by Kate Tilney
“Ouch.” I grimace at one point. “That throw looked like dogshit.”
She gasped in mock horror. “Do you kiss your mama with that mouth?”
“No, but I’d kiss your mama with it.”
Her eyes narrow. “Oh, you are so going down.”
On and on we went.
When the alarm finally sounds, we each bring our lines back in. Taking her pole and setting it aside with mine, we meet at a stump where we’ve set up the scale.
“Ladies first,” I say.
“Okay.” She motions for me to go. “No arguments here.”
Oh, she has a sassy little mouth. I’d like to fuck it later.
Showing off my spoils, I pull out the large salmon I caught. I check her reaction, and she arches an eyebrow.
I place my fish on the scale and step back. “Twelve pounds, five ounces ounces.”
Pursing her lips she nods. “Not bad, Mountain Man. Not bad at all.”
Unable to resist smirking, I grab my fish and step back. She moves into position and dumps out her bucket. Like me, she’s caught several. None of them are terribly big.
I’m almost disappointed she’ll be leaving so soon.
I’m about to be a gentleman and tell her she can stay a couple of nights, when she pulls out a second bucket.
My eyes go wide as she removes a salmon that makes mine look like a toy poodle.
“Son of a bitch.”
She places her fish on the scale and the arrow goes flying.
She won.
I can’t believe it.
She fucking dwarfed my giant.
“Aww.” She gives me a pitying look and steps toward me. “Don’t cry. I promise I won’t make this too painful for you.”
She pats my shoulder. It’s an innocent touch, but it lights a fire in me.
Before I can think otherwise, I pull her into my arms and bring her mouth to mine.
She gasps in surprise, but it quickly turns into a purr of delight. Her hands slide up my chest, drawing me closer. I glide mine down her body, molding to every curve. Pulling her heat against mine.
My fingers are just digging into her ass when someone clears their throat.
We fly apart, and I catch Noah staring at us with an amused expression.
Wren grabs her bucket and pole and gives me a nod. “I’ll see you on the tour tomorrow.”
I nod at her then turn to pick up the rest of the equipment.
Noah flashes a shit-eating grin. “It looks like you two are getting along better.”
“Fuck off.”
I leave to assemble my supplies for tomorrow’s trip around the property and park. But as I do, I have to admit to myself, Noah wasn’t wrong. Wren and I are getting along better.
When neither of us is talking.
Or thinking about anything. Except for how good it will be when we find ourselves in bed together.
Because that’s where we’re headed. It’s been in the cards from the moment she stepped off the plane. I may not believe in fate or destiny, but I do believe in luck. And we’re both going to get lucky before her trip here is done.
That’s a bet I’d take.
Chapter Three
Wren
My body is tingling with anticipation when Ezra pulls up in front of the lodge with his truck. As promised, last night he’d shown me some of the financials for the lodge. But Noah had been there, which had kept a tamper on both of our libidos.
Or, at least mostly. I’d still had to touch myself as soon as I was curled in bed. Luckily, I always carry a travel-size toy with me whenever I’m on business trips. I usually have it in case I get bored. But this time, it had been necessary. I was too aroused to sleep without it.
I’d sent some photos and information back to my boss in L.A. It was nothing proprietary, but I’d wanted a second opinion on my proposal.
If the guys go for Camp Mountain Man, I wonder if they’ll need anyone to help get it off the ground. It would mean leaving my current job. But, really, this is exactly the kind of thing I’d love to get my hands on.
Of course, that’s really putting the cart in front of the horse.
Who knows if they’ll go forward with Camp Mountain Man? And who knows if they’d hire outside help?
And who knows if they’d hire me.
That’s why I need this trip to go well.
Ezra is almost polite as he helps me up into the cab of the truck. His fingers linger just a little on my backside, sending a tingle of delight through my entire body.
My heart is pounding as he hops in on the other side.
We spend the morning driving through their property. He points out good places for fishing and paths that lead to some of the best hiking trails. We take a break at midday to eat sandwiches that Hank packed for us.
I never knew a sandwich could be so delicious. If Bea hadn’t already fallen in love with him—and vice versa—I’d try to snare him for his cooking alone.
It’s mid-afternoon when we reach a crest in the mountains a good thirty miles from the lodge. As we climb up a sharp incline, the truck starts to shake and sputter.
I dart a nervous glance at Ezra. “What’s wrong?”
Before he can answer, the truck sputters to a stop. Ezra throws an arm against my chest to keep me from flying forward into the dash.
My heart is pounding and my breathing is fast when he turns toward me.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
I nod. “I think so. Are you?”
He gives a grin. “I’m going to check the engine.”
Ezra
Well, shit. I slam the truck door after I jump back into the cab.
I pull out my phone and call Noah.
“The alternator went out.”
He whistles under his breath. “Where are you?”
I give him the approximate location. “It might be a couple of hours before we get there.”
“We’ll be fine.”
I hang up the phone and face Wren. “Sorry about that. We should get a rescue within a couple of hours.”
