by Tessa Bailey
Summer in the Blue Ridge Mountains meant the heat wrapped itself around you and held on. I abruptly thought she needed more clothes on. Her skirt was some cotton stretchy thing that fell to her knees in a little twirl. Atop that, she wore a loose T-shirt. Unfortunately, I vividly recalled just how her breasts felt against me, so I knew what was hidden under there.
The sound of someone clearing their throat nudged into my awareness, and I tore my eyes away from Valentina’s delectable ass to find Wade standing beside me, leaning on his pool stick. “Nice view?” he asked, his tone deadpan.
“Shut up,” I muttered.
Wade chuckled. “Nah, not going to shut up. Far as I’m concerned, it’s nice to see you noticing anyone.”
I caught his eyes and rolled mine in return.
Valentina straightened, smiling over at Dawson. She lifted a hand and tucked a curl behind her ear. It didn’t skip my notice that Dawson took a nice long look at Valentina.
An irrational bolt of possessiveness struck me, demonstrating precisely why I’d lost my damn mind.
Dawson was a friend, and most of the time, I had nothing against his predilection for playing the field. Dawson liked a good time, and he never led anyone on. Yet Valentina deserved better.
“Chill, dude,” Wade said from my side.
I slid my eyes to him. “Since when are you my keeper?”
“Since you look like you want to kick Dawson’s ass just for noticing Valentina is hot. He won’t lay a hand on her. She’s hot, but she’s totally not his type. Too damn innocent.”
I almost groaned aloud. If only Wade knew the half of it. Before Valentina told me, I might’ve thought she threw off a hint of innocence—because she did—but I’d never have guessed she was a fucking virgin.
The tension bundled up inside me, the result of me trying to keep my body in check for hours, eased slightly. Because Wade was right. Dawson went for party girls. While Valentina clearly could hold her own in a game of pool and didn’t shy away from a few drinks, she was no party girl.
I sighed. “I know.”
Dani conveniently distracted Wade from giving me more shit. She started up with him about some order they needed to take care of. With Dani running the lodge restaurant and Wade helping Jackson mostly run the outdoor adventure scheduling, those two, fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you looked at it, bumped into each other enough to rub each other the wrong way.
If not for the fact I had abruptly decided to get the hell out of there, I could’ve waited to call him on his own bullshit. As it was, I didn’t think it was a smart plan for me to hang tight and wrangle with feeling possessive over Valentina.
I paid my tab and made sure to cover Valentina’s. I was torn at the moment. I could easily leave and let her know to catch a ride back with someone else, but that didn’t feel quite right. Not to mention, even if I was half out of my mind, I was at the end of my tether with her.
Chapter Fourteen
Valentina
I leaned my head back to look at the sky just outside my cabin. The heat from the day still held the night air in its grip. Although the nights were cooler, cool was a relative term when some days had over ninety percent humidity. The air was so laden with moisture it slammed into you when you stepped outside. I loved the night air because it was soft and held the fading scent of flowers.
Lucas stood beside me, his presence quiet. My pulse had been running wild ever since we left the bar. I was trying to catch my breath, but all I could manage were shallow gulps of air.
The stars were bright in the night sky with the moon peeking out from behind wispy clouds drifting through the darkness. After taking a shaky breath, which did absolutely nothing to slow my thundering pulse, I brought my gaze down and let my eyes slide sideways to Lucas.
We had stopped in the trees between the parking area and the winding path to where the staff cabins were scattered. I idly wondered where Lucas stayed when he spent a weekend here.
I learned from Dani, who was ever helpful, that when Jackson was gone, Lucas often stayed on for the weekend to help manage everything. Between the guests, the various adventure trips, and the first responder work, there was no shortage of things to do.
He’d been quiet on the drive back from the bar. But then, Lucas was usually quiet, and for the most part, quiet didn’t bother me. Yet, just now, I was unsettled with my body revving like an engine. I wanted to ask a million questions.
