Page 6 of Mountain Man's Offer

Vale

Igive her the bedroom that's right across the hall from mine. I like the idea of having her close and this is as close as I can put her without putting her in bed right next to me.

Much as I'd like that, I knew it's a damn bad idea. I've got no business even imagining Sparrow's soft curves pressed against me all night. Even if I could think of an innocent reason to share my bed with her, I know I'd never be able to resist touching her once she was there.

This old room would have been the nursery, and later, the girls' room, with the room on the other end of the hall for the boys; back when my ancestor built the house.

I always meant to remodel this room into a home gym. Someplace I could work out some frustration during these long, mountain winters when the storms close the road to town and I'm crawling the walls from loneliness.

Seein' Sparrow standing in here now has me thinking it'd still make a damn fine nursery again and suddenly my need her burns bright in my gut. I picture her, carrying our child on one hip, with her belly round with the next one and I'm overcome with the need to breed this woman. Plant my seed deep in her womb and watch it grow along with our love.

I have to put some space between us or I'll do something stupid, but Sparrow's still asking me about my family's history on the ridge. How did we end up with the hot springs, how did the Drop get named for us, how did my great, great, great grandfather survive his plunge over the falls and can we go see them.

I can't just run out of here while she's talking but I need some air. So I act like I'm checking on the cold draft coming through the window but really, I'm sucking in the fresh air and using every trick I can remember from my time back in the military to calm my breathing and keep my wits together.

"Or you could wait till summer and have Hyacinth McAllister drive you up the trail in her Jeep," I back-walk my offer to take Sparrow up the trail this weekend quickly. I don't want her to think I'm expecting her to stick around once me and Hawk get her stalker run off the Ridge for good.

"She's the local expert on running the Devil's Driveway now that she's got that Jeep outfitted for the trail."

"Cami says that Hyacinth and Ash met up there on the river," Sparrow says, smiling at me and taking a step in my direction.

"Yeah, I'm sure she'd tell you all about how they met. They were quite the talk of the town for a while."

Sparrow's got me trapped between her and the edge of the bed and there's not a damn thing I can do to get out of here now unless I crawl over the bed. Believe me, I'm giving that some thought, because Sparrow's coming closer to me than is safe.

Shit. She probably just wants to pull down the bed-covers, fluff the pillows, whatever it takes for me to get the hint to get out of her space so she can get some sleep.

"I guesswe'rethe talk of the town now, aren't we?"

Her laugh is musical as she comes up close and looks up at me.

The way she's looking at me has me going crazy. I know the way a woman looks at a man when she wants him and that's the look in Sparrow's pretty green eyes right now. Like she's begging for another rough kiss-- or maybe even more.

"Birdy," I lay my hands on her shoulders and I swear to God, I have every intention of stepping aside and heading for the door but her hands are on my chest, those delicate fingers toying with the buttons on my flannel shirt. "It's been a long day, maybe--"

But my feet are planted like they've rooted into the floorboards.

"I like it when you call me 'Birdy,'" she says, smiling while she pops a button undone.

ChapterFive

Sparrow

Iwas just going to hug him. Quick, light-hearted--friendly. I was going to tell him thank you for rescuing me from Travis today and I wanted to say something about how much fun I had with his family tonight, but that's not what happens.

Vale stands there, right beside the bed I'm supposed to sleep in tonight-- all by myself-- like he's waiting for something. Like he wants to say something. It makes me think that maybe I'm not the only one who wants this to be real.

It makes me feel bold.

When I tell him I like his nickname for me, I don't even have to try to pull him down to my level, he's already there for me.

Vale's lips crush against mine, his arms lifting me like I weigh nothing and tossing me onto the bed beside us. Then he's over me, his mouth claiming mine again as I wrap my legs around him and revel in the feel of his hardness digging into my thigh.

Our tongues tangle and my hands are working to get under his shirt. I want to feel those hard muscles against my hands. Hell, I want to feel his hot skin against all of me.

I can't believe this is happening; that I'm in Vale's cabin with his weight pressing me into the mattress while his mouth burns hungry kisses down my throat.

His beard brushes against my neck, then between my breasts as he makes easy work of opening the button-front blouse I wore today.

---