“That’s okay.” She grins. “We could’ve gotten stuck in a worse place.”
Isn’t that truth? The truck crapped out near one of the prettiest vistas available by driving.
“We could go for a little walk while we wait.”
Her lips curve up. “That’d be great.”
We’re barely out of the truck when I hear a rustle nearby.
Her eyes go wide. “What’s that?”
My hand clamps over her mouth, and I pull her back up against my chest.
“Shh,” I whisper into her ear. “Just look forward.”
A moment later, a large mama moose and her baby cross the road. I feel Wren gasp against me. Holding still at the side of the truck, we go unnoticed by the pair as they graze idly.
My own heart hitches. I don’t care how many times I see something like this. It never ceases to amaze me. They’re majestic. So beautiful. It’s moments like these that made me fall in love with this country. They’re why I can’t ever imagine leaving it.
We stand that way for several minutes until the mama and baby move on. When they do, I loosen my hold.
“Sorry. I didn’t want you to miss that.”
She gives a shaky laugh. “I’m glad you did. That was maybe the most incredible thing I’ve felt. My heart is pounding. They’re beautiful.”
“They are beautiful. But you never want to find yourself between a mama moose and her baby.”
Wren clenches her teeth together. “Scary?”
“Terrifying.” Without even meaning to, my hand is running up and down her back.
She snuggles closer, her curves pressed against me.
“Shit,” I whisper, as my mouth is once again called to hers. This time it starts at gentle. The greeting of two new lovers.
And I know, right now, that is what we are about to be.
Her mouth opens to mine, and our tongues tangler. Her hands go up and around my neck, u
rging me closer. I pull her as close as I can, pushing her back against the truck as I press my body against hers.
The softness of her breasts against my hard chest is my undoing.
Pulling back for just a second, I reach for the bottom of her shirt and pull it over her head, tossing it aside. Her sports bra follows. I feast hungrily on her bare breasts.
“God, you’re gorgeous.”
I cup her breasts, rubbing a calloused thumb over each nipple. She cries out, thrusting forward. I take the invitation, lowering my head to bring one nipple into my mouth. Her fingers dive into my hair, urging me on as she trembles against me.
She feels so good. Still suckling her, one of my hands slides down her hip and under the waist of her jeans and silk panties. I glide through her curls until I find her core. God, she’s already wet. Ready for me.
“I have to taste you.”
Her eyes already glazed with pleasure, she sighs as I pull her pants down and bring her on to the hood of the truck. Leaning over, I trail a kiss up her smooth thighs, my hands gliding over her body.
“Oh, God,” she gasps. “Oh my God.”
When at last my tongue finds her core, I groan as she cries out. I lap her up, tasting, teasing, taking my fill of her as she wriggles and calls my name. When her thighs press against my cheeks, I know she’s close.
I slide one finger and then two inside of her. She screams as I feel her tighten. I stay with her through the end. Her pleasure stoking mine.
When the last wave of her orgasm has subsided, I stand tall.
“That was . . . incredible,” she whispers.
“Baby, there’s more to come.”
Chapter Four
Wren
Still quaking from the best orgasm of my life, I have just one thought on my mind.
He helps me off of the truck, and I’m already reaching for his shirt. I unbutton it as fast as my clumsy fingers will go. My hands splay over his chest, running over the light spray of curves of his muscular pecs. He hisses, as my hand lowers, running over the curls that disappear below the waist of his jeans.
I cup him through the denim and he groans.
“You’re a big boy.”
Then, taking him off guard, I press his back against the truck. I reach for the button and zipper.
I lower myself, not caring that I’ll almost certainly have grass stains on my knees after this. They will be well worth it.
Lowering the zipper slowly, I bring his pants down and eye his hard cock. Reaching forward, I run a thumb over the tip. He thrusts forward, and a drop of pre-cum rolls down my thumb.
I give him two pumps before I guide him into my mouth. He groans, and I give a little hum of delight as I stroke and suck, bringing him deeper into my mouth.
He moves against me, fucking my mouth. It emboldens me. Making me wet for him again.
Suddenly, he pulls me back. I stare up at him in shocked disappointment.
“I want to come inside of you. But not like that this first time.”
Before I can brace myself, he pulls me up to my feet and bends me over the hood of the car. I gasp.
I want Ezra inside of me. Now.
“I’m on the pill,” I blurt out.
He arches a ginger eyebrow. “Is that a fact?”
I nod.
“Is that an invitation?”
“It’s an instruction.” I lean up on my elbows. “I need you to fuck me, and fuck me now.”
He chokes on a chuckle, but a grin spreads across his lips, still glistening from the pleasure he just gave me.
“Well, you are the boss of me today.”
I’m completely helpless in this position, but I trust him completely. His hard hands glide over my skin, up and down my body. My skin tingles under his touch. One of his hands slides up and through my folds, finding my clit.
He strokes me, his hard finger stirring my insides again. I start to move against his hand, and when I’m not sure I can take the torture much more, he moves. Spreading my legs apart, he positions himself behind me. I can feel his cock at my entrance. I bite down on my lip.
