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

I wake up hot, surrounded by Beau, literally surrounded by him. His arms are around my back, his thigh over my legs, my face pressed into his chest. He’s not pinning me down, but I’m still completely immobile in a hug that feels like he’s worried I’ll run away.

Blinking my eyes open, I tip my chin back to look up at him. His eyes are closed, and in sleep he looks harmless and almost angelic, something he can’t achieve when he’s awake because of how huge he is and his usually serious expression.

My body feels deliciously sore, not painful, just stretched and used in the very best way. Last night was incredible. The way he touched me, spoke to me, fucked me, it was everything I’ve fantasized about and more. He was gentle, even while he was rough, and even if I’m not supposed to, I loved it.

In the back of my mind, I know I should be angry with him still. He tried to manipulate me into not going out last night by using my fantasies against me. But if he was just saying what he thought I wanted to hear on those texts, what was last night about? He did that, he created that scenario and he seemed like he was enjoying himself, no I know he was enjoying himself. I mean he fucked me, then fucked me again.

He stalked me on my girls’ night out. I don’t know how long he was there for, but he dragged me off and finger fucked me in an office, then jerked off and came all over my sex. That’s not normal behavior, or at least I don’t think it’s normal.

Is Cora right? Should I be enjoying how intense he is instead of freaking out about it. Does it only feel overwhelming because I have nothing to compare it to? Maybe if I’d been with a load of disinterested guys who strung me along with fake promises, I’d understand how nice it is to have a guy who wants me and is open and possessive with that want.

He told me I’m different, and maybe I am. Amber and Linda only told me he’d lose interest, they never mentioned how crazy he could get. Was it true when he said that I’m the only one he’s ever felt this way about?

His arms tighten around me. “You’re thinking too hard, go back to sleep,” he says sleepily.

“I have to go,” I whisper.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he growls, all of the sleepiness gone in an instant.

“You know I work on the ranch on my days off. I’m already late.”

“Nope, not today, I texted your daddy last night and told him you wouldn’t be in.”

“You did what?” I cry, pushing at his chest, trying to get free of his hold.

“Calm down, I wasn’t sure how much of a hangover you’d have this morning,” he soothes.

“It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve worked with a hangover, Beau. I told you I was working; you don’t get to pick my priorities just because they’re not a priority to you. Now let me go, I need to use the bathroom,” I hiss.

“Bonnie.”

“Let me go.”

His arms loosen and I scramble free, dashing for the bathroom and a little breathing space. I should be expecting it when he follows me in, throwing the door open so hard it bounces off the wall with a thud.

“What the fuck is going on?” he demands.

“Am I seriously not even allowed any privacy in the god damn bathroom?” I shriek.

“No space, no distance,” he says defiantly, crossing his arms while he stands in the doorway, completely naked, his dick semi hard and hanging between his legs.

“This is ridiculous, even prisoners get to use the bathroom on their own.”

“I make you feel like a prisoner?” he asks, shock clearly lacing his voice.

“Right now, yes,” I cry.

Turning, he leaves, grabbing the door and closing it behind him, leaving me in silence, that for some reason makes tears well in my eyes. Using the bathroom, I wash my hands, then pull in a long, slow breath before I open the door and step back into the bedroom.

Beau’s sitting on the side of the bed, his feet on the floor, his head turned in my direction, his eyes bleak. “I make you feel like a prisoner?” he asks again, desolation lacing each word.

“No,” I confess, grabbing his shirt from the floor and pulling it over my head. “Sometimes I just need a little space, you’re intense and I’ve never done any of this before, relationships are new to me.”

His face screws up, like he’s trying to understand what I’m saying, then he nods slowly. “I’ll take you to the ranch, your car’s still in town,” he says quietly, taking clothes out of his dresser and pulling them on quickly. “You want breakfast?” he asks, his hand on the door, not looking at me.

“No thanks.”

He nods, then leaves, without even glancing back in my direction. How can we go from the most amazing sexual experience of my life, to stony silence and tense pain in such a short amount of time? Dressing quickly, I slide my feet into some sneakers he packed for me the other day and leave his room, my chest aching.

Beau’s talking quietly with Penn when I walk into the living room and all of the guys are here again. They spend so much time together, it’s a little weird, but they all seem so close, so invested in one another’s lives. My brother and I have never had that kind of relationship.

It feels like every eye in the room turns to me, but no one speaks as I make my way to Beau. “Coffee,” he says, handing me a thermal cup without making eye contact with me.

“Thanks.”

Turning, he moves to the front door and I follow, hating this tension that I’ve created which has now spread throughout his entire family.

“See you later, Bonnie,” Teddy says.

“Bye Teddy,” I reply quietly before leaving the house.

The drive to the ranch is silent and tense. I want to say something to make it better, but I don’t know what to say, and clearly neither does he. When we pull up outside the house, I expect him to follow me in, but instead he just stays put, the engine still running.

Pausing I wait for something, anything from him, but he just keeps his eyes down, looking at his hands on the steering wheel, waiting for me to leave. So I do, muttering, “Bye,” as I unclip my seatbelt, open the door and leave. I don’t realize that my heart has cracked in two until he pulls away from the house without looking back.

