More Than Pancakes (The Maple Leaf Series Book 1)

by Christine DePetrillo

  Lily sat on his hips, her bottom all soft and hot on his thighs. She reached up an arm and pulled out the elastic binding her curls together. They spilled about her naked shoulders in a red-gold explosion that had Rick’s temperature soaring. Had he ever seen someone so spectacularly perfect?

  No. Never.

  He reached up and brushed his hands over her breasts, and she moved her hips just enough to completely undo him. Rick pushed to sitting and wrapped an arm around her. His fingers found the scars on her back, and he played them like the strings of his guitar, only the music she made came in soft moans and heated gasps. She was a glorious instrument, and for the moment, all his.

  After digging a condom out of the pocket of his discarded jeans and putting it on, Rick covered Lily’s breast with his mouth. She placed her hands on either side of his head then slid them down his back. He released her, only to find a new level of ecstasy when she parted her legs, took him in, surrounded him. She writhed in small circles with him inside her, and he was certain he’d reach his peak in seconds. Long before she would be ready. She knew exactly how to work him, exactly what movements would bring him to the edge.

  Lily pushed Rick to his back, letting her fingernails glide over his chest, down his arms. She leaned forward, changing her angle and overwhelming him with sensations too good to be of this planet. Surely he had reached heaven in this angel’s embrace.

  Finding his mouth with hers, Lily nipped slowly at his lips then took what she wanted more forcefully, her tongue grazing along his teeth, dancing with his tongue. She tasted like apple cider and maple cinnamon muffins, and Rick wanted to live on her alone, eat nothing but her day after day.

  He snaked his hands around her hips and drove himself deeper into her wet folds. When she threw her head back, shuddered, and whispered his name, he gave all he had to her. She spasmed, again and again, her eyes closed, her hands flattened on his chest right over his scar. With a final shudder, she lowered so her head rested on his chest, and she released him, slowly. He forgot how to breathe as each inch of him left her. They lay like that, Rick on his back and Lily using him like a beach towel, for several catching-their-breaths moments.

  Finally Lily said, “Everything sounds good in there.” She rubbed a hand where Rick’s heart was returning to a steady beat. “I love that sound.” She slipped her arms around Rick’s waist and snuggled against him.

  He gathered her as close as he could, let his legs tangle with hers, dropped a kiss on her forehead, and pulled a quilt from the back of the couch down over them. “I feel like it’s guaranteed to beat forever with you around.”

  She raised her head and rested her chin on his collarbone while she kissed his jaw. He shifted to look at her face, illuminated only by the light spilling in from the kitchen. A face he could stand to look at for eons. Those big, blue-green eyes had him. He was trapped prey and perfectly happy to be that.

  Right now.

  Maybe longer.

  Rick coiled some of Lily’s curls around his finger, and her eyes closed again. When they opened, headlights outside made her pupils get small. Rick angled his chin up so he could look—upside down—out the window at the front of the house. He never closed the shades, but he’d never had a need with just him in the cabin. The only guests he had were Aunt Joy and his cousins.

  “Shit.” Rick wrapped the quilt around Lily’s shoulders then grabbed his jeans. “Probably Hope or Sage come to annoy me. Again.”

  “Don’t be mad at them. They didn’t know you were going to be… entertaining this evening.” Lily walked her fingers along his stomach, both tickling him and arousing him.

  “Turn off the kitchen light. Let’s pretend I’m not home.” He indulged in a steaming kiss before picking up Lily’s clothes and draping them over her shoulder. “Bathroom. Go. Unless you want to greet my cousins or aunt in this lovely quilt you’re wearing.”

  She pressed another kiss to his lips and disappeared down the dark hallway. Rick waited until the bathroom light went on and the door closed before putting on his clothes and straightening the couch cushions and pillows.

  “There,” he said. “No funny business happening here. We were just… talking.”

  He knew the moment he opened the door Hope and/or Sage would know what he’d been doing. Oh, God, what if it is Aunt Joy?

  Rick could take busting from his cousins, but Aunt Joy would want to know what in the hell he was thinking, and honestly, he didn’t know. All he did know was Lily gave him back something he’d lost a long time ago.

