Page 7
Story: Mountain Man Defender
The best part of tonight’s plan was he didn’t have a clue about it. I’d worked with my mom and Lauren on some dishes to bring over to him as a thank you for all the work he’d done in my apartment and helping me move in. So, what if technically he would have done it for whomever they hired? Besides, he was going to love my version of gratitude.
Tonight I’d chosen a linen dress with cap sleeves with a flowy skirt that flattered my shape. I kept my hair down and loosely curled. My one concession to the area we lived was my footwear. As short a distance as the walk from my place over the shop to his cabin was, anything with a heel wouldn’t work. So comfy slip-on tennis shoes had won out.
The sound of PJ’s barks greeted me even before I stepped onto the stairs leading up to Lar’s porch. He was the lodge’s unofficial guard dog. His barks sounding more old-man grumpy than threatening. And we’d become fast friends after I’d snuck him a few treats.
Taking a moment before I knocked, I stopped to admire the railing and posts which were hand carved and wrapped around at least three quarters of the cabin. The man had talented hands and just thinking about what else they could do sent a shiver along my spine.
How I’d dreamed about those hands running along my body, his fingers delving underneath my panties, seeking my folds and….Oh, my.Okay, focus, Dyl. Now or never. I moved to go up the short staircase and looked up at the front door. And he was right there. Standing in the doorway, a questioning look slashed across his handsome face. At least he wasn’t scowling.
I’m not sure if I could hide the naughty thoughts that had been rolling through my brain.
And then miracle of miracles, instead of asking me why I was there, he took PJ’s collar in hand and led him back inside, leaving the front door wide open. Okay, guess that was his way of inviting me in. My heart pounded so fast I feared it would break a rib, but with a fresh influx of confidence, I threw back my shoulders and crossed the threshold into his home.
With dinner still in my hands, outstretched like an offering, he was nowhere to be seen. Muffled words and the clink of metal flowed from a room off his kitchen. Maybe a pantry or his mud room? Hard to tell since each cabin the men had built was similar on the outside, but each with a unique floor plan.
Lars walked back into the kitchen, shutting the door behind him. “His kennel’s in there.” No explanation why he put the dog away. And I wasn’t going to ask.
His face had softened, and a new look had replaced the questioning one. A hungry look. For the food, or for me?
“Smells good. You want to set it on the table? I’ll get us some plates and forks.” He moved gracefully for a man his size. Not a move wasted as he collected the dinnerware and brought it to the gorgeous table. Another hand-crafted item by him.
“Uh, okay. This table is amazing. How long did it take you to make?” He took the containers out of my hands as I just stood there, smiling like a lovesick fool. “Oh. Thanks. Sorry. Meant to set those down, but I was dazzled by your work.” He put the food down, then looked at me. Really looked as if he was looking into my very soul.
My heart stopped and now I knew how it felt when your breath “hitches,” a description used by some of my favorite romance authors in their stories. And mine definitely hitched. And then it did it again when his hands brushed mine.
Every nerve ending I had hummed. My nipples pushing against the material of my dress, the friction reminding me of my last-minute decision to go braless. And commando. Temptress level achieved.
Lars continued to scan my face. What was he looking for? Then his gaze dropped lower, and lower, and raised my temperature higher and higher.
Watching his gaze on its return journey, I became dizzy and unbearably aroused. I didn’t have to ask if he liked what he saw. I felt it. Everywhere.
“You dazzle me, Dylan. I like your dress.” His voice always sounded gravelly, unused. But now? Uttering those words? The tone had dropped and washed over my hypersensitive skin like a lover’s caress. Where had this version of Lars been?
“I…thank you.”Less is more, Dyl.You’re not here for a long conversation over dinner. You’re here to get your man, stake your claim, experience what all those hot gazes had promised. Unfulfilled for so long, was this a dream or was this moment, finally, actually happening?
Tension built. The good kind—the best kind. The longer we remained silent, the clearer it became that he knew exactly why I was there. Trouble was, the longer it went on, the more nervous I was. Whatever I’d planned to say vanished from my memory, and it didn’t matter anymore that he wasn’t saying anything. Because I wasn’t about to fill the awkward silence with my typical snark just to get a reaction from him.
I was getting a reaction.
The kind I liked best.
His erection stretching the material behind his zipper, on the verge of escaping his waistband. This reaction I liked the best. And it steadied my resolve. The food could wait. Words could wait. Knowing what he felt, tasted, and sounded like as he touched, licked and made me scream his name was all I couldfocus on. I wanted. I needed all of it now. My feet moved without conscious thought as I stepped around the table, kicked off my shoes and on tiptoes offered myself to him.
His lips morphed into the barest of grins. He knew what he was doing. And he was waiting for me to make the first move. So be it.
My hands landed on his hard, rumbling chest. I felt his growl before the sound reached my ears. Lars grasped me around the waist, pulled me in tight, and slammed his mouth on mine. Heaven wasn’t a place. It was a person. He worshipped my lips while I ground myself against his cock, desperate to get closer, which was crazy, but at this point the need was beyond my control.
Without breaking our kiss, he swept me up in his arms. My moan signaling my approval as I clutched one hand onto his bulging arm and wound the other around his neck, determined not to ever let go.
The only thing I noticed before he dropped me on his bed was the spectacular sunset streaming through the largest window I’d ever seen in a bedroom. A double paned, floor to ceiling monstrosity that nearly took up an entire wall. I knew about him to know he’d found solace and meaning living up here amongst the trees, and he’d made sure it was front and center in his personal space as well.
Any woman would be crazy not to want a man like Lars. Full of so much passion and determination to enjoy what this mountain offered. What it had given him, his friends, and the others who came here to experience the same. And the only crazy I was…was crazy over him.
