by Kate Tilney
“I don’t think it’s broken. But I’d like the doctor to check and make sure you didn’t tear any ligaments.”
Her eyes go wide, and I try to soften my expression. “Don’t worry. The doc is great. And she doesn’t bite.”
Violet gives a tight-lipped grin but doesn’t say anything.
With her go ahead, I lower the zipper on her vest and push it over her shoulders. I swallow hard and ignore the tightening in my lower stomach. I don’t think about how much I’d like to run my hands and mouth over every inch of her bare skin. That doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is that Violet is safe. Sucking in a breath through my teeth, I trace my fingers down the side of her ribs slowly. I watch her face to see if she winces at any of the contact. But she doesn’t.
I finish up the quick examination by checking her legs. She does flinch when I move her right leg.
“My ankle,” she hisses through her teeth. “And my ass. But I don’t think that is broken.”
My lips twitch, and I almost smile again. “It’d be a shame if that ass of yours was broken.”
I turn my attention back to her sore ankle.
“Again, I think it’s a sprain. But we’ll want to check and see just how deep it is.” Resting my hands on my thighs, I meet her gaze again. “We need to get you back to the lodge.”
“I’m not sure I can walk.” She gasps. “You aren’t going to have to get a helicopter or anything, will you?”
Now I can’t help but smile. “No, we don’t need to call in the rescue squad. I’ll carry you.”
“Oh, I’m not sure. I’m not a small girl . . .” She trails off and stares down at her feet. That familiar flush darkens her cheeks.
“You’re just right the way you are.” But based on the look she gives, I don’t think she believes me. My jaw ticks. If I was a betting man, I’d guess someone made her feel less than perfect in the past. I’d like to wring that person’s neck. But, again, that will have to wait. Violet needs care.
As carefully as possible, I lift Violet into my arms. I hand her up to Ezra, and neither of us so much as flinch.
Once I’ve climbed back up, I push back Kevin who has offered to help carry Violet.
“I’ve got you, honey,” I say, taking her back into my arms. She gazes up at me with such fear in her eyes, it nearly breaks my heart. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
And as I say the words, I know I don’t just mean right now. For as long as my heart is ticking, I’ll do everything I can to protect this woman.
Chapter Three
Violet
After three days in bed, I’m about to lose my mind. Yet every time I try to leave, Jules or Silas is there to order me back.
Being an invalid hasn’t been all bad. It’s given Jules and I plenty of time to talk about her new business venture and her upcoming wedding. I have to say, I’m pretty impressed with what Jules has put together in a matter of months. Besides securing investors and manufacturers, she’s also found a few buyers willing to put her first line in their stores. And as she talks about it, her face comes alive. It’s the same way she looks when she talks about Noah. She’s in love. Not just with this man, but with this new life she’s building.
I’m both thrilled and—I hate to admit it—a little bit jealous. Don’t get me wrong. My life is fine. Sure, I don’t necessarily love everyone I work with in the Lady of Leisure marketing department. But I like the work itself.
As for the relationship side . . . I wonder if I’ll ever be able to be that happy. Much as I’d like to put my heart out there and trust again, I just don’t know if I can. I mean, how do you open yourself up to another man when your last two boyfriends violated that trust?
Though, if I did, I have a pretty good idea of who I’d like to give a shot.
After carrying me back to the lodge, Silas stayed by my side until the doctor came that afternoon. Then, he was back with a food tray. He’s also paid me a few visits since. While I wouldn’t say he has been doting, he has been attentive. And that’s nice.
But again, how much of that is job and duty?
Whatever it is, I know I’ll go crazy if I spend one more day cooped up in bed while everyone else is out enjoying this mountain air.
Pushing myself out of bed, I’m pleased to find that after doing a few of the stretches the doctor recommended, I’m only a little stiff and achy. After taking a long, hot shower and drying my messy curls, I almost feel human again.
Opting for a pair of tennis shoes instead of my hiking boots, I make my way down the stairs. I’m nearly out the door when Silas pops out of his office.
“What are you doing?”
“I thought I’d go for a little walk.”
His brows come together. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
I roll my eyes. “I feel great. I just need to move around a little. The doctor said I should, if you’ll remember.”
He stares at me silently for another moment. If he was a stranger, I’d probably wilt under the intensity of it. But now that I’ve gotten to know Silas a little over the past few days, he—like the rest of the guys who work for the lodge—is a big old teddy bear.
Sighing, he runs a hand over his buzzed head.
“Okay, you can go for a walk. But I’m going with you.”
Joining my side, he takes my unwrapped hand in his. It sends a jolt of electricity through me, leaving every inch of my body tingling. Just like it does every time he’s near me.
As we step outside, I take a deep breath through my nose.
“Oh, this is the stuff.”
He glances down at me, and I detect just the hint of a grin. He’s been doing more of that lately—almost smiling.
I turn back to look out at the land around us. “It really is like another world here.”
He nods. “I fell in love with this country the moment I got here.”
“Were you on vacation?”
He shakes his head. “I came up for the job.”
My eyes widen. “You hadn’t been here before you took the job?”
