“Thanks.” He swallowed the pills and water. Pulling his legs back up on the bed, he stretched his body out and pulled a blanket over himself.
Her breath caught. No way. There was no way she would sleep in the same bed with him.
“Umm, Tyler, this is actually my bed. If you could—” He opened one eye to stare at her, and she broke off.
“Lena, I feel like I got hit by a train. This is a double bed that can fit two, so I’m not moving. If you’ve got a problem, you go sleep on the stupid couch.”
“But—”
He reached up and closed a hand over her mouth. “We will talk in the morning. Now be quiet.”
Annoyance sparked in her belly, and she thrust his hand aside. She glared at him, hoping it would inspire him to change his mind. But he’d already shut his eyes and seemed oblivious to her telepathically yelling at him to get the hell out of her bed.
Her gaze drifted toward the living room and her second option, the couch. The idea of padding across the cool floor and sleeping on the couch with just an afghan held little appeal.
She sighed and lay down next to him, scooting as close to the edge of the bed as possible so their bodies wouldn’t touch.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she focused on the image of what she’d say to Stephanie when she came back to pick them up.
The birds were being obnoxious, singing aria after aria outside the window. Lena groaned and tried to block out the noise. To stay submerged in the most delicious dream she was having.
She turned her head back into her pillow and curled her body closer to the warmth. Her hands reached for the fleece blanket, but she encountered a firm barrier. The remainder of sleepiness ebbed out of her body.
Her eyes snapped open, and she stared straight at the crisp, white shirt on Tyler’s chest. Her lips parted, and she tried to jerk out of his arms, but he held onto her as if he were a child and she his teddy bear.
Her face burned hot. Thank God he still slept so he would have no recollection of her groping him in the wee hours of the morning. She somehow doubted that had been part of her dream.
She clenched her teeth and once again tried to dislodge his arm without waking him. He moaned and tightened his grip. His other hand slid down to cup her bottom.
Lena exhaled heavily, and her body jackknifed against him. The sharp motion woke Tyler up, and she found herself under heavy surveillance from those incredible brown eyes.
“Good morning.” She gave a tight smile. “Would you kindly remove your hand from my butt?”
His gaze lingered on her face for a moment, and then his lips twitched. “I like your butt.”
“Tyler,” she gasped when he squeezed the flesh.
He trailed his other hand through her hair. “Your hair grows fast, you know.”
If he didn’t stop grabbing her ass, she would do something really stupid. Like sleep with him again. And that could not happen.
“Tyler, I am so close to kicking you in a place that would ensure you never have children.”
He grimaced and let her go. “Good to see you too, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart. The pet name sent all kinds of memories of Europe through her. Bittersweetness tugged at her heart, and she sighed, rolling out of bed.
“So how do I get out of here?” Tyler asked. “Could you drive me to the nearest town so I can take a bus or something?”
Lena closed her eyes for a few seconds and then opened them to meet his gaze. “No. I can’t drive you anywhere. Stephanie took my keys.”
He stared at her for a moment and then shook his head in disbelief. “Fine. Then I’ll walk.”
“Probably not such a good idea. We’re miles off the main road, and then it’s about a forty minute drive to the nearest town.”
His nostrils flared. “Are you serious?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Look, I’m no more excited about this situation than you are.”
“Do you have any idea how crazy Stephanie is?” Tyler demanded. “She drugged me and dropped me off in the damn wilderness with you. You, the last person I would ever want to be alone with.”
Ouch. God, that had hurt like hell. Lena forced a smile, so proud that she hadn’t winced. “The feeling is beyond mutual.” But for different reasons. It was torture being around the man she loved. Especially when the only emotion he had for her was loathing. “How the hell did she get you to take sleeping pills?”
“Drink,” he corrected. “She put them in my mocha.”“And you didn’t notice? Like, hmm, my mocha kind of tastes like ass.”
His eyes narrowed. “I figured you just had shitty mochas out here.”
“This is Seattle. Think about what you’re saying.” Lena bit her lip and shook her head. “The bottom line is, we’re stuck here.”
“For how long?”She bit her lip, preparing for the explosion. “A week.”
“A week?” he yelled. “Where’s the phone?”
“No phone.”
“Fine. I’ll use my cell and have a taxi pick me up. It would be worth paying four hundred dollars to get the hell out of here.”
Lena opened up her mouth to warn him his cell wouldn’t work either. No. Maybe just let him figure it out on his own.
A moment later he exclaimed, “Son of a bitch. What do you mean, no service?”
He turned and stomped out of the bedroom, then she heard the door to the cabin open and slam shut.
Chapter Twenty-One
Lena showered and had breakfast cooked by the time Tyler returned an hour later. She had just finished her own meal when he calmly walked in through the door.
She had almost convinced herself that he’d hiked to the nearest road and was surprised—and dare she say relieved—when he reappeared.
The situation they were in sucked, but in the shower she’d made up her mind to attempt to be civil. Apparently, Tyler had too, she realized as he sat down at the table without hurling accusations again.
She set a plate of eggs and sausage in front of him. Tyler nodded, the closest to a thank you she would get, apparently.
