4. Lila
4
LILA
I wake up slowly the next morning, the smell of sausages wafting from the gap beneath the bedroom door. The space beside me is empty, but Ridge’s scent is still clinging to the bedding—warm and woodsy. My pulse quickens as I breathe it in, resisting the urge to hug his pillow to me.
Too much, Lila. Definitely too much.
I still can’t believe I slept with Ridge last night. Well, okay, not ‘slept with’…that sounds wrong. But I felt so safe sharing a bed with him. It should have felt weird, but there was something comforting about Ridge’s presence. He made me feel safe…
And horny.
Definitely horny.
Having a sexy older mountain man just inches away from me was enough to get my blood pumping, and I woke up several times in the night, my body jolting awake with every accidental brush of limbs beneath the covers.
Blinking the sleep from my eyes, I reach out and flick the light switch. Nothing happens. I flick it back and forth again and again, but the bedroom light stays stubbornly off. Frowning, I push myself out of bed and pad into the living room. Ridge is sitting in a chair by the fire, holding a skewer of sausages over the flames. When he hears me enter, he turns, and I suck in a breath.
Holy crap.
Losing my mind over a stranger isn’t what I had planned for this vacation, but Ridge looks even more gorgeous than yesterday. His dark hair is still mussed from sleep, and his white t-shirt strains around his thick biceps as he turns the sausages. Those deep blue eyes meet mine, and I feel an instant rush of desire between my thighs as I look at him.
“Morning,” I say a little breathlessly.
“Morning.” Ridge inclines his head toward the sausages. “The owner left us some stuff in the fridge. Want breakfast?”
“Sounds good. Thanks.”
“No problem. Power’s out, so gotta cook them the old-fashioned way.”
I grab two plates from the kitchen before sitting on the couch beside Middy, watching as Ridge cooks our food. Aside from the fire spitting, there’s silence—no more howling wind outside. The storm must have passed, and now there’s no reason one of us can’t find somewhere else to stay.
It should be me.
Ridge was here first, and he needs this place more than I do, given that there’s literally a tree on top of his home right now. Plus, he has Middy to think about.
But I don’t want to go.
I like being out here with Ridge…and not just because he’s hot. There’s something comforting about him, and as I watch him cook our food, I feel a rush of affection for this big, grumpy mountain man. But my fuzzy feelings turn to confusion when he says, “Sorry about yesterday.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was kind of a jerk.” Ridge keeps his eyes fixed on the fire. “Just not really used to being around people these days.”
“You were fine,” I tell him. “I appreciate you letting me in. You could have shut the door in my face and told me to get lost.”
Ridge makes a noise deep in his throat. “I wouldn’t have done that to you.”
“I know.”
His eyes flicker toward me for a second, making my heart skip a beat. But all too soon, he looks away, a grimace twisting his face as he turns the sausages again. His arm tenses and he sucks in a breath through his teeth.
“Are you okay, Ridge?”
“I’m fine.” His voice is tight, his arm shaking slightly, and I feel a knot of concern in my gut.
“You don’t look fine. Did you hurt your arm?” I get up from the couch and kneel beside him in front of the fireplace. “Here, why don’t you let me take over?”
“Don’t worry, I got it.”
I bite my lip. “Maybe there’s a first-aid kit around here somewhere. If you’re hurt?—”
“It’s an old injury,” he grunts. “Nothing a first-aid kit can fix. Thanks, though.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” I cross my legs, relieved as the pain slowly melts from Ridge’s face. “Does it happen often? The arm pain?”
He nods solemnly. “It’s my shoulder, but it radiates. Gets worse in winter.”
“How were you injured?” I ask, unable to hide my curiosity. “If you don’t mind telling me.”
I know so little about the man I’m sharing this cabin with, and I’m desperate to learn more, but he doesn’t answer right away. He adds a couple of bread rolls to the skewer over the fire, the orange glow illuminating his lined face.
“It happened in Iraq,” he says eventually. “Took a bullet to the shoulder. It’s still in there—too close to an artery for them to dig it out.”
My eyes widen, shock hitting me square in the face. “Oh, God, that’s awful.”
“Long time ago now.”
“Still. I can’t even imagine…” I taper off, unable to find the words. “Are you still in the military?”
“I retired five years ago. Served for twenty-two years.”
“Wow,” I say, letting out a breath, “that’s as long as I’ve been alive!”
