by Marie Force
“You weren’t supposed to hear that sigh.” She glanced up at his ruggedly handsome face to discover a gaze as hungry as hers taking in the sight of her in a bikini, which naturally made her flush from head to toe. She hated her fair complexion and how it gave away her every thought and emotion.
Thankfully, he chose not to ask about the sigh he’d overheard, preferring to take her hand and lead her into the hot tub.
As she eased into the warm water that circled around her, Lucy sighed for a different reason—pure pleasure. “This feels fantastic.”
The steam from the tub made his golden-brown hair curl at the ends. She’d thought he was sexy as hell with the longer hair and furry beard. When she’d expressed an interest in knowing what he looked like without the beard, he’d shaved it off and revealed a stunningly gorgeous face that she never tired of looking at. Looks aside, however, she was even more attracted to his sweetness, irreverent humor and undeniable charm.
“Seriously fantastic,” he said of the warm water and pulsating jets. “I’ve spent all week splitting wood, and I’m sore as hell.”
“How can you be sore when you do so much of that?”
“I overdid it the last few days so I could take some time off.”
She realized he’d done that so he could spend more time with her. “I don’t want you to get hurt on my behalf.”
“I didn’t get hurt, and it was well worth the extra hours so I could relax this weekend and stay on schedule, too.” He glanced at her, the picture of innocence. “But I wouldn’t say no to a massage of my aching muscles.”
She rolled her eyes. “A little transparent much?”
Now he batted his long eyelashes, which made him even harder to resist. “I’m a hard-working guy looking for some TLC from his lady.”
“Actually, you’re a schemer trying to get my hands on you.”
“And that’s different how, exactly?”
“Come over here.”
“Oh yay!” He was like a delighted little boy who’d gotten his way, which made him downright irresistible.
She’d found him difficult to resist from the very beginning. He’d walked into the conference room at his family’s store the day Cameron was presenting the first cut of the website they’d done for the store, and Lucy had noticed him immediately. She’d never been drawn to the rugged-brawny type until she’d taken one look at Colton Abbott, and all her girl parts stood up to take notice, which had never happened before.
Then his parents invited her to join them for dinner, and he’d tagged along. Her fascination had only grown over dinner at the Abbotts’ favorite Italian restaurant, where Colton had eaten enough for two grown men. She’d begun to wonder over dinner what he’d look like under the beard that hid what appeared to be an exceptionally handsome face. She hadn’t been wrong about that.
“What’re you thinking about?” he asked as he settled between her legs and leaned back against her, sighing with pleasure as she began to knead his shoulder muscles.
“The day we met.”
“What about it?”
“I wondered what you’d look like without the beard.”
“As I recall, you said as much to me a couple of weeks later, and I ended up shaving it off.”
“After you went out to get a pair of hedge clippers.”
His laughter echoed through the spacious bathroom. “For your information, they were not hedge clippers. And P.S., that was a critical mistake in our attempt to keep our ‘friendship’ a secret. Everyone was suspicious after I got rid of the beard I’ve had since high school.”
“I’m not sorry. I was right about what was under all that hair.”
“Oh do tell. What was under there?”
“An exceptionally handsome face.”
“I was quite surprised by that myself. I hadn’t seen it in years.”
Laughing, Lucy poked him in the ribs. “You’re so full of yourself.”
“Hey, Luce?”
“Yeah?” she asked, immediately unnerved by the serious way he said her name.
“Tell me again why we thought it was such a great idea to keep this a big secret from everyone.”
“You know why.”
“Tell me anyway. I keep forgetting.”
“Since I don’t believe that for a minute, are you asking me because you want to change our status?”
He ran his hand back and forth through the water, sending waves across the wide tub. “Maybe.”
Lucy swallowed hard. “We kept it a secret because we didn’t want everyone involved in it. And because Cameron and Will had just gotten together, and we didn’t want to steal their spotlight.”
“Will and Cameron have been together for months now.”
“I know.”
“So how long are we going to continue to sneak around? I can’t even remember anymore why we’re doing that.”
“Because,” Lucy said, feeling more anxious by the second. “We’re just having fun. We aren’t like them, so we don’t need to involve everyone. It’s just us, and we like it that way.” After a long pause, she said, “Don’t we?”
“Sure.” He linked their fingers under the water and turned to face her, floating in front of her. “Well, no. I don’t think I like it that way. Not anymore.”
“Colton—”
“Hear me out, honey.”
He made her feel swoony when he called her that.
“I’ll admit that I’ve enjoyed the fact that everyone in my life wants to know what I’m up to and who I’m up to it with, but underneath it all, I’m not much of a mystery man. I’m more of a what-you-see-is-what-you-get sort of guy. And I want to share this, what we have together, with the people I love. I want to bring you to my home on the mountain, to my parents’ home for Sunday dinner, to my siblings’ homes. I want you to come to my sister’s wedding with me. I want us to be a real couple.”
Lucy was taken by surprise when she realized how badly she wanted all the things he wanted. Except none of it was feasible. “We agreed. At the beginning. We set rules.”
