Chapter 12
Ben and Jamie were gone. The cabin was quiet except for the crackling fire and the wind outside. Mia was in his kitchen, barefoot in his flannel shirt and leggings, making hot chocolate like she’d done it a hundred times before.
Slade leaned against the doorway, just watching. This. This was what he’d wanted for two years. Her in his space, comfortable and real and his.
He moved behind her, his arms sliding around her waist. “You’re distracting me,” she said, but she leaned back into him.
“That’s the plan.”
She laughed. “Hot chocolate first. Then distraction.”
“Fine.” He kissed her neck. “But I’m holding you to that.”
They settled on his couch with their drinks, the fire warm, the Christmas tree lights twinkling. Mia curled into his side like she belonged there. Because she did.
“I have to go back tomorrow,” she said quietly. “School starts back up next week. I need to lesson plan, get ready.”
“I know.” He’d known this was coming. “But this doesn’t end. Us. This is just beginning.”
“I don’t want to leave.”
“So don’t. Not yet.” He tightened his arm around her. “Stay another day. Call in for a personal day. Stay with me.”
She looked up at him. “Just one more day?”
“For now. Then we figure out a schedule. You come up on weekends. I come down during the week. We make this work.”
“That’s a lot of driving.”
“I don’t care.” He meant it. “I’ll drive anywhere for you. I’ve waited two years. I can handle a little driving.”
She was quiet for a moment. “My lease is up in March.”
His heart kicked. “Yeah?”
“I could... I don’t know. Maybe not renew it. Maybe find something smaller. Save money for other things.”
“Like what?”
“Like eventually moving somewhere more permanent.” She bit her lip. “Maybe somewhere on a mountain.”
He couldn’t breathe. “Mia—”
“Not now,” she clarified quickly. “I need to finish the school year. Build up savings. Do this right. But maybe... eventually?”
“Eventually,” he agreed, his voice rough. “I can wait. As long as I know you’re mine.”
“I’m yours.” She smiled. “And you should probably take me on a real date at some point. We did this backwards.”
He laughed. “Yeah, we did. Fake relationship, real feelings, sex, then dating.”
“So romantic,” she teased.
“I’ll take you to dinner,” he promised. “Somewhere nice. I’ll court you properly.”
“After you’ve already claimed me thoroughly?”
“Exactly.” He kissed her. “I’m traditional that way.”
She laughed against his mouth, and the sound went straight to his heart.
Later—after the hot chocolate was forgotten, after he carried her to his bedroom, after he showed her again exactly how much he wanted her—they lay wrapped together watching the snow fall through the window.
The fire had burned low, casting gold across her skin. Slade got up to add wood to the fire.
Mia sat up. She got on her knees in the middle of his bed wearing nothing but his flannel shirt, open, framing her breasts, the hem brushing the tops of her thighs.
Slade stood at the foot of the bed, jeans unbuttoned, watching her with that look—half reverence, half predator.
“Come here,” he said, his voice gravel and smoke.
She crawled to him. Slowly. Deliberately. Loving the way his eyes went black when she did exactly what he asked.
When she reached him, he threaded his fingers through her curls and tipped her face up.
“I need to taste you again.” A soft command. “Lie back for me, baby. Let me take my time.”
She did, the shirt falling open completely. He followed her down, kissing every inch he uncovered—collarbone, breasts, the soft curve of her stomach—until she was writhing.
This time there was no rush.
He licked into her slowly and deeply, savoring, whispering filthy praise against her slick folds.
“So fucking sweet… my perfect girl… love how you open for me…”
He brought her to the edge twice, backing off each time until she was begging, tears in her eyes, hands fisted in the sheets.
Only then did he rise up, push his jeans down, and slide into her in one long, smooth stroke.
They both groaned at the feel of it—bare, hot, perfect.
He kept it slow, rolling his hips in deep circles, one hand cradling her jaw so he could watch every flicker across her face.
“Look at me when you come,” he ordered softly. “Want to see it. Want to feel you milk me while you say my name.”
She shattered—quiet, intense, her whole body bowing off the bed.
He followed seconds later, burying his face in her neck, hips jerking as he spilled inside her with a broken “Mia—”
After, he rolled them so she was draped across his chest, still joined, his hand stroking lazily down her spine.
“I meant it,” he murmured against her temple. “Forever starts right now.”
She pressed a kiss over his heart. “Good. Because I’m never leaving this bed. Or this mountain. Or you.”
He smiled—slow, satisfied, utterly possessive—and pulled the quilt over them both.
“Damn right you’re not.”
“I have a confession,” she said into the comfortable silence after.
“What’s that?”
“I think I started falling for you during that first coffee. When you showed up at my door and said you’d do it. That you’d be my fake boyfriend.”
“That’s when you started?” He raised an eyebrow. “I’ve been gone for you for two years.”
“You had a head start.”
“True.” He kissed her forehead. “But I’m glad you caught up.”
“Me too.”
They were quiet for a while, comfortable in the silence. Then Slade spoke. “About Tessa and Derek. How do you want to handle that going forward?”
Mia thought about it. “Some distance, I think. We’ll be cordial if we see each other. But I don’t need to be close friends with them. I need space to focus on us.”
“Whatever you need,” he said immediately. “You set the boundaries, I’ll back you up.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.” He tilted her face to look at him. “You’re my priority now, Mia. Your happiness, your comfort, your needs. That’s what matters to me.”
She felt tears prick her eyes. “I’m not used to that.”
“Get used to it.” His thumb traced her cheekbone. “Because I’m not going anywhere. This is forever, remember?”
“Forever,” she whispered.
Outside, the storm had passed. Stars were visible through the window. Christmas night, peaceful and perfect.
“Merry Christmas, baby,” Slade murmured.
“Merry Christmas,” she said back. Then, softer, “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For choosing me. For seeing me. For making me feel like I matter.”
“You do matter.” His arms tightened. “You matter more than anything.”
She kissed him, slow and deep and full of promise. This was just the beginning. They had logistics to figure out, schedules to coordinate, a future to build.
But none of that mattered right now. Right now, in this moment, they had each other. They had this. They had forever.
And that was everything.
Thank you so much for reading Happily Ever After with the Possessive Mountain Man.