Property Of The Mountain Man (Montana Mountain Men Book 1)

An hour later, Beau presses one last kiss to my lips and finally leaves, his intense eyes watching me through the window until his truck pulls away from view. Sighing, I lean against the counter and take a moment to try and process everything that’s happened in the last few days.

Beau Barnett has somehow managed to barge into my life and completely take over. It seems unfathomable that four days ago he was just the growly, sexy star of my childish dreams, and now I think he’s my real-life boyfriend. Although I can hardly call him a boy, Beau is all man.

Last night he took my virginity. I had sex for the first time with Beau Barnett. Beau freaking Barnett. This morning I’m sore, each step reminding me that his dick was inside me last night. I have a feeling he’d love knowing that. He’s unexpectedly intense, in fact, intense doesn’t accurately describe him. Maybe crazy might be a better description.

He went from silent stranger, to calling me his, in what feels like the blink of an eye and I’m struggling to catch up, even while I’m enjoying the ride. I keep asking for time and space and he keeps refusing. When I get mad, he just chases harder and I’m struggling to remember why I should fight, when being with him feels so good.

The morning passes in a haze of customers, but I don’t feel present, my mind is on Beau. My body aches, but it’s not unpleasant. I’m not a virgin anymore and I feel different, maybe it’s the lingering effects of the orgasm he gave me in the shower this morning, but my skin feels tingly, my stomach in knots, and I’m eager to see him. I miss him and it’s only been a few hours.

He warned me that he’s an asshole, that he’s jealous and overbearing and possessive. He’s trying to take over my life, but I miss him and I have no idea what that means. I can’t allow myself to fall in love with him. Beau isn’t the type of guy you hang your future on. He’s in his forties, he’s had his pick of women all his life and has chosen not to settle down, a silly twenty-one-year-old with a crush won’t change that for him, and I need to keep reminding myself of that.

I need to force time and distance between us no matter what he says, because if I don’t, when this all ends I’ll be a mess. Firming my resolve, I pick up my cell and type out a text to Owen.

Me – My shift ends at one-thirty today. I have plans and can’t stay late. Bonnie.

A customer comes in, so it’s five minutes later when I next get a chance to look at my cell.

Owen – see you at one-thirty.

Smiling, I put my cell back on the shelf and reach for the brown bagged lunch Penn made for me this morning. Or I’m assuming it was Penn as he was the only one who was up when Beau dragged me out of his house, not giving me a chance to do anything more than wave and say a quick hey.

Opening the bag, I smile at the contents. A turkey, salad sandwich, a bag of pretzels, a baggie full of grapes, and a cupcake with a note stuck to the front of it. Pulling the note out, I can’t help but smile.

I’m sorry about yesterday, what I said was thoughtless and I never meant to upset you. Please forgive me. Cody xoxo

Smiling to myself, I glance at the shop, making sure that all the customers look happy, then I step into the kitchen and eat the lunch Beau’s brother made for me as if I was part of the family. Suddenly the urge for distance doesn’t seem so important after all.

Owen strides through the door at exactly 1.29pm. “I’m here, what plans do you have that are so important?” he asks, his gaze annoyed.

“I’m only on the rota until one-thirty, Owen, I’m not cutting out early, I’m just working the hours I’m employed for,” I say, stomping into the back and grabbing my purse and Beau’s hoodie. I tried to get him to take it with him this morning, but he insisted I keep it.

“Bye,” I call, not bothering to look back at my asshole boss as I stride out the door and skid to a stop when I remember that Beau bought me to work this morning, and I don’t have a car to get home.

Pulling my cell from my pocket I dial my dad’s number and he answers on the second ring. “Hey honey, is everything okay?”

“Hey Daddy, I finished on time, but Beau brought me to work, so I don’t have my car, could you come pick me up?”

“Sure honey, I’ll be there soon,” my dad says, and I can hear the smile in his voice.

“Thanks, I’ll walk up to Cora’s mama’s place, so come grab me from there.”

“Will do, see you soon.”

“Thanks Daddy,” I say, ending the call and sliding my cell into my jeans pocket. The wind whistles along the sidewalk, and I pull Beau’s enormous hoodie on as I walk up towards the clothes shop Cora’s mama owns and Cora works in. The bell above the door dings as I push it open and step inside, browsing the racks of pants and dresses while Cora rings up a sale on the old-fashioned brass register.

