Chasing Love

by Melissa West

  Charlie’s attention drifted to the water as he considered what the fishing champion would win. “How about a massage?”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “A massage? As in your hands on me, or my hands on you?”

  “Bad idea?”

  A mischievous smile took over her face. “I can handle it if you can,” she said, a challenge in her tone.

  “Oh, I can handle.”

  Lila grabbed her rod and went back to her place. “We shall see, Mr. Fisherman. We shall see.”

  * * *

  “So, that’s what your sore-loser face looks like?” Charlie asked with a grin as he peered over at Lila. “Hm, interesting. I gotta say I kind of like it.”

  They had fished for another hour and ended up catching the same number of fish, but Charlie’s fish had outweighed Lila’s by a pound, so he became the winner, bragging rights and all. The only problem was the prize—the massage.

  Because, while he’d told Lila he could handle it, now that said massage was before them, he wasn’t so sure. Charlie liked to think of himself as an honorable man, but he was also human, hormones and all, and he couldn’t guarantee his thoughts wouldn’t drift into dishonorable territory if Lila put her hands on him. And if she straddled his waist while giving the massage, then all bets were off. He wasn’t a superhero, after all. He was a man, and there wasn’t a man alive that could resist a woman like Lila if things became intimate. Which meant he needed to avoid the massage at all costs.

  “Deep thought?” Lila asked as she went to work preparing the corn on the cob.

  Charlie watched her with interest. “You cook it unshucked?”

  Lila glanced up from her work. “Of course.”

  Charlie scratched his head, not fully convinced. “You sure?”

  “Want another bet? I’ll grill yours shucked and mine unshucked. You can taste each. If the unshucked is better, you owe me a movie night, popcorn and all. If the shucked is better, then you choose the date. But you have to be honest.”

  “Date?”

  Suddenly, her eyes went back to the corn, and he watched her remove the outer leaves from one, wrap it in foil and then twist the ends to secure it. “You know, just a friend date.”

  “Right, like this.” Only nothing about this met the description for friend, and if they went through with the massage, then any hopes of friendship would be out the window—or tent, in this case.

  “Exactly. So, you agree?”

  Charlie stared at her, wishing he could say no, that they needed to take a step back. Something, anything. But instead his mouth refused to listen to his brain and he heard himself saying, “Deal.”

  “But you have to be honest.”

  “I’ll always be honest with you.”

  He noticed her throat working as she attempted to swallow, and he wanted to ask if this was okay, whatever they were doing—being this close to each other. But how could he ask without starting a conversation he wasn’t prepared to have?

  Instead, he released a breath and went back to seasoning the trout while she shucked his ear of corn, her focus fully on the task before her, though he could tell she was bothered by something. Guilt punched him in the gut. How long could he continue being loyal to Lucas while hurting Lila?

  The fish went on the grill, and they sat back in their chairs, watching the fire, neither of them speaking, the silence painful. And he couldn’t take it anymore.

  “I’m sorry.”

  She pulled her legs into the chair, her arms wrapped around them again. It was a move she’d mastered as a kid, one she pulled out whenever she was uncomfortable. He didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable around him. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry for.”

  He laughed sarcastically. “Are you kidding? There’s a lot I need to be sorry for. Every day is a tug-of-war over which person I risk hurting, and I hate it. It’s not what I want or who I want to be. I only really care about a handful of people, and right now I’m messing up. I just don’t know how to fix it.”

  “Can I ask you something and you’ll be honest with me?” Lila asked.

  “Of course.”

  The fire crackled as it worked through the wood and twigs Charlie had pulled together when he built it. The smells of the food cooking floated all around them. Night hovered above, while the stream continued its melody in the distance. It was a perfect evening, and yet as he waited for Lila’s question, nothing in him felt at peace. His thoughts were everywhere, his heart picking up speed, his hands restless with the desire to do something. If he couldn’t fix their situation, surely he could fix something.

  “What do you want?” she asked, her voice even despite the tension on her face.

