Brad, who’s kneeling over by the fireplace and fiddling with some log setup design more Lincoln log than fire-worthy, looks back and sticks out his tongue. “Bitch, I’m a domestic fucking goddess. But I’m a twenty-first-century domestic goddess, not this caveman shit.”
Leaving Brad to whatever he’s doing lest I get roped into helping, I look back to Trey, who’s busy stirring the vegetable hash on the stovetop. “Figured you would’ve been too busy to notice me going outside anyway,” I tease.
Trey blushes but winks at me, then he leans over to get a peek at Brad’s ass before locking his eyes back on mine. “Just watching out for my little sister. Wouldn’t want you to get eaten by a bear or . . . anything else.” His words are more warning than an expression of concern, and I know he’s telling me to watch out for Aubrey. I give him a little nod of understanding, knowing he’s right and having already come to that conclusion myself.
Suddenly, Brad lets out a little cheering sound. “Yes! I have made fire!”
I look over to see a tiny little flame that’s barely the size of my thumb, but it’s there, and it’s spreading quickly. “Woohoo . . . great job, Brad! From now on, let’s just keep the fire going. Thankfully, we’ve got plenty of wood.”
“Speaking of plenty of wood,” Brad says, rolling his eyes when Trey snorts, “Not that, you pervert.” He gestures to the pile of logs stacked next to him. “You know where all this came from, right? Big Stud next door.”
“Don’t even start,” I declare, giving him a scowl before taking a sip of coffee.
Brad grows serious. “Okay, okay. But really, are you going to be okay with our neighbor on your own?”
“We’re exes, Brad,” I reply simply, not knowing just how much Trey told him last night. “But I’m not going to let him ruin a perfectly good vacation. He just needs to respect the boundaries and stay clear.”
“You see, that’s got me worried,” Trey says softly. “Ana, I was there before. I saw how devastated you were back then, but you can’t have this much animosity against him ten years later.”
I half growl, cutting into my omelet. “He broke my heart, Trey. It’s not like I still walk around pining for him, but I don’t have to forgive him just because it’s been a long time and he popped up in front of me.”
“That might be true,” Trey says, placating me. “But Ana . . . babe, this is a chance for you to heal that issue. I’m not saying to get back with him, far from it. Just a chance to get closure.”
“Thanks, Dr. Phil,” I grumble, though I don’t mean to sound bitchy. He’s probably right, but I don’t know if I could have a serious conversation with Aubrey. I’d either start yelling, or crying, or jump his bones, and I don’t want to do any of that. “I don’t need to go back to that time. It’s done and over with. I’ve moved on, he’s moved on . . . we’ll just avoid each other and it’ll be fine.”
Trey doesn’t say anything, just looks at me with those big puppy dog eyes of his as he eats his breakfast, a much healthier version of what he’s giving me. Brad takes his seat and gives me a look, letting me know he’s not done speaking by a long shot.
“Honey, from my point of view, you’ve got options. Talk to him or don’t, fuck him or don’t, ignore him completely or don’t.” Trey nearly chokes when Brad says, ‘fuck him’, and my jaw drops open in protest. Brad ignores both of us and barrels ahead. “There’s not a wrong choice here. You need a vacation and you’re here already. Just go with the flow, and whatever you decide to do, we’ll back you.”
He gives Trey a hard look, unusual for them since Trey is usually the sane one to balance Brad’s craziness. But I appreciate their advice and especially Brad’s promise that they’ll support me. “Look, guys, I don’t know what you want me to say here. I haven’t thought about Aubrey in years, not really. And admittedly, running into him has me spinning. So my first instinct is just to avoid the whole thing. I wasn’t looking for closure, don’t need it or to reminisce about the good old days. I definitely don’t need to fuck him, no matter how sexy he grew up to be. I just need a vacation. Some peace and quiet.” Shit, probably shouldn’t have admitted I noticed how hot Aubrey has gotten, but it’s not like they didn’t see for themselves.
Brad’s eyebrows shoot together as he smiles. “I didn’t see him before, but I will say that man is fine as fuck. No judgment if you do decide to go the sex route, but I will expect details.”
