15. Chapter 15
Chapter 15
KAT
B ernie’s fingers threaded through mine as we slowly began wandering silently back to camp. His footsteps barely made a sound despite how large of a man he was, and a question burned at the back of my throat. One that my mind had been begging me to ask.
But whatever burden that weighed heavy on his shoulders, kept me silent.
Whatever anguish had shifted our passionate make-out session into one of tender comfort held me tongue-tied.
A twig snapped in the distance, piercing the dense tension between us.
In a blur, he wrapped his arm around my waist, whipped me to the side, and slammed me against a tree trunk on my ass as he squatted down in front of me. Muffin was tucked against his stomach, pressed between my body and his as Bernie’s eyes darted around.
“What— ”
“Shh,” he hissed, scanning our surroundings as if out of instinct from something I didn’t know.
My heart raced in my chest, pumping blood like thunder into my ears. My elbows tingled as if electricity ripped through my body, not sure why he reacted like he had. It was just a branch breaking, and we were in the forest. But I didn’t fight it as I was cocooned within Bernie’s protective stance. The heat from his body enveloped me. As creatures of the night crawled out of their holes, Bernie didn’t move a muscle.
And then his gaze latched onto something over my shoulders.
“What’s with this sudden need to meet up?” Wyatt said. His voice was barely audible, and I clamped a hand down around the arm Bernie was using to shelter me.
It wasn’t just a sound of the forest, but Wyatt. Wyatt with another person, as he was clearly talking to someone. Bernie’s reaction and gut instinct had been right.
“Who’s with him?” I whispered.
“Three guys I’ve never seen before,” he replied under his breath without removing his gaze. He tucked tighter against me, and I could feel Muffin squirming against my belly.
“Shipment came in sooner, and if you want to keep the deal we’ve made, you’ve gotta do double this time,” someone new said.
Bernie tucked his head toward me. “Average height, skinny. Blond hair. Spider tattoo on his left wrist. ’Bout all I can make out with flashlights being the only source of light. ”
I furrowed my brows. “Doesn’t sound like someone I know,” I quietly replied, and Bernie nodded quickly, then returned to staring around the tree.
“Seriously, why’d you follow me here? Someone might see you,” Wyatt continued, his voice cracking.
“We don’t fucking care who sees us. The product needs to move and now,” a second stranger said.
“This couldn’t have fucking waited until after the cattle drive,” Wyatt spat.
Bernie’s eyes twitched, his features mostly hidden beneath the night sky.
“Don’t get pissed at us when we’re just relaying a message. Or would you rather the cops get an anonymous tip?” a third stranger snarled.
“Don’t you dare.” Wyatt sighed heavily. “How long do I have?”
“Just because there’s more, doesn’t mean you get any extra time,” the first stranger added.
“And if you want payment, we expect you to follow through,” the second stranger continued.
“I’ll get it done; now fuck off!” Wyatt snapped.
“A week, Wyatt,” the first stranger emphasized.
Bernie remained pressed tightly up against me, as I watched his eyes tracking what I assumed to be the fading group. Leaves and dirt crunched beneath footsteps going in separate directions, and some mumbled cursing rose from Wyatt.
The moment silence fell around us, Bernie stood upright and dropped Muffin. “Ow,” he hissed and raised his shirt .
My eyes widened at the faint red claw marks scratched across abs I wanted to touch. Not deep enough to draw blood, but Muffin had clearly torn his shirt as he let it fall back down, and there was a mirrored image of the scratches through the ripped fabric.
Muffin aggressively chattered at him and then walked back to his legs, rubbing her body around his ankles.
“Damn you, Muffin. That hurt,” Bernie chastised quietly at his cat. But the gentle tone of his voice had me shaking my head. Only briefly did it pull me from the strange conversation we’d just overheard.
Bernie raised his gaze to meet mine. “What’s Wyatt involved in?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “What’s the other two guys look like?”
“Similar build, one with dark brown hair the other with light brown. They all had the same tattoo on their wrist. All the kind of guys who would mostly fly under the radar. So, I’m gonna ask again, what’s Wyatt messed up in?”
