by Jill Sanders
“It seems like the two of you keep bumping into one another,” Lea said, a look crossing her face that he just couldn’t pinpoint.
He was silent for a moment and then a slow smile curved his lips.
“Jealous?” he teased.
There was a moment of silence before Lea burst out laughing. “You’re delusional.” She moved over to take his water glass and pour him more, but he stopped her by taking her wrist. Before he knew what he was doing, he pulled her onto his right thigh and kissed her.
If he’d been thinking about it, he would have realized it was a terrible move. Like when he’d kissed her that first time last year when she’d been drunk and had looked sexy as hell in the little black dress that she’d worn that night.
This, this was something different. Maybe he was delusional. Maybe almost dying had caused him to throw all caution to the wind.
Whatever the reason, he allowed his body to take over as he took her mouth and enjoyed the taste and feel of her plastered against him. Her fingers dug into his hair, ensuring him that she was enjoying the kiss as much as he was.
His body came alive under her, and he thought maybe he did have enough strength for a little pleasure. But then she pulled away suddenly and jumped off his lap.
“I…” She looked around and, without saying anything further, bolted for the door. Before he could recover his voice or his thoughts, he was alone in the cabin.
He must have sat there for fifteen minutes before he had the strength to get up and fall face-first into bed again.
He woke to the sound of rain and thunder, which meant that he’d have to skip his planned morning swim.
As he made his way, carefully, down the wet pathway towards the main building, he realized just how nice it was to get out of the cabin more often.
For the past week, Lea or Aiden and all his other friends had delivered his meals to him. But since he’d woken up early enough, he figured he’d beat them to it that morning.
When he walked into the employees’ dining room, he spotted the gang of friends sitting at their usual table. Since he knew he wouldn’t be able to carry a tray of food and use his crutches, he made his way towards them and stilled when he spotted Lea in the middle of everyone.
Her eyes met his, and he could tell when they darted away that she was going to avoid talking about what they’d done yesterday.
Actually, the entire table grew quiet as he approached. He didn’t need to be a detective to surmise that the group had been talking about him.
“Morning,” he said cheerfully.
“Brett.” Elle stood up quickly and pushed out a chair for him. “What are you doing here? Aubrey was just going to deliver your breakfast.” Elle motioned to Aubrey.
“I needed the fresh air,” he admitted as he sat down. “Besides, I was going stir crazy being cooped up like that.”
He noticed a few looks across the table.
“Want me to grab you some breakfast?” Aubrey jumped up and motioned towards the buffet.
“Sure,” he said. “Lots of bacon,” he called after her. When he turned back to the table, everyone was looking at him, and he figured there was only one way to get to the bottom of what was going on—to ask. “So, what’s the latest gossip on that Brett guy?” he asked with a whisper as his eyes met Lea’s again. “I hear his doctor caught him taking a walk last night.”
Scarlett laughed as Lea choked on her coffee.
“Sorry,” Scarlett said, clearing her throat. “At least his humor didn’t get damaged,” she added as she sipped her water.
“No, but his brain obviously did,” Lea added under her breath, causing his eyebrows to shoot up.
“Problem?” he asked her directly.
“Yes.” She set her mug down with a slight bang, causing the coffee she’d been drinking to slosh over the rim. “Do you think this is some sort of joke?” Lea put her hands on the table, and her knuckles turned white as she gripped the edge of it. “Less than a week ago, you almost lost your life, or your leg. Now you’re galivanting around the campgrounds, chasing women.”
“Women?” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “Really?” He narrowed his eyes at her, trying to assess her mood. “You know very well I wasn’t… chasing women.”
“Just one woman then,” Lea countered as she crossed her arms over her chest.
He felt his temper grow as well as his desire. How could the woman infuriate him and turn him on at the same time?
“I told you we just bumped into one another,” he responded.
“Oh?” Lea laughed. “How many times over the years have I heard that one from you or Aiden?”
“Hey, don’t bring me into this,” Aiden said, and quickly earned an elbow to his ribs from his cousin Elle.
“You had no business taking long walks in your condition,” Lea said, ignoring Aiden’s comment.
“I seem to remember my doctor mentioning it was a good idea to take walks.”
“Short walks. To the pool or to the dining hall, but not the parking lot.”
“Your food,” Aubrey said, interrupting the argument. “Why were you out at the parking lot?” Aubrey asked innocently. She’d missed the first part of the conversation and, since he was in a foul mood, he answered her truthfully.
“I wanted to see Lea,” he said before he shoved a piece of crispy bacon in his mouth.
The entire table turned to Lea, who sat there, watching him.
“You… did?” she asked after a moment.
“Yeah, I wanted to thank you for helping me out earlier.” He shoved another piece of bacon in his mouth. “Bringing me food, helping me out with the exercise in the pool, the back rub.” He shrugged and suddenly felt stupid. “It really helped yesterday. I finally felt good enough to work out. Which is why I was exhausted when I finally caught up with you.”
