Page 15 of Claimed By the Mountain Man

“Okay, I will be here to pick you up…”

His words trail over, and I look up to find him staring at something over my shoulder. My brows draw in confusion when the man suddenly becomes cold. His entire expression goes blank and a dangerous glint shines in his eyes but, when I turn around, I don’t see what it is he is looking at.

This early in the morning, there are only a handful of locals and tourists walking about and a few cars parked on the curb.

“Cal?” I call out, placing a hand on the man’s jaw and forcing his eyes back down on mine. “What is it?”

In the blink of an eye, his entire facial expression softens up and it’s almost as if the cold man from earlier doesn’t exist. “Nothing you need to worry about.” He leans down and kisses my mouth, leaving me even more confused about what the hell is going on.

I turn back around, but I see nothing out of the ordinary which worries me a bit, so I decide to trust him. If he says I don’t need to worry about it, then I believe him.

“Okay then. I’ll head inside now,” I say, nodding at the door. The man nods, slipping his hand into his pockets and I can feel his eyes on me even when I’m not looking. I turn around to wave at him before walking in through the front door.

“You’re late,” greets a deep familiar voice when I walk in. I look up to find Dan and Wendy setting up the dining area. The loud noise from the kitchen tells me that the chef is already prepping.

“I’m so sorry, I promise it won’t happen again.”

Dan is my boss, and I owe him everything. When I first showed up at Sweetheart Falls with nothing but a bag of clothes, he agreed to hire me despite knowing nothing about me. This is another reason I can’t just quit.

“Hey, why are you wearing the same clothes you were in yesterday?” Wendy calls out before I can slip to the back and change. Shit, I should never have stopped here yesterday before going up on the hike. I look down at my leggings and the T-shirt I borrowed from Callan.

“No, I’m not,” I argue. “I had a white shirt yesterday and this one is green.”

Her brows draw and she narrows her eyes on me. “You’re right but those are the same leggings you had on yesterday.”

“You’re mistaken.”

“That shirt is also way too big for you. It’s practically a dress.”

I glare at the nosy girl and the room falls silent, which is quickly broken by the loud sound of an engine truck, which sends Wendy and our middle-aged boss rushing to the window to peek out.

“Oh My God, is that Bigfoot’s brother? Did you hook up with Bigfoot’s brother!?”

I guess the cat is out of the bag now and by lunch, everyone in the town will know this. I never knew this about small towns, but secrets are practically impossible to keep unless they involve the mountain man, then suddenly no one knows anything.

I roll my eyes and head to the back, but the two flank me, making it hard for me to even change, so I figure I might as well tell them what they want to hear so I can finally get to work, and they can go forth with spreading the news.

“His name is Callan, an ex-military man,” I tell them as I grab my uniform from my locker. “And yes, he and I are…”

Dating? Sleeping together? I have no clue.

I mean, the man literally bought property with me in mind. I don’t know what to call our relationship, but Wendy fills in helpfully. “Together?”

I snap my fingers. “Yes, together.”

“When did this start?” Dan asks and I raise a blow. I never placed my boss for gossip, but then again, I understand his disbelief.

“I’m not sure,” I answer truthfully. There has always been this weird sexual tension between Callan and me. “But yeah, we’re a thing now, I guess. Now am I forgiven for showing up late? The man lives so far up in the mountains it took us forever to drive to town.”

Dan nods with a wicked grin on his face, and I bite back a groan, figuring I’ve just made the man’s day. I’ll probably be the topic of discussion all day.

The duo finally leaves me alone, and I lock the door behind me to change out of my clothes. I slide the leggings down, and just like that, I am transported back to the moment in the forestwith Callan. His hands trailing my body a moment before he got down to his knees and gave me my first orgasm ever.

No, there is no forgetting that. Ever.

My eyes move to the locked door, and I bite my lip as I try to talk myself out of doing something as insane as touching myself in the backroom of my workplace, but… I can’t get Callan or his touch out of my head.

Every memory with the man is attached to a pleasuring moment and there is no escaping it.

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