by Tessa Bailey
Although I was in the hot seat at the moment, I didn’t miss Dawson’s too alert gaze when Wade mentioned Evie’s name. Dawson was a player. He was a good guy, but he had a rotating door in his bedroom or, rather, in the bedrooms of women around town.
I wasn’t much for gossip, but I was plenty observant, and it hadn’t escaped my notice that Evie was in a category of her own when it came to Dawson. Oh, he teased her, and he flirted with her, but the man flirted with everybody. However, his interest seemed a notch higher than usual with her. She also knew how to get under his skin.
After another swig of water, I noticed two expectant pairs of eyes waiting. “I don’t have a thing going on with Valentina,” I said with a sigh.
That was a blatant lie, but I damn sure didn’t feel like chatting with anyone about Valentina and me. It felt too private, and I couldn’t even think straight when it came to her. I made no bones about the fact I had no intention of getting serious. All the guys knew Rylie was my priority. All the guys also knew I found ways to get my needs met when the urge got too strong. But those ways were practical, no strings, and certainly didn’t involve anyone I worked with.
Dawson swung his eyes back to me, his gaze disbelieving. “If you say so. But I know how that girl looks at you, and we sure aren’t blind either. Don’t get me wrong, she is seriously easy on the eyes, so I definitely don’t blame you for looking a little too long.”
Wade chuckled, and I was relieved he let it drop. I was friends with Dawson, and he was a damn good guy. As much as he teased, he was solid as a rock out on calls as a first responder, though I didn’t have a friendship with him the way I did with Wade. I knew Wade knew my interest in Valentina was more than fleeting.
Conveniently, Dawson’s phone blared out several sharp buzzes. “Gotta take this, guys. Speaking of women, I have a date tonight.”
He tossed his now empty bottle of water in the recycling bin in the corner and strode out the open front door. Wade took a long drag of his water before lowering the bottle and holding my gaze. “All right, man, it’s none of my damn business, but I’m just gonna say one thing.”
“Just one?” I countered, my tone dry.
In reply, his tone was dry as dead grass. “I know you have priorities. Well, mainly one—Rylie. And I get it, man. She’s your daughter, and her mom is dead. She’s got you, your family, and the rest of us. But this thing with you acting like you are never going to give another woman a chance? It’s fucking stupid, man.”
I opened my mouth, about to make some bullshit cutting remark about him, but he silenced me with a look. “I’m sure you’re tempted to give me some shit, but save it for another day. I’m trying to be your friend. If something is up with you and Valentina, that’s none of anybody’s damn business. My point isn’t really about her because that’s not what I’m talking about right now. If the right person comes along, Rylie could have another mother. Mothers take every shape and form. She’ll always have Melissa, but Melissa’s gone. You know I was adopted and for the very same reason after my mom died. The only mother I remember is the one I have. And thank fucking God my dad gave her a shot.”
I wanted to point out that, as far as I knew, his birth mother hadn’t screwed around on his dad behind his back. But that wasn’t his point, and it sure as hell didn’t matter today.
My throat tightened, and I paused to drain the bottle of water, swallowing right through the pain. “I get your point, man,” I finally said. “I guess we’ll just see what happens.”
Wade looked surprised at my reply.
I laughed. “I do get your point.”
He stood, kicking the crate away as he did. “Hot damn, maybe Valentina is the one. It’s going on four. As far as I’m concerned, let’s call it a day since we’re ahead of schedule as it is, and we can start early tomorrow before it gets too hot. You cool with that?” he asked.
“Absolutely. I’ve had my fill of being hot and sweaty.”
* * *
Hours later, I was once again tortured by Valentina’s presence. Per Jackson’s request, I’d gone over again to take care of the horses. I hoped—even if I didn’t want to admit it to myself—to have a few minutes alone with Valentina.
No such luck. Evie was there, chattering away the whole time, as she tended to do. Wade stopped over to let me know a load of hay would be delivered tomorrow as well. I went from that little crowd to an even bigger crowd over dinner at the lodge.
