Wild Beast_A Mountain Man Romance Read online

  It stings – I want Damien’s attention just like I want his love. I want him to grab me and pull me back into the bedroom for a round of hot, passionate sex. But on the other hand, this is all very new. Maybe he’s just getting used to the fact that he’ll be sharing his tiny five-room cabin with a loud girl who craves him.

  Suddenly, an idea pops into my head and I grin. I know just the thing – I’ll make breakfast! I’m not much of a cook because my family has always employed Gina, but I’ve made the occasional eggs and pancakes platter for myself. Damien’s stove is weird and vintage, but I’m sure it’s the same principle.

  “What are you doing?” Damien asks as I walk into the kitchen.

  “You stay there,” I say firmly. “I want this to be a surprise.”

  The mountain man doesn’t reply, but thankfully he doesn’t follow me, either. I hum to myself as I bustle around the tiny little kitchen. I find a cast iron skillet under the sink and set it on the stove before grabbing butter, eggs, bacon, and the ingredients for pancakes from the fridge. Soon, the small space is filled with the scent of eggs frying in butter and bacon sizzling right on the stove top.

  When I’m finished, I’m pretty proud of my work. It doesn’t look like world class cuisine, but it looks hearty and comfortable and that’s good enough for me.

  “Breakfast!” I call in a cheery voice. “Come and get it!”

  I set everything down on the table and then take my seat as I wait for Damien. When he appears, he doesn’t smile as he sits down.

  “I made everything,” I say happily. “There’s fresh bacon and eggs, and—“

  “I can see that,” Damien says drily.

  My muscles tense and I turn to him in confusion. “What’s wrong?” I ask softly. “What’s the matter? Did I do something wrong?”

  Damien doesn’t reply for a long time. “No,” he says finally. “You haven’t done anything wrong, Emma.”

  Something about the tone of his voice is unsettling. It reminds me of the first time we met, when he was pacing around the cabin like a wild animal. I had sensed a powerful well of strength in him that day, but also a very private wall. For a long time, it seemed like the wall was starting to come down.

  But now I wonder if I made the whole thing up. Did I imagine this, our closeness and our intimacy?

  “There wasn’t any maple syrup,” I say as I help myself to a stack of pancakes. They came out perfectly – thick and doughy, just the way that I like them. “But I used a lot of butter, so they should be good. And you know what? We could grow berries in the spring and add those, wouldn’t that be so yummy?”

  Damien doesn’t reply. He takes a single piece of bacon and takes a bite, chewing thoughtfully. I can see the muscles twitching in his jaw under his beard.

  “And the next time I go into town, I’ll get maple syrup for us, maybe I can even find some that’s locally made,” I chatter on. “And I’ll get some Doritos, wouldn’t you like that? I can get some wine, too – or are you more of a beer person?”

  Still, Damien says nothing.

  “And then for dinner, I was thinking I could make some roasted vegetables with our steaks. I saw some potatoes in the pantry. Gina – you know, my family’s chef – used to make this really awesome dish! She’d cut potatoes in half and then roast them in the oven with olive oil and sea salt and it was so simple, but like, so good.”

  Damien stares at me dully and finally, I stop talking.

  “Sorry,” I mumble under my breath. My cheeks flush hotly. “I was probably babbling on like an idiot.”

  To occupy myself and my big mouth, I take another bite of pancakes. They’re so good that I can’t help moaning a little bit as I chew.

  “You can’t stay here, Emma.”

  My jaw drops and the food falls to my lap as I look up at Damien in shock.

  “What?”

  “You heard me. I said that you can’t stay here. You have to go.”

  I press my lips together nervously and wipe my chin with a napkin. “What are you talking about, Damien? What’s going on?”

  “You should try to patch things up with your father, Emma. He’s family. He’s your blood – he raised you.”

  The first thing I feel is shock. It’s like being plunged into a pool of ice water. Cold and horrible and painful. Goose bumps break out over my skin and I wrap my arms around my body and hug myself tightly.

  He wants me to go?

  He can’t be serious.

  “Was the breakfast really that bad?” I make an attempt at a joke, but Damien doesn’t laugh. When he doesn’t answer, I stare at him. “Why do you want me to go?”

  Damien sighs. “What we had was just a fling, and I think deep down, you know that to be true. I don’t want you here.”

  His words are absurd and I burst out laughing. It’s not appropriate, I know, but I can’t help it. “You can’t be serious,” I reply. “There’s no way. We’re … well, we’ve gotten so close. I came to you because I needed help.”

