Page 18 of Her Mountain Man Outlaw
She giggles, closing her book and reaching up to wrap her arms around my neck. I pull her up, and she straddles my hips, resting her head on my shoulder. I love holding her like this. Feeling her soft curves against me. Breathing her in.
“You hungry, sugar?” I ask, her stomach rumbling against me. “Ready for dinner?”
“Yes, please.”
“How do spaghetti and meatballs sound?”
She hums in approval. “Sounds perfect.”
I set her down, taking her hand as we head for the kitchen.
“We should probably have an early night tonight,” Sophia says, shooting me a smirk as I reach for the spaghetti.
“No promises, sugar.”
She lets out an exaggerated groan. “But we didn’t sleep until two last night.”
I set the spaghetti aside and drag Sophia toward me, my gaze locked on hers. “You weren’t complaining when you were coming all over my cock, princess.”
She bites her lip with a knowing smile. “I guess not.”
“Also, it’s Saturday. So we can wake up late tomorrow and have a long morning in bed. A very, very long morning…”
“Sounds like heaven.” Sophia rises on her tiptoes to kiss me. I suck her plump bottom lip into my mouth, savoring her cherry-sweet taste as my hands roam her curves. My cock stirs in anticipation, but I force myself to be patient. I need to make my girl some dinner first.
We pull apart, and I give Sophia’s rounded ass a quick squeeze before focusing on the dinner. I’ve just taken the meat out of the fridge, ready to start on the meatballs, when a knock sounds from the living room. Someone at the front door.
A bolt of paranoia zips through me as I turn toward the noise before meeting Sophia’s gaze.
“It’s okay,” she says softly. “It’s probably just a late delivery, or maybe someone asking about the firewood. I’ll get it.”
“No, stay here, sugar. I’ll go.”
I’m annoyed with myself as I leave the kitchen and head for the door. Sophia shouldn’t have to deal with my paranoia. She’s right—it will be someone asking about the firewood. Wouldn’t be the first time somebody has come to my door trying to haggle.
I open the door with a scowl. I feel a flicker of relief when I see it’s a young woman by herself—not a fleet of cop cars. Shelooks pale and anxious in the glow of the porch light, a mane of red hair framing her face.
“Can I help you?” I ask, already impatient to get back to Sophia.
“M-Maddox?”
My stomach turns to ice when the stranger says my name. My real name. For a second, I think it must be a trap. Maybe this woman is a cop after all, trying to sniff me out. But then she takes a step toward me, tears welling in her eyes. Realization hits me like a freight train.
It’s been so long. She was barely nine years old when I last saw her, a tiny little thing with wide eyes and scraped knees. But as I stare at the woman, I see it. The same eyes. The same freckles. The same pale face. My litter sister. All grown up.
“Ruby…”
She bursts into tears, throwing her arms around me. For a second, I’m too shocked to move. She’s sobbing against my shoulder, squeezing me so tightly I can hardly breathe. My arms hang limply at my sides as my brain struggles to catch up with my heart. Then a lump rises in my throat. With a ragged breath, I wrap my arms around Ruby, hugging my sister for the first time in fifteen years.
“I can’t b-believe it’s r-really you,” she weeps.
My chest floods with emotion. I always thought my sister would hate me after what I did. But when we finally pull apart, there’s nothing but elation in her teary eyes.
“How did you find me?” I ask her dazedly.
She lets out a wry chuckle through her tears. “You didn’t make it easy. But I’ve been keeping track of your money orders over the years, looking at the postmarks. I marked them all on a map and figured you must be living somewhere in the middle of them all. Somewhere in Colorado. Then your last one…it was different.”
I understand her immediately. The last money order I sent was from Winterdale, just a town over from where I live. It was a risk. A dumb one. But my truck had broken down. I couldn’t drive, and I couldn’t bear the thought of Ruby thinking I’d forgotten her. So I walked to Winterdale and sent the money order from there.