  Faith. In other people. In life. In himself.

  When he reached the door, he heard footsteps coming up the front stairs. He turned on the porch light and opened the door.

  The gun pointed at his gut was the last thing he expected.

  ****

  Lily hummed quietly in Rick’s bathroom as she dressed. She was simultaneously exhausted and exhilarated from making love with him.

  And that’s what it was. Making love. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to calm the runaway curls. She’d only been having sex before Rick. Going through the motions, pleasuring her body, but not her heart.

  Not her soul.

  She looked at herself in the mirror above the sink. Something extra glittered in her eyes. A spark, and not one put there by work. Yes, designing was her life. She didn’t think she could stop doing it if she tried, but there had always been something missing. She hadn’t allowed herself to realize that before meeting Rick. She’d filled the emptiness with parties and movies, but had never felt complete. He had somehow managed to fill that intangible void.

  “It’s ridiculous, but you love him,” she whispered to her reflection. Lily had a sudden urge to tell Rick, crazy as it was. She hardly knew the man, but she pulled on his sweatshirt and opened the bathroom door. She nearly tripped over Poe who sat right at the threshold.

  “What are you doing, girl?” She scratched the coyote and tried to walk around her, but the animal kept corralling her back deeper into the hall as if it were herding sheep. “Stop being so silly, Poe.”

  Lily forced her way down the hall, zigzagging around the coyote and listening for Hope, Sage, or Joy’s voice.

  Instead, she heard nothing.

  “Rick?” She entered the kitchen and rounded the wall separating the front door from the rest of the cabin. When she saw Rick’s hands up and out to his sides, she clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle the scream.

  “You lied, lumberjack.” Drew pushed the pistol into Rick’s stomach, backing him up. “I knew Lily was here.”

  She swallowed her shock. Not the time to go all damsel in distress. It was her fault Rick was in danger right now. Her doing. She should have just gone back to California when he said he wasn’t going to sell his land to her.

  “Why are you still here, Drew?” Lily stepped closer to Rick. “And where the hell did you get that gun?” She tried to get in front of Rick, but he wouldn’t let her. He kept her at arm’s length and away from the weapon.

  “Stay over there, Lily.” Rick backed up a couple steps.

  Drew looked at the gun and waved it. “Do you have any idea how easy it is to get a gun around here? Another reason you don’t belong in Vermont, Lily. It’s too dangerous, honey. You need to come back to California with me. Where you belong. With me.”

  “I’m not ready to go back to California, Drew.” Lily met Rick’s gaze as he looked over his shoulder at her. She wanted to tell him she loved him right now. Just in case.

  No. I’m going to get rid of Drew first.

  She squared her shoulders and took a step toward Drew. She’d just back him up to the front porch, get him outside, and deal with him. He wouldn’t shoot her. She was sure of it.

  “Lily, what are you doing?” Rick tried to keep her back.

  “She’s coming to me, lumberjack. She’s changing her mind about you.” Drew’s smile held all the smugness of a true villain. How could she have felt bad for not loving him? How could she ha
ve had sex with him?

  Because I didn’t know what making love was. Not until Rick.

  She had to protect Rick, the man who had shown her the simple pleasures in life, the man who had opened her eyes. She took another step, but froze in place when Drew pressed the pistol into Rick’s stomach and wiggled his finger on the trigger.

  “No!” Lily yelled.

  At that same moment, Poe came running from the hall. She arrowed right for Drew, and he moved the gun from Rick’s gut to squeeze off a shot. The coyote whimpered and limped back on three paws, her front right one oozing fresh blood.

  Lily went to the animal, but the gun was already trained back on Rick. Gathering Poe close, Lily took off Rick’s sweatshirt to blot at the wound. It didn’t look deep, just a graze, but it infuriated her.

  “Drew, I thought you were on your way to California. Your message, your apology, you said you were leaving.”

  “Look, no one has to get hurt here.” Rick shot a worried glance to Poe, and Lily knew he wanted to go to her, but Drew wasn’t moving the nose of that gun.

