by RJ Moore
“Evie, I’m about to…”
I suck deeper and Ian’s body tenses. I close my eyes as I find my own bliss, and then seconds later taste Ian’s. I swallow it all, giving him a little kiss on the tip. Ian shudders and grabs me by my arms, pulling me up to lie on my side next to him. We stare at each other, both a little breathless.
Ian smiles at me as he brushes his fingers along my jaw. “That was…”
“Amazing? Climactic? Out of this world?”
“Yes.” He chuckles. “Unexpected”
I frown. “Unexpected? Was it not good?”
“No, it was incredible. I just don’t want you to feel that you have to do that for me.”
“I know I don’t have to do it, but I wanted to. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“I more than enjoyed it.” He leans in, kissing me quickly. Sitting up, he slaps me on the butt. “But now I have to get dressed so I can take you out.”
“Ow!” I rub my butt, hopping off the bed. “Out where?”
“You’ll see,” he says over his shoulder as he walks out of the bedroom unabashedly naked.
My eyes are fixed on his flexing glutes as he leaves. I have a strong desire to tackle him and go for round two.
Down girl!
After a second of indecisiveness, I go after him to the bathroom. If he doesn’t care that I see him naked, then I sure as hell don’t. I’m disappointed that he already has his pants on when I reach the door. He throws me that smirk of his that says he knows what I am up to. He puts his shirt on, winking at me. “Save those thoughts of yours.”
He grabs my hand and together we walk out to get in the truck. My curiosity is so strong, I can hardly stand it. “Please tell me where we’re going.”
“Nope.” He makes the P pop at the end, and I narrow my eyes at him. He knows I hate surprises. He just kisses the back of my hand, smirking while I feign pouting.
We pull up to the ice cream parlor and I look over at Ian in surprise. “Ice cream? You couldn’t tell me you were taking me out for ice cream?”
“Of course. I haven’t eaten ice cream with you for weeks now, and you know I love giving you surprises.” He pulls me out of the truck before I can respond, wrapping his arm around my shoulder as he kisses me on the top of my head. I put my arm around his waist, giving him a little squeeze. With how busy we’ve both been, we really haven’t had the time to go out as a couple yet.
Since he already knows what ice cream is my favorite, I go find the perfect table while he orders. I sit down and glance over at Ian. His back is to me and I’m again drawn to his backside. I can feel my cheeks darken as my thoughts start to stray. This can’t be normal, can it? I’m just going to blame it on my hormones; I don’t get all hot and bothered over guys like this.
But then, Ian isn’t just some guy.
When he turns my way and gives me that million-dollar smile, I don’t want to imagine a future without him in it. He makes me feel loved. Cherished. Bold. I came here not knowing what the future held, or who I was. I knew I didn’t want to go down the path of a stuck-up rich snob, but I wasn’t at all sure how to change it either.
He sits down across from me, giving me a concerned look. “Are you all right?”
I put a reassuring smile on as I nod. “Yeah, just thinking.”
“Good thoughts I hope.”
I nod again before we begin eating. He feeds me his mint chocolate chip and I feed him my rocky road. We talk about everything that’s been going on while he’s been gone. Sometime during our conversation, our feet became entangled. We probably looked like one of those nauseating couples, but I couldn’t be happier.
The workweek goes by fairly quickly. I lie in bed with Ian, sliding our fingers together. I’m resting my head over his heart with my eyes closed, the rhythmic thump, thump, thump almost lulling me to sleep when he suddenly speaks.
“You don’t have any plans this weekend, do you?”
“No.” I yawn. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, I have a surprise for you.”
I lift my head to give him my evil eye. I feel him shake as he tries to hold in his laughter. “Ian,” I scold, “You know I hate surprises. You better tell me!”
“I’m not going to tell you everything, but I will tell you it involves stealing you away for the whole weekend.”
Hmm. I like the sound of that…yup, there go my naughty thoughts again. “And where would you be stealing me away to?”
He taps my nose. “Now if I told you that, I’d ruin the surprise.” Bringing my hand up to his lips, he kisses each fingertip, making it very difficult to think. “What do you say, Evie? Will you go away with me this weekend?”