“I really don’t know,” I exclaimed and gestured to where Wyatt and the three guys had been. “Does it look like I am deeply involved in his life?”
“No, but he’s involved in yours.”
“What are you saying?”
“Nothing,” he muttered and ran a hand over his chin. “And also you have paint on your face and neck that you should probably clean off before going back to camp.”
I furrowed my brows, confused by his sudden shift. “Don’t change the subject like that. Besides, where are you going?”
He sighed. “Back home. Like you said, I shouldn’t be here. ”
Slapping a hand around his wrist, I jerked him toward me, but he didn’t budge. “Whatever you’re really going home for, can’t it wait? Until tomorrow morning at least.”
Bernie tipped his head. “I’m surprised you want me to stay, considering…”
“Considering we just made out and overheard something we clearly were not meant to hear, and the fact that if my father finds out you’re in the military, you’re gonna get your ass beat?” I explained, throwing my hands on my hips.
“Yeah, considering all that fucking shit,” he replied.
“Well, too bad. You’re staying.”
He smiled, inciting a warmth through my body once more. Yes, I wanted to know what Wyatt was talking about. I wanted to know who those three guys were, and it seemed Bernie desired the same thing. But I wanted him here more than I wanted those answers. At least right now. While the buzzing excitement from what had occurred between us was fresh, he needed to stay.
“I really have no idea what the hell that was,” I whispered, and Bernie raised his brows but said nothing—clearly holding back whatever he thought of the situation. “Anyway,” I continued, brushing a bit of dust off my shirt. “I’m going to go wash this stuff off my skin, and then head back to camp. But you get to come up with an excuse as to why both of us were gone at the same time and for a while.” I offered him a haughty grin and puffed my chest out, recognizing he didn’t want to continue talking about what we’d witnessed. Something about the look on his face told me we’d readdress the subject once he knew more .
He was clearly a rather smart individual, and while impulsive, he was also very driven and calculative. And passionate.
His eyes darted down to my breasts, something I hadn’t intentionally meant to accentuate, and he licked his lips. “You gonna let me put Texas Roadhouse cinnamon butter on them things and lick it off, or nah?”
My mouth fell open as I wrapped my arms around my chest. “You are—” I swallowed stiffly as he smirked.
“You got that hint.”
“Just hush. No man has ever seen me naked, and I certainly won’t be letting you be the first.”
His smirk fell from his face as his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “What? Wait, are you saying…” He stepped away from me. “If no man has ever seen you naked, then you’ve…” He shook his head and pinched his brows together. “You’re a fucking virgin.”
Heat rose to my cheeks, and I bit down on my bottom lip. “This wasn’t exactly how I wanted to tell you…but yeah…” I muttered under my breath. I’d done it now.
“Kat, while you missing all of my hints makes way more sense now, I need you to tell me what to think about that information,” he slowly replied. He shifted backward an inch.
I shrugged my shoulders up to my ears, not really sure what he was getting at. Nor had I thought far enough ahead as to how I’d hoped he’d react to this information. Especially since I wasn’t a virgin because I was holding onto it for any certain reason; the opportunity had simply never presented itself .
“I don’t know what you mean,” I replied and wrapped my arms around my body.
He closed his eyes. “Like, are you waiting for marriage? Waiting for…something? Or… Just what?”
“Is this you asking me if I’m going to eventually fuck you, or if we have to fall in love first or something like that?” I asked.
He nodded. And then quickly shook his head. Confusion twisted his features as he opened and closed his mouth like a snapping turtle.
“Look, I haven’t exactly had many suitors, considering the fact that news around this damn town gets around fast, so Wyatt has been my only option for like three, almost four years now. Before that, I wasn’t exactly in a hurry. So I don’t know. Neither. Maybe both? Maybe just…” I explained, or at least tried to as my voice trailed off.
Bernie ran a hand over his brows and looked over my head. “My mom fucking warned me,” he muttered under his breath.
“Warned you about what?”
