“Don’t like the cold?” he asked easily.
“I enjoyed the snow”—she smiled—“from the comforts of the indoors as I sipped a glass of wine in front of a fireplace.”
He chuckled. “We went skiing in the Alps once.” He soon got lost in his story. As he told her about the family’s ski trip, she picked up on the fact that he’d come from money. She doubted he knew he’d given anything away. Just knowing that his family had once lived in the massive mansion across from the camp had confirmed her speculations even further.
But the day had been long, and she had to hold back a few yawns as the night ran on. There wasn’t any point in prodding any further. What she wanted was a long shower and her bed.
“You’re dead on your feet.” He’d stopped talking and had moved closer to her. When he rested his hand on her arm, she felt her body heat at the light touch.
“Sorry.” She yawned again, covering her mouth with her hand. “Spending the day in the sun always does it to me.”
He nodded and pulled her close. “Thanks for letting me tag along today.” His eyes ran over her face, and she couldn’t stop the heat from building. It had been far too long since a man had looked at her with desire. She had told herself that she wouldn’t fall into traps again, but her body screamed for just a moment of enjoyment.
“It was fun,” she admitted, her voice barely a whisper in the night air.
“I really want to kiss you,” he said softly, his eyes going to her lips. “But you’re my boss.” He shifted. “I won’t, unless you ask me.”
She took in a breath as she imagined how his lips against hers would feel. She could see herself completely melting against him, letting him engulf her and consume her.
That thought scared her, causing her to take a step back.
“I better . . .” She broke off. “Thanks.”
The fact that he had a smile on his lips told her that he wasn’t offended.
She threw the Jeep into reverse and drove the two blocks to the house she called home.
She parked in front of the garage and sat in the Jeep for a while, hoping the cool night air would help with the heat pulsing through her veins from his simple touches.
She walked in the back kitchen door and shut herself into the empty house. As she leaned against the kitchen counter, her mind and her body screamed at her for the lost opportunity of enjoying a man once again.
CHAPTER SEVEN
By the time Liam was back at the campgrounds two days later, he’d hammered out the specifics as to Elle’s past.
Her father, Mark Bronson, was rotting away in a Georgia state prison, serving a life sentence for the murder of Elle’s mother, Emma Rose Bronson.
Once Elle had officially been handed over to Joe Saunders, the courts decided to allow Elle’s name to be changed to protect her from the public, since the case had been very popular in the papers and on television, and she was a minor.
He recounted their conversation to his brothers. She hadn’t told him anything new about her mother’s death, but he’d seen the raw emotion it had stirred. He didn’t figure it had anything to do with his father, but still, they went over everything they knew about her past as if it meant something. To him, it just meant that she’d suffered as a child. Then again, most everyone he knew had had some past misfortunes. Even he and his brothers had lost their mother and watched their prior closeness ebb.
Shortly after her death, Owen had graduated school and gone off to college. His older brother had always had the goal of taking over their father’s business. Then Dylan had moved out of the house after he graduated and went off to pursue his own goals.
By the time Liam graduated high school, he’d realized the three of them had become more like acquaintances than brothers. Once he’d been out on his own, he’d realized that his entire sense of family safety had been a facade.
Sure, Dad had played the doting father figure when he’d been home. But the more Liam had thought about it, Owen had filled more of the father part than Leo had. Even Dylan had taken on some of the role.
Shortly after graduation, he’d moved away for his classes in the Keys, had met Carl and Candace, and had learned what real relationships felt like. Meeting his two best friends had changed the way he’d thought about family. Candace had shown him his fear of loving wholly and that he’d been afraid to open himself up to others. Carl’s push for him to just be himself had given him a baseline for his own success.
The two of them had really given him something that he’d never believed he’d have outside his childhood.
At the camp it was almost as if the brothers had a second chance at closeness, especially having a shared goal, which allowed them to bond.
If nothing came of their time at River Camp, at least they had that. Maybe, once they left the place, they would be a little closer than before.
Later, during his first night back at work, the camp had a talent show in the main dining hall. He was asked to help with a few props some of the guests needed.
Shortly before the talent show, he ran into Elle. Just seeing her in a different elegant silver dress, this one shorter than the first dress, had him wanting her even more. The skirt of the dress flared out so that when she moved just right, her sexy tan legs were exposed. His heart rate spiked.
He suffered through the guest skits; some of them were quite entertaining, while others were cringeworthy. Still, it was obvious that everyone was having fun.
When the pianist started playing after the awards were handed out, he found Elle behind the stage talking to a tall dark-haired man he’d seen serving food as well as walking around the grounds a few times.
“Hey,” he said, getting her attention. Instantly, her smile fell, and she turned away from him as if ignoring him. What had he done to upset her? His mind whirled at their last conversation, but he couldn’t think of anything that would have caused the disdain in her eyes now.
He moved closer and put his hand on her arm, breaking into the conversation.
