Chapter 14

Luca stopped at the top of the hill. Breathing hard, he jogged from foot to foot, keeping moving so his legs didn’t stiffen. He’d needed this, he’d needed to sweat out all his jumbled, unsettling thoughts as he’d slogged his way along the narrow, winding paths taking him up hill, across fields, through woods, along the edge of the rougher ground that led onto the moorland; brooding, dark, and pitted with deep, flooded holes, it was dangerous even on a warm day.

Brooding… dark… dangerous… Fuck it. The words could have been made for Adrian Hardy, the man he was trying to run out of his system. Shaking his head, Luca pulled a chocolate bar out of his small back pack, wolfing it down. His stomach rumbled. Breakfast, paltry as it had been, had happened hours ago and now, in the mid-afternoon, his non-existent lunch was a distant memory.

He pulled out his phone and checked his running app. He’d been running hard for over five miles. If he looped around, the rough path would take him further inland before dipping back down into the valley. By the time he got back to the cottage he’d have racked up a good ten miles.

Setting off again, muscles burning, sweat drenching his lycra clad body, lungs about to burst, Luca emerged onto a narrow road which wasn’t much more than a farm track. He slowed his pace to a fast walk. He hadn’t run this route before, but there was something familiar about it. Or, maybe, one hill or one field looked much like another. Rounding the bend in the track, the sharp shock of surprise stopped him dead.

To the side of the track, a heavy five bar iron gate with a large sign attached, stood open. He swallowed. Ladywell Farm. Luca closed his eyes. What kind of cosmic fuckery was this? He’d come out to rid his thoughts of Adrian, not run bang smack into the man. He checked his app again. The track wound around the farm, petering out as it took him a little more uphill before winding down towards Love’s Harbour. There was no sign of Adrian, but he could see the man’s Land Rover parked outside the sprawling farmhouse. If he kept his head down and kept running, with his baseball cap pulled low and sunglasses hiding his eyes, if Adrian appeared he’d do no more than glance his way, just another runner sweating his way along the track.

A large van, horn blasting, shot through the gate before juddering to a stop. Luca stumbled back, his heart in his mouth. A young man with carrot red hair leant out of the driver’s side window.

“You’re lucky I didn’t run you over.” The guy glared at him, yet his voice, with its heavy Devonian accent, held little rancour.

“I’m sorry. I just stopped to catch my breath.”

“Then perhaps you can catch your breath somewhere other than the gateway? I’ve got deliveries to make and the boss won’t be too happy if I’m late.”

“Yes, of course. Sorry, my apologies.” Luca moved aside, and with a wave, the man drove off.

Luca glanced back towards the farmhouse. There was still no sign of Adrian so it was his chance to get away without being seen, yet he hesitated as he scanned around for any sign of him. What the hell— Luca shook his head hard. He needed to go, and go now.

Keeping his head dipped, he took a slow jog, taking time to work up to a faster pace. The track began to gently climb, but it was more twisty than it appeared on the app. Rounding a bend, he staggered to a standstill.

On the other side of a low dry stone wall, Adrian was digging a small patch of land. Luca watched, mesmerised, as Adrian pushed the heavy looking spade into the earth, stamping his booted foot so the shovel sank deep into the soil, pushing backwards and forwards to loosen the rich, red earth. In old, ripped jeans and a tattered T-shirt, Adrian’s sweat slick muscles bulged as he poured all his strength and concentration into the task, his expression fierce and focused. Luca swallowed, and closed his eyes. Fierce and focused, it was exactly what Adrian had been, before he’d claimed his lips in a kiss that had taken his breath away.

“Luca?”

Luca took a moment before he opened his eyes. Adrian had abandoned his digging. He leant on the handle of the shovel for a second or two before he strode across to the wall. His dark hair was pushed off his face, held back by a thin band, and a smear of dirt marked one cheek. Luca clenched his fingers tight, fighting the impulse to sweep it away.

“I’m out for a run,” he blurted.

“Really? I’d have never guessed.” A smile lifted the corner of Adrian’s lips as he ran his gaze the length of Luca’s body.

Luca’s skin tingled, with annoyance, with want, or maybe a mix of the two as both his throat and dick thickened. Jesus… Thank god his running top was on the long side; he tugged it lower.

Adrian pulled off the band holding his hair back, shaking his head and letting his hair flop forward before he ran his strong, thick fingers through it. Luca’s body tingled with the memory of Adrian’s sure, confident touch, as those same hands had travelled his body. He tore his gaze away and looked up into the bright sky, the heat of the sun nothing to the heat radiating from Adrian.

“You look hot.”

“What?” Luca’s heart jumped in his chest.

“It’s a hot day,” Adrian said evenly. “We’re in for a spell of good weather.”

“Right. Good.” Luca swallowed the groan. Was that all he could say?

Adrian smirked, feeding off Luca’s discomfort.

“I’d better?—”

“Do you want?—”

They staggered to a stop, each looking at the other, until Adrian tipped his head and spoke.

“I was about to get something to eat and drink. If you want, you can join me.”

No. He needed to keep his distance from Adrian, there was no way he could…

“Thank you. I can certainly do with a cold drink. But don’t worry about anything more.”

Adrian started to speak, but Luca’s stomach beat him to it as it rumbled its protest.

“Oh.”

Adrian laughed. Loud and good humoured, transforming his dark watchfulness, making him looser and lighter as his laughter morphed into an easy smile.

“Nothing fancy. Just a cheese sandwich. Or are your tastes more refined? You’ve got a two star kitchen, after all.”

“A cheese sandwich is perfect. But please, no pickle.”

“That’s a promise.” Adrian shuddered. “Pickles are the devil’s food. Come up to the house via the main drive. I’ll see you there.”