Delivering His Gifts: A Mountain Man's Baby Christmas Romance(7)

It’s a good thing it wasn’t reality, because in that moment, imagining her wetness encasing me, I lost all control. Warm cum exploded out of the head of my cock, and my knees momentarily went weak. I leaned against the back of the shower, my pulsating rod in my hand as I pictured emptying myself inside Danielle.

Damn. Even for a fantasy, that might have been the best sex I’d ever had. After a few moments, I steadied myself and came back to reality, rinsing myself off with the warm water and some soap.

If masturbating to her got me off so fast, I’d hate to imagine what would happen if we were really together. I thought I had some stamina, but damn, she was enough to test my limits.

I turned off the shower and dried off, trying to push any thought of Danielle out of my mind. I didn’t know the first thing about her, whether she was married or not. She also didn’t seem like the type to sleep with a client, not after the whole I’m not a prostitute talk, so even if she was single, that complicated things. Besides, I wasn’t ready to move on… Even if she was available, I wasn’t a worthy partner for her. I couldn’t properly care for her and her daughter. I could hardly care for— I stopped myself before I headed down that dark path.

Nah, I needed to forget about Danielle. At least stop thinking of how hot she was.

I stepped out of the bathroom with just a towel at my waist. My phone was sitting by the bed, and I picked it up as I sat down.

A new message from an unknown number. I opened it and found a message from Danielle.

Hi Mason, it’s Danielle. Sorry to bother you, but I think I’ve found the perfect dog.

My heart skipped a beat as I noticed the photo she’d attached. My eyes went directly to her smile and those sparkling eyes. It took me a moment to realize that she wasn’t meant to be the subject of the photo.

A large dog. One of the dogs at her house. Beautiful grey fur and large, sweet eyes. He was sitting with his head on her lap. A dirty thought tugged at the back of my mind - lucky dog - but I pushed it aside.

Another message popped up as I was busy staring at Danielle.

Sorry, if the photo has more of me than the dog. I had Skyler take it. But I wanted to show you how sweet he is. He’s such a snuggler and knows when I’m feeling sad or anxious, and he’s always there to offer comfort when I need him to. I think he’d be perfect for your friend.

Again, the intended message was missed. All I could think about was that she was feeling sad or anxious after I left? Why? Had I done something wrong? Was it the phone call that caused her tension? Whatever it was, I wanted to fix it for her.

My hands hovered over the keys on my phone. I had no idea what to say to her that wouldn’t make her more concerned about my motives. She was willing to give up her dog - a dog that lived with her and her daughter - to help a man she didn’t even know. To me, that said so much about her character, but I couldn’t go overboard with the praise.

He looks very sweet, but you don’t have to give up your dog. I’m sure we can find another one for my friend.

Her response was lightning fast, as if she was prepared for my argument.

I know Oscar. There is no better emotional support dog. None that I’ve met, at least. It could take months to find another dog as good as him. I took him in when he needed a home, but if he can help someone else live a better life, then it’s worth it to me.

I leaned back against the bed and let out a deep breath.

Seriously, why did she have to be so damned perfect?





Danielle





“She’s packing her stuff and will be right out,” I said dryly, my arms crossed in front of my chest in a defensive manner.

My ex-husband, Greg, stood only inches away. He’d always had trouble with personal boundaries. He crowded into my personal bubble, and that was one of many reasons we didn’t make a good match.

“You left her inside alone? Jesus Christ, Danielle,” Greg said, trying to push past me and get into my house.

I placed a hand on his chest to stop him. “She’s not a baby anymore, Greg. She’s starting kindergarten in the fall. She is just fine.”

“With all of those dogs in there with her? The big ones?”

“They’re actually in the backyard right now because I’m not completely stupid,” I snapped, lifting an eyebrow. Mostly I kept them outside in case Greg pushed his way inside. Oscar would be fine, and Griz too - probably. If Greg didn’t push too far. Griz was protective of his mama, after all.

“You really should get rid of them,” he growled under his breath.

