by C. M. Owens
Killian bristles, narrowing his eyes at Hale, as I smirk.
“You going to go chase after the sister right away?” Killian asks, cutting his gaze away from Hale.
“Fuck no. I’m showering first, since someone broke the only damn shower in our one room cabin on the first night,” I remind them, saying that last part real damn loud for the people in the back.
“Like I meant to do that!” Jared Malone shouts from way behind.
“Fourteen guys in one small cabin with no shower? It’ll take me an hour to wash this stench off,” I say through clenched teeth, getting angry just thinking about how long it’s going to take me to get gas, get back to my Jeep, drive home, shower, and then track her down. “If she got a whiff of me now, she’d never see me the same again.”
“True,” Hale concedes. “You’re already struggling even when you smell good.”
I’m going to kill that cocky son of a bitch.
“Getting laid has made you a bigger asshole than usual,” I point out.
“You’re just bitter because you couldn’t get laid even if you crawled up a chicken’s ass and waited,” he fires back.
Damn it. Now he’s even better at being a smartass.
Killian snorts, and I slant my eyes toward him. “As if you’ve got room to laugh about that shit,” I remind him.
His laughter dies immediately, and his eyes go flat as he just looks at me like I’m the biggest asshole in the world.
“That’s cold. And a little disturbing,” he grumbles, muttering that last part just loud enough for me to hear it.
I smile, glad that I at least got the upper hand on one of the fucking Vincents.
Cougar takes off, using her route to bypass the town…or to stay upwind of us. She bailed out and elected to walk long before we ran out of gas.
If Cougar can’t stand the smell of me, I can only imagine what Piper will think. I can’t even get the girl to kiss me.
“Pathetic,” Killian says again when Hale climbs a tree and curses the phone for still having no signal. “I’m going to laugh if this chick already went home.”
Hale cuts a glare toward his brother.
“Do you want to die?” he asks very seriously.
“If I did, I’d just climb your ego and then fall down to your IQ,” Killian quips with a fuck off smile.
I smile at that, because it’s nice to see Hale sweating a little. He’s talked a big game these past five days, since I think he lost his virginity, if I’m being honest.
If not, he hadn’t been but with maybe one other chick in his entire life. Then he lands a girl like Reese while I struggle my ass off? Yeah, his ego has been through the roof for five unbearable days.
“It’s days like this I wish the womb had closed up after Lilah and I passed through,” Hale decides with a firm nod, and then goes back to trying to find signal.
“I was born before you,” Killian argues.
I’ve never understood why they all argue that they were born first. It seems like a stupid argument to me.
“A thought just crossed my mind,” Hale says very soberly all of the sudden.
“I bet that was a long, treacherous journey for that lonely thought,” Killian grumbles.
“We’re all cranky. How can I go see her when I’m this cranky?” Hale asks, looking at me like I’m going to be the one to have the answer.
“I officially have two sisters,” Killian says as he starts jogging away from this entire conversation.
“She thinks I’m the sweetest damn guy she’s ever met. I can’t see her when I’m cranky, or I’ll shatter the illusion,” Hale goes on.
“I’m glad to see you’re not letting your education get in the way of your ignorance,” I state dryly.
“The hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You’ve obsessed over her for five days. It means I doubt you’ll be cranky when you see her. You do, however, smell like shit. I’d at least shower first,” I suggest, throwing the dick a bone.
So long as he does good with Reese, it buys me more time with Piper. She seems less in a hurry to get home than that first night. Especially after three days of just hanging out with each other. I know a lot of that has to do with Reese’s reluctance to leave Hale behind.
I hate being friend-zoned, but it’s better than nothing.
Also, I’ve never actually made friends with chicks. It’s a pain in the ass, because I’m like a fish out of water with women.
After jogging in silence for a bit, he finally starts to say something, just as we reach the edge of the town. I don’t hear a word of it, because…something terrible happens.
My stomach slaps my ankles, because I spot the one person I want to see…after I shower. I haven’t showered yet. That means I don’t want to see her yet.
Piper’s head comes up from the town gazebo as though she’s heard or sensed us, and her eyes lock onto mine.
In that instant, I do something I’ll never hear the end of once the guys get wind of it.
Wild Ones Tip #340
We don’t always do stupid things. We save our stupid for special occasions. Usually. Sometimes. Sort of.
Chapter 13
PIPER
*******
It’s official. I’m pathetic.
I figured out which road they’d be coming in on, and what time they normally get back. Now I’m at the town gazebo, freezing my ass off, pretending that I’m absorbed in some crime novel that is really just a borrowed jacket to hide my dirty book, and checking the road every time I hear a car.
I feel like a stalker.
I look desperate.
I did everything I could to lure him into making the first move during those three days before the trip.
I gave up pride, dignity, and all but sprawled out naked in front of him.
Nope.
Nada.
Not even a kiss.
“If he goes back looking like that, Kylie is going to kill us all!” I hear a familiar grouch shouting.
George Malone is a scary guy who shouts a lot, I’ve learned.
