by Holly Jaymes
I laughed. “Glad I finally proved my sexual prowess to you.” But it was clear to me, that this had been more than sex. It had been more than sex for some time. We’d made love. At least, I had. I knew she cared for me, but I couldn’t know if she loved me.
As I worked to catch my breath, I became determined to make her love me. I knew part of that was proving I wasn’t the man she initially thought I was. I wasn’t her douchebag ex, the one I really wanted to punch in the face for hurting her. I’d need to do more to prove how much I cared for her.
I lay in her bed, wondering the best way to win her over. I could tell her how I felt, but she was a woman that would believe action more than words. So what action could I take to prove my love for her? She’d talked a lot about my dream, and when I’d fallen, she’d said she’d been worried I’d not be able to have it anymore. I wondered what she’d say if I told her my new dream was her?
Clearly, dreams were important, and so one thing I could do was to help her with hers. She’d talked about wanting to build a gallery/studio in town. I could help with that. I wondered if she wanted to also expand her artist retreat idea. I could buy this place from the Minors and fix it up for Emma to use for her artist retreat. In fact, Mason might want to get involved and have his wellness retreats out here.
I wasn’t sure the Minors would be ready to sell, but maybe they’d take on a partner until they were. They could trust that I would give this place the loving care and attention it deserved.
I’d wait to see how her retreat went and if it was something she’d want to pursue more fully in the future before broaching the subject with her or the Minors. In the meantime, I could scout out buildings downtown that might fit her studio/gallery requirements. I knew there was a regentrification of the area where the train used to come through. Perhaps there was an old warehouse there that could be converted.
“You’re quiet,” she said to me. “Usually, you’re bragging.”
I kissed her head. “You told me I rocked your world. No bragging required.” I waited a beat. “Still, my dick did perform, didn’t it?”
She laughed.
“But I suspect that much of it had to do with your perfect pussy.”
“It did perform, didn’t it?” she echoed back my words.
“Boy, did it.”
She lifted her head and her expression turned vulnerable. “Before, out by the lake…”
“Yes.” I said, running my fingers through her fabulous hair.
“Did I not do that very well?”
It took me a moment to figure out what she was talking about. I felt like shit that she thought I didn’t think she was good at sucking my dick.
“You were doing it too well,” I said.
Her brow arched, like she didn’t believe me.
“It felt fucking awesome, Emma. It really did. But I wanted this. I wanted to be inside you. That’s all.”
“Because it’s better?”
How did I tell her that I wanted it this way because I loved her? I wanted to make love, not just get off. “It’s more intimate. I wanted to connect with you again, not just cum.”
She smiled, and it was like the sun had risen, it was so lovely. “Okay.”
“Next time, you can suck me as long as you want.”
She laughed. “Until you cum?”
“If that’s what you want.” Feeling playful and knowing she was amused when I was cocky, I said, “Do you think you can handle all that cum?”
Her eyes flashed with wicked heat that made my dick perk up. “I can take whatever you give, McLean.”
“It goes both ways, you know.” I slid my hand down between her thighs, feeling my cum in her pussy.
“Do you think you handle it?” she quipped.
I laughed. “I don’t know, baby, but I’ll do my best.”
The worst part of being with Emma was when I had to leave. Except for the one night I stayed to help with the Minors’ cabin fix up, I always left late at night. I wasn’t sure anyone would understand that Emma wasn’t like other women and instead lump her in with my no-woman rule. And so, I couldn’t risk anyone finding me out with her.
At night, I didn’t worry so much about getting caught because this time of year, the town was fairly quiet at night, and no one came out to this side of the lake. But I didn’t want to get caught pulling out of the resort entrance early in the morning. It would be my luck that Wyatt caught me and asked what I was doing. Even now, as I left at two in the morning, if he was out patrolling, I’d be hard pressed to come up with a good reason to be out here.
Fortunately, I got home and in my own bed without being seen. The next morning, I was up early and over at Mason’s for strength training.
“Did you and Allie ever consider Pine Rest for your retreat?” I asked him as I took a water break after the first hour of training.
“For a second. It would be ideal except that it’s a bit run down and the clientele we’re shooting for probably won’t want so rustic,” he said. “Why?”
I shrugged, wanting to talk to him about the area without revealing my relationship with Emma. “After we were there to help Emma, I wondered why you and Allie weren’t using it. It could be helpful to the Minors.”
Mason studied me as he took a sip from his water bottle. “Is there something with you and Emma?”
I frowned. “What? No. She thinks I’m a Lothario.” I drank my water, hoping to hide any indication my face might give away to my lie. “I helped with her retreat because I thought it would be good for the Minors. They always were there for me, I felt like I should repay them.”
He nodded. “It's a shame what’s happened out there. Most people like the convenience and amenities of the resorts now.”
“Most people are idiots to come to the mountains or a lake, then hide by the pool or inside a spa,” I said. “When people go to the outdoors, they should be outdoors in nature.”
“I don’t disagree.”
I wiped my face with my towel as I stood to get ready to start my next round of the workout. “There is potential though. With a clean up and a few updates, I think it could be a destination people flock to again.”