“Screw the rules, Lucy. That was back when we thought we might hang out for a while and it wouldn’t go anywhere. Six weekends later, it’s gone somewhere, and I want it to continue to go places. Don’t you?”
“Where can it go?” she asked softly.
“I don’t know. But don’t you want to find out?”
“I don’t know. I’m afraid.”
“What’re you afraid of?”
He looked up at her with clear blue eyes and an open, honest expression that made it easier for her to confess her fears. “Of getting in too deep and not being able to get out. Of getting hurt.”
“Aw, Lucy. I’m not asking for a lifetime commitment.” He brought her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss over her knuckles. “I’d just like to be able to tell my family about you.”
She bit her lip as she thought about that. “If you tell your family, I’d have to tell Cameron.”
“And that would be bad?”
“No. Of course it wouldn’t. I’m just . . . I don’t think I’m ready to go public.” She couldn’t bear the disappointment she saw on his face. “That doesn’t mean I’ll never be ready. I’m just not there yet. Is that okay?”
“Sure. Whatever you want. Are you starting to get wrinkly?”
“A little.”
“Let’s get out of here and move on to the next part of tonight’s program.”
“There’s a program?”
“Damn straight there is. Next up is ice cream in bed.”
“Oh, I like ice cream in bed.”
“Excellent.” He helped her out of the tub, kissed her nose and then her lips and wrapped a towel around her. “I’ll bring it in.”
When he left the room, Lucy let out a deep breath and leaned her hands on the countertop, trying to get her emotions under control. She’d never in her life felt as much for any guy as she did for him. And it had been immediate. She couldn’t deny that, as much as she’d t
ried. That immediate attraction was what had her spending six weekends with him. She didn’t do things like that, well . . . ever.
Lucy Mulvaney didn’t do serious. It wasn’t in her DNA. Or it never had been until Colton Abbott walked into a conference room and put her DNA into a blender and mixed it all up. The result had been someone all new, someone she barely recognized, someone who drove six hours to spend four days with a guy she couldn’t stop thinking about between visits. And now he wanted to go public. He wanted to tell people about them. He wanted to change their status.
As long as no one knew, Lucy could delude herself into believing that what was happening between them wasn’t serious. It was a weekend fling. If people knew, then it wouldn’t be just a fling anymore. It would be a thing. And Lucy didn’t do things. She dated. Here and there. She’d had more first dates than anyone she knew. Her friends teased her about her first-date track record, which Lucy embraced. It kept her from having to deal with things she didn’t seem equipped to handle the way other women did.
Sometimes she thought there was something missing in her because she didn’t want the same things most people did. She didn’t dream of the big white wedding, the house in the burbs, the kids, the dogs. She couldn’t picture that life for herself no matter how hard she tried. Work made sense to her, or it had until Cameron left and everything changed.
Now nothing made sense, and she found herself floundering at work like a ship that’d come loose from its anchor, not to mention she was embroiled in a thing with Colton Abbott, who lived six hours from her.
How had she let that happen?
“I thought you were going to meet me in bed,” Colton said from the doorway, where he stood holding a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and a spoon and wearing a smile that made her want to give him anything he wanted. That smile was one of many reasons she was embroiled in the thing.
“What kind is that?”
“Coffee Toffee.”
“My favorite.”
“I know. You told me.” He scooped a spoonful and offered it to her.
Lucy put the towel on the counter and went to him. He’d changed out of the wet bathing suit into basketball shorts that clung to his narrow hips. He sure was beautiful to look at. Placing her hands on his chest, she opened her mouth to let him feed her a bite. As the flavor of the ice cream exploded on her tongue, she couldn’t look away from him.
He leaned in to kiss her, his cold lips sending a shiver through her that had more to do with heat than it did with cold. “Why don’t you get out of that wet suit and come help me eat the rest of this?”
“Okay.”
Kissing her again, he said, “You’d better hurry up. I can eat a pint of Ben & Jerry’s in about five minutes by myself.”
“You’d better not eat it all!”
“Then you’d better put a move on.” He closed the door as he left the bathroom.
After having witnessed how quickly he could consume anything edible, Lucy rushed to change. A fierce debate ran through her mind as she decided whether she should go for sexy or casual, which reminded her once again that she was simply no good at these things. She felt like a bull in the relationship china shop, second-guessing her every move. It was exhausting trying to figure out this increasingly complicated situation, and she was making it worse by dithering over what to freaking wear to bed.
It’s not like she hadn’t slept with him before. They’d slept next to each other every night they’d spent together since the day they met. But somehow tonight felt different. Tonight felt more important, and if she took this next step with him, she understood that she’d probably be committing to much more than a night of what promised to be amazing sex.
She grabbed the tank and boxers she slept in at home and shoved the sexier, slinkier option to the bottom of the bag. That had been bought in an impulsive moment on her lunch hour the week before, but it would send the wrong message.
