Aching for the Mountain Man - Page 5

That was sexy, too. Everything about him was doing it for me right now.

“So, I haven’t asked you about your situation yet,” I said.

At that question, his smile faded slightly. Only slightly, though.

“What do you want to know?” he asked.

“Are you single?”

Did that sound…personal? Well, if he was married or engaged, or even in a long-term relationship, the last thing I’d want was for him to know I’d been scheming ways to get him naked all day.

“Single,” he said. “Never been married or engaged. No kids.”

I had so many questions, and I wasn’t sure whether to ask them or not. Did he want kids? Was marriage in his future? Or was he the type who preferred to fuck and forget?

I didn’t want to admit to myself the true reason I didn’t ask any of those questions. His answer might be the last one of those choices.

The funny thing was, that should be the only answer I wanted. Fuck and forget was why I was here. I was looking for a guy who wanted only that. So why was I filled with dread that this guy might say he wasn’t a fan of relationships?

“I want to dip my toes in the creek,” Mac suddenly said.

The sentence was pretty darn off topic from what we’d been discussing. In fact, I wasted a good half minute or so trying to place “toes in the creek” as some sort of euphemism for relationships.

Seeming to sense my confusion, he looked over at me, the smile returning. “I’m taking us off the beaten path a little,” he said. “Don’t worry. I’m not a serial killer or anything.”

I matched his smile with one of my own. “Well, I wasn’t worried about it.”

Something I’d noticed, working with him all morning, was just how comfortable I felt with him. Whether we were working quietly, filling boxes full of items, or driving to lunch, it all just felt…effortless. I wasn’t worried that he was judging me or that I was talking too much or too little. It all felt right. Did he notice it too?

“But it sounds good to me,” I said. “I’m burning up.”

He seemed to take that as a cue to adjust the air conditioning. Reflexively, I reached out, my hand landing on his forearm.

My mouth was open to tell him the temperature was fine, but it froze in that position as my body seemed to register that I was actually touching him. My fingertips were on his bare skin, and the warmth that spread through me told me this was the best guy to take my virginity.

He’d frozen too, his hand still resting on the air conditioner adjustment knob, probably because he had to keep his eyes on the road. Yes, he definitely felt this too.

I withdrew my hand and settled it onto my lap, where it had been before. “The temperature in here is perfect. I just meant after working all morning in a house without air conditioning, some water on my feet would feel good. Maybe I’ll even jump in.”

“You don’t have a bathing suit on under that outfit, do you?” he asked.

He glanced over at me. There was no denying the heat in his stare. I couldn’t see his eyes, but the way he clenched his jaw when he finished talking told me everything I needed to know.

“Who needs a swimsuit?” I asked as adrenaline surged through my body. “As long as this is a private creek, that is.”

Was it my imagination, or did he have a death grip on the steering wheel? It sure looked like it. Yes, I was definitely doing things to him.

“There shouldn’t be anybody around this time of day,” he said. “But I know an area that’s far less traveled than others.”

It sounded like he was on board for the same thing I was. Skinny dipping…and maybe more.

We’d headed up the main road into the mountains. Now he took a right turn down a road that looked pretty abandoned. It was paved, but the asphalt was cracked in places and chipped off on the sides. There weren’t even any lines.

His joke earlier about being a serial killer came back to me, and I almost laughed at my own paranoia. No, this guy was good to the core. I could feel it.

“I stumbled upon this place by accident,” he said as he parked on the grass next to a tree. “I always thought it would be a great spot for a…picnic. Ready?”

He didn’t wait for my response. He reached for the door handle and exited while I sat there reviewing his words. He’d said picnic, but he’d hesitated. He always thought it would be a great spot for something more than a picnic? Maybe something like what I had in mind?