I was restless and anxious, but not in a bad way. I was ready to get this over with. When I looked his way, heat flared in the air between us. His eyes dipped down, the feel of his gaze akin to a flame flickering over the surface of my skin.
All we had for illumination was the soft, silvery light of the moon filtering through the trees. Through the darkness, the small light on my porch glowed ahead.
Lucas turned, stepping closer and reaching for one of my hands. I didn’t even hesitate. I was happy to just hand myself over to him, which was insane really. I trusted him completely, and I didn’t know why.
Well, that wasn’t quite true. Jackson and Shay trusted him, and so did Dani. I knew he was a good man. After seeing him with Rylie, my heart cracked open a little because he adored her so clearly. It was downright endearing to see the look of love on his usually stark and somber face when he looked at his daughter.
While growing up with my funky parents who loved me and had their own unique view of the world, my mama had told me to save myself for the right man, for a man who I knew would love me.
Somehow, I knew that Lucas was the right man even though love had nothing to do with it. I’d wager Lucas had no intention of loving me or any other woman. After hearing what happened, I surmised he was a guarded man with good reason.
That was completely okay with me. I didn’t need to be head over heels in love. I just needed to do something with all the sensation and emotion spinning through my body. With the way I felt the two times he kissed me, I had complete faith this would be about as good as it could get.
When the pad of his thumb brushed across the back of my hand, the slightly calloused surface was rough against my skin. I was surprised I didn’t melt like butter—given the humidity of the night and the fire that burned inside whenever he was close.
I looked up at him, watching as his gaze coasted over my face. I didn’t know what thoughts were passing through his mind, but I was suddenly impatient. I needed something concrete, something to hold onto.
So I stepped closer, resting my palm on his chest as I leaned up on my tiptoes, meaning to kiss him. His mouth kicked up at one corner, and my belly felt funny, all shivery and hot, and almost ticklish.
Before I could ask him what was funny, he said, “You are something else, Valentina.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, my question coming out a little raspy.
I was close enough to feel the hardness of his body. He was all muscle, every inch of him. With my palm resting on the muscled plane of his chest and my eyes trailing over his corded arms, I knew, I just knew, I couldn’t wait to see him bare.
“You should be nervous, and you’re not,” he said softly. “I feel like I should warn you.”
“No, you should kiss me.”
Lucas’s mouth kicked up at the other corner. His hand tightened around mine to tug me a little closer as his other hand glided down my spine, his touch a blazing a path of heat through my T-shirt.
“As you wish, darlin’,” he murmured as he bent low. He paused when his lips were but a whisper from mine. “You sure?”
That brief pause sent my pulse into the stratosphere. I felt as if my entire body was leaning toward something, teetering on the edge of a cliff, about to leap forward and fly. I wouldn’t fall. I knew that. Because Lucas was just the kind of man to catch me.
He waited while my heart pounded and blood rushed through my ears. I realized he was waiting for me to actually answer. Sweet Jesus.
“Yes!”
Just when I wanted him to rus
h, to dive into this and treat it like the race my body thought it was, he did the exact opposite. His lips brushed across mine once and then twice. He dropped a kiss at one corner of my mouth and then the other. His arm wrapped securely around me, pulling me close and holding me tight against him. He was so strong, so steady.
I felt as if I might spiral out of control and quite likely would’ve, yet he would be there to keep me from spinning loose. Only after I gasped did he fit his mouth over mine and thread his hand into my hair. He swept his tongue into my mouth, capturing my moan in our kiss.
With the moon shining down from above, Lucas kissed me as if I were the center of his universe. I lost all sense of time and place. My senses were firing with a multi-faceted focus—Lucas, the feel of his mouth, the soft prickle of his beard, the strength of his embrace, and the utter decadence of his hard-muscled body against mine.
I’d never been so hyper aware of my softness. Everywhere I was soft, he was hard. My breasts pressed against his chest, and I felt the curve of my bottom under his hand as he palmed my ass.
