The Hometown Hoax (The Hoax Series)

by Heather Thurmeier

  She swallowed hard. She wouldn’t let him know how much his comment rattled her. Not admitting her problem was definitely the first step to ignoring it.

  They swam around in the pond together, but separately, and she had to admit it did feel good to rinse off. But now that her body temperature had dropped to a normal level again, the water felt almost too cold.

  “How long do we need to stay in here exactly?” she asked.

  “It’s getting pretty chilly, isn’t it?”

  She nodded.

  “Why don’t we go see the lookout?”

  Nibbling her lower lip, she hesitated to say yes. There was one little problem. “I didn’t bring a towel. What was the point of not swimming in our underwear if we have to turn around and put our clothes back on wet skin? This wasn’t a good plan.”

  “True, but I’ve got an idea.” He started to wade out of the water.

  “Whoa there, big guy,” she said, raising her hands to make him stop walking. He didn’t.

  “You noticed.” He chuckled.

  “You could warn me you’re on the move. Don’t you want me to turn away like before?”

  “I never told you to turn away then either. I’m not afraid of you seeing me as I am, but if you’d feel better about it, then you better turn away now because this water isn’t gonna cover me for much longer.”

  Oh sure. He’s so confident. Doesn’t care who sees what. Fine. If he doesn’t want to cover up, then it’s not my fault if I see—Whoa!

  Water droplets rolled down Logan’s back and shoulders, trailing along his skin until they crested the hills of his nicely sculpted ass. Forcing her eyes to the water around her, she refused to watch any longer.

  The man was beyond attractive, no doubt, but that didn’t mean she’d cave. And sure, he’d been nothing but sweet and kind and respectful to her the whole time she’d known him, but that still didn’t mean she could give in to the temptation that was Logan. Not now. Not ever.

  “You can come out now. I won’t watch.”

  Tessa looked up to find Logan holding out a blanket in front of him like a wall. Where the blanket had come from she had no idea but she was immensely happy to see it. She could cover up and dry off without having to make her clothes damp.

  She waded out of the water quickly, already shivering, and pulled the blanket from his hands and wrapped it around her shoulders, crisscrossing the ends against her chest. Squatting down, she managed to grab her clothes and one strap of her backpack while still holding the edges of the blanket closed. When she stood, she finally took a second to look at Logan. He’d wrapped his shirt around his waist, and slung his backpack over one shoulder. The rest of his clothes hung from his hands down the front of him like a loincloth. His bare chest, close enough she could touch it, made her long to lick the water droplets from his skin as they ran in tiny rivers down his washboard abs.

  “This way,” she said, walking barefoot down the riverbank toward the lookout. She led them around a bend and past a thicket of trees and bushes that hid the lookout spot. “Be careful here since this isn’t part of the path.”

  As she passed through the last overhang of tree cover, the lookout spot opened up into a small clearing right on the edge of the mountainside. There was no barrier between them and cliffs, just open, unobstructed views of the mountain range.

  “Wow,” Logan said, coming to stand beside her. “This view is stunning. Now I get why you hike all the way up here.”

  They stood side-by-side in silence for a few minutes enjoying the view. Tessa loved the way the sun beat down on the mountains, casting some of it into shadow while the rest practically glowed. The longer she looked, the more detail she saw, and she tried to commit every part of it to memory. When would she get to come up here again? Next summer? That felt like forever from now. But how soon did she want to come back to visit? Hadn’t she tried too long to get away to already miss this place?

  “I wish I’d thought to bring a blanket. Then we could have somewhere to sit down and relax for a while.”

  “We could use that blanket.”

  She shot him a sideways glance. “But then I’d be naked again.”

  “True.” He grinned. “And the problem would be?” His voice trailed off as he raised an eyebrow at her. “You keep the blanket, but I’m still going to lie out for a few minutes. I guess I’ll lie on my shirt instead of letting it dry in the sun.”

