Her Mountain Man Recluse (Crave County: Mountain Men Love Curves)

Epilogue

RIDGE

It’s a frosty afternoon on Cherry Mountain, the sun already dipping beneath the peaks as I carry the bag of firewood through the trees. My wife will be home in a few minutes, and I want to make sure I’m there to welcome her.

As I reach the front door, I hear the whir of an engine as Lila arrives, parking beside my pickup. My heart thumps as I watch her exit the car, grinning at me. She looks sexier than ever now she’s carrying our baby, her rounded belly stretching against her sweater as she grabs a small box from the car. I stride toward her and pull her into my arms, smothering her pretty face with kisses.

“Careful,” she says with a giggle. “You’ll squash the cherry pie.”

“Fuck, I missed you.” She’s only been gone a few hours, but it felt like forever.

“I missed you too.”

Lila beams at me and I lean in to kiss her, groaning against her plump lips. Then I wrap my arm around her and guide her into the warmth of the cabin. Middy greets us as we enter, meowing, and she purrs contentedly as we reach down to stroke her.

“Did you have a good day?” I ask Lila as we straighten up.

“Yeah, it was fun.” She smiles, pointing at the cherry pie. “Want a slice?”

“I’ll get it, princess.”

When Lila moved in with me, I told her she didn’t need to work. My parents left me a generous inheritance when they passed, and I make extra money from selling wood and produce, so there’s plenty to support us both. But she was eager to find something part-time, and Buttercup Bakery fit the bill. She’s always bringing home leftover sweet treats, and I know she loves working in Cherry Hollow. The town has carved out a special place in her heart.

In the kitchen, I cut us each a large slice of pie and carry it through to the living room. There’s nothing to indicate that there was once a tree poking through the ceiling in here. The cabin is as good as new. I was determined to make the place safer for Lila, and now it’s pretty much stormproof. Everything has been reinforced, and I chopped down a couple of trees that were within falling distance of the roof. Keeping my wife safe is all that matters to me, and since she’s been here, she’s made a few changes of her own to our cabin. Shelves line the walls, stuffed with romance novels of every kind. There’s also a large TV for Lila to watch her favorite romcoms. She’s made the whole place look cozy, filling it with blankets and cushions and warm décor. Now it feels more like a home than ever.

Lila thanks me when I hand her the pie, and I take a bite of my own, humming appreciatively. It’s sweet and flaky and so damn good.

“God, I love my job,” Lila says as she digs in. “Free cherry pie—what more could you ask for?”

I smile at her, suddenly reminded of the present I bought her this morning. “I got something for you, princess. Give me a second.”

I head to the bedroom and reach into the closet, pulling out the bag I hid there earlier. Back in the living room, I hand it to Lila, joining her on the couch.

“Thanks, Ridge,” she says, beaming as I hand it to her. I watch her eyes light up as she opens it, pulling out three new romance books.

“I skimmed through them in the store. Made sure there was plenty of smut.”

Lila laughs, her eyes dancing. “You know me so well.” She hugs the books to her chest and kisses my cheek. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome, princess.”

My heart squeezes at the happiness on her face. I love buying my wife books. Seeing her eyes light up is fucking intoxicating, and I head to the bookstore in Cherry Hollow every week looking for new titles that I think she’ll love.

“We might have to put up some bookshelves in the guest room,” she says with a chuckle. “I think we’re running out of shelf space everywhere else.”

The guest room is another new feature of the cabin. It used to be an empty room full of boxes, but I knew Lila wanted Audrey to visit, so I fixed it up and put in a bed. It turned out to be redundant. In a twist of fate, on one of her trips to visit us, Audrey met Weston, the owner of the vacation cabin. The rest is history. They fell in love and now live in their own cabin just a short drive down the mountain. Lila was ecstatic when she found out her best friend would be moving to Cherry Mountain, and they see each other all the time.

I’m still a solitary guy. Lila is all I need, and she’s the only person I want to spend all my time with. But I’m not as reclusive as I used to be. When I go into Cherry Hollow, I return people’s smiles. Hell, when Audrey and Weston visit, I even find myself enjoying their company. Weston is a fellow veteran and mountain man, so we have a lot in common. He understands the challenges of life after the military, and it’s nice to realize I was never as alone out here as I thought.

