Scarred: A Mountain Man Romance

by J. R. Ryder

  “Do you ever wonder about Chinese Restaurants?”

  “What do you mean?” She asked, tilting her head to the side.

  “I mean, why New China? What happened to the old China?”

  Mandy shook her head at my attempt at humor.

  “You’re such a goofball sometimes. For someone who is an ex-SEAL and owns his own multi-billion-dollar company, you aren’t afraid to act silly every once in a while, and I love that about you.”

  “We all have to laugh sometimes,” I said, messing up her hair.

  “Hey!”

  I laughed. “See? Like that expression on your face? It was priceless.”

  “That wasn’t very nice. I just got shot.”

  I frowned. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

  “How would messing up my hair hurt me?” She shook her head. “You worry too much.”

  “Well, you mean a lot to me. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  She smiled, patting my hand. “I’m okay. Really. The doctor said remember?”

  “Right.” I nodded my head in agreement. “Sorry, I guess you could say that I’m a little overprotective.”

  “A little? That’s an understatement.”

  “Alright. Alright. I worry about you a lot, okay? it’s only because I care.”

  “I know you do.” She pulled on my shirt.

  I stopped in the middle of the hallway to look down at her.

  She smiled that heartwarming smile before leaning forward ever so slightly, letting our lips collide. “Mmm, I can’t wait to get home and have you all to myself again.”

  “Have you missed me?”

  “Mhm.” She answered with this mischievous look on her face.

  Already, I was thinking of all the things I wanted to do to her once she was back home. Recently, I had craved her like never before. I had to remember to be gentle with her. She might be okay to leave the hospital but she wasn’t ready for any strenuous activities just yet.

  “Jasper, where are we going?”

  During the course of our conversation, I had gotten us lost. Unwilling to admit I had done this, I had pushed her around in circles for the last fifteen minutes, hoping she wouldn’t notice.

  “Yeah, about that…”

  “We’re lost, aren’t we?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Why haven’t you asked anyone for directions.”

  “Do you remember what elevator we are supposed to take? I think we need to take an elevator to get out of here.”

  “How am I supposed to know? I’ve been lying on a hospital bed for the past two weeks. I barely know what color the sky is anymore.”

  “That’s dramatic.”

  “You try being cooped up on the same old bed for two weeks.”

  “Have you forgotten that I was in here not too long ago?”

  “Oh right…” She looked down, a bit ashamed of her response. “I didn’t mean…”

  “Don’t worry about it. I know you’re probably a little crabby. The beds are uncomfortable and the food sucks.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “ how do we get out of here?” I looked around for a sign that might help but every time I walked up to a directory, the arrows pointed in a million and one directions. “This is ridiculous. I toured through the Middle East without a problem but I can’t seem to find my way around a hospital.”

  “It’s almost like they are designed to make you feel lost and confused.”

  “Exactly.” I agreed. “It’s a fucking maze in here.”

  Just then, Andy appeared. “Hey, I thought I had missed you guys. I went to Mandy’s room but it was empty.”

  “Yeah, they discharged her today.”

  “Then why are you guys headed toward the maternity ward?” Andy asked, tilting his head in question.

  “Uh…” I looked around, trying to come up with a suitable excuse. “We were just…”

  “If you are looking for the cafeteria, it’s just down the hall, take a left.”

  “Wait, there’s a cafeteria?”

  “Of course there’s a cafeteria.” Andy chuckled. “Is that why you always sent me to get the food? You had no idea where it was, did you?” He shook his head. “He was always horrible with directions. Let me guess, you two have been wandering around the hospital for the last thirty minutes.”

  “Pretty much.” Mandy chimed in.

  “Hey! You weren’t supposed to tell him that.” I protested.

  “Come on, the exit is this way.”

  I hesitated. My pride was wounded.

  “Jasper. Come on. I want to get out of here already.”

  With a sigh, I followed my friend, secretly grateful that he had come to our rescue.

  Chapter 37 (Mandy)

  Finally, Jasper pushed me through the automatic doors. It felt good to feel a cool breeze on my face after countless days cooped up in a hospital bed.

  “It’s a beautiful day,” I commented.

  “Let’s take it as a good sign. From here on out, there’s nothing for us to worry about. All we need is each other and we’ll get through it.”

  “I don’t mean to run off but I need to go,” Andy said, already heading toward his car.

  “Where are you going?” Jasper called out.

  “I’m taking someone out on a date.”

