Chapter Seven

Emily

I’m late.

Dan is going to fire me. I’m sure of it.

Christ, I cannot afford to lose the job. Despite Callan’s firm promise to protect me, can I really trust him to keep his word? It’s always been me for as long as I can remember and asking me to put all my trust in him when we barely know much about each other is asking too much. At least if feels that way.

I turn my head to look at the man driving me to work, his dark eyes focused on the road ahead and I admit, to anyone who hasn’t interacted with the gentle giant, they would be terrified out of their boots faced with him. My eyes drop to the massive hand clutching the steering wheel and follow the thick veins to the dark tattoos on his arm that disappear into the rolled sleeves of his shirt.

Callan is easily the hottest man I have ever seen and, Christ, I want more than anything to stay. To have those massive arms lock me in his embrace and lull me to sleep. I want to lie down on the couch and cuddle him and his massive dogs until dawn breaks through one of his glass walls.

And when I get up to grab us a snack from the kitchen, I long to feel the man crowd me to the fridge like he did last night. For him to spin me around and drop to his knees and drive his tongue wetly through the slit of my sex until I am begging with the need to come.

Even the memory of it alone sends my sex clenching with need, despite the morning we just had.

“What are you thinking about?” Callan asks, reaching out and taking my hand with his.

I look down at our joined hands, his much larger ones covering mine and I choke back the lump that clogs my throat at the sight. It looks so natural, almost as if we’ve been doing this for ten years and not just a day. Almost as if I haven’t spent the better part of my life swimming through the murky waters of life alone.

Almost as if he’s been here the entire time. By my side. Holding my hand through it all.

“Emily?”

“I was thinking that you still haven’t given me a tour of your place,” I choke out, but Callan doesn’t make any indication that he hears the tears in my voice.

“I’ve shown you most of it,” he says.

“Well, I barely had time to look before you had me backed up against a wall with my legs wrapped around your waist.”

“And that would still be happening if you hadn’t insisted on going to work. You could have taken a sick day.”

“That’s not what sick days are for,” I scold him.

The lump in my throat eases up a bit as we chat about everything and nothing, and when he pulls up in front of the diner, I breathe in a sigh of relief when I notice the closed sign. Okay, maybe I’m late, but I can still make it in before the breakfast rush starts.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you to your place to grab fresh clothes?” Callan asks when I push open the car door.

“There is no time for that,” I tell him, climbing out of the truck. “I have a spare set in my locker. Besides, I’m going to change into the uniform anyway.” The giant climbs out as well and circles the car to me, his hand going around my waist as he pulls me flush against him before I can react. “Cal…”

“I’ll pick you up at four. That’s when your shift ends, right?”

“Four thirty,” I tell him, not bothering to ask him how he knows my schedule when he’s implied so many times that he’s been watching me. Christ, how the hell did I manage to convince myself not to freak out over that fact?

Under normal circumstances, I would label his behavior as that of a stalker except well, this doesn’t feel normal, and the man didn’t make a point to hide it either.

“Okay, I will be here to pick you up…”

His words trail over, and I look up to find him staring at something over my shoulder. My brows draw in confusion when the man suddenly becomes cold. His entire expression goes blank and a dangerous glint shines in his eyes but, when I turn around, I don’t see what it is he is looking at.

This early in the morning, there are only a handful of locals and tourists walking about and a few cars parked on the curb.

“Cal?” I call out, placing a hand on the man’s jaw and forcing his eyes back down on mine. “What is it?”

In the blink of an eye, his entire facial expression softens up and it’s almost as if the cold man from earlier doesn’t exist. “Nothing you need to worry about.” He leans down and kisses my mouth, leaving me even more confused about what the hell is going on.

I turn back around, but I see nothing out of the ordinary which worries me a bit, so I decide to trust him. If he says I don’t need to worry about it, then I believe him.

“Okay then. I’ll head inside now,” I say, nodding at the door. The man nods, slipping his hand into his pockets and I can feel his eyes on me even when I’m not looking. I turn around to wave at him before walking in through the front door.

