Oh fuck.

The words spun around my head over and over again. This was happening. I couldn’t hold back. Her scent, her taste. Birdie had wrapped herself around me so tight, had crawled so deep, I couldn’t think straight.

All I knew was that I wanted to please her. I wanted to make her come against my tongue, hear her scream in pleasure. I didn’t know if what I was doing would do that, and I hated that I didn’t so much, that I was so damn inexperienced. Beau would know. I’d walked in on him like this with a woman, her thighs on his shoulders. The look on her face said she loved it. God, I hoped Birdie did, too.

My cock pulsed, hard as iron again, as I licked up her juices and she squirmed against me. I dragged my tongue through her slit up to her clit. I knew from Beau that was one of the ways to get a woman to come, and going by the way Birdie tugged on my hair harder and ground her pussy against my mouth, I was doing something right.

Her moans grew louder, so I lifted her other leg, cupped her soft ass, and ate her like the starving man I was.

“Hank,” she cried out. “Oh God, please, please don’t stop. I’m going to...”

No goddamn way would I stop.

I wanted to feel it, I wanted to feel the way her body reacted to what I was doing. She said I could do what I’d fantasized about, and I wanted inside her in a big way. So, I pressed the tip of my finger to her tight little opening and started to slide it inside.

She gave my hair another tug. “Yes…yes, push it deeper.”

Knowing that I was doing this right, that I was making her feel good—nothing compared to it. I felt taller, stronger, more of a man than I had in my whole life. I continued to lick and suck her perfect little clit while I slid my finger in and out of her. She was hot and wet and tight. I wanted it to be my cock. God, so bad.

I was pulsing hard and my balls were drawn up tight. I shoved my free hand down the front of my pants, my shoulders holding Birdie up, and tugged on my cock. I fucked her with my finger while I fucked into my fist.

I felt her clamp down on me at the same time her scream filled the cabin. I kept at her, licking her stiff clit and thrusting my finger inside her as she ground against me, trembling and moaning. The sounds she made alone would have been enough to send me over the edge, but with everything else, the feel of her, the taste, the scent…knowing it was me that was pleasing her, making her feel this good…

I blew the hell up, grunting and growling as I shot my load into my boxers for the second time.

Birdie went lax, so I carefully lowered her legs, lifted her in my arms, and carried her to my bed. She lay there staring up at me, bare from the waist down, the sexiest, most beautiful, perfect woman I had ever seen in my life.

“Climb into bed with me, Hank.”

Her voice was husky from her screams. The sound of that and the sight of her relaxed and satisfied made my chest expand with pride.

A knot curled in my gut as I stripped off. I used my boxers to clean myself off, and climbed in beside her. She rolled into me immediately, the soft heat of her body soaking into mine.

I decided to ask for what I wanted again, like she told me to. “I want you naked.” I wanted to feel all of her against all of me.

She immediately pulled her shirt off, followed by her bra. My hands had minds of their own and I cupped her breasts, massaging, weighing them, loving the way they overflowed my hold. I did this for a while, indulging myself, running my hands over her body. Finally, I trailed my fingers lower, and her thighs spread for me instantly.

My chest puffed up again at the way she bit her lip and arched when I cupped her pussy, sliding my index finger through her slit.

“I want to make you come again, Birdie. Can I?” I surprised myself by asking. It felt so good to make her feel good—Christ, addictive—that I wanted that feeling, that high again.

She nodded, eyes wide, chest rising and falling faster.

I played with her, my hand between her thighs, watching her every reaction, following her huskily spoken orders when she gave them. Faster, deeper, harder. Until she screamed again. Then I did it again, this time not needing instruction, and once more, until she passed out.

I spent the night watching her sleep and making sure the fire burned hot enough that covers weren’t necessary. I didn’t want to cover her beautiful body. I wanted to memorize every dip and valley, every dimple and freckle.

I also prayed.

For the snow to keep falling.

* * *

“What’s your favorite color?” Birdie asked, trudging along beside me.

