A Bride for the Mountain Man

by Tracy Madison

  “You okay?” Liam asked, his hold on her secure, his gaze glued to hers.

  She could barely breathe, let alone talk, but she managed an “I am now, yes.”

  “Okay. Good.” He picked her up as if she weighed little more than a can of beans and carried her in the direction of the house. “I’m sorry, Goldi. I shouldn’t have let you walk out here, but I really didn’t think you’d go so far. Of course, if you had let me talk to begin with,” he said with teasing candor, “we’d be halfway done with that snowman by now.”

  He smelled good. He felt good. She still couldn’t breathe correctly, but that had zip to do with her tumble in the snow. It had everything to do with the man holding her. “You’re right. But you were so grouchy! So, really, the fault is on both of our shoulders.”

  “Hmm. I wonder if there is ever a time you’re not stubborn?”

  “Hmm,” she mimicked, “I wonder the same about you.”

  He kept carrying her as he treaded through the thick snow. The fact he could with so little effort astounded her. Made her feel...feminine and fragile and as if his primary goal was to protect her, which okay, at this moment that was the case. And strangely, as much as she’d pushed against her father’s various ways of protecting her, in this scenario with Liam, she found she didn’t mind at all. He...well, he made her feel safe, rather than little more than a porcelain doll.

  “You...ah...can probably put me down now. I’m guessing I can walk the rest of the way without falling.”

  “I’ll put you down when we’re inside and not a second before.” He let out a sigh. “Sorry, but you’re going to have to cross that snowman off your list, because it’s not happening.”

  Oh. The snowman. She’d already forgotten, because now, there was only one thought in her head. Just one. And it had nothing to do with making Liam laugh.

  She wanted a kiss. Yearned for a kiss. The possibility bopped around in her head a bit, and unlike last night, she determined it was a reasonable request. They were both consenting adults. She’d won fair and square and had earned herself a prize. He might object, but she could certainly ask.

  And now, the thought of not kissing Liam, of not knowing what his lips felt like on hers seemed...impossible. She had to know.

  Would he reject her request? She had the belief that he wouldn’t. Or that he wouldn’t, at the very least, outright refuse the proposition. “I’m in total agreement,” she said. “We can nix the snowman in lieu of another prize.”

  “Giving up that easily? Did you conk your head on a rock when you fell?”

  “I did not! But there is something else, something...better, that I’d like for my prize. Now that you’ve vetoed my snowman.” It was one thing to decide the asking made sense; it was another to actually verbalize the question. “I’m pretty sure it will make me far happier than the snowman would’ve. No. Not pretty sure. Absolutely sure.”

  She could still back out if she lost her courage. She hadn’t given anything away yet.

  “That was quick.” He paused at the door, looked down at her and said, “Let me guess. More talking? I suppose—under great duress, mind you—I can agree to that.”

  If a kiss hadn’t become her goal, she might’ve agreed. Mostly due to Liam’s pained expression at the possibility of exposing more of himself via a conversation. It was vulnerable and disarming, and the fact that he was willing to go there if that was what she wanted showed her a lot about the man behind that expression. Maybe more than she’d seen before.

  “No worries. I’m not going to ask you to talk.”

  Relief etched his face, easing the lines around his mouth. “Really? Gotta say, Goldi, that’s surprising. You’ve barely stopped talking since you’ve been here.”

  “Right. Because a near-comatose woman has so much to say,” she fired back.

  “All right, you have a point. I will amend my statement to reflect that you’ve barely stopped talking since we officially met.” He winked and her heart spun. It was that simple. That powerful. “How’s that? Better?”

  “Much. But no, what I’m thinking of requires very little talking. If any at all. In fact, no talking would probably be best, because, well...”

  Lovely. Now she was rambling. But how could she not while this man held her smelling like he did? Looking at her as he did? Sounding like he did? With the image of them kissing now solidly planted in her brain?

  Impossible.

  She breathed. Blinked a half dozen times or so. Her skin warmed even though she hadn’t yet uttered the word kiss. Hell. There was not one portion of her being that didn’t feel warm, from the inside out.

