Page 23 of The Mountain Man's Fake Christmas Bride
"Just getting started," he promises, his hand sliding between us to find me still sensitive and ready. "I plan to learn every inch of you tonight."
And he does, taking his time with thorough exploration that leaves me trembling and begging. We make love again, slower this time, face to face with my legs wrapped around his waist and his hands holding mine beside my head. The eye contact, the whispered words of possession and need, make it even more intense than the first time.
Later, as we catch our breath, bodies slick with sweat and thoroughly satisfied, Jared pulls me against his chest, tucking me perfectly under his chin.
"Stay," he whispers into my hair. "Not just tonight. Stay with me."
"For how long?" I need to know what this means.
"For as long as you'll have me." His voice is rough with emotion. "I'm falling for you, Jen. Hard and fast and completely. Have been since you barreled into my life and forced me to feel again."
"I'm falling for you too," I admit, tracing patterns on his chest. "Even though it terrifies me."
"Then we'll be terrified together."
He kisses me again, and we're lost in each other once more, learning and claiming and connecting in the most intimate ways possible. Each touch, each kiss, each whispered confession brings us closer, turning what started as pretense into something beautifully, frighteningly real.
Later, much later, we lay breathless and sated, limbs tangled together in the sheets. His fingers trace lazy circles on my hip as I rest my head on his shoulder, feeling more content than I have in years.
"You've ruined me," he murmurs against my hair. "No man should be allowed to discover his fake wife is also the best sex he's ever had. It's dangerous information."
I laugh, pressing a kiss to his chest. "If it helps, you've pretty thoroughly ruined me too. I don't think I'll be able to walk normally tomorrow."
"Good." There's masculine pride in his voice. "I like the thought of you feeling me tomorrow. Remembering this. Remembering you're mine."
"Possessive much?" I tease, though the words send a thrill through me.
"Very." His hand slides to cup my backside. "Especially about you."
I rise up on one elbow, studying his face in the soft glow from the Christmas lights visible through the half open bedroom door. His expression is open, vulnerable in a way I've rarely seen. The walls he's maintained for so long completely dismantled, at least for now.
"What are we doing, Jared?" I ask softly.
"Falling." He says it simply, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Accidentally but completely."
The words make my heart skip.
"You catching feelings for your wife there Jared?" I tease.
"Getting there." His eyes hold mine, sincere and certain. "Faster than I expected. More intensely than I thought possible. But yes, that's where I'm heading with you, Jen. If you'll come with me."
I trace the scar on his cheek, this visible reminder of all he's survived. "I think I'm right there with you," I admit. "Which should terrify me more than it does."
His smile transforms his face, joy replacing the perpetual seriousness I first associated with him. "Then we're both headed in the same direction."
"Seems like it." I settle back against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat beneath my ear. "Though I warn you, the journey might get bumpy. I'm not always easy to love."
"Neither am I." His arm tightens around me. "But I think we're up for the challenge."
As I drift toward sleep, warm and secure in Jared's arms, I realize that what started as a business arrangement has become the most authentic connection I've ever experienced. And despite all the reasons to be cautious, all the warnings my practical mind tries to raise, my heart has already decided.
I'm falling for the Mountain Man. And I wouldn't change a thing about how we got here.
CHAPTER SEVEN
JARED
Iwake before dawn, as always. But for the first time in years, I'm not alone. Jennifer sleeps curled against me, her dark curls spread across my chest, one arm flung possessively across my torso. She breathes softly, her face peaceful in sleep.
