Stranded: A Mountain Man Romance

by Piper Sullivan

  I grinned but I was beyond words, beyond complete sentences. “Please. Need you.”

  With a smug grin he grabbed my ass and lifted me up, carrying me to bed where he laid me gently down so my ass hung over the edge and he plunged deep inside my still pulsing body. “Fuck, Lena. Such a tight little pussy.” The way he grunted those words out, like I was causing him that kind of discomfort, did something to me, took me out of my body and I became a pleasure seeking entity. He stood between my thighs, cock buried as deep as it could go, and pumped into me like I was the answer to his prayers. He squeezed my breasts as he pumped harder, giving the nipples a small squeeze just to tease me.

  “Yes, Rex. Fuck me. Please.” He grinned but it was a dark, sexy grin that hit me all over as he pinched my nipples again.

  “You ready to come,” he asked in a voice that was pure honey and I nodded. His hips stroked deeper and harder, but slower and I moved my hips to add more friction.

  “Yes, Rex. Please.”

  He slid out and pounded into me hard and fast, hitting that one spot over and over, that made me see rainbows. “Not yet.” His cock slid in and out, stretching me and filling me up and making me feel wicked and wanton. “Not yet,” he said again, pumping hard into me with each word.

  My muscles began to flutter around him and he grinned, slowing his strokes as he shook his head to tell me not yet. Again. “Rex.”

  His thumb found my clit and began to move in slow circles, the same as his hips, leaving me breathless and straining to reach that pleasure that was just out of reach. “Okay Lena, now. Come now, he commanded, grabbing my clit between two fingers and rubbing it fast as his hips increased until our bodies smacked together and another orgasm shook my entire body.

  The orgasm was all-consuming, heating up the top layer of my skin while my blood slogged through my veins like hot lava and my body vibrated with warring emotions. “Oh my god. Oh my god.” I shook and shook, trembling under Rex as he found his own pleasure and dotted kisses against my overheated skin, pulling more shivers from my still shaking body. “Ah, fuck.”

  He grinned and ran a finger down the side of my face. Such an affectionate move compared to the hard and dirty way he’d just taken me. “You’re good for my ego, Lena. I love that about you.”

  I tried to quiet my stupid heart, already up and panting with pleasure at his words. I couldn’t blame my heart when my own mouth split into a satisfied smile. “Thanks.”

  His grin widened at my easy acceptance of his praise. “I love a lot of things about you, Lena. Your sexy body, those green eyes that say everything you want to say but don’t, your smart mouth. Your food. Pretty much Lena, I just love you.”

  He what? I shook my head, unable and unwilling to believe him. I was ready to tell him that he was crazy and that it was a low trick to use love on a pregnant woman who’d just had the longest, most powerful orgasm of her life, but he kissed me because he probably saw all of that in my tattletale eyes. Apparently. “I do know what I’m saying,” he told me when he finally pulled back, looking down at me with real love shining in his eyes. “I’ve thought about it and I think I should credit for not saying so a month ago. Two months ago.”

  I frowned. That couldn’t be. “But I’m four mon-,”

  “I know, Lena.”

  “But that means, all this time…you.” It couldn’t be. It was so ridiculous I couldn’t even say it out loud.

  “All what time?”

  He grinned and I squirmed, needing space so I could process what he was saying, but Rex had other ideas. “Oh my god, are you hard again?”

  He shrugged and flexed his hips. “I like you all feisty like this. It’s kind of hot.”

  “Jerk.”

  “Maybe,” he said, leaning forward and kissing me hard on the mouth as his hips stroked slow and deep, turning me on all over again. “But I’m a jerk who loves you and I’m going to keep telling you,” he pushed in slow and deep again, “until you believe me.” He grasped my hips. “Until you see how much I love you. And our baby.” He stopped moving and pulled me up so we were chest to chest and he turned so I sat on his lap with him buried so deep I didn’t see how we’d ever part again. “That’s much better. Now I can see the way your eyes change colors as I make sweet love, to your sweet, sweet pussy.”

