Free Unleashed: Declan & Kara (Unleashed #1-4; Beg for It #1) by Callie Harper Page B

work.”
    Tears pricked my eyes
and I turned tail. He was so mean to me. It was like he hated me.
    Why did he treat me
like I was a toddler? I was 18. He couldn’t be that much older. I
had to admit, he seemed much, much older, but I wasn’t a baby. Some
girls were married and pregnant—not necessarily in that order—by
my age. He treated me like I belonged in a preschool.
    I fairly ran back to
the big house, grabbed my stuff and burned rubber tearing out of
there in my truck. I didn’t need to stick around and take his abuse
any more.
    §
    Later that night, I let
Bruce take me to a movie. We went on a double date. Mandy was seeing
his buddy from the football team, Vance. First we got burgers and
fries and then we went to see some slasher flick neither Mandy nor I
had any interest in but the guys picked it anyway. I was pretty sure
they hoped we’d end up scared and in their laps or something.
    In the bathroom before
the movie started, Mandy asked me about Declan. “What’s up with
that guy working on your ranch?”
    “Who?” I acted like
I didn’t know who she was talking about, even though I knew full
well. She certainly didn’t mean Bill.
    “You know, the one
who’s hotter than hell! He looks like a freaking rock star or
something. I saw him down at the Shop ‘n’ Save the other day and
nearly pissed my pants.”
    “You saw him at the
Shop ‘n’ Save?” The wistful, whiney quality to my voice wasn’t
lost on Mandy.
    “Oh, it’s like
that, is it?” She gave me a gleeful smile. “Does someone have a
crush?”
    I turned away and put
some lip gloss on in the mirror. “I don’t know what you’re
talking about.” Mandy was always crushing on some guy or another.
I’d always listened patiently, or mostly patiently, sometimes not
so much listening. But I’d never had my own crush to gush about.
Until now.
    Only now I found I
didn’t want to talk about it. Declan was mine. Only he wasn’t
mine and I felt all bent out of shape about it, hot and cold and
frustrated as hell.
    “I’m surprised your
dad hired him.” Mandy came over closer with a conspiratorial air.
“I heard he did some time in Riverside.”
    That got my attention.
“The detention center?” It was about two hours south, a place I’d
heard was rough and full of meth heads.
    “Juvie!” She
declared, all too happy with her revelation. “He’s a criminal.”
    “You don’t know
that.” I brushed her off, snapping my purse shut. “That’s a
rumor.”
    “I heard it from more
than one person so it must be true.”
    I rolled my eyes as we
walked out. “This from the person who found a crop circle.”
    “I did!”
    Back in the movie
theater, we settled in and Bruce’s arm came up around me like
clockwork. The movie was even worse than I could have imagined. Why
did they always go into the dark basements alone? Bruce tried to
stick his tongue down my throat more than once but I fended him off,
frustrated more at myself than at him.
    Why didn’t I want his
tongue down my throat? I wished I did. Life would be so simple. What
was wrong with me now, what switch had flipped to make me want the
wrong guy? A guy with a criminal record, apparently.
    Just as I resolved to
try to be nicer to Bruce, he pissed me off more. Walking to his
truck, he said, “I heard there’s a criminal working on your
ranch.” I groaned. “Your dad must have his reasons for hiring
him, but I want you to steer clear of that guy.”
    “Oh, so now you know
what’s good for me, better than my dad?” I stopped dead in my
tracks, hands on my hips. “Listen, if Daddy hired him he knows what
he’s doing. Declan’s the hardest worker we’ve had on our ranch
in years. So why don’t you mind your own business.”
    I saw Mandy and Bruce
exchange glances. The drive home was pretty silent and I about leapt
out of the car the second it pulled up in front of my house. No
necking in the cab tonight.
    But up in my bedroom, I
felt so restless. Down below, far into