Chapter Six
ELLIE
I wasn’t prepared to wake up in Anson Blackwood’s arms—or for the way my whole body lit up at the feel of him against me. I don’t know how he ended up in this bed with me. Right now? I don’t care. I’m warm, surrounded by his strength, and it’s everything I need.
His chest rises and falls slowly beneath me. My body is molded to his, every plush bit pressed up against hard muscle. It’s divine .
As I wake up further, other details come into focus.
Like how soft his hair is beneath my fingers because my hand is curled against his nape.
And the feel of his calloused palm where it lays against the small of my back.
Even better, his other large hand cups my ass.
Those fingers are… my body heats and my nipples harden.
Those fingers are almost where I want them.
A fraction of an inch lower and I’d feel them on my core.
I shift slightly, body fully on board with where these thoughts are leading.
Anson’s hand squeezes my ass, pressing me against the hard bulge I feel against my belly.
A breathy moan escapes my lips. I want to rub against him like a cat.
Beneath me, Anson’s chest rumbles, and I feel it from my breasts to my pussy. Heat sizzles through my veins, arrowing down between my legs until I’m wet and aching. The sensation finally breaks through the haze of desire.
Because as much as I want it, he doesn’t. I can’t forget that. Even when he makes my body feel this good.
I shift to the side, planning to slip out before he wakes. The moment I move, his arms tighten around me, fingers pressing into my skin.
My breath catches as wetness floods my core. He must feel it. His hand is right there. My cheeks heat in mortification. It’s bad enough I’m sprawled over his body. Now I’m… I can’t even think it.
“Ellie,” he breathes against my temple.
Because of course he’s awake. That makes this whole embarrassing situation better.
“Morning!” I say as bright as I can, like none of this is happening. I move off his chest, already missing his heat, and sit up.
Anson watches me with hooded eyes. His chest is delightfully bare, showing off the hard planes I just felt.
The muscles of his chest and abs are everything I remembered from that first brief glimpse and so much more.
Dark hair dusts his skin, arrowing down to where the sheet lies over his waist. His hair is mussed from sleep, and his eyes burn in the morning light.
Gaze locked on mine, he brings his fingers to his mouth and sucks them clean of my essence. “Mmm. Morning.”
Spontaneous combustion = activated.
My body goes up in flames at that sexy, shameless mumble. I’m going to die from wanting this man. I know it.My thighs clench and I grip the sheets to keep from pouncing on him.
The moment stretches out, full of promise and hesitation. I don’t know what changed from last night. I’m afraid to ask. To break the spell.
He lifts his other hand and traces my cheek with his fingers.
I can’t help but lean into his touch.
Shadows shift in his eyes. He sighs and sits up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed until I’m staring at his back.
What is happening? Is he changing his mind? Or getting ready to ask me to leave? I pull the sheet up to my chest, holding it close. Like it will protect me from whatever he’s about to say.
“Tell me about Grant Chamberlain.”
Somewhere in the back of my mind, a record screeches. Out of all the things I expected, this was never on the list. “What?”
Anson looks at me over his shoulder. “Grant Chamberlain.”
Ice slides down my spine. “How? I mean where did you hear that name?” Does he know Grant?
Was Perfect Pairings some weird set up I fell into to get me in his clutches?
No. That doesn’t make sense. From the very little I know of Anson, I’m certain he’d never participate in some catfishing game.
Dottie on the other hand clearly has no qualms about it.
My stomach makes a slow roll. I feel ill.
Anson takes my cell phone off the nightstand and hands it to me. “You had a nightmare.”
The case is cool, but my hands feel colder.
A nightmare. Last night. I remember running through the woods being chased by computers while Grant laughed and jumped out from behind trees to grab me.
Anson must have heard and come in to help.
It’s a sweet thought. I only wish it was because he cared about me.
I scramble from the bed and dig through my suitcase for clothes, then shut myself in the bathroom.
“Ellie,” Anson says from the other side of the door. “Tell me why you’re afraid.”
Because he knows where I am, and he won’t leave me alone. Because he might be the only one who will ever want me.
I blink away the moisture brimming my eyes and struggle into a pair of jeans and a sweater I thought looked cute at home. Looking in the mirror, I just see a frightened woman with no options. Not cute.
He knocks on the door. “Ellie. Come out, or I’m coming in.”
I don’t want to let him in, but it’s not like I can live in his bathroom for the rest of my life. I open the stupid door.
He’s leaning against the doorjamb, arms folded across his chest, wearing just a pair of boxers like every female fantasy come to life. It’s not fair.
I carry my pajamas out and drop them in my suitcase.
Normally I’m neater than this, but right now, all I want to do is bake something.
It sounds dumb, but stress baking has gotten me through a lot of things.
Like parents who are too busy for their daughter.
And high school. There’s no mystery where all these extra pounds came from.
I march into the kitchen and start opening cabinets, looking for anything that might make muffins or even cookies.
I find an even scarier looking knife than his Ka-Bar thing.
