Page 44 of Trapped with the Mountain Man

“Come on, we can talk in the car,” Abby says, closing the space between us slightly. She turns to Janet and adds, “Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.”

“My pleasure,” the blonde says with a wink.

“Yeah, uh, thanks.” I’m not sure exactly what I’m thanking her for, but if it brought me to Abby, I owe her a whole fucking lifetime of appreciation.

I follow Abby back down the hallway and out of the office. We stop just outside the office in the quiet corner, just out of reach of the chaos of the rest of the airport. The knot in my chest constricts my throat as I teeter on the edge of blurting out any one of the hundreds of things I’ve wanted to say to her. Maybe all of them at once.

Abby turns and stares up at me. In that single look, I can see all of the same hopes and uncertainties swimming around in her head and the knot in my chest loosens a little.

I’m here for her, and she’s here for me.

In all the scenarios that I imagined in my head before coming here, I never imagined this. Before she can get a word out, my lips are on hers. It’s the sort of kiss that negates any need for words. I pull her tight to me, taking in all the familiar parts of her. The way she tastes, the way she smells, the way she fits perfectly against me.

The kiss ends reluctantly, only because it has nowhere else to go here in the middle of the airport. If we don’t stop, security will have a damn good reason to escort us back into their little office.

Abby steps back and smiles up at me. Her eyes travel down over my face and chest, stopping at my feet. My bag is on the ground, alongside the unadorned gift bag that I bought before I left Tennessee.

“What’s that?” she asks, pointing to it.

“Oh, uh, it’s for you.”

I pick up the bag and hand it to her. It doesn’t seem like much now that she’s standing right in front of me. As she peeks inside, I cross my fingers that I didn’t make a mistake. Maybe the book will just bring up bad memories.

Thankfully, she laughs as she pulls it out of the bag.

“You bought this? I would pay good money for footage ofyoubuying this book. I can only imagine the scowl on your face.”

“Well, it seems like you have an in with airport security. You could probably get someone in Knoxville to pull the footage for you.”

Abby stares down at the book, fanning the pages through her fingers. “Hunter, I really appreciate this, but I don’t need this book anymore. I already found what I needed.” She gives me a peck on the lips before walking over to a row of chairs and setting the book down carefully on one. She steps back and admires it for a second before taking a few steps back to me.

“Maybe someone else could use it.”

“So, are we going back to your place?” I ask. There’s no way to ask this question without sounding both hopeful and desperate, but I don’t even mind. I’m just dying to get Abby alone so we can pick up where we left off. Even a lifetime wouldn’t be enough with this woman, so I’m ready to get started.

“No.”

My heart sinks a little.

“They’ll find us there when we don’t show up for the interview tomorrow, and I’m tired of sharing my life with everyone else. I just want to be with you. I booked us a cabin outside of town for a few days.”

She couldn’t be more perfect for me.

A little over an hour later, we are pulling up to a small cabin. The forest that surrounds it is unreal – and completely different than the one that I call home. Abby wasn’t kidding about how beautiful it is here.

But there will be time for that later.

We barely make it inside the cabin before I’m peeling off her clothes. First the coat, then the dress. The black tights seem to fight back and Abby impatiently whispers “Just rip them” into my mouth without breaking away from our kiss. A moment later, Abby is laying on the bed in front of me. I make quick work of removing my belt and jeans. Once I’m on top of her, I push inside of her in one greedy thrust. She takes me to the hilt while moaning into my shoulder. I repeat the motion, holding myself deep inside of her and feeling her contract around me as if she would take even more of me if she could.

It’s hard to hold back when I’m so desperate for her, but when she looks up at me, I know that I will have all the time in the world with this woman. I slow down, holding her close and kissing her gently until we both come undone.

I roll onto my back and Abby rests her head in the crook of my arm. Before we both drift off to sleep, I know there is one thing I need to say to her.

“Abby,” I tilt her chin up to look at me through her sleepy, heavy lids, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she says.

This is the only place I’ll ever want to be. Wherever she is.

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