  “She’s okay, Rick,” she assured. “It’s not deep.” Turning to Drew, she said, “What is it you want?”

  “You.” Drew angled his chin toward her. “I want you, Lily. Always you.”

  “You can’t have her,” Rick said.

  “Seeing as how I’m the one with your gun, I think I can have anything I want.” Drew smiled and glanced at the weapon. “Nice piece, by the way. Think I’ll keep it as a souvenir.”

  Lily thought about rushing Drew and knocking him off his feet, but she knew under his overpriced leather jacket muscles coursed down his arms and across his chest. She was taller, but he wouldn’t topple easily and not without potentially hurting Rick in the process. No way she would take that risk.

  She tied the sleeve of the sweatshirt around Poe’s leg to stop the bleeding. The coyote rested its head in her lap. “You came for me, Drew.” She eased Poe off her thighs and stood. “Put the gun down, and I’ll go with you.” Lily walked to Rick’s side.

  “No, Lily.” Rick turned his attention away from Drew and grabbed her shoulders. “You are not going anywhere with him.” Pushing her behind him, he turned back toward Drew and the gun.

  “Seems as if Lily wants to come with me, Mr. Stannard.” Drew craned his head so he could see over Rick’s shoulder to Lily. “Better let the lady make her choice. The right choice.”

  Lily put her hand on Rick’s waist, and Drew flicked his gaze to her movement. The gun never wavered in his hand, but he clearly didn’t like Lily touching Rick.

  “Rick, I brought this trouble here,” Lily whispered. “Let me take it out of here too.”

  “You’re not going with him.” He reached his arms back and took Lily’s wrists in his hands.

  “I don’t get Lily, you don’t get to take another breath, lumberjack.” Drew shifted the gun to his other hand, and Lily knew he could make the shot right or left-handed. She’d seen him shoot a bow and arrow with both hands, swing a bat, a tennis racket, a hockey stick. He’d always hit his mark with either hand.

  “If I go with you,” Lily started, “we have to leave right away. You don’t shoot anyone.”

  “That’s not as fun, but fine. C’mon, let’s go.” Drew held out his hand and motioned for Lily to come to him.

  “Lily’s not going anywhere with you.” Rick pushed forward, letting the barrel of the gun press into his stomach again. “Put the gun down, and we’ll fight fair.”

  Drew seemed to consider this for a moment, but Lily wasn’t going to stand around and wait for them to duel to the death over her. This wasn’t medieval times or the Wild West or Hollywood.

  “Drew’s right, Rick,” Lily said. “I’m choosing him. You and I wouldn’t have worked anyway. I mean, you’re a hermit. Too simple for my tastes. The bathroom in my penthouse is practically the size of this entire cabin. You can’t afford me with your little maple syrup business and building barns.” The words burned her tongue. Lying never tasted right.

  Drew backed toward the front door, a delighted grin on his face. “Got to love her spunk, huh, lumberjack? It’s what makes her so sexy.”

  “You don’t mean that, Lily,” Rick said, but she could tell by his voice he wasn’t sure.

  Good.

  “You won’t move to the city. You’d rather hide behind the trees. I can’t live like this.” She threw her hands out to indicate the cabin and the woods outside. “Besides, I just wanted your land, Mr. Stannard. If I had to degrade myself to achieve that goal, so be it. I’d do anything in the interest of my career. To please my boss and company.” Shaking her head, she said, “I belong with Drew in California.”

  “I’ll second that,” Drew said.

  In a lightning fast movement and while Rick was looking at Lily with a dumbfounded expression on his beautiful face, Drew sent a roundhouse kick into Rick’s stomach. When Rick bent over, Drew drove his elbow into the back of Rick’s neck.

  Lily struggled not to rush to Rick’s side when he collapsed to the floor. “That wasn’t necessary, Drew.” She balled her hands into fists at her sides. “He would have let me go with you.”

  “It was taking too long. Besides, you should be happy I didn’t kill him.”

  Drew nudged Rick’s crumpled form with his foot, and Rick let out a groan as he rolled to his back. His eyes opened, and Lily let out a breath.