“You should have called or texted me instead of walking all the way out to the parking lot. Alone,” she said softly.
“Believe me, I will next time. I slept like the dead.” He sighed. “I was hoping for another session in the pool today, but…” He glanced towards the large windows that looked out towards a large grassy area, the main pool and pool house, and the water of the bay beyond. Normally you could see it all. Today, however, it was nothing but gray and white haze as the rain continued to stream down.
He normally liked the rain, but today it was just another reason he was feeling trapped. A feeling he had all too often when he’d been a kid, living at home with his father.
Now he was trapped inside his own body. One that just wouldn’t do what it could have easily done over a week ago.
“There’s still plenty of therapy we can do,” Lea assured him. “If you want, we can check and see when one of the rooms is open and hit the mats?”
He couldn’t stop the images of him and Lea rolling around on a mat. Every other man would have thought the same about getting the woman he was hot for naked and on a mat under him.
Her eyes went wide as if she understood what he was thinking, and she turned away from him.
“I’m done with my next class at eleven in the blue room,” Aubrey offered cheerfully. “The room won’t be used again until after two.”
“That will work,” Lea said. “If you’re up to it. You should go back and rest some more, then we can meet there at eleven thirty?”
“Works for me,” he said without really thinking about it. He didn’t know what she had planned for him but figured anything was better than being cooped up in the cabin alone for the entire day.
“Good, then eat your breakfast.” She pushed a plate of fruit Aubrey had gotten him towards him. “You’ll need the energy.” Lea stood up and, without waiting for a response, walked away.
“Oh, you’re in trouble now,” Aiden said, slapping his back slightly.
For the rest of the meal, he listened while the friends did what they normally did—gossiped about everything. Zoey and Dylan’s baby, and Hannah and Owen’s wedding w
ere the top two subjects.
The wedding, it seemed, was all planned. Brett was kind of sad that he’d be missing the bachelor party, since they were heading into Destin for a guy’s night out. There was no way he would be able to keep up with everyone.
The wedding was the following weekend, and he even doubted he’d be able to sit through the services, unless he started building up his tolerance again.
Zoey and Dylan’s baby, —little junior, as they called it—was due to arrive any day now. The topic changed to shifting schedules so that both Zoey and Dylan could be off work for the foreseeable future to care for the newborn.
Since he was an only child, he hadn’t been around kids a lot, not ones fresh from the oven, at any rate. Being a police officer, he’d volunteered his time to stop off at the schools and talk to youngsters about drugs and crime, though.
He liked kids. Really. Had always thought he’d have a few of them running around one day himself. But with his friends getting married and starting families of their own, it seemed as if everyone was ready for them while he was still in the “someday” mindset.
At some point, Aubrey and Elle disappeared to teach their many classes, leaving him alone with Dylan and Zoey.
Since their marriage, Dylan had taken on more of a management role around the camp. When he’d first come to River Camps, he’d been in charge of the zip line and a few other attractions. Now, however, he oversaw most of the grounds. He made sure all the attractions were working and that the employees were skilled at doing their jobs.
Brent didn’t know much more about what he or his brother Liam did around the campgrounds. He knew that Liam had built most of the benches and other wood furniture on the grounds. He also ran a wood shop class for the guests.
The brothers always seemed to be busy and happy. He figured that was in part due to the ability to work with their fiancées.
The story of how they had come to the campgrounds in the first place was a rumor that drifted among the employees and the guests still. He knew the legal side of things, as he’d been the one to arrest their cousin, Joel Copeland, for both kidnapping Hannah last year and murdering his father and stepfather in the years previous. The man was rotting in a jail cell, much like Zoey and Scarlett’s stepmother, Bridgette, and her mother, Martha, for almost killing Aiden and Harold Smith, one of the richest men in the world.
He still found it odd that Aubrey was Harold Smith’s daughter. That was one rumor that hadn’t floated around the camp. He doubted many people, other than the Wildflowers, knew about it. Knowing how private of a person Aubrey was, he didn’t question that she kept that bit of information to herself.
Once he was done eating, he’d stick around the pool area, under the awning, and enjoy the rain until it was time to hit the class.
“Where are you heading to?” Lea asked him when he caught up with her just outside the doors. Her eyes traveled quickly over him.
“I was…” he started, but her eyebrows arched up. “Where do you want me to be?” he asked, hating that he sounded too tired to argue with her. It was normally the highlight of his day.
“I booked you a massage,” she answered. “We need to limber you up again before we build up your muscles.”
A massage sounded… wonderful.
“You did?” he asked, then he smiled. “Thanks.”
She nodded and took his free arm. He tucked both crutches under his left arm and walked slowly with her towards the pool house, which also housed the massage rooms.
While they walked, she talked about getting him a scooter.
He stopped walking. “Like they have in Italy?” he asked, causing her to laugh.
“No, it’s one of the kinds that you push yourself. There’s a platform for your leg, so you don’t have to use the crutches,” she answered.
