Page 3 of Wanted by the Mountain Man (Mountain Man Summer #12)
PEPPER
I ’d never been all that shy. Even when it came to men.
But Seduction Summit had always had a shortage of people my age. Until recently, anyway. Honestly, it had never even occurred to me to date one of the many hot mountain men in town. They’d started showing up once word spread about the logging jobs.
I normally didn’t keep my eyes open underwater when I swam, but tonight, I had no choice. Luckily, the water was clear enough that I could easily find Rourke. And I moved toward him, making it clear exactly what I had in mind.
He didn’t budge, and it made me doubt whether or not he wanted this, but as I swam closer, he reached for me, our lips meeting as warmth spread through my chilled body. And that was when I wished I could hold my breath underwater longer. One kiss would never be enough.
It wasn’t the sexiest kiss ever—we didn’t even part our lips. It was surprising just how hard it was to kiss while holding your breath. I’d never tried it before, but then, I’d only kissed one guy, and he’d been horrible at it.
We had to break the kiss all too soon, and even though it was little more than a prolonged peck on the lips, it was still the hottest kiss I’d ever had. We broke the surface, taking in gulps of air. But I was gasping like a fish while he calmly inhaled.
He probably could have held his breath longer, as big and in shape as he was. But all my exercise came from rushing around the diner ten hours a day, six days a week.
He looked back over his shoulder in time to see one of the guys swinging an axe through the air. It landed with a loud thwack , and everyone cheered. Had they been doing that all along? I’d tuned it out until now.
He turned back to me. “You know, I bet they’d never notice if we took off.”
My heart leaped at his words. He wanted alone time with me, and I definitely wanted it with him. And that would mean a real kiss. One that was likely to electrify every cell in my body.
I smiled. “Let’s do it.”
That was all he needed to hear. He rushed around me, heading toward the opposite side of the pond from where the group stood. I glanced at them, found they weren’t paying a bit of attention to us, and took off after him.
“Where are we going?” I asked seconds later as I followed Rourke out of the water.
With another glance at the lumberjack competition, he sped up his pace. “You’ll see,” he called back.
I started walking faster too. Obviously, he was worried they might notice us. Maybe they were watching by now. If so, I didn’t mind. In fact, sneaking off with the most jaw-droppingly gorgeous guy I’d ever seen made me proud. I wanted the world to see this.
The big rock outcropping next to the pond had some steps on the side of it. I pictured them chiseled into the rock, but I wasn’t sure. One of the women, Larsen, had told me about it while we were swimming.
I half-expected Rourke to steer us toward those rocks, but he didn’t. Instead, he headed straight into the woods. Not even down a trail—just between trees, blasting his way through with his arms.
We were barefoot and in bathing suits, but it wasn’t too bad. The grass was high, so it tickled my ankles, but the ground was solid and firm, yet soft enough to provide padding for my feet.
He finally slowed when we reached a little clearing wrapped in thick evergreens. In the center was a ring of boulders that looked like they’d been dropped there on purpose. The fading daylight filtered through the canopy, just enough that the area seemed to have a slight glow.
“This is it,” he said, turning to face me. His voice was low, rough. “We’ll hear them coming long before they get close.”
I stepped into the clearing and smiled, looking around. “It’s like a secret hideout.”
“Yep. Our hideout.”
Before I could say anything, he closed the space between us and cupped my face in both hands. This time, there was no rushing. No breath-holding. Just his mouth on mine, hot and sure and so devastatingly good I forgot where we were, who I was, what we’d just left behind.
He kissed me like he was starving. Like he’d been waiting for this moment longer than the few weeks he’d been coming into the diner. And I kissed him back the same way, gripping his shoulders, pulling him closer, letting the heat between us melt whatever hesitation had been lingering.
His hands slid down my back, skimming over the damp fabric of my suit. I shivered—not from the cold, but from the sheer intensity of it all. My body lit up everywhere his fingers touched.
He eased me back against a tree, one hand braced beside my head, the other still tracing lazy paths down my spine.
“Tell me if you want to stop,” he murmured against my mouth.
“I won’t ever want to stop,” I whispered back.
That made him grin, but only for a second. Then his mouth was back on mine, and we stopped pretending this was anything less than inevitable.
He suddenly broke the kiss, then moved toward my jaw. He brushed the hollow of my throat with warm, open-mouthed kisses. I tipped my head back against the tree, giving him access, my breathing turning shallow and quick.
I could feel every place we touched like sparks under my skin—my chest pressed to his, his hips pinning mine gently, not demanding, but possessive in a way that made my knees feel like jelly.
His hand slid around my waist, then up, fingers teasing the knot of my bathing suit top. My breath caught, anticipation rushing through me so fast it almost made me dizzy.
“Is this okay?” he asked, his voice rasping over my ear.
I nodded, a shaky exhale slipping from my lips. “Yeah.”
His lips curved against my collarbone as he pulled at the knot, loosening it. The top dropped down just enough to bare my breasts. He cupped me reverently, his thumbs brushing lightly over me, sending tremors through my whole body.
I pressed closer, my hands tangled in his damp hair, needing more, wanting all of him—until a sharp pulse of nerves cut through the heat. There was something he didn’t know. Something I had to tell him before this went any further.
“I—” My voice cracked, barely more than a whisper. “Wait.”
He pulled back immediately, his brow furrowed, eyes searching mine. “Too fast?”
I shook my head, but my heart was pounding for a whole new reason now. I’d never said the words out loud before. Not to a guy. Not like this.
“I’ve never…done this,” I said, my voice barely louder than a breath. “I mean—I’m a virgin.”
He stilled completely, his hands still on my waist, his touch suddenly feather-light. But his face didn’t go cold. He didn’t look ready to run away as I’d expected a guy would.
His gaze held mine. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
I nodded, feeling heat rush to my cheeks. “I’m not scared. I just thought you should know.”
His expression shifted. Something deeper moved across his face—heat, yes, but also something tender. Something that felt almost like…love.
“Thank you for telling me,” he said, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “That doesn’t change how much I want you. But it does mean we go at your pace.”
Tension melted out of me. My whole body softened under his touch—under those words.
“I want this,” I whispered.
His mouth found mine again, but slower than before, as though we had all the time in the world. And in that moment, in that hidden clearing with only the trees as witnesses, it felt like we did.
“I can’t do this here,” he said. “It’s your first time. We should go back to?—”
He cut off as I started shaking my head. “I want to do it here. With your friends not far away and the tree against my back.”
Okay, so the tree might be painful. But still, this would be the hottest first time ever. And I wouldn’t be the only one who found it hot. It would probably be memorable for him too.
It wasn’t just an exciting location, but it would be his first time with me. If I had anything to say about it, it would be the first night of an entire lifetime together.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
Something flickered in his eyes. A protectiveness. It wrapped itself around me like a warm blanket. This wasn’t just going to be hot. I was seriously in danger of falling in love with this guy.
I just hoped he wouldn’t break my heart.