  I grinned happily. “That’s a lot of sweet,” I managed to choke out around my arousal.

  His grin nearly split his face as he pushed up into me, making my muscles squeeze and contract around him. “You have no idea how sweet you are, Lena. But you will. Now, do you have anything else to say?”

  “No, why?”

  “Because I’m going to say one thing and then nothing else, not one fucking word until you shout my name and come all over my cock.” He grinned when I pulsed around him, liquid flooding my core and adding wicked, sinful friction.

  “What’s that?”

  “I love you, Lena.”

  And then he made good on his promise.

  Really fuckin good.

  Rex

  Waking up with Lena’s sweet curves pressed against my body was the best damn way to greet another day. I couldn’t help but smile as last night, and later last night, and early this morning, replayed in my mind. She was a wildcat, bursting with hellfire as I made sweet love to her, fucked her to within an inch of her life, and made her scream my name. It had all been a fucking revelation, one I couldn’t have conjured up in my wildest dreams.

  After I admitted to her how I felt about Lena, everything had felt different. The sex, for starters, had been totally different. Crazy intense and hot as fuck. She’d been eager and her enthusiasm had fired my own, so much so that now I wondered if I’d been as gentle as a pregnant woman deserved. Pregnant. That word resonated with me, deep and penetrating. Pregnant. Lena was having my baby. I leaned over and pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder, loving the way she moaned even in sleep.

  Even if she hadn’t said the words back, the way she moved against me and the way she touched me told me the truth. She hadn’t said the words yet, but I knew she would. The way she looked at me, like she wanted to devour me, told me that as much as she claimed her feelings for me were a thing of the past, she still felt something.

  I knew it.

  She moaned again as my lips brushed the curve of her neck. “You didn’t get enough last night,” she purred.

  One hand shot to her breast and the other to her now, slightly rounded belly. “Never, or didn’t I make that clear last night?”

  Her soft, husky chuckle hit me low in the belly, and as she turned and gave me a glimpse of heavy, rounded breasts and stiff, pink nipples, my cock sprang to life. “Oh I got it, I was just making sure.” Her lush mouth curved into a sultry smile as she slowly pressed her lips to mine, kissing me like she meant it.

  When she pulled back I looked at her. Really looked at her. “I meant it. I love you, Lena.”

  She sighed and leaned back. “I believe that you believe that, Rex. But as much as I want to believe that you really love me, I can’t help but notice it came after you found out about the baby.” She pushed out of my arms and out of bed, distracting me with miles of smooth, creamy skin and lush curves. My eyes were drawn to the dip of her hips, the patch of golden hair shadowed between her pale thighs.

  “Yeah I get that, Lena. Did it occur to you that maybe the fact that you’re pregnant forced me to honestly confront my feelings for you?” Of course she hadn’t because I’d given her no reason to believe that I had any feelings for her beyond annoyance. And lust.

  “No,” she said, seeming deflated by that answer. “It didn’t. Sorry.” She stood there, nervous and uncomfortable, fidgeting with her hands. “It’s all really hard for me to believe, Rex.” Another sigh escaped and I could see how conflicted she felt.

  I smiled. “I know, and I’m happy to prove it to you. All I need is a chance. And time.” I knew that with those two things, I could win her over.

  “How are you so sure? Just a couple
months ago, you were very adamant that a baby was the last thing you needed, and I was the last person you wanted.”

  My gut clenched at her reminder. The worst part was, there was no blame or resentment in her voice, just acceptance as she repeated the facts as she saw them. “So there are still traces of the asshole I can be, deep inside,” I told her and patted my chest with a balled up fist. “But I’ve thought about it, believe me I have, and I’m sure. You and me and the baby. A family.”

  She shook her head, another excuse already prepared. “It doesn’t matter, Rex.”

  “It damn well does,” I told her and jumped out of the bed, closing the gap between us until the heat from our bodies bounced back and forth. My cock stirred but I had to tamp that shit down. I was losing Lena, dammit.