“You’re late,” greets a deep familiar voice when I walk in. I look up to find Dan and Wendy setting up the dining area. The loud noise from the kitchen tells me that the chef is already prepping.

“I’m so sorry, I promise it won’t happen again.”

Dan is my boss, and I owe him everything. When I first showed up at Sweetheart Falls with nothing but a bag of clothes, he agreed to hire me despite knowing nothing about me. This is another reason I can’t just quit.

“Hey, why are you wearing the same clothes you were in yesterday?” Wendy calls out before I can slip to the back and change. Shit, I should never have stopped here yesterday before going up on the hike. I look down at my leggings and the T-shirt I borrowed from Callan.

“No, I’m not,” I argue. “I had a white shirt yesterday and this one is green.”

Her brows draw and she narrows her eyes on me. “You’re right but those are the same leggings you had on yesterday.”

“You’re mistaken.”

“That shirt is also way too big for you. It’s practically a dress.”

I glare at the nosy girl and the room falls silent, which is quickly broken by the loud sound of an engine truck, which sends Wendy and our middle-aged boss rushing to the window to peek out.

“Oh My God, is that Bigfoot’s brother? Did you hook up with Bigfoot’s brother!?”

I guess the cat is out of the bag now and by lunch, everyone in the town will know this. I never knew this about small towns, but secrets are practically impossible to keep unless they involve the mountain man, then suddenly no one knows anything.

I roll my eyes and head to the back, but the two flank me, making it hard for me to even change, so I figure I might as well tell them what they want to hear so I can finally get to work, and they can go forth with spreading the news.

“His name is Callan, an ex-military man,” I tell them as I grab my uniform from my locker. “And yes, he and I are…”

Dating? Sleeping together? I have no clue.

I mean, the man literally bought property with me in mind. I don’t know what to call our relationship, but Wendy fills in helpfully. “Together?”

I snap my fingers. “Yes, together.”

“When did this start?” Dan asks and I raise a blow. I never placed my boss for gossip, but then again, I understand his disbelief.

“I’m not sure,” I answer truthfully. There has always been this weird sexual tension between Callan and me. “But yeah, we’re a thing now, I guess. Now am I forgiven for showing up late? The man lives so far up in the mountains it took us forever to drive to town.”

Dan nods with a wicked grin on his face, and I bite back a groan, figuring I’ve just made the man’s day. I’ll probably be the topic of discussion all day.

The duo finally leaves me alone, and I lock the door behind me to change out of my clothes. I slide the leggings down, and just like that, I am transported back to the moment in the forest with Callan. His hands trailing my body a moment before he got down to his knees and gave me my first orgasm ever.

No, there is no forgetting that. Ever.

My eyes move to the locked door, and I bite my lip as I try to talk myself out of doing something as insane as touching myself in the backroom of my workplace, but… I can’t get Callan or his touch out of my head.

Every memory with the man is attached to a pleasuring moment and there is no escaping it.

“Don’t do it, Emily,” I warn myself and yet, I find myself sliding my fingers between my legs. My back falls against the lockers, and my lips part in a sigh when I graze the sensitive nub between my legs. I bring my other hand to my tits, pinching them roughly through his shirt, imagining that it's Callan’s much longer and calloused fingers doing it to me instead.

His deep rough voice rasping against my ear and laying claim on me over and over again. I rub the aching bud in fast circles as I remember him calling me “Mine”. His voice is powerful and his hand possessive as he strums my nipples. His tongue is wet and hungry as he laps at my most intimate parts.

I bite back a whimper and close my eyes tightly as pressure builds up in my core. It’s Callan’s face in my mind, his hands on my body as a storm comes crashing through me and I have to bite hard on my lip to stop myself from crying out as my sex pulses hotly through the orgasm. I lock my thighs around my hand as a tremble wrack through me, and it takes a knock to snap me back to the present.

“Emily, are you done? I need to grab my phone from my bag.” Wendy’s voice slowly filters into my mind, and I am quickly reminded where it is that I am. “Emily!”