With it being the weekend, Dani was busy managing the restaurant and the evening meals there. As she often did, she managed to throw something together for the staff. No matter what she made, it was delicious. Tonight, she had made a cucumber salad paired with fresh cornbread and macaroni and cheese with ham.
Whether it was deliberate or not, when I approached the picnic table at the back of the kitchen, Wade scooted over to make room for me beside Valentina. Because that was what I needed—to have her scent drifting up to me, and the feel of her body warm and soft beside mine.
I didn’t trust myself not to lay a hand on her, no matter how deep the temptation ran. I could feel her thigh brush mine. Of course, when I looked her direction, I had a rather excellent view down the V of her T-shirt. Fuck me.
Ryan was sharing a story about a kayaking trip earlier that ended with him in the river tugging out two sopping wet college women. He scrubbed his hand in his hair and shook his head. “I swear to God, I get so tired of people not buckling their life jackets. It’s a simple enough thing.”
Dawson winked. “Ha, wish I’d been in charge of that trip.”
Evie pursed her lips and cast him a glare. “Is there any situation you don’t take advantage of?”
“Not that I know of, sweetheart,” he replied with a sly grin.
Ryan chuckled and paused to take a sip of his beer. Wade interjected, deftly moving the topic onto something else. “So, Evie, are the rumors true about Mack?”
Evie cast a bright smile at Wade and nodded. “Yup. He’s moving back sometime after this fall. I can’t wait.”
“I don’t think I’ve met Mack,” Dawson added. “He’s your older brother, right?”
“He sure is,” Evie replied.
Valentina paused to sip her wine. “I don’t think I’ve met Mack.”
“Well, you didn’t go to school with us,” Evie offered. “You were homeschooled, right?”
Valentina sighed. “Yes. It was kind of lonely. Wish I’d known y’all growing up. The only kids I knew were the ones who went to my parents’ church.”
I marveled at that detail. Although I didn’t think Valentina was a wild girl, as evidenced by her still virgin state, I imagined it chafed at her to be sheltered like that when her personality was so open and curious.
Grace Lakes, who only occasionally joined us for dinners, cast a wide-eyed glance at Valentina. “Really?”
Valentina nodded, brushing a loose curl off her cheek. “It was okay. Life is what it is. Don’t go thinking my parents were too strict. They were in some ways but not in others. They were recovering hippies who fell in love with Jesus and wanted to homeschool me because they didn’t think the public education system was good enough. As it was, I passed all my high school testing exams by the time I was seventeen and went to college early.”
“Even though I went to public school, my parents were crazy strict. Yours at least sound a little nicer than mine,” Evie commented.
Valentina shrugged, and just then, Dani poked her head through the swinging doors that led into another section of the kitchen. “Grace, you mind starting a little early tonight? It’s already nuts out there,” she called.
“Give me a few, and I’ll be right there,” Grace called in return.
The conversation shifted after that interruption, and as the dinner gathering broke up gradually, Valentina’s nearness continued to torture me. Part of me was tempted to take a rain check. Not because I actually wanted to, but because I thought I was tempting fate in a dangerous way.
I wan
ted Valentina way too much.
As people filtered out, I stood from the table with the pretense of going to the bathroom. Entering the men’s room, I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, taking in a gulp of air.
The subtle flush that crested Valentina’s cheeks lingered in my thoughts. I kept telling myself I could keep this compartmentalized, but I liked Valentina. Too damn much.
No matter how hard my rational brain tried to tell me this was a bad idea, there was no way in hell I was putting on the brakes tonight.
Chapter Eighteen
Valentina
I was seriously annoyed. When Lucas didn’t reappear from the bathroom, it became obvious he didn’t intend to come back and had slipped out the back, so I decided to head back to my cabin. I’d been lingering and waiting like an idiot.
When we were close to each other, that hum started up between us as if we were caught in an electrical current of our own making. Yet it was clear to me that Lucas had shifted gears back to the way he used to treat me—quiet and hardly ever looking in my direction.