  He’s going to get naked and suntan?

  Oh my…

  She should not be excited about this situation. It was bad news for her keeping her distance from him. How could she hang out with him being naked and not want to jump his bones?

  Because you’re in control of your desires and you don’t desire to get involved with him. He can sunbathe nude. It’s totally natural.

  He set his backpack in a patch of shade then nudged a few twigs out of the way as he cleared a spot to lie down. No matter how many sticks he moved, he’d still be sitting on the hard ground while she cuddled the soft blanket. The part of her brain wanting to keep her distance from Logan battled with the other part wanting to see him lying completely naked in the sun. Chiming in from the deepest recesses of her subconscious was the little voice of her inner sex kitten that really wanted an excuse to lie down naked beside him.

  She’d known other people in high school who’d found little places in the mountains to skinny dip and sunbathe nude, but not here. This was her spot. One time, her ex-boyfriend Zack had wanted her to bring him here for some sexy time outdoors. Part of her had wanted to say yes, but for whatever reason she’d gone with her gut instinct and said no. And thank God she had. Who knows how many people would have found out about their adventure with his big mouth—probably the whole town would’ve known, as usual. A part of her always knew she couldn’t trust him.

  She didn’t feel that same kind of hesitation in her gut when it came to being here with Logan. This time instinct told her she could trust him with this secret place—with her body. In fact, the thought of being with him in this situation was too tempting to pass up.

  People sunbathe nude in Europe all the time without ending up fooling around. We’re friends. Lying in the sun. Like cats. But without the fur.

  “Wait. You can have the blanket.”

  Shit! Why did I say that?

  “What’s that?” He stopped and turned to face her. His shirt was still tied around his waist and covered his groin.

  Because I want to see what’s under that shirt.

  “You can use the blanket.” She swallowed and prayed she was brave enough to deal with the repercussions of this moment in about a minute from now. “If you promise you will never tell a soul about this, especially not Travis.”

  “Are you saying you’re going to get some sun too? Naked?” A grin slowly bloomed on his lips. His eyes seemed to light up as if they were reflecting the sun as well as his enthusiasm.

  “Turn around,” she said.

  He laughed. “Why? You can’t expect me to move around, literally on the edge of a cliff, with my eyes closed for the rest of the afternoon.”

  “Humor me. Please,” she added, softly.

  He turned his back.

  If she’d thought it had been hard taking off her clothes and getting into the pond, this was at least triple the difficulty. Before she could talk herself out of it, she took off her blanket, shook it out, and arranged it on the flattest section of ground. Then she lay down on her stomach and rested her chin on her crossed arms, focusing on the beautiful view and slowing her heart rate, and not on the fact that she was laying in the sun, butt naked—literally—with an almost complete stranger. A sweet and dangerously sexy almost stranger.

  “Okay. You can turn around.”

  She gritted her teeth together and fought the urge to roll up in the blanket like a human burrito. All he’d see was her butt and he’d already seen it once, he’d even touched it, so she needed to relax.

  Tessa froze as Logan turned around.

/>   “Nice,” he whispered under his breath, but she still heard him loud and clear as if he’d yelled it from the mountaintop. Pride swelled within her at his understated compliment.

  At the sound of a tiny groan coming from his direction, she almost glanced toward him. Instead, she forced herself to focus on nature.

  An eagle flying in circles in the distance.

  A songbird chirping in a near by tree.

  Fluffy, white clouds gliding across the sky.

  Logan’s shirt falling to the ground. Oh shit.

  The shirt that had been the only article of clothing covering his body.

  He settled on the blanket beside her, close enough that she was ultra aware of his presence—she’d have to be dead not to notice him—but not close enough to accidentally touch each other. He’d chosen to lie on his back and fold his arms under his head as if he were casually reclining on the couch, not on a blanket in the middle of nature, naked…with a naked woman beside him.

  Logan’s penis is getting a suntan.

