by Peak, Renna
“And it was for sale?” She shakes her head, still grinning. “That was incredibly lucky—”
“Not…exactly.” How do I tell her I spent half my inheritance on this place? The previous owners said they’d never sell, but when I offered them a ridiculous amount of money, they couldn’t say no.
“It’s a perfect place for people like me, Nick. People who need a break from society—who don’t want to be part of the rat race. I mean, maybe you could make it different than just some getaway. I can’t be the only one who just wants to quit their life.”
Indeed. And how am I supposed to tell her about that particular secret of mine? It’s a miracle she doesn’t already know. I suppose it’s fortuitous that I’m not nearly as famous as my brothers—my escapades are only rarely reported on, though I’m sure if it got out that I’m now the owner of some silly “getaway” in the backwoods of Montana, the press would be here in an instant.
She turns to face me again, her smile falling. “Nick…”
I let out a long breath. “Clara.”
“About what happened…”
I shake my head. “It’s not necessary to say anything. Truly.”
Her lips tick into the slightest of smiles. “Have I told you how much I love it when your accent comes out?”
My gaze narrows. “I have no accent.”
She chuckles. “I know. You’ve told me.” She takes a few steps toward me. “I probably shouldn’t have kissed you.”
“Probably.”
She pulls my hand into hers. “And you probably shouldn’t have kissed me back.”
My frown deepens. How am I supposed to respond to that?
“But you did.”
I grunt in response.
“And I’m not sorry.”
I blink at her a few times.
“I think…” She presses her lips together as she looks up into my eyes. “I don’t know what this is.”
I say nothing, my gaze locked with hers. I have no idea what this is, either, only that I can’t seem to help myself when it comes to her. I barely even know the woman, but I find myself so drawn to her, I’m not sure what to think.
Clearly, I’m losing my mind.
“I’m not ready, Nick.”
My brow furrows. Did I say something to her? Make some proposition? I’m fairly certain I haven’t said a word.
“I’m really not,” she continues. “This is the worst possible timing. I mean, I just ended a long-term relationship, you know? It hasn’t even been a month…” She lets out a long breath. “But I can’t help it.”
She turns her gaze back up to mine and smiles. “I really can’t help it.” And she grabs at my shirt, pulling my face to hers as she kisses me.
And I don’t even think—my body seems to move on its own. My arms wrap around her waist, and I kiss her back.
Clara
Sometimes, you just have to stop fighting it.
I cling to Nick’s shirt, kissing him deeply, letting all my other worries disappear. Nothing else matters while his arms are around me, while his lips are hot and hungry against mine, while his body is pressed up against me. I’ve never been a particularly rash person—not until I decided to run away from my life, anyway—but something about this place seems to bring out my wild side. I don’t care if this is idiotic. I don’t care if my family and friends back home would think I’d gone fully off the deep end if they knew. All I know is that I’m here, in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, with a man who confuses all my emotions. And I can’t let go.
One of his arms stays looped around my waist, holding my hips tightly against his, while the other slides up and twines itself in my hair. Everywhere he touches me is fire, and I feel like I’m burning up from the inside out, but the thought of stopping now is even more painful.
My hands are still on his shirt. I release my grip and move my fingers to the buttons of his shirt. I have half of them undone before he even seems to notice.
He stops kissing me abruptly, and his hands grab mine, stilling them.
“Clara…” he says in that deep voice of his. I know what that tone means. And I know that look in his eye—he thinks he’s doing me a favor, stopping this from going any further.
But I know what I want. And I suspect it’s what he wants, too, whether or not he’s willing to admit it to himself.
I take a step away from him, tugging my hands free of his. He lets them go, probably because he thinks he’s won.
Instead, I move my hands to my own shirt. He goes rigid when I begin undoing my own buttons.
“Clara,” he says again. But he doesn’t go on. His eyes are on my chest, on the strip of skin I’m slowly revealing.
“I’m a little warm,” I tell him. “I think I’ll be more comfortable like this.” I undo the knot at the bottom and then pull the shirt completely open. Wiggling my arms out of the sleeves, I drop it on the ground. I’m still wearing a bra—and not a particularly revealing one at that—but I’ve never been this bare in front of him before. In fact, it’s been nearly seven years since I’ve been bare in front of anyone but Adam.
I reach behind my back and undo my bra clasp. Nick’s eyes widen.
“Clara.” This time is voice is clipped, strained. I think he means it as an order to stop, but he can’t seem to get out anything other than my name, which only confirms how he really feels.
I let my bra fall to the ground next to my shirt. And then I spin around.
“I think I’m going to go check out one of these cabins,” I tell him, striding away without even a glance back. When I get to the nearest cabin, I pause only long enough to stoop down and slide off my boots. Then I open the door and go inside, making a show of undoing the zipper of my shorts as I do.
The inside of the cabin is quite charming, though it’s obvious it’s been a while since anyone was here. I suspect when this place was up and running there were a few more knick-knacks and bits of decor, but right now there are only a few big pieces of furniture, probably too much of a pain to move when the last owners left. My eyes go right to the bed in the corner. There are no sheets or pillows, but the mattress is still here.
