Page 21 of Hunted By the Mountain Man

Eyeing the screen, I see a message from a bank confirming a transfer of money from H. Lovelace for twenty-five hundred dollars. The case feels all wrong in my hand. Too big and bulky. And I’ve never had a banking account with this entity. My brows knit together.

H. Lovelace?Why in the hell is my dad wiring money to Beau? My heart races, and I scrub my eyes again before looking at the phone one more time. There it is. Plain as day and no fucking coincidence.

I sit up stock straight in bed. Whack! Turning toward Beau, I smack his large, muscular shoulder.

“Ahh,” he moans. “What in the fuck?”

Whack! I hit him again, doing far more damage to my own hand than I could ever do to him.

“Ouch!” I exclaim, shaking my stinging hand in the air as he lazily rolls over, eyeing me.

“If this is your idea of foreplay, it’s a little damn early, Butterfly.” He smiles drowsily, running his hand over his face and beard. “Good morning, lover.”

“To hell with your good morning!” I scream, pulling back the covers and disentangling my body from his.

The giant of a man stretches next to me, his face twitching. “What’s wrong?” he asks, a new apprehension coloring his voice.

“What’s wrong? Why in the hell are you accepting money transfers from my dad?” My voice rises at the end, rage stiffening my frame as I realize the only thing I can put on is his oversized sweatshirt. My own clothes are still folded in a pile on his guest bedroom dresser. I slide it on angrily, trying to put distance between us.

“What?” he asks, sitting up. Even in my angry state, my eyes wander uncontrollably to his sexy, prominent abs and the tease of black hair leading below the sheets to his sexy-as-hell pleasure stick.

I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts. “Don’twhatme. I saw it on your phone. A wire transfer from my dad to your bank account.”

“I was going to tell you about that, Brynn. But I kind of got distracted last night.”

“Kind of got distracted?” I repeat, my head spinning.

Suddenly, it hits me like a ton of bricks. The stalking, the warning at the lake, following me back to the trailhead and glaring at me. Dad paid Beau to put the fear of God in me. To control me yet again. My skin crawls at the thought even as my heart shatters, sliver by sliver.

“I thought you were following me because you wanted me, Beau. I thought you couldn’t stay away because of your feelings for me. But instead, you were doing my dad’s bidding all along? Trying to scare me away from the HRT?” I shake my head, hot tears splattering my cheeks.

“Brynn,” Beau says, jumping out of bed naked. He strides towards me, reaching out to grab me. But a flash of anger runs the length of my body.

“No,” I hiss, unhinged by anger. “Don’t touch me.”

“Butterfly—”

“And don’t call me that again. I can’t even right now,” I rage, pacing back and forth. I rub my hands over my face, unable to process anything. “Twenty-five hundred dollars? Was that what it took to stomach watching me all week? And last night? Was that just a pity fuck—stretch marks, dimples, and all?”

Beau’s face disintegrates for one heartbreaking moment before going unreadable. He steps towards me again, reaching out.

But I back up, too angry to let him touch me.

“How can you talk like that? I should have been straightforward about why I started following you. But your dad was motivated by the need to protect you with everything going on in Vengeance County, and I don’t blame him. You shouldn’t be here, hiking these trails under these circumstances. But I’m glad you are because I love you, Brynn. That will never change.” He steps towards me again, backing me into the doorway.

Raising my palms, heart racing and emotions swirling, I can’t take anymore. I need a quiet place to reflect on everything. Try to sort out my thoughts and figure out what the hell has happened. “I have to go, Beau. Please don’t try to stop me.”

He furrows his brows, his face clouding.

And to think I gave you my virginity. The phrase sits on the tip of my tongue. But even as angry as I am, I can’t bring myself to pronounce the words.

“Please let me explain myself, be?—”

“No,” I shake my head resolutely. “I need time to think. Clear my head away from you.”From the temptation of you.

“Where will you go?” he asks, tightening his jaw.

“I don’t know.”

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