Page 35 of Challenged By the Mountain Man

"That's sad."

"Not really. Better to figure it out before we made any permanent mistakes." I swim closer to her without really meaning to, drawn by how the light catches in her eyes. "She was a good person. We both were. We just weren't good together."

"Do you miss her?"

"No." It's the truth. I don't miss Sarah. Haven't thought about her in years, actually. "I miss the idea of having someone, maybe. But not her specifically."

Hannah nods, like she understands that distinction. "I don't even miss the idea of it. I've been alone so long it's just... normal."

"Yeah. I get that."

We're close now, close enough that I can see the water droplets on her eyelashes, the way her lips are slightly blue from the cold. Close enough that if I wanted to, I could reach out and touch her.

I don't.

Because as much as my body is screaming at me to close the distance, to see if she tastes as good as she looks, I know that's not what this is about. This isn't about me wanting to fuck the pretty girl in the cold water. This is about helping her get out of her head. About showing her she's still the person she was before the gun.

Even if my cock is very interested in other activities.

"We should probably get out," I say, my voice rougher than I intend. "Before we actually get hypothermia."

"Probably." But she doesn't move, just floats there watching me with those eyes that have seen too much.

"Hannah…"

"Thank you," she says. "For this. For making me jump in. For knowing what I needed even when I didn't."

"Stop thanking me."

"No." She swims past me toward the edge of the pool, and I try very hard not to watch the way her ass looks in those wet underwear, the way her legs kick through the water. I fail spectacularly.

I give her a minute to get out first, to give my body time to calm the fuck down before I follow. The cold water helps, but not as much as I'd like. I'm still half-hard when I finally pull myself out of the pool, water streaming off my body, and I grab my thermal shirt quickly to hold in front of me like some kind of shield.

Hannah is already pulling her jeans back on, hopping on one foot as she tries to get the wet denim up her legs. Her thermal shirt is still soaked and clinging to her, and I force myself to look away before I make this weird.

"That was insane," she says, finally getting her jeans buttoned. "And amazing. But mostly insane."

"Yeah."

"We're doing it again before I leave, right?"

I look at her, surprised. "You want to?"

"Absolutely." She pulls on her sweater, though it's not going to do much good over a wet shirt. "That was the first time in three weeks I haven't felt like I'm drowning. So yeah. We're definitely doing it again."

"Okay," I say. "We'll come back."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

We start the walk back to the cabins, both of us soaking wet and probably going to catch our deaths from the cold, but neither of us seems to care. Hannah talks the whole way back about the waterfall, about how beautiful it was, about how she can't believe she almost didn't jump in.

And I walk beside her, listening, watching the way she gestures with her hands when she talks, the way her whole face lights up when she's excited about something. Bear trots between us, perfectly content, like this is exactly how things are supposed to be.

By the time we reach her cabin, we're both shivering hard, teeth chattering, our wet clothes heavy and cold against our skin. I push open the door, still need to fix that lock, and usher her inside, Bear following.

"Fire," I say, heading straight for the wood stove. "Now."