Oh God. Oh!

“Coming,” I choke out.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I breathe. “I… I bumped my toe on something. Sorry! I’m almost done changing, give me a minute.”

“Okay, hurry up.”

My legs are still shaky as I push away from the locker. I grab some wet wipes from the counter and use them to quickly clean myself before changing into my uniform. My heart is racing fast when I finally let Wendy into the room. She doesn’t say a word as she grabs whatever she came for and immediately leaves.

My legs are still shaky as I make my way to the bathroom, which in hindsight, would have been a better option for my little activity.

Christ, I can’t believe I did that. In a public space of all places. What has Callan done to me?

I manage to get my breathing to normal before I head out to start my shift. The diner gets busy, but I don’t have to guess why so many people would suddenly show up. The town wants to see the girl dating the man that everyone is terrified to approach. For the first time, I experienced what it’s like to be the center of attention.

“You can take a break,” Dan offers apologetically when he notices how worn out, I look after the breakfast crowd leaves.

“Thanks,” I say, walking into the kitchen to access the backdoor that opens to the alley, and it’s not until I am outside that I feel like I am able to breathe again. I roll my neck around to get rid of the kinks, and for the first time since he offered, I consider taking Cal’s offer and quitting my job.

No, I can’t think like that.

Soon, the town will have something else to gossip about, and the attention will come off me. Until then, I just need to hold on a little longer.

I give it ten more minutes before I figure I should head back inside, but I catch the sound of boots stepping in rough gravel making their way towards me. I expect to see someone walking up the alley to take a smoke, but what I see or rather who I see, sends my blood chilling in my bones.

I want to scream, but eyes bluer and colder than ice freeze me to the spot and I’m unable to do anything as I start to shake. He had found me. How? I don’t know. I had been so careful when I ran away from Bakersfield. Only used cash, avoided using my name as much as possible as I travelled. Yet here he was.

“Bobby,” I manage to gasp. His lips part in a menacing grin as he tosses a half-smoked cigarette to the ground and uses the toe of his boot to grind it to dust. His gaze never leaves mine as he does so, and I can feel my heartbeat pounding in my chest. I try to take a step back, but my back connects with the brick wall of the building and when I blindly reach for the doorknob, I find it locked. Shit, I forgot to keep it open so it wouldn’t auto-lock. I should’ve known better.

“Fancy running into you here, Emily.” He says, taking a step closer to me. “I spent quite a while trying to track you down these past couple of months after you decided to leave me high and dry.” He tilts his head to the side to look me over, bringing a hand up to push back his black hair. “Kinda mean of you, to leave like that. Don’t you think Ems?”

Nausea waves through me as I struggle to breathe. His voice is taunting me, daring me to run. He always treated it like a game, teasing me. He enjoyed seeing the fear in my eyes when he would show up at my work with his friends, making crude and suggestive comments of what they wanted to do to me. His teasing eventually became an obsession, stalking me on the way home at night and showing up to my old apartment to see if he could get in.

Now he had found me. I had let myself foolishly believe I had been safe here. That he wouldn’t find me. I should’ve just called in sick and stayed with Callan.

“I saw that man that dropped you off Ems, “He clicked his tongue in disapproval while reaching into his brown leather jacket to bring out a small handgun. I felt my heart stutter as he lazily points it at me before motioning towards his black Mercedes. “Get in the car Ems, now.”

I let him lead me by the arm to his car and he opens the door to shove me inside. He gets in on the driver’s side before starting the engine and squealing out of the parking lot. The gun sits in his lap, one hand on the steering wheel as he brings the other to rest on my upper thigh, his fingers playing with the hem of my uniform.

“Where are we going?” I manage to say meekly, trying to scoot away from his touch, but it only causes him to inch his hand higher.

“Somewhere where I can show you who you really belong to.” Fear floods my veins as I feel my eyes well with tears, I had finally found Callan and now I was about to lose everything I cared about.