  He looked over at her. “I think I made that clear last night.”

  “Did you? Because it feels like we take one step forward and five back. I feel you there, sense you looking at me, but then you pull away. You said if I wanted you then you were mine. Well, I do. I want you. I want this.”

  Without thinking, he reached out and took her hand. “I don’t know what to say. I feel like I’ve started this, but Lucas’s out there, and the right thing to do is to tell him first. It just is. He specifically asked me not to do what I’m doing. How can I go there against his wishes? How can I take this to the next level without at least respecting him enough to tell him first? Because he’s going to be livid, freak out. He’s going to shout and scream, but at least if I haven’t already crossed the line, then we can talk about it. Help him see that this, you and me, could be great. But if I’ve already betrayed his trust, I can’t get it back. Do you understand?”

  Lila stared at the fire again. “I do . . . but I think we crossed the line a long time ago.”

  The words hit Charlie dead on, and though he knew what she said was true, he didn’t want to hear it. He’d tried to rationalize the whole thing in his head. A kiss wasn’t sex. They hadn’t professed any major feelings. They hadn’t announced their engagement.

  They’d kissed a few times, no big deal. Only that was a lie. It was a huge deal, and—damn it.

  “How about we try not to worry about this yet? We’ll tell Lucas as soon as he’s home safe. Until then, it’s fine.”

  But even though he heard the logic in her words, he could tell that this was hurting her. The uncertainty of it, the risk with no guarantee of reward. He was such a jackass.

  “Now stop staring at me with that guilt-stricken face. You’re hotter when you smile.” She flashed her trademark grin in his direction, and he couldn’t help but offer his own back.

  “Let’s eat. An empty stomach won’t fix a thing.”

  They worked together to get plates and bottled water for each of them, divvied out the trout, and then Lila brought over the corn. “All right, here you go, Mr. Know-It-All. The taste test. Here’s yours,” she said, dropping an ear of corn on his plate. “And here’s mine.” She did the same with her own, then focused back on him. “You get the first bite.”

  “All right, but don’t get your hopes up. I’ve been grilling corn the same way for a long time.” He took a bite of his corn, let the sweetness coat his taste buds. Damn, he’d forgotten how much he loved grilled corn. He was tempted to take a second bite, his stomach groaning at him to hurry up and feed it, but he promised Lila he’d give her corn a real shot. Still, he didn’t think it could top what he’d just tried. Until he took a bite of hers and juicy sweetness exploded in his mouth. The unshucked corn was twice as juicy and flavorful, all the deliciousness of the first corn but multiplied.

  “So?” Lila asked, obvious nervousness in her voice.

  “So, I’m taking this one.” He tried to walk off with her corn and she took off after him, jumping to try to grab it as he held it high in the air, out of her reach. “Fine, just one more bite.”

  “Fine.”

  But as he lowered the corn, she snatched it from his grasp and took off, both of them laughing now. And Charlie knew, even if Lucas said no, even if he said he’d never speak to him ag
ain, Charlie couldn’t turn away. He was in too deep now. Lila was right—they had already crossed the line.

  There was no going back.

  Chapter Fifteen

  A light rain started during dinner, so they quickly packed everything up and by the time they dashed into the tent, they were both soaked through, their clothes suctioned to their skin, hair dripping.

  Lila rung out her tank top and then pushed her hair out of her face. “Got any towels?” she asked, laughing, but nothing was humorous about the look on Charlie’s face.

  His eyes had drifted down, where they stayed, and Lila realized that her white tank top, so very innocent moments before, now revealed every outline of her lace bralette, and because it, too, was white, you could now plainly see the outline of her nipples.

  “We need to change,” Lila said, clearing her throat. “Then we can finalize this bet. Fair warning, I’m kind of amazing.”