I have no idea how long he kissed me in the trees in the hot, sticky summer night. He tasted decadent, a hint of mint mingling with his musky scent. I wanted to eat him up, to have all of him to myself—my own personal playground.
However long that kiss lasted, when he broke free, I instantly felt myself leaning forward as if scrambling for more. He cupped my nape and leaned his head back. His body was taut, his heart beating hard like a drum. I could feel it pounding along with my own wild heartbeat.
He murmured something indecipherable.
“What?” I asked.
“Let’s get inside,” he replied, his tone tense, bordering on something that sounded like anger.
I didn’t know how to interpret it. Because I was me and I never hesitated to ask questions, out stumbled a question. “Are you upset?”
Lucas was easing his hold. I’d been on my tippy toes with no weight on my feet as he held me against him. He stepped back slightly, one hand catching mine and the other sliding down my shoulder and arm, his thumb pausing at my elbow and tracing over the soft skin there.
Every touch made me hyper aware of areas on my body I never thought much about. For example, that tiny strip of skin where my elbow bent was insanely sensitive to his touch, little streaks of fire racing away and butterflies taking flight to spin wildly in my belly.
I tried to catch my breath, but my lungs weren’t having it, and I was barely able to get in more than a shallow gasp.
“Oh no,” he said, his tone low and intent. “I’m far from upset, Valentina. It’s just you make a man crazy.”
I searched his face, watching as his eyes softened. Without another word, he turned, striding swiftly along the path with my hand held in his strong grip, the pine needles crunching under our footfalls.
Chapter Fifteen
Valentina
Within minutes, we were in my small cabin, the contrast of the cool air sending goose bumps chasing over my skin. We were smack dab in the middle of some of the hottest days of summer. The August heat could be oppressive even after the sun slipped below the horizon.
The cabins here were far from rustic. They were small, but they were all connected to central air. During daylight, they were bright and airy with sunshine falling through the windows. A light pine ceiling that angled high above gave the studio room a sense of space. There was a bed, a small bench, and a dresser.
The tiny kitchen at the corner had just enough room for a small refrigerator, a microwave, and a coffeemaker. I hardly ever used it, but in a pinch, it would do. My luxurious bathroom was the biggest bathroom I’d had in my life. My parents were solidly middle class, so I had shared a bedroom and bathroom with my little sister, always cluttered with towels and the mess we made.
At the sound of the door clicking shut, I turned to find Lucas right there. I hadn’t thought through this part because I had no experience to go on. Just when I started to get anxious and wonder what I should do, he caught my hand and reeled me right back into the kiss from moments ago.
This time, his hands roamed over my body as he nearly drove me out of my mind with nothing more than a kiss. Though I didn’t have much to compare it to, I suspected very few kisses could measure up to one from Lucas.
His kiss was a mix of slow and fast, soft and hard with deep sweeps of his tongue as his mouth worked over mine masterfully. All the while, pinwheels of heat spun like fire through my body. My knees went weak as sensation rushed over me.
He read my body like a book, and before my knees collapsed, he lifted me, turning and setting me on the bed, one of those tall four-poster beds. He slid my hips onto it, then stepped back.
Just now I noticed I’d somehow kicked my shoes off, catching sight of them out of the corner of my eye. Sensation stole my breath, my pulse thundered out of control, and the butterflies in my belly fluttered, distracting me. An insistent neediness gathered inside, rolling into itself, the force intensifying.
I didn’t even notice when I rubbed my thighs together in a futile effort to ease the pressure building there. I could feel the slick moisture between my legs, and my panties were wet with my arousal.
“Oh now, darlin’, you’re gonna kill me,” Lucas said as he stepped between my knees, trailing his finger down the side of my neck and along my collarbone to dip down into the valley between my breasts. Oh, how I wanted that finger to keep on moving. His touch was a blaze of fire, and my nipples were so tight they ached.