  “Um. So, yeah. No snowman. No talking. And for the record, you might not initially think my request falls within the reasonable range, and I didn’t think so last night when I first thought of it, but now I do. You...um...should know that.”

  He paused seconds before opening the door, stared down at her again and those green and amber eyes of his darkened to a burnished moss. The change wasn’t fueled by anger or frustration or even confusion, because she saw desire looming in the depths of his gaze. As if he already knew what she was about to ask. As if he’d considered the very same.

  Maybe he did know. Maybe he had.

  “You’re trouble,” he said. “I knew it the second I saw you.”

  “Yeah? Well, you’re trouble, too. But...I like it.” Oh! Where had that come from? She blinked another half dozen times, breathed again. “I might like it.”

  “Tell me, Goldi,” he said. “If I have to guess, I might guess wrong.”

  It was now or never. So, now please. “A kiss. I want you to kiss me.”

  His eyes darkened another full shade. She didn’t know the word to describe their color now, but they pulled at her, made her want so much more than a kiss. But...she’d take the kiss and be happy with it. Maybe for the rest of her life.

  A low growl emerged from the back of his throat. And that sound? The heat in her belly grew hotter, her shivers grew stronger.

  “A kiss,” she repeated firmly, with far more bravado than she felt. “A real kiss, Liam. Not just a peck on my cheek or forehead, but a full-blown, sweep-me-away type of a kiss.” Oh, wow. She was both proud and shocked she’d said that so clearly.

  His arms tightened around her at these words, and hunger entered his gaze.

  That seemed so very positive, so she continued with, “I think a kiss is fair compensation for winning the Blizzard Championship and for almost dying for the second time in the span of a few days. Don’t you?”

  “Damn it, Goldi, I’m not made of stone,” he said half under his breath. “Be careful what you ask for. I’m not a man to...have fantasies about or tie yourself to.”

  “I don’t see a problem with a fantasy or two,” she said, “and I’m not asking you for a diamond ring. Just a simple kiss.” Her heart slammed against her breastbone and her mouth went dry. She was out of her mind. Absolutely so. But now that she’d started this, now that she saw and heard the same desire from Liam, she wasn’t about to back off. “Well, maybe not a simple kiss. One amazing, toe-curling kiss. I think you might like it, too.”

  A glimmer of amusement swept over his features. “Toe-curling? Who talks like that?” He shoved open the door and carted her to the living room. But he did not set her down. He kept holding her, staring into her eyes, and yeah, that seemed positive, too. Very much so.

  “My grandma did, so I guess I do, too.”

  “A kiss. You’re asking for a kiss.”

  “Yes, please,” she said. “Just make it—”

  “Toe-curling, yeah.” He closed his eyes, let out a sigh. “Can’t say I’m entirely sure I know what that is, but it is your prize, after all. But who determines if it’s toe-curling?”

  “Well, me, of course,” she said, further emboldened by his
seeming acceptance of her proposal. “I’ll have to be the judge. I mean, it’s my toes you have to curl.”

  “Sounds painful. But okay, I’ll...ah...”

  “You’ll what?” she prodded.

  Another sigh. “This is a very bad idea. You know that, right?”

  Oh, no. She couldn’t let him think that through. Because, yes, it was a very bad idea. It was, at the exact same time, the best idea in the entire world. “Well, we could bet on that, as well,” she said, her voice low. Breathless. And so unlike her normal voice. “If you’re right and it turns out to be a bad idea, you can choose a prize. If I am right, then I get anoth—”

  “Stop. No more talking.” He carried her to the couch. “No more prizes.”

  “But I get this one, right?” Realizing he was about to deposit her on the sofa like an invalid, she stiffened in his arms. Nope. That was not going to happen. At least not before she got her kiss.

  “Oh, no you don’t, mister. I don’t need to rest. I’m just fine. Well, maybe a little damp from the snow, but nothing that can’t be fixed. Later. So, if you think you’re going to plop me down and walk away after I’ve just asked you to kiss me, then you are strongly mistaken.”

