Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
TWO WEEKS LATER…
Lilly
When I’d first set foot on the front porch of Luke’s cabin, I never would have believed that in just a few weeks I’d be half naked, sitting cross-legged on a pile of blankets in front of a roaring fire, sipping a glass of whiskey, playing a game of chess. With my boss, no less.
And I would have thought you completely insane had you told me that I’d be doing all of that after having not one, not two, but three mind blowing orgasms compliments of my boss, less than an hour beforehand.
It was crazy how fast things could change.
Not that I’m complaining. Because I’m most certainly not.
Working with Luke, while frustrating at first, has proven to be really engaging.
After getting through the basics of organizing his chaos, he started to show me some of his client files and ask my opinion on their portfolios and what investments I would make.
To my surprise, my grumpy mountain man actually listened. He didn’t always agree with me. At least not right away, but he would ask insightful questions, without dismissing my thoughts out of hand, and more than once he’d actually taken my suggestions.
When we weren’t working. We were fucking.
Another thing I never would have expected after walking away from my fiancé, still a virgin, only a few weeks ago. But our off-the-clock activities had become some of my favorite parts of the day.
It probably had something to do with all the orgasms Luke pulled out of me. Each one stronger than the last.
Obviously, I don’t have a lot of experience with men or sex, but I’m an eager student, and Luke is a very patient—and thorough—teacher. We’ve had sex almost every day, sometimes more than once, and I still can’t get enough.
There’s so much to learn. And as much as I don’t want to think about it, so little time to learn it.
Like I always do, I push thoughts of our one-month trial period ticking down out of my head and focus on the moment at hand. And the very handsome, very large, and very muscular half-naked man in front of me.
He slides a pawn one spot diagonally to the right before sitting back and picking up his whiskey.
“It took you ten minutes to decide on that?” I tease, examining the chessboard.
“I was a little distracted.”
When I look up, his eyes are on me, slowly taking in every inch of me with a gaze so hot, I can feel myself start to heat from his intensity.
“Focus,” I tell him as I move one of my own pieces into position. “You’re the one who wanted to play.”
“Only because we need something to do that doesn’t involve spreadsheets or me driving my cock into your tight pussy.”
My cheeks flare hot and red, my core aching in a Pavlovian response to his dirty talk. The way he so casually says filthy things never fails to get a reaction from me. It’s become commonplace for him to make little comments while we’re working to get a reaction out of me.
Earlier today, he slipped a reference to making me come on his beard while I was trying to run through his schedule with him.
It always has the desired effect. Not that I need any motivation to want him. I’m in a constant state of desire when it comes to my boss.
Nothing about it is okay.
Well, that’s not entirely true. There is a lot okay about this situation. Mainly, the fact that the sex is insane, and more and more, I’m really starting to like the man I’m getting to know.
It’s everything else that’s problematic.
“Tell me something I don’t know about you,” I blurt out in an effort to distract myself from the image he’s painted for me with his words because he’s right. We do need something to do together that doesn’t involve work or sex.
“I’m a father,” he says, raising an eyebrow. “I have a successful financial business, and?—”
“Something I don’t know.” I give him a pointed look.
He shrugs and moves another piece. “Turns out I’m going to be a grandfather.”
“What?” My mouth drops open. “Really?”
He nods. “Tessa didn’t tell you?”
“We haven’t really had much chance to talk lately,” I say with a shake of my head. “That’s…wow. How do you feel about that?”
“About the fact that my best friend knocked up my daughter?”
I almost spit out my drink at his tone, but there’s the smallest trace of a grin on his face, so I can see he’s okay with the situation.
“They’re happy,” he says simply. “And that’s all I want for both of them.
A baby…what a blessing that will be.” I can hear the raw honesty in his words.
“There was a time not that long ago, when I hardly even knew my daughter. To have the chance to be a grandfather and know her baby…that’s…
” he looks down and runs a hand through his beard.
“Well, it’s a gift I wasn’t sure I’d ever have. ”
I can see the love in his eyes as he talks about Tessa. He’s never been so open with me. So vulnerable. It’s…nice.
“Tessa never really mentioned you much,” I say. “When we were in school together, I mean.”
“I’m not surprised.” He shrugs. “I wasn’t really around much when she was growing up.”
