30. Elodie
THIRTY
ELODIE
My body buzzed with energy.
Hours had passed since Cal had kissed me breathless, since he had pressed me into the mattress and taken me apart with slow, devastating precision. But lying in the tangle of his sheets, my skin still flushed and my breath still uneven, sleep felt impossible.
My fingers traced lazy patterns along his chest, feeling the steady rise and fall beneath my palm. He was warm, solid, and so deeply here . That was the part that scared me, because Callum Blackwood wasn’t just some guy I had fallen into bed with.
Somewhere between our arguing, our banter, our stubborn refusal to give each other an inch—I’d started to fall for him.
And that was dangerous.
Because men like Cal? They didn’t fall.
His fingers ghosted over the bare skin of my back, his voice a deep, sleepy rumble. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Darling?”
Darling. Why did I love it when he called me that ?
I turned my face to look up at him, our noses nearly touching. “Just thinking.”
One of his brows lifted. “That sounds dangerous.”
My fingers dragged lower over his stomach. “Says the man who just spent the last two hours proving he’s very, very dangerous.”
A low, satisfied chuckle rumbled through him. “Are you still in one piece?”
I grinned. “Barely.”
His hand drifted down my spine, a lazy, possessive stroke, like he was still claiming me, even in the afterglow.
“Do you ever think it’s strange?” I asked, letting my words wander alongside my thoughts.
Cal’s brow furrowed as he looked down at me.
“That you live with a bunch of strangers,” I clarified with a gentle laugh.
“Ah.” He nodded, thinking about my question. “Sometimes, but it’s a part of the gig.”
The gig.
Hearing Cal talk about how he came to run the inn was heartbreaking. He blamed himself for so much he couldn’t control.
Feeling brave wrapped in Cal’s arms, I snuggled closer. “If you didn’t run the Drifted Spirit, what would you do? Anything in the whole world.”
“Own a restaurant.” Cal didn’t even hesitate.
I propped myself onto an elbow and looked at him with wide, excited eyes.
“Really? That’s so fun!” My brain was wired to make plans, find a way, and execute them flawlessly.
“Well, why don’t you? I’m sure the guests you host would flock to something like that, especially if it was close.
You could draw people in and also have a place for them to stay.
” I sighed into him. “It would be dreamy. ”
His stare lingered as realization dawned on me. Oh, shit. That was it.
Cal’s plan for the farm property was exactly what I described ... something that couldn’t happen if Star Harbor Farm was next door instead.
My cheeks flushed and guilt swarmed my brain. I swallowed hard, my eyes bouncing across his as I searched for the right words.
Cal’s hand reached up, and a soft smile touched his lips. He brushed a stray strand of hair away from my face. “Maybe in another version of some other life.”
Cal shifted, rolling on top of me and commandeering the conversation. “But right now, this is exactly the version of my life I want to be living.”
His body was warm as it pressed into me. Desire flooded my system, but I sighed, burrowing closer for just one more minute. “I think I should go.”
Cal grunted, wholly unimpressed with the idea. “You could stay.”
The offer sent a ridiculous little thrill through me, but I shook my head. “It’s late, and if I don’t go now, I won’t go at all.”
He made a deep, thoughtful sound, then smirked. “Is that a promise?”
I rolled my eyes and shoved at his chest, but he just caught my hand and brought it to his lips, brushing a slow kiss against my knuckles.
Warmth bloomed in my chest as I dragged myself out of bed, finding my scattered clothes across the room. I tugged on my jeans, my shirt, my socks, stuffing my feet into my boots and swearing under my breath when I nearly tipped over in the process.
Cal leaned against the headboard, watching me with an expression that was way too satisfied for a man who had just wrecked me so completely.
I pointed at him. “Not a word.”
He chuckled. “I didn’t say a damn thing.”
I narrowed my eyes, but his grin only deepened as he pulled himself from the bed to get dressed.
Sneaking out of Callum Blackwood’s bedroom should have been easy.
He lived on the first floor, tucked away from the main part of the inn. There was no one else awake. No one to witness me tiptoe across the wood floors.
That was, until we opened the door and found Levi standing in the hallway with wide eyes and an equally guilty expression.
Levi had his own shoes in his hands like he had just taken them off—like he’d just been caught sneaking in at the exact moment we were sneaking out.
For a long, frozen moment, the three of us just stared at one another.
Realization dawned on the teenager as a red flush crept up his neck. “Oh, you’ve gotta be shitting me,” Levi muttered, scrubbing a hand over his face.
