I stared out the door, watching her head on out to Maggie’s. She’d finally returned, and she was more beautiful than ever. The woman who I’d obsessed after for so long had finally come back to me. For years she has consumed my every thought, my every action. I never married, never dated, never even looked at another woman as I waited for her. I didn’t think I’d ever see her again. Hell, I was even considering leaving the Appalachians, selling the store and moving into the city to see if I could find her. But now, I didn’t have to. She was back in my life and I was done holding myself back from the things I wanted.

I knew who she was even before she told me her name, especially after I caught sight of that heart shaped mouth. My body also knew it as it became hard as steel from her simple touch. It was her eyes that brought me back. Those two blue gems held me entranced as we talked. I must have acted so stupid, so forward with her. Stumbling over my words like an idiot, but I wanted to tell her everything, confess how strongly I felt for her.

I shook my head in frustration. “No. You cannot scare her away, Logan. You need to go slow with her. Be gentle. You can hold back a few days more.”

Finding out she had returned had ignited my whole being and I had fought the urge to slam her down on the floor and bury myself inside her sweet body. I wanted to make her mine, and if I only had a few short weeks to do it then I was going to make that my sole purpose in life. She belonged to me and I wasn’t planning on letting her go this time. She’d think twice about leaving me by the time I was done with her.

“Fuck!” I ran my hands through my hair and focused on the winding path to her cabin. I had tossed and turned last night for hours. Finally, after stroking my cock to the dirty little images of her I kept conjuring up, I had fallen into a restless sleep. I woke up early and packed the truck full of every single thing she may need. I even stopped by the store and bought her extra blankets, dog supplies, even a bed for her companion, and I packed the front seat with food. It seemed a bit much now that I looked at it, but I wanted her to be comfortable. I wanted to care for her and make up for all those years I couldn’t.

I was nervous and excited as I pulled up the path to her cabin. Her grandfather had picked a terrific spot to build. I knew this because my cabin was adjacent to his on the lake. It had two floors, six bedrooms and a large living area. Mine was a lot smaller than his, just fit for two single men like me and my grandfather.

God, how I missed the old man. He had been my mentor, my savior, and my father. He was the one who dragged me up to the middle of nowhere and told me he was going to make a man out of me yet. After my parents had passed away I let myself spiral into a world of depression. I was seventeen and going downhill fast. I was hanging out with the wrong crowd, quit going to school, and started to lose myself in sex and booze. By the time my grandfather found me, I was close to sticking a needle in my arm and calling it a day.

He’d literally told me I needed to man up and get my shit together. He dragged me up to the mountains for some fresh air and then he decided to set up shop. He got me back into school and had me working part time at the hardware store. Little by little I started to feel alive again. I even followed in his footsteps and joined the army at eighteen where I was able to finish college and get my Technology degree. Everything I did was to pay him back for all he’d done for me throughout the years. By the time I turned twenty-five I was living on my own, stationed in Hawaii and working as a Communications Specialist. I knew I was making my grandfather proud which is why I pushed myself to be the best. But then I received that dreaded phone call telling me he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. I didn’t even think about my decision. I asked for early retirement and headed back home to be with him. The doctors said he had a few months to live, but he was a stubborn old man and he went strong for a full ten years. When he died, his last words to me were how proud of me he’d always been. I whispered how much I loved him as he took his last breath. Thinking back on it now, I owed him so much more than he could ever imagine. If it wasn’t for my grandfather, I never would have met my baby girl.

I stepped out of the truck and was greeted by a sweet grin and a hot cup of coffee.

“Oh my God! Your truck is piled high!” She laughed in delight. “I’m only going to be here for three weeks. This is so much food!”

I scratched my head and grinned. “Sorry, I got a little carried away.”

“A little,” she peered into the truck and squealed. “Oh my God you brought me brownies! I love brownies!”

I stared at her tight covered ass and nearly groaned as she bent over even further to rummage through the bags. I moved behind her and placed my hands on her waist. “Let me get those.”

She gasped and looked back at me. Big blue eyes slowly assessed me, and her pouty heart shaped lips parted slightly making my cock twitch in my jeans. I quickly looked away from her before I captured those lips in mine and kissed her until she purred in need. I nudged her to the side, letting my hands linger on her waist and back before I let her go. She wrapped her sweater tightly around her and I grunted, fighting the need to rip it off her.

Instead I focused on carrying the bags inside and setting everything up for her. I could feel her gaze on me the entire time I worked. I could feel her eyes on me as she started putting the food away.

