Chapter Six
C olt never woke up feeling rested. He never woke up with a stretch and a smile to greet the day.
For the second time in forever, he woke up without a nightmare clinging to him like a dirty second skin. As a SEAL, focusing on his breathing came without thought. Instead of rough, violent heaves of his lungs as his body searched for oxygen, his breaths came nice and even and his heart thumped in a steady rhythm—a stark contrast to the usual wild panic he usually felt when he woke.
Upon leaving the military, he retreated to the back country, staying for months in a cold, desolate cabin in the mountains. After surviving a harsh winter, he sought something that offered more creature comforts, which was how he found the Tahoe cabin.
But he’d only stayed here a couple months before his little sister barged in, demanding that he was coming home with her to reconnect with the family.
Colt knew what his nightmares were like. He knew how restless his nights could be. The whole reason why he slept in the barn was to spare his siblings the same terrible sleep he got. Or worse, to keep them from running into his room when he woke up screaming from a dream of battlefield chaos.
He blinked at the ceiling. Early morning light trickled through the blinds, drawing soft lines across the down comforter. His mind struggled to make sense of waking without disorienting nightmares or the fight-flight reflex that began long before he ever opened his eyes.
From the pillow beside him came the sound of soft breathing. He turned his head and saw her there—Aspen.
Dark lashes fanned over her cheeks. When he continued to study her, he realized that one of her hands was still latched on to his arm as if he might vanish in the night.
When he laid her down on the king-sized bed, he thought to leave her alone in the master bedroom, but she’d hooked her arms around his neck.
“Stay, Colt.” Her husky tone countered any resistance he would have put up. “Please.”
It was his sanctuary, but she deserved a good night’s rest, and she’d never get that with him beside her.
Only, she had.
Military life had stripped him of the ability to connect with or trust anyone outside his family. It also robbed him of the ability to feel worthy of a moment like this.
Peace.
His scars ran deep. Not many were visible. Yet Aspen had seen something worth holding on to the previous night.
He’d also slept better than ever and woke up feeling rested. Was it her presence or the pre-sleep bump-and-grind workout they’d shared down on the dock?
He had to stop the workings of his brain.
Coffee. He knew from yesterday they both enjoyed starting their day with coffee. Only this morning, he wouldn’t be relying on it to zap him awake enough to function. He felt ready to conquer the world.
When he shifted to roll out of bed, Aspen tightened her grasp on his arm.
He looked down at her. Her eyes must have just popped open, but they were already cleared of the haze of sleep.
“Where are you going?”
“Coffee.”
“Oh, I’d love some coffee. But this is some mattress! The comfort level—I’ve never felt anything like it. And I know mattresses.”
“I’m glad you had a good rest, princess.”
“I did. And these sheets! They have to be two thousand-thread count.”
“I have no idea what that means.”
She issued a husky laugh. “It means they’re soft and perfectly cozy. Everything about this cabin is cozy and warm. Not at all detached like a billionaire’s mansion, which is sometimes too modern and stark.”
“I’m glad it meets your standards.”
She pushed into a sitting position, drawing his attention to her attire. Sometime in the night, she’d thrown on an oversized T-shirt.
He wanted to rip the thing off her.
“Did you have an interior designer for the house?”
Her question didn’t mesh with his own focus of getting her naked and speared on his cock again.
He shook his head to clear it. “No, why?”
“This place has a woman’s touch.”
He grunted. “Good eye. It has.”
She pulled her rosy bottom lip between her teeth. Her fine brows drew downward.
He didn’t know much about women, but he could see she was visibly upset at being the second woman to be here. Nobody wanted to come in second.
Slipping out of bed, she faced him with a mattress between them. All that space to spread her out and claim her.
“I know I should have asked this last night, but I just assumed. You didn’t have a date at the wedding—”
He cut her off. “Aspen, are you trying to ask if I’m in a relationship?”
“Well…yeah.” She wrapped her arms around her middle, making that short hem ride up her bare thighs. “It’s clear that a woman decorated this place, and you said as much.”
In slow, measured steps he rounded the bed. He came to a stop in front of her.
She tipped her head up, jaw set in a cute little challenging jut.
“A very important woman decorated this cabin, Aspen. My baby sister Willow.”