  “Yeah . . .” But Charlie made no effort to move, and instead, his gaze returned to meet her own, and he shook his head slowly. “You are amazing. And smart. And kind. And beautiful. So damn beautiful, and you don’t even realize it. You don’t see what the world sees. What I see. And I can’t freaking pull myself away. Can’t even be around you without wanting to touch you. So you can forget the bet. I’ll forfeit now. Because if you touch me, if you put your hands on my body, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop this from going further. Hell, you’re not even touching me right now and it’s taking everything in me to stay over here.”

  Lila contemplated what he was saying, tried to make sense of his fear over losing Lucas. But she knew her brother. Sure, he might be mad, but he loved Charlie and he loved Lila. It would all be okay.

  So with that in mind, she took a step toward him, her eyes on his, forcing him to look at her. “No.”

  “No?” His eyebrows rose.

  “No, a bet is a bet. Now lie down.”

  He licked his teeth as if in thought, and holy hell, it had to be the sexiest thing Lila had ever seen in her life. Her body buzzed with the need to touch him, to feel his warm skin under her fingertips. “You want me to lie down.” He said it as a statement, not a question, but she could see the apprehension on his face. How hard he was fighting the tension building in the air. Rain beat against the tent, the storm rolling in, and with it Lila found courage she’d never felt before. There was no one else here, only them. No one around to judge, no one to remind them that she was Lila and he was Charlie. Just them.

  “Lie down.”

  He eyed her once more, and then slowly started for his sleeping bag, when Lila called out, stopping him. “Shirt off first.”

  Now he was staring at her, doubt on his face. “Lila . . .”

  “No shirt. I can’t massage you with a shirt on. That’ll never work. I’ll be a good girl.”

  “Is that a promise?”

  Hell, no. “Yes.”

  Charlie’s eyes met hers, heat within them as he gripped the edge of his shirt and slipped it off, dropping it without thought to the ground. And before Lila could stop herself, her own eyes trailed over his chest. The small dive-flag tattoo on his left pectoral muscle, the cut of each of his abdominal muscles, the deep V that disappeared below his low-hanging shorts.

  “Ready now?” he asked, his voice low and husky, laced with want.

  Lila tried to swallow, but she couldn’t make her throat work. “Good. Lie down.”

  Without another word, Charlie lowered himself to his knees, and then his arm and back muscles flexed as he dropped down to his stomach.

  Now or never, Lila thought. She took off her tank top and dropped it with Charlie’s shirt, and then walked over and stepped over him, one leg on each side of him, then she bent down until she straddled his ass, his smooth back laid out before her.

  She glided her hands over his body until she reached his shoulders, and a shiver worked through him, a curse slipping from his lips, as he clenched his eyes closed.

  Slowly, she worked her hands into his hot muscles, pressing and massaging, working out the tension she felt in his shoulder muscles. Then she leaned over him more and went to his neck, working those muscles, until he moaned low, and she smiled with pleasure.

  “This okay?”

  “This is killing me.”

  Lila bit her lip and worked her way down his back, pressing harder, deeper in spots, lighter in others, then started back up, heat building in her belly, then lower, swirling and igniting, until she knew she must be soaked. Her hands went over his biceps, and without realizing it, she rocked against him, desperate for relief. Instantly, his eyes flew open. “Screw it.” And then he flipped around, causing her to gasp. His pupils darkened as he drank her in, and then he pulled her against him, his mouth covering hers, his tongue commanding her to follow along. To not stop. He gripped her ass and tugged her closer, and then as quickly as he’d flipped around earlier, he flipped them over so she rested on the ground now, him over her, his lips on her neck, her collarbone, sucking and tasting, and then as though he’d lost all sense of control, he pressed a hot kiss to her nipple through the lace bralette, and she arched back, moaning loudly as she gripped his head. “Again,” she breathed.

  He sucked her deep into his mouth, lace and all, tonguing the sensitive flesh, as his free hand snaked down to cup her heat. His hand slipped into her shorts, then inside her panties, stroking her core.