  Don’t do it… Don’t do it…

  “Do you have enough blanket?” she asked casually as she turned to look him in the eye.

  But his eyes were closed against the bright sunlight. A lazy smile played on his lips. He looked so peaceful lying there. She was instantly glad she’d given up the blanket so they could both enjoy it.

  The water that had been on his chest had long since dried and now his skin looked kissed by the sun’s rays. She licked her lips. A faint dusting of hair on his chest grew thicker below his belly button, like a trail leading to—

  Wowza. I said not to do that!

  She could practically hear her inner sex kitten bouncing up and down with excitement and anticipation while her more rational, logical self cursed her for being weak and making things more difficult than they already were. If only she hadn’t looked at what was hanging out, semi-erect, in the sunshine.

  But it was too late. The damage was done. The package had been unwrapped.

  Chapter Eleven

  Tessa forced her gaze away from Logan’s penis.

  “Find something you like down there, sugar?”

  The grin on his face told her everything she needed to know—she was busted. “Just making sure you’re all good.” She whipped her head back toward the view.

  Just shut up.

  “Everything up here is good, and I’m not talking about the view.”

  Getting naked to swim was definitely her first mistake. Agreeing to sunbathe nude was absolutely her second. Somehow she feared that if she looked at him again, she’d be well on her way to making her third mistake of the day. And yet, she looked at him anyway.

  “I meant it looks like you have more than enough.” She took a shaky breath. Why did her words keep coming out wrong? “Room. On the blanket.”

  “I’ve definitely got more than enough room. But if you’re worried, I’ll shift over.” As he wiggled across the blanket an inch closer, she pressed her hand to his chest, stopping him.

  “Don’t,” she said, locking her eyes with his. She wouldn’t look anywhere but his face. But she didn’t need to actually look at his chest to know how outstanding it was. She could feel it beneath her palm, under her trembling fingertips—firm, hot, muscular. Everything she’d guessed, but better.

  He shook his head. “I haven’t done anything. The only one doing anything is you, sugar.”

  “I haven’t done anything either,” she said, indignantly.

  “No, not at all. But maybe you should tell that to your fingers because that thing your thumb is doing to my nipple is maddeningly arousing.”

  She glanced to her hand as if it was attached to someone else’s body. Why was she fondling his body? The tiny beaded nub of his nipple was hard and she didn’t have to wonder if other parts of his body were the same. She could see pretty well in her peripheral vision.

  “I didn’t mean to.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  “I do.” She tried to pull her hand back, but he covered hers with his, holding it against his skin.

  “Why do you keep pulling away from me when you so obviously want something else? And don’t give me your usual crap about the Dick you have back in the city, because we both know that’s a scam.”

  She opened her mouth to make a smart-assed response. “I…”

  What could she say? She was unbelievably attracted to him, both physically and mentally, but this wasn’t an easy situation. If they’d met while he still lived in the city, maybe it would be. But he didn’t, and it wasn’t. She couldn’t handle another connection pulling her back to Cutter’s Creek.

  “Because…” There was no way she could tell him the truth—that if they were in Central Park right now instead of on a mountain in West Virginia, she’d already be straddling his lap and screaming his name. She wouldn’t have even tried to resist him.

  She cleared her throat and tried to steady her nerves and stop thinking about how good it would feel to be with Logan. It wouldn’t help either of them in the long run. It would only make transitions into their news lives more challenging. They both needed a clean slate to embrace their new surroundings—him in town and her in the city—didn’t they? Having a fling now would complicate things later.

  Logan’s heartbeat drummed under her palm. He didn’t have to tell her how he felt about her; she could read it all over his body language even if she hadn’t been able to see his growing hard on.

  “Why do you keep fighting this thing between us?” he asked, propping himself up on one elbow and moving even closer to her.

  As soon as she figured out a way to get up without him seeing her boobs, she would get dressed and put a solid boundary of clothing between them. Naked sunbathing was a stupid idea.

