Page 12 of Rugged Mountain Man
Maybe I had lost hope in love for myself.
But for Mika, I still believed in it. For her sake, I wanted her to feel a love so deep, so genuine and true that she forgot the bruise she wore.
“What if you did find someone?” I prompted. “What if he loved you with every bone in his body, until his last breath?”
Mika’s gaze turned skeptical as she considered.
“I’m not an easy person to love, Cormac.”
“Bullshit.”
Her eyebrows shot up.
I shook my head, fighting to keep my thoughts clear. I could feel the hot blood seeping down my leg.
“Did he plant that idea into your head?” I continued. “The asshole who hit you.”
“Well…he just said that I made it difficult...”
“People do hard things in life all the time,” I said. “They climb mountains for the view. They run marathons for a shiny medal.”
I growled and scrubbed my hands over my face, blinking rapidly to stay awake. I was fading fast, slipping into the mire of unconsciousness.
“What makes you think someone wouldn’t be willing to fight for you?” I said, my head lolling to the side to look at her. “To wake up next to you every morning. To earn the privilege of calling youwife.”
Mika ducked her head, plucking at the cuffs of her sleeves.
“I…hadn’t thought about it like that.”
My fingers itched to touch her again, to cup her chin and tilt her head until she met my gaze.
“Someone will go the distance for you one day, Mika,” I said, my words slurring together.
And I wish to God that man could be me,I thought.
Chapter five
Mika
Did I hear that right?
Cormac must have been hallucinating from blood loss, saying things he didn’t mean.
Someone will go the distance for you one day, Mika. And I wish to God that man could be me.
His eyes slipped closed and his head dipped forward, chin resting on his chest as he passed out.
I sat in the car, stunned into silence. The heater blasted and the snow softly whispered against the windows.
There was no way Cormac just confessed he had feelings for me. That simply…wasn’t possible.
For one thing, we met less than twenty-four hours ago.
And for another thing, he might change his mind when he was lucid.
I wrapped my arms around my knees, straining my eyes as I gazed into the snowstorm. Searching for signs that help was onthe way. I needed to get out of this damn car. As soon as we were safely in town, I had to leave and never look back.
My gaze strayed from the windshield and fell on Cormac’s sleeping profile.
