Wild Beast_A Mountain Man Romance

by Katie Ford

  Stopping dead in my tracks, I turn around to see Travis. He’s standing there with a nasty expression on his handsome face and I know he’s remembering what happened over the weekend, but somehow seeing him doesn’t make me feel bad.

  “Yeah,” I say.

  “I’m going to go say something,” Lacey says angrily. “He’s a jerk, Emma!”

  I grab her arm and look into her eyes with a pleading expression. The last thing I want is trouble – why bother wasting any energy on a college boy? But before I can say anything, Travis smirks at me and saunters over.

  He leans down close to my ear and whispers: “Maybe I wouldn’t have left you in the woods if you were skinnier.”

  I feel rooted to the spot as my cheeks flush bright red. Travis walks off, laughing. Meanwhile, Lacey is giving me a disapproving expression.

  “Emma,” she chastises. “Really? You’re just gonna let him insult after ditching you in the woods? Really really?”

  I shrug. What did she want me to do, grow a pair and tell him off?

  Nah. That’s not my style. And even if it were, why would I bother now that I have Damien? Besides, it isn’t like I was actually hurt. And even if I had been injured, there’s no way I want Travis to know that.

  Emma and I part with a hug. Then, she leaves for the other side of campus. I push open the heavy doors of the school library and make my way over to the computers. The stalls are filled with other kids working busily and I bite my lip as I lower my wide hips into a chair.

  Swallowing hard, I turn on the monitor and log in. I wonder what I’m going to find. After all, Damien is so mysterious. He barely even wanted to tell me his name.

  What is he trying to hide?

  Despite my curiosity, I have a hard time figuring out where to begin. After all, I don’t know very much about Damien. Only that he’s a strange, sexy man who lives in the middle of nowhere. What should I google? Handsome man in the woods? Gorgeous hermit?

  Suddenly, Travis’s face pops back into my head and I think about what Damien said. Damien had called him a stupid frat boy, and then made some comment about his own name. What was it?

  Oh, yeah. Evercore.

  He said that his name is Damien Evercore.

  My fingers fly over the keyboard as I type in Damien’s name and hit enter. The screen takes an agonizingly long time to load and by the time the results are up, I’m leaning forward in my chair and sweating. My hand trembles as I reach for the mouse and click on the first result.

  What I see shocks me. Sure enough, there’s a photo of Damien. He looks so different though – his face is clean-shaven and his hair is short. He’s even wearing a designer suit.

  But the look in his blue eyes is the same naked fear and betrayal that I saw myself. He looks haunted. He looks like a man who has just seen his own ghost.

  And when I see the headline, the blood in my veins turns to ice.

  “DAMIEN EVERCORE – FRAUD?”

  As I read the short article, I learned that Damien was a billionaire who mysteriously left the public eye. But why? Why would he do something like that? What possibly could have happened to make him hate the public so much?

  And now, I feel like I have more questions than answers about the mysterious Damien Evercore.

  Chapter Six

  Damien

  It’s been days and I can’t stop thinking about her. Everything attracts me and confuses me the same time. Between her soft brown eyes and the way her curls glinted in the sunshine, Emma is one beautiful girl.

  When I left the public eye, I never thought that I’d have to deal with these kinds of feelings again. I thought those days were long behind me. But now, Emma’s presence has disrupted my life.

  So much for peace and solitude.

  Tonight, I can’t seem to relax. I cleaned the whole cabin, and then I went out and shot a deer. Normally, cleaning game clears my mind as well. But not right now. All I can think about is the way Emma’s soft curvy body pressed against mine. She made me feel wanted.

  She made me feel human.

  When I left the public eye, I knew that I would never return. I vowed to change my ways and live the life of a hermit. I knew that I would miss women, but until I saw Emma for the first time, I never realized just how much.

  With a sigh, I get to my feet and wash my hands. The venison has been sliced into steaks, wrapped in wax paper, and stored in the deep freezer. There’s a long winter coming up and I know that I’m going to be cold.

  If only Emma was here to keep me warm.

  That’s when I hear the sound. A small, soft rustling from just beyond the front door. Drying my hands on my jeans, I pace silently across the floor and put my hand on the knob. The sound is still there and I wonder if it’s a raccoon. But when I open the door, I see Emma standing there. At the sight of me, her face lights up. My heart sinks. There’s no way this can be good.

  There’s no way that she can be lost again.

  So what is she doing here?

  As much as I want her around, I know that it’s a bad idea. A girl like Emma has her own place. And that place is not with me, want her though I do.

  “What do you want?” I ask gruffly.

