Page 9 of Wanted By the Mountain Man
Rafe shook his head. “You were new to town. I labeled you something you aren’t. You’re a good guy. I realized that tonight.” He glanced over at me, then back to Rourke. “You’re just like the rest of us.”
He was just like the rest of them because he snuck off into the woods with a woman? No, he was just like the rest of them because he was interested in a much younger woman. In fact, I was the same age as all the other women here tonight.
“Truce?” Rafe asked.
He held out his hand. Rourke hesitated a few seconds—just long enough for me to wonder if he was going to refuse to shake it. But then he stepped forward and met the guy’s handshake.
There was still something a little competitive about the way they shook hands. I wondered if they were having a grip-off, seeing who could squeeze tighter. But when they let go, Rafe turned and started back toward the pond.
“Found him!” he called out.
That announcement seemed to draw everyone out of hiding. Couples came from every direction. I expected everyone to have smug expressions—like they knew what we’d been up to. But no one paid any more attention to us than they did to the other couples surrounding them. Heck, they’d all be just as likely to sneak off for a quickie in the woods themselves.
Only in our case, it wasn’t a quickie. It was a first time. The first time of many, many times to come.
As we helped everyone clean up, I realized I was pretty much holding my breath, waiting to see what would happen when we parted. I hoped like hell this wouldn’t be the end. I didn’t think it would be, but a small part of me was so invested in him that Iworried he wasn’t as into me as I was into him. What if he wasn’t thinking forever?
But as soon as we were in his truck, waiting while everyone else pulled out of the parking lot, I knew that my doubts had been silly. Of course, he felt it too. And I saw that as he looked at me.
“Sorry about all that.” He seemed bugged about something, but the warmth in his eyes told me he wanted to protect me from whatever it was.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“That stuff with Rafe.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what the deal is with him. We got off to a bad start, but I guess everything’s okay now. It’s a relief. I just wish you didn’t have to see all that.”
“He was looking out for us,” I said. “I’m surprised all your friends came looking for us.”
“Yeah, they should have known they might find us in a compromising position.”
“We’re all adults. I’m sure they’ve been in plenty of compromising positions in their time together.”
“I don’t want to think about that.” He shook his head. “I want to focus on us. I’m going to get you home and kiss every inch of your body. I’ll do all the things I couldn’t do when we were standing against that tree.”
Now my mouth spread into a smile. “I like the sound of that.”
“But first, let’s stop by the grocery store. I want to grab some of that chicken I missed out on.”
“Oh crap.” I gave him a sheepish look. “I ate a couple of pieces. You didn’t get any?”
“There were no legs left when I got there. That’s my favorite.”
“Mine too.”
He smiled. “We’ll just grab some from the store, go back to my place, and have a late-night snack.”
“I have to be at work at five in the morning,” I said. “I hate to bring it up, but it’s necessary. There’s no such thing as a late night in my life these days.”
“Well then, forget the chicken. I’ll get you settled into bed, and you can sleep. We’ll make up for lost time tomorrow night.”
“That’s perfect,” I said. “Tomorrow’s Saturday, and Sunday is my day off.”
“Then tomorrow night is our night,” he said. “There’s even more of a need for you to rest up. I’m going to give you the best night of your life. Or the best morning if you’re too tired.”
“And then…?” I dared to ask.
I had to know where this was going. Yes, it was early, but I didn’t want to get in any deeper if he was just going to move on with his life afterward.
“And every night for the rest of our lives together,” he said.
