Protected by the Mountain Man (Whiskey Mountain #2)

Chapter Six

Scott

After making sure Ava got back to her car, I had to go to work for a few hours. It’s our delivery day and we need all hands on deck to unload the inventory.

Luke, our delivery driver, stops to give me a curious look in the middle of unloading.

“You look happier than normal,” he says, taking the pause to flip his baseball cap backwards on his black hair.

“That’s because he met a woman,” Ethan pipes in from the corner, where he’s marking boxes on his checklist.

I just smile. “I didn’t meet her. I reconnected with her,” I say, helping Luke pull off the next box of supplies.

“Well you sure look smitten,” Luke says.

“He is. You should’ve seen him last night, fighting off douchebags and pulling her towards him like she was his,” Ethan says.

“She is mine,” I nearly growl. I know I shouldn’t be possessive, it’s just my friends ribbing me, but I can’t help it when it comes to Ava. I want the whole world to know she belongs to me.

Ethan looks at me with a knowing smile. “I know man, this is just how it felt with me and Lu.” At the mere mention of his girlfriend’s name, he breaks into an even bigger grin. And in that moment, I can see that that’s how I look when I think about Ava. Even though it’s only been a day, I know she is it for me.

We continue chatting for a bit. Luke fit seamlessly into our lives here, a fellow veteran and the perfect delivery man for the brewery. It gives him his necessary time alone but allows us to check up on him once a week.

As the last of the boxes are unloaded, I am overcome with the need to get back to Ava. Even a few hours without her is too many.

“You need anything else?” I ask Ethan.

“Nope. I’ve got it. Go get your girl,” he says with a wink. I just roll my eyes at him before heading out.

I walk to the pizza place around the corner, not wanting to head back empty handed.

An hour later, after waiting for the pizza and running home for a quick shower and a change of clothes, I’m hopping out of the truck in front of Ava’s place. I can see her from the front window, and she looks stunning. Chestnut waves pouring around her face, curled up in a fuzzy blanket on the couch, looking at some kind of plant guidebook.

I am so lucky.

She sees me at the door and waves, a huge grin taking over her face. She jumps up from the couch, tossing off her blanket in the process, and runs toward me. I have just enough time to set the pizza on a side table before she’s in my arms, legs wrapped around my waist, arms locked around my neck, grin still in place.

I can’t resist her for another second. I seal my mouth to hers in a fiery, passionate kiss. We will have more time for exploratory ones later, right now, I want to taste as much of her as I can. A few hours apart was a few hours too many. I can feel my cock hardening just from this kiss, and I know I won’t be able to resist her for long.

“Need you now,” I say, moving my mouth to her neck as I walk us back towards the couch. She moans in response as I sit down, her legs straddling either side of my thighs.

“Need you too. I missed you today. Is that weird to say?” She grinds against me and I slide a hand down the back of the loose floral patterned silky shorts she’s wearing, gripping her perfect ass when I find she’s not wearing any panties. Again. God, this woman is perfect.

“No. I missed you too,” I say, peppering her face with kisses while working her ass in both my hands. She smiles at that, rubbing her hands up and down my arms, and even that simple motion makes me grow harder. I feel her warmth through my black joggers, and I know I can’t wait a moment longer to have her.

“Lift up,” I tell her, my voice guttural with need. She does as she’s told, lifting briefly off my lap and pulling off her shorts. I take the chance to roll down my own pants, not even bothering to take them off my ankles all the way.

“You think you’re ready to ride, honey?” I ask as she settles back down on my thighs, perfect pink pussy splayed before me. I lightly slap her clit, eliciting a gasp from her, while I wait for her response.

“What if I’m not good at it?” she asks, cheeks reddening. While I love that she’s worried about pleasing me, I need her to know she will, no matter what she does.

“Trust me, Ave, you’re going to be amazing at it. Now get on me.” I run a hand through her wetness and rub it over my cock, wanting to make sure the drop is as smooth for her as I can.

“Wrap your hand around my cock and line it up with yourself,” I say, grabbing her hips to guide her. She does as she’s told. “Good girl,” I tell her.

She looks pleased at that and begins to lower herself onto me. As she settles fully on my length, I feel like I could come just from the sensation of her warm, wet walls around me, gripping me so tightly it feels like her pussy was created just for my cock.

“God you feel so good, baby. You can start moving when you’re ready.”