My heart races. My stomach tightens. My toes curl in my shoes.
It’s not because of George. It’s because if George is here, then that means…
My head snaps up, and as if there are magnets that immediately drag my eyes to him, I find Kai Wilder without ever seeing another person.
His eyes are already on me, and a smile spreads across my face before I can help myself.
He stops abruptly, and he stares with zero expression on his face as I wave.
In the next instant, he suddenly sprints as if he’s chasing his escape. My waving hand pauses in the air, and I start feeling incredibly stupid when the rest of the Wild Ones glance between me and the fleeing Wilder, who practically boulders through anyone who gets in his way.
My hand slowly comes down, and my smile falls completely. What the hell just happened?
Did I look like a stalker?
Surely not.
Even if I did, it wasn’t stalkery enough for him to race in the other direction. It’s not like I’m begging him to put babies inside me or something.
Feeling incredibly awkward as the guys keep looking from me to Kai’s disappearing back, I turn and hurriedly walk out of the gazebo, feeling as stupid as one person possibly can.
This town is always staring at me, but no one, outside of the “Wild Ones” has ever spoken to me. Other than that one weird lady who ran up to me, asked me if I was dating Kai, and then ran like hell was on her heels when I told her we were just friends.
Today, all eyes are on me like I’m cloaked in rejection’s obvious shame.
I feel like a fool.
Why did he run like that?
Was five days enough to clear his head to the point he wants nothing to do with me?
Have I been more of a douchebag than I realized?
I’m starting to wonder if I’m not single by choice but single because my mouth is a loose train wreck that sca
res men away.
It certainly doesn’t lure them in.
Kai liked me more before we started talking…
This is why I don’t date. I’m stuck with all the reasons it went wrong right as I finally start liking a guy. Clearly the problem is with me and not with—
“Hey, you’re that new chick who’s staying up in Wilder territory, right?” a random guy on the sidewalk asks me as he blocks my path and grins down at me.
I’m so caught off guard that it takes me a second to realize my mouth is moving but words aren’t coming out.
“You’re cute. Can I buy you a drink?” he asks.
Straight to the point. See? Guys like me better when I don’t speak.
“I’m actually just on my way home,” I tell him as kindly as I can.
His smile falls, and he turns and walks away abruptly.
I make it ten steps before another guy stops me. “Heaven lost one of its angels, but their loss is Tomahawk’s gain. What’s your name?” he asks, propping up.
Somehow, I feel like this entire town already knows my name, and this all feels a little like forced flirting at a really inconvenient moment.
“It’s carved on the third table from the back at the diner. See if you can guess which one it is,” I say with a fuck-off smile as I walk by him, my smile falling immediately.
Now I feel like an ass.
I just want out of here and back in—
Another body blocks my path, and I look up at a very bearded man who is smiling so broadly and happily down at me. “I was hoping you and Kai wouldn’t work out so I could finally introduce myself. My name’s Jim. You want to grab a bite sometime?”
What in the world is going on right now?
After delivering a softer rejection, I make it another ten steps and have to deliver another soft rejection.
Sheesh. I’ve now been shown more interest in fifteen minutes than I’ve been shown since I entered town. What is with these people today of all days?
“Piper!”
Hearing my name, I turn and find Nila and Krysta running my way, waving their arms. Since Reese drove our rental and I was planning to ride back with Kai, I’m happy to see familiar faces.
The guys scatter like flies, and the sidewalk quickly empties. The girls don’t seem to notice or mind that they act as man repellent. I’ve never seen two pretty girls clear a sidewalk the way they can.
I don’t get it.
I’m so confused.
This town makes no sense at all.
“Hey! We’re heading out to test out Kai’s new zip line. I finally found it!” Nila tells me very excitedly. “Want to come?”
“What do you mean you just found it?” I ask in confusion.
“He tries to hide them from me. I don’t know how to get the tension right or I’d do them myself. Anyway, we’re headed there right now if you want to go.”
I start to turn them down, and I glance back to see a huddle of guys peering at us like they’re trying to be discreet. Either I’m incredibly vain, or they’re waiting on me to be isolated again.
“Why are the men in this town suddenly showing me interest?” I ask instead of answering.
Nila steps up beside me, frowning at the men who scatter again when they realize they have her attention.
“Hmm. Must be because Kai’s been gone so long. They probably forgot about the annual hunting trip or something,” she says with a shrug, making zero sense.
Just like her brother, she consistently leaves me with more questions than answers.
“What?”
“Come on. We don’t have much daylight left, and that bastard hid it deep in the north woods,” she says, grabbing my hand. “You’ll need warmer clothes than that.”
“Deacon won’t answer my texts,” Krysta says as she runs behind us.
“Because you’re a stage-five clinger and he’s never going to answer until you learn boundaries,” Nila points out.
“Like you’re an expert on men,” Krysta snorts.
I don’t remember agreeing to this. Why am I getting into Nila’s Jeep? Why does everyone in this town drive a Jeep?