  He was right. She was fighting the chemistry between them and damn it, she feared she was about to lose the battle. “Because I’m not interested in you that way, okay?”

  Logan let her hand go and laughed. “Right.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “That you’re full of shit.”

  She gasped. That was rude and uncalled for. “I am not. You asked for my reason and I gave it to you. I’m sorry if I hurt your precious ego, but that’s my answer.”

  “You’re a terrible liar. I know you do feel this thing between us, and I’m entirely sure you want to explore these feelings more, but you’re stopping yourself. That’s the part I can’t figure out.”

  “Well, aren’t you so sure of yourself. Egotistical much?”

  “It’s not egotistical to call you out on lying about your feelings when I’ve been open about mine.” He motioned to where he still waited, semi-hard, looking all too eager to go the rest of the way.

  Don’t look again!

  Against her will, her gaze fluttered down his body to the area in question.

  “See, you’re interested,” he said, confidence filling his voice.

  Damn it.

  “And you’re irritating,” she retorted.

  “Because I’m right. And I’m willing to admit what I want.”

  “Oh yeah, and what exactly do you want, Mr. I’m So Sure Of Everything?”

  “The same thing I’ve wanted since Travis first mentioned his girlfriend’s annoying little sister and told me about you. The same thing I’ve wanted since the moment I almost ran you off the road by accident. The same thing I’ve wanted since I saved you from that spider—I want you, Tessa.

  “I want to know why you hate it here so much when you have a family that loves you. I want to know what you think about living in the city. What it felt like to move there. I want to know how you can draw such amazing pictures yet still think you aren’t talented.”

  “Really? You want to know that stuff about me?” He wasn’t only looking to get laid?

  “Yep. And about a million other things I’ve wanted to ask you about in the last few days, but haven’t since you’re also so…”

  She narrowed her eyes. “
So what?”

  “So bitchy sometimes.”

  She smacked his chest and the slapping noise echoed around them, accentuating her statement. “I am not.”

  “You are, but that’s okay because at least when you’re bitchy with me it means you’re talking to me. And slowly but surely I’m winning you over.”

  “What do you mean, you’re winning me over? I’m not a prize to be won.”

  “I mean I’ve got you here, alone, in the woods, on a gorgeous sunshine-filled day, naked. And instead of being bitchy with me as usual, you can’t keep your hands off me. You want to be here with me, like this, in this moment, even if you don’t want to admit it.”

  His gaze was so intense her breath caught in her lungs, and it was as if she was underwater, fighting to get to the surface for air. His gaze hadn’t left her eyes once, and every part of her body begged for his attention.

  “Ask me again what I want,” he said so softly she found herself leaning in to hear him.

  “What do you want, Logan?” she asked, biting her lip with anticipation.

  “You. Right here. Right now. All of you.” His fingertips stroked the back of her hand where it still rested on his chest. “And I want you to want me just as badly.”

  She did. She’d been trying to ignore it, to fight it, but damn it, she wanted Logan. When she’d made the decision to skinny dip, she knew exactly what she was doing and why. As much as she needed to, she couldn’t stay away from him. Even though she knew getting involved with him had the potential to leave her hurt, she couldn’t stop herself.

  “I…” She paused.

  “What do you want, sugar?” he asked, wrapping his hand around the nape of her neck and lacing his fingers into her hair.

  “You,” she whispered.

  “It’s about fucking time you said it out loud.” He grinned and then pulled her face to his. His mouth pressed to hers and with a gasp of pure pleasure, her lips parted. He took advantage of the moment and swept his tongue across her lips before plunging inside.

  Without breaking their kiss, she inched across the blanket to snuggle into his side, melting into him. The heat of their bodies together and the heat of the sun beating down combined to create an inferno around them. When the breeze blew up from the cliff, it brushed across her hot skin and left a cooling wake, making her skin tingle.