Her ankle was a lot better, good enough to trek with me to check the closest traps and look out for logs I could cut up for firewood. My food stocks were good, but I wanted enough that going down the mountain wasn’t something we had to do because we were forced to. The snow had stopped two days ago. The powers that be had ignored my prayers, not that I believed in all that. They hadn’t listened when I begged for Him to bring my mother back or for my grandfather to get better. I had hoped, though, that I would get a little more time with Birdie. It was wrong, but I hadn’t even suggested taking her home. Another day and we could get down without too much trouble. But I wasn’t ready for that, to let her go.

I knew I couldn’t keep her forever, but the urge to stay there, away from the real world, her world, was getting harder and harder to ignore.

I looked down at her. She looked cute in one of my woolen hats, her dark hair down and wavy around her shoulders and back.

“Don’t have one,” I said, answering her question, one of many.

She frowned. “Really?”

I dipped my chin.

She tapped her chin. “Okay, favorite type of cake?”

“Chocolate.”

She smiled. “Mine, too. Can you bake?”

I shook my head, trying to ignore the way her smile made my heart race. “My grandmother used to make me one every year for my birthday.”

Her smile got wider and I had to look away.

“Winter or summer?” she asked next.

“Winter.”

She snorted. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? Well, me and the cold really shouldn’t mix. Or mountains…or snow.” She grinned up at me again.

My gut clenched even tighter. “You’re doing all right,” I said.

“Well, it feels good to be out of the cabin. I was going a little stir-crazy staring at the same four walls.”

I grunted, not wanting to think about what it meant, but I couldn’t stop the thoughts spinning around my mind. I knew firsthand that this life wasn’t for everyone, and as much as I wanted to keep her, Birdie was no different. She’d soon grow tired of the solitude, the loneliness. She’d long for her old life, and she’d ask me to take her home. She had a life waiting for her, one that didn’t involve me…or my four walls.

She tucked her hair behind her ear. “My mom and I moved around a lot. We have travelling souls, you see. Well, that’s what she used to say. I think it was more she couldn’t make rent., so we skipped out.” She chuckled softly. “We always stuck to warmer places. I stupidly decided to try the mountains. They are beautiful, though. But I guess I’ll be moving on soon.” Her gaze slid to me then darted away. “I wouldn’t want to break tradition and stay in one place too long.”

The idea of her leaving, of me never seeing her again…

“Oh look! Is that one of your traps?” She was pointing to one of the snares I’d made to catch small prey.

“Yeah.” It was empty. I didn’t care, I was still processing the fact that soon she’d be gone.

She turned to me. “I know you said you don’t get lonely, but don’t you just…I don’t know, crave human contact sometimes?”

Her cheeks were flushed and when she said that they got darker. We’d had quite a lot of human contact over the last few days. I’d been learning every way I could make her come, how many times I could make her come before she passed out. We hadn’t done much more than that. I knew she wanted to do things to me, too, but I hadn’t really given her the chance. She’d said I had nothing to be embarrassed about, but it was there in the back of my mind, hovering, messing with me. That same humiliation I’d felt all those years ago.

I didn’t want to disappoint her.

And since I was obsessed with pleasuring her, I was more than satisfied.

Yes, I wanted her.

So much so I was in a constant state of arousal, but getting my fix, hearing her screams, was my drug.

“Not really,” I said, answering her question about getting lonely.

It wasn’t a lie, or it hadn’t been before I met Birdie. Now I wasn’t sure how I would survive not being able to touch her, talk to her, sleep beside her. I didn’t tell her that, though. There was no use. Saying those things was pointless.

She chuckled, and it sounded forced. “I really don’t know how you do it.” She started walking again, a little ahead, which meant I couldn’t see her face, but there had been a note to her voice that gave me pause, something I had no hope of understanding.

We checked several more traps. She watched me reset them and even carried a rabbit, but she was quiet. I didn’t like it. Something I’d said had upset her, but I couldn’t for the life of me work out what that was.

I wanted to make her smile again.

“Can I show you something?” I said, surprising myself.

She glanced back at me. “Sure.”

“Your ankle will hold up?”

She nodded, curiosity clear in her eyes.