I let my shorts and underwear fall to my ankles, and I kick them off. This was a crazy idea. I have no idea if he’ll actually follow me, and if I’ve misread the situation, things are going to get even more awkward around here. Worse than awkward. I may have just fucked up everything.
It feels like an hour passes with me standing there, naked, staring at the bed. And then suddenly I hear the door creak behind me.
I spin around, trying to look self-composed even though I feel anything but. A still fully-clothed Nick stands in the doorway, one hand on the doorframe, his face blank and his jaw tight. His eyes are as intense as I’ve ever seen them. He doesn’t say a word, which makes me even more nervous.
But I won’t let him see that. So I just smile at him, and raise my arms slightly as if to show off what he’s already getting a complete eyeful of.
He only hesitates a moment longer. And then he strides toward me, crossing the room in three steps, and he pulls me so tightly against him that all the air is pushed from my lungs. Before I can even take a breath, he’s kissing me, his mouth devouring mine, and his fingers dig into my bare skin. A second passes, maybe two, and then he reaches down and grabs me by the ass, lifting me up in his arms. He crosses the last few feet to the bed and tosses me down on the mattress.
It’s the first chance I’ve had to breathe since he entered the cabin, and I suck in a deep breath. In that same amount of time he manages to pull off his shirt and undo the fly on his jeans. I sit partway up and reach for him, helping him slide his pants down his hips. His hard length springs free, and if I had any doubt left in my mind about how much he wants me, it would be gone at the sight of that.
He doesn’t give me even a second to admire him, though. He pounces on top of me again, pinning be back against the mattress, and kisses me as deeply as before. He fills all o
f my senses. The scent of him is all around me, and the heat of his body against mine—of his bare skin against my bare skin—is so consuming that I can’t even form a full thought. I just cling to him, drowning in his kisses. Letting everything else fade away.
He shifts, pressing my legs apart, and I let my thighs fall open as he settles between them without breaking our kiss. I’ve never wanted anyone or anything as much as I want him right now. As much as I need him.
But he stiffens suddenly, pulling his mouth away from mine.
“We don’t have a condom,” he says. His accent is as thick as I’ve ever heard it.
“I’m on birth control,” I assure him. I’ll have to figure out what to do when the supply I had upon leaving New York runs out in a week and a half, but for now, at least, we’re covered.
Heat—and relief—floods his face. And then his mouth is on mine again, and everything else falls back out of my head. His tongue delves between my lips, and his hips shift against mine. One moment we’re just kissing, and the next he’s deep inside me, fitting as if he was always meant to be there.
I thought I was free, out here on the ranch. But everything I’ve felt up until this moment pales next to the freedom I feel now, in his arms. Now I feel wild, untamed, completely myself. It doesn’t matter what other people expect of me, or what I feel like I should or shouldn’t do—there’s only what I want. What I need.
And I’ve surrendered myself to it completely.
Nicholas
Her hands slide up my back, her nails digging into my skin as she writhes beneath me. I somehow already knew we’d fit together like this—that it would be something close to perfect.
“Oh, Nick…” Her words come out on a sigh, and I realize I haven’t heard the words I actually need to hear.
I lift myself from her, holding myself above her as I look into her eyes. “Clara…”
She smiles up at me as her hands slide down my back to my ass. She pulls me toward her, and while there’s no doubt of her intentions, I still need to hear her say the words.
“Clara, I promised myself—”
“We’re a little beyond that now, weirdo.” She grins. “You’d better finish what you started.”
“Are you certain? Are you certain it’s what you want?”
“Am I certain?” She tilts her head, and while she’s smiling, her eyes are still dark with desire. She wraps her legs around my waist, pulling me tightly against her. “Does this tell you how certain I am?”
“It does…” I can barely breathe, and my voice is as ragged as I’ve ever heard it. I want so badly to feel her again, to be sheathed inside her. It takes every bit of my strength to find the will to speak. “I need to hear you say it.”
Her hands slide around my shoulders until she’s cradling each side of my face. She lifts her head just slightly so that we’re eye to eye, and she smiles. “Yes, Nick. Yes. I want you. I need you—”
It was all I needed to hear, and I interrupt her, pressing my lips against hers once more as I wrap my arms around her and lose myself in her once more.
* * *
She clings to me, her head nestled against my chest, and I wrap my arms around her, holding her tightly to me.
I kiss her forehead before I turn my gaze to the ceiling. What have I done? What have we done? There’s no going back from this. We’ll no longer be able to have an employer-employee relationship.
And perhaps that is all right. Maybe we can just let things be, see how they turn out…
What am I thinking? Those sort of thoughts sound like they could have come straight from my sister Sophia’s head. I’m not the sort of man who just lets things be. How can I?
Clara draws a line from my heart to my stomach. “What are you thinking about?”
I glance down at her, and then turn my gaze back to the ceiling. “Nothing of importance.”
