She laughed, and the sound did something warm to my insides. “Very authentic. I’ll have quite the story for my friends when I get back home again. You don’t happen to be a handyman, do you?” she joked.
“For you, I’d be willing to put on a tool belt.”
Leah laughed even louder, seeming completely at ease with me.
I gathered the wool blanket from her shoulders and spread it over the pelt, tucking the edges in to create something resembling a proper bed. Then I walked over to check my sweater where it hung by the fire. Still damp. Damn.
“Sweater’s not dry yet,” I said, turning back to face her. “I can put it on anyway if you’d rather I wasn’t…”
“It’s fine.” She shook her head quickly. “We’re both adults. And it’s cold. You shouldn’t wear wet clothes to bed.”
I nodded and moved to the bed, pulling back the covers and sliding in against the wall to make as much room for her as possible.
Leah hesitated for just a moment before crossing the small cabin and climbing in beside me. The bed creaked under our combined weight, and there was absolutely no way to avoid touching. Her back pressed against my chest, her legs tangled with mine, and every inch of her soft curves were molded against me.
“Well,” she said, her voice slightly breathless. “This is one way to get to know a stranger.”
“We’re not actually strangers anymore. We’ve shared soup,” I tried to keep my tone casual, but my body was responding to her in ways I couldn’t control. I was hard, achingly so, and there was no way she couldn’t feel my cock pressed against her.
She laughed again, and the movement pressed her ass more firmly against me. I bit back a groan.
A shiver ran through her, and I slipped my arm around her waist without conscious thought, pulling her closer to share my body heat. She didn’t protest. If anything, she melted back into me, her hand coming to rest over mine.
“Are you going to make changes?” I asked quietly, my lips close to her ear. “In your life, I mean. Since you’re unhappy.”
She was quiet for a moment. “I think so. Something has to give. I can’t keep living like this.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a fancy job, though. Good money, stability.”
“Work isn’t everything in life.” Her voice was soft but certain. “I’m ready for a change. Maybe abigchange. I’ve been thinking about moving out of Boston, somewhere quieter. Somewhere more… rustic. This wasn’t just a random vacation. On some level, it was a scouting mission, even if I wasn’t completely aware of it when I booked the plane ticket.”
My heart stuttered in my chest, and I was shocked by the sudden fierce hunger that flared through me.
This would change everything!
Keeping my voice level, I ever-so-casually asked, “Are you thinking about making Red Oak Mountain your new home?”
She turned in my arms, shifting until she was facing me, her eyes meeting mine in the dim light. We were so close I could feel her breath warm against my lips.
“I can see the appeal,” she whispered.
Thunder rolled through the sky outside, shaking the cabin walls, but neither of us flinched this time. We were too focused on each other.
There was a soft vulnerability in her expression. And her body fit against mine like she’d been made for this exact moment.
“This is a bad idea,” I growled.
Leah’s eyes hooded over. “The worst idea ever.”
She moved first, or maybe we moved together, but suddenly her lips were on mine and nothing else mattered.
The kiss was soft at first, tentative, both of us testing the waters. She tasted like cocoa, and when I deepened the kiss she opened for me with a small sound that went straight to my cock.
I cupped the back of her head, tangling my fingers in her hair as I explored her mouth, relishing the way she responded when I nipped at her lower lip.
She pressed closer, her hands coming up to rest against my bare chest, and the feel of her palms against my skin was electric. I groaned into her mouth and pulled her tighter, one hand sliding down to grip her hip as I rolled us so she was beneath me.
“Is this okay?” I rumbled.