“But what about Duke? I can’t just leave him alone for the weekend.”
“Already taken care of.” He smirks. “I talked with Lacey and she is more than happy to take care of him, especially after I told her how much I wanted to do this for you.”
I scoot up until I’m level with his face. “How am I supposed to say no to that?” I give in, kissing him passionately.
He groans as he grabs the back of my neck to deepen the kiss, only breaking to whisper, “You’re not” before rolling me on my back. He doesn’t stop until I feel myself panting for air. He trails down until he’s under the covers, working that magic tongue of his. I arch into him, moaning. It’s not long before I’m seeing stars and I finally have to grab his hair to have him stop. I should be embarrassed at how quickly I came apart but I feel so blissfully sated, I don’t care. My body is no match against Ian when he touches me.
He crawls back up my body and snuggles me tight beside him. “Sleep, we have a long trip in the morning,” he says as he kisses my forehead. I close my eyes, mumbling, “Okay,” before falling into one of the best nights of sleep I’ve had in a while.
I wake up to the smell of toast and something minty. Peeling my eyes open, I see Ian walking slowly over to the bed with a plate in one hand and a steaming mug in the other. It must be very full because all his attention is on the mug as he carefully and gently lowers it to the nightstand. When he looks over to me, surprise registers for a brief second, then he smiles, bending down to give me a kiss.
“Morning beautiful. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
I stretch my arms over my head. “Mmm, you didn’t. The smell did. I swear I’m like a dog with how good my nose is since becoming pregnant.” I sit up and grab the tea, blowing to cool it down before taking a sip. “Thank you. A girl could get used to this.”
Grinning down at me, he softly grips my chin to kiss me again. He stands up, patting my leg. “Eat up. I want to get a move on this morning.” I glance over at the plate he set down, grinning. Toast, eggs, and cut strawberries. I waste no time in scarfing down my breakfast.
Climbing out of bed, I shuffle to the bathroom to relieve my full bladder. As I start to brush my teeth, I groan when I see my reflection in the mirror. I look like Anna from the movie Frozen when she wakes up. I finish brushing my teeth then attempt to tame down my hair.
Walking back into the bedroom, I start packing a variety of clothes since I don’t know where we’re going. Ian won’t budge on telling me, not even a hint. I end up with two suitcases of clothes and shoes.
Ian comes in behind me, his eyes going wide. “We’re only going to be gone for the weekend.”
“Well, unless somebody wants to tell me where we’re going, I have to be prepared,” I sass at him with my hand on my hips.
Slapping me on the butt, he walks past me to pick up the suitcases. “Prepared is always good.”
I huff out a loud sigh. Stubborn man. The suspense is killing me, but at the same time, I can’t deny how excited I am. A whole weekend away with Ian—I have to shake my head to clear away all the naughty thoughts going through my mind.
While Ian’s back is to me, I hurry and grab his present from its hiding spot under the bed. I tuck it under my shirt, catching up behind him. While he’s busy putting all the suitcases in the back of
the truck, I quickly stash it under the seat, out of view.
Throwing my purse and light jacket in the cab, I turn around, stooping down to say goodbye to Duke, who’s waiting behind me to jump in the truck. “You have to stay here boy. I’ll be back soon. Be a good boy for Auntie Lacey.” I give him a kiss on the top of his nose and rub his ears before leading him into the house, shutting the door.
I squeal when arms suddenly hook under the backs of my legs and I’m lifted up in Ian’s strong arms. “Your carriage awaits, my lady.”
I throw my head back, laughing. “Why thank you, my knight in shining armor.” Ian has a goofy grin, his green eyes twinkling with happiness.
God, he’s gorgeous.
I reach up to kiss his neck, giving him a little lick. I feel a jolt as he trips. “Woman,” he warns. All I can do is giggle into his neck.
“Now I’m ‘woman’? What happened to ‘my lady’?”