Now I just had to show him I didn’t just want one night. I wanted the full meal deal.
SIX
LARS
Tonight I’d chosen a linen dress with cap sleeves with a flowy skirt that flattered my shape. I kept my hair down and loosely curled. My one concession to the area we lived was my footwear. As short a distance as the walk from my place over the shop to his cabin was, anything with a heel wouldn’t work. So comfy slip-on tennis shoes had won out.
The sound of PJ’s barks greeted me even before I stepped onto the stairs leading up to Lar’s porch. He was the lodge’s unofficial guard dog. His barks sounding more old-man grumpy than threatening. And we’d become fast friends after I’d snuck him a few treats.
Taking a moment before I knocked, I stopped to admire the railing and posts which were hand carved and wrapped around at least three quarters of the cabin. The man had talented hands and just thinking about what else they could do sent a shiver along my spine.
How I’d dreamed about those hands running along my body, his fingers delving underneath my panties, seeking my folds and….Oh, my.Okay, focus, Dyl. Now or never. I moved to go up the short staircase and looked up at the front door. And he was right there. Standing in the doorway, a questioning look slashed across his handsome face. At least he wasn’t scowling.
I’m not sure if I could hide the naughty thoughts that had been rolling through my brain.
And then miracle of miracles, instead of asking me why I was there, he took PJ’s collar in hand and led him back inside, leaving the front door wide open. Okay, guess that was his way of inviting me in. My heart pounded so fast I feared it would break a rib, but with a fresh influx of confidence, I threw back my shoulders and crossed the threshold into his home.
With dinner still in my hands, outstretched like an offering, he was nowhere to be seen. Muffled words and the clink of metal flowed from a room off his kitchen. Maybe a pantry or his mud room? Hard to tell since each cabin the men had built was similar on the outside, but each with a unique floor plan.
Lars walked back into the kitchen, shutting the door behind him. “His kennel’s in there.” No explanation why he put the dog away. And I wasn’t going to ask.
His face had softened, and a new look had replaced the questioning one. A hungry look. For the food, or for me?
“Smells good. You want to set it on the table? I’ll get us some plates and forks.” He moved gracefully for a man his size. Not a move wasted as he collected the dinnerware and brought it to the gorgeous table. Another hand-crafted item by him.
“Uh, okay. This table is amazing. How long did it take you to make?” He took the containers out of my hands as I just stood there, smiling like a lovesick fool. “Oh. Thanks. Sorry. Meant to set those down, but I was dazzled by your work.” He put the food down, then looked at me. Really looked as if he was looking into my very soul.
My heart stopped and now I knew how it felt when your breath “hitches,” a description used by some of my favorite romance authors in their stories. And mine definitely hitched. And then it did it again when his hands brushed mine.
Every nerve ending I had hummed. My nipples pushing against the material of my dress, the friction reminding me of my last-minute decision to go braless. And commando. Temptress level achieved.
Lars continued to scan my face. What was he looking for? Then his gaze dropped lower, and lower, and raised my temperature higher and higher.
Watching his gaze on its return journey, I became dizzy and unbearably aroused. I didn’t have to ask if he liked what he saw. I felt it. Everywhere.
“You dazzle me, Dylan. I like your dress.” His voice always sounded gravelly, unused. But now? Uttering those words? The tone had dropped and washed over my hypersensitive skin like a lover’s caress. Where had this version of Lars been?
“I…thank you.”Less is more, Dyl.You’re not here for a long conversation over dinner. You’re here to get your man, stake your claim, experience what all those hot gazes had promised. Unfulfilled for so long, was this a dream or was this moment, finally, actually happening?
Tension built. The good kind—the best kind. The longer we remained silent, the clearer it became that he knew exactly why I was there. Trouble was, the longer it went on, the more nervous I was. Whatever I’d planned to say vanished from my memory, and it didn’t matter anymore that he wasn’t saying anything. Because I wasn’t about to fill the awkward silence with my typical snark just to get a reaction from him.
I was getting a reaction.
The kind I liked best.
His erection stretching the material behind his zipper, on the verge of escaping his waistband. This reaction I liked the best. And it steadied my resolve. The food could wait. Words could wait. Knowing what he felt, tasted, and sounded like as he touched, licked and made me scream his name was all I couldfocus on. I wanted. I needed all of it now. My feet moved without conscious thought as I stepped around the table, kicked off my shoes and on tiptoes offered myself to him.
His lips morphed into the barest of grins. He knew what he was doing. And he was waiting for me to make the first move. So be it.
My hands landed on his hard, rumbling chest. I felt his growl before the sound reached my ears. Lars grasped me around the waist, pulled me in tight, and slammed his mouth on mine. Heaven wasn’t a place. It was a person. He worshipped my lips while I ground myself against his cock, desperate to get closer, which was crazy, but at this point the need was beyond my control.
Without breaking our kiss, he swept me up in his arms. My moan signaling my approval as I clutched one hand onto his bulging arm and wound the other around his neck, determined not to ever let go.
The only thing I noticed before he dropped me on his bed was the spectacular sunset streaming through the largest window I’d ever seen in a bedroom. A double paned, floor to ceiling monstrosity that nearly took up an entire wall. I knew about him to know he’d found solace and meaning living up here amongst the trees, and he’d made sure it was front and center in his personal space as well.
Any woman would be crazy not to want a man like Lars. Full of so much passion and determination to enjoy what this mountain offered. What it had given him, his friends, and the others who came here to experience the same. And the only crazy I was…was crazy over him.
Now I just had to show him I didn’t just want one night. I wanted the full meal deal.
SIX
LARS