Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Wyatt
I want to follow Heath’s lead here, but… I look to the kitchen, where Emily is taking her pizza out of the oven.
Her yellow sundress crawls up her thighs when she bends over, her bare legs begging to be licked.
Goddammit, she’s pretty. And nervous, holy shit. I should wrap her back up in that blanket and haul Heath out of this cabin. I don’t care if it’s a perilous drive back to Conception Ridge in the dark; we should leave her be.
No licking her legs. No devouring of her tiny, perfect titties.
What is Heath playing at, suggesting that we stay for dinner? He knows how I feel about her. And even though he tried to hide it before, I know he has some of the same instincts.
He once put protecting her at the top of his priority list.
As soon as he realized how I felt about this stranger, this little slip of a girl who had no idea who I am, he took me under his wing and tried his best to help me manage those feelings—and learn to channel them more appropriately.
You’d never know to look at me, but I’m a shy guy. Always have been. Girls make me tongue-tied. I didn’t have any interest in dating in high school, and then by the time I was in my twenties and started thinking about what a forever kind of life situation might look like, everyone had passed me by.
Luckily, I had work and the gym to bury myself in. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t found the right girl yet. I had faith she would one day appear in front of me.
And then she did. Dark curls spilling all the way down her back, relaxed jeans that hid the perfection of her little body, and an oversized hoodie that loudly identified her as a Ridge College student.
In an instant, I knew she was the one for me.
And in the next moment, Heath cuffed my shoulder and dragged me around our truck. “You can’t look at the students like that,” he’d growled.
I didn’t. Not any other student.
Just her. A dark-haired angel who was gone by the time I tore myself away from my boss.
And now, that same man wants to insinuate us into her evening?
“Wait,” I say, raising my voice.
Emily turns back, that sundress swirling around the tops of her thighs, and as soon as her gaze meets mine, everything changes. My chest expands, my muscles all flex and relax, and I…fuck, I just know.
“Emily, is it all right with you if we stay?”
Her eyes widen. “Of course it’s all right. You booked the cabin. I’m the interloper here.”
“We don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“You aren’t.” She laughs lightly. “I was reading this heart-pounding book about two people on the run because their lives were in danger. I think I overreacted when you arrived.” She gives us both the prettiest smile, and I know it’s real because I’ve watched her for months.
This girl doesn’t smile often. “I’d love to share dinner with you both. ”
“Then we’ll just grab our food and be right back,” Heath drawls. Then he gives me a significant look as he stalks past me to the door.
Once we’re outside, he gives me that same look again.
“What?”
“What was that, wait?” His eyebrows arch up. “I’ve never heard you bark like that.”
“I didn’t bark at her.”
He shakes his head. “No, you didn’t. You barked at me. About her.”
My mouth drops open. Then snaps shut. “So maybe I did. Maybe you were presuming too much.”
“I saw an opportunity and I took it. You’re the dumbass who practically told her that you’ve jerked off outside her window.”
“Fuck you, I’ve never done that.” Thought about it. Recreated it at home, growling my way through my horny shame. Repeatedly. But never for real. “I wouldn’t.”
“I know. Hey, lighten up, man. That’s the whole point of this weekend. To unwind and consider all your options in life.”
Instead of my previously held pipe dream of holding out hope that one day Emily might realize I exist and fall deeply, madly in love with me too. “That was before she was here, inside the cabin we’re going to spend two nights at. What are the fucking odds?”
“A million to one.” He grabs the cooler from the back seat and shoves it at my chest. “So don’t blink.
Take the chance in front of you.” A new expression skitters over his face, and his jaw tightens up.
“There aren’t any rules up here, kid. You’re a young man.
She’s a young woman. See how the night goes, and don’t trip if you’re given a chance to show her how good you could make her feel. I’ll get out of your way, too.”
“But we drove up together.”
Now his expression is completely readable. He thinks I’m a fucking idiot. “I’ll go to bed early. Let you get to know her one-on-one. I’ll head out for a hike by myself tomorrow. Not abandon you here.”
“Oh. Right.” In the fading twilight, I know he can see me blushing.
He claps a hand on my shoulder, the warmth of his touch grounding me. “Hey, this is all normal. It’s normal to be rocked when the girl you like is unexpectedly in front of you. Don’t panic.”
I take a deep breath when he squeezes my arm. “I’m not panicking.”
“Good.”
I turn toward the house then stop. “I’m not not panicking. But it’s a good kind of panic.”
