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He wets the pink washcloth again and continues cleaning my wounds.
He’s so close to me that I can see the individual hairs of his beard. In fact, he’s so close that I could lean forward and plant my lips on his. I wonder how he would react if I did that, but I’m not brave enough to find out.
“What were you doing out there anyway? You look like you’ve been through some stuff. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you got attacked by a wild animal,” Brody says.
“I was looking at a bird and didn’t pay attention to the ground, so I slipped and slid down. And then, my clothes got ripped thanks to a barbed-wire fence. I tried to find my way back, but I got lost.” I shake my head. “I know it’s silly, especially considering I live in a mountain town myself. I should’ve known better. You can laugh at me if you want.”
“Why would I laugh? You don’t know these mountains. It’s easy to get lost. Trust me, I’ve rescued a ton of people out of those woods and even from the ski slopes.”
“Have you been working for the Search and Rescue Team for a long time?”
He nods. “A few years now. I grew up in these mountains. My brothers and I knew every tree, every trail, every hidden waterfall. It made sense to me to work in Mountain Rescue.”
“Do your brothers still live here?”
“Caleb does. He works at the local bar, Hidden Springs Bar & Grill. Flynn moved away years ago. He’s a hockey player with a big career, but he does visit as often as he can. Our cousins live here as well. Winnie, Wren, and Willa are like sisters to us. We grew up together.”
I smile. “That must be nice. My family isn’t tight-knit at all. I always dreamed of having a big family. One day, I hope to have a house full of kids and to host lots of family barbecues.”
His eyes lock with mine, and my heart does this weird little jump. “You have someone to raise those kids with?”
I shake my head as I feel my cheeks getting red. “No, it’s just a dream.”
“Dreams come true every once in a while,” he says, his gaze dipping to my mouth.
“I hope so.”
He puts the washcloth in the bowl and opens a tube of disinfectant ointment. “This should help you heal fast.”
He squirts a bit of ointment on his fingers and gently rubs circles on my face. Heat shoots from my core to the tips of my toes, to my fingers, to my center.
An involuntary moan escapes my mouth. I can’t help it. The feeling of his fingers on my skin sets me on fire. His eyes catch mine, and he starts pulling his hand away.
Before I can change my mind, I grab his wrist. “Wait.”
“Don’t worry, this should be enough ointment to heal your wounds,” he says in a low voice.
I let my thumb slide over his wrist. “That’s not what I mean, Brody.”
“Then what do you mean?”
I laugh nervously. “You want me to spell it out to you?”
“Yes.”
“Come on.”
He palms my cheek with the hand I’m not holding. “Emily, I want you to say it out loud so that I know we’re on the same page. So that I know you want me as badly as I want you.”
“You want me?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” he says, his voice catching in his throat. “I know it’s sudden, but you stole my heart from the moment I met you. It’s why I couldn’t go home without making sure you were okay. And thank God I did. I wouldn’t have been able to cope if something had happened to you.”
“When I sat there in the cold and the dark, all I could think of was you,” I whisper. “My big, bearded mountain man. You saved me in more ways than one, Brody.”
I let go of his wrist and he cups my face. The look in his eyes is almost feral as he watches me lick my lips.
“I want you, but I’m going to take it slow, Emily. Savor every single second.”