“I figured one place was the same as the other. I just wanted to go somewhere quiet.”
Then he stares ahead in thoughtful silence. I wonder if he’s thinking about his time in the military. Though he hasn’t said anything about it, Jules told me he served three tours. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like. I’ve always stayed pretty close to home. And the most danger I face is driving on I-5 between Seattle and Tacoma.
But not Silas. He’s looked danger in the face time and time again and come out of it the strong, caring man I see here.
Without even realizing I’m doing it, I give his hand a squeeze and lean against his arm. “What’s your favorite part about living in Alaska?”
He tilts his head to consider the question a moment. “This.”
“This?”
He nods and pulls me to a stop. “Close your eyes and don’t say anything.”
Doing as ordered, I clench my eyes shut. With every passing second, I become more and more aware of the sounds of birds chirping and the leaves rustling. I hear the chatter of animals that might be squirrels or some other animal. And as I breathe in deep breaths, the clear air settles in my lungs. Tension I hadn’t even realized I had in my shoulders slips away.
Minute. By. Minute. A calm, peace settles on me. A oneness with myself, the land around me, and the man holding my hand firmly in his.
When I open my eyes again and meet Silas’s dark stare, I feel like a new person.
“That’s it.” His voice is low, the timber echoing in my chest. “That’s why I love this place.”
Silas
I’m getting ready to head out for the bonfire when Hank steps into my office. I arch an eyebrow. “Can I help you with something?”
He shakes his head, but he’s wearing a smirk I’d like to wipe clear off his face. “Couldn’t help but notice you’ve been spending a little extra one-on-one time with one of our guests.
”
“So.”
“Seems to me, you’ve never really spent much time with any of our female visitors.”
“How often do we get any?”
Hank wiggles his eyebrows. “You’re changing the subject.”
“And you’re being an ass.”
Patting me on the back, Hank moves to leave. “I think it’s nice. That’s all.”
“And I think you should mind your own business.”
But he’s gone before I finish speaking.
Scowling at the spreadsheet of bookings on my computer screen, I think about a certain guest who has been occupying more of my time. Hell. She’s taking up most of it. When I’m not making excuses to be around her, I’m thinking about those big blue, violet eyes. And the way her hips fill out a pair of leggings.
The way it felt to have her in my arms, staring up at me like I was a God-damned hero or something.
Pushing myself up, I shove my hands in my pocket and stare out the setting sun. They’re getting things ready for the bonfire, and there she is—my girl. Hmm. My girl. It does feel like she’s become that. I don’t suppose there’s any use in trying to fight that.
She throws her head back and laughs, and my gut constricts. I can imagine the sound in my head almost as clearly as I can imagine what it would be like to take her and make her mine.
My fingers practically itch to do that. If she was any other woman, I would have done something about that already. But Violet isn’t any other woman. When she becomes mine—and I have no doubt she will—I won’t be able to let her go.
My lips curl into a frown as that dick Kevin makes his way toward her. I blame him for Violet’s fall. He might not have pushed her over the edge, but he should have been paying better attention as her hiking partner.
Hell, I should have been paying better attention. But God as my witness, I’ll never let anyone hurt another hair on her head.
Kevin takes a step closer toward Violet, and she takes one back. That a girl. Before I can think twice, I’m out of my office and out the door, stalking toward the two of them. When I’m a few yards away, Violet sees me coming and her face lights up.
It’s like she reached out and caressed my cock. I’m tired of pretending she isn’t the only woman on my mind. When I reach her side, I give a stern look to Kevin.
“I hope you don’t mind, but there’s something I need to talk to Violet about. In private.”
Annoyance flickers in Kevin’s eyes for a minute, but with a nod, he takes a step back. Slipping an arm around Violet’s shoulder, I lead her away from the fire.
“If you’re going to lecture me about being out here, you can save it. The doctor never said I had to stay in bed forever. And going to a bonfire is hardly strenuous activity.”
She’s right. Sitting by a fire isn’t strenuous at all. But what I have in mind most definitely will be. “That’s not what I want to talk to you about.”
Her brow knits together. “Then what?”
“This.” I turn her to face me and press her back against a tree as I bring her mouth to mind.
I swallow her gasp of surprise, along with the sigh that follows as she slides her hands up my chest. She grips onto my shirt and tugs me closer. I oblige, opening her mouth to mine. Our tongues collide, and she lets out a deep moan. Or maybe it’s mine. I angle my head to deepen the kiss, slipping my hands down to cup her ass and pull her up against me.
My heartbeat pounds, pushing desire through my body with every beat. I know this kiss will only end in one way. With our mutual satisfaction.
As gently as possible, ever mindful that she’s still healing, I grip her thighs and lift her up, bringing her legs around me.
I thrust against her, groaning at the feel of her up against my hard length. Ripping my mouth away from hers, I have to tangle my tongue with hers once more before I rest my forehead against hers.
“Come home with me?”
Her lips curve up. “I’d love to.”
Chapter Four
Violet
My body is tingling when Silas lifts me into his arms like I weigh nothing. My eyes flutter open as we reach a small cabin in a clearing.
