Chapter 3
3
WAVERLY
F rozen pizza had never tasted so good. Yes, a large part of it was that I’d been so stressed about the snow, I hadn’t stopped for actual food all day. The candy bar and chips I’d grabbed from the gas station at the last stop before tackling Seduction Summit’s steep incline didn’t count.
“It’s not much,” he said apologetically as he sat across the table from me.
His dining table was designed like a long picnic table with unpadded wooden benches. I had a feeling he ate all his meals over in that recliner watching TV, but I didn’t ask.
“It’s perfect,” I said. “Growing up, we always had frozen pizza when it snowed. Mom would buy a stack of them at the store, and we’d put toppings on them and shove them in the oven. Better than delivery.”
He stared at the slice on his plate. “Yeah, I didn’t have any vegetables or sausage I could cook up for toppings. I eat dinner at the lodge every night, sitting at that bar. I usually make a big breakfast and that’ll last me until mid-afternoon, when I’ll have a sandwich or something if I get hungry. Food isn’t really a priority.
I bit into the pepperoni, beef, and red pepper-covered slice as I thought through his words. Food was definitely a priority for me. It was one of my biggest pleasures in life. I only drank the occasional glass of wine, and I certainly didn’t do drugs or smoke.
“Everyone needs a vice,” I said. “I guess food is mine.”
He looked at me curiously. Was he thinking I was a glutton? No, I’d barely eaten half of this one slice, but I could put away some pizza, and I wasn’t ashamed of it. But I also wasn’t sure what to make of the fact that he didn’t like food all that much.
“What’s your vice?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I’m not sure. I love living out here.” He sat back and picked up his coffee mug, which he lifted. “I guess this is it. Caffeine. Every morning, I get up and go to the back porch and sit on one of my wooden rockers. In the winter, I have to wear a coat, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I watch the sun rise over the trees and enjoy the sounds of nature as the world comes to life all around me.”
I was staring at him now, just holding my slice, not moving to take a bite. “That’s pretty poetic.”
Even though his face wasn’t very expressive, I saw a hint of something at those words. He looked almost sheepish, like the compliment embarrassed him. Or maybe calling him a poet was what had done it.
“Anyway, those are my vices, I guess,” he said. “Food and coffee. Probably two of the most basic things we need to get through the day.”
I nodded. “So what is it you do, exactly? After the sun comes up, that is.”
“You don’t know?”
He was staring at me now, and it took me a second to realize that he meant the paperwork I’d been delivering. He thought I pored over the documents before dropping them off.
“You’re talking about those papers?” I asked, pointing to the envelope on the table. “I’ll be honest. I don’t really read the documents from start to finish. I gather enough information to track down the recipient, and sometimes if a case is really interesting, I’ll read the whole thing, but it always feels like a violation of privacy.”
Nick finished off his second slice of pizza and sat back in his chair, wiping his mouth. He chewed and swallowed before speaking. That seemed to give him time to think through his next words.
“When I was in the military, I made a good friend. We’d both grown up in the Midwest and had a lot of the same hobbies. He’d relocated to Greensboro, so when I got out, I joined him. I got a place in the city, and he showed me around. He had an idea for a business venture flipping houses. We’d buy homes that were on the verge of foreclosure, fix them up, and sell them at a profit. It grew into something pretty big. But…”
He hesitated and stared at a spot above my head for a second before continuing. He grabbed another slice and set it on his plate but didn’t take a bite yet.
“Let’s just say we didn’t agree on the ethics of running a business,” he continued. “I found out he’d forced a couple of people to sell when they weren’t really ready. They came to me with complaints and were threatening lawsuits. That’s when I got out. I don’t want to be part of any scam. I took only the amount I’d invested in the business and left the rest for him, and now he’s coming after me for breach of contract. And that’s the lawsuit that led you here.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. What could I say to something like that? It sucked. And it sucked that I was the one who delivered the papers that told this guy he’d have to deal with the drama again.
“I’m not a legal expert,” I finally said. “But it sounds like he doesn’t stand a chance against you. Just lawyer up and show that you only took out what you invested in the business.”
He picked up his coffee mug again and took another sip before speaking. “I came all this way because I really didn’t want to deal with lawyers and court systems and the stress of it all. I was hoping he’d enjoy raking in the dough alone enough to forget about me. He’s a greedy bastard.”
As he spoke, I could suddenly see the benefits of living somewhere like this. People pretty much sucked, especially in business. Seduction Summit might be growing, but it would be a long time before it attracted the bigger-city types who pounded coffee all day while racing from meeting to meeting.
“I could get used to the vibe here,” I said. “Especially the mountain views.”
“Stick around until morning and you’ll see what a real sunrise looks like.”
He was looking me in the eyes as he said that, the cup of coffee held close to his lap. His words made my heart skip a beat.
“Are you inviting me to stay overnight?” I dared to ask.
