“We’re beside a fire.”
The Mountain Man gave her a warning look.
She laughed softly.
Then placed both hands against his chest.
His skin was hot.
The Mountain Man whispered:
“If I touch you the way I want to…”
She waited.
He stopped.
“Say it.”
He shook his head.
The Mountain Woman leaned closer.
“You made me listen to all your warnings.”
“Now you listen to me.”
His eyes fixed on hers.
She said:
“I know how large you are.”
His jaw tightened.
“I know how strong you are.”
His fingers pressed slightly at her waist.
“I know what people say.”
She moved closer still.
“I’m here anyway.”
The Mountain Man’s voice was almost gone.
“Woman.”
“Try me anyway.”
For one heartbeat, neither moved.
Then he released the other armrest.
His second hand rose.
Slowly.
He touched her cheek.
His fingers looked enormous against her face.
But the touch was impossibly gentle.
The Mountain Woman closed her eyes.
Not because she feared what came next.
Because she had been waiting months for him to allow himself this.
His thumb moved beneath her cheekbone.
She leaned into the touch.
The Mountain Man inhaled sharply.
Her eyes opened.
He looked at her mouth.
She looked at his.
The storm seemed farther away.
The Mountain Man whispered:
“If I start…”
The Mountain Woman smiled.
“You do enjoy unfinished sentences.”
His forehead touched hers.
He closed his eyes.
The Mountain Woman felt his hand tighten at her waist.
Then—
BANG.
The explosion outside shattered everything.
The Mountain Man moved before the echo died.
One second he was beneath her.
The next, he was standing.
He lifted her from his lap as though she weighed nothing compared with the urgency that had entered him.
The Mountain Woman barely found her footing.
His entire body changed.
The tenderness disappeared behind something harder.
Older.
The man the town feared.
He moved between her and the door.
Another sound came from outside.
Boots.
Snow crunching.
Slow.
Heavy.
The Mountain Woman pulled her shawl around herself.
“What was that?”
The Mountain Man did not answer.
He looked toward the window.
Firelight reflected across the glass.
Outside, darkness.
Snow.
Nothing else visible.
Then a shadow passed between the trees.
The Mountain Woman saw it.
Her stomach tightened.
The Mountain Man said:
“Back room.”
“No.”
He turned.
“Now.”
She did not move.
“I’m not hiding while you—”
The Mountain Man stepped close.