Page 8 of Romanced By the Mountain Man

“Of course.” I scowl at him. What kind of pet mom does he think I am? I might have skipped lunch, but my boy got a healthy meal. “And he’s trained, sort of. Alvin can be…well, he gets into trouble sometimes.”

“You named your cat Alvin?” He asks as my gray fluffball scrambles out of the carrier.

“Yes,” I explain as Alvin rubs himself against my legs. I lean down to scratch behind his ears. “He’s getting a brother. As soon as the shelter says he’s healthy enough, I’m bringing Simon home. They’ve already bonded.”

Having a companion might help Alvin mellow some, but I doubt it. Not that I would change my kitty. Alvin is perfect just the way he is. Accepting your baby is what being a pet parent is all about. That’s what being any type of parent is about.

I straighten and glance around the cabin that holds no photos, although there is a cool-looking gargoyle made of metal on his side table. I step forward and run my fingers along the intricate artwork, unable to resist touching it. “Do you have any family living nearby?”

Something flashes across his features, a hardness creeping over them. “No family.”

“Anywhere?” I prompt. Sure, I can’t call my parents if I need them. I’d never tell them if I was short on rent money, and I definitely can’t tell them about the trouble with my car. But still, I have the knowledge of where I come from and who I am. Does Blade not have that too?

He turns and strides from the room toward the kitchen. His big boots clomp along the floor as he goes. For a second, I wonder if he’s mad at me.

I hurry after him on my short legs and reach for the back of his t-shirt when he stops in front of the fridge. I don’t know why I want to touch him, but the moment I realize what I’m trying to do, I drop my hand so I can’t make contact. “Sorry. I ask too many questions. I always have. I’m curious about the world around me. Maybe, that’s why—”

He spins around so fast that I stop talking and glares at me. His nostrils flare, and there’s fire in his gaze. “Don’t you ever apologize for being yourself. Not to me. Not to anyone.”

I swallow, the sound loud in the small space. Other than Zoey, I’ve never had someone that didn’t want me to apologize. That didn’t ask me to somehow make myself less. Less loud. Less vibrant. Less big.

We live in a world that celebrates women that make themselves small—the selfless ones that give and give and give while never taking for themselves. The ones that lose weight then more weight then more again. Until they’re only shadows of who they want to be.

I barely know Blade, and he doesn’t mind if I take up space or ask questions or follow him around his cabin. My eyes tear up at his unexpected words, and the way they soothe an ache in me that I didn’t even realize was there.

He cups my face in his roughened hand. His thumb sweeps across my cheek gathering up the lone tear. “You deserve better than all the ones that said you had to change.”

I manage what I hope is a smile. How is it that this man can see straight into my soul? How can he lay me bare with just one look?

He lowers his head, his lips just inches from mine. We’re sharing the same air, our breaths mingling. His lips are so full, so kissable. For a second, I think he’s going to kiss me, and my heart pounds in my chest.

But then I think of Landon and how much I like him. Despite the fact that I want this kiss more than anything, I step away from the mountain man. He might be an amazing guy, but he’s not my soulmate. “I’m sorry. I can’t. Landon—”

“Is a coward that doesn’t even have the guts to meet you,” Blade spits out.

“My soulmate is not a coward.” I’m not even sure how I can go from wanting to kiss Blade to wanting to throttle him all in the same breath. Landon wouldn’t be like this. He wouldn’t confuse my feelings and frustrate me.

“He’s a horse’s ass. Any man that isn’t willing to put everything on the line for you isn’t worthy of you in the first place,” he argues.

“He’s just shy.” That has to be the problem, right? Landon is introverted and cautious. It’s not that he doesn’t want to meet me or see me or fall in love with me. He’s just hiding, and it’s my job to draw him out of his shell. “He’s an amazing guy. You’ll see.”

6

BLADE

This woman is drivingme crazy in the best way. I want to spend my days kissing her and arguing with her and giving her endless pleasure. If she could just get over this obsession with Landon and soulmates.

“He’s just shy,” she insists.

I’m not her soulmate. I know that without a doubt. But that doesn’t mean we couldn’t have some dirty fun together. Hell, something tells me the chemistry between us would be downright explosive.

“He’s an amazing guy. You’ll see.” Except that when she says it, she sounds like she’s trying to convince herself. Maybe she has doubts about Landon. Hell, I can help her along with that.

Once I prove to her tomorrow that Landon isn’t coming around for her, I’ll take her back here. We’ll spend the next two days in my bed where we’ll both get what we want. She gets the knowledge that she tried her best to find him, and I get to hold my fantasy woman. At least, until she leaves.

Forcing myself to relax my tensed shoulders, I answer, “Then I look forward to meeting him.”

She tilts her chin up. “You’ll love him. The two of you will be best buds before the day is up, and you’ll be invited to my wedding.”

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