Page 73 of Playing With The Mountain Man

He hugged me tightly. “It’s fine.”

“You’re sure?”

“Promise,” he repeated, kissing my temple, and I snuggled closer. “But if you want to rub it better, I won’t say no.”

Once dinner was done and the kitchen cleaned, we sat on the couch and watched a movie. Well, I tried to follow the movie. Cody and River kept talking about baseball and things that I had no idea about. Not that it mattered. Seeing how attentive Cody was with him made my heart swell.

The movie ended, and it was time to get River into bed. Cody showed him to one of the guest rooms and pointed out his own bathroom.

“Where’s mom’s room?” River asked.

He may be in awe of Cody, but he was still a mama’s boy at heart, something I hoped he never grew out of.

“I’m—”

“Mom’s going to be right down the hall,” Cody cut me off, pointing to his bedroom door.

I’d be lying if I pretended that I hadn’t worried about this moment. River and I hadn’t talked about what this meant, what Cody meant to me. If anything, I was faking my go-with-the-flow attitude, something I was not very good at.

“Is that okay?” I asked, my voice shaky.

“Okay.” River shrugged before walking into the guest room and plonking himself down in the middle of the bed.

I glanced up at Cody, who flashed me a smile. “Give me a second,” I asked.

Cody dipped his head and placed a quick kiss on my forehead. “Take as long as you need,” he told me before striding down the hall and vanishing into his bedroom.

As much as I was looking forward to crawling into bed with Cody and falling asleep wrapped in his arms, River was and always would be my first priority. Something I refused to apologize for to anyone, and thankfully, Cody got that.

Twenty minutes later, River was tucked into bed, excited for the morning, and I padded down the hall.

Morning came too soon. With my bladder making itself known, I slipped out from between the sheets and crept into the bathroom, not wanting to wake Cody. After taking care of business, I borrowed a hoodie from his wardrobe and headed downstairs to make coffee. Years of early mornings meant I no longer knew how to sleep in. With coffee in hand, I stepped outside into the early morning air. The sun was creeping over the mountains, and somewhere, hidden high in the tree tops, the birds announced the new day. I loved it out here, and it would be all too easy to let myself believe that this could be forever.

The screen door screeched behind me, and I turned to see Cody stretching his arms high over his head.

“That’s where my hoodie went,” he teased, making my girlie parts sit up and take notice.

Standing there wearing nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants that hung low on his hips, it was hard not to drool. He was all tanned muscle and sex appeal.

“It looks better on me,” I told him, lifting the neckline to my nose and breathing in his scent.

“I can’t argue with that,” Cody agreed, taking the coffee mug from my hand and setting it aside before pulling me out of the chair.

“What are you …”

Before I could finish my question, Cody dropped into the chair and pulled me down into his lap. When he wrapped his arms around me, I burrowed my face into the crook of his neck.

“Good morning,” he murmured.

“Mmmm,” I replied, dreamily.

“You weren’t in bed when I woke up,” Cody pointed out.

“I’m an early riser. Can’t help it,” I confessed.

“You could’ve woken me.”

“You looked so peaceful.”