by Marie Force
“That’s his job. That makes him a good accountant. Everyone should have one.”
“Is that another of Patrick Murphy’s business mottos?”
“Definitely. He lives and dies by his accountants. He’d tell you they’re the backbone of the entire business, and I have to agree with him. Mine keeps me out of jail and out of trouble with the IRS.”
“You’d look cute in an orange jumpsuit.”
“Sure I would.”
He joined her on the sofa and reached for her hand. “You’d look cute in anything—or nothing. I’m kind of partial to nothing.” Bringing her hand to his lips, he kissed the back of it while gazing into her eyes. “I’m so glad you’re here and that you’re going to stay for a while.”
“I’m glad, too.”
Neither of them looked away for a long, charged moment. “This is crazy,” he said softly, seeming as dazzled as she felt.
“Positively insane.”
“And yet . . .” He tipped his head ever so slightly and gave her the sweetest kiss she’d ever received.
“And yet.”
Smiling, he said, “I promised you a massage and a soak. Which one do you want first?”
“That’s a tough decision. What do you suggest?”
“How about the soak first to warm up your muscles and then the best massage of your life?”
She had little doubt that a massage from him would be the best she’d ever had. “Are you an ‘extraordinaire’ at that, too?”
He waggled his brows. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
“Okay, soak first then.”
“I’ll go get the tub ready.”
“I don’t have a bathing suit with me. I didn’t think I’d need one in Vermont in March.”
“You’re in luck. Mine is a nude-only hot tub.”
“Why did I know you were going to say that?”
“Be right back.”
Cameron stayed snuggled under the comforter until he returned a few minutes later to let her know the tub was ready. When she pushed aside the blanket and started to get up, the pain of abused muscles made her wince.
“Hurts, huh?”
“I feel like a baby, but yeah. It hurts.”
“Let me take care of you.” He helped her out of her clothes, moving slowly so she wouldn’t have to do much of anything.
“You’re very good at getting a woman out of her clothes.”
“I haven’t had that much practice,” he said, laughing.
“Could’ve fooled me.”
From a squat position he looked up from the task of removing her jeans. “There haven’t been that many, Cam. Honestly.”
“I believe you.”
“How about you?” he asked, diverting his attention back to her jeans.
She held on to his shoulder as she stepped out of each leg. “Let’s just say I’ve met enough frogs to know when I’ve found a prince.”
He stood up and placed his hands on her sides, under her ribs. “That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me,” he said as he kissed her.
Cameron raised her arms and wound them around his neck, opening her mouth to his tongue. She couldn’t seem to get close enough to him even though he held her as tightly as he could without hurting her sore muscles.
He withdrew from her in increments, seeming stunned as he looked down at her. “Cameron . . .”
“Me, too,” she said, going up on tiptoes to kiss him again. “Me, too. Now how about that hot tub?”
“Yeah.” He blew out a deep breath. “Right this way.”
• • •
Will helped her into the steaming tub on his back deck and said he’d be out in a few minutes. “Relax.”
“It feels so good.”
“That thing saved me when I was skiing professionally.” He ducked back inside, desperate for a moment alone to collect himself after he’d nearly told her he loved her. As he gathered wineglasses and the half bottle of red left over from the night before, he thought about how she’d looked at him after the near miss.
She knew what he’d almost blurted out. And she’d said “Me, too.” What did that mean? She felt the same way? How amazing would that be? Should he take a chance and pitch his idea about her maintaining the site when it was built?
“No, no, no. It’s too damned soon. Keep your mouth shut, and play it cool. There’ll be time enough for making plans later.”
Eyeing her in the tub through the kitchen window, he shed his clothes and brought the glasses and wine bottle with him when he dashed through the cold and into the tub.
“That was very graceful,” she said of his splash down.
“You liked that?”
“Uh-huh.”
He handed her a glass, poured for both of them and set the bottle down outside the tub. “To sore muscles and hot water,” he said, raising his glass to her.
She touched her glass to his. “I’ll drink to that. I already feel so much better.”
Will pretended to be stricken by her statement. “That doesn’t mean you don’t want my world-famous massage, does it?”
“You’re not getting out of that. Don’t worry.”
“Good. I can’t wait to get my hands on you.” Will didn’t know where this flirty side of himself was coming from, but he loved that he could make her smile like that.
She slid closer to him. “I don’t want to make you wait.”
Since he was dying to touch her, he put his arm around her and loved how she rested her head on his chest. “This is nice,” he said, his lips moving over her hair. “I like having you here.”
“What do you do around here when I’m not here to keep you company?”
“I’m outside as much as I can be, and I spend a lot of time with my family and friends and the dogs.”
“How about when it’s just you, here by yourself with the dogs?”
“I read a lot.”
“So all the books on the shelves in the living room . . .”
“Read them all. Some of them more than once.”
“What’s your favorite thing to read?”
“I love adventure stuff, like books about people who’ve climbed Mount Everest. I always thought I might do that, but after I blew out my knee, I sort of gave up on that.”
