Page 6 of Mountain Man Bodyguard
KANE
I’d somehow managed not to make a move on Chassie for the rest of the evening. Making us a simple dinner, I grilled up some chicken thighs and pocket potatoes, a specialty of mine that I wrapped in a foil pocket and placed on the grill alongside the chicken.
As we ate, the subject of Wi-Fi never came up, but I knew it eventually would. She’d given the local police her cell but had purchased an inexpensive pay-as-you-go replacement.
“So, tell me about yourself? About your brothers. Were they in the Army too?” She looked genuinely interested, and I was not only hungry for dinner but to spend time learning more about her. If I had to have some dreaded small talk, I’d do it.
“One is. Or was. That’s Chase. He’s working for a security firm back east. Personally, I think he did it just to piss off our cousin, Seth, who is part owner of Carter Security here in Pineville. We haven’t talked much in the past few years. And the youngest is Ross. He’s thirty-six, never left the area. I, uh, actually haven’t told him I’m back.”Huh? I hadn’t planned to confess that last bit.
Talking about my brothers brought up long-buried memories and how I hadn’t been good about keeping in touch. Sure, we’d had our arguments, and I may not have been happy with Ross’s teenage and young adult life choices, but we were all we had.
Chassie was a great listener, which made sharing things about my background effortless. Stuff I never shared with any of the women I’d previously dated. “Our old man succumbed young to an undiagnosed heart condition when Ross was a baby. I was seven. My mom started working two jobs after that and never remarried.” We were done eating, so I grabbed the dishes and placed them in the sink for later.
“Let’s go outside on the deck.” I grabbed two jackets from the peg by the kitchen door and offered her one.
She followed me out and wrapped the flannel jacket around her shoulders. A quick jolt of pride or maybe it was that weird thrill every guy got when the woman he was into wore a piece of his clothing, whatever it was, I tucked it away for later. The last thing I wanted to do was make her uncomfortable with my intense and sudden feelings for her.
Night fell fast on the mountain, and I lit the firepit after we finished our dinner. I thought we’d maybe sit in silence and enjoy the evening, but Chassie asked more questions, and it just seemed natural to pick up where I’d left off.
“Did you and your brothers get along when you were kids?”
“Yeah, for the most part, I guess. We bickered, but Chase and I both had part-time jobs from middle school on. We helped out as much as we could with Ross, but both Chase and I had joined the service right out of high school thinking it would make life easier for our mom. But Ross never got over both of us ‘leaving’ him. It’s been a long road for him. He had it the roughest, being alone with Mom. No male figure to keep him out of trouble. I guess I’m not sure if he’d welcome me or not.”
While I spoke, she watched the flames, and I watched her. I’m not sure what I was expecting an influencer to be like. I’d never met one, and she hadn’t complained about not having Wi-Fi again, which was curious. I guess at first, I thought she might be constantly talking into her phone or taking videos, but other than writing in a journal off and on, I didn’t see any of the self-absorbed attitude I’d seen on the snippets of reality TV I’d consumed.
“It’s hard to know until you try. I know a bit of what it’s like to lose a parent, but to have lost your dad so young—that’s tough. But from what I’ve picked up today, I’d say you’ve done pretty well. And Chase sounds like he has too, right? Being out of touch with a sibling is hard. Finn and I try, but it’s different between brothers and sisters.”
Chassie leaned close to the fire and held out her hands and rubbed them. The movement was subtle, but I found myself wondering what her fingers would feel like wrapped around mine. And then the image shifted, and I pictured how her fair skin would look against my darker, olive shade, naked and…dammit, focus, London.
“Then there’s Caitlyn. She’s five years younger, and we were never super close, but we always got along. She’s been living in Texas the last few years. Followed a man down there, broke up with him but fell in love with the area. We text a bit and call each other from time to time. I miss her and wish I were better at not letting long periods go by before I reach out.”
Our conversation drifted from family to favorite places in Pineville to eat, like Salvatore’s for pasta, or O’Malley’s for fish and chips, and how much the area had changed since we’d been kids. It was nice, even though all I could think about was how pretty she looked in the glow of the fire.
We both turned in early, and after I convinced her to take the bed and that I’d be fine sleeping on the couch, I spent thefollowing three hours fighting both the discomfort of the couch and a growing need to check on Chassie.
Jeez, I just had to get the leather, U-shaped style, which made lying flat with enough room to turn over impossible, but it was great for reclining, movie watching and shooting up aliens on my Xbox. In between short bursts of sleep, I tried to convince myself that I didn’t need to make sure she had settled in okay. That she felt safe.
And then somewhere in the early dawn hours, I played out this whole fantasy that I went to check on her and found that she was scared to sleep alone. She asked if I could sleep next to her, but on top of the covers, of course. And then oops, halfway through the night I’d wake up with a hot woman curled on top of me dressed in nothing but panties and one of my t-shirts. I’d have her quickly moaning my name as my fingers found their way between her drenched folds. Dream Chassie had eagerly opened her legs for me as I ripped away her lace underwear and drove my cock deep into her slick channel and fucked her until she came, screaming my name.
The sound and sensations were so real I jackknifed awake just as I climaxed in the dream only to realize I was on the couch. Dragging in deep gulps of air, I wiped the sweat from my face. My dick was rock hard. When did I last have a wet dream? Twenty, twenty-five years? Certainly not like that one. And one I’d hoped to make real, and soon.
Groggy and bleary-eyed, I scanned the room for signs of either Chassie or, on the off chance an intruder who had made his way past the lodge and the security cameras there. Finding neither, just my overactive imagination and neglected sex drive. I took in the early rays of sunlight creeping over the mountain floor for a long time as my breathing and heart rate slowed.
I needed coffee and a cold shower. But after looking down at my erection, I decided shower first, then coffee.
SIX
CHASSIE
"Those are some pretty wicked scars." I hadn't planned to corner Kane as he stepped out of the bathroom. It just worked out that way.Lucky me. As my gaze traveled from below the hem of his towel upward, it was hard to miss the growing bulge.
His expression didn’t give away his feelings. But when I tore my gaze from his crotch, where his erection threatened to escape its binding, I watched fascinated as his features morphed from surprise to desire.
"They aren't the only things wicked about me." His eyes narrowed as he spoke, darkening with need matching the wickedness he spoke of.
Then, just as quickly, his face exploded into a grin equally wicked and so full of promise, for a moment I forgot he'd spent the last decade living in Hollywood, surrounded by spray-tanned, toned, tucked and pampered perfect women. Not a woman who was unapologetically plump, cellulite-riddled and was as of a couple of years ago, without a couple inner lady parts.
Whenever I was nervous, or happy or sad, or pretty much anytime I was awake, I fell back on humor. It had worked wonders for me and entertained my co-workers in the stressfulenvironment of the hospital trauma room and whenever I felt less than around men who would normally never give me a second glance.
