Page 56 of Fake Date with the Mountain Man

“Because ofyourrules. Because you only do one-night stands. And now that we’ve had our one night together, I need to find a way to move on.”

“That’s not what this is,” he says quickly.

“Okay, then what is it? Do you still want to be friends, hiking buddies, what? Because I’m not really sure where to go from here.”

“I want us to be together.”

His words turn me inside out. My bruised insides feel like they’re all exposed. Even though the words are echoing in my ears, I can’t seem to find a way to make them all fit together.

“Together?” I repeat, like an alien who is hearing the English language for the first time.Brilliant, Marlow.

If Ryan is frustrated by my constant misjudging of the situation, he doesn’t show it. He just quietly nods as he watches me from across the desk.

Do I want to bewithRyan? I do…right? That’s what made the idea of going back to being friends – or enemies – so unbearable. All the ooey-gooey feelings that I’ve developed for him. Even so, I’ve never considered the possibility of actually dating Ryan because I never knew it was a possibility.

“O-okay,” I finally manage to eke out.

Ryan laughs at this as he stands up and walks around the desk. He grabs my hand and gently pulls me out of my chair so that I am standing right up against him. He brushes a few strands of hair out of my face and cups my jaw in his hands. When he looks at me, heat coils through my body and pools at my core.Memories of his lips and hands all over me and him moving inside of me flicker through my mind.

It would be easy to mistake this for one of Ryan Ehler’s patented moves. Something he’s perfected with years of practice. But when I search his eyes, there’s nothing there but hope and need.

His lips brush against mine, soft and slow. Each kiss lingers before dissolving into the next. Ryan runs his thumb along my jaw and across my lower lip, easing my mouth open to deepen the kiss. His fingers trail down my neck and across my collarbone then his palms pass so lightly over my arms that I have to suppress a shiver. When his hands finally make it to my waist, Ryan pulls me even closer to him.

By the time the kiss ends, I’m pretty sure his hands are the only thing keeping me upright. It’s a knee-quivering, bone-melting sort of kiss. It’s also the sweetest kiss I’ve ever received.

“I want us to be together, too,” I say, more confident now of where I land on this issue.

Ryan smiles and presses one more kiss to my neck, right where my pulse is still racing.

“Right here at work?” he asks with a mischievous grin. “That’s very unprofessional of you, Ms. Stephens.”

I almost object to his turn of phrase until Ryan lifts me up and sets me on the desk, spreading my legs around his hips. All his hardness and heat overwhelm my senses.

Ryan’s fingers are working the top button of my shirt. My hands are on his belt. Then there’s a moment of recognition that makes us both stop abruptly. He takes a small step back and laughs.

In fact, we both laugh so hard that we lose our breath.

We are wearing the same clothes. Not like one of those couples who do fun runs and have the matching t-shirts to prove it. Like theexactsame clothes, from head to toe. And they are the leastsexy clothes of all time: a boxy sage green button-down adorned with various patches and badges paired with stiff, shapeless pants in a clashing shade of dark green. Clunky steel-toed boots that take forever to lace up or take off.

Only someone like Ryan can pull off this look. As for me, I have the sex appeal of Gumbi when I’m wearing this uniform.

“Is it weird that I feel like I’m undressing my twin sister right now?” Ryan laughs.

“Um, yes…weird and gross.”

I start to slide off the desk, but Ryan puts a hand to my hip and stops me. There’s still a hint of humor in his voice when he speaks. Thank God for that. If he said these words in his growly dirty talk voice, I think I would have definitive proof that spontaneous combustion is real.

“I need to fuck you on this desk. I’ll never get it out of my head if I don’t have you right here. Take off your clothes and come back to this exact spot.”

He presses a quick kiss to my lips and turns around, already unbuttoning his shirt.

I fumble with my own buttons and practically trip out of my shoes and pants while keeping one eye on Ryan. He shrugs off his work shirt then his undershirt, exposing the bands of muscle across his back. The sound of his belt buckle coming undone elicits a pathetically Pavlovian response from me, considering that it’s a sound I’ve only heard once before. Stepping out of my panties, I lean up against the desk exactly where Ryan left me a moment ago.

When he turns around, his eyes traverse the length of me, taking in every bare inch. A smile tugs at the corners of his mouth, but he shakes his head as he closes the gap between us.

“I told you I wanted you in the exact spot where I left you.”

Ryan’s tone is dark, but his eyes are bright and playful. I let out a little gasp as he picks me up and sets me on the desk again.His hands run down my hips, his fingers grazing my inner thighs and then spreading my legs wide. He brushes his lips against mine slowly then takes half a step back to admire me in this new position.

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