“About the fact that I shouldn’t…”
“Shouldn’t what? Pursue me ’cause you’ve had a lot of sexual experiences and I’ve had none?” I questioned, and he tipped his head back and forth.
“I mean, she didn’t use those exact words, but yeah, in hindsight that’s what she meant.”
I pursed my lips. “Doesn’t mean you’re any good at sex.”
He chuckled. “Kit Kat, I’m pretty sure you are the last person who can have an opinion on that.”
“And why’s that?” I sassed, dropping my hands to my hips .
“Because you’ve never had sex. I feel like that’s the bare minimum in this situation.”
“Okay, then if that’s the requirement, go get your fucking cinnamon toast butter or whatever and prove it.”
His mouth fell open in sync with mine. I slapped a palm over my own lips as he slowly looked away from me and pushed his jaw closed.
“Bernie, I—”
“Nah, you don’t get to take that back,” he immediately inserted, stepping toward me.
“You need to…” My heart raced like a hurricane. Heat roared warm on my skin as a dull pulsing erupted between my legs. “You have got to stop doing that.”
“Doing what?” he asked, taking another step toward me. His voice lowered; this deep raspiness rolling across his words had my stomach flipping.
“I say stuff I don’t mean to around you,” I hesitantly whispered.
He smirked again and closed the distance between us. His fingers captured my chin and he jerked my head back so he could stare directly into my eyes. “This is going to be really fun, Kit Kat.”
I swallowed stiffly. “W-w-why’s that?”
“Because, like I already told you, I get really obsessed over what I want. And what I want is you,” he replied, stepping into my body. “And I’ve been in your bedroom, Kit Kat. I know where you live. Where you sleep. I know what your house looks like, which floorboards on your stairs creak.”
All words slipped my mind, my tongue unable to form any coherent sentence as not a single thought tumbled through my mind. His mossy green gaze long since shifted from its usual playful sparkle to that of something dark and depraved.
Whatever I’d agreed to had certainly become something I’d never expected. Whatever game we were playing, he was in complete control of it. And I wasn’t sure if I wanted to fight it or give in to it. I wasn’t sure what to think, or how to react. I wasn’t even sure what the game was.
His smirk widened, and he gently released his tight hold on my chin. “Now, what’s gonna be the excuse as to why we disappeared for, well, a rather long time?”
“I-I-I-You asked to see my horse and-and I showed you, like, the herd of cattle too,” I muttered, absolutely locked into whatever game he’d just started.
“Believable and simple,” he replied, taking a step back.
“And no one has to know about whatever this is,” I quickly said.
He chuckled, deeply. “And ruin all of the fun?”
“This isn’t just a game, Bernie,” I managed to snap at him.
“You asked for this,” he replied.
“Not a game!” I reiterated.
Bernie tipped his head. “I know, Kit Kat. Relax, we’re just two people getting to know each other. Two people who clearly want to fuck each other.”
“Oh my gosh, did you have to say it so crudely?” I gasped.
He reached forward and slipped an arm around my shoulders with a cheeky grin. “Come on.”
Rolling my eyes, I fell into step beside him as he tugged at the leash, urging Muffin forward .
“Oh,” he continued as we neared camp and paused. “Don’t say a thing about the situation with Wyatt. Let me do some digging. I can get away with shit as a newcomer.”
I nodded slowly as he dropped his arm from around me. “Go wash your face, Bottle Cap.”
“You too.” He winked and turned away.
“Oh! And change your shirt!” I called out to him.
He gave me the bird before disappearing back into the shadows of the forest.
I blew loudly in both excitement and annoyance. What in the world had I just started?
And was Bernie actually serious about what he’d implied? What if he got caught? What if we got caught?
Though there was a strange bubbling rolling low in my stomach. Excitement for doing something risky, for doing something I totally shouldn’t be but definitely wanted to. Besides, him asking how I wanted him to think and feel about me telling him I was a virgin was hot and rather respectful.
No matter what happened, if it happened, it would be because I wanted it to and for no other reason. I just knew that while he was the master of this game, he’d given the power over him to me. That control was mine.