by Gemma Snow
It sounded like the moan caught in her throat.
She lifted her head, turned to look at him, to kiss him, to tell him without words everything she wanted, when there was a knock at the door.
Micah sighed, very, very heavily, and pulled away from her to answer it. She could have sworn he was stomping across the room like a child.
“Joe.” He opened the door for a man in a National Park Ranger uniform to step through. “Joe, this is Lily, Lily Hollis. She’s Maddy Hollis’ sister, here for a research fieldwork trip. Lily, Joe Delany. He runs the ranger program in the mountains.” He walked over to the kitchen while the man named Joe, in his sixties, if she had to guess, with what was probably gray hair when dry, sat down before the fire. Micah grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and motioned for Lily to follow him into the living room.
“I like you, Joe, a hell of a lot,” Micah said, handing the other man a beer before giving one to Lily. “But I don’t want the job. Dec won’t even talk about it. You’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“You men know these mountains better than anyone,” Joe said, after shaking Lily’s hand and giving her a warm, friendly smile. “I know you don’t want the version I offered you, but listen to this, okay? Start of the new year, we’re getting a big grant from the state. They want to start a new research and environmental education program right here in the Black Reef Mountains. You’re trackers—it’s perfect.”
Micah sighed. “It’s not perfect. For one, I barely have my high school degree, and you know all the government jobs require at least a Bachelor’s. Two, I don’t want it. End of story, no more to talk about.”
Joe sighed. “I know, Micah, I know. But just, just promise me you’ll think about it, okay? This grant could mean really great things for this town, and I want to leave it in the hands of someone I trust—someone Wolf Creek trusts. It’s my legacy, you know?”
Micah softened a little and held out his beer. Joe knocked his against it and gave him a long-suffering smile.
“You’re good people, kid,” Joe said. “Even if you are going to age me before my years.” He turned to Lily. “You wouldn’t happen to know anyone interested in running an environmental education program in the woods for the next ten years, would you?”
Joe stayed another thirty minutes and, though he talked about his family, shared a few stories of Micah’s and Dec’s troublesome ways when they’d first started working S&R, gave a good few bites of town gossip that made Micah roll his eyes, Lily barely heard any of it. Her mind had been whirling in dangerous, very tempting circles and she needed to get away from the idea that finding a home in Wolf Creek was a real possibility. Because it wasn’t. This was all temporary. This was all pretend, an escape, a way to finish her master’s research and get the damn degree. Hell, this time in two weeks she’d be back at her shop and life would be back to normal.
Though, of course, what the hell does that even mean?
So, when Joe told them he needed to get back in time for dinner, she shook his hand and headed out to the back patio to get some air. The rain had stopped and the mountains smelled fresh and clean, as if all their sins had been washed away. She looked out over the ridge, enjoying the sparkle of gold and red and yellow leaves lining the whole far side, which absolutely didn’t help her need to remind herself of all the reasons going home was the right choice. Because it was.
“He’s a nice guy, but he doesn’t always know when to drop it.” Micah closed the sliding door behind him and came to stand at her side. Though the air was warmer than it had been the night before, she welcomed the heat of his presence, calming, solid and dependable at her side.
He looked down at her and something flashed across his eyes. Concern. Worry.
“You all right, Lils?” Realization dawned almost the moment the words were out of his mouth. “You need to take that job.”
Well, shit on a stick, that doesn’t make things any easier, does it?
“I can’t, Micah.” If her voice sounded a little sad, well, it was no wonder. She was a little sad.
“Why the hell not?” His voice was a different kind of rough, as though he was standing up for her, as if she needed standing up for, only the person he was fighting against was none other than Lily herself. “You’re qualified, you have family here and you’d totally love the job.”
She peered out at the mountain intently, as if the landscape had suddenly, miraculously changed in the past five minutes she’d been watching it, which, of course, it hadn’t.
“This is complicated, Micah,” she said. After a long moment, she turned to look at him. He had his hair pulled back into a long ponytail and his features appeared even more defined in the low light from the arriving-just-to-set sun. “Finishing my research, leaving the shop—it’s all mired in some guilt and grief I’ve never figured out a way to escape from. That’s complicated enough all on its own. Let’s not add in the fact that I’m fucking two best friends.”
The words smacked the cool, autumn air and she hated how crude they sounded, hanging there, another thing to question, to feel a fresh wave of guilt over. Whatever was going on between her and Dec and her and Micah, it wasn’t just fucking. Maybe she hadn’t figured out what it was but there had to be some reason, some explanation for why she felt so intimate and comfortable around both of them, why each man was able to draw visceral, potent emotions from deep within her, no matter how long and hard she’d been pushing them down.
Lily sighed. “That’s not fair, and it’s not how I feel, so just forget that I said anything. The point is, that job is for someone else and I can’t indulge the luxury of thinking about it. I’m just going to enjoy my time here and not worry about it.”
She turned away from him and allowed herself to indulge in the luxury of Micah’s big, warm, impossibly powerful body as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. His weight was a comfort against her back, and then it was something else entirely, when he bent to whisper low into her ear.
