Page 44 of Beneath the Mountain Sky (McBride Brother Lumberjacks #1)
A little laugh falls from her lips. “It’s like 2:00 in the morning.”
I grin at her, her laughter signaling that maybe I’m on the right track. “Which means no one else is out here.”
And if I don’t do something to drag her out of her own head, she won’t get any sleep tonight, and that will spell disaster for what we need to accomplish tomorrow.
Even as a child, Willow struggled to separate herself mentally from the emotional trauma she was experiencing at home. She found a safe place with us, a refuge from the uncertainty, but getting her to relax, to allow herself space to just be, was harder.
Somehow, I became that for her. I discovered ways to break the cycle that would inevitably end with more pain for her. And that’s what I have to do now.
Stepping back from her, I grasp the hem of my T-shirt, tugging it up and off, and letting it fall to the ground. I reach for the waistband of my pants.
Her eyes widen. “You’re serious.”
I nod, popping the button. “I’ll be with you the whole time.”
Considering what happened the last time either of us was in these waters, I understand why some trepidation may linger, but just like the memories that stay hidden in her head, the ones she so desperately wants to confront to find the truth, she needs to confront this river.
With me holding her steady, she can do that without fear of drifting away in the water or her own mind.
Hopefully.
She turns and looks at the pool again, her lips twisting as she considers what might be a really stupid idea on my part.
This could backfire—big time.
It will either draw her from inside her head and back to the moment…or it will send her spinning further away.
Willow slowly turns to face me.
The trust shining in her gaze answers before she does. “Okay.”
Her hands move to the zipper of her lightweight jacket. She lowers it, then tugs the fabric free, doing the same with her T-shirt, leaving her standing in the moonlight in her bra. Shivering, she scans the darkness before kicking off her boots, pulling off her socks, and shimmying out of her pants.
I do the same, refusing to even speak in fear that I might make her change her mind.
This will work.
This will help.
I keep telling myself that as she strips off her underwear and bra.
My bare feet sink into the grass along the riverbank, and I reach out a hand for her. She doesn’t hesitate in allowing me to lead her toward the quiet, small pool, away from the rapids and current that swept her downriver and almost took her from me permanently.
I dip my foot in.
Shit.
She shivers watching me. “How bad is it?”
Honestly, colder than I remember.
But I’m not about to tell her that and give her a reason to back out.
Wrapping my arms around her, I tug her body against mine with a grin. Heat radiates between us—both from the meeting of our naked flesh and the sexual tension that always seems to exist whenever we’re together. “Not so bad.”
Before she can respond, I step sideways and drag her down into the chilly water with me.
A gasp falls from her lips as it engulfs us up to our chests. “Shit!” She shivers and clings to my neck. “Speak for yourself; it’s freezing.”
Her teeth chatter, and I trail my lips over her neck and tip backward, dunking us both fully under.
Willow comes up sputtering and playfully smacks my shoulder. “Why’d you do that?”
Because sometimes a shock to your system isn’t a bad thing.
“I just like to see you wet, Honeybee.”
She gives me a half-grin, half-smirk, scoring her nails down my neck, pressing her naked skin against mine even tighter. “I see what you’re doing, Killian McBride.”
I raise a brow, doing my best to appear innocent. “Oh, yeah. What’s that?”
“You’re trying to distract me.”
And apparently I’m not doing a good job of hiding it.
“Am I?”
Her head bobs, dipping closer to mine. “You are.”
There doesn’t appear to be any anger in her words, rather a playfulness I hadn’t expected after finding her out here.
I shrug, settling my hands on her ass and tugging her up against me tightly, pinning my growing cock between us. “Maybe I am. Is it working?”
She smiles and brushes a kiss across my mouth. “It might be.”
“Might be?” I nip at the corner of her lip. “I must not be very good at my job, then.”
Distracting Willow from every reason she has to disappear into herself will always be my top priority. This woman means more than anything else to me. More than McBride Timber. More than my role as the unofficial patriarch on the mountain. More than any personal desire I might ever have.
She can have whatever she wants right now—and always.
I kiss her deeply, and Willow groans and lifts her legs to wrap them around my waist, aligning my cock along her scalding core.
Even the cold river water can’t douse her heat or my need for this woman.
After everything she suffered, the memories that continue to come back and haunt her, she’s still the same woman I fell in love with all those years ago.
The one I’ve missed.
The one I prayed would return and give me a second chance.
Strong. Determined. Stubborn as hell at times.
And now that I have her back, I’ll do anything to ensure she’s safe and happy.
I squeeze her ass, moving her so she can feel how impossibly hard she has me. “Everything’s going to be okay, Honeybee. I promise.”
She murmurs against my lips. “I know you believe that.”
“I don’t believe that; I know it. You and me. I won’t make the same mistake again. I told you once, and I’ll say it again until you believe it—whatever you want, whatever you need, I’ll give it to you until the day I die.”
Her gaze softens, and she runs her hands through my wet hair. “I know you will.”
“What do you need right now?”
She shivers and laughs. “I need to get out of this cold water.” Her legs tighten around my waist, and she rubs against me, letting the head of my cock catch just inside her cunt. “And I need you.”