“I think it’s the best of your options, especially since the road’s closed. You could sleep in a booth at the ski lodge restaurant, but I have a guest bedroom. It’s a twin bed, though. My bed’s a lot more comfortable.”
Okay, this guy was definitely coming on to me. And the thing was, it wasn’t the first time a guy had invited me to stay overnight in his bed. The big difference here was I’d never even come close to considering it before.
Normally, my first step would be to politely decline without letting a guy know I was a virgin. But I didn’t want to turn Nick down. I wanted to spend the night—not in his guest bedroom, but in his bed, naked, his arms around me after a night of passionate lovemaking.
What the fuck was going on with me? Not only had I driven up a steep slope in treacherous driving conditions, but I was now considering spending the night with a complete stranger? I’d let down my guard completely.
“None of this is like me at all,” I said, surprised by my own honesty. “I always consider myself an adventurous person, but when it comes to men, I’m overly cautious. I didn’t even want to go on a date in high school because I was afraid.”
His face twitched a little. It was barely noticeable, but I saw it. He just continued to stare at me with that neutral expression.
“Not afraid a guy would murder me or anything.” I laughed—a nervous laugh. In fact, I was jabbering, as I always did when I had a serious case of the nerves. “No, this was a fear of letting someone get too close to me. I watched my friends sobbing over this guy or that and decided it just wasn’t worth it.”
“So you didn’t date in high school?” he asked, his expression still completely neutral. If he was judging me, there’d be no easy way to tell. “What about after high school?”
I shook my head. “Not even then. I don’t date at all. No dates, no kissing, nothing.”
He finally made an expression. His eyes widened just slightly and his lips parted. His jaw didn’t quite drop, but I figured a lot more was going through his mind than he was showing.
“None of it.” I shook my head. “I told myself I didn’t need it. I even wondered if maybe I was asexual.”
Now I’d done it. I’d brought that word into the conversation. Sex. Was he looking at me differently? Maybe he was judging me. He had to find the possibility of me being asexual unappealing. Maybe he’d kick me out, make me sleep in my car.
No, he was a gentleman. He’d at least let me sleep in the guest bedroom for the night, then make sure I was safely on my way as soon as the roads cleared.
“So you’re a virgin?” he asked. “You’ve never even kissed a guy?”
I shook my head. “Never. Is that bad?”
His eyebrows twitched slightly, like he wanted to lift them but didn’t quite have the energy. “Not at all. But I’m guessing you don’t know what you’re missing. Do you masturbate?”
It felt like all the air had been sucked out of my lungs. Nobody had ever asked me that before. Not even my friends.
All I could do was shake my head. “That’s part of why I thought I might not be into sex. But?—”
I stopped myself there. No, I couldn’t say it. Whatever it was, I had to keep it to myself—at least until I figured out what was going on in my head.
“What?” he asked. “Are you feeling something now?”
My eyes widened. He was on to me. Was it that obvious? Did it show on my face? Maybe guys could tell when a woman was turned on, just like women look for the bulge as evidence we had an effect on a guy.
As that thought ran through my mind, I couldn’t stop myself from checking out what was going on in the area behind the zipper of his jeans. It definitely looked like a bulge, but I could only see it out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t want him to notice I was checking him out. That would be mortifying.
“I’m feeling something now,” I finally said. I had to admit it in case he could tell. “Since I met you, I’m feeling things.”
“What does it feel like?” he asked.
His eyes had gotten darker, his tone a little gruffer. Yes, he was definitely feeling this too.
“Warmth in my belly,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “Well, maybe lower than my belly.” I shifted a little. “Things got a little tingly when you mentioned masturbating.”
“Are you wet?”
I sucked in a breath. That was personal. Way personal. Normally, I’d be offended if a guy said something like that to me. He’d immediately be…well, skeezy. My friends didn’t even ask me that specific question.
But instead of being offended, I actually felt even warmer. Turned on. Aroused. I guessed that was what I was feeling.
I might have never done any of this stuff, but it wasn’t like I was completely ignorant to it. We had sex ed in school, and I’d read romance novels—even a little erotic romance out of curiosity. And when I had questions, I’d look them up online.
I knew what was involved in sex. I’d just never taken a step to do anything about it.
Finally, I managed to choke out an answer. “I don’t know. I think…maybe. How do I tell?”
I squirmed a little more but still couldn’t tell anything. Okay, so maybe it felt a little squishy down there, but did that mean I was wet?
“Squeeze your legs together,” he said. “Does your underwear feel wet?”
I closed my eyes and squeezed my thighs together. I still couldn’t tell. When I opened them again, his hand was on his upper thigh.
“You could, of course, touch yourself and see,” he said.
The air I sucked into my lungs felt heavy. It was like every cell in my body was aware of the breaths I was taking.
He didn’t make a single move. His expression didn’t even change as he watched me, waiting to see what I’d do next.
And then I did something that surprised even myself. I uncrossed my arms and reached for the button of my jeans. Was I really going to do this? Yes, I was.
And I had never felt more alive than I did in this moment.