Page 17 of Destined for the Mountain Man

“I know,” she pants. “And I know you’re clean. You told me.”

I kiss her hungrily as she experiments on me. She rolls her hips, grinds on me, dragging moans from her throat, then bounces. I hiss as I watch her, then catch her breast in my hand so I can suck and lick her nipple.

Charlotte’s head falls back as she finds the rhythm she likes, bouncing and grinding on me as she chases her pleasure and mine. She strokes my chest, kisses me when she can, keeps riding me like she never wants to stop.

“Talk to me, baby,” I order gently as I kiss her neck. I gently bite her ear. “Tell me how you feel.”

“You’re so big, feel so good. I want more. Please, Grant,” she whimpers.

I thrust into her when she comes down on me and her lips part. “Yes.”

So I do it again, and again, then hold her down and pound into her as I rub her clit. When that doesn’t push her over the edge, I do it all while sucking and licking her nipple. I know how sensitive they are.

Charlotte braces herself on my knees and circles her hips on me until she comes, shaking and panting as she curls against my chest. I don’t stop, can’t. She’s too good, feels too right. “You’re mine.”

“Yes,” she hisses. “Oh, god, Grant.”

“Mine, Charlotte.”

I say it every time we have sex, but she’s chosen to stay and that’s more than proof I’m right. She’s been mine since our first message, mine since that first call, mine since she showed up at the bus stop, walked in, slept in my bed, showered here, cooked here, all of it.

“Fuck,” I hiss as I lose my pattern.

I lift her up as she nearly bursts for me and come on her belly. But I’m not leaving her wanting. I use my fingers to finish getting her off and she sighs and slumps against me. She looks at her belly and giggles.

“Charlotte,” I sigh. “You belong here.”

She kisses me softly. “I know.”

In the morning, I realize that she’s staying after all, but a knot forms in my stomach as I worry she might have changed her mind. She seemed certain yesterday, but what if she didn’t really mean it? What if she’s already thinking of leaving again? We’re almost to the end of the month and I hate thinking that she could be gone in a matter of days. I kiss her neck, rub her side, keep her cuddled against me until she hums, proving she’s awake as she grinds against my morning wood.

“Good morning, Grant,” she sighs.

“Morning, baby,” I hum.

She rubs my arm. “Work?”

“Not today.”

But she asks every day and smiles brighter when I tell her I’m free. We brush our teeth together, make breakfast together, then sit on the porch after filling the feeders. Charlotte climbs onto my lap and kisses me softly. “I like long mornings with you.”

I stroke her chin and run my nose over hers. She blushes and sucks her bottom lip. I love this woman. I love being able toread her, I love having her here. I love what she adds to my life and how alive she makes me feel.

“I feel like you know what I’m going to say,” she whispers.

“Tell me again that you don’t want to leave,” I fill in.

She nods. “I meant it when I said it yesterday. I don’t want to leave you. You said I can stay as long as I want ... so do I have to have an end date?”

“No, absolutely not” I soothe.

When she starts working on soap, I head into town and go to a pawn shop. I know I need a ring. I want Charlotte forever. Once I find a simple, delicate band with a sapphire – she said they were her favorite and so much better than diamonds – I buy it and head home.

Charlotte’s on the back porch again, her favorite place. She has her eyes closed, basking in the sounds of the forest. I quietly close the door, then get own on one knee, clearing my throat.

She opens her eyes, then looks at me, her lips parted, a hand on her chest as she looks at the ring. There are two small diamonds on either side of the sapphire, so my meaning is clear.

I take a breath. “Charlotte Aldridge, I love you. You understand me, we make each other better and I don’t want an end date for us. You’ve been mine from the moment you arrived. Let’s make it official.”

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