  “A date?” His eyes widened. “You haven’t been on a date in years.”

  “Neither have you.” He said with a wink.

  I blushed slightly wondering what he meant by that. For a brief second, I imagined myself on a legitimate date with Jasper. We would both dress nice, go to a fancy restaurant, and look at each other across a candlelit table. My heart swelled in reaction to these romantic thoughts.

  Maybe, one day, if I ever convinced him to leave the mountain. at the same time, I liked the mountain. There was a certain charm to it. Everything was quiet and peaceful and despite everything that happened, it felt like a safe little bubble where nothing bad could happen.

  “Alright, well good luck!” Jasper yelled after his friend who had disappeared into the sea of cars.

  “Do you actually think he’s going on a date?” I asked. In all honesty, I didn’t know Andy all that well. From what I could tell, however, he seemed rather reserved. Whenever he spoke to me, he was always extremely polite. He had this intellectual air about him that made sound mature and full of wisdom. I liked talking to him.

  “I’m not sure. He’s had a… traumatic past with woman.”

  “Traumatic?”

  “I don’t think it’s my place to share his story.”

  I nodded. “You’re right.”

  While Jasper tried to find his car, we fell into silence. I did my best to keep a lookout for his car but it was nowhere to be seen.

  Great, we were lost again.

  “Jasper?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” I took advantage of this moment, knowing we would be wandering around, searching for his car for a good ten minutes.

  “What’s that?”

  “Do you think one day I could see your company and mansion. Please don’t take this the wrong way. I’m not interested in your money. I just want to see everything you accomplished on your own.”

  He sighed. “The material goods I acquired are hardly an accomplishment. I could have done so much more with that money instead of wasting it away on chandeliers and fine china.”

  “Still, I’m curious.”

  “Sure, I can show you. Do you want to see them today? Are you feeling up to it?”

  “The doctor said I was free to leave last week, you were the one that insisted I stay the extra seven days – just to make sure.”

  “Hey, better safe than sorry. I didn’t want you to come down with an infection or something. I was just making sure you were okay.”

  “I know. I know. I’m just teasing you. I like how much you care about me. really, I’m fine. Of course, it hurts when you touch it but for the
most part, I can walk, just not very fast.”

  He nodded. “Okay, just don’t push yourself too hard.”

  “I won’t.”

  He held out his hand. I grabbed it, getting to my feet. Carefully, he helped me into his car, buckling me into my seat.

  “You know, I could have done that myself.”

  “I know but I just thought I would make your life a little easier.” He chuckled, kissing my lips before rounding the car and sitting behind the wheel. “Alright. What do you want to see first? The company or the mansion?”

  “The company.”

  “To HQ it is.” He put the car into drive and smoothly eased out of the parking lot. Soon, we were on the road, cruising just above the speed limit.

  He turned to look at me.

  “I’m really glad you’re okay.”

  “Me too.”

  He smiled, resting his hand on my thigh as he drove. He rubbed it slowly, getting closer and closer to my pussy.

  I bit my lip, already getting excited. Although, it didn’t really make sense. Obviously, we weren’t going to do anything in the care, especially after what happened. Jasper was being way too cautious with my well-being that he would never take the risk of accidentally hurting me like that.

  Still, after two full weeks without a taste of my handsome girlfriend, I was definitely craving him. My head surged with fantasies that I imagined we could play out just as soon as I was fully healed. Outside on the porch. Bent over the kitchen table. On the counter. In the tub. The possibilities were endless and I wanted to try them all.

  “What are you thinking about?” He asked, raising an eyebrow in my direction.

  “N-Nothing…” I answered quickly, blush already painting my cheeks.

  He chuckled. “Tell me.”

  “Nothing.”

  “If you don’t tell me, I might have to punish you.” He said in a seductive voice. I could tell by the way that he looked at me that he knew exactly what was going on in my head. He certainly had fantasies of his own running through his thoughts.

  I glanced between his legs and lo and behold he was already sporting an erection.

  Maybe we would end up having some fun after all.

  Mmm.

  Chapter 38 (Jasper)

  I loved how naughty Mandy could get. Even though she was submissive in bed, she wasn’t afraid to instigate our intimacy. Some days, she’d come out of the shower wrapped in nothing but a towel and walk right up to me. As soon as she was close enough, the towel would fall to her feet and there she was, in all her beauty.

  God, just thinking about her naked body was enough to get me going.

  When I looked over at her, I could tell that her thoughts were also taking a dirty turn. That sparkle in her eye. The way she sat with her hands on her thighs, almost like she wanted to touch herself.

