Hank was avoiding me. Not easy in this small cabin, which meant he spent most of his time outside. He’d also barely said two words to me since he walked out on me last night.

I’d just thrown a piece of wood on the fire when he walked in early afternoon.

“Just grabbing something to eat them I’m heading back out to check the traps,” he muttered.

I watched him open a can of beans and start eating without even heating it. He was still in his jacket, hat, and boots. That’s how desperate he was to get away from me.

“Hank…”

He put the can down—he’d only eaten half—and started for the door, ignoring me.

“Hank…”

He pulled the door open.

“What did I do wrong?” I said, the desperation in my voice so damn obvious.

He froze.

“Please tell me why you’re so angry with me.” I barely knew this man, but I hated the thought of him being angry with me, that I’d somehow upset him.

He pushed the door shut, blocking out the cold wind, leaned against it, and pulled off his hat. “I’m not angry with you, Birdie.”

He wouldn’t meet my eyes and I could see his cheeks had darkened. “Well, what’s going on? Why are you being like this?”

He cursed under his breath, his chest expanding with his rough inhale. “What I did…the way I acted…” He shook his head. “I’m…embarrassed.”

What? I took a step closer. “Why? You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“You caught me…” He cringed. “Doing…what I was. It wasn’t right. I should never have done that beside you.”

“I liked it,” I said, voice nothing more than a whisper.

His brows lifted. “You did?”

I hugged myself. “Yes.” This man—God, I’d never known anyone like him, never seen anyone like him. He was big and fierce and untamed, but there was a vulnerability under all of it that had my belly in knots, that made me want to know more about him.

That had me craving his touch like no one else.

“Watching you pleasure yourself.” I took a shuddery breath. “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life.” I lifted my eyes lifted and locked them with his. “You’re amazing, Hank.”

His nostrils flared, but he said nothing. His eyes dropped to his boots and I could see his chest rise and fall rapidly. Finally, his eyes lifted back to mine and the way they burned made my knees weak. “What” —he cleared his throat— “what was amazing was having your hands on me.”

Then he pulled the door open and walked out quickly, shutting it quietly behind him.

I stared at the door he’d just walked through and had to grab for the edge of the table as a wave of lust—God, need—like I’d never experienced in my life, washed through me. I hadn’t cooled down since I’d felt the heavy, thick weight of his cock in my hand, since I’d watched him come. And as the time passed and I waited for him to return, it only worsened. My skin seemed to get tighter, my breasts fuller, and despite the snow again falling outside, I was hot, flushed with need.

I ached, and I found myself squeezing my thighs together as I distractedly chopped carrots for the rabbit stew I’d made. I’d never used rabbit meat before, but I’d made stew, so I hoped it tasted good. It smelled good, not that I was hungry. Not for food anyway.

It was probably more than two hours before I heard the sound of boots crunching through the snow, before I heard the door rattle and Hank walked back in.

He didn’t say anything as he took off his boots, coat, and hat. But when he turned to me and his gaze hit mine, the need curled tighter in my belly so hard and fast, oxygen was shoved from my lungs.

“Smells good,” he said, voice low and rumbly.

I felt that, too. I squeezed my thighs together tighter. “You have…” I walked toward him, stopping a foot away, and even though he’d just come in from the cold I could feel the heat radiating off his big body. “You’ve got snow in your beard.” I reached up, because I wanted to touch him, and brushed it away. I took another step closer. “And in your hair.” I did the same to the hair at his neck where the hat hadn’t reached.

His nostrils flared, and I watched in awe as the giant in front of me shuddered, a full body quake that had him sucking in a harsh breath. The top of my head only hit mid chest, so when he took a jerky step toward me, his body colliding with mine, I stumbled back.

His arm shot out and he hooked me around the waist, yanking me into the muscular wall of his body. I gasped when I felt the hard length of his cock against my belly.

“Birdie,” he rasped out past windblown lips.

I tilted my head back, staring into the blazing heat of his eyes. “Tell me what you need, Hank,” I whispered.

The muscle at the side of his jaw jumped. “I can’t stop thinking about your hands on me.”

“M-me either,” I said, my breathy choppy and shallow.

His large hand came up to the side of my face, thick, long fingers gently skimming across my cheek. “You’re so beautiful.”

I curled my fingers around his forearms, not wanting him to let me go. “So are you.”

He frowned, even as his cheeks colored. “I…I don’t know what to do.”

My pulse raced faster, out of control. “You’ve never been with a woman?”

His cheeks got darker. “Only once, a long time ago.”

Oh God. I searched my mind for the right words. “What do you think about when you’re on your own, when you’re stroking yourself?”

“You,” he said, so rough it was like fine sandpaper abrading my skin, but in an intensely good way. “I never knew her face, not until I lifted you out of the snow, stripped you down, and put you in my bed.” His hot gaze moved over me. “Everything else, everything…it was you.”