* * * * *
After waking up clinging to her travel companion and then making a fool out of herself with the whole woman’s touch on the cabin thing, Aspen needed some precious time away from Colt.
She took a shower in the huge bathroom and while lathering herself with fragrant body wash, she marveled at how the shower wasn’t tiled with marble. Complete slabs of marble made up the walls. It sure beat the horse trough and water heated on the old smoky woodstove.
She quickly dressed in sleek dark jeans and her favorite black blouse, the one that packed perfectly for travel. Whenever she wore it, she thought immediately of Vivian. Her sweet friend had always complimented Aspen when she donned the top, and there were multiple photos of them in various locales—in Stockholm, the Cotswolds and even in Japan.
Aspen added a berry-red lip stain and went in search of her host.
Her lover.
Oh god, had she really slept with him? The twinges in muscles she didn’t use often told her loud and clear that she hadn’t imagined their encounter.
When she followed the decadent scent of good coffee into the kitchen, her stare fell on the long, hard planes of Colt’s spine. At the sound of her footsteps, he swung to face her.
His gaze latched on to her lips and then skidded back up to her eyes. Her lower belly heated, and her pussy squeezed in reaction to a single look from the man who’d filled her so completely the night before.
Actually, Colt filled her like nobody ever had. The dark sensation of him moving inside her made her clench her thighs.
“Coffee.” She couldn’t seem to string any other words on to that one.
He wasn’t capable of speaking at all and only pointed at a small coffee bar set up on one side of the kitchen.
She hurried to it and selected a distinctive pale gray hand-thrown pottery mug from the wood shelf. “Is this pottery by Kissick in Seattle?”
“I have no idea. Willow bought it in town. I just gave her my credit card and told her to knock herself out.”
Aspen flipped over the mug and inspected the maker’s mark on the bottom. With a nod and a smile, she turned the mug over again and filled it with the rich, dark brew.
She carried the warm drink to the wood table that was artistic in its sheer minimalism. If his sister Willow really decorated this cabin, she had an amazing talent.
“It is Kissick pottery, if you wondered.”
He grunted and began pulling items out of the refrigerator. She sat sipping her coffee and watching him. The bacon, she expected. Three different varieties of fresh berries surprised her.
“What do you usually have for breakfast besides granola bars from my glove compartment?” He asked with a look over his shoulder.
“Anything is fine. I’m not picky.”
He shot her a sidelong glance that told her he believed otherwise, but set to work laying strips of bacon in a pan. Then while the bacon sizzled, he tossed a handful of each type of berry into a bowl, drizzled it with honey and gave them a toss.
“Colt.”
“Hm?”
“Thank you for bringing me to your cabin. If you would consider letting me add it to my portfolio, I’d love to.”
“I figured as much. And I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t mean it.” He wore worn jeans and a black T-shirt with the Black Heart Ranch logo across the chest, his feet were bare. He offered a delectable view as she sipped her coffee.
He strode to the big refrigerator and rummaged in a bottom drawer. He came out with a package, which he set on the counter and used a knife to open.
She had to be the first to broach the topic more concretely. “If you agree to the terms, I start by inviting a professional photographer in. There’s also a contract.”
“I don’t want personal stuff on this. No names. No personal photos.”
“Of course not. We’ll make it very discreet.”
As he pulled out a small pan and sprayed it with nonstick spray, she eyed him. “What are you making?”
“Crepes. Willow made a big batch and froze them for me last time she was here.”
“And you just…reheat them?”
“Yes. It will surprise you. Give them a chance.”
“Since you’re giving me one, and doing me a huge favor by providing access to such a special place, I will give your frozen crepes a chance.”
“Willow came up with the technique and it always works.” He peeled a layer of parchment paper off the top and popped the confection into the warming skillet.
She stopped with her mug halfway to her lips, stunned by how gorgeous this man was. And ohhh, her body remembered all too well how he felt pressing her down.
“You said you became a travel ag—I mean concierge after traveling with your friend. Was that her business too?”
A sudden lump rose in her throat, making it impossible to drink. She set the mug carefully on the table. “It’s really important that these travel experiences are perfect for people.”
The uneven tone of her voice made him throw a look at her. “Aspen?”
“There’s stuff we haven’t talked about.”
