Page 20 of Connecting with the Mountain Man

I lift my head, lips dragging over her collarbone, up the curve of her neck, until my mouth hovers near her ear.

“SugarDust.”

Her entire body freezes against me.

“What… what was that?” she whispers, chest rising and falling in sharp little gasps. I rest my forehead against hers, swallowing hard, still trying to catch my breath.

“I knew,” I rasp.

Her brows knit. “Knew what?”

I cup her cheek, thumb brushing her bottom lip. “I’m RuggedRoots.”

Her entire body goes stiff. She blinks once. Twice. Then she shoves me back.

“You’re what?”

“Eden—”

“You knew?” she gasps, eyes blazing now, her fists curling at her sides. “You knew this whole time?”

I rake a hand through my hair, frustrated with how fast this is spiralling.

“I figured it out a while ago. The scones. That picture you sent—”

She lets out a short, breathless laugh, but there’s no humour in it.

“You knew,” she repeats, shaking her head. “You knew I was the one writing to you, and you didn’t say a damn thing?”

“It wasn’t like that,” I growl, stepping toward her.

She steps back.

“No. You just let me spill my guts to some ‘stranger’ while you—” She shakes her head again, blinking hard, like she’s trying to hold it together. “Jesus, Silas. I thought you were different.”

I reach for her hand, but she jerks away, grabbing her keys off the counter, her shoulders rigid.

“I need to lock up,” she mumbles, not even looking at me.

“Eden—”

But she’s already gone.

The bells over the door chime softly, and I’m left standing there, fists clenched at my sides, watching the one damn woman I want slip right through my fingers.

Chapter 7

Eden

I slam the front door behind me harder than necessary.

My keys jangle as I toss them onto the entry table, and I don’t even bother turning on the lights. I know this place by heart.

I also know I’m pissed.

How could he have known?

I strip off my jacket, throwing it over the back of the couch as I pace the living room, arms crossed tight.

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