I barely speak to anyone all day, riding the fences until the sun has dipped in the sky and my body is physically exhausted. Once I’ve finished feeding Vali and leaving her to bed down in her stable, it’s late and I head for the house, waving at all the familiar ranch hands I see. My heart stutters when I see my car parked out front. Beau or one of his brothers must have fetched it for me, because I’d told my dad that I’d get it tomorrow.

My cell phone has been deathly silent all day. I’m used to Beau’s constant texts and calls, but today he hasn’t sent me a single message. Crossing to my car, I half expect it to be full of all the stuff Beau insisted I take to his place, but it’s empty and I don’t know why tears fill my eyes.

The smell of food hits me when I step into the house, and following it is a sense of guilt that I’m not the one who cooked. Kicking off my boots by the door I pad into the kitchen and find my dad, Caleb, and my nephew, Noah, sitting around the table. All three look up when I enter the room.

“Hey Aunt Bonnie,” Noah says, jumping up from the table and moving towards me with his lanky teenage stride.

“Christ, Noah, stop growing, you’re too tall,” I tell him when he wraps me up in a hug, that I can’t explain how much I need.

“Hey honey, how you got on today?” Dad asks the moment Noah releases me.

“Good, Barber and I rode all the fences over on the west pasture and fixed all the holes we found, tomorrow we’re gonna do the pastures south of the river,” I tell him, sitting down next to him in mom’s chair.

I don’t bother to acknowledge Caleb, but it’s okay because he doesn’t glance in my direction either. “I’m sorry you had to cook, I was a little late getting here this morning and I didn’t even think about prepping dinner.”

“Too busy running around with Barnett to remember your responsibilities,” Caleb mutters beneath his breath.

“I can cook, your mama taught me well. There’s campfire stew in the crockpot and cornbread in the oven,” Dad says, shooting a pointed glare in my brother’s direction.

“I worked all day, Caleb, just like you did, I’m more than aware of my responsibilities,” I say to my brother, ignoring my dad’s attempt to diffuse the argument that’s brewing between me and my older sibling.

“Maybe if you were sleeping in your own bed, not off screwing a guy old enough to be your father—” Caleb says, not bothering to be quiet anymore.

“Caleb,” Dad snaps.

“I am so sick of this,” I shout, pushing back from the table, my chair scraping across the floor loudly. “I thought you’d gotten the message the other day, but apparently not, so let me reiterate for you. My life is absolutely none of your business, you made that choice when you decided to treat me like an unwanted burden. I lost my mom too, you had her most of your life, I didn’t get long enough with her. I thought that loss would bring us closer, but instead it turned you into an asshole. You pushed me away, you made me feel unwelcome in your life, your family, and your home. It’s been over a year, back then I needed you and you weren’t interested, now it’s too late for you to give a shit. I have the world’s best dad, a great sister, and two kick ass nephews, but as far as I’m concerned that’s all the family I have left.”

Chest heaving, tears spilling down my face, I rush from the kitchen, pausing at the bottom of the stairs. I could go to my room, cry a little, then sleep until I feel better, it’s what I’ve always done. But it feels hollow and lonely now. I don’t want to be alone; I want to be with Beau. I know that the moment he has me in his arms I’ll feel better, he won’t allow me to be lonely because we don’t have space and we don’t have distance between us.

I’m out the house, my car keys in my hand, before I even realize I’m moving, but I know this is right. I want him, I need him, and I can’t wait to see him, I just hope he doesn’t turn me away. I hurt him this morning, and so he did what he promised me he wouldn’t let me do. He let me run, because I basically demanded it of him.

It takes less than five minutes until I’m parking my car behind his, and dashing towards the front door. I should knock, but I don’t, I just let myself in, ignoring his brothers as I search for him. I find him on the couch, his expression solemn and sad. “Beau,” I half sob.

He’s half off the couch and moving towards me as I break into a run, throwing myself into his arms, knowing he’ll catch me. “Shh, it’s okay, baby girl, what’s happened?” he coos, his arms holding me tightly as I wrap my legs around his back and cling to him, my tears soaking his shirt from where I’ve buried my face into his neck.

“Hey, hey, what’s going on?” he asks, gently trying to pry my face up.

When I just hold him tighter, I feel him start to move and a moment later he lowers us to his bed, cradling me to him as I hold him tight.

“I’m sorry,” I sob.

“What for?”

“For saying I needed some breathing space. I don’t. I got into a huge fight with my brother and I needed you and I pushed you away,” I say on a rush.

“I was coming for you, Bonnie, I’ve had to have my brothers stop me all day, but I was coming for you tonight, I couldn’t stand it any longer,” he rasps into my neck.

“Really? I thought when you brought my car back that my stuff was going to be in it,” I confess.

“Never. Don’t you get it, I love you. I couldn’t give you up even if I wanted to, you’re mine, forever, always. I won’t ever let you go.”

He doesn’t stop me when I lift my face and look into his tormented eyes. “You love me?”

“Utterly and completely,” he says seriously.

“I love you too.” The words shock me, I hadn’t consciously decided to say them, but I know they’re true the moment they fall from my lips. “I love you too,” I say again, needing to hear the words.

A wide smile spreads across his lips and then we move at once, ripping each other’s clothes off in a frenzy of hands, lips, kisses, touches, and I love yous.