“Okay, tell me what you want. Please.” She lets out the last word in a light gasp, like the feeling of just sitting on me is almost too much for her.

“Just do what feels right,” I say, lifting her sweater and taking a perfect tit in each hand, twisting and teasing her nipples. The new feeling seems to spark something in her and she begins slowly swirling her hips.

“That’s it, baby. You’re doing so well.” She looks to where we’re joined and her eyes light with a mix of awe and pleasure. “You like what you see? Like how we look so perfect together?” I take that moment to drive my hips up to meet her and she moans so loudly I take it as an answer to all my questions.

“Yes,” she says after a moment. “I love the way we look together, the way we feel together.” Her words are disjointed, like she can barely get them out. That’s fine by me, the time for talking has just about passed.

“You ready to come all over my cock, honey?”

“God yes,” she mumbles, head falling back in ecstasy.

“Good.” I take control, grabbing her hips once again and bouncing her up and down on my length, lifting my hips to meet her stroke for stroke. It’s hot. It’s sweaty. It’s fast . But I know it’s what we both need now.

We both explode and I watch as my seed fills her while she pulses around me. It might be the most beautiful sight I have ever seen, her absolutely full of me, head dropped back in complete pleasure.

I think I love her.

I think this over and over as I watch her settle down. I think it as I lift her off me and carry her to the bathroom. As I set her on the side of the bathtub and push my seed back inside of her with my fingers before kneeling before her and cleaning her up with my mouth. By the time we’re done, I’m sure of it. She’s mine.

***

After we’ve showered and redressed, we pop slices of our forgotten pizza in the microwave before settling back on the couch, wrapped in Ava’s blanket.

“What did you do this afternoon?” I ask in between bites of my sausage and mushroom slice. I wasn’t sure what Ava would like, but I had a feeling we had the same taste buds based on what she ordered at the brewery. I was right. She finishes her bite before answering me.

“I, uh, I actually went by my house… or where my house used to be, I guess,” she says, looking away from me, like I’m going to be upset she went there with out me. She has no idea that I could never be mad at her for doing something she needed to do.

“Oh wow, how was it? I know it was rebuilt and kind of weirdly looks almost exactly like your old house…” I trail off, wondering if I should have told her about that last night.

“Oh. I didn’t realize you’d seen it,” she says, still not looking at me.

“Hey, look at me,” I say, placing a hand on her cheek before she turns to me. “I have seen it. And every time I’ve driven by that street in the last five years, I’ve only ever thought of you. About the beautiful and scared and confused girl I rescued there that night. I didn’t bring it up because we were having such a good time last night and I didn’t want to risk bringing you down. Now, I know I should have told you about it. I’m sorry, honey.”

A tear slides down her face and I wish I could go back and fix every bad thing that’s ever happened to her. I love her, I think again.

“It’s okay,” she says after a moment, finally bringing her eyes back to mine. They don’t look sad, more pondering, and I hope that’s a good sign for me. “I’m not upset you didn’t tell me, I know you probably didn’t even think about it last night. Honestly, I didn’t even think about it last night, and I’ve thought about that house every night since the fire happened. I think that’s why I got upset, because I feel like I owe it to that place, to my parents, to think about it every day.”

“But now,” she begins again, “now I know that I’ll always remember it and, in a way, I’m grateful for the fire because it allowed me to meet you. Is that crazy?”

“No, honey, it’s not crazy at all,” I say with a smile, “I think the exact same thing.”

She smiles at that, and we both turn back to our slices, eating in companionable silence for the next few minutes. When we finish, I grab our paper plates and toss them before settling on the couch. I lay against the armrest and pull Ava back to sit between my legs. She rests her head on my chest, and I start playing with her hair.

These moments of quiet intimacy are almost better than the sex. Almost.

“I met the woman who lives there,” Ava says, breaking our silence.

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. Tessa. And her little sister, Ruby. I think she’s her guardian, her parents passed.”

I remember hearing about the new owners being in some kind of boating accident and relay that to Ava, who looks horrified by the few details I have.

“Well,” she says after a moment, “she was so sweet. I really admire her for taking in her sister like that. I gave her my number, I think it would be nice to have a new friend in town.”

“That’s great,” I say, still running my fingers through her hair. “I’m proud of you for going, for facing your past like that. And this is only on your second day back in town.”

She laughs at that. “I know. Who knows what’ll happen next.”

I hope I’m a part of it.