Page 2 of Mountain Daddy's Girl
“You can’t quit,” the man snarls. “You can’t ever quit. Teeth knocked out, bones broken, it don’t matter a goddamn bit. You quit; you die. Understand?”
I walk past a mounted bear’s head, mouth open in a silent primal scream, into a large gym lit by harsh overhead lights. In the middle of the gym there’s a cage. A giant man stands in the middle, his brown beard glistening with subtle streaks of silver, sweat dripping down his heaving muscular body.
It’s a body that looks hot to the touch, like I’d burn my palm if I pressed it against his chest. His chest is huge, round, carved like rock, like he’s a part of this rugged landscape. He wears nothing but a pair of shorts, tight, outlining what I assume is his cup …
But what if it’s not? What if it’s his huge manhood?
I bite my lip. Feel my cheeks warm.
Calm down, Lila. You’re here for a job.
He stands over somebody who’s pressed against the cage, their hands raised over their head. I gasp as he sends a savage strike at the man on the floor.
“Are you going to get up?” he growls. “I know you want to quit. I can fuckingsmellhow badly you want to quit. In the cage, you’ve got to be a predator to stand a chance. An injured lion doesn’t quit, kid. An injured lion ismoredangerous.”
The man on the floor tries to stand. The other man—sweat glimmering over his sculpted form, his eyes hard and intense—steps back and aims a savage kick at the man’s belly the moment he’s on his feet.
The other fighter is around the same size, but a little younger, short black hair.
He might as well not be there.
I can’t stop looking at the grizzled man, the brutal expression on his ultra serious face. The younger man throws himself at Mr. Grizzly, and they dance around the cage.
Just before the round timer goes off, Mr. Grizzly spins with the agility of a big cat, moving so fluidly my disobedient thoughts go straight to the gutter …no, the bedroom.
I see sheets draped over his body, outlining the hard contours of his thick form, shifting around as he lays atop me, his beard tickling my face and …
Seriously, Lila. Stop it.
I’m never normally like this. But there’s something about him.
Suddenly, Mr. Grizzly walks to the edge of the cage and leans against the crisscrossing wires.
“You gettin’ a good look there, miss?”
Crap. Caught red-handed.
Unless he’s a mind reader, I should be able to play this off as innocent curiosity.
I walk out of the semidarkness I’ve been … notskulking, but hiding in.
“Uh, sorry,” I say.
He laughs, grabs the edge of the cage, then throws himself over as if he doesn’t weigh upward of two hundred and twentypounds. At least. He lands with surprising softness and swaggers over to me.
The closer he gets, the more certain I become that I can feel the volcanic heat of his body. Steam rises from him. His eyes are a dark and broody blue, almost black. He puts his hand on the wall next to me, his abs right there, within touching distance.
Do not touch this stranger. Do not think about touching this stranger.
“No need for apologies. I’m guessing Clint found some cute, misguided city girl who’d got herself lost in the rain, eh?”
“I’m not somemisguidedgirl because I happened to get caught in a storm in the Montana mountains. I’m sure you’ll find that’s a common occurrence.”
“Easy, tiger. I meant that with affection. Honestly. I didn’t mean to touch a nerve … especially not with a woman as captivating as you.”
But could you touch something else? And,captivating? I like the sound of that.
He’s right. I should calm down. I’m not mad at him or anything, just shocked at the effect he’s having on me.
