Chapter 4

4

Lucy

I poke my head around Natasha’s door.

She’s perching on the edge of her bed, lip curled, surveying the room in disgust.

“See you by the firepit at seven p.m.,” I say.

Her head snaps toward me. “This better be good, Lucy,” she snarls.

Wow, I didn’t know her voice could get like that. She sounds like she’s half grizzly bear.

“It will be!” I squeak. I let the door fall shut and dash back to my own room. Who knows if that’s the case, but the scary mountain man looked kinda happy when he offered to go get the stuff for the barbecue. Like he stopped looking grumpy, and suddenly looked… like he liked me?

But that’s crazy.

I shut the door of my room and let the day wash over me.

Everyone is so mad at me. It’s not my fault, but to be honest, it kinda hurts my feelings.

The look on my boss’s face when Preston yelled at him, though. He’s always scared the bejeezus out of me, but he suddenly seemed so small . So insignificant.

I don’t know if it’s from the stress or whatever, but suddenly I’m laughing hysterically at everything that’s happened today.

Whew . I wipe the tears off my cheeks. It’s been a real long day.

I gaze at the hot tub wistfully. It takes up almost a quarter of the room.

I looove water features.

What I wouldn’t give to have a little soak. Take some of the tension out of my muscles.

I go over, lift the lid. The water is dreamy blue and it’s bubbling away gently, like it’s calling to me.

Come on in, Lucy. You don’t even need a bathing suit.

I giggle. Guess it’s right.

I’ll be so much livelier tonight if I have a little breather first.

Okay . I strip my shirt over my head and unfasten the zipper on my jeans.

I’ll just go in for ten minutes?—

Bang. Bang.

Oh, god. Someone’s at the door.

I pull on my T-shirt again and yank it open.

A huge dark shape fills the doorway, almost blocking out the light.

My stomach flips.

Ohh … it’s him.

And he’s gotten changed. He’s no longer wearing the blood-stained shirt. Instead, he’s in a crisp white T-shirt.

All I can do is stare.

His biceps are all pumped up and his skin is deeply tanned and scattered with scars, like he’s been fighting a bear or something. And the way the T-shirt clings to those massive pecs of his…

Lucy Cole, pick your jaw up off the floor.

He doesn’t say anything. He’s just standing there looking hot.

“H-hi,” I say at last.

“Got some stuff.” He raises his hands and I finally notice that he’s holding two overflowing shopping bags.

“Oh, great!” I grab one of them.

“Lucy, it’s heavy!” he warns.

Too late. I’ve hauled it over to the bed, but the momentum upends it and the contents spill all over the coverlet.

A box of Graham crackers and a Hershey’s bar falls out, followed by marshmallows, bbq sauce, chips and pretzels, and burger buns. “Wow, this is just perfect. Thank you!”

“Wasn’t sure if it was right, so I asked someone.” He shrugs his massive shoulders.

“Oh, this is awesome. Everyone’s gonna be real happy.” In my excitement, I grab the second one.

“Wait—” he says, but I’m absorbed in my task.

This one contains more of the same, but there’s also something else—a big, red foil-wrapped heart. I hold it up to the light. “What is that?”

“It’s for you.”

“Huh?” I whirl around to face him.

For the first time, that laser beam gaze shoots to the floor, like he can’t meet my eyes anymore. “Wanted to get you something,” he grunts.

My own heart gives a little jump. I’m not used to people getting me things. I examine it eagerly. The label says it’s a hollow chocolate shell, which contains twenty more chocolate hearts, all with soft centers. My favorite. I swoon a little.

“W-what did I do to deserve it?”

His jaw works back and forth, like he’s angry. Or embarrassed? Sometimes I get people’s reactions confused. Then he shrugs. “Just because you’ve been having a hard time.”

Ohh. A silly little part of me hoped it was because he liked me. “Not really!” I say, pretending my shoulders aren’t slumping in disappointment.

He fixes me with a real serious look. “Lucy, the way those… those people have been treating you, it ain’t right.”

I sigh. “It’s just how things happen in offices. You have to put up with a little teasing when you’re junior. It’s how you work your way up the ladder.”

