by Kinney Scott
“Well, Amanda and Linnea aren’t speaking. Or, when they do it’s just miserable. Your dad and his brother aren’t exactly happy with each other, since Linnea started dating Rick. I feel like we are setting our wedding up to be a Hatfield and McCoy sized family feud. Planning the wedding was difficult before, but now I’m miserable.” Tears welled in her eyes. He regretted missing the signs that his family drama had become difficult for Natalie to navigate.
“Oh, baby, don’t cry. I’m sorry. I haven’t been any help at all.” He said hoping to give her the support she needed, but that only made it worse.
Her tears came on full now. “All I want is to be your wife. The wedding, it’s just not me. Other than having Ben walk me down the aisle, it is just too overwhelming. The engagement party was so wonderful. Everyone had such a marvelous time. Can’t we just leave that as our public display, and steal away from all this angry strife?”
Seth crossed to her side of the picnic table, and scooped Natalie into his arms. “Of course we can. Will you sleep on this decision for one night? If tomorrow morning you still want to elope, I will be happy to hop on a plane and spend as much time in Hawaii as you like, with my new wife by my side.”
Instantly her expression shifted, and he knew she would not rethink this decision. As the idea settled in his mind, Seth knew she was right…again.
He hoped he could pull this off right away. Tonight Seth would try to reschedule the flight, rebook the secluded private condo, and make her Natalie Michaels by the end of the week.
Natalie’s mood shifted as he kissed her. Moving to straddle his hips, her hands tangled in his hair. As the sun bounced off the surface of Osprey Lake, Seth soothed away her tension, revisiting each sensitive spot on her body that sent her writhing under his practiced touch.
Sliding away her top, he pictured her tanned body wrapped in a bikini on the sand. In place of cottonwoods, he imagined palm trees would rustle in tropical scented breezes. As her bra fell away, he smiled and realized the bikini idea was highly overrated.
TWENTY ONE
Everything that could go wrong did…fucking everything. Mosquito Creek’s mobile card and system crashed, leaving them unable to process payments for the swag that had been rolling off the shelves in Denver. Only cash payments would work for a time, spanning just over two hours, but the distraction set Wade on edge.
Next, the CO2 system had a change in pressure. More foam was coming from the kegs than beer. An easy but annoying fix, and yet another irritating distraction.
Last, Annie dropped a box of glasses during the busiest time of day. Shards from one dozen Mosquito pints crunched under foot. His new employee only watched as Ravenna bent to gather the shrapnel. In the process, Ravenna cut her hand. Annie’s satisfied smirk sent Wade’s blood to the boiling point. Before he could react and help with her injury, she’d disappeared to the medic tent. He longed to follow and make certain Ravenna was okay, but had to remain pouring during another rush.
Wade blamed himself for the chaos. Get your shit together, he mentally shouted into his own thick skull. The final rusty nail in his coffin of crap came later, dressed in slick black dress pants and a designer shirt. He looked up to see Steven studying the turmoil from the other end of the Coalition tent.
A satisfied smirk spread over his clean-shaven face, exposing an even row of gleaming white teeth. Steven watched, absorbing every blunder and fail. He tipped his head back, laughed aloud, and disappeared into the sea of people.
At least the man was gone when Ravenna returned, with her hand bandaged, looking pale and ill. Wade tried to tell her to go back to the hotel. She waved him off, put a large glove over her bandaged hand and went back to work, ignoring the satisfied smile on Annie’s face.
“Annie, I’d like you to go and work the Sweet Venom tent.” Wade wanted to get this girl as far away from Ravenna as possible. If he saw her sneer one more time, he may fire her on the spot and fly her directly home. That would leave him short a driver. That unhappy task could wait until they returned to Ashwood.
“But that tent is so slow.” She whined with a stamp of her foot. “And we aren’t set up to sell any merchandise way over there. Kyle probably has it under control.” She finished with a defiant stare. Wade’s stern look usually sent a clear message, but apparently, Annie was a little dense.
