Page 15 of Courage of the Mountain
Heath untangles us, then takes my hand and leads me outside. I’m surprised to see a spread of fresh fruit and chocolate croissants, along with a carafe of coffee, two mugs, and cream and sugar. I look at Heath with a raised eyebrow, loving the grin tugging at his lips.
“When did you have time to do all of this? I’m pretty sure the cookbook I suggested didn’t have a recipe for croissants,” I tease.
Heath guides me to sit in a comfy-looking chair next to the table before sitting next to me. “I might have done some shopping earlier this morning,” he says with a shrug. “I know how much you love this place, and I wanted your first morning here to be memorable.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Is that so hard to believe?”
I blink a few times, considering his question. “I mean, yeah. Kind of.” Heath furrows his brow, but I continue. “ I believe you’re that thoughtful, I just… I never thought your care and attention would be directed at me. I feel… lucky, I guess.”
I look down at my hands, wondering how pathetic I sound to him. Heath rests his much larger hand over both of mine, drawing my gaze up to meet his.
“You’re the only woman I’ve ever directed this kind of attention to,” he says softly. “You’re the only one who’s made me want to try. Never doubt your beauty, Lily. Or how valuable you are. I’m the lucky one, I promise.”
“Heath…” His confession is everything to me, but in the back of my mind, I know what this means. It’s real, or at least I hope it is, which means we have to talk to Hayden.
“Let’s dig in,” he says with a clap of his hands.
“What about my store?” I blurt, suddenly remembering the whole reason I’m staying under his roof in the first place. “And the clean up? And the note? And…”
“I already put in a few calls and picked up cleaning supplies. But I don’t want to talk about that until after breakfast. I want to enjoy this morning with you, if you’ll let me.”
“Like you even have to ask,” I tell him with the cheesiest grin.
We sip coffee and talk about all the things we missed in the last few years. I catch Heath up on all the town gossip, while he confides in me about retiring from the military and starting over in his hometown. It’s nothing monumental, and yet it’s everything. After sharing so much of my heartache last night, I love knowing we can be together like this, too. Just enjoying each other’s company while soaking in the breathtaking views.
“Thank you for the best morning of my life,” Heath says after a few moments of comfortable silence.
I peer over at him, drinking in the sight of his green eyes, angled nose, and thick beard. His gaze drops to my lips, then lower, before snapping up to meet mine. It’s hard to comprehend that the gorgeous, intimidatingly muscular man in front of me wants to kiss me, but there’s no mistaking the heat in his eyes.
“I think I know how I can make it better,” I murmur.Is that my sultry voice?
“Oh?” Heath’s eyes darken and his nostrils flare.
Knowing I affect him this much gives me the confidence to stand and walk the few feet to his chair. I step between his parted thighs, loving the way his eyes are locked on my every move. When I lean down and rest my hands on his shoulders, Heath strokes my outer thighs in response. He grips my ass and pulls me closer to him, our foreheads nearly touching.
“Would you like a kiss?” I ask him as I shimmy my hips.
“I want whatever you’re willing to give me,” comes his breathless response.
I grin and press my lips to his, nipping on his bottom lip before licking inside his mouth. Heath lets me have control for now, silently urging me on by massaging my hips and ass. I fall into this kiss, eagerly sipping from him and learning what makes him groan in pleasure.
“Lily,” he breathes out once we break apart. “Damn, you make it hard to stop.”
“Who says I want to stop?”
“Don’t play with me, sweetheart,” he warns. “I’m not as strong as you think I am.”
“Neither am I.”
Heath’s jaw tightens, his green eyes narrowing as he swallows thickly. “What exactly do you want, Lily?” He nips a sensitive spot beneath my ear, then licks a stripe up my neck, causing my knees to shake. The man of my dreams slides his hands down my thighs, gripping them and guiding me to straddle his lap. His lips brush against the shell of my ear, his breath tickling my skin. “Do you want me to make you come on my fingers? Or maybe you want me to suck on your juicy pussy until you scream my name over and over?”
“Oh, God, Heath,” I gasp. “Yes. Anything. Everything…”
He swallows my answer in a devastating kiss. His hands are everywhere, sliding under my oversized t-shirt, caressing my back, my hips, my thighs. His large, calloused fingers roam over my skin in the lightest of touches, and then dig into my flesh, rocking me against his hardening cock.
“Fuck,” he grunts into the side of my neck before kissing me there. “You’re so fucking soft,” he groans, trailing more kisses down my neck and shoulder.
