Page 9 of Possessive Mountain Man

He paused, seeming to weigh his words before he finally spoke. “I finally meet the woman of my dreams, and she lives all the way on the other side of the country.”

I opened my mouth to blurt out the first question that came to my mind.Who?He couldn’t possibly be talking about me. But no, he was obviously talking about me. I lived on the other side of the country, and he’d just met me. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to piece it together.

“I’m the woman of your dreams?” I asked, interrupting my own thoughts.

“I couldn’t have even dreamed someone as perfect as you. You’re beautiful. Smart. And you know what you want out of life.”

I almost laughed out loud at that. I thought I knew what I wanted out of life but today had changed all of that.

“You’re the man of my dreams too. Hot as hell. Smart. Interesting. And you live in the most beautiful town I’ve ever seen.”

He was looking at me by the time I reached the end of that. I felt the weight of his stare actually warm me from head to toe.

“So, what are we going to do about it?” he asked.

In the silence that followed, I knew one thing for sure. We were definitely going to do something about it. Maybe nottonight, but soon. I couldn’t leave this town until I figured out if this was where I was supposed to be.

4

HAYDEN

Ishould have made a move. Since when had I been too chicken shit to make a move on a woman I wanted? But here I was, tucked into my sleeping bag, trying to go to sleep while replaying every word we’d exchanged and every glance she’d cast my way.

Rustling on the other side of the tent forced my eyes open. I turned my head as far as I dared and saw that Eve had tossed one mostly bare leg outside of the sleeping bag.

I couldn’t blame her. It was hot outside, and the battery-powered fans I’d hung above each of us did little to cool things down. Or maybe I was feeling hot for other reasons.

Just thinking about it, I started to feel hot too. I shoved the still-unzipped top of my sleeping bag to the side and wiggled through with both legs. Ahh, that was better.

What are we going to do about it?

That was the question I’d asked. I should have leaned in to kiss her or made a move on her. I could have leaned closer toward her, and she probably would have met me halfway. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it, and it wasn’t because I was afraid of being rejected. No, I was afraid Iwouldn’tbe rejected. Themore involved I got with her, the harder it would be when she left.

“You asleep?” she suddenly asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

We’d been in bed for less than half an hour, but I figured she’d drifted off to sleep, even with her leg on top of the sleeping bag. I was sure she must be deep in dreamland while I lay here, torn between kicking myself and congratulating myself for my willpower.

“No,” I said. “I can’t sleep.”

“Too hot?”

Actually, it wasn’t that bad now that I wasn’t buried deep inside the sleeping bag. A cool breeze had settled outside the tent. I’d left the tent flaps open on each side, and the ventilation allowed air to circulate inside. That, plus the fans, made it comfortable.

“No,” I said. “Are you too hot?”

“Not at all. I’m just…”

Silence. What was she going to say? Maybe she didn’t know. I stared up at the fabric above us, waiting impatiently for her to complete the thought. My heart hoped she was about to say that she wanted to kiss me. Maybe even do more. But my head knew that wasn’t a good idea. I should not be hoping for that.

She laughed. “I can’t believe I agreed to camp out all night in a tent with a man I just met. That probably wasn’t the smartest move. Luckily, he turned out to be a normal guy and not an ax murderer.”

“I use an axe, but not to murder.”

I made a face at my own careless wording. It wasn’t exactly reassuring, if she was nervous about being out here with me.

“I just… I don’t know,” she said. After a long pause, she added, “I’ve never felt this kind of attraction to someone before. Every time you look at me, I…”

Again, she paused. Damn it with the pauses. I’d never wished I could read someone’s mind more.

---