CHAPTER FIVE
Thorne
I needed to get out of the cabin.
The air inside was becoming too heavy with the scent of Maddie’s vanilla shampoo and the echoing sound of her laughter.
Ever since I’d caught her on the trail, my palms had felt branded.
I could still feel the weight of her hips, the press of her breasts pressed against my chest, and the way her heart had thudded against mine like a trapped bird.
I’d spent the last twenty-four hours being a colossal prick, hoping that if I was grumpy enough, she’d back off. Instead, she just looked at me with those dancing eyes and cracked jokes about my delightful mountain man manner.
“We’re going to town,” I announced, grabbing my keys from the counter.
Maddie poked her head out of her room. She was wearing another form-fitting pair of jeans and a soft, lavender sweater that hugged every single curve. Every. Single one. “Town? Are we going to see Kate? Or do we need more cheese?”
“Supplies,” I grunted. “And yes, Kate wants to see us. Probably to make sure I haven’t left you for the wolves yet.”
“Oh, please. The wolves would love me. I’m excellent at dinner conversation.” She grabbed her purse and followed me out, her hips swaying in those jeans in a way that made my vision blur.
And my damn body react. I’d been walking around with a hard-on since our wedding night.
The drive down the mountain was quiet. I’d accused her of not being able to stay silent, but that wasn’t the truth. We spent most evenings in comfortable conversation and stretches of silence.
I headed for the hardware store. There was always another project or repair to be done at the cabin. And now, I damn sure needed to stay busy.
“Stay close,” I said as we walked inside.
“Thorne, it’s a hardware store, not a war zone.” She rolled her eyes, but she didn’t move away.
Hal, the owner, looked up from the counter, his eyes widening. “Thorne Underwood? Haven’t seen you in weeks, son. And who’s this lovely lady?”
“My wife. Maddie,” I said, the word wife feeling heavy and strangely right as it left my tongue. I put my hand on the small of her back—a possessive, instinctive move that I didn’t even try to stop.
“Wife. Well, I’ll be.” He smiled at us both.
I moved us toward the back, grabbing nails, screws and a few saw blades.
It didn’t take long for Maddie to wander from my side.
She looked like a kid in a candy store, picking up one thing after another, examining it and putting it back.
I felt some of the tension leave me. She was right, this was a store not a war zone.
And I didn’t even want to think about why my protective instincts were on full alert.
She was my wife. In name only.
I focused on the list, trying to remember if I’d left something off. Then I heard it. A voice that didn’t belong to Hal.
Talking to Maddie.
“You look a little lost, sugar. Need help finding something? Or maybe just some directions back to my place?”
I froze. My blood went from lukewarm to boiling in half a second.
I turned the corner of the aisle and saw him.
Tyler Vance. A local contractor with a reputation for thinking every woman in a twenty-mile radius was his personal property.
He was leaning over Maddie, his arm braced on the shelf behind her, effectively trapping her.
He was looking at her—at my wife—with a look that made me want to rip his throat out.
Maddie didn’t look scared. She looked annoyed. “I’m perfectly capable of finding a toilet plunger on my own. Even though you probably have firsthand knowledge on crap, don’t you?
“A girl like you shouldn’t be wandering around this dusty town without someone to look after her,” he continued, his eyes dropping to the curve of her chest. He was either too dumb or too egotistical to realize what Maddie had implied.
That he was a piece of shit.
I didn’t think. I just moved.
I was across the store in four strides. I didn’t tap him on the shoulder. I stepped between them, my shoulder slamming into Tyler’s chest with enough force to send him stumbling back into a display of rakes.
“She has someone looking after her.” My voice was low, vibrating with a primal threat that even he could read.
Tyler’s face flushed. “Whoa, Underwood. Relax. We were just talking.”
“And now you’re done.” I stepped into his space, looming over him. I was bigger, broader, and currently possessed by a rage I hadn’t ever felt before. This was about her. “You don’t look at her. You don’t speak to her. You don’t even breathe the same air as her. Do you understand me?”
“Thorne,” Maddie whispered, her hand touching my arm, her eyes were wide in her face. I took a deep breath. Showing my temper wasn’t the answer.
Tyler looked at my face, saw the absolute lack of mercy there, and backed off. “Fine, man. Whatever. She’s just a girl.”