“I’ll tell you what I’m thinking about.” I can almost hear the smile in her voice. “How nice this is.”
“This is…nice. It’s…wonderful.” I place another kiss against her forehead—I certainly don’t want her thinking I don’t appreciate that she’s in my arms. “You’re beautiful.”
She flattens her hand against my abdomen. “I…thank you.” She laughs. “But that isn’t what I meant.”
I take her hand in mine, squeezing it. “Clara…”
“I’m never going back, Nick. No matter what happens here. I just want you to know that.”
I nod, lifting her hand to my lips. “You can stay as long as you need.”
She looks up at me, smiling. “I mean, I’m never going back to that life. To that society life. You have no idea what it’s like.”
I’m hesitant to tell her I have some idea of what her life must have been like, but I certainly can’t tell her that mine was likely much worse. If she thinks her previous circumstances were bad, she would certainly never want anything to do with living in the palace in Montovia.
“There are all these expectations, you know?” She smiles up at me again. “You probably don’t know. But the dinners, and the parties, and the…I don’t know. Fakeness of all of it. I never want any part of it again.”
I can only give a single nod of agreement. I certainly don’t want any of it again, either, but it’s only a matter of time before I’ll be forced back into playing some role in my family.
But for now, I suppose I can pretend none of that exists. It’s so easy to believe there’s nothing but Clara and me, especially when she’s naked in my arms.
“Thank you for letting me be with you, Nick. For putting up with my bullshit.”
“It hasn’t all been bullshit…”
She laughs again, and I swear, if I heard that sound every day for the rest of my life, I’d be a perfectly contented man. “You’re pretty great, you know that?”
I lift her hand to my lips, placing a kiss on each of her fingers. “As are you.”
“And you’re going to tell me where that accent comes from, right?” She laughs again. “Maybe we should rework our agreement about secrets.”
“Hm.” I kiss her hand again instead of answering. There are some things I’m never going to reveal to her—particularly about my royal upbringing—though I haven’t quite thought through how I’m going to work that all out. At some point, I’m going to have to return to Montovia. And when I do, she obviously won’t be coming with me. Perhaps I can use the excuse of needing her to manage the ranch—
“Penny for your thoughts.” She grins up at me again.
“I was merely thinking of how nice this has been.” I squeeze her hand again.
“But we should get back, right?”
“No, not at all—”
“No, seriously, we should get back. It’s going to get dark soon, and I really don’t want to have to ride in the dark.” She sits, sliding off the bed. She walks over to where her panties lie on floor, picking them up and sliding them on.
Blood rushes to my cock as I watch her dress, and I sit myself up to cover my arousal.
I could watch her all day. Make love to her all night. Maybe forever. I have to blink a few times at the thought of anything being forever. It certainly hasn’t crossed my mind before.
I grab my own clothes from the floor and hurriedly dress, though my cock is still straining for another release.
Perhaps she’ll want to share my bed tonight. Perhaps—
“Are you coming?”
My cock takes the statement quite literally, aching for relief.
I grumble as I pull on my shirt, and I follow her out of the cabin, watching her as she pulls each piece of her clothing back on after picking them up from where she dropped them on the way into the cabin before we finally return to where we’ve tied the horses.
I help her into her saddle, and she rides beside me, stretching out her hand.
We ride slowly back to the house, holding hands most of the way. I look over at her several times, wondering what she’s thinking—what she’s fee
ling. I’m not sure I can say that I’ve ever felt quite this way—as though I needed to know what a woman was feeling.
She’s confused, certainly. She’s just ended a long-term relationship. This was probably no more than some rebound exercise to get her fiancé out of her mind.
The thought that she may have used me today is unsettling, but when I look at our clasped hands, I can’t help but think that perhaps she feels more. Wants more.
If I could just channel my sister—let this be—maybe things will work out. Maybe sharing the experience of running from our old lives will bond us together somehow.
I let out a deep breath. It’s difficult, to be certain, but perhaps I can try to let go of my need to control the outcome just this once…
As we make our way to the house, I can see something isn’t right. The lights are on, and I’m positive they weren’t when we left earlier. As we draw nearer, there’s something else.
“Music.” Clara seems to read my thoughts. “Did you get a radio?”
I give a small shake of my head.
“Shit.” She almost growls the word. “Adam.”
My nostrils flare at the sound of his name, and I release her hand.
We take the horses back to the stable, and quickly remove the saddles.
“I should…” I let out a long breath. “I’ll let you go in alone.”
She shakes her head, pulling my hand into hers. “No. Please…I want you there. We’ll face him together.”
I give her a single nod. Though I don’t want to fight the man, I will if I need to. If he means to take her away to marry him against her will, I’ll do whatever I need to do protect her. In fact, I don’t think there’s anything I wouldn’t do for her at the moment.
She slides her arm around my waist as we walk up to the house.
I look down at her, and she must be able to read my expression.
“I choose you, Nick. We’ll stand up to him together.”
I give her another nod, and we enter the house through the back door.