“Well, shit. Way to make me feel old.”
I chuckle, thanking him as he pulls a bread roll and sausage from the skewer and sets it on my plate.
“Seriously though,” I say as I sandwich everything together, smothering it with ketchup, “it can’t have been easy to leave after all that time. Do you miss it?”
“No.” His answer is quick and decisive. “But you’re right, leaving wasn’t easy. I never really got the hang of civilian life. That’s why I keep to myself these days.”
“The mountains must be a good place for that.”
He nods, and we lapse into a comfortable silence as we eat our breakfast.
“This is really good,” I say eventually. “Thank you.”
“Glad you like it.”
The sandwich is delicious, the sausages juicy and flavorful, but I feel a twinge of self-consciousness as I tuck in. Instinctively, I try to turn my body so Ridge can’t see me eating. After everything that happened with the video, I’m hyper-aware of how I look, and I take small bites, trying to eat delicately.
I wipe my mouth and set my sandwich down, a familiar shame washing over me. “I probably shouldn’t be eating this much for breakfast.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ridge looking at me. “Why? Not hungry?”
“I’m on a diet. Weight loss is one of my many New Year’s resolutions.” I force a smile and hold out my plate. “Do you want the rest?”
I can feel those deep blue eyes lingering on me, but I don’t look at him. His hand reaches for my plate, but instead of taking it, he pushes it back toward me.
“You don’t need to diet.” The firmness in his growly voice catches me off guard.
“Um…well, I?—”
“Seriously, Lila. You’re fine as you are. Hell, more than fine…you’re beautiful.”
I can feel my cheeks burning like red-hot coals as I meet his gaze. He’s scowling, almost like he’s daring me to contradict him, and I feel a swirl of butterflies in my tummy as I say, “Thanks, Ridge.”
He shrugs. “No need to thank me. It’s just the truth.”
I struggle to suppress a grin, giddiness thrumming through me as I finish my sandwich.
More than fine.
You’re beautiful.
He said it so matter-of-factly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I feel like I’m about to float up into the sky as I set down my empty plate and chance another glance at him. He looks so handsome stretched out in his sweatpants, those broad shoulders taking up most of the couch. All I want to do is hold him—curl up against that muscular chest and breathe him in. I don’t care if we only just met. This man is making me feel things I’ve never felt before, and it’s intoxicating.
“So, what do you have planned?” Ridge asks, pulling me back to reality.
“Sorry?”
“When you booked this place, what were you planning to do here?”
I blink at him. “Good question. Honestly, I didn’t have much of a plan. I just wanted to read…be alone…escape from the world for a little while.”
Ridge frowns. “Guess I kind of ruined those plans.”
“No, not at all! I’m glad you’re here, Ridge. It’s really nice to have some company.”
I smile at him, and his lips twitch slightly upward, which is probably as close to a smile as can be expected from this grump.
“I guess I planned to walk in the woods a little too. Enjoy the quiet.” I point to my cell phone. “Turn this dumb thing off for a while.”
Ridge gets up, and I have a delicious view of his butt in those sweatpants before he turns around and says, “Walking alone out here isn’t a good idea. Easy to get lost. There are cougars around, too.” He clears his throat. “I should probably come with you.”
There’s something about the way he says it. He’s trying to sound nonchalant, but his eyes are burning with an intensity that makes my insides turn to mush.
“I’d like that,” I mumble.
We stare at each other for a beat too long. My heart batters against my rib cage as I look up into Ridge’s handsome face, my gaze trailing to his thick beard, his slightly parted lips.
I wonder how it would feel to kiss him.
Before I can run away with my thoughts, I force myself up off the couch and head to the bedroom to get changed. Outside the window, the world glitters white in the winter sunlight, blanketed in snow. Jagged peaks and fir trees stretch all around us, and as I pull on my thick coat, I feel a buzz of excitement in my belly. A walk in the woods with Ridge—just us together in this winter wonderland.
It sounds romantic.
Almost like a date.
But despite the bubbling excitement in my chest, I know I’m getting ahead of myself. This is real life, not one of my romance books. We’re still just two strangers who double-booked the same vacation cabin, and tomorrow, Ridge and I will go our separate ways. He probably can’t wait for me to leave, so he can finally get some peace and be on his own again. It’s a thought that hurts more than it should, and as we step outside together into the wintry January morning, I can’t help wishing we had more time.