His eyebrows get even lower. “And that’s what you want? To get up that ladder?”

I giggle. Because he’s looking at me like he cares, and for the life of me, I can’t understand why. “Not exactly . But I’ve got to have a career.”

“A career?”

“Yeah, for paying the rent and stuff.”

He folds his massive arms. “What do you want to do?”

“Ohh, I-I…” I stutter. Those mesmerizing eyes of his are boring into mine, like he really wants to know the answer. No one has ever looked at me like that before. I’ve always been happy-go-lucky Lucy, who can fend for herself.

“Tell me.” He raises his arms and lays his fingertips on my shoulders.

Oh, god. The heat from his hands pours into me.

I feel like he’s holding me. Like every bit of his attention is focused on me. “I-I’ve always wanted to be a yoga teacher,” I say at last.

Wow . I’ve never said those words out loud before. Not even to myself.

Those thick, dark eyebrows tug together. “Yoga? Stretches and shit?”

I burst out laughing. “Yeah, that’s part of it. But it’s more than that. It’s real good for your soul, your spirit?—”

“You mean it keeps your animal calm?”

“Animal—?”

And that’s when I see it—a little flash of cherry pink in my peripheral vision.

Crap . My jeans are still undone, and my pink panties are on display.

He must’ve seen because they’re darn obvious. And we’re standing real close, the king-size bed only a foot away…

I flip around and hunch forward, trying to yank up the zipper without him seeing. “I should probably get going,” I mutter as it finally shoots closed. “Lot of stuff to get ready before everyone turns up.”

Preston grabs the bags and leads me through the resort to the area where the fire pit is. It’s almost dark now and I make sure to follow close behind him. I’ve always been scared of the dark, but the sight of Preston’s broad shoulders beneath his white T-shirt is reassuring. Funny, I feel safe when I’m with him. He might be a wild mountain man, but I’d rather be alone with him than with all my team combined.

We pass through a bunch of pine trees, then he comes to a stop and puts the bags down. The only things I can see clearly are his T-shirt and his eyes, which burn through the dark like an animal’s.

I put on my phone torch.

We’re in a large clearing, surrounded by trees. In the center is a big hollow scattered with charred logs, and off to the side is a stack of bricks.

Preston looks around, rubbing at the back of his head. “Sorry it’s not better,” he mumbles.

“Oh, I think it has… potential. It’s just a little dark, maybe.”

He raises a finger. “I can fix that.”

Before I can say anything else, he dashes off into the night.

I stare into the trees and a shiver goes through me. It is very dark here. I got turned around on the way here, and I’m not even sure where the lodge is. What if he never?—

There’s a white flash among the trees, and he’s back.

My stupid heart beats faster as he approaches. He’s carrying some more bags and a giant cardboard box. He dumps it on the ground, pulls out an electric cable and gets to work.

“Can I help?” I ask, a little stunned by the tornado of energy hurtling around me.

“Nope. You relax.” His teeth flash pearly white.

Okay. I pull out my phone. I need to check through some work emails anyway.

“Plug this cable in,” he says after a few minutes.

“Sure.” Fumbling, I shove an electric plug into a multi-socket thing, and…

Wow.

Fairy lights, everywhere. Strung between the trees; wrapped around the trunks. It looks like a miniature holiday festival. I gaze at him in awe. “I would not have guessed you had this side to you,” I blurt out.

He flashes me an embarrassed look. “Me either.”

A couple of minutes later, some little lamps flick on at the edges of the clearing, then he starts carrying logs to the fire.

“Oh, I’ve got to help you with that,” I insist.

“You can lay out the food if you want. You’ll be better at that than me.”

I grin to myself. He doesn’t talk a lot, but he’s got a way of getting his point across.

I go to the cardboard box and take out a bunch of dishware, then I lay it on a big wooden table off to the side of the clearing and fill the bowls with chips, etc.

When I turn back, the fire is lit, and the first embers are starting to glow.

I dash over and put my hands to it, as excitably as a child. “Oh, this is amazing!” I exclaim.

Preston nods silently, but he looks pleased.

Then my phone rings.

“Lucy, you said seven p.m.!” Natasha sounds even more wound-up than usual, but for once, I don’t care.