  “See, he’s still alive.” As Drew reached over Rick’s body and yanked Lily to his side, he trained the weapon on Rick again. “Hope you got a good taste of her, because you’ll probably never snag a woman of this caliber again, lumberjackass.”

  Lily looked Rick straight in the eye though it killed her to do so. The hurt on his face tore her up, but how else could she keep him safe? If Rick thought she had made her choice—if she’d insulted him, made him think this was all a ploy to get his land—he wouldn’t go looking for her. If he didn’t go looking for her, he wouldn’t encounter Drew again, and he’d stay out of danger. Nothing could happen to Rick. Lily wouldn’t be able to live with herself if something did. Better to fly back to California with Drew and deal with him there, far away from Rick and his family.

  Rick made a move to get up, but Drew waved the gun. “Get up and you’re dead. Lily shouldn’t have to see me kill you, but I will if I have to.”

  Lily watched Rick’s right hand as it rubbed a spot between his ribs. Was this bullshit causing another attack? She juggled between kneeling beside Rick to make sure he was okay and getting Drew the fuck out of there. Deciding that Rick was conscious enough to get to a phone and dial 911, Lily slid her feet into her boots and tugged the bigger problem through the front door. The cold night air bit at her. Ripped through her skin. Made everything hurt.

  “C’mon, Drew.” With a final look back at Rick spread out on the floor, Lily climbed in the open driver’s side of Drew’s rented SUV and scooted to the passenger side as Drew got in. He closed the door and started the vehicle. Within moments, Drew had peeled out of the driveway.

  Lily didn’t say anything. She was too busy concealing the fact that she was crying. Her insides ached over what she had said to Rick, over the hurt she’d caused him. She closed her eyes and imagined saying what she had planned to say to him after coming out of the bathroom. That she loved him.

  Now he’d never know.

  But he’ll be safe, she reminded herself. And that, above all else, was essential.

  Drew patted her hand, and Lily struggled not to shirk away from him.

  “Now, this is right, honey. You and me. Just like always.” He smiled cheerily, and the range of emotions Drew exhibited in a small time frame seriously freaked Lily. “I’ve packed your suitcase. It’s in the back with mine. I’ve organized flights and a limo to drive us back to Gems Utopia once we land. Figure you’re tired of being carted around in a pickup truck like cargo.” He rolled his eyes as they continued down Rick’s long driveway.

  “It’s okay, Lily. You’re allow
ed to screw up. You wanted to see what it would be like to have sex with a pity case. A poor, country simpleton. But was it worth it?”

  Yes, good God, yes. “No. It was silly. I guess I got scared in the woods, and you weren’t here to see me through it.”

  Drew tossed his arm around her shoulders, and Lily wondered where he’d stowed the gun. “I’m sorry, honey. I shouldn’t have let you go alone. None of this would have happened if I’d come with you. It’s okay now. We’ll get you settled back in La Jolla, and I’ll oversee the building of the resort here. We’ll make plans. It’ll all work out.”

  Not the right time to mention she still intended on changing Rita and Webster’s mind about the Vermont resort. Lily definitely didn’t want Drew traveling back here by himself. She could only imagine what methods he would employ to get Rick off his land.

  Drew looked at her now and smiled. Lily marveled over his ability to seem like a normal person. He’d fooled her for years, fooled their clients, fooled the world. She shivered at the duality.

  California was full of actors, pretenders playing parts, but Lily hadn’t realized it was also full of liars.

  “Keep your eyes on the road,” Lily said, sounding more cranky than was probably safe. “It’s slick out here.” She looked out the windshield at the dusting of snow on Rick’s driveway.

  “Another reason to go back to California,” Drew said. “It’s always sunny. None of this cold, white shit to deal with.”

  Not long ago, Lily would have whole-heartedly agreed with Drew. Now she wanted nothing more than to be at Rick’s, snuggling under a quilt next to his naked body, and watching snow fall over his woods. She wouldn’t have thought it possible to become a completely different person in just a matter of days, but meeting someone like Rick could bring about such a transformation. Lily knew she would never be the same. She didn’t want to be.