Mason arched a brow. “Why do I have the feeling you’re about to pitch me something?”
I shrugged, hoping I appeared nonchalant. “It would be a good investment. It would make sure the Minors are secure in their final years. Better yet, it could prevent their kids from selling the place. You know anyone who’d buy it would raze it and build some sort of monstrosity. Pine Rest is as much a part of Eden Lake as the Haynesvilles and McLeans.” I was proud that I was able to make a good argument that didn’t include Emma. “And of course, it could be ideal for your wellness retreats.”
He looked at me like he wanted to disagree, but he couldn’t. “What part are you going to play? You don’t even live here.”
“I’ve got money to invest, and I can come home more than I normally do.” I’d be here whenever football allowed, just to see Emma.
“You’ll be missing out on all the nightlife of Los Angeles,” he said, playing devil’s advocate.
“There’s enough nightlife here, if I need it.” I decided to take another tactic. “Look, this injury has brought to light that I need to prepare for the possibility that I won’t be able to play as long as I’d like. I need to make sound investments and have a plan for when I can’t play. This could be it.”
“You want to own a resort?” He arched a brow.
“Why not? I like the outdoors.” Worried he’d make a rash decision against the idea, I said, “Think about it. Talk to Willa. Maybe she could have writing retreats.”
He stared at me like he knew I had a hidden agenda. I kept my face as impassive as I could.
“I’ll think about it.”
I stood, put my drink down and stretched. “Good. I’m ready for the next round.”
I completed my training with him for the day, and then headed home, showered, and made my way back to Pin
e Rest, and into Emma’s arms, which increasingly felt like home.
Chapter 18: The Retreat
Emma
I loved being with other artists. Having my artist friends, and a few of my grandmother’s friends out at the lake offered me a chance to get inspired by my tribe and enjoy the camaraderie of being with like-minded people. The only bummer was that Tucker wouldn’t be coming around while they were there.
I understood why, but a part of me resented it. Being a secret made me feel like something was wrong with me that I had to be hidden away. What we were doing wasn’t sordid, but by hiding, it made it feel that way and I told him so one late evening the week before my retreat. It was Memorial Day and after all the celebrations and barbecues, he’d come out to the lake to see me.
I’m sure when he asked how my day was, he didn’t know he was going to get an earful about how I’d have liked to have been at the Memorial Day festivities at the public park along the lake with him.
He looked down. “I’m sorry, Emma. I just—”
“I know the reasons, Tucker. I just don’t like them. Do you know how many people tried to hook me up with their single sons? Wyatt had to come pretend to be my date just to get them off my back.”
His jaw clenched. “Wyatt seems to be your go-to man for matchmaking.”
“Don’t you dare get jealous. If I wasn’t your sordid secret—”
“This isn’t sordid,” he ground out. “I…” he trailed off.
“You what?”
“It only has to be like this until camp. Until my coach, manager, agent, and Mason lift this probation.”
“Then what?” I glared at him with my hands on my hips.
“Then I tell them all about you.”
That shut me up. It hadn’t occurred to me that this was going to go beyond his time home for training.
I guess he thought maybe that was an opening, because he came closer, rubbing his hands up and down my arms. “I want to tell them about us. I want to keep seeing you when I go back to work.”
“You do?” I squeaked. Inside I was a flurry of excitement and happiness, and yet, fear as well.
“Yes, I do. What do you think about that?”
I swallowed. “I think I like that idea.”
He smiled, and it helped temper the fear. “Good. Now. Can we spend the rest of Memorial Day doing something other than arguing?”
“I’ve got a checkerboard, if you want to play a game,” I said, jokingly.
“Only if we can play it naked.”
I still didn’t like being a secret or having to go so long without seeing him, but knowing that he saw us as having a real relationship made so much difference. Of course, that didn’t mean things wouldn’t change when he returned to Los Angeles. I’d probably see him less. And his old life might tempt him back. But for now, I was going to live in the moment and take him at his word.
The next Thursday, my friends showed up. Clara had been a long-time friend of my grandmothers. She brought her granddaughter, Ashley, with her. She was about twenty-years old, and according to Clara showed artistic talent and needed some guidance in her art as well as her life. Clara hoped this four-day retreat would offer that. Maggie and Daria were two of my friends from college, who worked in corporate America, but had side-gigs involving their art. Maggie, like me, painted, and Daria enjoyed jewelry making. I’d met Coco at an art show years ago. I always loved her positive energy and she had fabulous talent working in sculpture. I knew she’d love to get a look at Tucker as a subject of art, but he was mine. Finally, there was Celia, who like Clara, had been an old friend of my grandmother’s.
I got them all settled into their respective cabins, showed them the lodge and where I lived, and then we took a walk along the lake.
“I’d been so jealous when your grandmother bought this place,” Clara said. “Don’t you think it’s lovely, Ash?” she asked her granddaughter, who was busy on her phone.
“Yeah,” she answered mindlessly.
“How much do you suppose the young people miss of life because their attention is always on their devices?” Celia asked.
“I think they’d say their life is on the phone,” I answered.