  “So wet,” he said, his words as breathless as her own. Then he slipped two fingers inside her, gentle at first and then harder, faster, finding a rhythm, until she couldn’t think, couldn’t process, only feel. Before she could stop herself, she exploded, stars flashing across her vision, her body firing in sparks and spasms as she came around his fingers.

  Lila drew a few breaths to calm herself down, and then reached down, his need visible through his shorts. She stroked him once through the shorts and he groaned, then took her hand and gingerly placed it down at her side, then curled up on her other side and pulled her against him.

  “You have to let me—”

  “This wasn’t about me. It was about you, your need.”

  “But—”

  “Shhh, I’m trying to sleep,” he said as he nuzzled closer to her.

  “Yeah, but—”

  “Shhh, sleep.”

  Lila wracked her brain for how to respond, a way to convince him, but she could tell that he wasn’t bending on this, and suddenly all the feelings she’d had for him before multiplied, overwhelming her. This wasn’t just selfless, it was caring and kind. Because she did need this, to her core she needed this. For him to realize that, for him to put her first was so—

  “Are you crying?”

  She sniffled. “No.”

  Charlie jerked upright, his eyebrows knitted together. “Did I—?”

  “No, I just . . . I don’t know, okay? I’m a woman. We do this sometimes.”

  Charlie chuckled as he pulled her against him again. “You go ahead and cry, Tiny. But just be prepared. The real thing? Yeah, it might throw you into a full-out depression.” He paused, and then, “That didn’t come out right, did it?”

  They burst out laughing, and though Lila didn’t know where this thing of theirs was going, she knew she would never forget that night.

  Chapter Sixteen

  An hour had passed since Charlie kissed Lila goodbye, and he still couldn’t stop smiling.

  They slept wrapped in each other’s arms all night, and then a call from the farm—that Zac was needed and Charlie would need to come back early to cover the shop—forced them to leave the mountains earlier than planned. Truthfully, he could have stayed there forever, the rest of the world forgotten, just the two of them and nature.

  Once back in Crestler’s Key, Lila went on to the farm to check the animals, and Charlie went to Southern Dive, and though he’d seen her an hour before, he already missed her. The thought made his smile widen. It had been a long time since he had cared enough about a woman to miss her.

  He ha
d just opened his laptop to check online orders so he could pull, package, and ready them for the afternoon FedEx pickup, when his cell rang. There was no one in the shop yet, most of the rush happening in the early afternoon, so he contemplated letting it go to voicemail so he could get in the orders before the shop became busy. But then he thought of Lila, and his heart did that weird flip thing it’d been doing since their night together, and he grabbed the phone, far too eager, but it wasn’t Lila’s name shining back at him. It was Lucas.

  With trepidation, he answered the call, his nerves coiling tight. Lucas rarely called him when he was on deployment, so for him to call now something had to be wrong. “Hey, man. You all right?” he asked.

  “Yeah, good. Just checking in.” There was a lot of noise in the background, and Charlie wanted to ask where he was, but he knew Lucas couldn’t say.

  “You staying safe?”

  “You know nobody out here’s got anything on me.” The men laughed, but there was nothing about it that was funny. Lucas continuously risked his life, but talking about that fact didn’t change it, so it was easier for them both to make light of it.

  “Actually, I was going to ask you how you thought Lila was doing? I talked to her a bit ago and she seemed . . . distracted.”

  Shit.

  Charlie opened his mouth to tell him everything, but closed it back up immediately. He couldn’t tell him when he was out there, always in danger, when this information could cause him stress and in turn put his life at risk. No, they needed to wait until Lucas was back. “I think she’s okay. She told me about what happened to her. It was hard for her to talk about it, but she seemed better after.”

  “Damn, I wish I were there.”

  “I know you do. But I’ve got her. We’re planning to hit the shooting range later this week, and then she’s staying active with work at the hospital and then at my farm. She’s strong.”

  “Yeah, yeah she is,” Lucas said. Then someone said something to him on his end, and he quickly said he had to run and would call back when he could.