His eyes were so dark with lust they barely looked green anymore. He came up onto his knees and she saw the massive erection jutting between his thighs. Thick and swollen, spectacularly aroused, it made her mouth go dry. It had been so long since she’d been with a man. She wanted to revel in it. She wanted everything with him. All of it, over and over.
He gave her a strained smile. “Never going on a rescue mission without a condom again. At least not with you along.”
A powerful sense of wellbeing welled inside her. This was just the beginning. The beginning of something wonderful—not a relationship. They both knew that. They were clear about it. But something amazing nonetheless.
She scrambled onto her knees and shuffled across the bed until she faced him. “Sit up,” she said softly. He came off his heels so he was kneeling on the bed, his arousal right at her eye level. “Perfect.”
As he watched, eyes burning, she brought her lips to the tip of his shaft.
18
It had the feel of an X-rated fantasy, but so much better because this was the very real Nicole with her lips wrapped around his cock. He held himself as still as he could, even though he craved the feel of the back of her throat. This was just the start; he didn’t want to scare her off with his more rough-edged side.
But that was before she began sucking him with deep, almost greedy draws. Before she surrounded him with the wet velvet of her mouth. Before she skimmed her fingers up and down the backs of his thighs, across his ass cheeks, between his legs. The contrast between the lightness of her touch and the intensity of her sucking made him lose his mind.
He gripped the back of her head, tilting it so he could thrust deeper. Her cheeks hollowed and her eyes half-closed.
“Fuck, that feels good,” he ground out. “Tell me if you want me to stop. Promise me. Cause I’m about to lose it.”
She winked at him. Winked!
He clenched his jaw to keep from exploding right then and there. Face it, he didn’t know where this was going to go, or whether they’d ever do this again. She might go right back to her arm’s-length manner as soon as they returned to the lodge. He didn’t want this moment to pass too quickly. He wanted to draw it out as long as he could.
But his cock didn’t care what he wanted. That beast was swelling bigger with every sweet pull of her mouth. A ball of energy built in his spine, tightening his balls, drumming through his veins.
He thrust forward, catching her by surprise. She quickly adjusted and caught onto his rhythm. Her hair tumbled across her naked back, nearly reaching the tender twin curves of her ass. Wild images bombarded through his head. He wanted to fuck that hair, feel its rich waves against his cock. He wanted to toss her onto her back, plunge inside, bury himself in her, lose himself.
Find himself.
And then he gave in and let the pleasure swamp him. Let the orgasm seize him and turn him upside down and inside out.
They lay side by side afterwards, Nicole tucked against him, his chest heaving as if he’d just run up and down…well, another cliff. Funny when he thought about how this whole night had started — with a call from help from the Rocky Peak FD.
When the call had come in, he’d been asleep, after going to bed furious with Nicole and her crazy raindrop therapy plans.
Which he still opposed. That wasn’t changing. But something else was nagging at him. A detail from that presentation in the media room.
“Art therapy for the disabled,” he said out loud.
“Hm?” She stirred against him, a warm, silky bundle of sexy female goodness.
“You mentioned art therapy for the disabled. Were you thinking about your sister?”
She nestled even closer against his side. “Yes. Well, the thought was inspired by Birdie. She loves art. They have a class at Sunny Grove that she never misses.”
“That’s where she lives?”
“Yes, for now. She’s on a waiting list for another home but those spots are in big demand. Roger found Sunny Grove after he—”
“After he kicked her out? Isn’t that what you said before?”
“She liked to chase his cat around. We couldn’t get her to stop,” she said ruefully.
He chuckled, then stopped—was that rude, to laugh at her sister’s mischievousness? His Rockwell irreverence might get him in trouble again here.
“You can laugh, it’s okay. Birdie is actually hilarious, but getting her to follow rules, forget it. She lives in the moment, completely.”
“Not a bad quality. Is she happy at Sunny Grove?”
“Sure. I mean, if she lived somewhere else, she’d probably like that too, unless it was horrible. If she hates something, it’s pretty clear. She won’t say so, but she gets very quiet, like a turtle going into its shell. You have to know how to read her signals because she doesn’t communicate like other people.”
He stroked her hair, sifting the soft strands through his fingers. “I hope I get to meet her.”
But that was the wrong thing to say, apparently. She sat up, shaking her hair away from him and twisting it into a knot. The old Nicole, cautious and on guard, stared back at him. He couldn’t imagine this Nicole taking his cock into her mouth, or coming so hard. Why did she keep such a lid on her wild side? “She won’t get on an airplane. Terrified of them. Besides, that’s a relationship type of thing, meeting my sister. We’re not in a relationship, remember?”
He stared at her. What kind of crazy reaction was that? “Why does it have to be a relationship thing? Why couldn’t it just be a human thing? She’s a human. I’m a human. You’re an amazing human I just had sex with. Or close enough. What are you freaking out about?”
She snapped an elastic tie around her hair. “I’m not freaking out. I’m just making it extra clear that we have to keep this,” she sketched a box with her finger, “within the lines. No coloring outside the box.”
“Are we back to art therapy again?”