“Annie, clearly you don’t understand who is in charge here. If I say you are needed at the other tent, then that is where you will go.” He added, as she shrank away from his anger-filled expression.
“Sorry, Wade. It won’t happen again.” She sulked off mumbling. Not missing the opportunity to send a text as she moved away.
It took more than a half hour before a lull in the crowds hit. He pulled Ravenna aside and asked, “How’s your hand?” Her confused expression at his resurrected concern left him feeling like a complete idiot. He regretted the distance he had built between them over the past few days.
Looking down at her hand, she forced back tears. “Six stitches. It’s still numb. I’ve had worse.” Her emotions felt raw, abraded to the point that anything could tip her over into an all-out cry. She plastered a strong expression over the mental and physical pain, and tidied up the booth.
Wade moved toward her, taking her damaged hand carefully in his as Ravenna spoke again. “Don’t forget, I’ve mastered the unicycle. That toughens a girl.” Her laugh edged on tears.
He wrapped her in his arms, protecting her small fragile frame. “I’m so sorry, Ravenna. I’ve been such an ass.”
Her face brightened a bit, “I’ll be okay. My papa tells me, I am small but I am mighty.” Yet, she felt far from it. Each day she seemed to lose more of herself for a man she found wildly attractive, incredibly tempting, and beyond her reach.
***
The evening clean up crawled, stretching out the already exhausting day. Wade longed to leave and have Ravenna to himself. Annie and Kyle wandered back after prepping the Sweet Venom tent for Sunday, the final day of the festival. Spotting his employees, Wade released Kyle and Annie for an evening to themselves. The young pair high fived as they disappeared into the warm Denver evening.
Dropping the fabric of the tent closed for the night did little to diminish the chill of the cooling evening air. A shiver shook Ravenna, and Wade grabbed a Mosquito hoody off a tall pile. He slid it over her head, and then carefully stretched the arm a bit to ease her bandaged hand through the narrow sleeve. After she freed her dark hair from the back of the sweatshirt, he took her hand carefully in his, “How do the stitches feel?”
“It started to throb a while ago, but I took some ibuprofen, so it should stop soon.” Taking both her hands in his, he placed them on his chest. Gently covering the one encased in a white bandage, he held the other and nibbled each knuckle carefully, turning it to kiss the inside of her palm.
Tipping her face to his, they paused a moment, each knowing that their next move would ignite a smoldering flame that neither had the ability to control. Wade waited for her to move. Ravenna recently made it clear she was not ready for more. While he did not intend to wait for her to beg, he at least wanted to be sure she was with him. That she wanted him at least half as much as he desperately craved her.
Ravenna sensed his hesitation. One small move would determine the events of their evening. She could take the hand that spread across the heat of his chest and push him away, creating a safe distance. Or, she could slide that small hand up to caress his face, and tangle her fingers in his long hair. She did neither.
The fingers of her good hand took over, and fisted into the fabric of his shirt, pulling his mouth to hers. Ravenna’s move set off an instant chain reaction. His mouth crushed her moist open lips, tasting and nipping. Her tongue slid to caress his bottom lip. As Wade sucked on her tongue, her moan shot hot need through his body that had been simmering from the moment they met in Vegas.
Sliding his cool hand beneath the fabric of her shirt, the contrast of her sleek warm skin and his cool palm pulled ragged air in
to Ravenna’s lungs. Her sharp intake took oxygen directly from his frantic exhale. An intimate mingling of breath.
Desperate to feel his skin, she tugged his shirt free from his jeans, and slid her small palm across the plane of rippled muscle. As she tipped her body back to wrestle the fabric free, she pressed her belly over the ridge of his erection. Wade growled at the firm heated contact. Each finger longed to explore his contours, and she slid her hand up the smooth skin that spread in the valley of his pectorals. Her fingers moved franticly to tease the dusting of hair that surrounded his small peaked nipples.
Laughter and the sound of voices reminded Wade that privacy was merely an illusion. Only thin canvas separated them from a steady stream of people still wandering the grounds of the festival.