No, the message she wanted to send was fun and temporary. This was not going to get serious. Not on her watch.
CHAPTER 4
Only 370 taps to go. Lucky for the crew, it was too cold today, so they took to their skis.
—Colton Abbott’s sugaring journal, February 21
Propped on a pile of pillows, Colton watched her come out of the bathroom. Everything about her was tentative and hesitant. He was disappointed in her reaction to his suggestion that they take their relationship public, but he knew if he pushed her, he’d end up pushing her away. Since that was the last thing he wanted, he decided to use his friends Ben and Jerry to smooth things over.
He scooped out another spoonful and held it out her. “Supplies are getting low. Better get over here and get yours before it’s gone.” She didn’t need to know he’d bought three pints of her favorite flavor to get them through the weekend.
She crawled onto the bed and made a beeline for the ice cream.
Colton fed her a bite and took another for himself as she settled into the pillows next to him. He let his gaze take a leisurely trip from her toenails, which were painted purple, up smooth legs and a flat belly to breasts that were unencumbered under the tank that molded to her body. Remembering the sweet taste of her nipples had Colton shifting to hide his immediate reaction to her nearness.
Another bad thing about the long-distance relationship, he’d discovered, was too much time in between to think and reconsider and replay what’d happened the last time, which meant they had to start from scratch again every time they reunited.
The stopping and starting could give a guy whiplash if he let it. As much as that frustrated him, he was determined to be patient with her. The last thing he wanted was for her to say she couldn’t do this anymore.
He was dying to talk to someone about how he felt about her. Under normal circumstances, he’d seek out one of his older brothers—probably Will. Hunter was more closed off and remote. Will was always more accessible, and he’d have good advice to give, having recently gone through a similar situation with Cameron. But because he’d promised Lucy not to tell anyone, especially Will, that they were seeing each other, he’d kept his mouth shut and respected her wishes.
He would continue to do so for as long as she felt it was necessary, but he hoped it wouldn’t be much longer.
“That is so good,” she said after most of the ice cream had been consumed. “One of my favorite treats.” She turned her head to face him. “Thank you.”
Colton placed the empty container and spoon on the bedside table. “My pleasure.”
She continued to look at him as if she were making a major decision of some sort. In that moment, he’d give anything to be able to read her mind. After she stared at him for a full minute, he said, “What?”
“I like to look at you.”
“I like when you look at me.” His suggestive tone made her flush from head to toe, which she’d told him she hated. He quite liked it. “Why are you way over there when I’m way over here?” In truth there was only a foot between them, but that was far too much space for what he had in mind.
She scooted closer to him, and he met her halfway.
“Hey,” he said when her lips were only an inch away from his.
“Hey.”
“What’s up?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a nervous laugh. “What’s up with you?”
“You really want to know?”
“Um, I don’t know. Do I?”
“I think you do. I think you really want to know, and you really want to be here with me this way, but you need to give yourself permission to stop worrying about what happens next and just enjoy right now. Can you do that?”
“I can try.”
“Then I’ll show you what’s up.” He cupped her shoulder, slid his fingers down her arm and wrapped his hand around hers. Once he had a firm grip on her hand, he placed it over the erection that pulsed between them.
Lucy gasped at his audacity but didn’t withdraw her hand. Instead she pressed against him and mad
e his eyes roll back in his head. “Where did that come from?”
“You did that.”
“How did I do it?”
“You walked in here looking all sorts of hot and adorable.”
She tried to pull her hand back, but he held her in place with his hand on top of hers.
“Don’t. Don’t pull away from me.”
“I’m not hot, Colton. I don’t know why you’d say that.”
“Are you serious? You’ve got your hand on the evidence to the contrary, babe.” He curled his legs around hers, pulling her even closer to him. “You’re extremely hot.”
“I’m cute. I’ll give you that.”
“That, too. But please don’t tell me there’s something wrong with my eyes or anything equally ridiculous. I think you’re hot, and clearly I’m hot for you.” He moved his hand from on top of hers and put his arm around her. “Do you know when the last time I spent an entire weekend with a woman was? Before I met you, I mean.”
She shook her head.
“Never. I’ve never done this because I never wanted to spend that much time alone with anyone.”
“Colton—”
He had no idea what she planned to say because he never gave her the chance to say it. A week’s worth of desire and frustration poured forth in a kiss that only made him want her more than he already did, if that was possible. He didn’t want to hear any more about why this was a bad idea or how it had the potential to be a disaster.
No, all he wanted right then was to show her all the reasons it was an excellent idea—possibly the best idea he’d ever had.
She opened her mouth to his tongue and teased him with hers, which only fueled the fire that burned inside him. As he kissed her, he worked a hand under her top and cupped her breast, pinching her nipple between his fingers.
“Colton,” she said as she broke the kiss and arched into his embrace.
He pulled her top up and over her head, revealing the plump, full breasts that had starred in all his fantasies over the last week. Kissing his way from her lips to her neck to her nipples, he told himself to go slow, to be patient, to give her time to catch up.