“Meanwhile, real life is passing by,” Celia said, motioning to the lake. “Your grandmother did love it here.”
“So do I,” I said.
The next few days were nearly perfect. Had I not been missing Tucker, they’d have been sheer perfection.
The last night of the little getaway, I had all the ladies over to my place where I made dinner and we talked art. We were sitting on the deck, enjoying the quiet evening on the lake.
“Emma, did you inherit that painting your grandmother did of the lake with mist?” Clara asked.
“No, that went to a gentleman friend of hers.”
“Which one?” Celia said with a laugh.
I smiled. My grandmother, even as she got up in age, had a way with men.
“But I have a couple of pieces of the lake with mist. I have some photos too, if you wanted to see how it looks.” I grabbed my tablet, opening my art folder and pulling up lake photos. I handed the tablet to Clara.
“My, it’s quite magical looking isn’t it. Like a fairy tale fantasy or something,” she said, holding the tablet so Ashley could see.
“Emma, do you have more wine?” Daria asked. “I’m on my last sip.”
“Yes, let me get the next bottle.” I stood and went into the kitchen. I got the bottle of white from the refrigerator.
“Oh my, who is that?” Clara said.
“Who?” the other ladies asked, and I heard movement on the deck.
“That’s Tucker McLean!” Coco said.
“Oh no,” I thought as I twisted the corkscrew into the bottle.
“Who?” Celia asked.
“He’s the quarterback for the Sea Lions,” Ashley said, sounding more animated than I’d heard her sound all weekend. “Oh, look at that one. He’s got a great ass.”
I closed my eyes and tried to figure out how to talk my way out of this one.
“I’d love to sculpt that. Hey Emma, is he mimicking the Artemision Bronze?” Coco called to me.
“Yes,” I called back, as I pulled the cork and untwisted it from the opener.
“What’s he like on the other side?” Ashley asked.
“Ashley!” her grandmother gasped.
“Oh, come on, we all want to know,” Maggie said. “You would too, Clara, if your granddaughter wasn’t here.”
When I came back to the deck, the ladies had all resumed their normal seating. Ashley and Clara still had my tablet, which I quickly took back once I handed Daria the bottle of wine. I brought the tablet into the house, and then returned, filling my wine glass and sitting to join them.
They all looked at me.
“What?” I asked.
Maggie rolled her eyes. “Explain why you have naked photos—”
“Night and early morning photos,” Daria added. “You can tell by the way the light is.”
“On your tablet,” Maggie finished.
I shrugged, trying to act like it was no big deal. “He’s from here and is home to train. He agreed to pose.”
They stared at me like they didn’t believe me.
“Come on, you don’t think Tucker McLean would give me the time of day romantically, do you?” I said, tapping into his reputation.
“He’s not known for romance,” Maggie admitted.
“But he’d definitely do you,” Delia said.
I waved that comment away. “No, he wouldn’t. He’s more of the plastic model type.”
“I think his requirements are boobs and a vagina,” Coco said. “You have the right equipment.”
“Ladies, my granddaughter is here.”
“You’re twenty, right?” Delia asked Ashley who nodded. “She’s aware of people like Tucker.”
“I’m not a virgin,” Ashley said.
I thought Clara was going to fall out of her chair
. “Can we not talk about this?”
I agreed. “So, did you like it here? I’ve been thinking of trying to put together a more formal retreat. Eventually, I’d like to have an artist studio-slash-gallery here in town, once I can get the money together.”
“Sell those photos and you’ll have all the money you want,” Ashley said.
I gaped at her.
“I love the retreat idea,” Maggie said. “It’s relaxing out here. I wish the water was warmer, I’d like to have gone for a swim.”
“Snow water doesn’t get too warm, but by mid-June you can usually enjoy it,” I said.
“I think what you’re doing is wonderful,” Celia said. “Your grandmother would be thrilled that you came out here to follow your dreams.”
“She’d love your plans too, Emma,” Clara added. “You’re like her in many ways.” She looked at her own granddaughter and while I saw love in her eyes, I could also tell she wished Ashley was more like her.
The four-day mini-retreat was a big hit with my guests and the Minors were thrilled to have people making use of their resort. But the minute the ladies left, I texted Tucker to let him know I was alone.
That’s a crying shame, he texted back. No woman as beautiful as you should ever be alone.
If only there was someone who could come keep me company, I sent to him.
I’ll be there in thirty.
Twenty-nine minutes later he was on my doorstep looking so handsome and sexy. I jumped him right then and there.
Several orgasms later, we’d finally made it to my couch.
“You missed me.” He grinned up at me as I straddled over him.
“I did? Were you gone?”
He gave me a light spank on my ass. “I missed you.”
I felt my smile beam up from the center of my heart. “I missed you too.”
“I’ll be returning to L.A. for camp in a few weeks. Will you come see me sometimes?”
My heart rolled in my chest, partly from sadness at his leaving, but also, happiness that this wouldn’t be over when he left. “Yes. Will you be coming home sometimes too?”
“As much as I can. Camp is intense. Right afterward, we start pre-season games. It will be a few weeks before I’ll be able to spend time with you. We can call and text. Maybe we could try phone sex.”