A Mountain Man Christmas Crush (Mountain Men of Granite Junction #1)

Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

O f course, this would be the night Bo had to sniff everywhere, dawdle like a kid, distracted by every snowdrift. But Gene finally got the goats settled and Bo in his room, curled up on his dog bed. He closed the door and let out a breath. He was really going to do this, finally have Sarah St. James in all the ways he had been dreaming of for years.

He should run away as fast as his legs could carry him, knowing this was far more than a one-night thing. She wasn’t meant for a fling, a quick affair. Her heart was engaged, and he would shatter it, even if he didn’t want to. He had no choice. He was too damaged, too old and set in his ways and would smother her sunshine. He would only bring her heartache, if not today or tomorrow, but someday, and he couldn’t bear to do that to her.

But he also couldn’t walk away from the sweetest woman he had ever known, and he would have her. At least for tonight. Maybe he’d be damned, but at least he’d have something for his dreams for years to come when he was alone in his cabin.

He headed down the hall to the door he’d been longing to open for the two weeks he’d been staying there but had avoided. He turned the knob and was treated to a vision in red, kneeling in the center of the antique bed, surrounded by dim light. His mouth went dry and his cock hardened even further inside his jeans.

Sarah’s hair cascaded down around her shoulders, brushing the lace that cupped her breasts. She gave him a shy smile. “I hope you like it.”

He cleared his throat gruffly. “I love it. But you’d look gorgeous in anything or nothing.”

She flushed a deep red that matched the red of her teddy. He stepped further into the room and shut the door firmly behind him. He glanced at the side table and noted the rather large box of condoms and the few packages already out of the box. “Eager?”

“Hopeful. I drove to Martinsburg to get them when I had to drop off some soap there.”

He ran a finger under one of the straps over her shoulder and down her back. “Did you get this delight there, too?”

She looked down, the flush still staining her cheeks. “No, I had it. Never wore it, though.”

A flash of satisfaction shot through him. She wore this for him. No one else. He tugged the strap down one arm so the cup sagged a little, but still hid her soft mound from him. He moved his hand to her breast, slipping inside the cup, and gently squeezed. Sarah stared at him, her eyes wide and teeth sunk into her lower lip to keep from making a sound. That wouldn’t do at all. He wanted to hear everything, feel everything. He’d felt more alive in the past two weeks with Sarah than over the past ten years, and it was because of her.

He brushed a thumb across her peak, and it hardened. She whimpered, and he did it again, wanting, no needing to hear her. He tweaked her nipple, and she gasped. He swooped down and took her lips in a sudden, sharp kiss, devouring her lips with his, his tongue sweeping inside to taste the sweetness and innocence and strength that was Sarah.

He bore her down onto her back on the bed and caged her neatly with his body. She reached up to him, but he took her wrists in one hand and pinned them above her head, arching her into his body. With his other hand, he tugged the other strap down until both breasts were bared for his gaze.

“You’re gorgeous,” he growled.

He plumped the flesh of one breast with his hand, teasing the tip with his thumb, until she shivered and cried out beneath him. He chuckled and leaned down to suck the tip into his mouth, toying with it, while she gasped and wiggled beneath him.

He lifted his head, and stared at her, his cock an iron bar in his jeans. He threw his leg over her lower body to keep her still. “No moving until I say so.”

“But I want to touch you.”

He shook his head. “Not this time. I’m too on edge, baby. Grip the headboard and don’t move or I’ll stop.”

She nodded and gripped the bars of the headboard. He smiled. “Ready?”

She bit her lower lip and nodded. He bent down and nibbled at the lower, rounded edge of her breast, avoiding the tip. She arched up with a low shout, then settled back to the bed as if remembering his admonishment. He curled his tongue around the tip and licked it, while his fingers toyed with the other side. He moved back and forth until her head was thrashing, but she never let go of the headboard.

He went to push the red lace down, but it wasn’t budging. “How the hell does this damned thing come off?”

She laughed, a husky sound that arrowed straight to his dick. “I’ll have to get up. And you can also get undressed. I’m feeling alone here.”

He paused, unsure he was ready for her to see the reality that was his body, with all the scars and damage from his time in the military. He didn’t want to answer questions or see her face when she saw the wounds from his time overseas. Hell, he hated them too.

