Page 4 of Claimed By the Mountain Man

Emily doesn’t know it yet, but she’s my entire world. Before I met her, I was a shell of a man moving through motions, too broken even for the military. She’s the closest thing to living I have felt in ages.

“The mountains,” I start, clearing my throat. “Most of the activities happen in the mountains. Hiking, ziplining, you name it.”

“I said fun activities,” she mutters, her eyes lifting to mine, and I notice a dimple appear at the edge of her lips when she smiles.“I wouldn’t consider hiking a fun activity and I am deadly afraid of heights. I would probably pass out while ziplining down the mountain.”

“There is a lake if you like swimming.”

“Never learned how to.”

It’s at the tip of my mouth to say that I’ll teach her but really, that would be a lie. Anywhere close to her half-naked body and the last thing on my mind will be teaching her anything but all the ways my tongue can ride her pussy.

Fuck, even the thought of it sends my hard cock throbbing in my jeans. I’ve been hard from the moment she approached me and having her this close to me isn’t exactly doing any favors to my burning desire.

“Fishing,” I blurt out in an attempt to distract myself from my erection.

She chuckles, the sound light and airy. “Now you’re teasing me.” I wasn’t but I drink up her expression. It’s bright and innocent, slowly chipping at whatever control I had left. “It doesn’t seem like there are many activities for me to do, Callan. Maybe I’m just being close-minded. I’ll give hiking a try.”

“Take a guide with you,” I say, swallowing back the need to offer my services for free. I know these mountains like the back of my hand and would probably do a better job protecting her than any guide, but I don’t want to come off too strongly and scare her away. “You’ll need someone familiar with the mountain, there are bears and wolves in the forest.”

“Really?” She props her elbows on the table and leans in, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “Have you run into one? A bear? Did you fight it? What was it like?”

“I have run into a number of them,” I say, watching as her pretty eyes widen in surprise and I almost want to lie to her, so the light doesn’t fade but I don’t. “I have never fought one, I doubt I would win.”

“You’re just being humble. I bet you would win against a bear by a mile–”

Her words trail off when a customer walks into the diner and heads for an empty table. He looks around to draw the attention of a waitress and when his eyes settle on my girl, I glower at him, causing him to cower in his seat but it’s too late. He’s already caught Emily’s attention.

She flashes me an apologetic smile before leaving me to attend to the customer and I clench my fist as I stare at him. However mundane our conversation was, it was precious, and he took it from me!

I watch him fidget the entire time she’s there and once Emily is done taking his order, more people file in, one after the other. Soon, the place is packed with loud patrons which proves to be an overload on my senses. There is a reason why I bought a home in the mountains, it’s a place so secluded and silent that I wouldn’t have to deal with people.

I need to make Emily mine, so I don’t have to deal with this anymore.

I watch as she rushes between customers, taking orders and delivering others. Everything in me wants to grab the girl and carry her out of this place caveman style, but I am helpless to do anything now. I can’t act like a barbarian without scaring her.

Never her.

With an annoyed grunt, I grab my wallet, and dig out cash to cover the bill and leave a generous tip before dropping it nextto my half-eaten burger. I get up, my heavy boots scraping hard against the floor, the act causes everyone to quiet down as they watch me leave, and I am grateful for the silence. The voices break out back into a loud chatter when I close the door behind me and start for my truck. I grab the car door and tug hard, ready to climb in when I feel a slight pat on my back. I turn around to be met by a set of familiar emerald greens.

“You left before I could give you your change,” she says, holding out her hand for me to take the money and yet, all I can think about is how close my angel is. Fuck, she’s so fucking close, and without a table separating us, I am tempted to close the distance between us. Desperate to wrap my arm around her waist and drop my mouth down to hers. I bet those lips taste like honey. “Callan?”

I take a step forward and she sucks in a sharp breath but doesn’t make a move to step back. I take another step closer, and another, until there’s only a hair’s breadth between us. “The money is your tip, for your exemptional services.”

She lets out a shaky breath, “I don’t deserve a tip. You hardly touched your food.”

I reach out and brush a stray hair from her temple, but I don’t pull my hand back. This is the first time I’ve been this close to the object of my fantasies, and I want to savor the moment. Christ, I want to do so much more than that.

Everything in me begs for me to spin her around so she’s facing my truck, tear off her tiny little waitressing dress, and ram my cock into her with everyone watching as I claim what is mine. My cock is as hard as nails, begging for release, and I have to clench my fist to stop myself from giving in to my desires. Jesus, she’s so close…

So, freaking close that I could easily lean down and take her mouth with mine just to taste her. I just need to learn the texture of her lips, swallow her sighs, and taste her tongue on mine…

“I didn’t come for the food,” I say hoarsely, forcing my mind to stay on track with our conversation. “I never do.”

She sucks in a sharp breath, her beautiful eyes blinking innocently at me. “Then why do you come?”

“For you,” I say, dropping my hand from my face before I do something that scares her off. I would never forgive myself if that happened, so I clench my fists to my side before I can reach out to her again.

I need to leave.

---