“Welcome to my place,” he explains as he pushes the door open. Slowly, he lowers me to the ground, my body rubbing over his in a way that sends fresh, delicious waves of delight and tingles through me.
He tugs my shirt over my head and tosses aside. I instinctively hunch my shoulders, as if to cower. But he grips my chin and shakes his head.
“Don’t hide from me, honey. I want to see every gorgeous inch of you.”
Well, two of us can play at that then. Reaching for the bottom of his flannel shirt, I tug it out of his jeans, up and away. My breath catches.
“My God you’re incredible.” Every darn inch of his muscular chest and arms. I can see his full sleeves now. The black ink makes a design from the elbow to shoulder of each of his arms. Sometime, I’ll have to ask him what it all means.
My stomach flutters. This is it. I’m about to get my wham, bam, thank you ma’am vacation fling. Only, the way Silas is gazing into my eyes with enough heat to light the fireplace, I know there will be no wham, bam anything.
I’m also not sure this is just a fling. It feels like more. So much more.
His hands move up and down my side, and I’m practically sizzling in anticipation. He presses a quick kiss just to the left of my lips. And another to the right. Then he takes a light nip at my lower lip, and I’m practically ready to growl.
“Give me one minute.”
Leaving me next to an oversized, handcrafted table, he turns toward the fireplace and lowers to start a fire. Never tearing my eyes from his muscular back as he piles logs, I shimmy out of my leggings and down to my panties and bra. This is so not my MO, but—darn it—he seems to like me the way I am.
Seeing myself through his eyes helps me see my body more clearly. I am beautiful. Those ex boyfriends can kiss my ass for making me ever doubt that.
The fire is roaring by the time Silas turns back toward me. His eyes rove my body hungrily.
“The red looks even better on you than I imagined.”
Before I can answer, I’m back in his arms, his mouth on mine. He lifts me and carries me toward the fireplace. Laying me out on a furry rug, he tears his mouth from mine to explore my body.
His hard hands and whiskered face touch every inch. My toes curl into the fur as he removes my bra and sucks one of my nipples into his hot mouth. I arch up off the ground, calling out his name.
While he suckles me with his mouth, his free hand slides down over the curves of my hip and thigh until it comes to the juncture of my panties. I’m already wet for him. How could I not be? His finger slides under the silk until he finds me.
“Oh, I can’t wait to taste you,” he says, lowering his head to do just that.
His hands and mouth go to work on me. Stoking the fire inside me the way he did the one in the fireplace. I’m making sounds I never knew were in me when. Then, the pleasure inside of me erupts. Ecstasy pulses through every inch of my body. From the tips of my fingers to my toes. I’m all fluid and motion.
I’m all his.
I slump back into the rug, my eyes clenched shut. When I can finally breathe and open them, I find him hovering over me.
“What are you waiting for?”
He gives a half grin. “I need to grab a condom.”
“I’m on the pill. I’ve been tested,” I rush out, my body already eager to feel him—and just him—inside of me.
“I’m clean too.” He nuzzles the side of my neck.
Then, bracing himself on his forearms, he thrusts into me.
“Oh, God.” My eyes clench shut again. I can feel him quiver against me as he groans.
Then he moves in and out of me again. Every delicious inch of him. Over. And over. And over again. Until that familiar feeling tugs at my belly again. Building and growing. I come apart again in another orgasm as he plunges inside of me
once more, finding his own.
My name on his lips, he falls to his back, pulling me with him.
As we lie there, our chests rising up and down as our breaths and pulses return to normal, I’m not sure why or how it happened. But I feel so open with Silas. Not just in the bedroom. I feel like I could tell him my life story, and he wouldn’t bolt.
So that’s what I do. Curled up in front of a roaring fire, spread out over him on a bear-skin rug, I tell him about what I love and hate about my job. I tell him about my family. I tell him about the jerks I’ve dated who left me feeling broken and unwanted. Then, instead of telling me to be quiet and go to sleep, he tells me his story. He tells me about serving in the Middle East during his military career. He tells me about his tattoos. He tells me about the women who weren’t in it for the long haul.
We talk on and on into the night. By the time the fire is burning down to embers, and I can barely keep my eyes open, I know. This man is different from any other I’ve known.
I could spend the rest of my life with him right here, just like this. It’s both a thrilling and somewhat terrifying thought. But for now, I’ll choose to be thrilled. I can deal with the nerves later.
Chapter Five
Silas
I’m buttoning up my flannel shirt when Violet steps up behind me. She slowly slides her hands around my waist and up my still bare chest, sending my heart racing.
She pokes her head around my shoulder, and I meet her gaze in the mirror.
“I have to meet my tour in fifteen minutes.”
“I know.” Then her hands move down, pushing mine away as she unbuttons my shirt and reaches for the clasp at the top of my jeans. “I only need ten.”
Then her hand dives under my jeans, grabbing my already throbbing cock. She silently urges me to turn around and lowers to her knees. Groaning, I clench my eyes shut and give up my protests.
True to her word, I’m out the door ten minutes later, decidedly more satisfied than I had been before. Ezra catches the grin on my face when I jog up to the lodge, and he rolls his eyes.