We’re both chuckling as we step back inside, and the way Emily lifts her head immediately, smiling when her gaze lands on us, does something intense to my chest.
Is this what hope feels like? Wild horses galloping against my ribs?
“What did you bring?” She gestures to the pizza she’s set on the table. Beside it is a bowl of salad. “I’m happy to share.”
Her dinner would be an appetizer for one of us, but I still grin like a goof as I thank her.
Heath puts away our groceries as I add our steak sandwiches to the dinner table.
“So, you guys really just decided to rent a random cabin?”
I nod. “And we found you waiting inside it.”
“What are the chances?”
Heath joins us. “That’s what Wyatt said.”
As if it was meant to be. As if maybe we were meant to have a second chance at a proper introduction. Except I’ve spent three months thinking about how good her tiny pussy must look and taste and feel. “We should eat,” I say sharply.
Emily laughs, a pure giggle, and I wonder how much of my desire she can sniff out. For a little bit of a thing, she’s not scared of us anymore.
She’s having a great time being the guest of honor, suddenly. “So, if you know everything about me, tell me something about yourselves.”
“First of all, we don’t know everything,” Heath says.
Just where she sleeps, what she studies, and how fucking cute she looks first thing in the morning.
“And you know that we’re in construction,” I offer. “Heath owns the company with his business partner, Daniel. I’ve worked for them for three years.”
“And what did you do before that?”
“I spent a few summers planting trees.” I shrug. “It was a good way to stay fit for the winter.”
“Why?” Her eyes are wide as she nibbles on a slice of pizza. “What was in the winter?”
“I worked as a ski instructor here in Virgin Peak.”
“What?” She shakes her head. “I took so many lessons here as a teenager. How many times have our paths crossed and we had no idea?”
“Almost like it’s meant to be,” Heath grunts. But then he shakes it off. “Emily, I think that’s a sign you should stay for the whole weekend.”
“I don’t know… I don’t want to intrude.”
He looks at me, and I know we’re thinking the same thing. It would be no intrusion at all.
“She should stay. She wants to stay, right?” There’s something electric the way he says it. Hypnotizing, and it turns my pulse into a drumbeat of need.
I follow his gaze to Emily’s sweet face. Her gaze slides back and forth between us. “I do want to stay,” she says, barely above a whisper, then she grins. “Is that okay?”
Fucking hell, it’s more than okay. It’s a bloody miracle. And a gift.
“We’d love to see the mountain through your eyes,” I admit. “Since you’re local.”
“You worked here, too.”
“But only in the winter. And only at the ski hill.”
“Then it’s settled.” As we eat our dinner, she tells us all about her favorite trails and the little market that pops up on Saturdays, if we want fresh salad fixings for dinner tomorrow night.
I want her for dinner, but that’s probably not on the menu. Maybe not.
Who knows. With every passing second, I’m pulled deeper into a weird place of hope where all my fantasies feel like they might just actually be possible.
Except Heath is here. And Emily is still a relative stranger.
But on the other hand, Heath already knows about all my horny dreams when it comes to Emily; I can’t stop running my mouth to him about how perfect she is.
And Emily…
As we’re tidying up, she does this exaggerated stretch that draws both of our attention to her swirling sundress and the tight swells peeking out the top of it.
“I was going to have a soak in the hot tub.” She glances at Heath, then me, dragging her gaze down my body. “Did you bring a swimsuit?”
Even though I’m fully clothed, her gaze is baldly assessing. My cock rises swiftly, eager for her attention. I don’t miss the moment when she realizes my jeans are being tested to the limit, my erection straining at the fly. Her eyes go wide, and her cheeks turn pink.
But I don’t feel any kind of horror. To my shock, I like the way her attention locks on to my jutting bulge. It’s hers, after all. She’s the only woman who has ever made me feel this way. Who has ever stripped away my nerves and left me nothing but wild, rampant need.
“We did,” I hear Heath say. “Right, Wyatt?”
I can’t speak. I nod in agreement. Yes, we knew there would be a hot tub. I shoved a pair of board shorts into my duffel bag.
Yes, I want to see her in a bathing suit.
And out of it.
The longer her gaze stays latched on my straining cock, temporarily trapped in a prison of denim, the more I think that I might just get a chance with Emily.
It’s not until Heath clears his throat and says he’s going to hit the hay early that I realize there’s just one problem with this whole plan—Emily doesn’t know we’ve talked about her and made a choice.
She doesn’t know that she’s mine.
And her face just fell at the idea of Heath getting out of my way.