Page 10 of Taming the Wild Mountain Man

I donotsmile at that.

The air between us turns hazy.

"Tell me to shut up," he murmurs before taking one final stride until he's right up in my space, so near I can feel the warmth of his breath on my forehead.

"Excuse me?"

"Go with it." His voice is so deep it's practically a growl. "Tell me to shut up."

"Fine." I lift my chin and stare into his dual-colored eyes. The haze builds until he's the only thing filling my vision. "Shut. Up."

The skin around the edges of his eyes crinkles. "Make me."

A surprised breath gusts out of me. IknewI was walking into some sort of trap, but what is he expecting to get out of this—ohhh.

His normal icy glare has been replaced by something that looks an awful lot like desire. But that can’t be right. He barely even acknowledges that I exist. He can't like me.

Can he?

I can't explain what happens next.

Somehow, Hume moves even closer to me. Somehow, his big strong hands find their way to the small of my lower back. Somehow, mine climb up his solid chest to the sunkissed skin at the nape of his neck. My body keeps betraying me until, somehow, I'm melting into the fusion of Hume's lips against mine.

A legion of butterflies takes flight in my stomach as the reality of what we're doing slams into me. I'm kissing my sexy mountain man neighbor. The surprisingly soft bristles of his beard tickle my cheeks, and with a confident sweep of his tongue against the seam of my lips, Hume Brockwell burrows his way into the depths of my desire. My entire body floods with a rush of arousal unlike anything I've ever experienced.

But before I get completely swept away, for the briefest of brief moments, an idea flickers in my mind. Could all this be a tactic, part of Hume's attempt to one-up me in our prank war? But the eruption of pleasure cascading throughout me, and the hard press of his body against mine and the sensual grunts rumbling from his chest, tells me that's silly. He wants this kiss as much as I do.

Which means Hume must like me…at least a little.

Which means…

Uhhh, what exactlydoesit mean?

"That's certainly one way to end a war with your neighbor," Belle says with a chuckle. "I'm glad Mom headhunted you before the UN beat her to it. Today, you're resolving neighborhood feuds. Tomorrow, world peace."

I giggle and throw a pencil across the room at her. I've just finished telling her about Hume's visit last night and how it went from him inspecting my house to him giving the inside of my mouth a very thorough once over.

In the month and a half I've worked at the lodge, Belle Walters and I have grown close. She's helping me settle into the role, having run the place herself for the past year. Her mother, Annabell Walters, is an industry legend, and since Belle is her only child, the plan was for her to take over as her mom steps back. The slight snag is that Belle has no desire to follow in her mother's footsteps. Things between her and I could have been epically awkward, instead, she feels more like a friend.

We're going through all the hotel paperwork—and when I say paperwork, I mean, every single file that has come through this property since it opened in 1901 is physical. This place hasn'tdigitized anything. My handover period was meant to only be a month. At the rate we're going, Belle will need to stay for at least another few weeks to help me bring this place into the twenty-first century.

"For a second, it crossed my mind that he could have just been raising the stakes on our prank war," I admit to her, but hearing the words aloud only reinforces their shallowness, because nothing about the kiss was fake. The explosion of chemistry between us at that moment was undeniable.

"Judging by the way you're smiling, I can see that it definitely wasn't a prank war tactic fromyourend," Belle observes.

I look down at the files all around me. "No. It wasn't."

"What happened after the kiss?"

"Not a lot. He helped me wash up, then left."

"What would youhave likedto happen after the kiss?"

I shrug. "I honestly don't know. I don't have much experience with men. Haven't had the time."

I've dated casually in the past, but my focus has always been my work. And, to be honest, while I've liked a few guys, no one has ever piqued my interest the way Hume has. He has this way of getting me all riled up with just one smoldering look. Ishouldhate it. But maybe I don't.

"Ah, career over men. I can relate, believe me." She finishes arranging one stack of papers, then moves on to the next. "Are you open to a relationship?"

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