Wild Beast_A Mountain Man Romance

by Katie Ford

  I flush again. “Not according to Jason Hadley,” I mutter under my breath.

  Damien flinches.

  “What?” I ask. “What’s wrong?”

  Damien shakes his head. “Nothing,” he replies. “I just can’t believe your father would do something so despicable.”

  I sigh and close my eyes, leaning against Damien’s shoulder and staring up at the ceiling. “I can,” I mutter under my breath. “You don’t know my father. He’s been a jerk my entire life. All I’ve ever wanted was to be a good daughter, but he’s made it quite clear that I can’t meet his standards.”

  Damien is silent. He strokes his hand through my hair and massages the back of my neck with one of his giant hands. It feels so good that for a moment, I forget all about my father’s insulting idea.

  “So I left,” I say quietly. “I’m over eighteen, I can do whatever I want. And I will do whatever I want – I can get a job and finish school, but if I have to put it off, I will. Or I could always take courses online, too.”

  “You’re smart,” Damien replies. He continues stroking my hair and the touch of his fingers is enough to make me melt in his arms. “You can do whatever you want.”

  I sigh and snuggle closer. I like that he’s not judging me. I’m sure that I probably seem like a spoiled and ungrateful brat. But I feel so comfortable talking to Damien. It’s like I can tell him anything and he won’t bat an eyelash.

  “My dad is taking his company public,” I continue softly. “He’ll be richer than Croesus now. I mean, he already has an obscene amount of money. But this is really going to put him on a new level. That’s why he wanted me to go to a fat farm. He told me that an obese girl wouldn’t be welcome in his new social circles, whatever they are,” I say bitterly.

  “Bastard,” Damien mutters under his breath. “The things I’d do to him for speaking that way to you.”

  Damien’s words warm my heart. I can’t believe he feels so protective of me. This is completely new to me – I’ve never had someone care so much that they’d be willing to stand up to my father.

  “Yeah,” I murmur. “It doesn’t matter how much money my dad makes, though. It’s not going to change a thing. He’ll always be a cold-hearted bastard.”

  Damien is silent. I rest my head on his shoulder as the fire crackles and pops in the grate. It’s crazy how being with him is enough to make me feel better. Just sharing the couch and snuggling has lifted my spirits and I’m no longer afraid or unhappy.

  “Xander Corp. will finally be on the map in the way my dad always wanted,” I add. “Good for him, I guess.”

  Damien stiffens against me and I sit up. Turning to face him, I reach out and run my hand down his arm.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask. “Did I say something?”

  Damien shakes his head. “No,” he says. “It’s just the ache in my bones. I’m getting old, that’s all.” He has an odd expression on his handsome face, but I don’t think much of it. After all, I just dropped a ton of information on him … and I can imagine he’s probably a little overwhelmed. It’s been so long since he was in the public eye that he’s probably forgotten how cruel and dramatic people can be.

  “Can I stay here?” I ask softly. “I mean, I could always go to my friend Lacey’s. But Damien, the first person I thought of was you. I want to be here with you. I’m happy here with you.”

  The expression on Damien’s face grows even stranger and I wonder if I’ve said too much. But before I can say anything else, Damien roughly grabs me and pulls me into a fierce bear hug.

  “You can stay,” he growls in my ear. “It’s no problem, baby girl. My home is your home.”

  I melt against him in relief. “Thank you so much,” I say softly. “You have no idea how much better this makes me feel.”

  As Damien and I sink back into the comfort of the couch cushions, a powerful feeling of calm washes over me. For the first time since speaking with my father earlier in the day, I feel safe and content. I know that now, nothing bad will happen to me. Damien will protect me and keep me out of harm’s way.

  He’s my strong mountain beast, and I feel nothing but intense love for him. There’s no one else on earth, not even Lacey, with whom I feel so safe and perfect. Damien doesn’t want me to change or to lose weight, he loves me for exactly who I am.

  How the heck did I get so lucky?

  Chapter Twelve

  Damien

  As Emma lies peacefully in my arms, my heart is racing in a blind panic. My past has finally caught up with me in the worst kind of way, and if Emma finds out there’s no way she’ll want anything else to do with me.

  But I can’t keep the truth from her. I have to be honest.

  Suddenly, Emma shifts in my arms. She rolls over and presses her mouth to mine. She smells like the sweetest lavender and honeysuckle with just a hint of sweat, and I groan as she shifts on my lap and straddles me.

  “I’m sorry that I didn’t bring any Doritos,” Emma says with a shy smile. For a moment, I think she’s about to kiss me again. Sex would be a welcome distraction from my guilty thoughts, but instead Emma climbs off my lap. She goes out to the porch and returns with her suitcase and a brown paper grocery bag.