Somehow, I managed to speak past my tight throat. “What do you do to me?”

“So many things, Birdie. So many dirty things.”

I pressed against him as he stepped closer. My back met the rough-sawn wall and I lifted a hand, curling my fingers around the side of his thick neck and brushed my thumb over his beard. “I’m here now.”

He growled.

I shivered and licked my suddenly dry lips. “You don’t have to fantasize anymore, Hank.”

Another animalistic sound vibrated through his chest, making my nipples tingle, then one of his huge hands landed on my butt and he hauled me effortlessly up. I instantly wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck.

“I want to kiss you,” he said.

“Then do it,” I whispered, pulse racing.

He licked his lips, and after a moment’s hesitation, brought his mouth down on mine. He kissed me in a way that was rough and out of control, unschooled. His beard was soft and prickly all at once, and tickled my chin. There was no finesse, no holding back. It was wet and hard and as untamed as the man himself. It was the hottest kiss I’d ever experienced.

His tongue tangled with mine, his growls shooting straight to the aching need between my thighs, and I couldn’t help but rub against him, seeking relief, needing more of him.

His hips slammed forward, and he ground into me. “Birdie,” he said between rough breaths and rougher kisses, a desperation in his voice that had me soaking through my panties.

My fingers slid into his hair at the nape of his neck and I held tighter as his powerful body continued to thrust against mine. The hard, unforgiving length of his cock ground into me through our clothes, hitting my clit just right. I dropped a hand, shoving it under his shirt, and my fingers came into contact with the hot, smooth skin of his back. The muscles bunched under my fingers. I thrust my hand down the back of his pants, digging my nails into his firm-muscled ass cheek.

He tore his mouth from mine, panic crossing his expression, as well as a lust so deep and wild my pussy clamped tight and I started coming.

He gasped. “I can’t stop”—he shook his head—“I have to…”

He grunted, then shoved his face against my throat and groaned low and long, shuddering, hips jerking against me as he came as well.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped against my overheated skin. “Christ, I’m pathetic…I’m…”

I cupped his face, encouraging him to lift his head. “Why would you say that? Hank, you did nothing wrong.” I shook my head. “You did everything right. You made me come so hard. God, I’m still feeling it.” I bit my lip as my pussy pulsed again.

“You did?” he asked, voice pure grit.

I shivered. “Yes.” And moaned when he pressed into me and another wave of pleasure shot through me.

I knew he could see it on my face that I was telling the truth when he sucked in a sharp breath through his nose and his gaze dropped to my chest. I watched as his hand lifted to my breast and cupped it. His thumb swiped over my nipple and I shivered again.

“That felt good?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Could you come again?”

I nodded, my hips rolling against him.

“Will you…” he gritted out. “Will you show me what to do?”

I swallowed, trying to get moisture back in my mouth. “Yes.”

His eyes dropped lower. “Can you…if I put my mouth on you…if I lick your pussy…” He lifted his eyes to me again. “Can you come that way?”

I nodded again, words no longer an option. Then I watched in awe as the huge mountain man in front of me dropped to his knees. He looked up at me as he slowly, cautiously, gripped the top of my thermal pants and started dragging them down my legs. Usually I was self-conscious about my abundant thighs, but with the way Hank was looking at me, the only thing I felt was beautiful.

I stepped out of my pants, and then his fingers were sliding under the sides of my underwear. He looked up at me again, and I gave him a small nod. “Do whatever you want, the things you’ve fantasized about.”

When his eyes dropped back to my cotton-covered pussy, my thigh muscles started to quiver.

He started to tug my underwear down, and when they reached my ankles and I stepped out, his monster chest shuddered.

“Spread wider for me. Please, I-I need to see you,” he rasped.

I did as he asked and his whole body convulsed, like an electrical current had fired through him.

“Birdie,” he groaned on a ragged whisper. “You’re…Christ…do you have any idea how many times I’ve fantasized about this?” His hands at my ankles started sliding up.

I shook my head.

“About this body, this…pussy.” He gritted his teeth, like he was struggling with his control, like he was trying desperately to hold himself back.

I didn’t want him to hold himself back. I threaded my fingers through his hair and tugged gently.

He groaned and pressed his nose to my mound. “Your scent—fuck.” His head tipped back, and his eyes locked on mine again. “You’re so perfect.”

My heart was racing at his words, with the anticipation of having his mouth on me, from the way he looked at me. He took one of my legs and lifted it over his shoulder.

A second later he pressed his hot mouth against my slick pussy lips and growled.

The vibration of it felt amazing, then his tongue darted out, moving over me tentatively, testing, tasting.

That’s when his control snapped.