They bicker while I sit silently. The vision of Kai breaking into a heartfelt run to escape me is still seared into my memory. I don’t even realize we’re close until the Jeep jolts to the left, right, right, left, left, left—
Why are we driving through the forest so fast?! When did we get into the forest?!
I scream when Nila jumps a hill, while the two of them howl like this is the good life and it’s all good fun. The whole vehicle bounces when it lands, and she skids over the snow as she off-roads faster than she on-roads.
I’m clinging to anything I can find as I scramble to buckle up, and Krysta leans up to crank the music up louder. They howl into the air again as Wild Child starts playing, while I scream at how close we come to hitting a massive tree.
Their laughter doesn’t make sense for the scenario at hand.
The Jeep cuts again, and I scream twice as loud, until we suddenly skid to a halt in front of my cabin.
“I took a shortcut and saved a load of time. You’re welcome. Go get changed and grab a helmet!”
I fumble with the door, practically falling out when I realize my legs are limp too late. “I-I-I think I’ll just stay inside instead. Sorry. I’m not feeling good.”
I cough several times for effect, and they both reel back like it’s the worst thing in the world.
“Why didn’t you say so sooner?!”
Krysta yanks the door shut, and the two of them take off like wild banshees through the forest, narrowly dodging trees, until they disappear from sight.
“It feels like I’m trapped in some cartoon or something,” I decide on a sigh, heading into my cabin.
Per the usual, Reese is gone.
What’s unusual is the fact there’s someone else pulling up.
I turn as the white Jeep rolls to a stop, and a guy hops out with a covered dish of some sort…
“Hey, I just wanted to stop by and give this to you. My mom made it,” he tells me with this boyish grin that makes it hard for me to reject the…
Is that brownies?
Why does everything make me think of Kai?
Annoyed that he couldn’t even be bothered to wave, I bite back the anger that is just starting to surface, smile politely, and accept the gift.
“Tell your mother thank you,” I say as sweetly as I can, accepting the brownies, and—
“What are you doing tonight?” he asks.
I glance down at the brownies and frown. Surely this isn’t the same thing as Deacon getting brownies from those girls. Right?
Guys don’t do that sort of stuff.
No one has been chasing me like I’m some sort of prize before now.
What’s changed?
“I’m actually busy.”
“Tomorrow?” he asks.
“Busy.”
I shut the door before he can ask about the next day, and I study the brownies as I put them on the countertop. Now I feel guilty for accepting them.
Refusing to dwell on it, I head to the bedroom, but a knock at the door has me returning. Expecting to find the same guy, I swing open my door, and startle when I find a stranger staring at me.
A pan of some gooey dessert is shoved at me. “I hope you don’t mind, but I thought I’d stop in and introduce myself.”
My eyes flick from the gooey dessert to the bearded, attractive man, who doesn’t look like he’d have problems getting a date. I think this town is too small if fresh meat gets so much attention from either gender.
Another car pulls up, and I eye it, glance at the man before me, take another look at the dessert…and step back inside.
He’s still smiling and holding the dessert as I slowly shut the door, lock it, and carefully step away.
“Uh-oh. What’s happening right now?” I ask on a whisper to myself.
When someone else knocks, I hear bickering begin. “Go away.
I was here first. Wait your turn.”
“She shut the door in your face. Clearly you’ve been rejected. She didn’t even take your gift.”
“You brought flowers?”
“Girls like flowers.”
I take a few more slow steps back.
“What the hell are you doing here?” they both snap in unison.
“Bringing her Grandma’s favorite cobbler. What the hell are you doing here?” a third voice asks.
Carefully, I step inside the bedroom and shut that door, lock it, and take a seat on the bed as I simply stare at the door.
When I hear a loud knocking and a fourth voice join the bickering, I drop back and stare at the ceiling.
Yep. I shouldn’t have tasted the water.
“Just leave them out here. You all scared her off with so many out here at once,” one of them says so loudly that I can hear them through two doors.
“Hey, Piper?” one calls out, proving they know my name already. “I guess we scared you off, but I promise we’re way more harmless than Kai Wilder. Since you two are over, I was hoping—”
“Don’t be an idiot! Don’t bring up an ex when you’re trying to woo the girl. You’ll mess it up for our turn if you do.”
Their turn?
I really am in a breeding experiment town.
They lure you in with lords of the dance, tales of underground pot rings, and unique banter so they can put babies in you. I’m going to become an incubator.
I can’t think of any other reason four guys would be arguing over me right now.
“If she was with Kai, this isn’t scaring her! She was fine until he showed up!” that first voice says.
These people never can seem to speak very quietly.
I scratch my head, idly thinking back to how Deacon would just accept the desserts, reject the girls, and then return like it wasn’t a big deal. I feel bad rejecting people. I’m trying not to be a douchebag, though, and I think it’s worse to just leave them on the front porch…
However, it’s also rude to just show up at someone’s house and sort of force yourself onto them without any warning. They can simply stay on the porch until they all go—