  “It’s okay,” I say lamely. I’d already forgotten about the stupid fucking chips, anyway. How the hell could I think of food when Jason Hadley is back and ready to tear me down once again?

  “But I did bring these,” Emma says shyly. She reaches into the bag and comes up with two wax-paper wrapped sandwiches. “My parents’ chef, Gina, made them for my father but when she caught me leaving she handed the bag over to me.”

  “Does Gina know where you are?” I demand. “Will she tell your parents?”

  Emma gives me a strange look and I realize that my tone is sharp and angry.

  “No,” she says quietly. “Gina loves me, and besides, she has no idea about you. I haven’t told anyone. Not even my best friend, Lacey.”

  I sigh and lean back against the couch. Emma unwraps the sandwiches and passes one over. It smells heavenly – roast beef and aged cheddar with some kind of smoky aioli. It reminds me of the sandwiches from my old favorite deli, right across the street from Xander Corp.

  “I haven’t had a sandwich like this in a long time,” I say truthfully before taking a big bite. “Thanks.”

  Emma nods happily as she tucks into her own food. As we chew, the fire sparks and pops in the grate. But I’m too tense to enjoy my sandwich, even though the flavor of the meat and cheese together is incredible. When Emma’s done eating, she reaches into the bag and pulls out a bag of barbecue chips.

  “Not exactly Doritos, but maybe they’ll do,” Emma says. She winks at me and I feel my stomach twist and clench with guilt.

  Because I can’t believe that my sweet Emma, my precious little girl, is the daughter of the man who ruined my life and sent me to prison. She has no idea how terrible her father really is, and I wonder how she’ll react. Even though she called him a bastard, he’s still her father.

  And I can’t ask Emma to give up her blood relations. Not for me, asshole that I am. Blood runs thicker than water, and unfortunately, I’m not the man she should sacrifice her life for.

  “Damien?”

  Emma’s soft, sweet voice snaps me out of my head and I look up to see her peering at me with concern in those soft brown eyes.

  “Sorry,” I grunt. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now.”

  Emma leans close and kisses me on the cheek. Her lips are petal-soft and at any other time, the kiss would be enough to awaken the animal inside of me. But right now I can’t think straight. I keep picturing smug Jason, the Jason from years ago who bragged about cheating on his wife and neglecting his one and only daughter. I always knew he was a snake, but I had no idea he was the kind of monster who would torment my sweet girl and bully her into unhappiness.

  “Me too,” Emma confesses. She reaches into the chip bag and pops a handful into her mouth. “These are good.
My mom doesn’t let Gina keep them around because she says that she’s too worried about her figure. Honestly, I think she’s a lot more worried about mine, but at least she was always too nice to say something.”

  “Emma. You’re not fat,” I say sternly. “And you have to stop calling yourself fat if you’re going to stay here, okay? That’s my one condition.”

  Emma flushes. “Okay,” she says. She giggles. “But only if you promise me one thing?”

  “What?” I ask. What does she want? The sun, moon, and stars? Because I’ll give her that or die trying, if that’s what she wants. But my sweet girl has a sense of humor.

  “I want you to teach me how to make that delicious stew,” she giggles again. “I want to learn how to cook for you.”

  Jesus fucking Christ. How did I go from reclusive hermit to family man? With Emma here, my cabin already feels less like a prison cell and more like a homey little place where a happy couple could live forever.

  “Sure,” I say uneasily. “I can teach you.”

  Emma offers me the chips but I shake my head. My stomach is already twisting and churning from the sandwich and the guilt.

  “That’s more for me then,” Emma chirps. She polishes the bag off, then wipes her hands on her round thighs. As she gets to her feet and gathers the trash from the food, she looks deeply into my eyes. “Damien?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Are you sure this is okay?” Emma bites her lip and flushes. “I … I didn’t want to put this on you, but I had to tell someone. And I know that I probably shouldn’t have come here, but I needed to see you. I don’t feel comfortable talking to anyone else.”

  “It’s fine,” I say. “Here, let me do that.” I take the trash from Emma’s hands and carry it into the kitchen. I wash my hands at the sink and let my fingers stay under the cold water until pain starts to shoot up my arms.

  Goddamn, this is so fucked up. I have no idea what to do. Emma is nothing like her dad – that much is obvious after just looking at her – she’s sweet, and it’s clear to me now that she’s been a victim of her father for her entire life.

  But at the same time, Jason is Emma’s father. And while I’ve always hated the expression “blood is thicker than water,” I wonder if it’s true in this case. Sure, Emma ran away because she was offended and hurt that her father would make those kinds of comments about her weight. But still. They’re biologically related, and he’s all she’s known for her entire life.

