Page 59 of Grumpy on the Mountain

Not fucking.

Not screwing around.

Makinglove.

Did he mean that? Or is it just something men say when they're about to get laid?

I don't have time to analyze it, because suddenly I'm standing on the deck, water streaming from my body in the cool mountain air, and Beau is rising from the tub like some kind of water god.

He grabs a towel from the stack beside the tub, wrapping it around my shoulders before using another to roughly dry himself. When he's done, he drops it and steps toward me, his eyes dark with promise.

"Molly," he growls deeply. "Let me take you inside."

All I can do is nod before he's lifting me, cradling me against his chest like I'm something precious, carrying me toward the sliding door that leads to his bedroom.

To his bed.

To whatever comes next.

My heart pounds against my ribs as we cross the threshold, leaving the evening behind for the warm shadows of his sanctuary.

Making love,I think again, my arms tightening around his neck.

God, I hope he meant it.

Chapter Fourteen

Beau

The moment I cross the threshold into my bedroom with Molly in my arms, everything changes.

The stone fireplace crackles softly in the corner, warming every inch inside these walls that have never held another woman's laughter before.

Until now.

I set her down gently beside the bed, my hands lingering on her waist because I can't quite believe she's real. That she's here. That she choseme.

"Beau," she breathes, something deep and unknown in her gaze. "You know once we do this—"

"There's no going back," I say roughly, my voice catching on words I never thought I'd say. "But I don't want there to be."

Her hands find my chest, fingers tracing the scars through my shirt, and something breaks loose inside me. She's not afraid of the damage. She's not trying to fix me.

She just... accepts. All of it. All of me.

"You know I'm here, Beau," she whispers, her green eyes holding mine. "I'm yours."

Yours.

The word shatters the last wall I've been hiding behind since the day I bought this empty lot on the mountain.

"And I'm going to spend the rest of my life proving you made the right choice leaving that asshole and finding me," I growl, cupping her face in my hands.

She smiles and nods. "Finding you."

Those words are the only confirmation I need.

When I kiss her this time, it's not gentle. It's claiming. It's every fantasy I've had since I was seventeen, every dream I thought would never come true. She melts against me, her body fitting perfectly against mine like she was made for this moment.