“Why? They love Skyler, she loves them, and they’re not dangerous. Besides, I know what I’m doing. I’m not an idiot - I know to never leave them unattended, even though they’ve never even looked at Skyler wrong.”

I stopped short, dropping my hand from Greg’s chest. My gaze fell behind my ex-husband and on the driveway. Mason’s truck pulled in and was headed toward the house.

“Dammit,” I muttered. I should have given him a time to stop by, not leave it as an open invitation.

“Who’s that?” Greg asked, cocking an eyebrow toward Mason’s truck.

“He’s a client. I’m training a dog for a friend of his,” I stated matter-of-factly. “In fact, I’m training one of my dogs for his friend, so I’ll have one less dog for you to bitch about.”

“Well hallelujah,” Greg muttered sarcastically. His eyes narrowed on Mason’s truck as the other man parked and stepped out. Greg scoffed when he saw Mason. “A client, huh? Bullshit. I don’t know why you lie to me, Dani…”

Mason walked up slowly, looking Greg up and down as if sizing him up. He held his hands up and asked, “Bad timing?”

“Yeah, terrible timing. At least bring your fuck buddies over after our daughter leaves for the weekend,” Greg growled antagonistically.

“He’s not—”

“I’m not—” Mason said at the same time. “Listen, man. I’m just a client. She’s training a dog for a friend of mine, a Vietnam vet with PTSD. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Right, like I’m supposed to believe that shit,” he scoffed, his nastiness boundless. “Looks like you found someone as good at lying as you, Dani. Well done, I must say.”

Greg stepped forward, impeding Mason’s space as he often did to me. Greg wasn’t a small man by any means, but Mason was a giant compared to him. He easily had five inches and fifty pounds on my ex-husband, but Greg always thought himself bigger and badder than he was.

“You know,” Mason said. “I really don’t appreciate you talking about her like that. I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you. I don’t want to know. I’m just a client, like I said. But you need to treat the mother of your child with some respect.”

“Mason, Greg—”

I stepped forward and placed myself between the two of them. I knew Greg’s temper, and it wouldn’t end well if I let the two men hash it out. Greg would push Mason to his limits and likely end up in the hospital, and somehow, it would look bad on my part because Mason was a guest on my property.

I placed a hand on both of their chests, pushing backward. Damn bit of good it did, since I was little bitty compared to the two of them.

“Guys, please—”

Greg I couldn’t control. His eyes were narrowed, and I knew that look on his face, one of fierce determination. He wasn’t going to let another man win this argument. So I turned my attention to Mason.

“Mason, with all due respect, please stay out of my personal affairs and back up.”

Mason looked stunned for a moment, but then seemed to shake himself out of the macho tough guy mode and did as I asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I’m sorry if I overstepped my bounds. I just didn’t like the way he talked to you.”

“I appreciate that, but—” My head snapped around. “Ow, Greg, what the—”

Greg grabbed my arm, taking me by surprise. He pulled me over toward him. “We need to talk.”

It was like something had snapped in Mason. The moment Greg placed his hands on me, Mason lunged forward and ripped it away from my arm. Greg stumbled backward but managed to keep his footing. Then he rushed toward Mason.

It was too late for me to tell Mason to stay out of it; he’d already pushed Greg to his limit. I rushed between the two men, putting myself in the path of danger. Anything to stop the fight that was about to go down in my front yard.

“Guys, Skyler is coming out,” I hissed loudly.

Both men froze. If there was one thing I could say about Greg, it was that he would never let his daughter see his bad side. Sometimes I thought it might be because he was a good dad, other times I thought it could be to keep her from talking and telling the courts anything that would reflect poorly upon him.

Whatever it was, he stopped as if someone had flipped the switch to “Good father” instead of “Asshole.”

“Sweetie!” he exclaimed, rushing toward Skyler. “There you are.”

I breathed deeply for a few moments, relief washing over me. I was still shaking from the threat of violence.

“Danielle, I’m really sorry,” Mason whispered.

I shot him a look of death. “When I say stay out of it, I mean stay out of it. I have my reasons.”