Cal’s brows lifted, and he crossed his arms over his very bare, very muscular chest. “Language.”
“Are you serious?” Levi snorted. “You’re gonna parent me right now?”
Cal didn’t flinch. “Where were you?”
Levi exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Brody asked me to stay late. He needed an extra set of hands closing up the station. I was helping with paperwork and inventory. I forgot to text you.” He shrugged.
“And, then, uh ... we went over some basic self-defense stuff. Brody’s been showing me a few things. ”
Cal’s brows lifted slightly, his stance shifting just enough to show he wasn’t entirely unimpressed. “Is that so?”
Levi nodded, looking down at his sneakers, like he didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. “Yeah.”
“So, let’s get this straight.” I fought a smile, crossing my arms like I was siding with Cal, but really? I was 1,000 percent on Levi’s side. “You were out late because you were being ... responsible?”
Levi shot me a look, catching on fast. His lips twitched like he wanted to smile but knew better. “That’s right.”
Amusement flickered in his gaze before he leaned against the doorjamb. “And what exactly did Brody teach you?”
Levi’s nerves tittered to the surface, and he shifted his weight before lifting a hand. “A few basic moves. Blocking, wrist escapes. I don’t know ... things that might be useful in a fight.”
Cal hummed, clearly weighing something in his head before nodding once. “Good. We’ll go over what you learned tomorrow.”
Levi blinked. “Wait, really?”
Cal gave his son a soft smile. “You think Brody’s the only one who knows how to throw a punch or defend himself?”
Levi huffed a noise out of his nose, but this time it wasn’t entirely miserable, more ... surprised than anything. His eyes flicked between Cal and me, and I caught the quick spark of something almost pleased. Like maybe he actually liked the idea of his dad giving a damn about what he was up to.
“Great,” he muttered as if the entire conversation was mortifying. “Does that mean I’ll get a training session and a lecture?”
Cal chuckled. “Probably.”
Levi nodded. “Awesome.”
He started to walk away, but then his body shifted back toward us—brows lifting a fraction, like something had just clicked. His arms dropped to his sides, and a slow, knowing horror tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Oh, wait a second,” he said, dragging the words out. “Why are we focusing on me? You’re the one sneaking a woman out of your bedroom.”
Cal cleared his throat, shifting on his feet. “Not sneaking. Just ... escorting.”
Levi rolled his eyes. “Bro, what are you on about?”
A slow grin tugged at my lips as Cal shifted uncomfortably. “Well, son, when you’re with a woman, it’s important to ...”
I didn’t help at all while Cal struggled for the correct, age-appropriate words. The entire interaction was cute, hilarious even.
“Okay, I for sure do not need this mental image.” Levi made a gagging noise and turned away. “Can I please go now?”
Cal clamped a hand on Levi’s shoulder. “Welcome to adulthood, bro .”
Levi groaned, shaking his head as he disappeared down the hall, leaving just the two of us in the quiet hallway of the inn.
I turned to Cal, crossing my arms. “Well, that wasn’t awkward at all.”
“Eh,” he mused, slipping his arms around my waist, tugging me closer. “Could’ve been worse.”
I tilted my head, squinting up at him. “How so? ”
Cal’s voice dropped an octave. “It could’ve been your parents who caught us.”
I laughed, playfully shoving at his chest. I may have been a grown woman, but the thought of coming face-to-face with my parents after the things we did made my cheeks flame.
He laughed, then dipped down, brushing a lingering kiss against my lips before leading me out the side door.
Warm night air wrapped around us, the sound of crickets filling the silence. His hand found the small of my back, guiding me toward my cottage, and I let him. I let myself sink into the quiet, into the moment, and into him.
The night air carried the lingering scent of pine and earth, but my skin still held the warmth of his. My lips tingled, my body still humming with the memory of his touch, and yet we walked slow, unhurried, as if neither of us was quite ready to let the night end.
Behind us, the Drifted Spirit stood quiet under the moonlight, the soft glow of a porch light stretching long shadows across the grass.
Beside me, Cal’s walk was easy, one hand tucked into his pocket, his body loose in a way that made my chest ache a little—like he was truly comfortable.
Like he wasn’t thinking about whatever weight he always seemed to carry.
In the distance, past the tree line behind my cottage, a familiar rustling reached my ears—light, scurrying footsteps, chittering sounds.
I bit my lip, trying to smother a smile as the mama raccoon and her babies came into view.
Cal groaned, scrubbing a hand down his face. “You’re still feeding them, aren’t you?”