by Cathryn Fox
“Our Cora is so excited,” the man next to the pretty woman says and I turn to him, and take in the way he glances at his daughter. I love that look of adoration on his face. “She wants to be an actress, you know.”
“She told me, and I’m so glad she’s excited.”
“Okay, we should go,” the pretty brunette says. “No child for the night, I’m hitting Winchester’s,” she teases.
I laugh as they all head to their vehicles, and make my way over to the fire. Amber points to the blanket and I drop down next to her and sit cross-legged.
Liam hands me a stick, and I just look at it. He laughs. “For the marshmallows. When Tyler said you’d never been to a bonfire before, I didn’t believe him. I do now.”
All the kids laugh and I soak up the excitement in the air. “Just please tell me no ghost stories.”
“Nope, can’t tell you that,” Cora says, and I can’t help but smile as I gaze at Tyler. This was just supposed to be about sex. Damn my heart for not minding its own business.
16
Tyler
The smile gracing Haven’s face over the course of the night was more than I ever could have asked for. Every time I glanced at her, laughing, having fun with the kids and eating a ton of s’mores, it did something weird to my insides. The truth is, I love seeing her this happy, would love to make her this happy every day. She’s kind, giving and nurturing, and she deserves to be given those things in return. With shitty parents, it’s clear she can only count on her brother, and now of course, she can on me too.
Speaking of brothers. Christ, if mine could hear my thoughts, I’d have to cash in my man card. I don’t give a shit, though, I loved seeing her in her element with these kids, even when they were telling ghost stories. A small chuckle rises in my throat as I turn on the hose and extinguish the bonfire.
The kids are all in their tents, boys in one, girls in the other, and Haven is inside the cabin with my brother and cousin. They’re talking low, and for some weird reason, I sense it’s because they don’t want me to hear what they’re saying. Earlier, she went to my truck. I asked her what it was she needed, and she just brushed it off, saying she wanted to stretch her legs. I’m not sure why she’s suddenly being secretive. Is she up to something? Maybe the better question is, when the hell did I get so paranoid?
Oh, since you’ve started falling for Haven.
Shit.
I can’t go there. She’s not sticking around, and when it comes right down to it, I’m her bodyguard, not her boyfriend. Even though I’m played out, I’m not the kind of guy a girl brings home. Then again, maybe I am. I’m no longer in the cage, no longer on the road going from one fight to another, one girl to another.
I’m settled here in Blue Bay, ready to put my playboy ways behind me and start something real. Do I want that with Haven? Hell yeah, I do. Problem is, she doesn’t even know who she is, or what it is she wants in life. She’s as lost as I used to be. Maybe by the time the film shoot is over, she’ll know herself a little better, see how good we are together, and go after things that make her happy. I’m just not sure that’s me, or Blue Bay. I’m a guy who never taps out or goes down without a fight, so I plan to do my best to show her all the things she’d be giving up if she leaves here.
Smoke clouds the air as the fire dies, and I turn off the hose and reel it back up. I do a perimeter check to make sure everyone is in bed safe and sound, and glance at my own tent, which is set up between the boys and girls. I’d like to be snuggled in bed with Haven tonight, but staying outside is the responsible thing to do. Plus, I don’t plan to sleep much, not after Haven showed me the letter. Carter and Jared are inside with her, so I know she’s safe and I’m not a bit jealous that she’s deep in conversation with them, about God knows what. Nope, not jealous at all. Much. I mean, I know my family and they’d never break bro code, but a part of me doesn’t like the seriousness of their conversation.
I head inside to get ready for bed, and Haven grabs her phone from the table and shoves it into her back pocket as my brothers go silent. I cast them a quick glance. “What’s up?” I ask causally, even though my insides are tight. What the fuck is going on here?
“Nothing,” Haven says quickly, a big smile on her face as Carter and Jared just shrug.
“Telling stories about me?” I ask as I grab a water bottle from the fridge. The guys laugh.