“Why?” I know I’m pushing, but he doesn’t seem to mind. “What kept you away?”
Luke
She’s pushing.
And the truth is, I don’t really mind.
I pick up a discarded pawn, rolling it between my fingers before answering.
“The truth is, Cheryl and I probably never should have been married, and we certainly should never have had a kid. Not that I regret Tessa,” I add quickly. “Not at all. She is the single best thing that has ever happened to me.”
Lilly smiles and relaxes back onto her elbows.
Fuck, she’s gorgeous. I have to tear my eyes from her beautiful, bare legs crossed under her, glowing in the firelight. What I really want to do is kiss and bite my way up the length of those sexy legs until I can bury my face in her wet pussy and make her scream my name. Again.
But she’s right. The game was my idea.
For the last few weeks, since we crossed the line, life has been full of sex and work. And then more sex.
Not that I’m complaining, because I’m most certainly not.
In fact, I’d happily eliminate the work altogether in favor of keeping my sex kitten of an assistant in my bed all day, every day.
She’s like a drug that I continually need another fix of. With Lilly, I’m completely insatiable.
But I’m cognizant that, as much as she thinks she doesn’t need to rest, she does. Her body has to be sore from everything we’ve done, and I need to remind myself that it wasn’t long ago that she was a virgin.
“Can I ask,” she says softly, “what happened then?”
“With my marriage?”
She nods.
“Pretty common story, if I’m being honest. When Cheryl got pregnant, we got married.
I was already in the service, but back then, I was still idealistic.
Or maybe I was just naive about the world.
I thought I could change things,” I say, my mind drifting right back to those days when the guys and I would sit around, crack a few beers, and talk about how we were going to change the world.
“We didn’t know then what we’d see. And what we’d experience.
” I blow out a breath. “We didn’t know how hard it would be to go overseas and…
well, it was the coming home that ended up being the hardest part.
Seeing what we saw, doing what we had to do… it changes a person.”
“I’m sorry.”
I nod, but keep my gaze locked on the flames dancing over the logs in the hearth.
“It wasn’t fair to Cheryl,” I continue. “When I came home the first time, I was different. Not the man she met. And definitely not the man she deserved. By the time I was discharged a few years later, I was no good to either of them. A terrible husband and probably a worse father.” It hurts to remember those days, and if I could go back in time and change things, I would. But I can’t.
It’s the first time I’ve talked about it, and to my surprise, it’s easier than I expected it would be. It feels…good to open up.
“So you left?”
I nod. “Not right away, but when Tessa was young. By then, I’d already started dabbling in investing, and years earlier, the guys and I had bought up the land here on the mountain and put up the cabins.
So, coming here felt like the right choice.
Holt and Beck moved up around the same time.
Cal came later and Sawyer…well, he doesn’t show up much anymore. ”
I shake my head and pull myself from the thoughts of my brothers and everything they’ve gone through, too.
“I tried to be a good dad,” I say. “My business started to take off, and I always provided for Tessa and made sure Cheryl was okay, too. I visited her as much as I could, but…it probably wasn’t enough.”
I blow out a breath and look at Lilly, who is watching me with a sad expression. “You’re here now.”
“That I am.” I watch while she makes her move on the chess board, and take a moment to choose my own move. “Your turn,” I say when I’ve finished moving my piece. “Tell me something about you. Like, who is this guy that you were so eager to get over?”
It’s none of my business, and I’d already decided I wasn’t going to ask her about him and the conversation I’d overheard between her and Tessa in the kitchen earlier, but I can’t help but wonder what kind of man would be stupid enough not to let Lilly go.
She’s smart, sexy, and…the type of woman that any man who was lucky enough to have her attention would hang onto.
I don’t examine that last thought too closely.
Lilly doesn’t answer right away. Instead, she shifts slightly, pulling her long dark hair up off her back into a lifted ponytail before letting it fall again. She blows out a breath and reaches for the glass of whiskey I poured her.
It surprised me to learn Lilly enjoyed whiskey. Like so many things about this woman, it was a delightful discovery.
“He wasn’t…” she begins, and then hesitates. “Well, it turns out he wasn’t who I thought he was.”
My jaw tightens, but I don’t speak yet.