Mountain Refuge (Mountain Mutineers #1)

Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Brooke

T he moan that escaped me was equal parts passion and surprise. He took me hard and fast, in a way that made it known that—despite what dirty words we had used in the past—that this was the first time he was fucking me, not making love. And I was fucking loving it .

I had only been with two men in my life. After Tyler, I never thought I would be with a man again. That trust had been broken. But then this single father with a terrible past came barreling into my life.

I had never felt the desire to be down and dirty fucked before. Like I needed to be owned, possessed, to have my body claimed and his mark on me. To know that I would still feel that claim even hours or days later.

My second orgasm took me by surprise. With Elijah holding my head up by my hair, I caught sight of our reflection in the kitchen window. It was duller than a mirror would have been, but still clear enough to make out our features. I saw the fierceness of his expression, but also the tenderness of his love.

He followed me over the edge, shouting out his release like a battle cry .

My body sagged, useless and limp. Elijah released his hold on my hair, breathing as heavily as I was. He gently pulled me back against his chest. He laid tender kisses to the back of my neck, shoulder, and then tipped my head to the side to reach my lips. Though I returned his kiss with equal affection, I was completely spent.

Elijah must have realized this. He gently picked up my boneless body and sat us down on the kitchen floor. He placed his back to the cabinets, somehow still keeping us connected. My legs straddled wide as I sagged against his chest. My head laid back on his shoulder, my forehead pressed against his ear and beard. Together, we were a sweaty mess.

The oddest memory came to me as my eyes landed on my kitchen entryway. Over a year ago, I had stood back as I watched this man embrace his children after having passed out for nearly an entire day trying to keep them safe. A longing had filled me that day, one I hadn’t realized I still possessed, as the futile dream of joining that loving family embrace.

That dream did not seem so far away now.

I was not his kids’ mother. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be their mother. But I knew I could be their friend. Maybe in time, the idea of being a mom wouldn’t scare me so much. Loving them as a mother had no bearing on how much I loved their father.

“That was,” Elijah gasped out behind me, “different.”

“Very.” I squeezed his hand. “Good different,” I assured him.

He lifted the back of my hand to his lips. “Wanna do it again?”

I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me. “Can I at least catch my breath first?”

My body vibrated from the rumble in his chest. “I’ll give you as much time as it takes me to recover.” I felt his head move around. “And possibly refuel. What kind of bacon is that?”

“Venison,” I told him. “Bagged a good size buck a few weeks ago. I have the antlers ready in my shed to take up to Corbin.” It was rare during the winter that I was able to catch a deer this far north on the mountain, but I was grateful for the fresh meat. While I did try to plan my hunting around mating seasons and populations, it was also a matter of survival on the mountain. We could not always follow the hunting laws, but we did try.

“Belle will love that.”

“No longer upset about eating Bambi’s mom?” I knew that Belle had been taking hunting lessons from Corbin. Elijah was not looking forward to when she shot more than still targets.

“She’s got a stomach of iron. Girl digs right into the blood and guts to help Corbin dress the meat. She laughs when I gag at the different smells.”

I pressed my own lips together to keep from laughing. First, I had to give him credit for trying. I was very grateful I had no witnesses to the first few times I had skinned and cured my catch. Also, because it felt wrong to laugh at him when he was still inside me. It was only because of the angle of our seated position that he hadn’t slipped out yet.

I did not want him to leave my body. I liked holding him inside me, even though I knew that his semen was likely dripping out of the upright condom onto his balls and the floor below. Still had no desire to move.

“You can laugh,” he grumbled. “I know you want to.”

I shook my head, keeping my reaction under control. “You’re still learning, Elijah. There’s no shame in that.” I pressed back against him. “I certainly am taking full advantage of your new skills and muscles.”

He turned his head enough to press a kiss to my temples. “ You’re sure you’re okay with what we just did. I got a bit rough there…”

I laced our fingers together over my belly. “ Yes ,” I squeezed. “I loved it.”

“We’re going to need to have a talk soon about how to lose the condoms.”

I nodded, thinking the same thing. Aside from our first time together, we’d had multiple close calls where we hadn’t had a condom handy. With winter approaching, it hadn’t seemed necessary to have that talk back in the fall. Now that he and the kids were going to be moving in, it was definitely a conversation we were going to have to have sooner than later.

“I love the idea of turning the loft into our bedroom,” I told him dreamily.

“I love hearing you say ‘our bedroom’.” He rubbed the coarse hair of his beard along my shoulder and neck. He was going to leave beard burns there if he pressed any harder.

Though it wouldn’t be the only place on my person with beard burns. I wiggled my butt at the memory. Unfortunately, the motion made his softening cock slip from inside me. We both groaned.

“Breakfast and then shower sex?” Elijah suggested.

I smiled. We seemed to both be in unison at taking full advantage of having a kid-free house. Other than having to go outside to check my utility stores, I might not even bother to put clothing on today.