Page 4 of Caught with the Mountain Man

“Well, I spent most of my adult years in the military,” I said. “That had me moving from one place to another pretty often.”

Was it my imagination, or was she looking at me differently now? I saw more admiration in her eyes than I’d seen before. It made me want to say more to keep that respect.

“Did you have to go overseas?” she asked. “Like in combat?”

I shook my head. “Mostly special ops.”

I was a SEAL, but I didn’t really want to get into all that. People thought what we did was glamorous, like something out of an action movie. It was anything but. And the last thing I wanted to do was talk about my scars—physical or emotional.

“There are a lot of military guys here in Rosewood Ridge,” she said. “I’ve noticed that. I mostly stay to myself, but when I go to town, it seems like it’s all women around my age and ex-military guys.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. “There does seem to be an epidemic of that in Rosewood Ridge. Right after the tornado, a bunch of them came to town looking for Jax.”

“The Cyclone Stud.” Simone laughed. “I heard about him. I haven’t met him, though. Supposedly, he’s super-hot.”

Jealousy shot through me, and I had to get it in check. Jax was taken. One of those women who’d come to town had won him over. Still, I couldn’t help this feeling that I wanted her for myself.

“My dad would throw a fit if he knew I was here with a military guy,” she said. Leaning forward, she set her half-eaten slice of pizza on the coffee table and picked up the half-full glass of wine. “And this is the first alcoholic drink I’ve ever had. I poured it before I made dinner, but I couldn’t bring myself to drink it.”

All other thoughts came to a halt as I processed what she’d said. “You never had an alcoholic beverage until tonight?”

“Nope.” She shook her head. “My father is adamantly opposed. You won’t find even a can of beer in his house. His brother was an alcoholic. I guess he’s afraid it runs in the family, but I don’t think it’s a problem. I don’t really like the taste. I’m having to make myself drink it.”

“Plenty of alcoholic drinks taste good,” I said. “But there’s nothing wrong with being sober.”

“He doesn’t believe in sex before marriage, either. At least for me, anyway. My brother was always allowed to do whatever he wanted.”

I smiled. “Ahh, so, you snuck around?”

I liked the idea of her being a rulebreaker. A rebel. I wanted to help her break all the rules.

She shook her head. “I was a good girl. Still am. Well, until tonight.”

She lifted the wineglass slightly as if in a toast and took a hefty sip. Then she winced as the liquid hit her taste buds.

I had to be misunderstanding. “You’ve done other things, I assume, just not the drinking thing?”

She set the wineglass on the table, but she didn’t move to pick up her plate again. Instead, she sat back on the couch and crossed her arms over her chest as she stared ahead thoughtfully.

“I’m not one of those everything-but girls,” she said. “I don’t believe in bending the rules like that. Kissing is all?—”

She stopped speaking midsentence and lowered her gaze to her lap. Suddenly, all I could think about was kissing her. And how I didn’t want anyone to have touched those lips before me, which was ridiculous. But it was a feeling that I couldn’t control.

“I think it’s time, though.”

She said those words and looked up at me. I’d been staring off to the side, imagining what it might be like to pull her towardme and give her the kiss of her life. But now, our gazes met, and I felt the stirrings of an erection.

“What do you mean?” I asked, afraid to misinterpret her words.

“I’ve had my first and second glass of wine. I’ve nearly burned down my dad’s cabin. And now I want to find out what I’ve been missing in other areas.”

“Like?” I asked.

“Like getting naked and doing it with you right here on this couch. Are you in?”

3

SIMONE

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