  Emma’s still a kid, though. I know she’s twenty-one, a legal adult, but she’s lived a pampered life of privilege. And I can’t imagine that she would adjust easily to living in the woods with someone like me. I don’t even have a fucking television, for god’s sake.

  Not to mention that I’m about to seek revenge on her father. Between Jed’s newfound information and the fact that Xander Corp is about to go public, this is the perfect time for me to plan my revenge. I don’t need the money. And I don’t give a shit about the company itself. Even though I helped built Xander Corp from the ground up, it’s Jason’s now. My claim on that company ended years ago.

  Besides, this isn’t about becoming wealthy. This is about justice, and making sure that Jason Hadley gets what’s coming to him. Can I really do that with his daughter at my side?

  “Damien?”

  Emma peeks into the kitchen. She frowns at the sight of me standing at the sink.

  “What are you doing here?” she asks.

  “Thinking about dinner for tomorrow,” I lie. “Should I take something out of the freezer? What would you like?”

  “Do you have any steaks?”

  I beckon for Emma to step closer. “Take out whatever you like. Just put it in the fridge and we’ll worry about it tomorrow.”

  Emma peers into the freezer and her eyes light up the sight of all the frozen food, neatly stacked and labeled. I walk back into the living room and sit down on the couch. Staring into the fire, I know that this is all going to come crashing down around me no matter what I do.

  It’s like the universe is conspiring to ruin my life one step at a time. My first twenty-odd years on this planet were productive. The next fifteen years were pretty fucking awesome as well, what with building Xander Corp. from the ground up. But the minute I met Jason Hadley, shit started rolling downhill, and it ended up with me in the slammer. Yeah, it doesn’t get worse than that.

  So I want revenge on my old business partner. Because when I first got out of prison, I nearly sprained my neck looking up at the sky. I couldn’t stop. It was a magical expanse, ever-changing with the clouds and the wind. It was like I’d forgotten how beautiful the world can really be, and Jason Hadley did that to me. So I can’t forgive him. I thought I could, living like a hermit in a cabin in the woods. But now, with revenge so close, I’ve realized that I’m not the better man. I’m not Mr. Nice Guy who forgives and forgets. Instead, the animal is still inside. The one that’s ruthless and merciless, with an appetite for destruction. I can destroy Jason Hadley. I can cause pain. But can I do it with Emma sleeping in my bed? Trusting me, giving me her body, while I wreak havoc on her one and only family?

  Getting to my feet, I walk silently to the kitchen. Emma doesn’t notice me standing behind her and I’m temporarily lost in the vision of her loveliness. Her curves are perfectly displayed, even in the jeans and hoodie she’s wearing, and her brown curls look as soft as silk.

  She has no idea what kind of turmoil she’s bringing to my life.

  And she obviously has no idea what’s coming.

  When Emma turns around and sees me lurking in the doorway, she jumps and gives an adorable little gasp.

  “Damien! You can’t sneak up on me like that!” Emma says softly. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

  Before I can apologize, she’s in my arms with her head pressed against my chest.

  “Thank you again,” Emma says sweetly. “I have no idea what I would do without you, Damien.”

  Acid seeps into my mouth and I put my arms around her. For all I know, this could be the last time that she’s in my embrace.

  “I think I’m going to go to bed,” Emma says. She pulls away and yawns as she rubs at her eyes with her fingers. “I know it’s early, but I had a really long day.”

  I nod. “I can’t sleep right now. I’ll be in there in a little while.”

  Emma nods. She looks disappointed, but there’s no way I could fuck her right now.

  Not with Jason Hadley’s face burned onto the front of my brain.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Emma

  When I wake up, there’s a brief moment where I don’t know where I am. I’m nestled and warm in the blankets and my head is buried tightly beneath one of the pillows, but they’re not covered in my familiar pink silk cases.

  Then I remember that I’m in Damien’s cabin in the woods. Opening my eyes, I yawn and sit up. Damien is sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at me.

  “Good morning,” I say shyly. I feel awkward and groggy – it always takes me a long time to wake up, and Damien looks like he’s been up for hours. He’s wearing an intense expression and the same plaid shirt as yesterday.

  “You were out cold,” Damien says. He gets to his feet without taking his eyes off me. For once, they’re focused on my face instead of my curves and I let the sheet fall away from my breasts in an effort to entice him. But it doesn’t work – Damien strides out of the room.

  I frown as I get up and pull on my clothes. They’re freezing cold from being on the floor all night and I shiver as I make my way into the living room. Damien is sitting in front of the fire with a cup of coffee cradled in his hands. He doesn’t look at me as I pass.