23. Aspen

Chapter 23

Aspen

Mac had been quiet on our drive home from church. He hadn’t been himself since he excused himself to use the restroom while we’d been talking to the Grants. I wondered if perhaps he wasn’t feeling well and was embarrassed to tell me. If that were the case, it wouldn’t stay secret for long with us sharing the tight confines of the cabin.

I made a mental note to check the bathroom and see if Mama’s “restock” had extended to the medicine cabinet.

He parked Daddy’s truck next to the cabin and hopped out. I waited inside, knowing he preferred to open the door for me. The gentlemanly gesture had me secretly swooning. Never would I have guessed Mac Blaze had a chivalrous streak.

When he stopped dead while rounding the hood, concern gripped me. I half expected him to double over and get sick in the grass, but instead, his head dropped back, face tilted toward the sky.

Pulling the door handle, I jumped down from the truck and headed to where he stood. “Are you okay?”

Slowly, his gaze lowered to meet mine, a single eyebrow raised. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

Oh, I don’t know, because you’ve been acting strange for the last hour?

I rephrased my question, hoping to get a straight answer this time. “Then what are you doing?” Gesturing toward the open door of the truck, I added, “Kinda left me hanging.”

“Shit, sorry.” He gripped the back of his neck. “Didn’t even realize.”

“Are you sure you’re feeling all right?”

When he extended a hand, I took it without question. Mac pulled me against him, my back to his front.

Breath hot in my ear, he used his free hand to tilt my face upward. “Look at all those stars.”

His voice was so full of wonder that I found myself smiling.

Deciding to tease the city boy, I joked, “Crazy thing about these stars. They put on a show like this every night.”

The resulting chuckle warmed my insides. “Might need a disclaimer on your marketing pitch: Stars not included.”

Turning in his embrace, I looped my arms around his neck and hummed. “Might need to hire you out as a consultant.”

Mac smirked down at me before teasing the side of my nose with his. “Sounds like a smart business decision to me. We’ve aced every project we’ve worked on together.”

“This is true.” I melted into him when he ghosted his lips over mine without claiming them. “I’ll be the brains, and you can be the beauty.”

His head tipped back as a bark of laughter rolled up his throat and into the night sky.

“Fuck, you’re something else,” he breathed out in amusement.

Turning his dark gaze upon me once again, he cupped my cheeks, voice growing sincere. “Say the word, and I’m there, Aspen. That dream of yours is so special that I’d be a fool not to want to be a part of it.”

My lungs seized, and my mouth dropped open.

God, I wanted to believe him. To know that I could call him up one day in the future and he wouldn’t hesitate to offer his help.

Maybe that’s what I could cling to when we parted ways. That our tie wasn’t completely severed. That it was goodbye for now and not forever. That, someday, we would join forces and create something beautiful. Together.

Hope filled my chest like a balloon, and suddenly, I could breathe again.

Pushing thoughts of what lay past this week aside, I made up my mind to enjoy these final few days on the ranch. Mac had shown me a side of himself he kept hidden from the world, and that was special—it made me feel special. So, no matter what happened, I would look back fondly on this moment in time we shared and allow it to tide me over until our paths crossed again.

“Should we go inside?” I suggested.

Mac’s hand slid from my face to anchor on my hips. A tiny pout graced his lips. “But it’s so beautiful out here.”

An idea struck, and I stepped out of his hold to tug him toward the cabin. “Come on.”

He stomped like a petulant toddler who hadn’t gotten their way, and I fought the urge to laugh. His ridiculousness used to drive me up the wall, but now, I found it kind of endearing.

“Stop sulking. Once we bundle up, we’ll come back out.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “Really?”

I gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Yes, really.”

Before I knew it, he’d wrapped his arms around the back of my knees, and I was upside down, bouncing over his shoulder as he carried me into the house.

Squealing, I beat on his lower back. “Mac! Put me down! I’m fully capable of walking.”

We cleared the front door before I was set on my feet. “Yeah, but I got us here faster.” The victorious smirk he flashed me had a dimple pulling at the edge of his scruff.

Bouncing on the balls of his feet, he clapped his hands together. “Okay, what do we need?”

I’d never seen someone so excited to sit outside on a cold winter’s night to stargaze, but I had to admit, it was contagious.

“First, we need to change. Don’t suppose you’ve got any long underwear, do you?”

Mac’s forehead wrinkled. “Like boxers instead of briefs?”

I dragged a hand down my face. “Oh, you poor sheltered little rich boy.”

He gave me a look that said, Duh. “I think we’ve already established that. Now, are you gonna stand there and make fun of me, or are you going to help me get ready? Because we only have”—frantically, he turned his wrist over to peek at his watch—“seven hours until the sun comes up.”

“Love the enthusiasm you’ve got going on, but even with the appropriate layering, we can’t stay out all night.”

“Meanie,” he grumbled under his breath.

Playfully rolling my eyes, I countered, “Yes, I’m a terrible human being for keeping you from turning into a human popsicle.”

“Fine.” His exhale was so heavy that I could swear it rattled the floorboards beneath us.

Turning my back on him, I began to rifle through my suitcase. Grabbing a pair of long underwear, a thermal top, and a set of fitted flannel pajamas, I tossed the garments over my shoulder. “Got an extra pair of sweats I can throw on over all this?”

His footfalls sounded behind me. “Yep. Here you go.”

“Thanks.” I spun around to grab the thick material from his hands and stepped toward the bathroom. “Be right back.”

Fingers encircled my wrist, and I turned toward Mac in question.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Storm clouds were gathering in his eyes, which had been filled with light a moment ago.

“Uh . . .” I nodded toward the open bathroom door. “To get changed?”

“Nuh-uh.” He gave a firm shake of his head.

My brows drew down in confusion. “So . . . you don’t want to go stargazing anymore?”

“Aspen.” The way he rasped my name had heat pooling low in my belly.

“Yes, Mac?”

His blistering gaze traveled down the length of my body, and even though I still wore my wool coat over my dress from church, a shiver rolled down my spine.

“We spent most of the day naked together,” he stated like I might’ve forgotten.

I swallowed, unable to stop the blush that crept up my neck as memories of every intimate moment rushed to the surface. “Yeah, I was there.”

“I’ve buried my tongue inside that delicious pussy until you screamed my name.”

The husky quality of his voice had me sinking my teeth into my lower lip to stifle a moan, and my thighs pressed together to ease the ache.

“And now you’re telling me, after all that, you’re too shy to change in front of me?”

My mouth opened and closed wordlessly.

Sure, in the heat of passion, I didn’t care that he saw every inch of me, just as I’d seen every inch of him. But without lust hazing our combined vision, the idea of baring myself left me feeling vulnerable.

My lips curved into a teasing smirk as I tried to cover up my sudden self-consciousness. “I’m worried that if I start removing my clothes, you’ll be too tempted and we won’t make it out of the cabin to look at the stars.”

The fingers around my wrist flexed, and before I knew it, he’d yanked me into his chest. Squealing in surprise, I dropped the sweatpants I held, needing to steady myself with a hand to his shoulder.

Mac’s scruff was deliciously rough against my cheek as he brought his mouth beside my ear. “Hate to break it to you, honey, but I’m itching to fuck you all the time, even when you’re fully clothed.”

Panting. I was literally panting.

As if he hadn’t just blown my mind with a few simple words, he pulled back, pressed a kiss to my forehead, and walked away to get changed himself.

But damn, if I didn’t have to bite down on my tongue hard to keep from begging him to forget about the stars.