“Maybe I’m a pirate instead,” he says as he sets me down on the seat. I wrap my legs around his waist and pull him in close, keeping my arms wound around his neck. He grips the back of my neck, brushing his lips against mine. I want more and arch into him. I hear him groan as he gives me what I want. Deepening the kiss, he strokes my lip with his tongue. I open immediately, our tongues clashing in wild abandonment.
Ian clutches my face with his hands as he pulls away. Holding my cheeks, he showers me in slow kisses until we both catch our breaths. I don’t know what it is about Ian, but when he touches me, I completely lose my senses; my ability to think flies out the door. It should scare me how my body and mind craves Ian. Instead of running or denying what I feel, I want to embrace it.
“You must be a pirate because I don’t think that kiss was very knightly. But you, my wicked pirate, may plunder my booty any time,” I say, giving him a wink.
He laughs so hard, tears threaten to slide down his cheeks. He swipes his eyes with the back of his hand, smirking down at me. “Well my saucy wench, since you have the finest booty I’ve ever laid eyes on, I think I’ll have to take you up on that.”
Going to the driver’s side, he grabs my hand and kisses the inside of my palm. I scoot over to the middle so I can lay my head on his shoulder. As we drive down the road, I get lost in the beauty of the scenery. The small, two-lane highway is enclosed in trees, creating a sense of being in a tunnel in a magical world. A feeling of peace settles over me as I lean on Ian, sitting in a comfortable silence, watching the sun peek through the tree openings. My eyes flutter shut and I feel myself drift off.
“Evie, sweetie. Wake up.” I blink a few times before sitting up to look around. I hear the sound of a waterfall but it sounds farther away.
“Where are we?” I yawn, scooting out the driver’s side after Ian. “How long was I out for?”
He loops his arms around my shoulders, leading me toward the tall lodge building made out of stone. There are leafy vines and moss growing up the walls, giving it an old, enchanted feel. “Not long, maybe thirty minutes. I was hungry and stopped to eat. This place has awesome food and a tall waterfall I knew you’d love.”
I can still hear it but can’t see it. We walk a way up a paved path, stopping across a wooden bridge to see a bunch of spawning salmon in the creek below. “Wow, they’re so big.”
“And good eatin too.”
I scrunch up my nose. I’ve never liked the taste of fish. We leave the fish and when we finally round the corner, I gasp. The waterfall is so tall and beautiful. “Oh wow. That’s amazing.” There are tons of people walking about. I’m not able to gawk for long because I have to walk with the crowd.
We walk into the lodge and get seated by the window, looking up at the waterfall. I see a walking path that goes to the middle of the waterfall. I know as soon as I’m done eating, I’m going to drag Ian up there.
I order my favorite—chicken alfredo—while Ian orders their famous salmon. I start gorging myself on their delicious warm rolls that they brought to the table. Mmmm…so good.
“I take it the rolls are good?”
“Yup,” I say around a mouthful of bread.
He chuckles and shakes his head. The place is filled with people, but it doesn’t take long for them to bring the food out. Even though I seem to be done with morning sickness, as soon as the smell of Ian’s salmon hits my nose, I have to force myself to take deep breaths in and out through my mouth.
Ian must notice because his eyes widen. “I’m so sorry Evie. Is this going to make you sick?”
“No, no. I’m okay. Just give me a minute.” I take three more deep breaths until I feel I can control myself. “It’s always just the first whiff that seems to be the worst. I’m better now.” Ian gives me an uncertain look like he’s debating whether to rush me to the bathroom or ask the waitress to take back his order. “Really, I’m fine.” I sit up straighter, smiling to emphasize that I’m not about to hurl on the table. He starts to eat slowly and I roll my eyes at him, as if him chewing cautiously would help my nausea.
As soon as we finish and the meal is paid for, I grab his hand, heading straight for the bridge. By the time we make it there, my calves are on fire and I’m breathing heavy. I grip the railing, exhaling a sigh of relief. “Man I’m out of shape.”
Ian walks up behind me and hugs me. I lean back into him while he nuzzles his face in my hair. I don’t know how long we stand there together, but by the time he asks me if I’m ready to go, my hair is wet from all the mist and my feet are starting to feel numb.
