Branded By The Mountain Man (Thickwood CO)

“Stop using the P word!”

Christ, I can’t even hide the smile this time.

Once the girls leave, Braden lets out a quiet, but drawn out whistle, rubbing the side of his face and watching me very closely.

“Something you want to tell me?” Judd prods.

“I think that’s my line. What are you thinking man?”

“Braden—”

“Cora? Have you got a death wish, Judd?”

“Damn it, Braden, it’s not like that.”

“It’s not? Then do you want to tell me what you’re doing this time of night, alone, in your cabin, with the Fire Chief’s daughter?”

“I’d rather not get into it,” Judd mumbles.

“Same here,” I respond.

We stare at each other and finally Judd laughs. I shake my head.

“You’re playing with fire, Judd,” I warn him.

“I could say the same thing about you,” he replies.

He’s not wrong, so I don’t bother denying it.

“Chief is going to lose his mind when he finds out you’ve been sleeping with his daughter.” I know I’m only telling him something he definitely already knows. Still, I felt compelled to point it out.

“We aren’t sleeping together,” Judd denies.

My brow lifts up in challenge, because I have a hard time believing that. I’ve been out of the game for three years now, but even back then Judd was crazy about Cora.

He stayed away, because she was too young, and her dad literally held Judd’s career in his hands. The only thing Judd has ever wanted in life besides Cora, is being a fireman.

Unfortunately, the only thing Chief Lance wants is for his daughter to be happy and to him that means not having a fire-eater on her tail. That kind of man wasn’t good enough for his girl. He wants her to have a different life. He wants her to have someone safe and dependable.

I like Judd, I know he will be good to Cora, but after the hell I’ve lived through? I’m not sure I disagree with him.

If I had a daughter? The last thing I would ever want is for her to live with a man whose whole life could change in the space of one minute—leaving her to live through hell with him.

Safe and dependable sounds pretty fucking good these days.9Ophelia“I like your friends.”

“Judd is a good man. Dating Cora might not be a wise move for him, but she’s loved him most of her life and I’m pretty sure Judd has felt the same.”

“If they’re in love, then why wouldn’t it be wise?”

“Long story and not mine to tell,” he mumbles, rubbing the side of his neck. “Listen, about what happened back there, it was a mistake.”

I frown, not turning to face him, choosing instead to look out the window. I don’t know him, so I have no idea why hearing him call our kiss a mistake hurts, but it does.

It really does.

“Braden is a nice name. It fits you.”

“So, we’re agreed? The kiss was a mistake and it will never happen again.”

“Does it matter?”

“What?” he literally growls. My eyes widen as I turn to look at him, his hands tighten on the steering wheel and they go white around the knuckles as he clenches them in his frustration.

“It was just a kiss. I enjoyed it even if you didn’t. Why. Does it matter other than that?”

“I didn’t say that I didn’t enjoy it, I did. It’s just that it was a mistake.”

“I don’t think it was.” I shrug, and I find myself cursing his pretty hair, because it’s hiding his face from me.

“Well it was, and it can’t happen again.”

“I don’t agree, but if you don’t want to kiss me again, then don’t. That’s easy enough.”

“You would think,” he mutters under his breath.

“What’s that mean?” I snap.

“It means you keep trying to lure me in.”

“Lure you in?”

“Exactly.”

“You’re saying that I tempted you to kiss me?” I gasp, not quite believing what I’m hearing.

“Are you denying it?”

“Of course, I am!

“Did you or did you not beg me to kiss you.”

“I…You…”

“I rest my case.”

“You’re making it sound like pleaded with you desperately or something like that.”

“You did,” he mutters. “Please, kiss me,” he adds, giving a bad imitation of my voice and making me sound pitiful.

“You make it sound like I ripped my clothes off and threw them down at your feet as I dropped to my knees and pleaded with you as if it was life and death!”

Bogo—picking up on my tension—lunges out of my jacket, stiffens his little body and snorts at Braden. Normally I’d call her back. A pig might not be a dog, but they can bite and it’s surprisingly painful. Bogo has sharp little teeth and right now, I’m even kind of hoping he’ll bite Braden. I don’t care what that says about me, it’s how I feel.

“You’re a woman, so I wouldn’t put it past you. Maybe you discovered my scars were too much to handle and didn’t go that far.”