“Enough,” Trey says as he smacks Brad on the arm. “Ana, do whatever you need to do . . . avoid him or talk to him. Let us know if you need backup.”
I notice he left out Brad’s third suggestion because Brad is mouthing ‘fuck him’ at me with a smirk and nodding his head yes. I laugh out loud, and Trey sighs, the long–suffering sound more playful than truly annoyed.
“We’re heading out for a hike today, if you’re okay?” Trey asks, still looking a bit uncertain whether I’m going to dissolve into teenage broken-hearted tears once I’m alone.
“You two go have some fun. It’s your vacation too. I’ll be fine. I’m planning on doing nothing today but lying on the couch, drinking cocoa, and reading some romance novel involving a Mafia hitman who finds the woman of his dreams and hangs it up.”
“Oh, I read that one,” Brad says, getting up. “She dies and he goes all John Wick vengeance mode, ends up worse than he started. Sorry to tell you.” He laughs, and I point a finger at him and narrow my eyes, wishing I were more threatening, even in a joking manner.
I wave him off and clean up the dishes while the guys get ready. After they leave, I grab my Kindle and try to do exactly what I told them, letting the heat from the fire warm me. I bury myself in the story, but every time I try and imagine the tall, dark hero, all I see is Aubrey in my head.
Sighing, I set my tablet aside, flopping back on the couch to look at the ceiling. Shit, I can’t put up with this for weeks. I want to go talk to him, I want to take the axe on the wall to his balls, I want to hold those balls in my hand as I get ready to suck him deep and long, and I want to know what the hell happened back then.
Unable to just sit on my ass any longer, I get up, intending to go to the kitchen for a drink of water. As I reach for the kitchen cabinet, my hand freezes.
“Aubrey . . . what the fuck are you doing?” I whisper as I watch his front door open and he emerges. He’s walking stiffly, but the main thing is, he’s on his damn ankle. Crossing his front yard slowly, his dog at his side, he goes over to a chopping block before reaching down and grabbing the thermal undershirt he’s wearing to peel it off.
His chiseled upper body emerges into the sunlight. He’s massive, thick ridges of muscles on his abs leading up to a rock-hard chest, all of it covered in a fine coating of hair that has my mouth watering.
Damn it, he’s doing this on purpose. It’s cold as hell outside.
Reaching down, he picks up a log about the size of my waist before placing it on the chopping block, and then he turns to grab his axe. I’m treated to the sight of a back that looks capable of carrying the whole mountain.
I marvel at the perfection in front of me as he whips his axe over his head and it comes crashing down into the huge log, splitting it from top to bottom and sending the pieces tumbling. Damn it, the fool is completely ignoring my advice.
He limps over and picks up one of the halves, almost an insult to my nurse training as he leans on his axe for support again as he bends over to get the half.
Turning back to the chopping block, he stumbles, and that’s enough. I run to my room, ditching my bathrobe and pulling on some jeans and the hoodie that I’d packed. Yanking my boots on, I walk outside, quickly making my way across the space between us as Aubrey brings his axe down again.
As I walk, I’m again struck by how beautiful the day is. The sun’s rising high, the sky is so blue that it makes my eyes want to water, and the air smells so clean it’s like filling my body with pure energy.
Aubrey is just as breathtaking as he picks up another chunk of wood,
a light sheen of sweat already glistening on his body. His dog, Rex, I think, is lying nearby, just out of range of the flying shards.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I ask as Aubrey pauses, seeing me for the first time before setting his axe down.
“Chopping wood,” he says, and this close, I can still see the pain etched in his face. “Same as everyday.”
I glance over my shoulder, lifting an eyebrow. “Aubrey, there’s a pile that runs the whole length of the cabin over there,” I point out. “There’s more than enough. Didn’t I tell you to stay off your ankle?”
“Out here, you always need more wood,” Aubrey replies, ignoring the part about the ankle. I look back at him, a naughty voice in my mind saying that yes, I do need some wood . . . but not the kind he can cut with an axe. “Besides, you’re not a doctor.” And the dismissal shuts that naughty voice right up.
“No, I’m the one who bandages stubborn asses like you up,” I shoot back. “If you keep that up, you’re going to make it worse.”