I led her to the familiar path. It was still under snow, but it was packed and not that deep. I used to come up here all the time, but these days just once or twice a year. The track was narrow and rocky in places, and when Birdie grabbed for my hand to keep her balance I kept hold of it, not wanting to let her go. I didn’t think I’d held anyone’s hand since I was eight years old. Holding Birdie’s, her smaller one wrapped in mine, gave me more pleasure than should be possible for such a simple act. That point of connection commanded all my attention. Everything about it was etched in my brain.

It took only fifteen minutes to reach the clearing.

Birdie came up beside me when I came to a stop, and I watched her draw in a deep breath, taking it in. “What is this place?”

“Over there.” I carried on walking, leading her to my favorite spot. It was just across the clearing, and when I stopped again, I turned to her, wanting to see her reaction, hoping that she loved it as much as me. I watched her cheeks flush with pleasure, and her eyes go wide with wonder.

“Hank,” she whispered. “This is…it’s beautiful.”

I’d always thought so. “My grandfather used to say you could see the whole world from up here.”

She stared out at the view and her smile got brighter, sucking the oxygen right out of my lungs. “I think he was right.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off her. “He used to have a cabin up here when my dad was a kid. It wasn’t much, but they loved it. One real bad winter, the roof caved in, and a lot of it was destroyed. Getting building material this far up was tough, so they decided to build the new hunting cabin lower down the mountain, somewhere less exposed.” I stared out across the mountain range. “I still come here, though. Beau, too.”

“I can see why,” she said.

I turned to her, swallowing the lump growing in my throat. “I feel closer to them when I’m up here.”

She tilted her head back and looked up at me. “Your dad and your grandfather?”

I rubbed the back of my neck, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. “Yeah.”

She gave my hand a squeeze. “How did they die? You were still young when your father passed?”

I hadn’t talked about this for a long time, but I wanted to share something with Birdie, something that would let her know she meant something to me. “My grandfather got cancer. I took care of him until the end. He refused to leave the mountain.”

Her eyes softened. “That must have been extremely hard for you.”

“The least I could do after everything he did for us. Would’ve done anything for him.” I shrugged. There was never any other choice, not for me. “My father, an accident. Broke his leg while out hunting. He died from the cold before my grandfather could find him.”

I watched her pale, and I knew she was remembering how close she’d come to the same fate. I shoved the same thought from my mind. I couldn’t bear to think about it, what I would have found if I hadn’t got there when I did.

“I’m so sorry,” she said.

God, she was beautiful. “Loss, it’s just…it’s part of life.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean it hurts any less, or that those losses don’t leave scars.” A gentle smile curved her lips. “Thank you for showing me this place, for sharing how important it is to you. It really is breathtaking up here.”

She was breathtaking. I wanted to kiss her.

“Birdie…”

A yowl echoed across the clearing and I spun around.

A short distance away, a mountain lion, still a cub, rolled in the snow in a panic, hissing and yowling.

“She’s caught on something.” There was no way I could leave it like that.

Birdie grabbed my arm.

“I’m going to try and free it. Stay back,” I said.

Where there was a cub, there was a mama, and there was no way I wanted Birdie anywhere near either of them. I got closer and could see the cub’s leg was caught in an old chain. It snarled and lashed out, but I managed to hold it down. It was scared and making a lot of noise. The more it thrashed, the more tangled it got.

I was trying to free the animal, and look out for Birdie at the same time. I knew its mother wouldn’t be far away, and when I heard the growl a short distance from us a few minutes later, it lifted the hair on the back of my neck. I saw movement at my side. Birdie had come closer.

“Don’t move,” I said to her. “Stay completely still.”

I kept eye contact with the mountain lion, staring her down as I blindly worked on the chain tangled around her cub’s leg. Crouching down was not a good position to be in, but I didn’t have much choice. “I know you’re angry, mama, but I’m not hurting your baby,” I said, voice low, not taking my eyes off her once.

The chain loosened. One last tug and the chain came free. The cub sprang up and ran straight to its mother. She didn’t move, but continued to hold my eyes, full of aggression. I needed to appear as large as possible, so I slowly rose to my full height.

