Chapter 5

5

ELISIA

I was in a small town hours from home, and I had no way to get around. Rideshare wasn't even an option.

Yes, I'd actually snuck and taken a peek at the app I'd used a lot in college. Not a single driver available anywhere near this town.

My car had been towed to a local repair shop, where the guy would probably take one look at it tomorrow morning and say it had to be shipped off to an auto body shop. But that wouldn't help me tonight.

As volunteers started wandering toward the parking lot, I looked around. I'd talked to quite a few people today, but I didn't really get to know anyone. Well, no one but that gorgeous Rob guy whose truck had slammed into my car. After how rude he'd been to me in the trailer, though, no way was he going to?—

"You ready?"

The male voice behind me interrupted my thoughts. I squeezed my eyes closed, knowing exactly what I'd see when I turned around. As before, Rob was standing behind me, but this time when I turned, there was no camera between us. We were face to face.

I wanted to kiss him. I'd wanted it from the second I saw him, but when we were close together in the trailer alone, it had been almost impossible to resist. Until, that was, he'd stormed out of the trailer, leaving me standing there, wondering what the hell had happened. Had I done something wrong?

"Ready for what?" I asked, but I had a feeling I knew the answer.

"To go back to the retreat center," he said. "I figured you'd want to shower before dinner."

The diner nearby had donated lunch, and dinner was being provided by the retreat center. Feeding the volunteers was a way to thank everyone for working for free all day.

I'd spent the morning shooting footage, but in the afternoon, I'd become one of the volunteers. Now I was dirty and tired, and I just wanted to eat and fall into bed. Preferably naked with this guy.

Whoa. Where had that thought come from? I was a virgin. I wasn't just going to jump into bed with some random mountain man, no matter how looking at him made me feel inside.

"Are you going to dinner?" I asked.

"I'll drop you off, then head back to my cabin and take a shower," he said. "I'll be there by six."

Volunteers were passing us on either side, and I was all too aware of the looks we were getting from people who either knew him or had worked with us over the course of the day.

We were being put together as a couple. I could feel it. And I didn't mind it one bit.

"I'm sure you could shower at the retreat center," I said.

There had to be a room they'd loan him. But then he'd need a change of clothes, and I doubted he had one in his truck.

"Are you offering to share your shower with me?" he asked.

My mouth fell open again. That seemed to happen a lot around him. Was he flirting with me? Considering the way we'd left our last conversation, I was surprised he was even speaking to me.

"I'm just teasing you." He pointed toward the parking area. "I'm parked this way."

He took off, leaving me to rush to catch up with him. His strides were at least double the length of mine. So even walking at my fastest, keeping up with him was a challenge.

I finally gave up and pulled my phone out, catching up on notifications until we got to his truck, where he stood holding the passenger door for me like this was a date or something.

No. It wasn't a date. I couldn't think that way.

"I owe you an apology," he said once we were tucked inside the truck.

I was fumbling with my seatbelt, and his words had it slipping from my grasp. I reached for it again and started over.

"Apology?" I asked.

"I was an asshole back there in the trailer. It's just…I'm a loner."

Loner. I rolled the word around in my head. Did he mean he was on loan? Or he liked to be alone? I was guessing the latter, and that wasn't good news.

"You're one of those guys who lives up in the mountains so you don't have to be around people." I nodded. "I get it."

I knew such people existed. I'd just never met one.

"That's not it," he said. "I have friends. I have neighbors living just steps from my door. But I don't do romantic relationships. Never have."

Now I was confused. "You've never had a romantic relationship?" He couldn't have been saying that.

He started the car and backed out of the parking space, waiting until he put it in drive and pressed the gas to answer. "I've dated and I've been with women. I'm talking about serious, long-term relationships. Definitely not marriage and kids. That's not in the cards for me.

Disappointment stabbed at me, and I knew it made no sense. What he was saying was best for me. The last thing I needed was to be tied down to some man. Even a man as hot and interesting as this one.

I had an entire career ahead of me, and I needed to stay flexible. I had to be able to move across the country at a moment's notice. Being married was not part of the plan. Not until I was well established in a mid-market TV station, hopefully landing at least a weekend anchor spot.

"Who says I want a relationship?" I blurted before I could talk myself out of it. "You think men are the only ones who can have hot sex with no strings attached?"

His foot slipped off the pedal with a thud, and he glanced over at me before regaining his composure and returning his eyes to the road. "Are you saying…?"

"I'm saying I want a man to rock my world. Someone who knows what he's doing in the bedroom. I want you to give me the best you've got."

He said nothing in response. A minute or so later, he flipped on his turn signal and took a left onto a two-lane road lined with businesses.

"Where are we going? I asked.

"I'm going to rock your world."