Page 37 of Mountain Man

He stepped forward, colliding with me, and my words stalled in my throat when his arms banded around me and he buried his face against the side of my throat.

My heart pounded against the back of my ribs as I listened to him breathe deep.

“God, I missed you so damn much,” he said against my skin, his big body trembling against mine. “Can’t think, can’t eat, can’t fucking breathe without you.” His lips brushed my neck. “Need you, Birdie, need you so bad. You can’t, you can’t leave me.”

My hand went to the side of his face. “I need you, too.” His head lifted, mouth seeking mine as I did the same. His tongue thrust past my lips, tangling with mine, and there was a desperation, an urgency, that made my head spin.

His big, rough-skinned hands dropped to my ass and his fingers slid up under my shirt then down the back of my underwear. “Need inside you, sweetheart. Christ, I’ll die if I don’t get inside you.”

He kept moving until my back hit the wall.

“Then take me,” I said, my voice as raw with need as his.

He moaned and tugged on my underwear, shoving them down my legs. As soon as they were off, his hand slid between my thighs, cupping me. “Pussy’s so wet, Birdie, so wet and hot for me.”

“Yes,” I said as my hands dropped to the front of his jeans and I tugged at his belt, undoing it then popping the button. I nipped his lower lip then sucked it as I slid down the zipper and freed his iron-hard erection. “God, I need you.”

His breathing was hard, harsh. Each breath came out as a gasp, pitched high, like he was fighting to control his emotions. He lifted me off the ground, and my legs came around his waist. Then he was there, his body pressing into me, every bit of his heat, his scent surrounding me.

He slammed up inside me, filling me in one hard thrust.

His mouth came back to mine and I fed him my scream of pleasure. He stayed deep, twisting his hips, grinding into me, causing a nonstop assault deep inside and against my clit all at once.

“Sweetheart,” he said against my lips. “Oh fuck, sweetheart.”

My whole body jolted as my orgasm exploded through me. I sunk my nails into his shoulders and sucked his lips, his tongue, trying to pull him closer when that was impossible. “God, I love you, I love you so much,” I cried out, unable to keep it in any longer.

Hank made a sound like a tormented animal, then he growled, pulled out, slammed back in, and came hard inside me. My name flew from his lips and echoed around my small kitchen.

He glided in and out of me until the last pulse of his cock, until the last wave of pleasure rolled through us both. He kissed my jaw and lifted his head.

His gorgeous blue eyes bore into me. “You…you love me?”

I could try and backtrack. I could pretend it was the heat of the moment. We’d only known each other for such a short time. But I knew how I felt, and I realized I didn’t want to take it back.

“Yes,” I said. “And when you dropped me off and drove away, I didn’t know how I was going to survive it. I still don’t.” I held nothing back.

“I never thought, after my mom left, after seeing my dad suffer through that…” He let out a shuddering breath. “I thought I did something wrong, that somehow it was my fault she didn’t love me enough to stay, that I wasn’t...” He shook his head. “I…I never thought I could be enough, enough for anyone. God, for someone like you.”

My heart was breaking for him. How could he think that? “Hank—”

His eyes flared. “Say it again, Birdie.”

I cupped his face, his beard tickling my palms, and held his desperate stare. “I love you, Hank Smith,” I whispered. “So much.”

A breath shuddered through him. “I love you, too, sweetheart. Christ, more than I thought was possible. I don’t want to spend another night without you.”

I shook my head. “Me either. I couldn’t bear it.”

He dipped his face, bringing it even closer to mine. “But can you…can you give it all up to be with me? Can you be happy in the mountains…with me?”

I smiled, unable to control the joy filling me. “It doesn’t matter where I am. As long as I’m with you, I’ll be happy.”

His eyes searched mine, and there was fear there, fear that he couldn’t hide from me.

“Hank, what is it?”

He gripped me tighter. “Promise me, if you need more, if you’re not happy, promise you’ll talk to me first, that you won’t just leave me. Promise me that.”