“Thanks for your business, please come again,” Cora tells the lady as she passes her the bag with her purchase in. She waits until the customer leaves the shop before she turns to me, a manic smile across her lips. “Beau Barnett. Beau Barnett,” she screeches. “You lucky, lucky bitch. Tell me the rumors are true, is he hung like a horse, is that why you’re walking funny,” she shouts at me.

“Cora,” I hiss, glancing around the shop to make sure we’re alone.

“I don’t give a fuck who hears you snagged moby dick, this is epic. Did you take a picture? Can you take a picture? I need to see it. Maybe you could get him to do one of those plaster molding things for his dick, then you can get a dildo made that’s exactly the same,” she yammers, talking so fast I can barely understand her.

“Cora,” I shout.

“What?” she says, almost bouncing on the spot with her excitement.

“Calm down.”

Her head tips to the side and she studies me for a minute. “Oh my god, it isn’t true is it?” she says sagging with disappointment. “You’re not with him at all, are you?”

“No, I am with him, or at least I think we are. Honestly, I have no idea, he’s kind of crazy, but in an adorably sweet way,” I confess.

She screams, actually screams, grabbing my hands and doing that excited thing girls do when they bounce up and down on the spot. “Why aren’t you bouncing?” she asks after a moment.

“Because I’m not ten,” I say with a sarcastic shrug.

“What’s the matter? Does he have a tiny dick, is the sex bad? You have had sex, haven’t you?” she asks, her eyes dramatically wide.

“I’m not talking about his dick with you,” I say.

“Oh my god, it’s tiny isn’t it?” she gasps, her shoulders sagging in visible disappointment.

Glancing from side to side I check again to make sure were alone. “I don’t have anything to compare it to. But it seems big,” I whisper.

“Yes,” she cries, throwing her head back and thrusting her fists into the air. “I knew it, I knew that many rumors couldn’t be wrong.”

“Shut up,” I hiss, fidgeting with the sleeves of Beau’s hoodie.

“What’s the matter? You’ve had a crush on him for years, why aren’t you jubilant, swinging from the chandeliers while you have wild monkey sex?” she asks.

“I am happy, well, sort of anyway, it’s all just a lot,” I say.

“A lot?”

“Yeah, Beau is… well he’s not what I was expecting,” I admit.

“What like he’s freaky in bed, or he has bad personal hygiene? Come on, Bonnie, give me something,” she begs.

“He’s just really full on,” I confess on a quiet exhale.

“Full on,” she repeats backs to me.

“Yeah, he ignored me for a year, then the other day a switch flipped and he just steamrollered his way into my life. He shows up at work and my house and he just won’t take no for an answer. I was on a date, and he turned up and scared the guy off and dragged me out of there. He’s just a lot, and I don’t want to let myself get carried away.”

“Why not? Beau is the type of guy you get carried away with,” Cora says enthusiastically.

Rolling my eyes, I shake my head. “Everyone in town knows that Beau Barnett doesn’t date. He has sex with women and that’s it. I’m okay with that, I plan to enjoy it while it lasts, but I refuse to be the silly little girl who pins all her hopes and dreams on a guy who doesn’t do happy ever after. He does orgasms, good ones, but they don’t become relationships, they’re just really great while they last.”

Cora’s eyes go a little downcast, but she nods, forcing an understanding smile to her lips. “You know what we need?”

“What?” I ask.

“A girls’ night out.”

“Of course we do,” I say mockingly.

“We absolutely do. A few cocktails, a little dancing. You can stay the night at my place and then you can walk to work the next morning,” she says, her face brightening with the idea of a night out.

“Actually, that sounds great,” I say shocking myself as the words leave my mouth. Cora’s nights out tend to consist of several pitchers of cocktails, dancing on tables, and then going home with Mitchell Holstead, her douche ex who just won’t go away. The last time we went out was to celebrate my twenty-first and I can almost still taste the fake banana flavored alcoholic milkshakes she convinced me wouldn’t give me a hangover.

“Really?” she gushes excitedly.

“Yes, really,” I nod.

“Yay. Well how about on Friday you bring a change of clothes to work with you, we can have dinner together, then hit up Barney’s just in time for happy hour.”