Back in the truck, we drive for another hour and a half. The whole time we sing to country songs, loudly and off beat. My ears are ringing but I love it. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.
“Here we are. What do you think?” My jaw drops in awe. It’s a huge two-story log cabin with windows that stretch from the bottom to the roof. A manmade waterfall pond sits in front of the cabin, surrounded by pine and aspen trees. Wildflowers are strategically placed throughout a trimmed green lawn.
“This place is incredible. Is it yours?”
“No, it belongs to Quinn’s dad, Rick. His family has owned this property for years. They’ve slowly built it up to what it is today.”
“It’s amazing.” I put my arm around his waist as he loops his around my shoulder, drawing me in for a kiss.
“Let’s grab our things so we can go inside and have a look around.”
While Ian starts unloading the suitcases from the back, I go grab my purse and his present. I’ve been waiting all day for him to tell me it’s his birthday, to give me some clue. I was tempted to tell the waitress back at the waterfall lodge to bring out a cake and sing him a song, but I wasn’t sure how he’d react. I don’t think Ian is the type to get mad and throw hissy fit in public—or ever for that matter—but why test it? As I stash his present in my oversized purse, Ian walks up behind me.
“All set?”
I turn around, grinning up at him. “You bet. Lead the way, my sexy pirate.”
Walking into the cabin, I’m not surprised to find it decorated in log furnishings with black bear décor. I haven’t been inside Quinn’s house, but from being inside Ian’s, his parents’, and now this cabin, it’s obvious that they are very outdoorsy, manly type of men. What surprises me though is how well everything is put together. It’s not excessively masculine, almost as if an interior designer came through and worked their magic.
Ian goes into one of the bedrooms with all the bags as I take my time looking around. I go upstairs into the master bedroom and see French patio doors leading to a balcony. Opening the door, I walk to the railing that overlooks a huge pond. I lift my face up to the sunlight. It’s so peaceful here with only the sounds of birds chirping.
I startle as I feel Ian’s arms slide around my middle. “Geez, you scared me. I didn’t hear you.”
“Well maybe I’m part ninja too.” I laugh at him while he takes my purse off my shoulder. “Wow, this thing is heavy. What are you packing in here, bricks?”
I tak
e the bag from him. “No.” I pull out his present and hand it to him. “This. Happy birthday.”
He looks at the wrapped present, then to me, then back to the present before taking it. Furrowing his eyebrows, he gives me a confused look. “How…” He clears his throat. “How did you know it was my birthday?”
He figures it out fairly quickly because at the same time we both say, “Lacey.” He shakes his head and looks torn between frowning in annoyance or smiling with excitement. The latter wins and the beautiful grin I love graces his face.
“Well.” I nod my head toward his present. “Are you going to open it or just stare at it?” As he begins opening it slowly, I start getting nervous. What if he doesn’t like it? What if it isn’t enough? He pulls all the wrapping paper away and is silent. “I know it’s not much—”
“It’s perfect. I love it.” He looks down at all the pictures that are now in a collage on a rustic wooden board. The outer trim looks like real bark and I glued a metal bracket on the back so it can hang on the wall. “Wow, this is so amazing.” Smiling wide, he grabs the back of my head and pulls me in for a kiss. I sigh in relief.
Ian starts telling me about each picture, and even though Scarlett has already told me about all of them, I continue to sit and laugh along. It’s funny how the same story can be told so differently. I may have heard it before, but with Ian acting everything out, it’s as if I’m hearing it for the first time.
“Well, it’s your birthday. What do you want to go do now?”
“Have you ever been fishing?”
“Do I look like the kind of girl that goes fishing?”
He chuckles. “You do now.” He goes over to a closet, pulling out two fishing rods and a tackle box. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” I can picture the look on my parents’ faces if I told them I was going fishing. The thought of it makes me giggle. Ian looks over his shoulder at me questionably and I shake my head, muttering, “Never mind.”
We go out back to the large pond behind the house, walking to the end of the dock. I clearly have no idea how to get a fishing pole ready so while Ian’s busy putting hooks on, I slide my flip-flops off and dip my feet into the pond.