Page 26 of The Mountain Man's Mail Order Temptation
When the cops arrived, they booked Chamberlain, then spent hours at the cabin, hauling bodies, taking statements, and doing their level best to figure out who the hell I am. Apparently, my ID and fake background didn’t explain this level of carnage to their satisfaction. Ezra helped there as well. He took the sheriff aside, and several minutes later, the cops wrapped their investigation and were on their way.
Ezra gives me a nod as their taillights fade. “You good, bro?”
“Yeah.” I glance over my shoulder at Ellie. She’s huddled in my flannel on the couch, fingers wrapped around a mug of tea that’s gone cold. I don’t like how pale she is.
Ezra runs a hand through his auburn hair, fingers brushing the scar on the back of his head. It’s healed, but sometimes he still suffers some side effects from the injury. “Never thought I’d see you settle down. Hell must have frozen over.”
“Surprised I could find a woman?”
He grins. “Aren’t you?”
Fucker. “Yeah.” But when I look at Ellie again, all I want is to pull her into my arms and know she’s safe. Run my hands over her skin, and make sure she’s unharmed. I turn back to Ezra. “Thanks bro. Now, leave.”
He chuckles. “Take care of your woman and check in soon.” He waves to Ellie and leaves.
By the time I lock the door behind him, the cabin is too quiet. Ellie hasn’t moved from the couch, and I know the events of the day have been overwhelming. She came face to face with the man she feared and brained him with baking pan. I’m damn proud of her.
I cross the room and take the mug from her hands, setting it on the coffee table. “They’re gone, sunshine. Chamberlain won’t hurt you ever again.”
She nods, fiddling with a button on the flannel. “Do you buy the zip ties in bulk, or are they standard issue?”
“Standard issuewhen you’ve pissed off the kind of people I have,” I murmur, crouching in front of her. My hands find her knees, sliding up her thighs until I’m sure she’s not hurt anywhere I can’t see. “And I’m never out.”
“Good.” Her lower lip trembles.
“But I don’t carry pink.” That earns me a slight smile.
“I’m fine,” she says.
Her eyes tell a different story. She’s still shaken.
“You’re mine. That means I take care of you. Always.” I can’t wait any longer. I carefully lift her into my arms, then take her place on the couch and settle her across my lap. Her warmth seeps into me, her vanilla scent grounding me. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”
Ellie snuggles closer. “Promise?”
“Promise.” I brush my lips against her temple, then down her cheek to her lips in a feather-light kiss.
She melts against me, running her fingers through my short beard and winding her other arm around my neck. “I thought you were going to kill him… like you killed the others.”
Thankfully, she didn’t see the fourth mercenary at the back door when I shot him. “I didn’t want you to see that side of me. But I would have without hesitation if he hadn’t backed down from his obsession with you. That’s who I am. I won’t let anyone hurt you, Ellie.”
“Is it true? What you told Grant about six hundred forty-seven people?”
Damn. I’d hoped she hadn’t heard that. Ellie has seen deep into my heart now. There are no secrets left. No explanations. “Yeah. I’m not like other men, Ellie. I was trained to be the weapon in the shadows, and I’m damn good at it.” Because of that, I’ll never deserve her.
She shifts until she’s straddling my thighs and searches my face. “Sometimes the monsters are the heroes, Anson.”
Does she really believe that? Maybe to her, I am. From the beginning, she’s never feared me. Never seen me the way others do. I tug her closer, feeling my heart trying to punch out of my chest.
“Stay with me, sunshine. I know it’s over. You can go back to your old life if you want. But I want you to stay. Let me love you.”
She freezes in my arms. “If I stay, will you? Love me?”
I cup her cheek and press a kiss to her lips. “I love you, Ellie.” If she leaves, she’ll take my heart with her.
Her smile is radiant, warming me from the inside out. “I love you too, Anson. Of course, I’ll stay. I have more baked goods and orgasms to give you.”
She giggles when I groan. “I will never get that image of Dottie and Grandpa out of my head. She’s a menace.”