“She’s my wife,” I snapped. “Get out.”
He didn’t need to be told twice. He scrambled out the door, the bell clanging violently behind him.
I stood there, my chest heaving, my fists still clenched so tight the knuckles were white. I could feel the heat radiating off me, the broody mountain man persona having fully evolved into territorial alpha.
“Hal’s going to put that on our tab, you know.” Maddie surveyed the scattered rake display. She was watching me with an expression that wasn’t fear—it was fascination. Her eyes were dark, her lips parted slightly. “That was... intense.”
“He was touching you,” I rasped.
“He was talking to me. But I liked the part where you almost took his head off.” She smiled—a wickedly knowing smile. “Are you jealous?”
Well shit.
“I’m not jealous,” I snapped, grabbing the items I’d put down before storming over to rescue her. I paid Hal, ignoring his wide-eyed but knowing stare, and marched Maddie out to the truck.
We skipped the visit to Kate. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t sit in front of my sister and pretend I wasn’t currently vibratory with the urge to throw my Maddie over my shoulder and take her back to the mountain where no one else could lay eyes on her.
And then take her. Show her she belonged to me.
Which was a crazy thought.
In name only, I reminded myself. Not mine to want and certainly not mine to take.
I slammed the truck into gear and tore out of town.
The silence between us was gone, replaced by the heavy, thrumming weight of what had just happened. Maddie was leaning against the door, watching me with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“So, can I expect more of that behavior?” she teased, her voice a low, playful hum. “You were like a big, grumpy grizzly protecting his honey pot. It was kind of hot, actually.”
“It wasn’t hot.” My grip tightened on the steering wheel. “The guy’s a creep. Ask Kate.”
“He most definitely is. But you didn’t just tell him to leave. You looked like you wanted to eat him for breakfast. Admit it, Thorne. You hated him looking at me.”
“I hate anyone looking at you like you’re something they can just take,” I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous level.
“Why? It’s just an arrangement, remember? Six months. Legal signatures. Why do you care if some local guy thinks I’m pretty?”
I pulled the truck over. We were halfway up the mountain, surrounded by nothing but the forest. I killed the engine and turned to face her. The cab was too small or she was too close.
“It’s not just an arrangement,” I rasped, my gaze dropping to her mouth.
“Not when I can’t sleep because I’m listening to you breathe through the wall.
Not when I’m spending my days trying to find ways to see you smile.
And definitely not when I want to break the hand of any man who thinks he has the right to stand in your space. ”
“So you are jealous.”
I leaned in, my hand reaching out to cup the back of her neck. My thumb traced the line of her jaw, and I felt her shiver—a deep, visceral reaction that fed the fire in my gut.
“I’m not jealous, Maddie,” I whispered, my lips inches from hers. I could smell the vanilla on her skin, mixed with the cool mountain air. “I’m territorial. There’s a difference. Jealousy is wanting something someone else has. Territorial is making sure everyone knows that what’s mine stays mine.”
“And am I yours, Thorne?” she breathed, her hand coming up to rest on my chest, right over my thudding heart.
“The law says you are. My name is on that paper next to yours.” I slid my hand into her hair, tangling my fingers in the dark strands I found absolutely fascinating. “But looking at you right now? Watching you wear my shirts? Knowing you’re sleeping in my bed. Alone.”
Maddie didn’t pull away. She leaned into me, her chest brushing mine, her eyes dark with a heat that matched my own. “Then prove it, Mountain Man. Prove I’m yours.”
I almost did.
I almost took her right there in the cab of the truck.
My hand was already sliding from her neck down the curve of her shoulder, already calculating the distance between my mouth and the pulse point at her throat.
Her breath had changed — shorter, faster — and her fingers had curled into my shirt like she was anchoring herself to something.
One more inch and I’d have had my mouth on her neck and my hands on those curves.
But I forced myself to pull back. I wasn’t going to let our first time be in the front seat of a truck like a couple of teenagers. She deserved more. I wanted more.
And I couldn’t tell her any of what I was feeling. Not yet. I started the truck, my breathing ragged.
We were close. So close to the breaking point. And I knew that once we crossed it, there was no going back to roommates. Or marriage in name only.