by Scarlet Fox
Katie was pleased to see he looked completely well-groomed and together. His hair wasn’t mussed with sleep. His clothes weren’t wrinkled. He did not look like a man who’d been naked and passed out after a night of wild sex. She only prayed she looked half as convincing.
“Nope. Not all winter. Thankfully, you’ll only end up missing one extra day of work.” He lifted his brows with a grin. “I called the boss, by the way. Explained the situation. He extended your leave.”
“Shit. I didn’t even think of that,” Lei said. He exhaled with relief, grateful not for the first time that he and Nathan worked together. Calling their boss had been the last thing on his mind during his time at the cabin. “Thanks.”
Nathan nodded. Then after a moment, he motioned toward the front door. “Well, are you two ready to get out of here and get back to the real world?”
This question caused Katie’s stomach to turn with anxiety. No. She was not ready to get back to the real world. She wanted to stay here, with Lei. She wanted to sleep in his arms like she’d done the past two nights. Was it possible to fall in love in such a short time? Was she deluding herself? Just a few days ago, she’d been with Zack. Did she really believe she and Lei had fallen in love and created a bond so strong it would continue once they were home? Did she really think they could have built the foundation of forever in two short days? Or would everything come crashing down around them once they were settled back in to everyday life? “Y-Yeah. I guess I’m ready.”
Lei’s hand went to her back before quickly falling away and dropping to his side. “Yeah. I’m ready too.” There was tension in his voice. Was he experiencing the same concerns? Or worse, was he having regrets now that they were returning home? He’d said he’d cared about her for years now, but had she lived up to his expectations?
As she followed Nathan outside to his truck, she couldn’t help but run these worries over and over again through her mind. She didn’t think she could take the heartbreak of losing Lei, not after she’d just found him.
Chapter Seven
Their arrival back at the lodge had been greeted with chaos. The manager sent them immediately to the lodge’s doctor to be assessed, something completely unnecessary. Then he’d done everything in his power to make certain they were compensated for their troubles. He didn’t want them giving a disgruntled interview to the press and was obviously doing everything in his power to appease them.
Katie wasn’t worried about having their rooms comped or a free return trip. She was concerned with what Lei was thinking. But she’d been unable to get him alone. There was too much going on around them, too many people demanding their attention for them to get a moment alone. Heck, there’d even been a local reporter they’d had to deal with. They’d posed for his picture and given a short interview.
She’d then had to deal with Zack. She’d assumed he would be long gone, but apparently he’d stuck around in an attempt to win her back, even after his indiscretions. She hadn’t hesitated in telling him their relationship was over. Even if she hadn’t been head over heels in love with Lei, she wouldn’t have stayed in a relationship with someone who didn’t value her enough to be honest. He hadn’t cared about her enough while he’d been cheating to think about how his actions would hurt her, and she surely didn’t trust him anymore. Their relationship was over. Confessing this to him didn’t even fill her with any sadness. She was more relieved than anything else. It was obviously a relationship that wasn’t going to go anywhere. It was better for both of them to end it now.
After Zack, she’d had to pack up her room, and Nathan had never left her side. He’d hovered, wanting to make sure she was emotionally all right after her break up with Zack and being stranded for two days out in the woods. Shortly after she’d packed up, the group piled into their cars and started the drive home. She’d been seated next to Lei, her thigh pressed against his throughout the drive. It had been an exquisite form of torture, being that close to him without being able to discuss the thoughts whirring through her mind.
Nathan had personally dropped her off home first, not leaving any opportunity for a discussion with Lei. Resigned, Katie had started unpacking. She decided to wait for Lei to call. He had her cell phone number; he’d had it since she was fifteen. If he wanted to see her, he knew how to get in touch.
That had been three days ago. She’d known he was busy at work, he’d told them as much on the drive up to the mountains, but she’d thought she warranted at least a text. It appeared she was wrong. Three days and she’d heard not a word from him. So much for her vision of a future lasting longer than the spur of the moment. Apparently, their time together had been nothing more than a fling.
Sighing, she sat back in her kitchen chair and pushed away the bowl of ice cream in front of her. Comfort food. She was gorging on comfort food. Anyone might think it was due to her breakup with Zack, but it had nothing to do with Zack and everything to do with Lei. He’d broken her heart worse than Zack, somehow. It was because she’d truly felt something for him, something she’d thought might last. Their history made everything feel so much more personal.
“Shit. I’m pathetic.” She groaned and closed her eyes. As she sat in silence, desperately trying to push Lei from her thoughts, the front door chimed. “Oh now what?” she grumbled.