“Can we talk?” he asked Elle, glancing briefly at the man. “In private?”
He felt her stiffen at his touch.
“Dean, we’ll finish this later.” She reached up and touched the man’s arm. Liam gritted his back teeth.
He took her elbow lightly and started walking toward the exit as he tried to figure out what he’d done to piss her off. He was surprised when she didn’t tug on him to stop from pulling her out one of the French doors that led to the pool area.
“What is this all about?” he asked when they were in the night air. She turned to him, and he could see the frustration behind her eyes. The pool lights made the water ripple, flickering stars over her face and dress.
“What?” She crossed her arms over her chest as she walked closer to the water. When she sat on one of the pool chairs and pulled off her shoes to dip her toes in the water, he watched her every move.
“Why the cold shoulder?” he asked, sitting next to her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The tone in her voice tightened his jaw again.
“Elle.” His voice softened. “I thought we had gotten to a place where we could talk to one another? I thought things left off pretty well between us.”
She jerked her head up until her blue eyes bore into his.
“So did I,” she said quickly. “Apparently, I was wrong.” She turned back to the water.
“Okay, what the hell does . . .”
Just then her cell phone buzzed, and she pulled it out of a small clutch purse.
“Yes.” She held up her finger toward him. She stood up, and if he hadn’t pulled her a step away from the water’s edge, she would have fallen in. “I’ll be right there.” She hung up, then bent to collect her shoes and rushed down the pathway.
He followed her. “What is it?”
“I’m needed inside,” she replied over her shoulder as she continued toward the front doors.
“Elle.” He took her arm, but t
his time she yanked it away.
“I have to go,” she said, her eyes narrowing at him.
“Fine. But we will talk.” Before she could reply, he turned and marched away.
It took a few moments for him to cool off. He decided a nice long walk was in order. He made his normal rounds, checking the outbuildings, the dock area, and the boathouse.
He noticed the lights of the big house across the water were all on and wondered if his father could be over there. This would be the next place on their search list. He headed back inside, feeling slightly better with this new possibility. How could the three of them sneak out of the camp and head across the water to visit the new owner and search for their father? Plans bubbled in his head.
But when he walked into the room that he shared with his brothers, he noticed Dylan’s packed bag next to the door. But, seeing that his brother was fast asleep, he pulled off his own clothes and crawled into his bed. The visit across the water would have to wait. There was no way their father could know they were there yet.
The next morning, Dylan filled him in that Zoey and Scarlett’s father had passed away and that he was going to fly Zoey to Vegas.
“He’s falling for her,” Liam said to Owen after Dylan had left.
“You think?” The sarcasm was obvious in his brother’s tone.
“What do you plan on doing about it?” he asked, pulling on his shoes.
Owen’s eyes narrowed. “Have you found out anything else about Elle?”
“No, she was pissed at me last night. I plan on finding out why this morning when I see her.” He wished he could guarantee that he’d run into her today, but he knew he might have to go out of his way to bump into her. “I thought someone should go across the water and check out our old place—you know, in case Dad decided to go back there.”
Owen frowned as he thought about it. “I’ll check on it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” Owen gave him a look. “If Dad is there, I’ll find out.”
Liam stood up but stopped before he left the room. “Have you thought about what Dylan said? Maybe if we can’t be decent humans along the way, then we’re no better than our father?”
Instead of answering him, Owen shrugged. “Let me know what you find,” Liam said before leaving the room.
Liam found Elle in the main dining hall shortly after breakfast. She was leading a small group of guests in a game of bingo.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I have to fill in for Zoey and Scar. After this, I have to be at the volleyball courts.” She called out a number. “Then I have to be at the stables to take a group out for a picnic lunch.” She called out another number. “Then . . .”
“Okay, I get it.” He held up his hands. “If you have a chance, find me—we need to talk.”
He was turning to go just as an older woman yelled, “Bingo.”
As he headed over to the woodshop, he glanced down at his watch and knew he had almost half an hour before he had a group of guests to lead through making wood bowls. So he worked on a few of his own projects before he got ready for the guests.
By the time he had everything set up, a headache twinged at the base of his skull.
The half-dozen guests in his carving class needed extra help starting the process of making a simple natural bowl. Most of the bowls were no bigger than his fist.
One of the guests, Dane, had some serious skills.
“You’ve done this before?” he joked.
“Shop classes back when they still had them in high schools,” the man answered. “I’ve made a few ashtrays in my day.”
Liam chuckled. “If you ever want to work on something more challenging while you’re here, you’re welcome to stop by again.”
“Thanks,” the older man said. “My wife was hoping that I’d learn how to carve one of those fancy vases you have there.”
Liam had brought a few of his pieces to the camp to highlight his skills.
He walked over and picked up the vase. “This beauty I did when I was in India. Mango wood.” He handed it over. Dane ran his hands over it with appreciation in his eyes. “They use this wood over there a lot when the trees stop producing fruit.”
