But in this case, Mike was just being … an absolute jerk!
"Where were you, Halley?" he demanded again, turning out of the town and heading up towards the mountains.
Halley watched the scenery change. They were heading towards his house. How did she know that? Well, because she knew just about everything about Mike! She knew that his favorite color was blue, that he ran ten miles a day, and that he was the hottest, sexiest, most exasperating, and scariest man she'd ever met.
"Take me home!" she demanded, her heart pounding wildly at the idea of going into his house. She'd never been to his house. She'd never even been up this road. Hadn't dared! Because the only thing up this road was his house and she'd never had the courage to investigate his private domain. This was Mike, after all. If she'd tried to sneak up this road, just for a peek, she knew that she would have been caught trying to see what his house looked like. She'd heard the rumors, but hadn't ever dared to ask Joe, Vince, or Hunter, all of whom had been to Mike's place when it was his turn to host their monthly poker night.
So despite her quivering knees, she was intensely curious to finally see where Mike lived. It would be so much better if she weren't so angry though. The gall of him! Pulling her out of the grocery store like that! By morning, everyone would know what he'd done!
Mike was oblivious to her mental admonitions though. He was too intent on getting her into his house and getting answers out of the beautiful, stubborn brunette. "You're not going to your place, Halley." He turned into a driveway and glanced at her, "Which is exactly what I told you this morning before I drove away. If you weren't listening, then that's your problem."
She wiggled in her seat, getting more nervous as they approached the big building in the distance. It wasn't as huge as her parent's house, or even Joe's. But it was bigger than her own little cottage. Probably twice as big. And gorgeous! The A frame house had a wall of windows that looked out at the valley and the mountains on the opposite side of the town. He could probably see for miles from inside his house. There was also a rough log deck surrounding the house, with a screened in porch on one end.
It really was magnificent from the outside. Her mind was battling her intense curiosity to see where he lived, and an innate dose of common sense which warned her not to enter that building. She'd had enough trouble resisting Mike's caresses last night and, well, again this morning. If she went into that house, she would be lost. So completely lost!
All day long, she'd been thinking about Mike, about their night last night, what he'd done to her and … yeah, how she wanted him to do it again. And again! She was already too far gone! She was scared. Mike scared her. From the very first moment she'd met him, she'd known that Mike was dangerous. After last night, she realized how truly dangerous he was for her.
He parked, turned off the engine and then swiveled around to look at her. "Halley … "
She shook her head, stopping him before he could even finish his statement. "I'm not going into your house, Mike. Just turn around and drive me home."
He sighed, but did he follow her instructions? Nope!
He simply came around to her side of the truck, Halley watching with increasing trepidation. He wasn't going to follow her instructions. She'd known it from the moment she'd uttered the words. Besides, when was the last time Mike had ever taken an order? Never! Why had she thought he would start now?
He yanked open the passenger door, reached over to unsnap her seatbelt, completely ignoring her attempts to stop him, and then simply lifted her out of the truck, carrying her into his house as if she weighed nothing at all.
"Put me down!" she snapped at him, trying to wiggle out of his arms. But the Navy SEAL wasn't taking that. When she wiggled too much, he simply flipped her over his shoulder. She'd gone from being carried into the house with an arm behind her back and under her knees, to being flipped over and carried in like a sack of potatoes.
With her hair in her eyes and her body on fire for him, despite the indignity of what he was doing to her, she continued to struggle. "Mike! Put me down, you stupid oaf!"
His only response was to smack her bottom as he climbed the wooden stairs, pushing open the door and entering a huge room that was both kitchen and family room, complete with an enormous stone fireplace at the back.
"Mike! You are being an arrogant ass! You can't just tote me around wherever you want me to go! I'm not a … " she didn't have a chance to finish that statement because she was suddenly flipped back over, her feet touching the hardwood floor of his entryway.