Page 11 of Protected By the Mountain Man

I think I love her.

I think this over and over as I watch her settle down. I think it as I lift her off me and carry her to the bathroom. As I set her on the side of the bathtub and push my seed back inside of her with my fingers before kneeling before her and cleaning her up with my mouth. By the time we’re done, I’m sure of it. She’s mine.

***

After we’ve showered and redressed, we pop slices of our forgotten pizza in the microwave before settling back on the couch, wrapped in Ava’s blanket.

“What did you do this afternoon?” I ask in between bites of my sausage and mushroom slice. I wasn’t sure what Ava would like, but I had a feeling we had the same taste buds based on what she ordered at the brewery. I was right. She finishes her bite before answering me.

“I, uh, I actually went by my house… or where my house used to be, I guess,” she says, looking away from me, like I’m going to be upset she went there with out me. She has no idea that I could never be mad at her for doing something she needed to do.

“Oh wow, how was it? I know it was rebuilt and kind of weirdly looks almost exactly like your old house…” I trail off, wondering if I should have told her about that last night.

“Oh. I didn’t realize you’d seen it,” she says, still not looking at me.

“Hey, look at me,” I say, placing a hand on her cheek before she turns to me. “I have seen it. And every time I’ve driven by that street in the last five years, I’ve only ever thought of you. About the beautiful and scared and confused girl I rescued there that night. I didn’t bring it up because we were having such a good time last night and I didn’t want to risk bringing you down. Now, I know I should have told you about it. I’m sorry, honey.”

A tear slides down her face and I wish I could go back and fix every bad thing that’s ever happened to her.I love her,I think again.

“It’s okay,” she says after a moment, finally bringing her eyes back to mine. They don’t look sad, more pondering, and I hope that’s a good sign for me. “I’m not upset you didn’t tell me, I know you probably didn’t even think about it last night.Honestly,Ididn’t even think about it last night, and I’ve thought about that house every night since the fire happened. I think that’s why I got upset, because I feel like I owe it to that place, to my parents, to think about it every day.”

“But now,” she begins again, “now I know that I’ll always remember it and, in a way, I’m grateful for the fire because it allowed me to meet you. Is that crazy?”

“No, honey, it’s not crazy at all,” I say with a smile, “I think the exact same thing.”

She smiles at that, and we both turn back to our slices, eating in companionable silence for the next few minutes. When we finish, I grab our paper plates and toss them before settling on the couch. I lay against the armrest and pull Ava back to sit between my legs. She rests her head on my chest, and I start playing with her hair.

These moments of quiet intimacy are almost better than the sex. Almost.

“I met the woman who lives there,” Ava says, breaking our silence.

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. Tessa. And her little sister, Ruby. I think she’s her guardian, her parents passed.”

I remember hearing about the new owners being in some kind of boating accident and relay that to Ava, who looks horrified by the few details I have.

“Well,” she says after a moment, “she was so sweet. I really admire her for taking in her sister like that. I gave her my number, I think it would be nice to have a new friend in town.”

“That’s great,” I say, still running my fingers through her hair. “I’m proud of you for going, for facing your past like that. And this is only on your second day back in town.”

She laughs at that. “I know. Who knows what’ll happen next.”

I hope I’m a part of it.

Chapter Seven

Ava

I wake up wrapped in Scott’s arms for the second morning in a row. It is crazy how quickly he went from a man I thought about occasionally, but still one I owed my life to, to someone I can’t picture my life without. Just his presence, his reassurance has made me so sure that coming back to Whiskey Mountain was the best decision I could have made.

His hair is messy in the mornings, poking in all directions and splaying across the pillow. I hope I can watch him like this—enjoy these small, peaceful moments with him—forever.Forever.

The thought scares me a little, but if Scott has proved anything in the last few days, it’s that he is in this for the long haul. I can’t quite pin how I feel looking at him, being worshipped by him, but I know it’s something I want to keep feeling.

“Morning, honey,” he mumbles into my ear.

“Morning,” I say back, reaching my head up and planting a kiss underneath his chin. He pulls me closer at the gesture.

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