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But whatever I’d been about to say cut off as I saw tears in her eyes. She was crying. I’d made her cry by kissing her. That wasn’t good.
And then she said something that changed everything.
“I’m a virgin.”
4
MEREDITH
Ishouldn’t have told him I was a virgin.
Regret filled me as I stood at the counter in Shane’s kitchen, making a salad. He was cooking steaks for me and Max. The power had come on while we sat on the sofa, sharing our life stories.
But I was surprised just how little this guy relied on it. No TV or computer. He did have a smartphone, but he’d been quick to point out it was for business only.
“You should poke around a little while you’re up near the top of the mountain,” Shane said as he made dinner on a stove that looked like it’d been around since the fifties. “There are guys up there who live off the land. No power, no running water. They don’t even work for a living. They hunt for food and pull water from nearby streams.”
I stopped chopping tomatoes and turned to look at him. “You can’t be serious.”
“Dead serious.” He shook his head and poked at the steaks. “Most of my buddies came here because the logging crew needed able-bodied workers. We still like our electricity, though.”
It was hard for me to believe people lived off the grid, but as we enjoyed a dinner of steak and salad, I realized Shane wasn’t all that far from being like the guys up the mountain. No matter how life-changing that kiss had felt, it wouldn’t work between us. I just needed to fight the attraction until he deposited me with Emerald tomorrow morning.
But as I lay in the twin guest bed, Max snoring on a blanket on the floor next to me, I couldn’t stop thinking about Shane. I peeked over at Max. He was a heavy sleeper at night, so I knew all I had to do was sneak from the room and he’d never know I was gone.
I closed the bedroom door as I tiptoed into the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. What would happen if I crawled into bed next to Shane? Would he turn me away, or would he touch me the way I’d been fantasizing about since our kiss earlier that day? What would have happened in the car if I hadn’t stopped him?
It was time to find out.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I switched the light off in the bathroom and removed the flannel pajamas I’d changed into before bed. Shane’s bedroom was next to where I was sleeping, which was partly why I’d been tossing and turning.
I stepped into the hallway and stared at Shane’s closed door. Was he having a tough time going to sleep, or had he drifted off immediately, not haunted at all by the magnetic pull we seemed to have toward each other?
That magnetic pull drew me into his bedroom. I slowly turned the doorknob, my hands trembling and my legs wobbly. The room was dark, but once my eyes adjusted, I saw movement over on the bed. But there was no more movement on the bed as I approached. I told myself Shane had gone back to sleep. That made it easier to keep going.
Not until I was standing next to the bed did I realize I was holding my breath, like even the act of breathing might get in the way. He was definitely asleep. I confirmed that as I pulled the sheets back and climbed in.
His deep breathing stopped abruptly, and he lifted up slightly and looked around. There was enough moonlight streaming through the window that I could make out his groggy, confused expression.
I didn’t give him time to ask questions. For the first time in my life, I was the seductress, moving my naked body against his. He didn’t even move at first as I placed my hand on the side of his face and turned him toward me. Then I pressed my mouth to his. It took only a fraction of a second for him to begin returning that kiss.
And then his hands were on me, pulling me toward him, his naked upper body coming into direct contact with mine. It felt so good. All of this. His right hand roaming the small of my back, his tongue tangling with mine, my breasts pressed against his bare, muscular chest. It was beyond what I’d imagined making love to someone could be, and we hadn’t even gotten started yet.
“Meredith?” he asked when he finally pulled away.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “It had better be. Otherwise, you probably should call the police.”
He shook his head. “I must be dreaming.”
“It’s not a dream,” I said. “I want this. I want you.”
How was it possible that I’d known him less than twelve hours, but this felt like something I’d waited my entire life to do? Not just making love to someone. Making love to him specifically.
He was the man from all my fantasies—the one I’d never quite been able to put a face to. But every touch, every kiss, was straight out of one of my fantasies. And I never wanted it to end.
I somehow ended up on my back, his hands moving up the inside of my thigh as he kissed me. I was touching his back, his shoulders, his arms—all while trying to figure out a way to slide my hands beneath the elastic of those pajama bottoms. But his movements made it hard to concentrate on anything.
“Part your legs for me, baby,” he said. “I want to see how wet you are.”