I supposed I could be grateful for last night, but most of me was beyond disappointed. Because somehow, I sensed it wasn’t usually so easy. Every touch from him was so decadent, the pleasure cresting so high, I felt as if I’d been floating in the aftermath.
Slipping out the door, I stepped into the warm, humid evening and cut across the stretch of lawn behind the lodge into the trees to the path that led to my cabin. Twilight was falling, stealing the day for the night. The last lingering rays of the hot summer sun faded to a white gold above the mountains, that famous blue gaze barely shimmering in the smudgy sky.
I loved how the sky faded from violet to blue over the mountains at dusk. It seemed magical. I walked up the small rise in the trees, and I could hear a nearby stream bubbling. It was just warm enough that my skin was damp. Twisting a bracelet on my wrist, I took several deep breaths. I didn’t like the way I felt—rejected.
My heart stung a little. Like a tiny cut across the surface, just enough to make me wonder if maybe I wanted a bit more from Lucas in ways I hadn’t allowed myself to consider. No matter. I needed to forget about him.
Angling through the trees, I paused beside an opening, gazing at the moon over a mountain ridge in the distance. It was nothing more than a curved slice of light in the sky. An owl called in the trees, and I heard the heavy sound of its wings in the air as it flew by.
Turning, I picked my way along the path in the darkness. Moments later, I looked ahead toward my cabin, and my breath caught in my throat. My pulse immediately lunged, and I stopped so abruptly I was surprised my feet didn’t actually skid on the pine needles.
Lucas stood on my porch with a shoulder leaning against one of the supports. On the small porch, he was a strong presence in the darkness. He was looking off to the side and turned when a startled squeak escaped me.
My heart felt as if a kite had tugged it hard, yanking it upward and leaving me breathless. I watched as Lucas stepped off the porch, walking toward me. I felt as if I were being pulled by a string, my feet just started moving until I stopped right in front of him.
“I thought you broke your promise,” I said.
I hadn’t even considered my words, but I’d been thinking I wished he hadn’t promised me anything.
Lucas’s eyes widened. “Jesus, Valentina. I had no idea where the hell you went. You had me worried.”
I stared up at him, sensing he was legitimately worried. “Where would I go?”
His brows hitched up. “Well, I came out of the bathroom, and you were gone. I figured I could catch up to you in a hot second, but you weren’t on the path. Did you go somewhere else before you came back here?”
“I just cut over to the view there on the hill, right through the trees,” I explained, gesturing vaguely in the direction. I was spinning inside, secretly thrilled he’d been worried.
“How about not scaring me like that again?”
Annoyance flashed inside. “Scaring you? You hardly talked to me at dinner and wouldn’t even look at me. Plus, it’s maybe two minutes through the trees. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“Okay, let’s start with that,” he returned. “It’s dark, and we’re in the woods, right at the edge of a big ole chunk of wilderness. There are plenty of snakes around for you to step on, you might come across a bear or …”
I burst out laughing. Because it was that ridiculous. “Oh, my God! You have got to be kidding me. I am perfectly fine, Lucas. Now that you can see that with your very own eyes, why don’t you tell me why you wouldn’t even look at me at dinner?” I asked, resting a hand on my hip.
He leaned his head back, his shoulders rising and falling with a deep breath. When he leveled his gaze with mine again, my skin prickled all over. My nipples tightened, my sex clenched, and my belly executed a little flip.
Oh. My.
“Valentina, I was not purposely ignoring you. I was trying to keep myself in check. In case you missed the memo, you’re fucking gorgeous, the kind of gorgeous that makes men a little crazy. Me, in particular.”
Stepping closer, he reached for my hand. I didn’t know what I expected, but I didn’t expect him to place it over the hard, hot length of his arousal. “This,” he said, the word coming out dark and heavy, weighted with something, “is what I’ve been dealing with ever since I sat down beside you at dinner.”
“Oh.”
