Page 32 of The Billionaire Who Hated Me (Until He Loved Me)

“You don’t know the first thing about what I think now, or what I’ve thought in the past, or what I might think in the future.”

“What do you want with Sulfur Springs, anyway?Let’s just say you and your daddy get what you want, and my father agrees to sell it to you.What’s your vision for it?Mining?A casino?A hot-tub honeymoon destination?”

She looks up at me, her eyes hard and her lips pulled thin.“You’re a real asshole, Callum MacLaine.A complete douchebag asshole.”

I have to laugh.“I’mthe asshole?You’rethe one showing up here without an invitation, thinking we’re just some dumb bumpkins that you can just stomp all over with those ridiculous shoes.”

Her eyes pop.“Really?You’re a fashionista now?A critic of women’s luxury footwear?”

We’ve reached the top of the hill where the Jeep is parked.I want to push her to her snapping point, find out what she’ll say if I keep interrogating her.For some reason, I can’t stop pushing, when none of it really matters.She’ll be leaving here, and I’ll never see her again.

“I’m just wondering why your daddy sent you out here so thoroughly unprepared.You don’t have a clue who we are and what we do.It’s almost like he’s setting you up to make a fool of yourself.”

Victoria stops walking.She pounds a hiking boot into the dirt.“Now that’s rich coming from a grown-ass man who siphons off his poor father while wasting money trying to make a go of a tech startup!Your father’s a widower who’s barely managed to keep his family business afloat!How do you even live with yourself?”

My mouth falls open.I stare down at her and determine she’s not joking.Her face is flushed pink with frustration, and her stare is lava-hot.

She doesn’t know about StellaR Tech.

“Hold up—”

That’s when I hear it, the unmistakable hissing and crackling sound of a Western diamondback rattlesnake about to strike.

Without thinking, I lift Victoria in one arm and throw her over my shoulder, grabbing my Smith & Wesson snub-nose from the tactical belt at my waist and removing the safety.

“What the fuck—?”

The single shot echoes off the canyon walls and the snake drops dead, the poor creature no match for the .38 Special round.I hate I had to do that.I should have known better, with all our shouting and boot-stomping.The snake was only protecting its territory.

Victoria’s screaming now.She’s kicking too, connecting hard with my knee.Her fists are pounding my back, and it hurts like a bitch.I just keep walking, slipping my revolver into the holster and opening the Jeep door.I throw her in the seat.

“What the hell gives you the right to manhandle me like that?Holy shit!You’re such a—”

I tune her out.I return to the scene of the crime, grab my coat from the dirt, and reach down to retrieve what’s left of the six-foot-long rattlesnake.I lift the creature up and spin around, making sure she sees it.

The silence is deafening.

I fling the dead reptile over the hill, knowing that a coyote, hawk, or any one of the ranch’s predators will snatch it away in no time.I walk toward the Jeep.Victoria is seated with her long legs hanging over the side of the passenger seat, her mouth wide open in shock, and tears in her eyes.She watches every step I take.

She could have died.My mind is blank except for that single fact.Victoria could have died on my watch.

I reach her.I wrap my coat around her shoulders and tug it tight across her breasts.Her eyes lock on mine as I lift her up and crush her against my chest, then take her with my mouth.

She welcomes it.She welcomesme.

How did I already know what Victoria would taste like?How did I know that she would surrender under my lips?This girl is fucking delicious and would be delicious to fuck.

Her lips are slick and hot and seek me out.She starts making the sweetest little moans of pleasure as I let my tongue explore her.

I want this woman so fucking bad.But it can’t happen.Won’t happen.It’s impossible.

I loosen my grip and let her fall back to the seat, then spin her around and lock the belt across her lap.She looks thoroughly ravished and just as stunned.She’s trembling.

“Put your arms in the coat and button up.It’s getting cold.”

CHAPTER 19

Victoria