“This conversation isn’t over, Wild Flower. But I’d much rather help you enjoy your time here at the moment.” He shifted just a little and pressed his erection against her ass. Oh, yeah, Micah was hung. Even through the layers of jeans and flannel, she could feel his hard outline and she wanted him, ached for him.
“That sounds really nice,” Lily managed, but her voice came out this side of husky. She didn’t have the time to think on it, though, because Micah’s hand came around to cup one of her breasts, brushing her aching, swollen nipple through her shirt and bra. She arched into his touch, straining for more, needing more of his large body on hers.
“You wanna know what I spent the day thinking?” he asked, one hand on her hip, the other strong and powerful at the base of her jaw, but never too rough and never too hard, right on the edge of pain and pleasure. Lily managed to nod, despite his grasp. “I was at the police station all day, filling out the paperwork for last night’s rescue, and, baby, all I could think about was you, touching you last night, the way your mouth felt wrapped around my cock, how delicious and tight you would feel when I got home.”
Micah let out a ragged laugh. “I bet half that police station thinks I get a hard-on from doing paperwork because I could not stop imagining you, spread wide and…” He took a step back. “Well, looking a little like this, actually.”
Instinctively, she spread her legs just a little bit wider, a carnal part of herself enjoying his moan of approval.
“Just like that.” He slid his hand over the curve of her ass, cupping it with a rough motion and pressing his hardness into her flesh. “I love how responsive you are. Hell, I could probably get off just listening to you moan.” With one large hand, he turned her head, tilting her chin so that Lily could look him in the eyes. He brushed his thumb over her lips then slid it into her mouth. Lily never took her eyes off him as she sucked and tasted his thumb, never stopped licking or kissing, especially not when his Adam’s apple bobbed and his eyes went dark and hooded
.
“Yeah, I could definitely get off to you moaning, especially when you’re sucking me.” This, of course, only made her moan harder. “I want you, Lily. I can’t stop wanting you.”
She pulled free from his finger and swallowed hard. “I want you, too,” she managed. “And I don’t know why we’re wasting so much time.” His gaze was dark and hooded, but his eyebrows went up in curiosity.
“Tell me, Lily,” Micah began and, somehow, she felt as though he was walking closer to her, like he wasn’t already standing there, right there, towering and powerful and huge as a mountain. “Have you ever made love outside?” The breath caught in her throat and she swallowed again before shaking her head. It was insane, it was base and depraved. And yet, the second the words had hit the air, her nipples pebbled and her pussy ran wet and hot with need. Yeah, just because the idea was totally cracked didn’t mean she wasn’t onboard—her body at least. Make love.
“What if someone finds us?” The protest was more because she felt like she should, because she was pressed against the railing looking up at Micah Ellison and wondering what it would be like to have him fill her right here and right now as she looked out over the Black Reef Mountains.
“No one will find us.” There was an unspoken, except Dec, who was still upstairs in the office, but that was okay. They were all okay with this and if Dec did stumble down any time soon, well, she hoped he’d just leave them to it.
“And if they do, though?” Lily asked.
Micah pulled her close. “Let them watch,” he said. He followed her gaze. “Oh, you would, wouldn’t you? You’d let some hiker or rancher standing down there watch me fill your cunt with my cock. Tell me, Lily. Tell me you want this.”
He was losing control and, fuck, if Micah—powerful, calm, easy-going Micah—losing control wasn’t sexy as sin. Her pussy clenched and she sucked in a breath against the wash of needy pleasure.
“I want it,” she demanded. “God, Micah, now.” His fingers were already on the fly of her jeans and he was yanking them and her panties down past the curve of her ass. There was a bite in the air and he didn’t push them any lower, limiting her movement, making her feel vulnerable and all too excited about what he was going to do next. She heard the rustle of his jeans and zipper and the telltale tearing of a condom wrapper. Micah’s movements were jerky and needy behind her. Then he was there, big and hard and throbbing against her entrance.
He teased her, sliding the head of his cock between her slippery, needy folds, and Lily gasped and grabbed the banister tightly. Micah pulled her back just enough to spread her legs as far as they would go with the pants still on. “Hold onto the railing,” he said. “I wanna see you coming apart, all over my fingers. I want to taste you, baby, feel you shuddering around me.” He was there, inching his thick cock into her body. Oh, Jesus, he was big and hard as stone and sinking into her a little bit at a time.
Micah paused and slid his hand up into her hair and Lily pulsed hard at the rough line of pain and pleasure.
“You okay, baby?” he asked. “Can you take more?”
There’s more?
But she nodded and spread wider, accepting the last few, thick inches of him until he bottomed out, balls slapping against her ass, her body expanding to accommodate his overwhelming length and girth. She sighed, feeling full and content and practically ready to burst at a moment’s notice.
“God, Micah, please move…” Her voice was so strained, so desperate and wanton and she didn’t wait for him to respond, just pressed her body back, riding his cock, taking him all the way inside her and pulling free with torturous slowness.