He withdrew his attention from the range and directed it all to her. “I’m listening if you need an ear.”
She knew that the Black Heart Ranch also housed a therapy program for military veterans. The way he said that made her wonder if he spent time with the vets, listening to them and responding in that same soothing voice.
With a fingertip, she traced a line of wood grain on the table. “I know I can seem uptight. That I have all these perfectionist tendencies, but…I’m living my life for two. Me and my mom.”
Tongs in hand, he fixed her in his stare.
“I lost my mom to cancer.”
“I’m sorry, Aspen.”
“There’s more. I got diagnosed before she did.”
His eyes widened. “Jesus.”
“I had the whole thing—double mastectomy, chemo. While I was undergoing treatment, my mom got tested too. And hers was more advanced.”
“That’s why you kept your bra on last night.”
She nodded. “I haven’t been with anybody since the reconstructive surgery, and I’m still self-conscious.”
“You’re beautiful no matter what, princess.”
His words came as a soft embrace to her emotional state of being. She dragged in a deep breath and told him everything in that difficult time of her life and how she’d coped with a fight for her own life after losing her mom.
“There was a woman who was also getting chemo. I was at my darkest point, and Vivian was there for me. I was there for her too. We formed a tight bond, and after we both battled our way to remission, Vivian told me that she wanted to travel while she could.”
“I see her point.”
She nodded. “I didn’t initially feel like traveling. Somehow, I thought that having fun after all that happened was wrong.”
He gave her a serious look, like he knew what she was talking about. Then again…he was a SEAL. He’d probably watched friends fall, and survivor’s guilt was real.
“In the end, Vivian told me that my mom would want me to live my life and have experiences that she never did. She was right.”
After the funeral, she tried reaching out to some of Vivian’s family, to keep her memory alive. She pictured one man in particular, a nephew who shut the door in her face. Aspen only had herself to share her memories with. No one else seemed to care.
A short time later, she realized the reason Vivian’s nephew’s had a problem with her.
He switched off the pans and abandoned his post by the range. When he approached Aspen, she balled her hands in her lap, unsure what to expect from Colt. He wasn’t like any man she’d ever known.
When he took her arm and lifted her to her feet, she gulped back the tears she’d been holding inside. As soon as his strong arms wrapped around her, she felt a new emotional comfort. He’d listened to her story and offered her unconditional support in that moment.
He didn’t say anything to undermine her experience either, and that was huge for her. She didn’t need to hear a comparison to his own difficult times. She knew he had them, but the fact that he allowed hers a moment to be in the spotlight left her feeling closer to him.
He held her tight, giving her time to let her emotions ebb out of her.
He brushed a tender kiss between her brows, and she turned her face up to meet his stare.
“Thank you, Colt.”
“Of course.” He held her for another full minute. When he started to pull away, she fisted his shirt.
“I…”
He waited with all the patience in the world.
“I want you to see what I look like, Colt. All of me.”
His eyes burned. “You don’t owe me anything, Aspen.”
“I want to show you.”
He gave her a nod of understanding.
Before she could lose her nerve, she lifted her hands to her shirt buttons. When her blouse hung open, she reached for the tiny gold bra clasp nestled between her breasts.
His gaze clung to her every move. When she unfastened her bra and exposed her breasts, Colt gave no hint that the scars she bore—even ugly ones—were as terrible as she believed.
“We all have scars, princess. Some are just easier to see than others.”
She gulped down her emotions.
When he took a step closer and traced his finger along the curve of her cheek, her heart jogged a little in her chest.
“You’re even lovelier this morning.”
Her lips curved in a small smile. “Thank you.”
“Why don’t you sit down and I’ll fix you a plate.”
After she picked up her coffee again and took a sip, she found she appreciated the warm drink even more because a caring man had brewed it for her. He didn’t have to take care of her…but from the very beginning of this journey, he did.
He set a plate in front of her. She blinked down at the dish that matched the Kissick Pottery mug, filled with crispy strips of bacon and a crepe slathered in berries and honey.
She shook her head. “This looks amazing, Colt.”
He smiled at her compliment and returned to fix himself a plate. Once they tucked into their meal, she realized something had shifted between them. It wasn’t her imagination either—a new warmth had settled into his eyes.