Page 8 of Her Grumpy Mountain Man

“Do you want to stop?” She holds my gaze.

“No.” The answer comes easily. “I want you here when you no longer need protection. I want to know whether you’d come back just to see me.”

Her expression softens. “Maddox, I spent half the afternoon watching you chop wood.” She rests her hand on the quilt between us. “I think you know I’m interested in more than your security arrangements. I want to be here with you.” Her fingers brush mine. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”

I turn my hand and take hers. She needs to know something else. I’ve been thinking about saying it since the porch, rehearsing words that sound ridiculous when I imagine saying them aloud.

“I haven’t done this before.”

“What part?” Her thumb strokes the side of my finger.

“Any of it.” I lift my eyes. “You’re the first woman I’ve ever kissed.” Her lips part at my confession. “I’m a virgin, Ava.”

I wait for the surprise to turn into something worse. Questions I don’t know how to answer. A careful expression as she tries to spare my feelings. Instead, she shifts closer.

“So am I.” She rests her other hand on mine. “And you’re my first kiss.” A shy smile appears. “I was hoping you couldn’t tell.”

I remember her hand at the back of my neck on the porch. The way she kisses me first when I hesitate. “I couldn’t.” I brush a strand of hair from her cheek.

“Well, good.” She leans into my hand.

“You could have told me.” I trace my thumb beneath her cheekbone.

“So could you.”

“Fair.” I lean toward her slowly, giving her time to change her mind. Instead, she closes the distance herself.

I kiss the corner of her mouth, then her cheek. She laughs softly as my beard brushes her skin, then she catches my face between her hands and brings my lips to hers. Our mouths meet in a soft kiss that quickly turns heated.

When we finally part, she keeps her forehead against mine. “Still worried?”

“A little.”

“Me too.” She draws back enough to look at me. “But I want this with you.”

I study her face. She’s nervous—I can see it in the way she takes a breath before continuing. But she doesn’t look uncertain.

“We can take our time.” I kiss her palm. “We can stop whenever you want.”

“That goes for you, too.” She brushes her thumb across my lower lip.

I nod. Then she kisses me again, deeper this time. We ease down onto the blankets together, awkward enough that my elbow knocks a pillow off and sends it sliding toward the couch. Ava laughs into my shoulder. I retrieve it, laughing with her, and tuck it beneath her head. That helps more than anything else. We don’t have to know everything—we can figure it out together.

She pulls at my clothes, and I pull at hers until we are completely naked. “Are you sure about this?” I hold her gaze, my cock heavy and aching between us.

“Yes, Maddox, I want this—I want you.”

I push her back against the mountain of blankets she laid out, my mouth finding the sensitive skin of her neck, trailing kisses down the valley between her breasts. She tastes like Heaven—something I never thought I would have the honor of tasting. My hands explore every inch of her, memorizing every curve. My hands move lower, finding the damp heat between her legs. She’s soaking wet, her pussy clenching as I slide two fingers inside her. She's so ready that I have to grit my teeth to stop from coming too soon.

“Fuck, Ava.” I groan, my thumb circling her clit with a steady pressure until she’s arching off the bed. “You’re so tight—so wet.”

“Please, Maddox.” She begs. “I need you inside of me, now—no more waiting.”

I move between her thighs, the head of my cock pushing at her entrance. I drive into her with one deep thrust, stretching her inner walls. Her eyes fly wide as her hands grip my arms. “Did I hurt you?” I kiss her forehead.

“No. You’re just so big.” She moans.

“Good, because I don’t think I’m going to last much longer.” I look between our bodies and watch my cock disappear inside her, then reappear as I pull back. The sight is almost my undoing, but I hold back, making sure she comes before I do.