A little of the stress I’m feeling melts away and I nod. “Sounds perfect.”

Glancing out the shop window, I spot the big white truck with the ranch’s logo pull to the curb outside. “My dad’s here, I’ve got to go, I’ll speak to you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay hun, speak to you tomorrow, love you,” Cora calls.

“Love you too,” I call back, blowing her a kiss as I step out onto the sidewalk and cross to the truck, pulling open the door and sliding inside. Opening my mouth, I start to greet my dad, only to find my brother sitting behind the steering wheel.

“Oh, Caleb. Err, I was expecting Dad,” I say quietly.

“He had to take a call, so he asked me to come instead,” Caleb tells me, not even bothering to glance in my direction as he pulls away from the curb, turning to head back up the mountain.

The air inside the cab becomes thick as the silence stretches between us. Caleb and I have never been close, but it’s only been the last couple of years that our relationship has become so strained we can’t even make small talk with each other.

“So, you and Beau Barnett?” Caleb finally says, breaking the awkward quiet.

“I guess. It’s not serious,” I reply quietly.

“He’s too old for you.”

Glancing towards him I expect to see some kind of expression on his face, but all I find is blank indifference. Swallowing down the words to tell him I’m an adult, I stay quiet, waiting to see if my brother has anything else to say to me.

“He’s just toying with you. He fucks women, not immature twenty-one-year-olds. I don’t know what he’s playing at, but I’ll speak to him,” Caleb says bitterly.

“Caleb, who I have sex with is absolutely none of your business,” I seethe. “I might only be twenty-one, but I stopped being immature the moment Mama got sick. I grew up really quick when that happened. I don’t know if you noticed, but I quit school and got my G.E.D so I could stay home and look after her. I’m not a silly little girl who has zero responsibilities and childish notions about life. I have a full-time job; I work on the ranch on my days off. I look after the house and Daddy, plus do all the little things Mama did that we all just took for granted, like baking for the ranch hands every day and making sure the store rooms are all stocked all the time. I pay my own way; I don’t take handouts or rely on Daddy to look after me. I don’t know what the hell you think gives you the right to treat me like I’m some indulged little princess when I’m anything but. I have never expected you to take care of me, nor have I ever asked you to. You are my brother, not my keeper, my father, or my parole officer, and you won’t speak to Beau because you don’t get to have an opinion on my life.”

“You’re my little sister,” he starts.

“Am I? Because you don’t treat me like I am. You don’t speak to me; you talk down to me. You refuse to acknowledge that I’m an adult, and you make it so obvious that I’m unwelcome in your life that I have to visit with my sister-in-law and nephews while you’re at work, because if I’m there when you get in, you make it clear that you don’t want me in your home.”

“That’s—” he starts again but I interrupt him.

“Look I don’t want to argue with you, it’s counterproductive. I know where I stand and that’s okay, but you don’t get to comment on my life, my choices, or my relationships, sexual or otherwise.” Caleb pulls the truck to a stop behind two other ranch vehicles and I unclip my seatbelt and open the door, eager to get away from this awful encounter with my brother.

“Bonnie.”

“Look, Caleb, don’t worry about it. Like I said, I know where I stand and now you know where you stand too. Thanks for the ride.” Closing the door behind me, I make a beeline for the house, not even glancing back in my brother’s direction.

Throwing open the back door, I stomp into the kitchen and grab a bottle of beer from the refrigerator. It’s probably too early to be drinking, but spending time with my brother seems like a justifiable reason for an afternoon beer.

Beer in hand I stomp through the house and up to my bedroom, flopping down onto my bed like a hormone ridden teenager. I’m still wearing Beau’s hoodie and it’s warm and so comfortable, that when a wave of exhaustion crashes over me I roll to my side, pull the hood up over my head and close my eyes.

My bedroom door crashes open, jolting me from sleep and making me shriek in fear as a furious looking Beau explodes into the room, his eyes blazing with anger, his jaw tight. “Where the fuck have you been?” he shouts.

“What?” I ask sleepily, pushing the hood off my head and blinking at him.

“I’ve been texting you and calling you all fucking afternoon, then I panicked and drove down to the shop only to find Owen there and you gone. How the hell did you get home? Please tell me you didn’t fucking walk,” he bellows.