  “Am I?”

  “Yes. Strongly. I fell, yes, but I wasn’t in the snow for long and—”

  “Shh, Goldi. I can’t kiss you when you’re talking so much.”

  Oh. Well, then. “No more talking. I’ll just...um...be quiet.”

  “Perfect.” Still holding her, he sat down on the sofa. A second, then another, then another ten passed before he slowly helped her shift so she was sitting on his lap, facing him.

  They were close. So freaking close. Eye to eye, nose to nose, almost lip to lip. And oh, how she yearned to stroke her fingers across the firm line of his jaw, up to his cheek, into his hair. But she didn’t move, too afraid that he’d change his mind if she did anything other than wait. She couldn’t bear it if he changed his mind. Now this kiss seemed of the highest priority. Over food and water and oxygen and sleep. It was all she wanted.

  All she needed. Desired. Wished for. Craved.

  “What are you doing to me, Goldi?”

  “Probably the exact same thing you’re doing to me.”

  “And that helps how?”

  “Just kiss me, Liam. Please.”

  It must have been the please that did it, because the second the word slipped out, he groaned in a deep, almost guttural way, and in the space of half a heartbeat, his lips were on hers, pushing a soft moan from her throat.

  His hands came to her waist and he brought her even closer as he deepened the kiss, his mouth firm, his hold secure. Curls of warmth trickled over her skin, suffused into her blood and seeped into her bones until nothing else existed. Except for them, his mouth on hers and friction and heat and want and need.

  Just that quick. Just that effortlessly.

  Made her want even more. She should’ve asked for an hour of kissing. Two hours. An entire night...the rest of her life. In this moment, that seemed reasonable. Necessary. Because she knew, really knew, that this kiss from this man would leave its mark. And she would never be the same. No matter how many miles she traveled or how many years passed.

  Sliding his hands to the small of her back, he shifted them again, somehow bringing their bodies even closer together. Where did he start and she begin? She couldn’t tell. Didn’t know and didn’t want to know. They were one.

  His tongue pushed into her mouth, hungry and searching and demanding everything she could give, accepting nothing less. She opened her mouth and a moan, followed by another, whispered from the depths of her soul as she capitulated. Toe-curling? Yes.

  Life changing? Yes, that too.

  A frisson of fear swept in, momentarily overriding her desire. Not from the strength of her reaction, but from the knowledge that she would likely yearn for this man every day, in every way a woman could. The fallout of this action—a kiss—could be devastating. Somehow, more so than learning what she had about Rico. And that right there told her a hell of a lot.

  She was already a goner. For Liam. A man she’d known for less than three days, yet her soul recognized from the moment she heard his voice. Her body recognized him, as well. Down to the bone, she knew this man. Oh, she didn’t yet know the details that had built him, but she knew his heart. She knew his soul. She knew him. Had waited for him.

  And here he was, kissing her, touching her, their bodies pressed together and nothing would ever be the same again.

  Very purposely, she shoved the fear into a ball and pushed it as far down as possible. Whatever came next, whatever happened after this kiss? Well, she’d deal with it then. Later. When she had to. But she refused to allow her fears to weaken this.

  Right now, he demanded her attention, her entire focus, and she wouldn’t deny him the same pleasure he was giving her. So she returned his kiss with the same fervor, the same hunger, the same need and as she did, pushed her fingers into his hair and held on for dear life. Maybe, just maybe, if she held on, he wouldn’t stop. He would just keep kissing her...forever.

  As if he could read her thoughts, he groaned and wrapped his arms around her body and pulled back just enough for their lips to separate. She missed him instantly.

  No. Not yet. Please not yet.

  “Dangerous,” he said, his lips so close to hers, yet not touching. “But irresistible.”

  Before she realized exactly what was happening, he scooped her up in his arms again and was heading toward the stairs that led to his bedroom. “Guess I like the danger because I’m taking you to bed. If you’re not okay with that, you better say something.”

