10. Spencer

Chapter 10

Spencer

I nstead of playing truth or dare, as she suggested, we played Monopoly, which I previously thought was the least sexy game ever. But that was before I played it with Lucy.

I took a sip of my drink, watching as she blew on the dice before tossing them. She bit her lip as they rolled across the board, and I shut my eyes against the sight of where I wanted my mouth to be.

I set my glass on the table. Alcohol was a bad idea. While I wasn’t drunk, I was definitely buzzing, and I needed every ounce of control I had.

She counted off her moves, and I huffed a laugh when she bought a hotel to add to Indiana Avenue.

“Your turn,” she said, all smug, satisfied, and adorable as fuck, dancing in her chair as she placed the hotel on the board with a flourish.

“Proud of yourself, are you?” I grinned at her and tossed the dice.

“A little bit.” She held her glass up for a toast. “Cheers to me!”

“Cheers, sweetheart.” I clinked my glass to hers and took a sip. Not kissing her was getting harder and harder the more we played.

Currently, I was about to go bankrupt. I had to give up my ownership of Park Place to stay in the game. Lucy owned everything on the two cheap sides of the board, from Mediterranean Avenue to New York. At first, I wondered why she was so obsessed with buying them, but her strategy became apparent once she erected hotels on her sides of the board. I was screwed, and she showed no mercy. She was ruthless.

Every move she made got me hotter for her. I couldn’t stand up, or she’d see the evidence of it. I had a Monopoly kink now, and it was all her fault.

Lucy was sexy as hell, but more importantly, I wasn’t afraid to talk to her, to let her in. Maybe it was because I’d known her forever. She had gotten into my brain and heart before I’d become afraid of being hurt by a woman. She was hilarious, intelligent, stunning, and cute. She had all these different personality traits within one sexy little body, and I was enthralled.

Suggesting we avoid starting anything while we were here was the stupidest idea I’d ever had. All I wanted to do was swipe the game off the table and play with her in other, much more naked ways.

“It's your turn,” she informed me with smug delight, her eyes shining with satisfaction. She was secure in the knowledge she was kicking my ass as she should be.

“I’m not sure there’s a point anymore, Lucy. I can’t win.”

My admission of imminent defeat amused her. I could see it in her smile, but there was also something lazily seductive in her look.

“It’s not over ‘til it’s over, Cassidy. Roll the dice.”

“As you wish, Darlington.” I shook the dice in my palm and tossed them on the table—snake eyes. I moved my piece—the car, obviously—two spaces. I had to go to jail, directly to jail. “Damn. This is not my night for games.”

“Oooooh! You’re under arrest, Cassidy! No two hundred dollars for you. Maybe you’d like to sell off some more property.” She gestured to her pile of Monopoly money, which was practically all of it. “I can afford it.”

“You’re killing me. Go. Roll the dice. Let’s get this over with so you can lord it over me for the rest of the night.”

She swiped the dice off the table and rolled. Jail.

“Ha! Now, who’s the one in trouble?”

“Look at us, Spencer.” She moved her piece next to mine. “We’re stuck together in the game now, too. Isn’t that interesting? Could it be fate trying to tell us something?” She slid her chair back with a squeak. “Roll ‘em. I’ll go fix us some more drinks.”

“Thanks, but I’ll take water. One more drink, and I’ll be officially wasted.”

“Good point. I’m a bit tipsy. Drunk Lucy is very touchy-feely; we don’t need to deal with that when we get into bed later. Water it is!”

“Well, drunk Spencer gets horny-sleepy, and that would be a recipe for disaster.”

“We’d end up breaking all our rules.” She hesitated, her smile fading, and she grew serious. “Are we sleeping on the sofa bed together? Um, for warmth?” Our eyes locked for a breathless moment, and then she bit her lip and looked away, her cheeks in flames.

“I mean, yeah,” I choked out, unable to contemplate not sleeping with her by my side. “The power is out, and it’s still pretty cold in here. Plus, the only other option is the holey air mattress upstairs.”

“Okay good.” Her smile returned as she headed to the sink for water.

“I’ll make the drinks tomorrow and take care of the food,” I offered. “You’ve done everything all day. We usually have powdered eggs here. I’ll make omelets for breakfast.”

She was back to being happy again. “I can’t think of a fake food pun for a powdered omelet. Fauxmlet? No, that sucks. Anyway, let’s make something special for dinner tomorrow night, maybe spaghetti aglio e olio? We’ll have to use jarlic and parm from a canister, but it will still be good because your dad stocked up with some excellent olive oil. It’s New Year’s Eve, we should celebrate it. I found sparkling cider in the pantry this morning. It’s in the fridge in a bowl full of snow. We can toast to the new year.”

“I’d like that a lot.”

“And since we won’t be doing any kissing, we can use all the garlic we want,” she teased.

“Perfect.”

I watched her move about the kitchen. I could handle this. Last night in bed with her had been hectic, freezing, and frantic. We hadn’t had time to think about the implications of being next to each other all night. The intimacy of the situation was moot because we were both too worked up to contemplate it.