“Of course I didn’t walk, it’s miles. I finished on time, realized I didn’t have a car, and called my dad for a ride. What the hell is wrong with you?” I snap.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because I was asleep,” I say sardonically.

“No, why didn’t you call me for a ride,” he snarls.

“Why would I?” I ask confused.

“Because I’m your man. I drove you to work, I come get you from work. I can look after my fucking woman,” he snarls angrily.

Blinking slowly, I look up at him. “You’re mad because I didn’t call you for a ride?”

“No. I’m mad because I didn’t know where you were, I’m mad because you haven’t replied to my texts or answered my calls all afternoon, and I’m crazy mad that you called your daddy instead of me.”

“You’re definitely crazy,” I say beneath my breath.

“Bonnie,” he hisses, saying my name like a warning.

“Beau,” I smile.

His sigh is so loud, that I can’t help but giggle.

“It’s only been a couple of days; you don’t think you’re taking this all a bit far?” I ask.

“No, I fucking don’t. I think you’re not taking it far enough,” he says as he climbs onto my bed and crawls over me, pushing me to my back and parting my legs with his. “Now kiss me,” he orders.

Lifting my head, I press my lips to his, letting him take over the kiss like I knew he would the moment we’re touching. His tongue parts my lips and invades my mouth, learning each detail as if he’ll never get the chance to do it again.

Everything Beau does is intense, or at least everything he does with me and to me is. He’s all or nothing, literally, and even though I love the way he makes me feel when he touches me, being with him is exhausting.

“You should have called me,” he says when he finally pulls away.

“You were at work somewhere on the mountain, it would have taken you longer to get to me and you would have had to stop working. My dad was closer and he sent my brother, it’s not a big deal.”

“I didn’t know where you were.”

“You don’t need to know where I am. I’m an adult, I can go where I please and do as I please, I don’t need to ask permission from anyone,” I say, pursing my lips as I turn my head away from him and glance out my bedroom window.

“Of course you don’t need permission, that isn’t…” he pauses, pushing my face back to look at him. “That’s not what I’m saying, I was just worried, you didn’t have your car and—”

“You’re unreasonable, jealous, and possessive,” I say, listing off the things he keeps warning me about.

“Exactly,” he smiles coyly.

“What time is it?”

“Just after five.”

“Wow I’ve slept all afternoon.”

“Why? Are you sick?” he asks quickly.

“No, I’m just tired and I got into it with my brother on the ride home. Dealing with him is more tiring than dealing with you,” I laugh.

“What’d he say to you?” Beau asks angrily.

“My brother and I don’t really get on too well. He thinks I’m still a child and tries to treat me like one. The other day he didn’t think I should drink beer, today he doesn’t think I should be having sex with you, he’s always got lots of opinions on my life,” I say tiredly.

“You discussed our sex life with your brother?” Beau asks slowly.

“No. I just told him it was absolutely none of his business who I had a relationship, sexual or not, with.”

“I’ll have a word with him, I don’t want him upsetting you,” Beau mutters.

“No you won’t.”

“He needs to know he has to answer to me if he does something to upset you,” Beau snaps.

“Jesus Christ, how did I end up surrounded by idiot men,” I grumble. “You won’t speak to my brother, because it’s none of your business, just like you’re none of his business.”

“Of course he’s my business,” he snarls.

“Why? How is he?”

“Because you’re mine, so anything that involves you is my business.”

Rolling my eyes, I glare at him. “That’s ridiculous, it’s only been a couple of days.”

“Baby girl, you’re starting to piss me off. I don’t give a fuck if it’s been a day, a year or a fucking lifetime. You’re my business, everything you do, say, feel, that’s my fucking business, and by saying that it’s not; you’re fucking cheapening what’s happening between us.

My anger dissolves in an instant and guilt replaces it. He’s so earnest, so intense and passionate, and I’m being dismissive. Even if I have my doubts that this will last, it’s unfair of me to treat him like he’s not important. “I’m sorry. That was thoughtless, I’m just not used to having someone other than my dad to share my life with.”

“Well now you have me and I want to be the person you go to, the one you call when you need something. I won’t sit and watch from the outskirts of your life; I need to be your world.”