She watched him pick up a fork and lay into the food before going to pour him a cup of coffee. She set it down next to his plate and took a seat across the table.
“When was the last time you ate?”
“I think I had some chips on the plane.”
That would explain the Doritos breath from last night.
“Other than that, yesterday morning.” He looked up at her as he picked up the coffee and took a sip.
“Hmm.” Lena stood up and went to wash up the dishes in the sink. She listened to his chair scrape back a few minutes later, and then he appeared beside her, setting his plate in the sink.
The hairs on her body lifted, and a tremble moved through her body.
“Thank you for making breakfast,” he said, his breath all too close to her ear.
She licked her lips and almost groaned in disappointment when he stepped away. “You’re welcome.”
He leaned back against the counter next to her and gave her a thoughtful look. “So I went for a walk this morning and did some thinking.”
“Oh, yeah?” Her stomach did that little lurching thing, and she bit down on the inside of her lip to get herself under control.
“Yeah. And I think that since neither of us is going anywhere, let’s just agree to call a truce until we figure out a way out of here.”
“Okay.” A truce. Not the words she wanted hear, but better than nothing. “I’m going to go and gather some wood for a fire. At night it can get pretty cold up here in the mountains.”
“All right.” He glanced around the kitchen. “Do you want some help?”
Lena’s fingers fumbled over one of the buttons on her jacket. “Thanks, but no. I wouldn’t mind a quick walk alone myself.”
She took a deep breath and rushed outside, wanting to put as much distance between her and Mr. Temptation as possible.
Tyler stared at the closed d
oor for a moment and then went to sit down on the couch.
Talk about a nightmare. Spending the next week locked up with the one woman who still haunted his dreams. A woman he still fantasized about at least once a day.
It may have been months, but he hadn’t forgotten the smell of her. The feel of her. The taste of her. The entire damn problem was he just hadn’t forgotten.
And now, having her so near to him, knowing she was married and off limits, drove him crazy. If she hadn’t been married, maybe even if she’d still been engaged...well, this might have been his breaking point.
He would have bagged all his good intentions and turned all his fantasies into reality to make her understand how made for each other they were.
Stop it. You’re doing it again. Tyler cursed and stood up to distract the train of thoughts. If he were going to get through the week, he’d have to get this under control.
The bottom line was that he needed to keep his hands off. Lena belonged to someone else now, and he’d just have to deal with that reality. Like it or not.
In no hurry to get back, Lena spent a couple hours walking alongside the river. Her thoughts lingered on Tyler, despite her intention to put him out of her head.
It was probably for the best that they didn’t get involved again. He’d made it clear he didn’t love her, and that it had just been sex for him. Besides, a guy like Tyler must have moved on to his next girlfriend by now. Men like him didn’t stay single.
After they got through the week, Tyler would leave her again, and she’d be stuck with the same heartache she’d had when she returned from Europe.
She’d come so far. She’d been almost convinced she was on the road to recovery from Tyler. Almost. And then Stephanie pulled this kind of idiotic stunt.
Damn, if Steph were here she would give her a piece of her mind—if not beat her senseless.
But she wasn’t here. And Tyler was. Lord, she’d missed seeing his face. Hearing his voice. This week would be a blessing and a curse. But more so a curse. It was like having the excitement of looking at fat slice of chocolate cake, but knowing she couldn’t touch it.
She headed back toward the cabin and grabbed as much wood as she could carry before trudging back to where Tyler waited.
Through the window, Tyler watched Lena ascend the steps of the cabin. Her foot caught on the last step, and she went flying, dropping her armful of logs all over the porch.
He hurried to open the door and found her scurrying around to retrieve them.
She lifted her gaze, running it slowly up his body. And then she burst into laughter.
“Where on earth did you get those clothes?” She covered her mouth, obviously to stifle the giggles.
Tyler frowned. True, he’d replaced his suit with a plaid flannel shirt and jeans that hung too loose on his body, but he didn’t look that bad.
“You look like a lumberjack.”
Tyler raised an eyebrow and leaned over to help her up. “Do you like the clothes? I found them in the closet in the bedroom. I mean, come on, the only damn thing I packed were suits.”
“No, I don’t suppose you could wear those all week. I think those are Barry’s clothes.” She wiped her hands on her jeans.
“Barry?” His blood quickened, and his fingers tightened around the stack of logs he’d picked up. Had she taken a new lover on top of being married?
“Yeah. Stephanie’s brother.”
“Stephanie’s brother comes up to your cabin with you?” Fuck, he sounded like a jealous husband.
“No,” Lena gave him a close look. “Barry comes to his cabin whenever he wants.”
“His cabin.” Great, now he just took the idiot of the year award. “Then this is Stephanie’s cabin?”
“Stephanie’s and Barry’s. Their parents left it to them in their inheritance.”
“Stephanie has an inheritance?”
“Yes, they both do.” She opened the door to the cabin and stepped inside. “That’s how she was able to foot the bill to Europe.”
“Lucky you.”