Humor burst through her wariness as she let out a laugh. It was a damn good thing she found him amusing. Otherwise they’d never get anywhere.
“Maybe you should tell me exactly what’s in the box. Or what isn’t in the box.”
“Birdie is definitely not in the box. She’s a sensitive subject and I’m shocked I even told you about her. I don’t know why I did.”
“Probably because deep inside you know I’m trustworthy.”
With a cautious glance at him, she drew her lower lip between her teeth. “Do I? I told you, I’ve been burned in the past.”
He hated being compared to Roger Vance, who probably only cared about his money and his image. “I’ll prove you can trust me. I’ll stay in that little box of yours, as long as you’re in there with me.”
Her smile spread all the way to her eyes, which shone in the glow from the lantern. “We’ll make it the best box ever.”
“Can we be naked in the box?”
“Yes. It’s a clothing optional box.”
He grinned. “Then I don’t see a problem.”
But in the back of his mind, he did see a problem. Trust went both ways. And he still sensed she wasn’t telling him everything. If she was, why would they even need a “box”?
He’d never been good at coloring inside the lines. But he’d try.
He rolled out of the bed and walked to the window. Cupping his hands to block out the light, he peered into the still-dark outside world.
“It’s about an hour until sunrise and the rain has died down. We should probably head back.”
Nicole was already pulling on her wet pants, which she’d draped next to the fire. “Wow, these feel pretty dry. Thank you, secret wilderness cabin.” She stripped the sheets off the bed. “I think I’ll take these back to the lodge and wash them. I’ll have to sneak them back here before anyone notices.”
He watched her bundle everything up, so efficient, as if the lovemaking they’d shared had already been forgotten, except for the logistics.
Good thing he knew that wasn’t
entirely true, because she kept giving him surreptitious little glances and her cheeks were still flushed.
He should probably put some clothes on, but her businesslike attitude irritated him. Even if it was a one-time non-relationship thing, it was a damn good one-time thing. Their time together didn’t deserve to be instantly forgotten.
He strode over to her and lifted the bundle of sheets from her arms, then stuffed them into his duffel bag. “You know this changes things, don’t you?”
Her eyes widened, and a pulse fluttered in her throat. “What do you mean? Why does it have to change anything?”
“Because now that I know you have a wild side, I’m going to want to see it again. Rock climbing, maybe. Skydiving.” He winked at her. “Fair warning, the challenge is on.”
She relaxed. What had she thought he was going to say? Something more menacing? More obnoxious?
“And what about the lodge?” she asked carefully. “Does it change anything with respect to the lodge?”
“Hell no,” he said promptly. “Enemies to the end when it comes to raindrop therapy.”
She laughed. “You know, someday you’re going to try it and eat your words.”
He pulled on his clothes, still slightly damp but nothing his body heat couldn’t fix. “Maybe. But imagine if the rescue outpost was already a treatment room. What if I hadn’t been there? Poor Jim the birder might still be lost in Skyfall.”
“That’s a good point.” She was quiet for a moment, then snapped her fingers. “We’ll keep the fire outpost because having sexy firemen around will be an added bonus for the spa crowd.”
“Added bonus?”
“See?” She smiled at him mischievously. “I’m open to change. As long as it’s sexy change.”
“I hope that means you think I’m sexy.”
“Do you seriously have any doubt about that?”
Completely dressed now, he walked over to her and cupped her chin in his hand. He searched her face, looking for some sign of how she felt about him, about what they’d done, about what came next.
Her heart-shaped face told him nothing. She ran her tongue across her lips. Nervous? Excited? Regretful?
“I guess we’ll find out. In the box.”
“In the box,” she agreed.
It felt like a date.
“Let’s go, the sun’ll be up soon.” All business now, he closed the damper on the wood stove, returned the hurricane lanterns to their storage spots, put everything else back in order.
Outside, the rain had transformed into more of a mist. It kissed their faces with cool welcome as they made their way to the four-wheeler. Without saying anything else, they loaded up and headed back into the woods.
As they passed the first ridge with a view of the sky, Kai saw rosy fingers of light starting to appear on the horizon. Sunrise always began like this in the mountains. Darkness lifting to gray, then fingers of coral painting the horizon.
Love for Rocky Peak and these mountains grabbed his heart so fiercely it felt almost like a heart attack. How had he stayed away from this place for so long? How could he ever bear to leave?
And then it came to him, like the rays of the rising sun lighting up the valley. The idea had tried to emerge before, but he hadn’t allowed it to. Now he couldn’t stop the images flooding his thoughts.
What if he stayed?
What if he ran the lodge the way it ought to be run? The way it used to be run? Ski parties, dances, family reunions, hunting parties, fishing parties? Outdoor adventures…ski races…hiking expeditions? The lodge was losing money because Max was getting older and had less energy to spend on it. If he took over…
He could still do the rescue work he loved—right here at home. He could still spend time in the mountains. Still feel like he was making a difference. But he’d be based here. The place he’d grown up. With his family.
With Max.
He inhaled a long breath as they cruised through thick forests touched with the tender light of the new day.