  “I lost my scarf,” Emma says. She wipes her hands on her thighs and as always, my eyes are drawn to her lush curves. “And I have your clothes, she adds in a small voice. “Don’t you want them back?”

  “Bullshit. You never even had a scarf.”

  Even in the dim light of my porch, I can see that she’s blushing. She steps closer and I realize that she is shivering, too.

  “Still couldn’t bring the proper jacket?” I raise one eyebrow into a smirk. There’s something so charming and naïve about this girl – it’s strangely attractive.

  Emma’s pink cheeks deepen to crimson red.

  I sigh. “I was just about to eat dinner,” I say.” Do you want to come in?”

  Emma nods. She looks grateful and I step back to allow her inside my cabin. She’s wearing jeans with a white shirt and hiking boots that appear to have been newly purchased. The faintest touch of mascara is on her lids and I notice that her fingernails are painted.

  This can’t be. Surely, she didn’t come out here just for me.

  “It smells delicious,” Emma says as she makes her way into the kitchen and sits down at the table. “What are you making?”

  I turn to her with a smirk. “Would you be disappointed if I said stew again?”

  Emma flushes. “You know, it was so good last time that I thought you might’ve drugged it,” she says in a sheepish tone. “I know that’s a dumb thing to say,” she adds. “But I couldn’t stop eating it.”

  Before I can think about it, a grin spreads across my face. “I’ve had better compliments before,” I reply in a teasing voice. “But not lately.”

  Emma bites her lip and crosses one round thigh over the other. My kitchen is cramped, and I can smell the light floral aroma of her hair as I finish heating the stew and take it off the stove. Dishing it up in two bowls, I hand one to Emma and sit beside her.

  For a moment, we sit in silence and I wonder if she regrets coming out here. But then she lifts the spoon to her lips and begins to eat. After only a few moments, she moans and licks her lips in ecstasy.

  “I seriously couldn’t stop thinking about this after I’d gone,” Emma says. She licks her spoon clean of broth and sets it down in the bowl. Then, her brown eyes look to mine and I’m startled by the intense look that I see there. For such a young girl, there’s something about her that I’m not used to seeing.

  “Thanks.”

  “I mean it,” Emma continues. She cleans her bowl and sets the spoon down.

  I stare at her. There’s strong conviction in her voice and she seems like she’s talking about a lot more than just the stew. But she’s so young – how can a twenty-one-year-old girl possibly know what being with me would mean? There’s no way.

  “You have to stop coming out here,” I say finally.

&n
bsp; “What?” Emma shakes her head and frowns. Her glossy brown curls tumble free of their bun and hang loose around her shoulders. “No,” she adds firmly.

  “I’m a loner,” I continue, taking a deep breath and setting my spoon down in my bowl. “And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away.”

  Emma’s pale forehead creases and she shakes her head. “No,” she says. “I don’t see why I have to. That’s not fair.”

  I snort. “You should be around kids your own age. Not forty-five-year-old men.”

  “I don’t like kids my own age,” Emma replies. There’s a strange sense of conviction and serenity in her voice. “Besides, I’m not a kid.” She straightens her shoulders and my eyes go right to her tits. “And I can do what I want.”

  I burst out laughing. “If you think that being an adult means doing whatever you want, I have some news for you,” I say. Her audacity is charming if a little clueless – besides, I’ve always liked spunk in a woman.

  Emma pouts. “You think I really am a kid,” she says. “but I’m not.”

  “Oh yeah? What kind of experience do you have with the world?”

  Emma looks me in the eyes and licks her lips. The gesture makes my cock twitch in my pants and for a moment, I have to resist the urge to grab her and pull her across the table. In the soft lighting of my cabin, her thick curves are more appealing than ever.

  “For your information, I have a lot of experience,” Emma says in a low voice. “It might not be the kind that you’re referring to, but it’s there.”

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I lean back in my chair and stare. My balls are aching from the sight of her soft pink lips and curvy frame. And now that I can feel our conversation heading in a more intimate direction, I don’t think I’ll be able to resist her.

  “Tell me,” I say. “We’ve got all night.”

  Chapter Seven

  Emma

  The air is dense and heavy with tension as I sit across from Damien. Part of me is insulted – why does he think he knows so much more than everyone else?

  The other part of me is aroused. Although our conversation began innocuously, I wonder if there’s a hidden meaning to Damien’s words. I know that he isn’t just talking about sex, although now that I’m thinking about it, my pussy is tingling.