I’m pissed at myself as I hear my voice, which sounds not stern or upset but worried about Aubrey. Dammit, I’m supposed to be stronger than this, but as he faces me fully, resting his hands on his hips and drawing my eyes to the V of muscle disappearing into his waistband, I know I’m weak. So fucking weak. I’m five feet away and practically drooling as I watch the sweat cool on his skin, making his nipples tighten. My own nipples stiffen, and I’m glad my hoodie is thick and I can’t poke through.
“I’m a big boy. I can handle it,” Aubrey replies, and the potential dirty twist on his words coupled with my own naughty thoughts makes me bark out a weird laughing sound. I slap my hand over my mouth, embarrassed at the noise.
He looks at me, a question in his eyes before pointedly letting his eyes slide down my body. I can read his look. He’s thinking of a few other things his big boy can take care of. Honestly, I am too as I feel the caress of his gaze almost as a physical touch. There’s a long moment of tension, the air thickening between us as I wonder what he thinks about what he sees. He’s not the boy he once was, but I’m not the girl I used to be either.
He licks his lips like I’m a snack he’d happily devour, and I blush, which finally pushes me out of my desire enough to put a little bit of steel in my voice. “Fine. Have it your way. Make it worse for all I care.”
I need to get away from him. My body’s need for Aubrey’s touch is driving me nuts, and I hate it. I hate that even as my mind says no, my body is definitely saying yes, please. And it pisses me off that he can get me hot and bothered with no more than a heated glance.
I turn on a boot heel and start to walk away. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you when you can’t walk at all and you’re in the hospital to get surgery. I’ll say I told you so.” I know it’s bratty and bitchy, but they’re the only defenses I can call up right now. And I need a defense, a big wall of space and time and distance between me and Aubrey before I do something epically stupid.
I stomp off, feeling like I’m about to catch fire in this hoodie, heat rising in my body from embarrassment, arousal, and anger. I pray he doesn’t tell me to stop because I might. I might stop, turn around, and run to him. Fuck the past and let him just fuck me now.
Chapter 6
Aubrey
I watch Ana’s ass as she walks away, my cock hardening in my pants. The way each cheek clenches as she takes a step, trying to look angry as she stomps on the cold ground, is both cute and arousing, and next to me, Rex whimpers.
She left me high and dry yesterday. Not this time. I’m not going to stand here, my cock aching in my jeans and words on the tip of my tongue as she leaves me. Not this time.
“Rex . . . get her,” I say with a snap of my fingers, and Rex is off like a shot. To him, this is all a game. I’ve spent a lot of time training him.
Ana doesn’t know that though, and as Rex barks, she lets out a yell that echoes off the mountains before taking off, trying to get to her cabin before Rex closes in on her. She never has a chance. It’s too far, but that doesn’t stop her from trying.
Rex plays the game, though, bounding around in front of her and steering her away, sending her curving this way and that like he’s herding her. Suddenly, she trips over the mess of her feet and Rex’s and tumbles to the ground. Rex is on her in an instant, standing over her and probably ready to lick her face off. He might look dangerous, but he’s the furthest thing from it.
“Fuck! Help!” she screams as he stands over her, waiting for my command.
“Rex . . . kiss,” I say as I walk up. Rex leans down and licks Ana’s face, the screams continuing but changing into peals of laughter as Rex gets her face good. “Okay, off!”
Rex gets off, trotting happily as he comes back to my side. Ana wipes at her face, anger, laughter, and more burning in her eyes. “What the fuck was that for?”
“What’d you expect me to do, run you down?” I ask. “Let’s talk.”
Ana goes to get up, but when I look at Rex, she stops, staying on her butt. She looks up at me, sass filling her tone. “Fine, talk. What about? The weather? Sports? Politics?”
I shake my head, holding out my hand to help her to her feet. She looks at it like it’s a snake, so I’m surprised when she actually takes it. Pulling her up is easy. She’s as light as a feather, and as she gets up, her chest brushes against my body briefly. My cock jumps in my jeans as I feel the soft smoosh of her breasts against me, and she freezes, feeling it too.