Right….Max. The reason he was getting along okay with Max was that they weren’t talking about anything painful. They were coexisting. Avoiding battles. Keeping things cool.
But if he stayed on, that wouldn’t work. At some point, they’d be at each other’s throats again. He should do what he should have done years ago, but hadn’t known how to.
He should hash out all that painful history with his father.
Maybe with medical assistance standing by. Nurse Nicole, for instance.
If he decided to stay, what about Nicole and all her plans? Maybe he could adopt some of her ideas. They could expand the sauna a little bit. They could add camps for kids, even art therapy. Her ideas weren’t terrible.
Okay, maybe some of them were.
He dropped Nicole off at the front door. “I … uh…might call on you for some Max-whispering later.”
“What kind of Max-whispering?” Her eyebrows quirked with curiosity.
“I need to talk to him, and it might get his blood pressure up.”
“Talk to him about what? Not about…” She waved a hand back and forth between them. Her face was flushed from their ride and her hair a wild tangle. He fought back the urge to touch it. Anyone could be watching right now. Hell, Gracie was probably up early with her watercolors, laughing her ass off at their four-wheeler ride of shame.
“About the box?” he asked. “Nope, the box is completely private. What goes in the box stays in the box.”
“Starting to regret that metaphor,” she murmured.
He smiled at that. “This is about me and Max and it goes way back. I need you to make sure Max doesn’t blow a gasket.”
“Humans don’t have gaskets, you know that, right?”
He leaned closer, lowering his voice to an intimate level guaranteed to bring back hot memories of their night together. “Baby, any time you want to share more anatomy lessons, I’m there.”
She tilted her head forward so her forehead touched his. “Keep your door unlocked and maybe I’ll feel educational one of these nights.”
Bam. Was she serious or just teasing him? His cock didn’t have any doubts. He went rock hard at the idea of her showing up at his door. “You got it,” he managed.
She took a step toward the lodge, then turned back, lowering her voice. “Also, where is your room? I wouldn’t want to end up in a random birder’s suite.”
So she was serious. Hot damn.
He grinned at her. “I’m in one of the guesthouses. I’ll put some plastic antlers on the door, you can’t miss it.”
19
When Nicole got back to her room, she couldn’t sit still. Pacing around her cozy space, she sorted through every delicious detail of the night, committing everything to memory. What an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
She couldn’t do that again. She couldn’t! It was deceptive. But was it deceptive, now that they’d established “the box”? They both knew where things stood. She wasn’t deceiving him.
Oh, who was she kidding? Of course she was deceiving him. Until she told him all about the Summit Group and their plans for the lodge, she was keeping something a secret from him.
An idea stole into her mind, so tempting it almost made her cry.
What if she told Kai the truth? What if she laid it all out there—the coming offer, her part in it, its huge benefits for the Rockwells? The millions of dollars they’d make?
Just as quickly, she shut down the thought. Kai was an honest, straightforward guy who rescued people from life-threatening situations. He wouldn’t understand her reasons for coming to the lodge. He would just feel betrayed.
Also—he might send her away once he knew the truth. Which meant that she’d also lose this job and the best opportunity she’d ever had to take care of Birdie. She’d lose everything and gain nothing.
Telling the truth was out of the question.
Which meant she should not get any more involved with Kai. No more being alone with Kai, no mor
e getting naked with Kai, no more feeling his touch on her skin, his kiss on her—
She jumped when her phone buzzed. She’d left it behind during their rescue mission, which made last night the longest time she’d been separated from her phone in forever. Usually she had it practically implanted in her hand in case Birdie needed her.
But it wasn’t Birdie, it was Felicity.
Status report, please.
Nicole’s heart sank. She was supposed to relay everything to Felicity, but did that extend to the night she’d just spent with Kai? Hell no.
The presentation went really well, she texted back finally. Kai hated it.
Great. Along with a big thumb’s up.
Nicole thought about her conversation with Kai, about the rescued birder. Maybe she could do something right now to keep that piece of the lodge intact.
From your eyes and ears on the inside, a recommendation. The fire station needs to stay. It should be part of the sale contract.
Right away her phone rang with a call rather than a text.
“What are you talking about?” said Felicity. “That piece is a relic. It needs to be torn down.”
“Then replace it with a better building. But last night I saw someone get rescued and I think it’s important that some form of the fire station stays.”
“Someone got rescued? By who?”
“Kai.”
A brief moment of silence, along with some finger-drumming. “Oh Nico. You aren’t getting involved with Kai, are you?”
“No! What are you talking about?” She looked around the room in a panic, as if Felicity had a camera hidden somewhere. She wouldn’t put it past her.
“It’s the way you said his name. He means something to you. Nicole, don’t get distracted. Get it together. No fucking the rebel Rockwell.”
Nicole set her teeth. “Are you done, Shark Tank?”
“I don’t know, am I? Do I have to come out there? Because that’s the last thing I want to do. I’m not a fan of mountains, I’m a skyscraper girl.”
Oh sweet Jesus, that would be the worst possible plot twist. “Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no need for that. When are you planning to make the offer?”
The Rebel Page 14