“Shh, baby. It’s okay to give up control. Let me make you feel good.” He towered over her, pinning her body against the railing, and Lily just gave over to the intense, overwhelming madness of his body against hers, his cock buried so incredibly deep inside her. Micah brought his rough hands around to stroke her breast, moving down her body, down her stomach and chest, before burying deep in the heat between her legs. He slid his fingers over her swollen clit and Lily was so close to the fire that she burst, disintegrating into flame and pleasure, riding him hard and losing herself to delicious sensations racking her body.
Her hands clenched tight around the banister and it took her a moment to realize that Micah was still very capably standing above her, clearly not having lost control at all. His body rocked hard, his cock throbbing, and Lily let out a shaky breath when he groaned against her ear.
“Again, Lily.” His words were rough and hot. “I want to feel you coming around my cock again.”
Her body was already so close to the edge, swollen and hot to the touch, but she knew she would come again and soon, if he kept up that rhythm of his hand on her breast and on her clit and his cock buried so deep inside her.
“Now, baby.”
She did. The orgasm was smaller, but just as intense, as pleasure racked her already abused body, sending her into a tailspin of lights and need and the ground fell out from under her feet and she almost lost her balance. Micah caught her—of course he did, he was making it all too clear that he would always be around to catch her—and when he wrapped his arm around her waist, Lily realized in amazement that he was still inside her, hard and moving teasingly slow. It only took a moment for her to understand what that meant.
“I can’t,” she moaned. “God, it’s too much.”
He tilted her head up and she peered into those intense eyes. “Yes you can,” he said. “And you will, for me.” Goddamn it, he was probably right. Especially since the feeling of his large hands on her ass made her pussy somehow squeeze tighter with need and her breasts still felt swollen with unspent pleasures. His hand rounded the curve of her ass cheek and, without warning, he smacked her there.
Lily moaned, a harsh, guttural sound torn from the back of her throat. She’d never really played around with the whole spanking thing before, but fuck if the thin line of pleasure and pain hadn’t just blurred, hadn’t just sent her mind reeling and every single one of her reasons why she couldn’t fleeing her mind. He did it again, a little bit harder this time, and it pushed her just a little bit closer to that insane third release she was sure would just shatter her. Micah smacked her ass one more time, growling in her ear about how she was so fucking tight, felt so fucking good wrapped around his cock and they were both breaking free, together, hard and fast and chaotic and wild, and Lily lost her feet, then they were both slumped over the railing, breathing heavy, pleasure overtaking them.
The sun was nearly down behind the mountains now, casting the whole patio and cabin in a golden, glowing light that made the smug, hooded expression on Micah’s face all the more decadent. He grinned down at her, his face easing, the lines that so often crossed his forehead disappearing when he did. She liked the version of Micah most—comfortable, happy.
“I think I might be dead,” she said, laughing even as the words spilled from her mouth. “Am I dead?”
He helped her to her feet from the uncomfortable position she had somehow slid into, helped her tug her clothes back into place before buckling up his jeans and readjusting his jacket.
“If you’re dead, I’m right there alongside you,” he said. “I’m starving.” He didn’t give her the chance to follow, just picked her up and carried her through the doorway to the house and into the kitchen.
Dec was inside, wearing that same sexy apron she’d caught him in a few nights earlier, the night they’d first kissed, before all this madness had begun. Before Micah even put her down, Dec leaned up and kissed her, squared on the mouth, right there. Oh yeah, she could definitely get used to this.
“You two are going to attract wolves with all that howling,” he said on a laugh, which betrayed just how long he’d been thinking of the witty insult. Micah placed her down on a bar stool and grabbed a few beers from the fridge, passing them around. He was relaxed, his movements calm, his face at ease.
“You know it’s not mating season,” he countered,
cool as anything.
Dec didn’t fare so well, bursting into laughter before he managed to say, “It’s definitely mating season.”
Lily couldn’t help it. She laughed. This, whatever temporary madness this was, with her somehow sleeping with and kind of sort of dating both Dec and Micah, it was working. Somehow, some way, they’d found a thing that worked for them. For now.
And she was only going to worry about for now. She was only going to think about how hot Dec looked in his kiss the cook apron and tight T-shirt, only going to feel relief and calm at the fact that they both seemed okay with this weird and unusual arrangement. Because if she went any further, if she thought about that job that had freaked her out so much before, if she thought about how Madison was here, if she thought about how freaking easy it could be for her to make a life for herself in Wolf Creek, Montana, Lily might actually start to believe it was possible.
She’d had enough hardship and grief and heartache in her life, thank you very much. Now, she had two hot men and a delicious dinner waiting for her and there was no sense in ruining it. Right, live for the moment. She could do that, especially when the moment looked at her with two sets of dangerous, seductive eyes, and all other thoughts and worries and fears quietly, easily, just disappeared.
Chapter Eleven
“Maddy invited us to dinner.”
Her boots were caked with dirt and she tried to push them off by the heels but almost fell on her ass. Instead, Lily sat down on the mudroom floor and tugged at them, cracking the dried mud on her socks and ankle. The right one came off, along with half a mountain of dirt and she sighed before yanking on the other one. She’d always been the dirtiest one on her research teams. Back when she’d first started her master’s program, she had marveled at the way her fellow researchers maintained their hair and kept their fingernails clean. For a while, she’d actually cared, too.