Slowly, so as not to scare her or more likely piss her off any more, I move to brush off some dirt that got on her sweatshirt. As I do, a desire, powerful and deep, pulls inside me, and Ana’s face darkens as she pulls away. “There . . . cleaner now.”
“Don’t sic your dog on me and I’ll stay clean,” she replies, but I can see it in her eyes . . . she wants to be dirty but she’s fighting it. Her face is flaming that pink shade I always adored, and her eyes are big and dilated. She wants me as badly as I want her. “That was a dick move, sending your dog after me.”
I shrug, wanting to touch her skin again but knowing this isn’t the right time yet. “What can I say? You told me not to strain my ankle, and Rex likes to play.”
“But I don’t,” Ana replies, stepping back another step and dusting off her butt. “And I would appreciate if you left me out of the games.”
I step closer. “And I would appreciate if you’d stop trying to shut me out. We need to talk.”
Ana snorts, looking at me out of the side of her eyes. “About what? The brochure said no refunds.” She’s fighting valiantly to stay off-topic, ignore the elephant in the room, but I can’t let her.
I shake my head, taking another half-step forward and looking into those eyes it broke my heart to leave. “Us.”
Ana swallows, trying to hang onto the remnants of her anger as she looks up at me, but her voice is soft, vulnerable. “Aubrey, there is no us. Hasn’t been for a long time.”
I reach out for her hand, but she pulls back slightly so I lower my hand. “I want to explain.”
It’s Ana’s turn to shake her head, her eyes glistening with bad memories. “There’s nothing to explain. It was years ago, and it’s over and done with. You left me high and dry and it hurt. It broke my heart, but I’m over it now.”
She tries to say it with conviction, and it almost sounds like something she’s said before, maybe more than once. There’s no anger in her voice, just sadness and the raw vulnerability that I’m seeing now, and I know she isn’t over it. Her actions have all but said otherwise.
I scratch my cheek, wishing I’d trimmed my beard a bit, and search for the words to get her to listen, just for a moment. “I know I fucked up, but I really need for you to know why. I’m just not good at this and don’t know how to tell it.”
Ana stops, crossing her arms and nodding. “Okay, sure. Go ahead and get it off your chest so you feel better. Why the hell not?” Her voice is dripping in sarcasm, which tells me how much pain she’
s in because Ana is sweet . . . always. She couldn’t have changed that much. But she’s on a roll now, even as her voice loses the harsh tilt in favor of a sadder tone. “Why’d you shatter me in front of everyone and leave me looking like a damn fool, my heart in a million pieces? Why’d you haunt my dreams for years afterward? Why’d you have to poison every other relationship I’ve ever had since then? Trust me, there’s not a thing you can say that’ll explain that.”
Holy fuck. Talk about a bomb dropping on my head. She’s been underneath this crushing burden that I laid on her shoulders, and I’m just now seeing it.
I open my mouth, but my tongue’s tied. How can I tell her what happened so that it will make sense to her? If I tell her the truth, it might sound like bullshit. I realize now that it’s going to take some time to help her understand. Time she may not give me.
But I’m still going to try. “It’s complicated. I can’t just say it in a few sentences.”
Ana snorts derisively. “Complicated?” she parrots disbelievingly.
I nod, keeping my face calm. “We should have a seat and I’ll try to explain.”
Ana studies my face for a minute, searching for something, then sighs. “Fine. Where?”
I turn, gesturing with my hand. “My cabin.”
Ana glances over, her face blushing. I can tell what she’s thinking. She’d be in my space, alone . . . in close quarters. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
I step closer until our bodies are just a few inches apart, pulled toward her like a magnet. This close, I can see that she’s barefaced and so beautiful, her natural color making her glow in the morning light. “I think it’s a great idea. You and I can finally come to an . . . understanding.”
Ana says nothing, but her breathing quickens. Taking a risk, I reach out, pulling her close and letting her feel the hard thickness of my cock against her warm body. She whimpers softly, and I take that as a good sign. I lower my head, bringing my lips close to hers. “Come with me, Sweet Ana.”
Untamed (Irresistible Bachelors Book 9) Page 5