Page 6 of The Mountain Man's Mail Order Temptation
Something made this sweet girl run, and she found me. I don’t know whether to thank Dottie or yell at her more. Right now, I can’t do either.
Ellie’s trying not to fall apart. The least I can do is offer safety. For tonight. “Guess you’re staying.”
She visibly exhales, shoulders dropping with relief. “Thank you.” She smiles, sweet and polite, like she didn’t just rock my foundation with one vulnerable look.
I glance away before I do something stupid, like see if she tastes as good as she smells. “We’ll figure it out tomorrow.”
“Right.”
A few beats of silence pass. Normally, I relish the quiet. Right now, it feels awkward and unsettling.
“So, um, I can sleep on the couch.” She waves at the sofa. “Do you have a blanket and pillow I could borrow?”
Shit, I hadn’t even thought about sleeping arrangements. I stare at the couch for a long beat. This is the first time in recent memory that I will have another person sleeping in my proximity. As my missions grew more dangerous, I refused to share space with anyone, never knowing who I could trust.
Ellie effuses innocence. It’s not her trust I’m concerned about. What if I have a nightmare and she witnesses it?
“Anson?”
I swallow hard. “Yeah. Let me find something.” I turn down the hall, cursing myself, Dottie, and this whole intolerable situation. I’ll have to stay awake all night. It’s the only solution.
“Have you had dinner?” Ellie calls after me. “I’ve been traveling all day, and I’m hungry.”
I turn. “Dinner?”
“I mean, it’s late, and I know this isn’t exactly normal. I can cook, although I’m a better baker. Once, I even took a barbecue cooking class, but the instructor was arrested for selling drugs and I never finished. I’m sure I can make something edible though. It’s the least I can do since you are letting me stay.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Please? I want to do something.” She looks so hopeful, I can’t turn her down. Besides, she doesn’t want my cooking. She could burn toast, and it would still taste better.
I nod.
Ellie practically dances into my kitchen and starts digging in the refrigerator. Ezra helped me put it in about a month ago,and there still isn’t much in it. I need a trip to the grocery store, but I’ve been avoiding going into White Falls. Small town or not, there are too many people.
I find a pillow in the hall closet which will do. There’s an extra blanket at the end of my bed. I head into my room and grab it, then pause. Goddammit, I can’t make her sleep on the couch. It’s not her fault my grandmother has us dancing on strings like fucking puppets. Maybe I suck at conversation, but at least I can give her a comfortable bed for the night. I’ll take the couch, and she can sleep here.
Setting the pillow and blanket aside, I tug open the chest of drawers until I find a spare set of clean sheets and make quick work of changing the bed.
A few minutes later, I return to the living area and dump the pillow and blanket on the couch. The house smells like soup. Ellie is in my kitchen, humming to herself. She’s kicked off her shoes and stands there barefoot in her little cherry dress with her honey-colored hair up in a messy bun. Her hips sway as she dances to her tune, completely at ease as I come up behind her.
Jesus Christ. She looks like she lives here.Like she belongs in my kitchen.
Before I can process that, she shimmies her hips to the tune, and I’m distracted by the sight. Her ass looks round and plump. Perfect for my hands. An image of bending her over the counter and pushing her dress up to reveal those perfect globes blasts into my mind, stealing every ounce of blood and brain cells. My cock fills until it presses against my sweats.
I’d place a palm in the middle of her back, holding her down, while shoving the fabric aside with the other until I was tracing her silky skin and the heat between her thighs. Maybe drop to my knees behind her and taste that honeyed heaven.
I step forward without thought, closing the distance until I’m inches from being pressed against her back. She’s barely tallerthan Dottie and her head just reaches my shoulder. Perfect. That warm vanilla sugar scent fills my lungs, robbing me of my senses.
“Ellie,” I breathe.
Her hips still, and she slowly looks up at me over her shoulder.
I take in her pretty face and the plush pink lips that are calling to me. The perfect view of her breasts, down her arms to the delicate shape of her hands.
I swallow over the sudden lump in my throat, and ask, “Why are you using my Ka-Bar to cut cheese?”
CHAPTER FOUR