  “Actually,” she began and took a big step back, “it doesn’t. Your life and your work is in that cabin up on Shadow Mountain and mine isn’t even in Cody.” She sucked in a long breath and let it out slowly, sadness swimming in those green depths. “I have to support this baby, Rex, which means I need to work.”

  “But I’m right here. I want to be there, for everything. I want to help with the baby, help you through this pregnancy. Like partners.” Why didn’t she understand? I was offering her an easier way and she didn’t want it.

  “That all sounds great, Rex. For you. But I don’t want to spend my life on that mountain and I don’t want to work for someone else until I die. My life in Cody is temporary. Period.” She looked at the nightstand when her phone chirped and vibrated, and let out a frustrated groan. “Look, I have to get to work. We can talk about this later if you want, but I don’t really see a point.” With a sad look filled with longing, she slipped into the bathroom for a quick shower, leaving me staring at the door. Like a fool.

  I couldn’t believe it. I offered her everything, and like always, it wasn’t enough. Still I waited for her to finish in the bathroom, getting dressed and putting on coffee for me and tea for her. Because despite what Lena thought, I was a good fucking guy. “I made you tea and toast,” I told her when she rushed in, mostly dressed with wet hair.

  She froze and looked up at me like she didn’t recognize me. “Thank you.”

  “I told you, I’m here.”

  She stared up at me and grinned. “I know, Rex and I appreciate it. But you have to admit that our lives are not heading down the same path.”

  I could admit that, but I refused. It felt like a trick. “But we could. Just tell me one thing, Lena.”

  She shoved a slice of toast in her mouth, chewing quickly as she nodded. “What?”

  “Do you love me?”

  She stopped chewing and those big green eyes slammed into mine as she began to chew again. I waited, with my fucking heart in my throat, for her to finish that damn dry toast. “Does that really matter?”

  “Lena it’s the only damn thing that matters. Do you love me?”

  Finally, she swallowed the last of the toast and washed it down with the ginger tea before she looked at me again. And then she dropped her head and my heart sank. “Yes, I do love you, Rex. Does that make you feel better when it can’t come to anything?” she shook her head, took another big gulp of the tea and turned on her heels.

  But a slow smile formed on my mouth because, fuck yeah, it made me feel better. A hell of a lot better.

  That’s all I needed to know.

  Now, the gloves would come off.

  Lena

  “Hey Lena…oh shit, sorry.” Jared frowned as I sat and blinked up at him. “Are you okay?”

  I shook away the fogginess of sleep and scanned the kitchen to make sure I hadn’t burned anything. Thank goodness everything was where it should be, aside from the cutting board filled with vegetables that sat less than a food away from my napping spot. The dining table. “Uh, yeah. I’m fine. What’s up?”

  Jared was no dummy and he had that same, dark scowl that his brother did. “You’re not fine, Lena. What’s going on?”

  I sighed. “Nothing,” I lied easily. “I’m just tired. I’ll put on some tea and make some lunch and I’ll be fine. No more sleeping on the job,” I told him breezily and stood, a little too quickly. “No worries, just need to get some food in me.”

  “Bullshit. I know you’re pregnant, Rex told me. Now are you really fine or should I make a call?”

  “Lord, save me from overbearing men.” I stood and poked Jared right in the chest. “I said I was fine so I’m fine. Don’t start acting like you or your damn brother are the boss of me, got it?”

  His lips twitched, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. “Got it. But if you need anything, you know, I’m here.”

  And just like that all of my anger deflated. “I know, and I appreciate it. But I really am just tired. And pregnant.” And confused as hell after Rex basically pulled a declaration of love from me and then disappeared. Again. It was his specialty and I really shouldn’t be all that surprised, but I was. Again.

  Though he hadn’t gone away completely, because every morning breakfast appeared on my doorstep—hot and greasy and delicious—as though delivered by a fairy. Flowers had shown up yesterday afternoon, three dozen, filling my cabin with the scent or roses, tulips and daisies. Plus one purple orchid sat beside my bed. He’d delivered a delicious shrimp risotto, from where, I had no idea, along with a note.