But tonight was different. I had all day to think about her, and I was afraid I would get worked up in an entirely different way.

We had been drinking amaretto sours. They tasted sweet, like Christmas cookies, but packed a punch that gave me a pleasant buzz. We had also been snacking on a charcuterie board that Lucy referred to as "cheapcuterie" since it consisted of spray cheese, various crackers, pickles, olives, chicken salad she’d made from a can and a jar of maraschino cherries. All of these were on her top twenty list of favorite foods, she had informed me. I had no complaints; I’d eat anything she put in front of me and be happy about it.

Getting to know her better was like starting a book and knowing within the first couple of chapters that it would become your favorite. And just like a great book, I never wanted this time with her to end.

She returned with our water, and after a few more rolls of the dice, I lost the game, feeling as though I had lost my heart as well.

“Should we sit by the fire? You look sleepy, Spencer.”

“I’m getting there. But I want to go wash up first.”

“I took a sponge bath while you were out with the wood—it was unsatisfying. I’ll make the bed tonight. You go and relax with your sad little pot of hot water.”

I let out a chuckle. “Thanks.” I got up to heat some water on the stove. “Would you like some water too?”

Yes, please. I always wash my face before going to bed.”

“You got it.” While watching absentmindedly, I filled a pot and the tea kettle as she cleaned up the Monopoly game.

She sorted the pieces and put them away, and I had the odd thought that my life was falling into place, just like the parts of the game in the box.

For once, the thought of planning for the future didn’t scare me because I wanted her in it. Whatever happened here in the cabin would not be over once we left. I’d make sure of it.

I put the kettle on the countertop. “The water is ready, Lucy. You can go wash your face.”

Leaving the now neat and tidy game on the table, she met me at the counter with a smile. “Thanks. I won’t take long.”

I sucked in a breath as she walked away. Not touching her was becoming more difficult with each hour we spent here.

After she finished, I headed to the bathroom with my water, wishing I could take a long, hot shower instead. I needed to relax. She had me wound so tight that I didn’t know what to do or how to act.

My face in the mirror was different, and I felt different. I had something to look forward to for the first time in years, and I was all in. But at the same time, I was terrified I would mess everything up.

I quickly opened the drawers and lower cabinets, looking for—shamefully, I was looking for the condoms I had stashed in the back last time I was up here. Half of me knew that Lucy and I getting together was inevitable. The heat between us could not be denied. The better half knew I shouldn’t make a move while we were here, but I wanted to be prepared just in case we lost control.

Unfortunately, there were no condoms to be found. One of my brothers must have used them and not replaced them. I had no idea which one it was, but they’d all hear about it when I got home.

I rushed through my sponge bath, shivering from the cold. Even if there were more than one bed here, it was smarter to share our body heat. The fireplace could only do so much to keep us warm.

The bed was made when I returned to the living room. Seeing her in it sent a surge of heat through my body. Now that I knew what it felt like to have her with me all night, I doubted I could sleep without her. It was probably ridiculous to think such thoughts, but they kept coming no matter what logic I employed to get them to stop.

“Get in.” She slid over and patted the spot she had just occupied. “I warmed it up for you.”

My body knew what it wanted. I ached to get into that bed, pull her into my arms, and let whatever happened happen. But I couldn’t allow that. Especially now that I knew for a fact we didn’t have any protection. Plus, we’d both had a couple of drinks as well, so I got into the bed and stayed on my side.

“Do you have a New Year’s resolution?” she whispered into the dark.

To finally kiss you.

To make you mine.

To never let you go.

My silence was an unintentional answer.

“You can tell me, Spencer.” The covers rustled as she turned to her side. “It’s not like birthday wishes. You can say your resolution out loud. You’re the one who makes it come true.”

“Not this one. Not yet, anyway. What’s yours?”

“Maybe mine should be kept secret too. I’ll tell you what it is when we get out of here.”

“Good idea. We need to be careful tonight.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not tipsy anymore. Touchy-feely Lucy would have gotten us both into trouble.”

“I’m not a touchy-feely man. But I like how it feels when your hands are on me—too much.”

“Spencer…” her voice was nothing but air between us.

“Are you okay? Are you cold?”

“I’m okay.”

I rolled onto my side to face her. Her hair shone like deep gold in the firelight, and her cheeks were a lovely pink. “You must be warm now; your face is turning red.”

“Stop it.” Her lips curled into a smile. “You’re too sweet. You’re making it hard to stay away from you.”

“No. It’s you. I’ve never in my entire life wanted a woman like I want you right now, But we can’t. I rolled over to my back. “Come here.”

I pulled her close, and she rested her head on my chest. My heart thundered beneath her cheek. She slid her hand into mine, and I interlocked our fingers, raising our hands into the firelight. The sight of them wrapped around each other solidified something inside of me, and I knew this wouldn’t end when we got out of here.

“How can this feel so right, so fast, Spencer? Is this real?”

“It’s real, sweetheart.” I turned, dropping a kiss on her forehead. “We should go to sleep before we go too far.”