Unfortunately, he stopped, the pad of his finger pressing right there between my breasts. My entire body was vibrating from that one tiny spot.
“Don’t stop!” I burst out.
I got one of those delicious smiles from him. It was small and sly, and oh my God, it made me rub my thighs together again.
His gaze darkened. “God help me,” he murmured as his hand dropped down. The backs of his fingers grazed one of my tight nipples before he caught the hem of my T-shirt, pulling it up and over my head in one smooth move.
The air was cool on my skin, the contrast only heightening the heat building inside. With my skin slightly damp from the humidity outside and the cool air conditioning in here, my skin prickled.
Looking up, I watched his eyes sweep over me and linger on my breasts. My bra was dark navy silk to match my navy T-shirt. I wasn’t much for worrying about what I wore and tended to go for comfort, but I preferred nice underwear. It was a small thing I did for myself. With Lucas’s gaze on me, I realized perhaps it wasn’t just for me.
My T-shirt had fallen into a pile on the floor beside the bed, and I wanted his to join it. Just as I reached for the hem of his shirt, he flicked his thumb on the clasp of my bra. My nipples puckered tightly. With a shake of my shoulders, my bra slid down my arms. He tugged it free and tossed it to the floor to join my shirt.
The air around us felt heavy, nearly vibrating from my anticipation and desire. My sex clenched, and I became acutely aware of the slick heat at my core. I wanted to rub my thighs together again to ease the ache there, but I couldn’t, not with him standing between them.
“So here’s the thing,” he began as he lifted a hand to cup my chin, his thumb tracing slowly along the edge of my jaw. “You follow my lead. Think you can handle that?”
A hot thrill shot through me, zinging like electricity straight to my core. There was something so decadent about him being a little bossy. Part of me wanted to surrender to it while another part of me wanted to push back, to ask questions, to demand.
Although I was mostly an obedient girl growing up, that was my downfall—always getting in trouble for asking too many questions and pushing back and talking when I was expected to be quiet.
His thumb circled my lips, and my tongue darted out to taste him. His eyes narrowed, and his mouth kicked up at the corner. “I think you might wanna argue with me about that,” he said softly, his slow drawl sending my belly into a flip.
I shrugged, feeling my skin tingle and
my nipples tighten with him so close. “Maybe,” I finally said.
His low chuckle sent another wash of heat over my skin. “You do that, darlin’,” he replied just before he brought his mouth to mine again, his hand sliding into my hair, gripping lightly as he angled my head to the side.
The brush of his beard against my cheek was yet another sensation tangling up with the others. The subtle tickle nearly undid me.
This kiss took things to another level entirely—hot, wet strokes of his tongue against mine as he devoured my mouth. By the time his lips broke free from mine, I was gasping for air as his tongue blazed a hot, wet path down the side of my neck. One of his hands slid down my spine to cup my bottom. He tugged my hips to the edge of the bed as he stepped a little closer.
My skirt had ridden up around my hips. I whimpered when I felt the hard ridge of his arousal through the denim of his jeans pressing against the thin silk of my panties. I could hardly focus with streaks of fire racing through my body. I felt awash in need, tumbling and stumbling from it. I wanted to pay attention to every touch, yet I was so intoxicated by him I couldn’t focus on anything. His other hand lifted, the backs of his fingers trailing over the curve of my belly to cup one of my breasts, his thumb brushing back and forth across the aching peak.
A flickering corner of my mind was barely conscious and aware I was about to get caught in the undertow of the desire rushing between us. Once that happened, there would be no stopping it. This was all too much, all too good.
He dipped his head, his mouth closing over a nipple. The pleasure was piercing, and I cried out as he drew away. The cool air hitting my damp skin tightened my nipples even further. I could hardly take it.
Lucas lifted his head from where he was tracing his tongue over my collarbone. Who knew my collarbone was an erotic zone? Certainly not me.