  Damien doesn’t reply. He takes a bite of bacon and then wipes his hands on a napkin. Despite the tough exterior that he’s trying to project, I can tell that he’s conflicted. These words don’t sound natural coming from him.

  There’s definitely something going on.

  If only I knew what it was.

  “You’re not being honest with me,” I say quietly. “There’s something else going on, and you’re not telling me about it.”

  Damien shakes his head. “Emma, nothing is going on. But you have to leave. I can’t have you here.”

  I stand up and put my hands on my hips. “You can’t have me here? Or you don’t want me here? Which is it, make up your mind!” Now, some of the shock is turning into anger. I can’t believe that he’s still trying to push me away when I’ve made it so clear that I need him.

  Damien gets to his feet and starts pacing around the cabin. Again, I’m reminded of the first time I was here when he couldn’t stop angrily stomping around as I ate.

  I was afraid of Damien then. But now something tells me that he’s afraid of me.

  “Tell me,” I demand as I turn to face him.

  “There’s nothing to tell, Emma,” Damien growls. “Just get out of here. Go!”

  “I don’t believe you!” I cry loudly. “I think you’re keeping something from me because you’re scared and afraid of what it means to open up to someone!”

  Damien is silent. He stops dead in his tracks and shakes his head. When he turns to face me, there’s an odd expression on his face. It’s both ironic and slightly cruel and my heart leaps into my throat at the glint in his sapphire eyes.

  “Your father, Jason Hadley,” Damien spits. “He was my business partner. We founded Xander Corp together years ago. And he betrayed me and had me sent to prison for embezzlement when I didn’t do a goddamned thing wrong!”

  The blood drains from my face and I have to grip the edge of the table to keep from passing out. For a long moment, I can’t even breathe. Then my lungs start to burn and I gasp for air, breathing like it might just be my last.

  “This is why you have to leave,” Damien says sternly. “You have conflicted loyalties.”

  I shake my head. “You don’t get it, do you? I don’t owe my father a darn thing. He’s treated me really badly for my entire life.”

  “No,” Damien says. “You can’t be here. You have to go.”

  Hot tears rush to my eyes and before I can stop them. They’re streaming down my cheeks. My nose fills with gooey snot and soon I’m a hot mess, sobbing so hard that I can barely stand up. I keep waiting for Damien to apologize and take me into his arms but he just stands there, staring at me.

  “Please,” I sob. “Please Damien, don’t make me go!”

  The mountain man crosses the room and opens the front door. Cold air rushes into the cabin as he stands there with his hand on the deadbolt.

  “Emma, go,” Damien says dully. “You can’t be here anymore. You have to go home to your family.
Make things right with your family. Family is all you have.”

  But I don’t have anything without you! I want to cry out. Unfortunately, there’s something about the look in Damien’s deep blue eyes that tells me he isn’t kidding.

  God, he really does want me gone.

  The tears come harder as I shove my feet into my boots. The whole time, my heart is pounding and my whole body is shaking. I can’t believe this – after turning to the man I love for help, I have nowhere to go.

  I can’t go home. I can’t face my father. And I can’t go running to Lacey, either. Since I never told her about Damien, there’s no way I could tell her the whole story from the beginning.

  Sniffling loudly, I turn to Damien and give him a pleading look. “Please don’t make me go,” I whisper. “Please don’t do this.”

  Damien gives a single jerk of his head. “I’m sorry, Emma,” he says gravely. “But you have to leave.”

  As I stumble out the door, my vision is blinded with tears.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Damien

  Watching Emma’s Rubenesque figure disappear into the woods is, hands down, the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Every cell of my body is screaming for her to turn around and come back. Every nerve is telling me to chase after her, to grab her in my arms and tell her that I love her and need her desperately.

  But I can’t go after her. I can’t ever see her again. I don’t think I’d be able to do it without breaking down and telling her the truth about how much I love her.

  I did the right thing. Yes, it was hard. But I couldn’t let Emma stay here in blissful ignorance while I take action against her conniving bastard of a father.

  Why does she mean so much to me? What happened? What kind of man have I become? Emma is the best woman in the world. She’s a ray of sweet sunshine and she’s so incredibly special. I can’t believe she’s spent her entire life thinking less of herself because of her dirtbag parents.