My shoulder still pains me sometimes, but I’ve learned to live with the bullet inside me. Some days, I’m even grateful for it. If the damn thing had been a little farther to the right, I’d have died in Iraq all those years ago, and I never would have met Lila. But instead, I’m still here, happier than ever. A little pain feels like a small price to pay, and the flare-ups are much milder than they used to be. With Lila’s encouragement, I’ve been seeing a doctor who’s trying me out on different pain meds. They don’t make the ache go away, but they dull it, making it more manageable. I also see a physio who’s been helping me to loosen the tightness in my muscles, showing me techniques to manage the pain.

Life is good.

Hell, it’s better than good.

And it’s all thanks to my beautiful wife.

“Wow,” she says, poring over the blurbs of her new books. “I can’t wait to read these. This one is enemies-to-lovers—I love that trope! Oh, and this one is a mountain man romance…” She looks at me, her eyes twinkling. “My favorite.”

My pulse quickens as I look at her. “What do you say we bring your books to life?”

She grins at me. “Act out some scenes, you mean?”

“Exactly.”

“Which ones?”

My cock stirs, heat sizzling in my veins as I pull her close to me. “Let me show you, princess.”

I kiss her hard, sucking on her plump bottom lip until she shivers against me. She tastes like cherry pie, and my erection strains against my jeans as I grab her sweater, pulling it off.

I don’t stop there.

With urgent hands, I strip her naked, feeling her soft skin as she stretches out on the couch. Lila is curvier than ever now that she’s pregnant, and I can’t keep my hands off her. Every inch of her body is sexy as hell, from her deliciously thick thighs to the plumpness of her tits. There’s no self-consciousness in her gaze as I take her in. My wife has grown more confident over the past couple of years, and worrying about internet trolls is a thing of the past. I swore to myself when I married her I’d never let her doubt how beautiful she is, and I’ll keep that promise until the day I die. Now, Lila knows her worth, and I’ll never let her forget it.

“You’re so fucking pretty,” I murmur, ripping off my own clothes until we’re both naked in front of the fire. My cock is aching, and I reach between Lila’s legs, running my finger up her slit. “You’re all wet and sticky, princess.” I suck her wetness from my finger, the musky taste turning me feral. “You’re ready for me.”

She nods eagerly, biting her lip. “I’ve been aching for you all day.”

Her words make me groan. “Poor baby. Come here.”

I lie down by the fire and pull Lila with me, careful not to put pressure on her bump. She rests her hands on my chest, squatting over me, and I hold the base of my cock in position as she sinks down with a shuddering moan, her eyes rolling back.

“Oh!”

Her pussy grips my cock, warm and slick, and my heart thuds as my wife starts to ride me. She whimpers, her cheeks blushing adorably, tits bouncing as she moves.

“Fuck, princess, that’s it.”

Her tight hole swallows my cock, squeezing open around me, her sweet cream coating my shaft. It’s intoxicating to watch our bodies meet, slapping together, the sound mingling with the crackling fireplace. I grip Lila’s thighs and buck my hips, moving up as she sinks down.

“Ridge! Oh, God!”

“Good girl. Keep going, just like that.”

Our rhythm turns frantic. We move as one, fucking hard, our pleasure mounting. I feel my balls tighten, my cock throbbing as Lila sobs for me.

“Look at me, princess. Let me see you come.”

She does as she’s told. Those pretty brown eyes meet mine, burning with lust, and her whole body trembles with pleasure as she comes undone.

“RIDGE!”

Her walls clamp tight, pulsing around me, and I let out a deep groan as she milks my cock dry. My cum spurts deep inside her, and she rides out her orgasm until we’re both spent and panting.

“Fuck, that was amazing,” I grunt, pushing myself into a sitting position.

“It really was,” she says breathlessly as I hold her close, my back to the fire. She wraps her legs around my hips, her belly filling the gap between us, and I rest a protective hand on it.

“Not long to wait,” she murmurs, beaming at me. “Just a few more months.”

I nod, my chest tightening with emotion. “Still can’t believe I’m gonna be a dad.”

“It’s pretty surreal.” Lila rests her head against my chest with a happy sigh. “I can’t wait to meet our baby.”

“Me neither, princess.”

I kiss her forehead and pull back to look at her—my perfect wife. The mother of my baby. The love of my life. My heart overflows when I think back to the night it all began. When I first heard that knock on the door of the vacation cabin, I never imagined it would change the course of my future forever. Thank God that damn tree fell when it did. Without it, I never would have met Lila, and my life would be nothing without her.

“I love you so much,” I murmur, running a hand through her soft hair.

“I love you too, Ridge. More than anything.”

And as I hold my wife close, I know I’m the luckiest man in the whole world.