Page 25 of Orphan Girl's Mountain Men

"I'm fine." I manage to choke the words out between gulps for breath. "Please, don't stop now. Fuck me."

He groans and his lips skim the back of my neck and nuzzle and pull at my left ear as he pulls out and pushes in even harder, even deeper.

I scream in delight, and he does it again, and again.

Wet slapping sounds fill the air, his rhythm growing faster and faster, like some kind of furious, tribal drumbeat. My groan becomes more guttural. I have lost all control. Am I still here? Stars burst before my eyes. My upper half remains braced against the tree, but with my lower half I am thrusting backagainst him, desperate for more of the passion that's weaving a tight ball inside me and that's going to snap at any second now.

I'm coming undone slowly but surely. I can't even think, much less speak anymore. My breath is trapped in my throat as he thrusts into me again and again.

"Fuck, I'm close," he rasps, his fingers reaching around and urgently working my clit. "Cum for me, darling."

I don't resist. I can't. My body splinters apart and I scream my explosive release to the sky…

…and then the world shatters into a million tiny pieces as I reach my climax.

Eventually, after several shuddering moments of extreme orgasm, I come back to my senses, but the sensation of him filling me up, groaning behind me almost has me cumming again.

He collapses against me, wrapping an arm around my waist, holding me tight and breathing heavily into my hair.

"I'm usually better," he says, languidly against my hair. "May or may not have lost myself toward the end there."

"No, it was good." Better than good actually. It was the best thing I've ever felt.

I can't believe I just had sex in the middle of a forest with a man I only met yesterday. I've always liked adventures, but these aren't my usual type of adventures.

However, I don't regret it. It was amazing, and thankfully, no mountain lions came by to maul us. Hopefully, no humans heard us.Oh God, I would die of mortification if any of his friends or their hired hands had sauntered past.

Two miles into the forest… we should be good. Hopefully, our absence has not been noticed and we'll get away with it, but it can't happen again.

"This is..." I swallow shakily to catch my breath. "This is a one-time thing."

I can feel his smile against my shoulder. "Uh-huh."

"I'm serious." I turn to look over my shoulder but all I see is his hair. "I don't want any complications in my life right now. I can't afford them. So this can't go beyond here."

"We don't have to make it complicated," he says. "We don't have to lay down any rules, or put any timelines on it either. The mountain can get pretty lonely, so if you're ever feeling horny you come and find me." He finally straightens and I can hear the amusement in his voice as he says, "I'll be your good time man."

I shake my head but still smile. "Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll be okay."

I turn in time for him to press his smile against my forehead in a kiss. "If you say so, darling. But if not… well, you know where to find me."

After my admittedly exciting incident with him in the forest, I don't see much of Reed or his companions for the next few days because I'm too busy.

For one thing, I have a lot to think about.

It's true—I came here with a fairly romantic and entirely unresearched fantasy about living off-grid like Grizzly Adams or something. Growing my own food, tending the land, growing old and wise as the seasons came and went.

Looking back now, I realize life isn't that simple. Like everyone's been telling me.

They're right. I've never operated a chainsaw, never erected a fence, never dug a well. But in my time in South America, Southeast Asia, and Northeast Africa, I've seen and done plenty of other things—planting and watering crops, maintainingbuildings, mucking out animals, even riding horses (I'm actually not bad at that).

And although I haven't put up a fence myself, I've seen it being done. Anyway, how hard can it be? I'm young, fit, and strong. I've got plenty of willpower, and I'm a quick learner, so it's not all bad.

Still, I know I need to be more realistic. I need to stop flitting from one good idea to the next and start following a plan. And the best place to begin is with the log cabin—getting it shipshape and ready now in the summer months so it's toasty and warm for the coming winter. No leaks in the roof, no drafts from gaps in the floorboards. No issues with the plumbing or electrical circuits.

I also change my habits when it comes to wandering around in the forest. Now that I've picked up my rifle and spent time in Joe's shooting gallery, I've been familiarizing myself with my Lady Hunter, I still go out routinely onto my own fenced land to test the soil, check the state of the fences, and generally get to know the property—but I always take my rifle and bear spray with me. Just in case. Would I use them if I had to? I think so. But even if I never need to, I know how much more empowered I feel, having them with me.

Also, a letter had come for me the next morning. It was from my late parent's lawyer in Aurora, and inside was a simple note, stating that my parents had left a letter to be passed on to me in the event of me moving permanently to True Heart Lodge, which he understood was now the case, and so he was therefore now forwarding it to me as instructed. He told me that this now concluded all his obligations to my deceased parents, and wished me a happy future. Alongside the note was an older, slightly yellowed envelope that looked very similar to the one Tara had handed me back in Aurora. According to the lawyer,my mom and dad had left this one in his safekeeping years ago. The envelope was marked in my mother's handwriting:

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