Because the man doesn’t have food, he has weapons.
Apparently, his diet consists entirely of iron.
Between the knives, the rifle propped by the door, and the fancy security system on the wall, I’m starting to think he might also be paranoid.
Who would break in when the man can be scarier than what’s hiding in the woods?
Strong hands grip my shoulders, pulling me back against a solid wall of muscle. “Stop,” he orders.
I freeze.
Anson slowly turns me in his arms until I’m facing him. All half naked, six foot plus of him. He scans my face, then pulls me against his chest until I’m nestled in his arms.
I don’t understand. Yesterday he wouldn’t look at me. Today he’s all tenderness and smoldering sex. One nightmare can’t make that kind of change in someone, can it?
He tucks a strand of my messy bed head hair behind my ear and traces my cheek.
Maybe in closed-off mountain men, it does.
“Talk to me about Grant and why you’re ripping apart my cabinets.”
I huff a laugh. “I bake when I’m stressed. Except you don’t have flour, or sugar, or anything.”
“I saw the muffin pan.” His hand rubs slowly up and down my back.
Ugh. “It’s weird, right? Who travels with their own muffin tin? But when I was packing, I thought you might not have one, which you don’t, so I brought my favorite.” I risk a glance at him.
There’s warmth in his expression that I’ve never truly seen before. There have been hints of humor that almost reached his eyes and plenty of grimaces. Never the warm, sweet tenderness I see now.
“Smart thinking,” he says.
Right. Not crazy. Planning ahead. At least, that’s what I told myself when trying to zip an overflowing suitcase with bakeware sticking out the side.
“And Grant?”
His heart beats steadily beneath my fingers.
I trace a little star on his chest, avoiding his gaze.
“He owns some big tech company and is super rich. I used to work at a florist. I had this dream of opening my own. One day, I delivered flowers to his mansion, and I guess he took an interest in me. He started ordering flowers all the time and showing up at my work.”
Anson stiffens.
“We went out one time. Just to some terrible fancy restaurant. I didn’t feel a spark, you know?
But he kept coming up with ways to see me.
I think he expected me to be flattered by his attention.
I wasn’t and when I wanted him to stop, he pressed harder.
And he always found ways to touch me. My hand, my arm, or my back.
I’d move away, and he’d wrap his hand around my waist, anchoring me to him. ”
Anson’s hand stops moving on my back, as if he’s unsure of his touch.
That hesitation means everything. It says he would stop if I asked. Grant wouldn’t. I snuggle closer to Anson and wrap my arms around his waist.
He strokes my back again. “Tell me the rest, sunshine.”
“What he wants, he gets. The more I pushed him away, the more intent he became. I think he liked it when I said no. He’d get this look in his eyes…
like it excited him. It scared me, but my parents wouldn’t listen.
They said I was selfish for not helping out the family.
That I should be grateful to get the attention of a man like him, looking the way I do. ”
He looks down my body, and I feel that gaze as it skims my breasts, tummy, and legs. “What? You’re gorgeous.”
I wave at my hips. “I’m… extra.”
He growls low in his throat and pulls me closer. “Everything about you is fucking beautiful. I have no doubt that’s why Chamberlain is obsessed.”
No one’s ever said I was beautiful. No one’s made me feel like Anson does when he looks at me like this.
I wish it were real. “He and my mother are planning a wedding I never agreed to. One I don’t want.
That’s why Perfect Pairings made sense. If I had to marry someone, it was going to be my choice. ”
“Jesus.”
“Anson, I know you didn’t sign up for this. Let me pack my bag, and I’ll call an Uber. Is there a hotel in town?”
“No.”
I didn’t think White Falls was that small. Where do people stay when they visit? “Where’s the closest one? Is there another town nearby?”
“No. You’re not leaving.”
“But—”
He cups my cheek and angles my head until our eyes are locked. “You’re staying here. I’ll keep you safe until Chamberlain is dealt with. He’s not going to scare you into running from me, Ellie.”
He says it like he means it. “He’s relentless.”
A dark smile graces his lips. “He’s never met me.”
It’s the first smile I’ve seen from him, and it sends a shiver down my spine.
Staying here would give me time to come up with another plan. Or, if I give in to the hope trying madly to bubble up in my chest, time to get to know this scary, sexy mountain man. “Are you sure?”
“Perfect Pairings says you’re mine until we decide otherwise?”
I nod. “We’re supposed to have a week to decide if we can make a future together.”
“Then we need more food and baking supplies.”
A place to stay and baking supplies? My heart soars, and I beam at him.
Anson traces my lower lip with his thumb, staring at my mouth.
I want him to kiss me. I want to taste him and make him moan. That’s my new mission. I want Anson Blackwood, and I’m going to make him mine.
He slowly drops his hand and steps back, clearing his throat. “Let me get dressed, and we’ll take a ride into town.”He disappears into his room.
The moment he’s out of sight, I do a little shimmy in excitement. Muffins and cookies are calling my name, and I’m going to kiss Anson Blackwood.