Page 12 of The Mountain Man's Retribution

Silence passes between us as I savor the feel of her nestled against me, watching the flickering, hypnotic flames of the fire.

Eyeing me curiously, she whispers, “There is room for all of it in the fire, so that we can focus on new beginnings.”

I frown. “At least, for a time.”

She side-eyes me for a long, breathless moment. “It’s like you said when I first met you. You don’t trust easily, Bodie.”

“That’s right,” I confess.

Done fighting her over town, I give in to this temporary plan. It has taken me all day to get her clean. To make her trust me enough to wash up and put on fresh clothes. I cannot take giant leaps backwards after so few, hard-fought steps forward. Even if what’s best for her gnaws at me.

If Big Man could show enough self-control not to touch her, I can do the same. Simple. And unlike that fiend, whoever the hell he is, I’ll also show her respect, honor, safety, and faithfulness.

No matter how it pushes me to the edge. No matter how badly I want her. Because even more than my animal needs, I must make her secure, happy, and able to trust. Maybe for the first time.

She wiggles in my arms until we stand face to face. My grip loosens, ready to pull back, but she launches unexpectedly onto her toes, planting her soft lips on my bearded cheek.

“What’s that for?”

“It is to thank you for being my Mr. Darcy and my Mr. Rochester. I hoped to find one or the other. But not both in the same man. I don’t know if I can be Elizabeth and Jane for you in return, but I promise I will try.”

Her words stun me into an awkward silence. I’m a highly educated man. Raised in an affluent family and sent to the best boarding and military schools my father could afford. I rejected that life and my past to come live on this mountain, but never did I imagine finding a woman so attuned to nature, my secluded lifestyle, and my education all in one delectable body.

The warmth that floods my core is more than sexual tension this time. It’s a delight at finding something that I never thought existed, and it screams far louder than anything else this woman has made me feel today. I can’t ignore it, sensing there’s more to Fawn hiding in the hollow log in front of my house than maybe I currently understand.

Before I start judging everything at face value, I need to relax and give Providence time to show me what’s really going on. Her eyes flood with mirth until we laugh together. I’m not sure if either of us knows why.

“May I?” I ask, grabbing the folded book pages from her hand.

She nods, eyeing them intently.

I carefully straighten and flatten them, finding the ballroom scene fromPride and Prejudiceand the second proposal. Her eyes swim as she turns sideways, watching my fingers work, her face stuck somewhere between hope and fear. Perusing the next two pages, I find the proposal fromJane Eyreand the reunion.

God, this woman is precious. The backs of my eyes sting as I wonder how, despite a lifetime of seeing the worst from men, she still cultivates such hope, such faith in something better. Her finger comes up, brushing a teardrop from my cheek and licking it quickly from her finger. She smiles at me, a newfound strength rising that may be the sexiest thing about her to date.

Gruffly, I whisper, “You don’t need to be Elizabeth or Jane. I want you to be yourself, Fawn. No matter what.”

With a melancholy grin, her teeth slightly crooked, adorably so, she whispers, “I fear I cannot be myself in town. At least, not yet. But with you, I am certain I can.”

I nod, emotion rolling over me as I will myself to be the man she needs, rising above my own selfish desires. I swore to protect this little forest creature, even if it means going against my own impulses and inclinations. Whatever she needs from me, I make an internal promise to give.

She swipes at my face again, licking her finger, convinced that this is the custom in my household. Part of me feels horrified that I accidentally taught her this move, and another part wonders if consuming each other’s sorrows and wrapping each other in our shared strength isn’t exactly what nature wants us to do.

As if reading my mind, she circles her arms around my waist, drawing so close, I hold my breath, trying to keep my rock-hard rod at bay. God, I need a distraction and to jack off again … alone. Away from her prying eyes until she has a better sense of what decency is and the respect she should demand from all men.

Clearing my throat, I offer in growly tones, “I have both books and more inside.” My eyes glance back towards the house. “Choose one, and I will read to you after dinner.”

“Really?” An effortless grin captures her pretty pink mouth begging for a kiss.

I can’t help myself. Just one. My lips brush over hers softly, well aware this may be her first kiss. Today, it is enough between us.

“Really.”

When I inch back, lost in the satisfaction of this newfound intimacy, her eyes are closed, her face flushed and happy. I’ve done right. No matter what recrimination my second-guessing head screams.

She sighs softly, eyes fluttering open, melty and swirling with warmth. “And they lived happily ever after,” she whispers.

Chapter Seven

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