“What’s to tell? You’re boring as fuck,” Jared says. “Before Haven arrive you were moping around Winchesters like a goddamn Saint Bernard in a heat wave.”
I arch a brow and eye him. “Did you just compare me to a Saint Bernard?”
“Yeah, except a Saint Bernard is probably better groomed.”
I run my hand through my hair as he snickers. Okay, I probably could do with a cut. I turn my attention to Haven. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” I gesture with a nod to the loft upstairs, where she’ll be sleeping tonight, alone.
“I’m calling it a night, anyway,” Carter says and pushes from the table. “Early morning tomorrow.”
“Yeah me too,” Jared says.
“It was nice chatting with you guys tonight,” Haven says. “I appreciate you coming over.”
“Anytime,” they both say, and go off to different bedrooms. I gesture toward the loft and Haven climbs the stairs. Once we reach the top, she turns my way. My heart melts a little when I see the chocolate on her face.
“You’re kind of a mess,” I say and wet my thumb. I brush it over her cheek and she laughs.
“You mean to tell me I sat there talking to Carter and Jared and neither bothered to tell me I had food on my face.”
“Maybe they thought it was adorable too,” I say.
“Hardly.” She puts her arms around me like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
“You had fun tonight?” I ask, even though I already know the answer. I guess the needy part of me wants to hear her say it.
“The best,” she says and gives me a kiss. Our lips linger for a moment, and I slide my hands around her back to hold her to me. Her nipples brush up against me and I give a groan of want.
“Shh,” she chuckles, and it’s so nice to see her fear from earlier gone. She actually sounds drunk on happiness tonight. “We don’t want to wake the kids.”
As soon as those words leave her mouth, my heart misses a beat, imagining she’s saying that about our own family. What the fuck is wrong with me? I shake my head. “You’re right. You okay in here without me?”
She nuzzles close, and I almost forget about my tent and crawl in with her, but that wouldn’t be the responsible thing to do. I laugh at that. When the hell did I become the responsible one?
“I’ll be okay, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be happy about it,” she murmurs.
I kiss her forehead and tuck her hair behind her ears. “What time do you have to be on set tomorrow?”
“Around eight. Not so bad.”
“Tomorrow I have to work on the fight scene. Later in the day though, so that gives me time with the kids in the morning. If you feel okay traveling in with Carter and Jared, that is. As much as I don’t want you out of my sight, I should stay here to make sure the kids all get picked up, plus I thought it would be fun to do some exercises in the lake with them.”
“They’re going to love that,” she says and stifles a yawn. “Hey, maybe before their parents take them home, they can stop by the set. If I’m not too busy, I can show them around, their parents too.”
“I’ll check and see, but I’m sure it can be arranged.”
She exhales, contentment all over her face. “Tonight was so much fun, Ty.”
My throat squeezes tight at the pleasure in her voice and I give her a soft smack on her ass. “Okay, get to sleep.” She makes a mewling sound as I make a move to go, but instead turn back to her. “What were you and the guys talking about?”
She grins and angles her head. “You sound like you’re jealous?”
“No,” I say quickly, an
d her grin falls. What? Did she want me to be jealous? “If I’m going to be your bodyguard, I should probably know if you told them about the letters.”
“No, I didn’t,” she says. “And they didn’t ask. I love that they just show up because you asked them to, and don’t need to know the details.” I stand there for a second, and note the way she hedged the question. I guess whatever they talked about, privately and intimately, is none of my business. I don’t have to fucking like it, though.
“Goodnight,” I say. I make a quick trip to the bathroom to get ready for bed and ten minutes later, after checking the perimeter again, I crawl into my tent. Crickets chirp and animals scurry in the forest as I close my eyes to rest them. It’s strange how coming back here isn’t quite so hard anymore. Haven and I have been making good memories, happy ones, and tonight, neither of us are going to forget it in a hurry.