“That’s right. We’re here waiting for you,” I say, and I can’t keep the mischief out of my voice.

She makes another snarly noise down the phone. “Where’s here ?”

“Come to the fire pit.”

There’s a long silence. “How exactly are we going to find this fire pit ?” she asks in the tone of someone who has a stick jammed up their ass.

“Map’s in the lobby,” Preston grunts.

My head snaps toward him. He’s on the other side of the clearing, building a barbecue, by the looks of it. How did he even hear that?

“There’s a map in the lobby,” I repeat to Natasha.

“I got that, thank you,” she snaps.

“See you soon!” I chirp. She’ll give me a hard time later, but I don’t care. I’m so happy being out here with my taciturn mountain man.

The delicious smell of grilling meat hits my nostrils and I skip over to where Preston has built a gigantic barbecue out of bricks.

“Wow, that’s a lot of meat,” I remark.

Figured there’s a lot of mouths to feed.” He points to all the portions of meat in turn. That’s rabbit, deer, elk and wild turkey.”

“Must be some exotic supermarket in Twin Falls.”

“Supermarket?” Outrage transforms his rugged features. “I hunted it all myself.”

“No way?”

“Of course.” He looks so confused, I almost laugh.

Almost. Because he also looks real fierce and sexy. Of course, he hunts his own meat.

After a few minutes, a low hum of voices reaches my ears. “Looks like they finally figured out how to read a map,” I say.

Preston gives a dry, snorty sound. I stare at him startled. Ohh … he’s laughing. And so am I. It wasn’t even funny, but it just feels so good to laugh with him.

“They’re not in a real good mood. That mean one is threatening to leave.”

I strain my ears, but I can’t pick out any individual voice. “How can you hear that?”

He shrugs. “Because I’m a b?—”

“A what?”

“I’ll tell you later.” He reaches for another log and dumps it on the fire.

Slowly, slowly, my colleagues emerge from the trees, their grumpy faces swimming into view like a bunch of Halloween fright masks.

“Goddamn it,” Natasha is carping. “they’ll have a lawsuit on their hands.”

Well, she’s the one who decided to wear heels to a mountain retreat. And I thought she loved the “great outdoors”.

“Ohh—” she breaks off.

In perfect unison, they stop dead.

“This is… neat,” one of the girls says.

“Cool,” Dan, the publishing manager agrees.

“Oh my god, fairy lights!” squeaks Kellie, the secretary.

A flicker of pride lights in my chest. Automatically, I look for Preston.

He’s looking for me, too, and when our eyes lock, a grin spreads across his face.

Darn, he’s even more handsome when he smiles.

“Beer?” Preston says.

Multiple heads snap in his direction. He goes to a cooler I hadn’t even realized he’d brought and… gets mobbed. Every single one of my male colleagues, and a bunch of the girls rush over to him, all grabby hands.

After that he’s the man of the hour.

The whole evening goes like a dream. Trey, the IT guy, brings out a set of speakers and starts DJing. Preston works the barbecue like a man possessed, and everyone lines up for second and third helpings. They’re all happy . Those frowns have been turned upside down and they’re chatting and laughing and getting drunk. The guys start throwing their arms around Preston and calling him bro.

My heart lifts. This is the team-building weekend that I longed to give them.

Once everyone else has been served, I go up to the grill.

“Hey,” Preston says. “What kept you?” His voice is low, and it spills through me like a caress.

“Oh, just making sure everyone else got served. What’s left?” I peer at some dark scraps of meat at the side of the grill.

He turns and picks something up with his tongs—I can’t see so well in the dark—and lays it over the flame. “Saved you a deer filet. It’s real tender. Did a marinade, too.”

I stand at his side and watch him cook it with an expert hand. His quietness makes me feel peaceful. For once in my life, I don’t feel like I need to fill every single space with my chatter.

“You only talk when you’ve got something to say, huh?” I blurt out.

He shoots a glance at me. “Sorry.”

“Huh?”

“I know people hate it how I’m so quiet.”

I lay my hand on his shoulder. “I didn’t say that.”

Something flashes in his eyes.

“Who hates it?”