“You ready for this, baby?”
“Please.”
Then he thrusts forward, I gasp as he thrusts inside me. We hold still like that, our breaths coming in short gasps. “You okay?”
I nod. Then he fills me again. And again. We move against each other and I make noises I didn’t even know were possible. He continues to stroke my clit, and my insides quiver and quake.
Then, a second orgasm erupts, sending me into sweet oblivion. Behind me, Ezra calls my name as he slams into me once more, spilling himself inside of me.
I collapse across the hood of the truck. He leans against me, his forearms braced on either side so as not to crush me. As the echoes of pleasure pulse around us, I know one thing.
I want this man. Now. Tomorrow. Maybe even the rest of my life.
I hope more than anything else he feels the same way.
When we get back to the lodge, I’ll do everything in my power to make him see I belong in his present and future. I’ll start by helping him with the one thing he loves more than anything: this lodge and this land.
Chapter Five
Ezra
I’m whistling as I stride into the kitchen through a side door.
From behind the counter, Hank glances up from cutting out biscuits. “Someone woke up on the right side of the bed this morning.”
I lift a shoulder and pour myself a large cup of coffee.
Noah, who’s seated on one of the stools reading a newspaper, smirks. “I don’t think it’s a matter of which side of the bed. It’s whose.”
“Go to Hell.” But I grin as I say it.
Wren would probably smack me upside the head for that if she were here. She’s a bundle of sass and, damn it, I like that.
It’s been a few days since our misadventure in the wilderness. We’ve spent most of our waking hours examining buildings and arguing about where the best location for a small retail shop would be.
As for our nights, well, a gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell. But if he did, I could write a book longer than War and Peace.
Topping off my coffee, I’m once again whistling as I walk through the lower level of the lodge. A few of our early risers are tucking into heaping plates of eggs and hashbrowns. My own stomach rumbles as I catch a whiff of bacon. I could load up my own plate, but I promised Wren we’d have breakfast together.
That shouldn’t be too long. When I left her, she was just hitting the shower after our morning lovemaking session.
Settling behind my desk, I get straight to work tackling some of the less exciting parts of my otherwise perfect job. Five years ago, my days were spent with nothing but paperwork, projections, and meetings. The rare times I did go out, it was usually with women looking to land a husband with a seven figure salary. Someone who could buy them a penthouse overlooking Central Park.
By the time Noah and I found this place, I was well past done with that life. I wanted to fill my lungs with fresh air. I wanted to get my lungs pumping hiking trails, not running on a treadmill watching stock market reports.
I have that life and job now. Thanks to the bright and brilliant women who have turned my best friends into saps, I have a better opinion of women.
And thanks to a certain brunette with eyes as warm and rich as my streaming cup of freshly ground coffee, for the first time I feel like a woman is interested in me and not my portfolio.
It gives me hope. It’s making me downright optimistic.
Hell, I’m even ready to sign off on this Camp Mountain Man idea. Especially if it means Wren will stay. With me.
Warmth wraps around my chest as I think about it. We can build ourselves a little place here on the property. I could build her a desk to match mine. Only, she’ll probably want more drawers and cubbies for stashing those pens of hers that seem to multiply.
This would be a good place to raise our kids. Far away from the hustle and bustle
of the cities we’ve left behind. My cock grows hard again imagining her curves growing with our child.
We’ll bicker our way through the next fifty years. But we’ll always make up. I’m looking forward to both.
Wren Kolarik is going to keep me on my toes. That’s for damn sure.
I finish emailing confirmations for upcoming bookings and push myself up from the desk to go in search of my woman. I’m almost to the door when my phone rings. I consider letting it go to voicemail. But then I’ll just have to return the call later.
Doubling back, I pick up the receive on the eighth or ninth ring.
“Yeah?”
“Hello, there. Am I by any chance speaking to one of the owners?”
Aw, shit. It’s going to be one of those calls. Who is it? Some vendor wanting us to exclusively use their fishing rods and hooks?
“You have Ezra.”
“Ezra, just the man I was looking for. I’m Darrell Crawford.”
He says that like it should mean something. “Okay.”
“One of my employees has been there this week scoping out the property. Wren Kolarik.”
My heart hitches at her name, and not in a good way. My spidey senses are tingling.
“Would you like to speak to her? I can have her call you back.”
‘That’s unnecessary. She’s provided me enough information already.” The man on the other line clears his throat. “We both seem like men of action, so I’ll cut to the chase. I’m interested in your property.”
My grip on the receiver tightens. “Interested how?”
“It’s picturesque. The perfect place for a resort.”
“There’s already a lodge here.”
“Yes, but it could be so much more.” Then he rattles off a list of changes that could be made. Tearing down all the buildings. Installing state of the art, luxury furnishings. Adding a sauna and spa. Hiring a Michelin-star chef. Bringing in new staff. On and on.
After a couple of minutes of that nonsense, I can’t keep my cool.
“Thank you for your call, but we’re not interested in making those kinds of changes here. My business partner and I are happy with the way things are.”