  “Yes. Yes, I am okay with that,” she said. “So long as you are staying there with me.”

  “That would be my intent, Goldi. Just—”

  “I am sure, Liam. I know what I want. Trust me on that, okay?”

  One swift nod and he carried her upstairs with the same ease he had through the snow. When they reached his bedroom, he gently set her down on his bed.

  Doubt entered his gaze, concern perhaps that this wasn’t a good idea. And maybe it wasn’t, but she wanted him, wanted this, and she didn’t want Liam to think otherwise, not even for a second.

  She lifted her sweatshirt over her head and tossed it on the floor. Unclasped her bra and took that off, tossed it in the same direction as the sweatshirt. And Liam? Whatever doubt had existed a mere second ago seemed to be gone, replaced by the need she’d witnessed earlier.

  The same need she had. For him. For them.

  “Help me with my jeans?” she asked. “Please?”

  He came to her then without pause and unbuttoned her jeans, dragged them down and off her legs. Her panties were next, and there she lay, naked in front of this man.

  Gently grasping her arms, he started to lean toward her, his view unmistakably on her breasts...but no. Not yet. With a teasing grin, she pushed him back and yanked at his sweatshirt. “You’re still dressed,” she said. “That’s a problem.”

  “Is it now?”

  “Mmm-hmm. New rule. No more touching until we get your clothes off,” she said, feeling powerful and beautiful and...sexy. “I need to see you, Liam. Feel you, too.”

  “I think I can manage that.” He removed his sweatshirt with the same speed that she had hers, and his jeans came off quicker than she would’ve imagined possible. And there he was, naked save his boxers, and oh, was he a sight to behold.

  Strong. Muscular. Long and lean and—in this minute—all hers. All hers.

  “Boxers,” she whispered. “Don’t forget those.”

  “Patience, woman, geez.” But then, he did as she asked, and there was nothing between them, nothing to get in their way. “Happy now?”

  “Very much so.” Breathless. A mass of tremble
s. Needy. But yes, happy.

  “Trouble,” he repeated. Kneeling over, he brushed his thumb over one nipple and then the other, rubbing in small, soft circles that dragged yet another moan from her lips. “You’re beautiful, Meredith. And you’re killing me with those moans.”

  “I can stop.”

  “Ah. Don’t. Stop.”

  His mouth captured hers for another long, searing kiss, igniting this desperate, consuming need another degree.

  Melting...she was melting. There really wasn’t another way to state what was happening. From her bones to her skin, she became a puddle beneath Liam’s touch. Beneath his hands and his mouth and his body. She became his, just as he became hers.

  She lifted her hips, wrapped her legs around his torso and ran her hands down the warm length of his back.

  All to show him that she was ready and that there wasn’t any reason to wait.

  But he had other ideas. “We’re not there yet, sweetheart,” he said, lifting his mouth from hers. “Not yet. We have all day. All night. Why would we rush this?”

  Oh. Well, then. “Okay. No hurry.”

  Time disappeared into a vacuum. Five minutes, ten, three days, she no longer knew or cared. In this space of untraceable time, he skimmed his fingers down her stomach, to her thighs and then followed that very same path with his mouth. Tasting. Tickling. Teasing.

  And as he did, her body came to life in an engulfing rush of shivering need, greater even than before, which hadn’t seemed possible. She ached for him intensely. Viscerally. And regardless of what he’d said, she didn’t believe she could hold out for much longer.

  “Now, Liam. Please,” she begged. “I can’t wait. I need you inside of me.”

  “Oh, now, for a woman who fought against a snowstorm and survived? Pretty sure you can do anything you set your mind to,” he said with a quirky, teasing smile. “Besides which, I don’t think I’m quite done exploring your body yet.”

  She gave him another minute, maybe two, before reaching the decision that if he could torture her, she could certainly return the favor. She rolled out from beneath him and pushed him down, flat on his back with a lot less effort than it should’ve taken. Maybe he was melting too? A distinct possibility. “Now, it is my turn.”