He’d seen them around and glanced down at his leg. Since it was his thigh that had been damaged, he figured he would be able to tolerate scooting around the grounds on one of those. It might make him move faster, not to mention take less of his energy to get around.
They’d given him his very own golf cart to get around, which he used when he wasn’t on the walking pathways.
They hurried together through the rain under a large umbrella, as much as he could hurry, and stepped into the pool house just as the rain grew heavier.
“Torrential rains.” Lea rolled her eyes. “It must be spring in Florida.”
He chuckled. “Thanks for getting me here safe.” He spotted Kara standing behind the counter in front of the massage rooms.
“Oh.” Lea turned to him. “I didn’t just get you here. I’m the one giving you the massage.” She walked over and opened the door to the private massage room.
Images of Lea running her hands over him once more had him holding in a groan.
He’d been hoping for Kara since he knew he could keep it professional. Sure, the woman was pretty, but he wouldn’t have to fight all the feelings he had for her because he had none. But Lea… There was too much between them. Too much he thought of her. Too much he felt for her.
The next hour of his life was going to be pure hell.
Chapter 7
“Stop tensing,” Lea said, trying to keep her tone soothing.
“I’m not.” Brett groaned, and she felt his muscles tense even further.
“You are too.” She sighed and started to work out the new tension she felt in his shoulders. This was a bad idea. She knew it, but when she’d texted Andrea to schedule a time for Brett, Aubrey had mentioned that she was out for the day and that Kara was booked solid, but the room was available.
How hard could it be, giving someone a massage? After all, she knew more about the human body than either of those two women. So she’d booked the room for herself. She hadn’t planned on Brett fighting her all the way.
“Stop it,” she hissed when she felt him tense again.
“This isn’t working.” He started to get up. She placed her hands squarely on his shoulders and held him down. He was lying face down on the massage table, with nothing but a white towel laying low over his hips.
“You just need to relax,” she suggested.
“How can I?” he groaned. “You’re killing me.”
She took a deep breath. “I’m barely touching you.”
“Yeah, and it’s killing me,” he mumbled.
“I can apply more pressure if you think you can handle it,” she offered.
He was silent. “No,” he finally added. “Distract me by talking to me. Tell me about work.”
She bit her bottom lip as she started running her hands over him again. She glanced up at the ceiling, hating to keep the truth from him. “Well… work’s work. Oh, the other day I pulled a two-inch sliver from under a man’s toenail.” She smiled.
“Ouch,” he replied, and she felt him tense once more. “Okay, maybe don’t talk about work. Tell me how Raya’s doing in Orlando. Is she still Mulan?”
“Yes.” Lea smiled. “And loving it. She’s gotten another acting job at the shows in Hollywood Studios. She gets to sing and dance instead of just take pictures with kids. She’s in heaven.”
“She was a big hit in the school plays,” Brett said, and she felt him relax a little.
“She’s met a man,” she added and for the next few moments she talked to him about her sister’s love life. The more she talked, the more he relaxed his shoulders. When she moved her hands to his lower back, he tensed.
“Let’s just stick to my shoulders today,” he suggested.
“I wanted to look at your thigh,” she said, taking a step back. “Flip over.”
“No,” he surprised her by saying quickly. “I’m done.” He sat up, facing away from her, and wrapped the towel around his waist. “I think that’s good enough for now.”
“Brett.” She moved around the table. “I’m your doctor. I’ll need to look at the incisions and—”
“Later,” he said quickly, reaching for his shorts and shirt.
“Lea.” Her name was a warning growl. “I said…later.”
Her eyes moved down to his lips, and she dreamed of kissing them. Then, before she knew what she was doing, before she could help it, she moved closer.
The entire time she’d been running her hands over his muscles and talking, she’d dreamed of being with him.
Before she could decide what she was going to do next, he pulled her between his thighs and kissed her. It wasn’t like before, when he’d run his lips slowly over hers. This time it was all heat and speed, as if it had been building up for years.
She was so shocked at the urgency in his movements that she couldn’t respond, only enjoy as he took her mouth deeper. He moved his mouth over her lips while his hands gripped her hips, holding her firmly against him.
She scraped her nails against his bare shoulders and heard a low moan emanating from his chest.
“Lea.” This time her name was a plea, and she was desperate to give him anything he wanted. A flood of brazenness washed over her, and she pushed him back onto the massage table and covered his body with her own. Her legs were on either side of his hips as she took control of the kiss.
His hands had stilled on her hips, until she started gliding over him, feeling just what the kiss and the massage had done to him.
He was so hard under the towel against her that she couldn’t stop from gliding over him, enjoying the way her cotton shorts rode up. His fingers nudged the material even further until he cupped her ass.
She arched for him, willing him to take it further. When his fingers scraped under her shorts and found her, she moaned his name, encouraging him on.
Moving just slightly, she reached down and pushed the towel away until she could wrap her fingers around his length.
“Lea,” he groaned, and she was afraid he’d stop her, but instead, he shifted slightly until he nudged her shorts off her hips.