“Yet you transported me down the bunny slope on your bad knee?”
“That was nothing.”
“It was very sexy.”
“Was it now?”
“Uh-huh.”
They soaked for a long time in contented silence before Cameron said, “Can I get rid of this?” She held up her empty wineglass. “It’s getting in my way.”
He took the glass and put it with his on the shelf next to the tub.
With her hands free, Cameron moved onto Will’s lap, straddling him.
Cupping her bottom, he brought her in snug against his erection as she kissed him so sweetly he nearly moaned from the desire for more.
“I really love your hot tub.”
“I really love my hot tub with you in it.”
“How does the whole getting-out process work?”
“I recommend it be done quickly. Are you ready to get out?”
“I’m dreaming of that massage I was promised.”
“Then let’s get to it. I’ll go first and get a towel ready for you.”
Cameron moved off his lap, and he scurried out of the tub. The frigid air took his breath away and killed his erection when it connected with his wet skin. He hastily wrapped a towel around his waist and then held one for her. “One, two, three . . .”
She let out a squeal as she emerged from the tub.
He whipped the towel around her and scooped her up to carry her inside, which made her squeal a second time.
“That,” she said when they were settled in front of the fire, “was hot.”
“I’m making all kinds of points tonight.”
“Not just tonight.” She smoothed the damp hair off his forehead and ran her fing
ertips over the stubble on his jaw. “From the very beginning, you’ve been racking up the points with your thoughtfulness.”
“And from the beginning, you’ve been blowing me away with your sweetness.” He kissed her palm. “Your curiosity.” Her wrist. “Your kindness.” The inside of her elbow. “Your beauty.” Her lips. “Now about that massage . . .”
He tucked her under the down comforter and was gratified by her sigh of contentment as well as her bee-stung lips. She was so bloody gorgeous. He couldn’t believe she was lying naked in front of his fireplace. What a lucky bastard he was to have met her and caught her interest, and how desperately he wanted to keep it now that he had it.
In the kitchen he retrieved the almond-scented massage oil he’d gotten at the store as well as the special balm they sold to combat muscle soreness. He was hard as a rock just thinking about rubbing oil all over her soft skin. “Ready, baby?”
“Mmm, so ready. How do you want me?”
“Is that a multiple-choice question?” Her low chuckle only made him harder, if that was possible. This massage was going to be sweet torture. “Let’s start with you facedown.”
She turned over and wrapped her arms around a pillow.
“Can you put your hair up?”
From around her wrist, she produced an elastic band that she wound around her hair while remaining facedown.
“That was quite a feat.”
“Lots of practice. My hair is always in my way.”
“I love your hair. You can’t ever, ever cut it. Ever.”
“Never cut my hair. Got it.”
He rubbed the oil between his hands to warm it and then began with her shoulders, using just enough pressure to soothe and relax her. Judging from her sighs and moans, he was hitting all the right spots.
“Amazing,” she whispered. “Feels so good.”
“I’m just getting started.”
“If your goal is to get me to stay here with you forever, I’m sold. Where do I sign?”
The throwaway comment hit him like a blow to the solar plexus. If only it were that simple. But rather than touch that grenade, he moved down her back and then skipped over her bottom—for now—to focus on her legs.
“Will?”
He looked down to find her watching him. “Hmm?”
“I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.” He bent to press a series of kisses to her back. “I don’t know about you, but I feel like we’re living a bit of a fantasy right now, and it’d be really nice if we could take this time together and enjoy it without stressing out about what happens when you have to leave.”
“That would be nice.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.” He picked up the tub of muscle rub. “Ready for the good stuff?”
“That wasn’t the good stuff?”
“That was a warm-up for the good stuff.”
“I’m ready.”
“Tell me if it hurts too much.” He massaged the cream into her bruised bottom, being extra gentle because he knew how sore she was. He’d once been new to skiing, and vividly remembered not being able to move for days after his first lessons.
“Oh my God, that feels crazy good. What is it?”
“It’s muscle balm with eucalyptus and menthol that we sell in the store.”
“Is there anything you don’t have in that store?”
“We don’t have most of the gadgets you love so much.”
“I’m finding I can live rather nicely without them.”
“There you go again. Giving me hope.”
“We’re in the fantasy, remember?”
“Right. Keep reminding me, will you?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
How could she sound so relaxed and content when he was about to explode from wanting her? The massage suddenly felt like the worst idea he’d ever had, especially the part about rubbing the cream on her sexy ass. This was killing him, and he couldn’t take it anymore. “Want to turn over?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“Nope.”
Resigned to taking a cold shower to relieve the ache in his groin, Will drew the comforter over her.
“Will?”
“Yeah?”
“Get a condom.”
It took a moment for her order to permeate his lust-fogged brain, but when it did, he hustled to his bedroom to wash his hands and fetch protection and was back before she could change her mind. He had a moment of clarity, during which he wondered if his dogs would be traumatized by what they were about to witness, but he couldn’t bring himself to care about that.