I couldn’t help it. I curled my palm over the length of him and slid my hand up and down lightly.
His breath hissed through his teeth. “Dammit, woman. You are going to fucking kill me.” At that, he yanked my hand away, holding it fast in his as he turned, pulling me swiftly behind him.
We stumbled into my cabin. Lucas kicked the door shut behind us, spinning me around. My back bumped against the door right before his lips collided with mine.
He had kissed me enough that I thought I had a sense of what his kisses were like. This kiss took everything to an entirely new level.
He devoured my mouth. This kiss was commanding, demanding, and left me reeling. It spun me so forcefully into the desire between us I thought my heart might pound its way out of my chest.
We broke apart roughly, both of us gulping in the air. Plastered against me, Lucas had every hard inch of him pressing into my softness. His eyes met mine, the dark desire in his gaze sending my belly into a free fall.
He closed his eyes for a moment. With his chest pressed to mine, I felt the rise and fall of his breath. When he opened his eyes again, his gaze was almost pained.
His voice was low and hot when he spoke. “Here’s the thing, Valentina. I want you. I’d like to fuck you right here, right now against this door. But you need to know that all you have to do is say the word and it stops. At any point. Do you understand?”
One of his hands cupped my cheek, his thumb tracing my jawline. I couldn’t imagine why he would think I would want to stop any of this, yet I sensed it was important to him that I understand. I could barely think through the blood rushing through my ears with every beat of my heart. I managed a shallow breath.
“I understand,” I whispered.
The stark tension in the lines of his face eased slightly. He took another breath before taking a step back. I instantly missed the feel of him pressed against me. There was something simultaneously overpowering and protective about him.
I loved it.
Sliding a hand down over my shoulder, he caught one of my hands in his and tugged me away from the door. As we stood at the foot of the bed, I wondered how to get from this to whatever was next.
I suddenly remembered the mortifying chain of events that set this into motion. My hot pink vibrator. It was still sitting in the top drawer of my dresser. The Bible my mother had given me was in the bottom drawer, safely quarantined from the vibrator.
Impatient, I reached for him. Leaning forward, I dropped kisses along the side of his neck, and I thought he might let me have my way—
my way being to hurry things along and get to the good stuff.
But, oh no. He gave me a moment, loosening his grip on the reins of this encounter just enough for me to drag my tongue along the salty skin of his neck.
He threaded his hand in my hair, his fingers cupping my nape. He exerted just enough pressure to force me to lift my head and look at him.
“Not yet,” he said gruffly.
In all my life, I never paid much attention to the way a man’s voice sounded or how it made me feel. Perhaps that was because no man had ever made me feel the way Lucas did. When his voice had that slightly roughened edge to it, the timbre low and deep, it sent shivers chasing over the surface of my skin.
I was about to ask a question, but he shut me right up with a kiss. I didn’t mind that. Not at all.
Lucas could kiss me forever.
He angled my head to the side and stepped closer, his other hand gliding down my back in a path of burning heat. He cupped my bottom, his arousal rocking into me as he held me tight against him.
I moaned into our kiss, and he tore his lips from mine, almost savagely. I didn’t hear what he said because his lips were on my skin, but I was pretty sure he growled my name.
I forgot everything—everything but the feeling of him surrounding me. His hands mapped my body as his lips teased me with kisses on my neck, trailing over my collarbone into the little dip at the base of my throat, and back to my mouth.
He drew back, tracing along the V of my T-shirt, cupping a breast lightly as he watched me. I couldn’t help but clench my thighs together, anything to ease the throb there.
Stepping back slightly, he lifted the hem of my T-shirt, his hands sliding up my sides. “Arms up,” he murmured.
I obeyed immediately, a little thrill skittering through me when I saw his mouth curl up slightly at one corner. My T-shirt fell to the floor. Without a word, he flicked the clasp between my breasts. I shimmied my shoulders, my bra sliding off and falling to the floor. I wanted him to touch my bare skin, but he didn’t. Not yet.