Lena dumped her load in front of the fireplace and turned around, hands on hips.
“She’s a good friend.”
“Except when she’s leaving you stranded in B.F.E. with some guy you can’t stand.”
“Except that.” Her lips twitched. “And I never said I couldn’t stand you.”
The expression on her face shifted, became more vulnerable, before she jerked her gaze away.
His pulse kicked up a notch, and his jaw tightened. Keep it platonic or you’ll never get through this week. Which meant if he didn’t get out of this cabin again for a bit, he’d be all over her.
He set down his own stack of logs next to hers. “I think I’m going to take another walk down the river.”
“Oh. All right.” She lowered her gaze and nodded.
Interesting. She’d almost looked disappointed that he was leaving.
“I’ll be back in time for dinner.” He headed out the door.
Lena sighed and watched him go. So apparently, the only way they were going to maintain this truce was just to avoid each other.
She stood and wandered around the cabin, looking for something to do. Why the hell couldn’t there be a television in here? Her previous love of the rustic cabin had now turned into a mild irritation. Tyler had her on edge again.
She went in search of the romance novel she’d been reading. That should work to entertain her—she’d left off in a rather entertaining spot in the book.
After fluffing the pillows on the couch and lying back, she flipped open the novel and engrossed herself in a land where orgasms were multiple and happy endings were mandatory.
Twenty minutes later, the main characters were done screaming in ecstasy, the windows had ceased their rattling, and the characters were now falling asleep on one another.
She yawned. Sleep sounded pretty good, actually. With the whole Tyler drama of last night, she hadn’t gotten much.
Her eyelids drifted shut, and she took a couple of deep breaths. She didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until something brushed across her stomach and woke her.
“Well, what have we have got here?”
Lena jerked upright and reached for the book that had been on her stomach, and then realized Tyler held it in his hand. He stared at the cover of the book, a smirk on his face.
“Will you check out the pecs on that guy? His chest is ten times bigger than the girl’s.”
“Give me the book back.” Lena could feel her cheeks burning up. “And how did he even get her in that position? Bent over a horse of all things—”
“Tyler, my book.” She reached out to grab it back, but he twisted effortlessly and held it above her head.
“That can’t be comfortable, being at that angle. I mean, look at her back. Oh, wait a minute, is that what I think it is?” He squinted and glanced closer at the cover of the book in amazement. “I’ll be damned. It sure is. We’ve got nipple action coming through the dress.”
She launched herself off the couch and ripped the book away from him. She glared at him and clutched the book protectively to her side.
“Do you mind?” she demanded. “I’d appreciate a little privacy with my things.”
“And I’d appreciate you letting me get a look at what’s on the inside of that book.” He whistled. “Judging by the cover, that’s some hot stuff.”
“Didn’t you say something about cooking dinner?” she reminded him to change the subject.
“Sure. I can do that.” He grinned and turned to walk into the kitchen. “I can see why people love it here. It’s beautiful. And I don’t think I’ve breathed such clear air...ever.”
“Yeah, I love coming here.” Lena stuffed the novel between the cushions of the couch to hide it from him.
She sat for a moment, her pulse beating a little too fast. She enjoyed this. Having him here and being able to have that easygoing nature again. Even if it was only because of a truce.
/> “Do you want tomato soup or chicken noodle?”
Lena sighed. “Tomato will be fine, thank you.”
“Good choice.”
Her stomach growled when he returned ten minutes later with the simple meal. Steaming soup, along with a sandwich cut neatly into two triangles, sat on a tray.
“I was going to eat outside on the porch. Did you want to come?”
She took the tray and nodded. “Sure, I’ll meet you out there.”
Tyler joined her a moment later on the porch swing, sitting down beside her.
His thigh brushed against hers, and the breath locked in her throat.
Truce. We’re just friends now.
Drawing in an unsteady breath, she picked up one of the sandwich halves and glanced inside. “Peanut butter and jelly?”
“Yes. I hope that’s okay.” He took a bite of his half, taking out a good part of it.
“I like peanut butter and jelly. It’s good old comfort food. It brings me back to childhood.”
“Not mine.” He paused to lick a glob of sticky jam that had ended up on his pinkie. “My mom never got off on the whole peanut butter thing. It was either tuna or turkey.”
Lena’s gaze focused on his pinkie and his tongue, and heat spread through her. “I’m sorry to hear that. Every kid should have peanut butter and jelly.”
“Agreed.” He finished his sandwich and moved on to the soup. Something tickled her foot, and she glanced down in time to see a squirrel running across the porch.
She shrieked and jumped up. The tray went flying, and her bowl of soup tipped over on her tank top.
“Hot.” She jerked the fabric over her head, wiping tomato soup out of her cleavage.
“Lena.” Tyler’s voice came out on a choke.
She froze. Oh, crap. Had she just stripped down to her bra in front of him? Was she a complete idiot?
“I’m going to shower.” She dashed back inside before he could accuse her of doing it on purpose. Of trying to seduce him again.
Her stomach twisted, and she sighed. Why had Stephanie done this to her? They would never last a week.
Foreign Affair Page 21