“Only if we turn out the lights.”

She was already shaking her head. “No. You got to see me in the light. I want the same consideration.” She let go of the headboard and knelt in front of him. “Trust me, Gene. Please. I want to see you. All of you.”

He sighed. He knew when he was fighting a losing battle. “Fine.”

* * *

S arah couldn’t believe Gene was letting her see him. She’d never even seen him with his shirt off, and that included times when he used to help around their house in the summer. But she needed to see him and needed him to know she wasn’t some wilting flower who would run at the sight of a couple of scars, because she suspected that was what he was hiding. Her father had told her a little about Gene’s military days, intimating that he had been injured in an attack on a convoy, but she didn’t know much more.

She unsnapped the lace confection at the crotch and pulled it over her head, steeling herself for his reaction. He sat on the edge of the bed, his back to her, as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt, then pushed it off his back. Scars crisscrossed the flesh, and she sucked in a breath. The pain he must have suffered. She stifled a sob at the thought and, without thinking, reached out and traced them with her hand. He stiffened under her touch but didn’t move. When he remained still, she continued her exploration, growing more bold to caress him around to his chest and even brush his nipples, her body leaning against him.

She laid her head between his shoulder blades and hugged him, not daring to say the three words she desperately wanted to, but settling for something else. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”

He stayed there for another minute, then stood, sliding his jeans off and tossing them and his shirt onto a chair, and faced her in his full glory. His cock stood out proudly in front of him, and her gaze went directly there. She licked her lips, a little nervous at his size. Her last boyfriend was nowhere near like Gene in so many ways, and it had been a couple of years. But she was ready.

Wetness dampened between her thighs and arousal pulsed hot and heavy in her body. She wanted him desperately, even if it was for just one night. She could be strong enough to let him walk away.

Gene gently cupped her cheek. “You disobeyed me, little girl. You let go of the headboard and you didn’t get undressed all the way.”

She frowned even as a frisson of excitement shot up her spine. “On the bed, on your hands and knees, ass in the air.”

She shivered but did as she was told, feeling slightly foolish to have her butt sticking up in the air, her head on the bed. The cool night air drifted over her skin as he stood there and stared at her. “You’re beautiful, baby.”

He reached out and stroked her ass, then drew her panties down over her thighs, lifting one knee and the other to take them off. His hand went back to the globes, and he caressed them again, then smack! She shook under the impact, the shock and sudden pain jolting her forward. His hand remained on the spot, the heat seeping into her skin. Then he drew back and repeated it four more times. Her pussy swelled and wetness pooled between her thighs even as she gasped at the pain.

The last time, his hand massaged the warmed skin, then she felt his lips kiss across the heated skin. “You took that beautifully, but I need you now.”

His fingers drifted between her thighs to brush her folds and find that little nub of pleasure. Sarah’s back arched as a lightning bolt of sensation raced through her. Then he circled it again, more firmly, tweaking it and pinching it until she came with a low cry, her head buried in the sheets, her hands clutching at the bedding.

He smacked her ass again. “Don’t hide your sounds from me. I want to hear it all, Sarah. Every last one.”

He grabbed a condom from the bedside table and opened the packet. He fitted it over his cock and then rubbed it through her folds, wetting the tip thoroughly. He dipped into her entrance, easing his way in, slowly, inexorably stretching her. She bit her lip as he filled her almost to the point of pain, but it was a pleasurable pain, as he hit all the right spots and some she never knew she had. He finally bottomed out, deep inside, and stilled.

He brushed her hair to the side. “You okay, Sarah?” When she nodded, he lightly tapped her backside again. “I need the words.”

“I can barely talk. Yes. Now move, damn it.”

He slapped her ass once, but chuckled. “I’m in charge, baby.”

He took her hips in his grasp, and pulled out slowly, before thrusting into her. He began moving in a steady rhythm, increasing his pace until he was pounding into her. He shifted slightly, hitting a new spot, and she screamed, “Harder.”

He complied, and reached around to brush at her clit, which sent her toppling over the cliff, squeezing him, and she came. He followed quickly after with a loud bellow, stilling as he finished. He dropped to the side and pulled her to him, cuddling her close.

She rested her head on his shoulder. “Maybe I’ll disobey again if that’s what it gets me.”

His chuckle rumbled through her, and she sighed, content.