“Ravenna, sweetheart,” he said as he slowed his kisses and eased her slightly away. “I have dreamed of being with you…but you deserve better than this. I want to feast on you all night and fall asleep with you in my arms.”
She nodded, sliding her small hand from beneath the bunched fabric of his shirt. Wade had to take one more taste. He slid his tongue over the pulse at the juncture of her vulnerable throat, tasting the salty sweetness on her neck with nips of his teeth, then sweeping away his bites with a caress of his tongue. Her knees buckled a bit as her breath caught. “Please Wade.” She moaned, lost in the need for his touch.
“Why don’t we walk back to the hotel?” He murmured ending their contact with one final kiss. “I’m not done with you, Ravenna. I’ll never get enough of you,” he said with a smile.
“Can you walk?” He laughed as she took more than a moment to get her bearings.
“Yes, Wade I can walk. You are potent, but not so potent that I need to be carried out of here over your shoulder.” The image appealed to him, and sent another wave of heat strait to his groin. One final check of the tent, then Wade pulled her close to his side for the two-block walk back to their hotel.
Craft Coalition Corporation provided a bank of rooms for this event. He had buckled, and chose to stay at the four star hotel. Now, with the thought of Ravenna spread out on a plush bed, or under the spray of two waterfall showerheads, he saw the benefit of this choice.
Hoping to lighten the mood, and keep her hands from roaming Wade’s body as they walked, Ravenna directed the topic away from their shared expectations. “How many festivals do you like to join each year?” She asked as they crossed a street still busy with city traffic.
He glanced her way and nodded, “We start in April, usually in Northern California, and run through the beginning of October. I try never to attend more than two per month, unless we can fit in a small event close to home.” He said as they waited on the next corner for the light to change. His thumb caressed her back as he spoke. “We could go year round, and may add an event near Christmas, but I like to take winter off. The risk to my team on icy roads isn’t worth hazarding the drive.”
The thought of winter flashed scenes in his mind. “Someday I’d like to show you my place north of Ashwood. With a foot of snow on the ground, it’s about the most beautiful place you’ll ever see.”
She sank into his body as they walked. “I’d love that, Wade. Living in our temporary tiny places for so long, I often forget we both have homes waiting for us.” Each day that passed, she became less certain of her long-term plans.
“Wade, would you mind if we stopped in the bar downstairs to grab a bite to eat. The pain meds are taking a toll on my stomach.” She hated diverting their night, but now that her need to touch him was back to a simmer, her body screamed for nourishment, and her stitches seared with pain.
“Ravenna, I’m so sorry. You must wonder if I’m some sort of caveman. Our plans aren’t set in stone. Let’s get dinner, and see where the evening takes us.” He said as she slid her healthy hand into his grasp.
The entry of the hotel, slick with marble and chrome, gleamed too bright with artificial glitz. Wade located a table in a darker corner of the bar, where they could talk and spend all the time she needed over a late dinner. The last thing Wade wanted with this beautiful woman was a relationship centered entirely on sex. Ravenna had him considering forever.
After placing orders for burgers and fries, she asked about Wade’s family, “I’ve grown to really care about Linnea. I know a bit about her past, but not as much about you. What was life like for you growing up on the hop farm?”
He sat back for a moment to gather his thoughts, and smiled. “The ridiculous work ethic you’ve witnessed in Linnea and me originates from my Dad. We were expected to put in long days on the farm, and as the only son, I suppose Dad still hopes I will return to run the place.”
“And will you?”
His head shook slowly, “No. Brooke deserves it. She and her husband live and breathe that life. Her connection to the land is patterned after Dad.”
She nodded, “I understand. Learning to appreciate farming isn’t remotely the same as a bone deep love of the land.”
“Exactly. Which are you?” he asked.
A soft sigh escaped her lips. “Some days I feel like a gypsy. When Silver Raven sold, I lost my footing. I’ve been wandering ever since.” A buried ache seeped from her.
Reaching across the table, he stroked the hand that toyed nervously with her water glass. “I’m sorry. Do you think you will settle someday, or have you grown to love wandering? You do have a rare gift - helping people realize their dreams. Will you always need to save lost souls?”
