Page 12 of Snowbound Mountain Man

She sucks in a breath at my admission, and I wait for it. For her to deny me because of all the obvious reasons.

I'm older than her by at least twenty years. If her father's liver didn't fail him, we would never have met to begin with. Hell, she's from the city, and I'd be caught dead being surrounded by so many people all at once.

Yet, this pull won't ease.

"Juniper..." Murmuring her name, I nudge closer, making the gap between us nearly nonexistent. My touch lingers as my thumb carefully traces her bottom lip. "Push me away, or tell me to fuck off. Otherwise..."

Her breathing tickles my thumb as it wavers. "Otherwise?"

"I'm going to kiss you." Putting it bluntly, my frown deepens. "And I don't think once will be enough."

Hell, who am I kidding? I'm not just going to want to get my mouth on hers. I'm going to want to taste her everywhere. Jesus, how gone am I?

Her gaze flickers up to mine, searching my eyes for any sign that I’m bluffing. When she finds none, a soft, trembling breath escapes her lips.

"I'm not going to tell you to fuck off, Hunter," she whispers, the amusement lacking from her words.

Before I can digest the words, her hands move. She doesn't just pull me in by the fabric of my shirt this time; her hands slide up my chest, over my shoulders, and wrap firmly around the back of my neck.

She pushes up on her tiptoes, bridging the last fraction of an inch between us, and presses her lips to mine.

They're pillowy soft. One flick of my tongue confirms she's as sweet as the desserts she makes.

One little kiss shouldn't set me off, but all it takes is the feel of her fingers in my hair, and I'm fucking gone.

Chapter seven

Juniper

Right now, I can't tell right from wrong. All it takes is Hunter putting his hands on me to make the line drawn between us too blurry to understand.

What I do know is how much I like having his palms gliding against my skin. His hands slide beneath the hem of my shirt, rough and possessive against my waist, exploring like he already owns the territory.

From the way I moan around his tongue, maybe that's exactly how it is.

When I finally pull back to drag air into my lungs, Hunter doesn't miss a beat. He doesn't need to breathe. The second my lips part, his mouth drops to my collarbone, latching onto the sensitive patch of skin at the curve of my throat. Air isn't what's keeping him alive right now. I am.

"Hunter—" Moaning his name, it's a gasp that follows when my feet are suddenly no longer on the ground.

As if I weigh nothing to this man, he whisks me off the ground and carries me over toward the couch. Taking the middle cushion, he keeps me right there on his lap as he coaxes my mouth back to his.

"You've done it now," he groans in between kisses. He doesn't just kiss my mouth, but my chin and my cheeks, too. Every inch of skin his beard grazes tickles, and I can't tell if I want to giggle or encourage him to do it more because it feels so good.

But even more... I want to feel his mouth in other places, too. The thought alone is enough to make not just my face warm, but my entire body.

"Is this really okay?" Pulling away to breathe, I watch with him as he grips the hem of my shirt.

The last thing I want is to turn him off by addressing the elephant in the room, but deep down, I'm kind of scared.

Not of Hunter, but because of the feelings he'll bring out of me if we cross these lines.

Taking the flush that's burning on his cheeks and the burning want in his eyes, I want to feel like this is okay.

This feels right.

"I want you," he says without hesitation. "Do you want me?"

He lays himself bare in an instant, leaving me scrambling for footing.