Nathan had stopped by every day since their trip, and his overprotectiveness was starting to get on her nerves. She’d been stranded, sure, but she’d been in a beautiful log cabin with a sexy man who’d spent the entire time fulfilling her every sexual desire. It had been no chore. She wasn’t going to have any lasting emotional damage from the experience, at least not from the being stranded part.
Climbing to her feet, she let out an aggravated huff. She marched to the front door and yanked it open. “What?” Instead of finding Nathan at her apartment door, she saw Lei.
Even at a quick glance, he looked exhausted. There were bags under his eyes and his shirt was rumpled. “I couldn’t sleep without you,” he said, voice gruff.
His words caused her breath to catch. Her grip tightened on the door as she whispered, “Neither could I.”
He ran a hand through his thick black hair, his eyes downcast on the ground. “Then why did you never return my text?”
Katie gasped, disbelief filling her. “You texted me?” She yanked her cell phone from her pocket and examined her messages. She had nothing new. Not a surprise, as she’d been checking nonstop for three days now. “I have nothing, Lei. You never texted me.”
He pulled out his own phone and pulled up his messages. “Yes, I did. Only a couple hours after Nathan dropped you off. See?” As she examined the text, he said, “I thought you just didn’t want to see me. I was trying to respect that, but it got to be too hard. I needed to see you.”
“Lei, how …” And then it dawned on her. She inhaled as anger filled her. “That son of a bitch!”
Lei blinked at her in surprise. “I beg your pardon?”
“Zack,” she said with a growl. “He was here. Around the time you texted me. He tried once again to get me to go back to him.”
“And what did you tell him?” Lei asked stiffly.
“No! Of course I told him no. Did you have any doubt?”
He shook his head sheepishly. “No. But after you didn’t respond …”
“Zack must have commandeered my phone at some point. I just know he deleted the text. There’s no other explanation.”
Shoulders sagging in obvious relief, he asked, “So you wanted me to call?”
“Yes! A thousand times yes! I was going crazy wondering why you hadn’t tried to contact me.” In all honesty, she probably should have called him herself when he didn’t contact her. She wasn’t timid, nor was she afraid to go after what she wanted. But this wasn’t just any guy. This was Lei, her brother’s best friend, which made things more complicated. The feelings she had for him were new and intense, more so with him than any man she’d ever dated. She’d been nervous to initiate cont
act. Truthfully, she’d been frightened he might have changed his mind. She knew she wouldn’t have been able to hear such a thing from him, so she’d taken the timid route and waited for him to make the first move. It seems she’d been a fool. She should have just called.
“Well, I’m here now.” He took a tentative step farther into the apartment. “You wouldn’t care if I stayed over then? So that we can both sleep a little better.”
Laughing, Katie jumped up into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. “Lei, I don’t want to spend another night without you in my bed.” She waved behind her in the direction of her bedroom. “Lead the way.”
And as he led her toward the back of her apartment, she knew in her heart the two of them were starting something real here. She was never letting him go. Lei was the man of her dreams, and no one else would ever do.
Epilogue
Katie awoke to the sounds of movement in her bedroom. At first, it took her a moment to remember the events of the night before. Once she did, she peeked an eye open to find Lei slipping quietly back into his clothing. “Where are you going?” she mumbled tiredly. It was five thirty in the morning, way too early for anyone to be up.
“Sorry, baby,” he whispered. “I was trying not to wake you. I have to go in to the office this morning. And before I can, I have to stop back home for a change of clothes. I was trying to let you sleep in.”
“You’ll be back?” She sat up on an elbow, concern in her eyes. Last night, they’d fallen into bed and made love. There hadn’t been much time to talk. She’d hoped they could do that some before he left this morning. It was obvious where they both wanted things to go, but discussing their new relationship would have been a relief to them both, surely.
“Of course I’ll be back. In fact, I’m supposed to have dinner with Nathan tonight. I’d love it if you’d join me … as my date.”
Katie inhaled sharply and froze at this suggestion. If she came with Lei, Nathan would know right away what was going on. Lei was willing to take their relationship public, to his best friend, her brother, already. “I’d really love that.” She hesitated. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.” He returned to the bed and leaned down to give her a quick kiss. “I’d like nothing more.”
When he went to pull away, Katie held on tightly, not wanting him to leave. “Are you sure you have to leave right away?” Just to make sure he understood what she meant, she gripped the front of his shirt in her fist and pulled him down for another slow, longing kiss.
He groaned against her lips, his hands coming down to rest on the mattress to keep himself from falling onto her. “Now that you mention it, I doubt they would miss me if I came in an hour late.” His lips found hers in a searching kiss.
“An hour, huh?” she asked with a grin.
Kicking off his shoes, Lei crawled onto the bed, cocooning her body with his. “Perhaps two.”
Katie giggled, having a feeling there would be many such mornings like this in their future. She was going to enjoy each and every one of them.
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