Page 25 of The Mountain Man's Curvy Surprisem
“Everything.” She gasps. “From the first moment I got here.”
“What?”
Her fierce stare meets mine. “From breaking up with me before even saying hello to being a grumpy asshole, and how you just took me. I mean, I don’t know if you could have made it more painful if you tried.”
“What?” I ask, face scrunching. “You were wet and ready for me. On the porch, you said you wanted something feral and primitive. What did I do wrong?”
“None of this is what I expected. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I need to go … now.”
“But what did I do? Whatever it is, I’ll make it right,” I plead. I’ve never done this before for any woman, but I’m in love with Calliope. I realize it at the exact moment she’s slipping through my fingers.
“You said you’d be gentle. Take your time and not hurt me the first time.”
“The first time?”
“Yes, Mack. We discussed it in our last few emails.”
“So, you were a virgin?” My brows furrow, my heart dying.
“Yes, and you hurt me. You didn’t even try to be careful.”
“Goddammit!” I scream, punching the rock next to me twice in quick succession. My fist makes a sickening cracking noise, and pain sears through my hand. About a second too late, I realize my idiocy. This entire situation has me so damn pissed, all I see is red. “Fuck!” I hiss, looking at my battered fist, already swelling and bleeding.
Calliope steps forward, grabbing my hand and examining the knuckles. I pull my hand away, not interested in her sympathy. This situation is fucking impossible … all thanks to Mack.
She grabs my hand more firmly, a frown on her face as she examines the knuckles. “Oh, you stupid man,” she sighs, shaking her head. “You’ve broken your hand.”
I grunt, anger stealing words from my mouth. How could I have been any plainer in my confession about not being Mack? I spelled it out to her. But if she’s going to turn around and say she fucked me, thinking I was somebody else. God, it’ll destroy me.
Fury courses through me. But I know what the feeling’s really masking—total heartbreak. I thought what she and I just did in the lake was amazing, wonderful. A memory I’ll cherish until the day I die. The last thing I think about on my deathbed as I whisper her name before expiring.
Okay, maybe that’s a little melodramatic. But I would have classified it as the hottest, most amazing sex of my life until she threw it back in my face.
I pull my hand away again. “What do you care?” I ask, eyeing her suspiciously. “You don’t want me anyway. You want that goddamned letter writer.”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about right now. I want you, Mateo. Could I have made it any clearer?” she asks, motioning between us. “But you’re so rough and unhinged and wild.” She shakes her head.
“You said you wanted that,” I remind, dipping my hand to numb it in the cool waves of the lake. It already throbs like a motherfucker. I can’t believe I just punched a rock … twice. Talk about a rookie move.
“I did want it. But I still thought for the first time, you’d be gentle. Like you said you would?—”
“In my emails.” I groan. I can’t ignore the pain in my hand any longer. The cold water might be slightly soothing, but the pulsing of blood as it pools in the extremity is too much. I grimace, pulling my hand from the water.
“Look, we can talk about this at the hospital,” she says.
“Hospital? I’m an Army Ranger. I don’t go to the hospital, especially for stupid shit like this.”
“Look at your knuckles,” she says, eyes mastering mine. I look down, watching them swell like an angry toad. “We’re going to the hospital, and we’re going now. End of story.”
“No—”
“Don’t you ‘no’ me,” she says, shaking her head. “You’ve shattered your knuckles, and you’re probably going to need surgery.”
I growl low in my throat, angry at her declaration. But too in love with her to deny her demand. Her concern over my hurt hand is so damn sexy, what I want in a woman, even though I just messed everything up against my will and my knowledge, thanks to Mack. I bring my other hand up, an unexpected wave of tenderness seizing me as I palm her cheek.
Her eyes fill with trepidation before her body relaxes again, my thumb stroking gently over her cheek. “You may hate me right now, Calliope. But please give me another chance. I never meant to hurt you. I would never do that … ever. Please, please, please give me a chance to explain myself.”
I feel like a complete and utter pussy begging her like this. But if she walks away from me now, I’ll never forgive myself.