“Where should I put this?” I lifted the dog bed over my head. She giggled and my heart did a flip at the sweet sound.

“Near the fireplace is fine. I can’t believe you bought me a dog bed. He usually sleeps by my side,” her eyes gleamed at me.

I grunted inwardly, images of her sultry body wrapped around mine as she slept peacefully in my arms started to run through my head. I sighed and went to drop the fluffy bed by the fireplace as instructed.

“Hey, got to take care of the little guy.” I patted the Legend’s head as he came and stood by my side. I had at least won over her companion. Now, if I could only win over the owner. I looked up in time to watch her bend over, her shirt hung low and I could fully make out her soft breasts encased in white silk. My cock stirred and I closed my eyes to regain some control, but those two soft globes kept lingering in my mind.

“I’m gonna head out back. Get this electricity working for you.”

She clapped her hands looking adorable as she smiled at me. “Oh that would be wonderful, thank you!”

After a few failed attempts, I finally had the lights working. The refrigerator and the television in the living room all seemed to work fine. I checked the fireplace and made sure the chimney was clear before lighting it up for her.

“I can light it up in the bedroom if you’d like?”

She shook her head. “No worries, I got it. If there’s something I can do, its light a fire.”

“You’ve definitely lightened mine up,” I murmured under my breath.

“Where do you live?” She asked as she washed the coffee mugs.

“I don’t live far.”

I slowly came up behind her at the kitchen sink. She gasped quietly as I stood behind her, careful not to touch her. Not yet anyway. She slightly swayed back against my body and in the reflection of the window I could see her eyes flutter shut for a moment. The gesture made me lean into her small body and I enjoyed the gentle pressure of her warm body against mine.

I pointed at the cabin across from hers, my lips just at her temple. “Just across the lake there. There’s a path that leads to my cabin from the pier.”

She breathed out slowly, “Oh, you live so close.”

I nodded, my nose inhaling her fruity scent. “Crazy, right? So close yet we never met.”

Her breath caught and a moment of panic crosses her gaze. I stepped to the side, looking down at her worried expression. “Is everything okay.”

She stared out at the lake and nodded. “Yes.” Looking up at me her eyes glimmered. “Yes, everything’s fine. I just remembered something that’s all.”

“Well I hope it was a good memory.”

She smiled and looked down at her hands. “Yeah. Yeah, it was a good memory.”

“May I ask what it was?”

She smiled and looked out the window. “I used to go swimming in that lake. I liked going at night when everyone was asleep. I found solace just floating in the dark and staring up at the stars.”

I smiled knowingly. The memory of her nubile body ever-present in my mind. I wondered how she would react if I confessed how I’d seen her. How I’d been a voyeur to her serenity. How I’ve loved her since then.

“Sounds peaceful.”

She nodded, looking up at me. “Very.”

We stared at each other for a long moment, our bodies only inches apart. Slowly we started drifting towards one another. The pull getting stronger as we got closer, and I felt my heart speed up. I didn’t want to rush her. I wanted her to know I was here for her, that I wasn’t just some guy trying to seduce her.

My lips hovered against hers and her eyes fluttered shut. My right hand gripped the counter, the left fisted at my side, holding myself back, willing myself to hover in this sweet moment. Not wanting to ruin in.

I let my lips graze hers briefly. “I should go,” I whispered.

“Oh?” Her fluttered open, her lips parted, begging for a kiss.

I nodded. “Yeah. I’ve got some stuff I need to do back at the store.”

She nodded slightly, still staring at my lips. “Uh-huh.”

I smiled and tipped her chin up, her dreamy eyes meeting mine. “If you need anything you let me know.” My eyes wandered across her pretty face, taking in her long lashes, her flushed cheeks and those pink heart shaped lips I wanted to devour. “Anything at all you let me know,” my voice came out husky and deep and she shuddered slightly.

I kissed her cheek and turned around quickly. If I stayed any longer I was going to take her right on her grandmother’s kitchen floor.

As I reached for the door her soft uncertain voice stopped me. “Will I see you again?”

I smiled and turned to her. “You can see me whenever you want to, Miss Snow.”

She blushed as I winked at her. Patting Legend on the head I made my way to the truck. A huge grin had implanted itself on my face and my heart soared as I realized what she’d asked me. She wanted to see me again. I laughed and started the truck. She had no idea how she’d just brightened up my life.