  I meant for all of this to just be a fling. When I first saw Emma’s curves emerging from the bushes, I could feel my blood run hot. My lust for her is so powerful that I don’t trust myself around her. And I thought it would ebb after taking her once.

  But, no. Now, if anything, I just want her more than ever before. I want to feel her soft, plump body writhing underneath mine. I miss her loud cries of passion and her shrieking moans whenever I suck on her clit.

  Goddamn. Now I’m lonely, horny, and fucking miserable.

  This girl has wormed her way into my heart and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget her. There’s just something so unpretentious and kind about her. I love the way she thinks of me: even her stupid fixation on Doritos is enough to bring a smile to my face.

  She’s too good. She’s simply too good, too pure, and too heavenly for an animal like me. She doesn’t deserve to get caught up in this shit between me and Jason Hadley. She’s an innocent girl, and we’re two old men who will beat each other to death if given the chance.

  It’s definitely for the best that I sent her away.

  God, if only she hadn’t turned on the waterworks. Some men can’t stand the sight of a woman’s tears. I knew plenty of men like that in my old life. Hell, I used to consider myself one of them.

  But when I saw Emma cry, it was like something broke inside of me. Her sobs were so genuinely gut-wrenching that I was afraid she’d make herself sick. I’ve never seen anyone cry like that before. It ripped me raw inside.

  Now that she’s gone, I can go back to focusing on what matters. Getting my appeal filed and watching as Jason Hadley crashes and burns.

  There’s part of me that doesn’t even want to go forward with it now. I feel sick at the prospect of putting Emma’s father away, but the prospect of putting Jason Hadley away fills me with a twisted glee.

  God. If only they weren’t the same man. If only my former partner was some childless bastard, then I wouldn’t feel guilty about ruining any more lives.

  But he ruined my life, and karma is a goddamned bitch.

  With a heavy heart, I pick up my satellite phone and dial Jed. The connection is shaky at best but it’s not long before a cheerful secretary answers and patches my call through.

  “I was wondering when you’d decide to grow a pair and do the right thing.”

  I groan. What the fuck is it with lawyers, anyway? Why are they all so awful?

  “Yeah, well, it’s time to put that motherfucker behind bars,” I growl into the phone. “And I’m more than ready to see him rot in prison.”

  “Good man,” Jed says jovially. “Now about your appeal. I have everything filed and ready to go before a judge on Monday. Are you ready to come out of the woods and face the music?”

  I sigh heavily and put my face in my hands. As soon as I close my eyes, Emma’s angelic round face pops into my mind. God, she’s beautiful.

  “Hello?” Jed snaps. “Damien, are you there?”

  “Bad connection,” I lie.

  “Well, when all of this is a distant memory, you can come out of the woods and live like a normal person again,” Jed says. “And that includes getting a better phone.”

  “I doubt that,” I say drily. Somehow, the idea of putting Jason behind bars makes me want to retreat even further. Maybe I should put my cabin on the market and move far, far away.

  Away from Emma and her sweet, beautiful soul. I never want to hurt her again.

  “You’re not even listening to me,” Jed says. His sharp voice pops the bubble of Emma inside my head and I come crashing back down to reality.

  “I’m right here,” I say in exasperation. “And yes, I’m ready.”

  “Good,” Jed replies. “This is going to be the case of a lifetime and it’ll be all over the media. I want you to get a lot of rest, and shave off that beard. You’ve got to look every inch the executive once again if we have any hope of winning.”

  “The evidence should speak for itself,” I grunt. “I don’t see why I should have to change.”

  Jed snorts. “Just do it, mountain man,” he says. “I’ll see you soon.”

  He hangs up before I can reply. Even though Jed is the best lawyer in the state, if not the country, he still wants me to change before we go to court with our case. Everyone always wanted something from me, and Jed is no exception. He wants my money … and he wants me to conform to his idea of how a successful client should look.

  The only person who hasn’t ever wanted something from me is Emma. All she wanted was food and a warm bed and love … and my huge cock rammed up her pussy.

  Jesus Christ, I’m never going to get over this woman. What do I do now?

  Chapter Fifteen

  Emma

  With only my broken heart to keep me company, I start the long trudge home. Every step is torture. I want to turn around and run back to Damien’s cabin and throw myself in his arms.

  I want to remind him of the powerful connection between us. I want him to know how bad I need him in my life.

  But then I remember that he doesn’t want me, and the realization hurts so terribly that I can’t breathe. For what feels like hours, I stand in the woods, crying and unable to move.