Page 19 of Stepbrothered by the Mountain Man

“You’re right. I could’ve handled it better than slamming a door in your face. I’m sorry, angel.”

My heart flutters at the nickname but I’m trying to keep my composure enough to understand what’s transpiring between us.

I lick my suddenly dry lips. “What’s the next reason? You said there were three.”

“I found that property years ago.”

At my surprise gasp, Levi lets go of my wrist and pulls out his phone. He flicks through the photo gallery before turning the screen towards me. There’s a photo of him right by the massive boulder we’d sat on after the bear scare. The boulder aside, I’d recognize the forest line from anywhere. I can tell the photo is old too, from Levi’s hair. In the picture, it’s only a little past his ears.

“I’d always admired it and the owner put it up for sale a year after I’d already invested in the lodge. Beau was able to buy it as a hold for me whenever I was ready.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, Li?” I ask, brows knitting. Damn, I feel like a little brat, going and on about a place he’d found long before I did. “I didn’t know—”

“I didn’t want you to know.”

“Why?”

“Because when I saw you there with your sketch pad and your smile, I knew that it was yours, Maya.”

I shake my head and reach a hand up to cup his cheek. “It’s not mine. It’s yours. It’s always been yours... I’m not going to pretend that I’m totally over it. And I wished you’d just told me but I am glad you bought it over some stranger. At least I can still go visit it.”

“That’s not the only reason why I bought it, angel.”

“I know, to help with the renovations.”

He shakes his head no.

I’m really confused now. “Then why did you?”

“Two reasons.”

A smile cracks my lips. “A lot of reasons.”

He grins back. “Important ones. The first is that I could hold it for you. No private lenders. No advantageous contracts, no interest rates. Just a contract between you and me whenever you’re ready.”

My heart soars as hope blooms in my chest. That did sound good. “The other?”

“I’ll get to that, but first I need to get a little off-topic. When I saw that property, I envisioned a woman with a swollen stomach and a little one already trailing behind her, followed by a shaggy dog. That’s all I could see. But that’s changed over the years.”

“You don’t want a wife or kids anymore?” Somehow that stung. Even though I hated the thought of Levi with someone else, I’d rather that than him being alone. He deserves a family. “That’s why you didn’t want the property anymore?”

“I do want those things. But I thought I couldn’t have them.”

“So that’s why you gave up on the land?”

He nods, and I tuck a lock behind his ear. His smile at the gesture is heart-stopping.

“But why did you think you couldn’t have those things? A family?”

“Why do you think, My?” He searches my eyes, but I’m lost for answers. That is until I remember our positioning.

His thumb that’s stroking my cheek moves to stroke my lower lip. When they part, he slips the digit along the seam and it brushes against my tongue.

“Do you really not know?”

Butterflies erupt in my belly, and wetness pools between my legs at the contact.

As if sensing my reaction, he rolls his hips, rubbing what could only be a massive cock against my soaked panties. My hips instinctively rock against his, my clit dragging over his bulge.

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