  I love you. I mean it. Accept it. ~Rex

  How could I resist that? After a sleepless night, I woke up this morning certain he was playing a game or proving a point. He either wanted to show me what I would be missing without him or romance me until I gave in, I just didn’t know which. Yet.

  “So, that’s a no to lunch?”

  I blinked and looked up at Jared, who I’d completely forgotten about as I let my thoughts wander. Another thing that happened all too often and made me worry that pregnancy brain wasn’t just an excuse. “You want lunch? Sure, I have things to make sub sandwiches. Roast beef good with you? What?”

  He laughed and put a hand on my shoulder. “I asked if you wanted to have lunch with me.”

  I blinked, feeling like we were having two separate conversations. “Where?”

  Jared just shook his head and grabbed my hand, pulling me through the house to the other end that provided a gorgeous view of a field of wildflowers. “Here.”

  “Hey Jared, usually lunch means food,” I told him and he smirked.

  “Still a smart ass, I see. I’ll be back. You stay here.”

  I smiled at his retreating back. “Not like I have the energy to go anywhere, what this extra light lunch in front of me.” His laugh echoed as he walked away and I rolled my eyes, turning them out the window and enjoying the field of flowers in bloom. This was the kind of view that inspired people to paint and write about communing with nature. Too bad my art was food. And right now, I was cooking glorified rabbit food.

  Mostly.

  I let out a long, weary sigh because that’s what I felt. Just exhausted and alone, adrift. Not a good way for a pregnant woman to feel about her life, but there you have it. I was not having an enjoyable pregnancy and I was scared as hell that it was just a sample of what I had to look forward to once this kid was born. Working a lot, never having enough money and probably never having a date for the next couple decades.

  Unless I let myself lean on Rex. But I couldn’t.

  I hadn’t lied when I told him I loved him. Just as he’d claimed to do, I had been honest with myself about my feelings for Rex after finding out I was pregnant. I would likely always love him. I’d already loved him for most of my life, in some form or other, but now it was more. He was my only lover and the father of my child. My heart belonged to him wholly and fully.

  But that didn’t mean he was what was best for me.

  “That’s so much thinking, I half expect steam to start rising from your head.”

  That wasn’t Jared. “Rex. What are you doing here?”

  He grinned. “I’m going big.” Arms spread wide, Rex looked so
proud of himself but I was lost.

  “What does that mean?”

  His smile dimmed just a fraction but he kept it in place. “It means, I’m pulling out all the stops. For you. Well, for us, but you know what I mean.”

  I did, but I still had no idea what was going on. “So there’s no lunch?”

  He looked at me, confusion flashed first and then humor as he tossed his head back and laughed, clutching his belly like it was the funniest thing in the whole damn world. “Lunch will be here soon, but first, we talk.”

  I groaned and he laughed again. “All we do is talk, Rex. Aren’t you sick of talking?”

  He blinked. “No. I’m not. When it comes to talking about how I feel about you and the future we could have, hell no I’m not sick of talking about it.”

  Well, damn. “You make it hard to stay mad.”

  “Good. Come with me.” He walked closer, clasped our hands together and pulled me along behind him. Out of the house and through the field of flowers. “I’m glad it’s a nice sunny day or this plan would have really sucked.”

  “What plan?” I couldn’t help but laugh at this new, playful version of Rex. “I don’t recall any plan. In fact, I had no plans other than lunch and a nap.”

  “Perfect, because I have enough plans for the both of us.” The grin he wore lit up his whole face as he guided me through the large field where, eventually, I could see a tent set up in the distance. “I hope you didn’t think I did another runner.”

  “I did,” I told him simply and couldn’t help but smile up at him because he looked so handsome, so ruggedly handsome in his long sleeve tee that sculped his chest and arms. And from my view behind him, his wide back and tapered waist made my mouth water.

  “You were wrong.” His voice took on a hard edge and I knew my doubt had hurt him.

  “So it seems. I’m glad.” His steps stopped and I slammed into his side. “Did you forget where we were going,” I asked, my lips twitching with the effort it took not to laugh.