“Go now,” I said, low and firm.

Finally, she spun around and they both ran off.

Birdie instantly collided with my back, her hands tangling in my jacket. “Oh my God. I’ve never been more terrified in my life.”

“They’re gone. She won’t come back,” I said. “I’m not going to let anything hurt you, Birdie.”

I felt her nod against my back. “I know that. I knew you’d keep me safe.”

My chest expanded to damn near twice the size. I loved that she knew that, that she felt safe with me. She continued to cling to me, and I liked that, too. I didn’t want her scared, but I liked being the man she turned to when she was, the man she knew would protect her.

I reached back, took her hand, and pulled her around to my side. “We better head back.”

She nodded and started walking, but stayed close the whole way.

I loved that, too.

When we got back to the cabin, Birdie started heating up leftovers from the night before, and I half-filled the tub to have a wash. I couldn’t fit my bulk in there, unlike Birdie who could get right in. The sheet was still up, even though we didn’t really need it now. I’d seen all of her, every stunning inch, but I left it there for her in case she wanted privacy while she washed.

I stripped off and stood in the tub, soaping up quickly, and washed off. I could hear Birdie humming as she worked. The sound was sweet and soft, and the more I listened the harder I got. I felt closer to her after today, and it was messing with me, making me want her even more than I had before, which I thought was impossible. By the time I finished, my cock was so hard it stood up against my stomach.

My breathing grew choppy as I thought about Birdie stroking me that first night. I’d never felt anything so good.

I quickly climbed out. I’d been rubbing myself off while I ate her pussy every night, but last night I’d humped the fucking mattress until I blew, with my face buried between her thighs. I dried off, willing my cock to calm down.

The sheet slid back, and Birdie poked her head around the side. “You nearly ready for dinner?” Her voice trailed off and her eyes moved over me, my shoulders, my arms, my stomach…lower.

Her mouth dropped open.

“I’ll just…” I grabbed for my pants.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “No, leave them off.”

The way she was looking at me…I swallowed. Hard. “Birdie…” Her name rumbled past my lips, a plea, a warning, I had no idea what it was. I just knew I had to somehow control myself. Be a goddamn man and not act like some untried teenager. I could do that, couldn’t I?

Christ. After today, I couldn’t take another second without her touching me.

She moved in closer and took my hand, leading me out by the fire. It was dark outside and the only sound was the crackling wood and wind rattling the windows…and my unsteady breaths.

How did she do this to me? One touch and I’d do anything she asked me to. Anything.

My cock pulsed and my knees almost buckled. I looked down. My cock was dark, veins bulging along its length, pre-come glistening at the head, and she hadn’t even touched me yet.

She rested a hand on my chest and dragged it down over my abs. They tightened under her fingers. “You’re like an ancient warrior,” she said. “So big and strong. Capable, protective.” Her eyes lifted to mine. “I’ve never felt as safe as I do with you. Never. Today, what you did, faced with that mountain lion, I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”

I wanted to ask what had made her feel unsafe in her life, who had made her feel that way, but her hand slid lower, and instead of asking her those things, I looked at her and groaned.

She moved in close, so the front of her body was pressed against mine, trapping my stiff cock between our bodies. “You’ve made me feel good every night, Hank. You’ve made me come so many times and not taken anything for yourself.”

“I wanted to,” I choked out. “Making you feel good, I can’t get enough.”

“I want to make you feel good, too,” she said softly.

My chest was pumping with my rapid breaths. “Please,” I said, my control slipping more and more by the second.

It was all I could manage. I wanted that. I wanted whatever she wanted to give me. I’d take anything as long as she was touching me.

“Sit on the chair, Hank.”

I did as she asked without question, lowering my ass to the chair, stomach clenching, thighs quivering. I’d hang from the goddamn rafters if it meant having her hands on me. Her hands went to my knees and she pushed them wide as she lowered to her knees in front of me.

Her big brown eyes came back to mine. “Has anyone ever taken you in their mouth? Sucked you?”

I shook my head. Oh God. I wanted that. I wanted that more than anything.