I ride him hard, my body writhing against his as the pressure builds and builds.

Then I’m screaming his name as we both fall over the edge.

I’m flying. My spirit has left my body and it soars above us, looking down at the two of us on the bed together, naked and intertwined.

I hang in the air for a moment. Then I slowly, slowly come down to earth.

We fall onto the bed, exhausted, and Kobe pulls me into his arms. It’s not long before his breathing deepens, and I’m about to doze off myself when something tugs at the edge of my consciousness. We didn’t use protection.

I sit up in bed, but Kobe doesn’t stir.

It felt so good, and in the moment, I didn’t even think about protection. I fled my hometown because I didn’t want to end up pregnant and tied to a man, but what do I go and do? Let myself get carried away and have unprotected sex with a stranger.

But he’s not a stranger.

I tell myself to shut up as I climb out of bed. I’ve been stupid and careless and almost got caught. It’s time to move on.

9

KOBE

Soft hands run over my belly, and Hailey’s body presses against my back.

“I love you,” she murmurs into my ear.

Kisses trail down the back of my neck, the smacking of her lips filling my ears. The kisses turn to bites, nipping at my body. But they’re not kisses anymore. They’re bullets.

I’m in Iraq and we’re under fire, bullets whizzing in the air around me. Pain pierces my leg and it collapses under me. I fall hard to the ground as the bullet shatters my kneecap. There’s smoke and dust in the air, turning my unit into shadowy outlines, their shouts lost in the dust cloud.

Rapid fire gunshots come from my left, and a man screams. Then a body is falling toward me, blocking out the light, falling, falling…

I wake with a start, my heart racing. But I’m not in Iraq. I’m in my cabin on Wild Heart Mountain, safe with Hailey in the bed next to me.

It haunts me sometimes. That day four years ago when I was shot and we lost Paul. I roll over, wanting to touch Hailey, to touch something real. But her side of the bed is cold.

That’s when I see her standing by the door. She’s fully dressed, and she’s holding her duffel bag in both hands.

The hammering in my heart increases. Something’s wrong. Something’s very wrong.

“Hailey?” My voice sounds croaky, and I hate how much I need this woman already. How she’s become my everything.

“Can you drive me to the bus station, please?”

I stare at her, not understanding the words. Why would she want the bus station when she belongs here with me?

“The bus station,” I repeat like a fucking idiot.

“There’s a bus leaving this afternoon that I’d like to catch.”

I’m gaping at her as the words penetrate my brain. She’s staring out the window, not even able to look at me.

Her words finally sink in. She’s catching a bus out of town. Hailey’s leaving. The last twenty-four hours meant nothing to her.

But of course she’s leaving.

How could a beautiful young woman like Hailey want a ruin of a man like me? I’ve got scars, I limp, and I’m seventeen years older than her. I was deluding myself thinking a woman like Hailey would stick around.

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