He dropped to his knees beside her.
“Like this,” she said, rising up to her knees and elbows.
It was official. He was a total goner. Will drew the comforter down over her back, revealing the sweet ass that had sparked his rampant desire. It was all he could do not to lose it at the sight of her offering herself up to him so brazenly. “Are you sure you’re not too sore, baby?”
“I’m very sure.”
He moved into position behind her and reached around her to test her readiness. As his fingers slid through the moisture between her legs, he realized the massage had turned her on as much as it had him.
“Please, Will. Now.”
He didn’t need to be asked twice, especially in that husky, sexy tone of voice. Aligning his cock, he grasped her hips and drove into her. She came instantly, forcing him to think of every unattractive thing he could call to mind to keep from joining her. He wanted this to last longer than ten seconds. It took all the control he could muster to weather the sexy storm of her inner muscles clutching him, along with her gasps of pleasure.
And then he began to move, trying to be mindful of the fact that she was sore from skiing. But she was so hot and so sweet and so tight that his entire world was reduced to the incredible pleasure. He pushed into her and wrapped his arm around her waist, holding still while trying to regain some sanity.
“Will,” she said, her breath escaping in tiny pants that made him throb inside her. “Don’t go slow. Feels so good.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
She covered his hand with hers and squeezed. “You won’t hurt me. I love it.”
That was all he needed to hear. Something inside him seemed to snap as he gave her what she wanted—what they both wanted. He’d never been so turned on or so desperate to come in his life. His balls ached with need as he reached around to find her clit hard and throbbing under his fingers.
She cried out and came harder than the first time, which shattered him. He drove into her so forcefully that her arms gave out, sending him even deeper into her sweet heat. Collapsing over her, he ran his tongue over the bumps and grooves of her backbone as he continued to throb inside her. He reached under her to cup her breasts and felt her nipples tighten against his palms.
“Are you okay down there?” he asked after a long period of silence.
“Mmm.” Her inner muscles contracted around his cock, making him gasp from the pleasure. “That was amazing.”
“Totally amazing.” He couldn’t stop kissing her or licking the salty almond-flavored moisture from her back. While his body cooled and recovered from the intense release, he knew in his heart that she was the woman he’d waited his whole life to find. It became very clear to him that he’d do whatever it took to make this work, even if it meant giving up his life in Vermont to be with her in the city.
He’d do it if he had to, but he really hoped he wouldn’t have to.
• • •
Cameron devoted the next week to website research, which was usually her favorite part of any project. She loved delving into a business or organization and getting to the heart of what made it special. In the case of the Green Mountain Country Store, she’d decided at the outset that what made it special was the family who ran it.
She spent Monday evening baking cookies for the local nursing home with Molly, Hannah, Ella and Charlotte, all of whom were
shocked to discover that she’d never baked a thing in her life, though none of them actually said so. Since she couldn’t very well tell them that she’d grown up with a chef in residence who’d studied at the Sorbonne, she brushed it off as a lack of interest.
“We’ll have to teach you,” Molly declared, dropping an apron over Cameron’s head. The chocolate chip, snickerdoodles, peanut butter blossoms and oatmeal-raisin cookies they made that night were among the best she’d ever had.
“Could we feature these recipes on the website? They’d make for a nice addition to the family section.” Cameron asked as she bit into her second snickerdoodle. She had to admit there was something incredibly satisfying about eating a treat she’d made herself.
The other women exchanged glances, all of them looking to Molly for a verdict.
“I don’t see why not,” Molly said. “They were passed down from my mother, and I bet she’d be delighted to share them with others. That’s a great idea, Cam.”
Cameron basked in the glow of Molly’s approval. She had a full-fledged crush on Will’s mom. Warm and funny and stern and loving all at the same time, Molly joked around with her daughters, critiqued their baking skills and ran the entire operation like a kindhearted drill sergeant.
After the last of the cookies were in the oven, the three sisters went into the family room to watch The Bachelor, much to their mother’s dismay. The four of them had a huge and humorous argument, with Molly asserting the many ways the show set back decades of progress for women everywhere and the girls proclaiming not to care.
“It’s a train wreck that I can’t not watch,” Charlotte said as she led her sisters to the TV.
When Molly caught Cameron staring at her when the two of them were alone in the kitchen, she stopped what she was doing and raised a brow. “Do I have flour in my hair or something?”
“No, no,” Cameron said, mortified to have been caught staring. “It’s . . . I . . . I think you’re so cool.” Heat rushed to her face. “I’m sorry. I must sound like such a dork, but I’ve never met anyone like you.”
“Where are my children when I’m receiving such a lovely compliment?”
“I’m a total dork, but I love how you’re baking up a storm one minute and espousing women’s rights the next.”
“You’re not a dork, honey,” Molly said with a gentle laugh. “You grew up without a mom, so it’s only natural you’d gravitate to someone who describes herself first and foremost as a mother.”