“Ah, so you think I need to rescue lost souls. Very dramatic, Wade. Maybe I am a bit of an enchanted gypsy after all. Papa feels it is buried in our heritage.”
“You’ve found me, and I think I may be lost without you.” Wade revealed, with unmasked emotion. Her eyes locked on his, attempting to discern the weight of his declaration. Her lips parted to reply, just as the waiter arrived, and the moment was lost.
Words tumbled around them describing the array of homemade sauces, made specifically for the restaurants hand cut fries. The pair stared blankly at the server until he finished the detailed description and left for another table.
Once they were alone again, Wade looked at Ravenna, hoping to rescue the rest of the conversation that hung between them. She laughed aloud confusing him, until she raised her forgotten bandaged hand in an awkward wave, and chuckled. “I’m not sure a burger was the best decision.”
Starved, she snagged a fry and dipped it in one of the four famous sauces.
When she took a bite, her face lit up. “This is actually amazing!”
Wade followed her move, and sampled each sauce. “Who knew catsup could be improved?”
“I know, right. Why am I such a sucker for salty greasy beer food? Maybe one day a week in the taproom, we could feature fries with addictive gourmet sauces.”
Wade couldn’t speak past the delicious tastes, he nodded enthusiastically taking in another home cut fry. The server wandered back asking, “Can I get you anything?”
He answered, “Another order of fries, more napkins and a steak knife please.” If he had to cut Ravenna’s burger in bite size pieces and feed her, he would. Suddenly, taking care of her every need seemed more important that getting her upstairs to his hotel room.
Exhaustion and pain meds overtook Ravenna on the ride in the elevator. Her knees sagged as the momentum of the car carried them to the seventh floor. Steadied by the strength of Wade’s hand she took comfort leaning against his sturdy frame. “I’m going to tuck you in bed, tonight and head back to my room.” He said, saying this as much to himself as to Ravenna.
“Are you sure?” she whispered, in a weary voice.
“Yes, but I’m also just as sure that when you have more energy, I will be spending an entire night making sure you are just as bonelessly relaxed as you are right now.”
“Mmm, I’ll dream about that tonight.” Her voice had turned a bit darker. The elevator doors slid open and Wade guided her to her room, just across the hall from his own. She fumbled
a bit with the key card, only able to use one hand. Wade wrapped his fingers around hers to assist. Once inside her room, it took all his willpower to push his instincts aside. He longed to remove her clothes, spread her on the bed, and detail her curves and valleys with the tip of his tongue.
“Brush your teeth, and I’ll find you something to sleep in,” He said as he left her at the bathroom door.
Her lingerie looked delicate and fragile in his grasp, the simple lace edged tank and matching sleep shorts were nearly translucent in the harsh illumination of her hotel room. He found the switch and turned off the bright light, leaving only the side lamp by her bed illuminated.
Tapping on the bathroom door, she opened to him as he held out the flimsy garment. “Put this on in there, I want to tuck you in, but if I see too much of your bare skin, I won’t be able to leave.” She smiled, and loved that she had that much power over him. At least they were on equal footing.
Closing the door, she leaned against it for a moment to steady herself. One part of her urgently needed rest, the other needed Wade with equal desperation.
When she emerged from the bathroom, Wade stood looking out the window. She gazed for a moment, tracing with her eyes his flexed back under the snug fit of his shirt, down to his narrow waist, and the concrete contours of his butt in slightly worn jeans. As he turned, he saw the heat in her eyes, mixed with pure exhaustion. “In bed.” He commanded, before he touched her.
In bare feet, she stood no higher than his chest, so delicate. He longed to wrap her in his body, wanting only to feel the sway of her ass pressed against the solid heat of his erection. An impossible challenge, there was no way he could lay in bed with her and avoid actively responding.
She snuggled under the covers; her dark eyelashes rested on her cheeks for a moment, and slowly opened again as Wade bent down to kiss her. “I’ll see you at breakfast in the morning.” He said before giving her a kiss that held just enough heat to sear her dreams.