Minutes tick by and sleep pulls at me, but I’m reluctant to let it take me over. I take a deep breath, and when I hear rustling that sounds like footsteps, my senses go on high alert. I unzip my tent and spot a figure moving toward me. I’m about to take whoever it is to the ground, and ask questions later, until I realize it’s Haven.
“Hey,” she says, her voice a low, sleepy murmur.
“Are you okay?” I ask, and glance around the woods. Has something spooked her? Other than crickets chirping, my ears meet with silence.
“I couldn’t sleep.” Her warm scent reaches my nostrils as she comes closer, and I breathe her in. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“You didn’t. Get in here.” I open the tent and she crawls in. “What are you doing wandering around?”
“I wasn’t. I wanted to crawl in here and sleep with you. I wasn’t going to wake you.”
I open my sleeping bag, liking that she wants to be close to me. “Crawl in,” I say. She does and I move in beside her, thankful that I have an oversized bag that easily sleeps two.
“I’ll sneak out before the kids wake up,” she says, her voice a soft whisper.
She turns to her side, and I drag her to me. She gives a contented sigh, and her hair tickles my nose as she drifts off. I doze beside her, the warmth of her body pulling me under. The next thing I know, birds are chirping in the distance, and I open one eye, and then another. A smile touches the corners of my mouth as I take in the sleeping woman beside me. Neither one of us moved in our sleep.
I inch back, and she moans. Since I don’t have the heart to wake her, I unzip the tent and leave her to sleep. I’ll let the kids know she decided she wanted the tent and I hung out inside with Carter and Jared.
Inside, I find the guys stirring, and I head straight to the coffee maker. “What the hell are you guys doing up so early?”
“Busy day,” they both say, and I stare at them. “You both have two hours before you have to check in on the set.”
“I’ve taken up jogging,” Carter says with a grin. I look him over. The guy is in great shape, and clearly lying through his teeth.
“Yeah, same,” Jared says and sticks out his gut, which is nothing but rows and rows of muscles.
“Fine, don’t tell me then.” Come to think of it, even before Haven arrived, the guys have been getting up early and leaving the old homestead. There are no secrets between us, so maybe they really have taken up jogging. “I suppose you’re not going to tell me what you three were talking so quietly about last night either.”
“If you have to know, we were telling Haven that you’re a boring old man, and she’d be better off with one of us.”
They both snicker as I pour them each a cup. I hand them over and as they swill the coffee, I brush off last night, chalking up their conversation to nothing other than the guys getting to know her. She is, after all a movie star, and they were probably just interested in meeting some of her friends—not that she really has any. She said so herself.
“Thanks for coming last night,” I say.
“When I’m out on my run this morning,” Carter says. “I’ll keep my eye out for that kid.”
“I appreciate that,” I say. “Would you guys be back from your jog around eight, to take Haven to the set? I need to stay back and see to it that the kids get home okay.”
“Yeah, no problem.” He sets his mug on the table with a clunk. “I get that Haven is in some kind of trouble,” Jared says. “I don’t need to know what it is, but we’ve got her back.”
I nod, gratitude filling my soul. Honestly, it’s good to be back, good to be around my family. I can’t even imagine what it’s like for Haven to only have her brother, who isn’t around much, thanks to his training and fights. “I know you do.”
Jared goes serious for a second. “It’s been a long time since you’ve been here.”
What he’s really asking is how I’m doing, but not wanting to do it in a way that brings back hard memories. “Yeah, long time.” I smile. “Haven tried to talk me into putting in an apiary. Apparently, she’s very worried about the bee population.”
They both chuckle. “Not a bad idea,” Jared says.
“Hey, maybe you might want to make this your permanent place,” Carter says. “Christ knows I’m done sharing a bed with you when Gram opens her place up to strangers, or anyone passing by on the street.” I shrug. The thought had gone through my mind.
“I’m sure no one would mind. Maybe we could even open up the lots around the lake. It might be time I left Gram’s place too,” Carter says.