  I was so excited to see him again. As soon as I came home from the library, I took a shower and went out to the woods to find him. But now that I’m here, I wonder if I didn’t make a mistake. After all, Damien didn’t look very happy to see me. But he didn’t turn me away, either.

  God, he looks so incredibly sexy. His eyes look even bluer than they did before and he trimmed his beard. Now I can see killer cheekbones and a chiseled jaw that makes me wet. I wonder, did he make these changes for me?

  “So, tell me.” Damien fixes me with a long stare. One side of his mouth is curled into a smirk. His hot, attentive gaze makes me feel like I’m on display.

  “Well,” I say casually. “I know what it feels like to be lonely.”

  “I doubt that. You’re a college student. You should have loads of friends.”

  I shake my head and laugh. “Not exactly.” Raising an eyebrow, I lean in closer. “Remember how we met?” as soon as the words are out of my mouth, I regret them. Damien and I barely know each other – after all this is only the second time we’ve met. I wonder if I haven’t made huge mistake but to my relief Damien laughs.

  “You’re right,” he says. “I should have remembered.” The look Damien gives me is hot enough to melt ice and suddenly, I know he’s thinking about having sex with me again. Swallowing, I squirm in my chair. Between the food and our unexpected conversation, I’m feeling sated and happy.

  “And I know that getting along with family isn’t always easy,” I continue on. “My mother is embarrassed of me. She thinks that I am fat.”

  Damien snorts derisively and shakes his head. “No way,” he replies. “There’s no way. You’re gorgeous, Emma.”

  His choice of words makes me flush hotly. Every word out of Damien’s mouth draws me in like a moth to a flame. I can’t ever remember feeling so drawn to someone before.

  And he thinks I’m gorgeous?

  There’s no way this is real-life.

  “You can’t possibly mean that,” I say. “I’m definitely not even pretty, and I know for certain that I’m not gorgeous.”

  Damien shrugs. “You don’t have to believe me,” he says with a smirk that makes my heart start pounding wildly in my chest. “But I know that you are.”

  His voice is so calm, yet so serious that I don’t dare question him. And his eyes may be as blue as the ocean but when I look into them now I see nothing but passion and flames. My palms are sweaty as Damien gets up to refill my stew. When he sets the fresh bowl in front of me, I put my hand on his arm and look deeply into his eyes.

  “I had to see you again,” I say quietly. “And there’s nothing you can do to make me stay away. The scarf thing – you’re right, it was all a ruse.” I look deeply at his face. “And I think you wanted me to come back.”

  Damien smiles, but there isn’t any humor in his sky-blue eyes. All he can do stare at me for what feels like an eternity before nodding.

  “I know,” Damien says slowly. “It wasn’t tough to figure out the scarf thing.”

  Before I can think about what’s happening I get to my feet and stretch up to kiss him on the lips. For a moment, the kiss is chaste. But when I feel Damien’s tongue slip between my lips, my belly lurches with arousal and I wrap my arms around his neck to pull him closer. With our bodies pressed together, Damien puts his hands on my waist and presses his crotch to mine. As soon as I can feel the bulge of his hard cock, I moan softly and tangle my hands his long hair.

  “Emma,” Damien growls in my ear, brushing my neck with his lips. The sensation sends a hot thrill done my spine, and I blush furiously. I want him so bad that I can practically taste it. The connection between us is so strong: we barely know each other, and I want him to consume me.

  It’s almost frightening – my heart is racing and I feel like Damien could crush me against his body if he wanted. But he holds me gently, with his hand in the small of my back like a boy at a dance.

  By the time we pull apart, my breath is coming in pants and I can feel that my face is hot and flushed. Damien is looking at me with pure lust in his eyes, but there something else there too. What could it be? Obsession? Animalistic passion? Or some other emotion, slippery and tangled, impossible to put a finger on? All I know is that I belong here … with this man, in this cabin.

  Chapter Eight

  Damien

  The kiss was innocent enough, but it stirred something deep inside of me. Who is this girl? Why is she so fascinated with me? And why can’t I seem to stay away from her? I know that she’s trouble. But something about her is drawing me in and I’m starting to feel that I’m a drowning man.

  I’ve got a hundred pounds of muscle on this girl, and a glowering glare. And yet she didn’t move away. Instead she stood on tiptoes and kissed me.

  The sweet kiss moved me to my soul.

  Emma is an innocent. Can’t she see that I’m a beast?

  I can’t do this to her.

  “You shouldn’t trust me. I could be a murderer, or even worse,” I say gruffly. Pushing Emma away is painful, but I have to do it. I don’t have a choice. Not if I want to keep her safe.