He lets out a sigh that seems to come right from his boots. “My family. Apparently, I didn’t start talking till I was four. They all thought I was slow.”

My heart twinges. “Of course, you weren’t.”

He turns back to the grill. “It’s ready.” He plates up the deer filet, slices it thinly and presents it to me.

He watches keenly while I fork up a morsel.

It’s incredible . The most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten. A little moan escapes my lips.

“How is it?” he looks worried.

“ So good. You saved that for me?”

Relief flashes across his features. “Of course.” Then he gives me a serious look. “Even when you put yourself at the back of the line, you come first, Lucy.”

I stare at him wordlessly.

I come first?

The grill gets mobbed again, and I drift off into the trees, repeating his words to myself.

That’s not me. People like Natasha come first. I’ve always known that, and I’m cool with it. But Preston sees me in a different way. And the thought of that makes my heart feel like it’s too big for my chest.

Things get louder. The IT guy turns the music way up, then a conga line starts snaking its way through the trees. I stand back and watch. The sight of everyone having a good time makes my tummy tingle.

Although, if I’m honest, a little part of me can’t wait for them all to head to bed so it can be just me and Preston again.

When the conga is done, there’s a karaoke sing-off… three whole rounds of it. Then at long last, they start to clear out, laughing, shrieking and stumbling into the bushes.

And that’s a lot of mess left behind. Better get this cleared up.

I go to grab a garbage bag, but Preston snatches it out of my hands.

“Not your job,” he says firmly.

“I can’t leave it all to you.”

He shrugs. “I’m big enough.”

“Come on. It’ll be fast if we work together.”

He fixes me with a stern look. “Go to bed, Lucy. You’ll need your sleep for tomorrow.”

I bite my lip. Holy crap. I like it when he’s bossy like this.

“Okay.” I nod, defeated. “And thank you so much for tonight.”

He gives me a long look, his eyes all soft. “We were a good team.”

“Yeah!” I hold my hand up for a high five.

For a second, he looks confused. Then he catches my hand in his.

The contact with his skin is electric. But instead of slapping my hand, he keeps hold of it, drawing me closer to him. “Anything for you, Lucy Cole.”

I blink. “F-for me?”

His big chest rises. “Of course. This was all for you.”

Then he’s pulling me into his massive arms. He dips his head, and…

Oh, god, he’s kissing me.

Those beautiful, manly lips are pressing against mine.

His mouth is so soft. So lush. Totally dreamy.

A sigh escapes my throat.

When he angles his jaw and kisses me deeper, I part my lips, welcoming him in. Wanting him closer and closer.

His tongue slides in like velvet, dancing against my own.

Tingles run all the way through me, and I cling onto him so I don’t pass out. I had no idea kissing could feel this awesome.

“You’re so beautiful, Lucy,” he growls against my lips. “So sexy.” He kisses me harder and harder, and his hands run all over my body.

What’s that? Something pressing against my belly.

I look down. The front of his jeans is all tented up. His thing—his cock—is hard. He wants me.

He wants to fuck me.

The thought judders through me like a runaway train.

I’ve never done that before. Never been a sex person. But now my whole body is lit on fire, and that spot between my thighs is aching like crazy. For him. I want him inside me. Hardly knowing what I’m doing, I reach for him. My hand is trembling, but I need to feel him?—

Preston pulls away with a warning growl.

“Huh?” I stare at him, uncomprehending.

“Lost my damn phone somewhere—” a voice slurs. Heavy feet come crashing through the undergrowth.

I close my eyes. Of course , someone lost their phone. The IT guy emerges from the trees, blinking dazedly.

I’m frozen, too stirred up to think about moving.

But Preston is already pulling me behind a tree, protecting me with his body. “Go that way, baby.” Gently, he turns me in his arms, plants a kiss on my cheek, and guides me off in the opposite direction.

Reluctance burns through me as I turn away from him and pick my way through the forest. I can hear that darn IT guy’s voice blaring through the quiet, and Preston’s curt replies.

Baby . He called me baby.

I don’t know what would’ve happened if we hadn’t gotten disturbed.

All I know is that my body is tingling all over, my panties are wet, and I was just about ready for Preston to throw me over his shoulder and carry me off to his lair.