“Sarah would love something like this. You can’t find this kind of craftsmanship in the stores.”
“Thanks.” He took the vase back when Dane handed it to him. “If you want it, it’s yours. I have others like it.”
“No.” The man shook his head quickly. “I couldn’t . . .”
Liam handed the vase back to him. “A gift. You can tell your wife you talked me down on the price.” He winked at him, then went to help another student.
“Thanks,” Dane called after him. “She’s going to love it. It’s her birthday next week.”
His philosophy on his projects had always been to share them. Besides, to him they were art, and he always got more joy out of sharing his pieces than letting them collect dust on his shelves at home.
When the rest of the guests had left, he worked on a few projects he had going. He carved out a large bowl and finished staining it so it could cure overnight. Then he moved on to finish a small table-and-bench set he was building for the bar patio area. He figured on adding a few unique pieces to the purchased items. Something fun that would set the area apart.
He had already finished a mermaid bench and a palm tree tabletop, and the picnic table he was working on now had dolphins carved into the sides of both the table and benches.
He loved working with wood, using chisels and tools to create shapes where there were none.
As he worked, his mind wandered to Elle and how she’d looked in her swimsuit lying in the soft sand as the sun caused her skin to glisten. How wonderful she’d felt sliding against him as the waves caused their bodies to sway together. He couldn’t help it: his imagination took over, and soon the visions were of them naked, moving together, until he was so hard and horny for her that his shorts were growing tighter.
By the time he was done with the last bench, he’d worked out all his sexual frustrations. His arms were almost numb, and his back ached as he put the finished pieces in the secured shed. It took him almost ten minutes to clean up all the wood shavings from the floor. Since Dylan was off for the next three days, he and Owen were filling in at the zip line area as well. Owen had picked the long straw and was filling in for Dylan that day, while Liam would have the next two days.
He was just finishing up and getting ready to head over to the pool area to fill in behind the bar when Ryan strolled up. He’d been so busy thinking about Elle and that kiss that his attention flagged, and he allowed Ryan to catch him off guard.
“Afternoon,” Ryan purred, her eyes running over him.
He was hot and sweaty. His long hair had inched out of the little knot at the base of his head and now stuck to his neck and face while he cleaned.
“Hi.” He figured he could play nice too. He had just put the broom away, only to discover she’d moved into the small space behind him and had shut the door.
“We need to talk,” she said, moving closer. When her hands went to his shoulders, he blocked them, gripping her wrists and holding them away.
“So, talk, don’t touch,” he warned, wondering what she wanted now. Maybe this was her way of showing him that she held something over them?
She slipped her hands free and started tugging his shirt from his shorts.
“Why do the three of you always play”—she groaned and ran her hand over his shorts, her dark eyebrows lifting slightly—“hard?” She licked her lips and leaned closer.
“Ryan,” he warned her, and he tried to take a step back but came up against the countertop. She’d blocked him in.
He glanced toward the door and thought about making a run for it. But then realized he was a grown man. He’d handled women like Ryan before.
He reached for her wrists again, but she was too quick for him. In one swift move, she ripped his T-shirt
up the center and pushed the rest of the tattered material off his shoulders.
“Mmm,” she said, leaning in.
“What the . . .” A voice from the doorway caused him to jump.
There, silhouetted in the doorway with the sunlight streaming behind her, stood a very angry Elle.
“I expect more from my employees,” Elle said, stepping into the hut. “There’s no handbook about relationships in our workplace. I didn’t think we needed one. However, after seeing this display, I believe I’ll have to write out the rules.” Her arms crossed over her chest. “Ryan, you’re due on shift in ten minutes.”
“I was just . . .” Ryan started, but when Elle’s eyebrows rose, the woman shut her mouth and disappeared through the still-open doorway.
“It’s not what you think . . .” He stopped when those arched eyebrows turned on him.
“I mean it, if you’re going to run around . . .”
He didn’t let her get any further. Closing the distance, he covered those soft lips of hers with his own.
He’d been heated up, it was true, because he’d been thinking about kissing Elle when Ryan had found him.
What he’d imagined had paled to the real feeling of Elle in his arms, pressed up against his bare chest. Her lips were softer and more delicious than he’d dreamed.
She fit him like no other woman had. Her hands were trapped between their bodies, her palms lying flat against his chest so that she could feel what she was doing to his heartbeat.
“There’s nothing between us . . . Ryan and me.” He rested his forehead against hers. “She pretty much just attacked me. Believe me.”
Her eyes snapped into focus at his last words, and she took a giant step back from him.
“I’ll expect better of my employees from here on . . .” She started to move past him, but he stopped her.
“What have I done?” he asked. She could have easily escaped if she wanted. He understood her past and wanted to respect the physical boundaries she had set.
The kiss was a moment of weakness. Seeing her eyes heated had done something to him, something he had instantly regretted. Not because of the kiss but because he’d crossed the lines she’d drawn.
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