Page 19 of Mountain Daddy

I wonder if she’ll come.

If she changed her mind.

If she decided to run.

She’d be smart. To run, that is. That would mean the girl knows trouble when she sees it.

And still, I want caution to fucking run right out of her brain.

I want—no, need—her.

I still remember Viktor’s filthy hand reaching for her. His foul words. But when I broke his nose, I saw something in her eyes, beyond the fear.

Something that lit a fuse in my blood and set it on fire.

Awe.

Like she knew what I’d done.

Like she felt relief at being mine.

There’s a knock that sets my heart racing. Could it be…?

I open the door and there she is.

Hair down. Different clothes—jeans that hug her curves and a T-shirt that should be innocent but isn't.

Not on her.

Not when I know what's underneath. Not when I can still taste her on my tongue from a week ago.

“You came,” I say.

“I said I would.” Her hands are shaking slightly.

I step aside, and she brushes past me. The scent of her perfume turns me into a feral lion, wanting to shed off her clothes and bend her over right here.

I close the door. Lock it. I turn and she’s staring right at me, standing in my living room.

“So,” I ask, inching closer. “Still think this is a bad idea?”

“After what I saw downstairs?” She shakes her head. “I don't think so at all.”

The admission hangs in the air like a lit fuse.

“What I saw,” I say, moving closer, “was you having second thoughts.”

“What I saw,” she counters, “was you nearly killing a man because he touched my arm.”

Another step. She doesn't back away.

“He did more than touch your arm, Lilly. He looked at you like you were something he could play with.”

“And you looked at him like you wanted to bury him alive.”

“I did want to bury him alive.”

Her breath hitches. “Why?”

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