  Oh yeah, she wanted me. Bad.

  she would just have to wait.

  I did my best to remain innocent as we drove to HQs. Once we entered the heart of the city, traffic picked up. This was one of the things I hated about city life. Everything was always so congested.

  When we stopped at a red light, I looked over at her and smiled. “You truly do make me happy.”

  She smiled back. “I’m glad.”

  As we continued to drive, various people cut me off, nearly resulting in a collision at one point. “This is awful,” I mumbled under my breath. “These people don’t know how to fucking drive, I swear to God.”

  She placed a hand on my knee, squeezing it gently, trying to calm me down. “Getting angry isn’t going to help the situation.”

  “I just don’t understand why people can’t drive like they are supposed to. It’s really not that hard. And, if they can’t drive, public transportation is there for a reason.”

  “Jasper.”

  “What?” I snapped, losing my temper.

  She frowned. “I was just trying to help.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you like that. It's just so easy to lose your cool in the city with all these fucking idiots everywhere.”

  Her frown deepened. “Don’t worry about them.”

  I shook my head. “That’s impossible.” We were once again stopped at a red light. I pointed through the windshield. “Do you see that man getting really close to that woman?”

  She nodded. “He’s a pickpocket. He’s going to snatch her wallet out of her purchase and when she goes to buy formula for her baby, she’ll discover that she doesn’t have a cent to her name.”

  “No…”

  “Yes. That’s the ugly reality of the city. You used to be a detective. You should know first-hand how disgusting human beings can be. They kill and hurt one another without an ounce of remorse and the more you interact with them, the more infected you become.” I sighed. “That’s why I left. I hated the man I was becoming. I couldn’t stand that I was treating people like garbage. At least in the mountains, no one bothers me. I don’t have to deal with mankind’s stupidity.”

  “ there’s some good in the world.” She pointed out.

  “I should have known you were an optimist.”

  “Sometimes, you just have to be. If you always think about the bad stuff that happens, then you’ll never see the good, either. As a detective, I saw my fair share of homicides, rapes, you name it at the same time, there were plenty of rewarding cases as well.”

  “Such as?”

  “Well, cases where teenagers run away from home and we find them. Or, a kidnapped toddler that’s rescued. Or, when we finally bust a crime rig because someone finally gathered the courage to speak up against what was wrong.”

  “Hmm, I guess you have a point but if you ask me, I’m better off in the mountains. I don’t mind coming back to the city every once in a while, but I could never live here. Not anymore.”

  “That’s fair. You know, I like the woods too.”

  “Then, why do you keep your house in the city?”

  “Well, it’s in the suburbs.” She clarified.

  “Okay, whatever. Why do you still keep your house in the suburbs when you know you always have a place to stay at the cottage.”

  “Because you never asked me to stay.”

  I pulled into my parking space in the company lot and before I could turn off the car, I looked at her. “Really? You were waiting for me to ask? Wasn’t it obvious by now that I wanted you to stay.”

  “Well, I wasn’t sure.”

  I shook my head. “You amaze me.”

  “And, while we’re on the subject, you never asked me to be your girlfriend, either.”

  “Living together for six months and staying by each other’s sides at the hospital wasn’t enough to establish our relationship?”

  “I’m just saying that we never agreed to anything explicitly.”

  “Well, then I’m explicitly asking you now. Will you be my girlfriend? Will you live with me so that I can wake up to your beautiful face every morning?” I was on the cusp of saying more – of asking her to marry me but I knew that now was not the right time. Besides, I wanted to make it special – to get her a nice right.

  If I was going to propose to this woman, then I wanted it to be something she would never forget.

  Chapter 39 (Mandy)

  “Yes.” I smiled from ear to ear, happy to know that I was officially this man’s girlfriend. My heart was beating so quickly that I thought it would explode at any moment.

  He returned the smile before leaning toward me and kissing my lips ever so gently. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” I nuzzled against his chest, feeling like my life was finally coming together into a coherent picture.

  “Well, we are here. Are you ready to take the grand tour around my company?”

  “Of course.” I was about to open the door and get out when I noticed that it was locked. When I looked over at Jasper, he was gone. A second later, he was opening the door for me with a grand gesture.

  “After you, my lady.”


  I blushed. “You don’t have to make such a big deal about me.”

  “I want to. You’re my girlfriend now. Which means, I get to pamper you and make you feel like the only girl in the world.”