“I’m trying to move away from you, Carter,” I tease, although I think it’s a good idea and about time we did it. “Let’s talk to Sean,” I say. My big brother has a good head on his shoulders. He’ll probably want a family meeting, and I’m sure Gram would be happy to have her house back. We all invaded two years ago when Sean called us home. She’s happy to have us, but she’d like to see us all settled down, and opening lots around the lake would allow us to be close if she needs us. She’s not getting any younger. That thought sits uneasy with me. I’d love to see us all married and with kids, and my God, one of us should be able to give her a great-granddaughter, for Christ’s sake.
I take a sip of coffee and look outside as ideas on how to take this place from a cabin to a home form in my brain. Then again, if Haven leaves, leaving me with nothing but good memories of the place, it might take me another twenty years before I step foot in the place. I can’t imagine being here without her.
“I haven’t seen that look in your eyes in a long time, brother,” Jared says, as he puts his hand on my shoulder.
“What’s that supposed to mean? What look?”
“The look that tells me there’s something worth fighting for.”
17
Haven
“We could have asked Jace to help,” Tyler says, as I repeatedly read the chocolate cake recipe on my phone. Thank God for Pinterest and all their yummy recipes, because I’m sort of lost in the kitchen.
“I am not going to ask Jace to bake me a cake for Kylee’s barbecue. I’m doing it myself.” I glance at him, my chin lifted in defiance as I take in his sexy stance. My gaze rakes the long length of him as he casually leans against the counter, his feet crossed at the ankles—testosterone coming off him in waves. I swear I can’t get enough of him. Singlehandedly—or could it be singledickedly, yeah, not a word, I know—this man might have ruined me for every other.
Working to get myself together, I really want to make a great dessert, I nod toward the fridge. “Now if you could make yourself useful, get me the eggs, that would be a big help.”
“I prefer to be useful in other ways.”
“While I prefer that too,” I say with a grin. “I need those eggs.”
He laughs as he grabs the eggs and sets the full carton beside me. “I can cook, but I’m not much in the baking department.” He glances at the flour all over the counter, my clothes and my cheeks. “Doesn’t look like you are either.”
“Hey,” I say and toss some flour at his face. He coughs and blinks, and looks completely
adorable as he tries to brush it away. My heart does a little dance in my chest, and a sigh I have no control over escapes my lips as everything inside me melts a little. I turn my face toward him and lift my chin, needing him close, needing his intimacy. “Kiss me, Ty.”
He steps closer, and cups my face. I love that I don’t have to ask him twice. I let go of the bowl and wooden spoon and turn into him, our bodies aligned. I will never tire of this man’s touch or kisses. His warm lips move over mine, and a little moan catches in my throat as I sag against his hard body
“You know,” he says and glances at the clock. “Benny’s sells amazing baked goods. We could get a cake, toss away the package and pretend you made it.”
I chuckle as his cock thickens against my body, and deep between my legs I grow needy. “I could never do something like that. Besides, we’ve all eaten Benny’s sweets.” I snap my fingers. “They’d know in a heartbeat it wasn’t mine.”
He shrugs. “Maybe, maybe not, but it would free up some time and I could bend you over this counter and put my cock in you,” he says, pushing my hair from my shoulders so he can place hot, open-mouthed kisses to the sensitive spot on my neck. While I love that idea as much as I love how Tyler seems to have made it his mission to discover all my likes and dislikes, and in the process, teach me more about myself, about who I really am, I’m not a girl to pass someone’s cake off as my own. I don’t think Tyler would do that either.
“Tyler, you’re making this hard,” I say, my body warm and wanting, and craving all he’s offering.
“Hard being the key word here, Haven.” His big fingers bite into my hips as he bangs his thick cock against my sex.
I steal a glance at the clock. “What if we’re fast?” I say, my brain shutting down as need rushes through me. I spent all week on the set with him close, watching him as he worked through a fight scene with my leading man, and the supporting actor, Zander, who fights with Jonah. He was shirtless for the most part, his skin glistening under the summer sun, and it was all I could do to keep my mind on my lines. Fortunately, there have been no more threatening letters.