Chapter Thirteen
Eric
By the time we were out of view of the lookout, she was breathless.
Not from the hike. From laughing.
Jamie had cracked jokes the entire way through the woods. Dirty ones. Creative ones. Delivered without an ounce of shame.
The girl was trouble. Exactly my kind.
And she wasn’t taken. No boyfriend. No invisible boundary I had to respect.
Which meant the only thing holding me back was my own fucking restraint. And whatever it was that Jamie wanted. Hopefully, it was the same thing I did.
“I just have to know…” Laughter still bubbled in her voice as we stopped beside a trickling waterfall. “Were you holding my leg over your lap to hide your erection?”
I held her gaze. “It wasn’t obvious, was it?”
Her grin widened. “Oh, I noticed. Kara’s dad might’ve been suspicious, but I couldn’t tell if that look on his face was disapproval or jealousy.”
“You think he was jealous of my poorly timed wood?”
“Oh my God. You brought your own wood to the woods.” She doubled over laughing, and I couldn’t help joining her. “Seriously, though. You should put up a billboard. You’ve got a lot to be proud of there.”
A sly little smile curved her mouth. Then she winked.
Fuck me. She was complimenting my dick. And she hadn’t even seen it in action.
I just stared at her, speechless for once, pulse hammering in my ears.
“I thought I was going to die of embarrassment at first. I’ve never been caught like that. But it was kind of exciting, wasn’t it?”
I stepped into her space, caught her around the waist, and drew her flush against me. Nothing between us but heat and too many layers of clothing.
“You liked that, beautiful girl?” My mouth brushed her ear. “Did getting caught turn you on?”
Her breath hitched. “Yes.”
The blush spreading over her neck had nothing to do with the hike. Knowing I’d put it there sparked something prideful and possessive inside me.
My hand slid over her ass, pressing her closer so she couldn’t miss what she’d been joking about.
She let out a gasp, and that was all the invitation I needed.
My mouth met hers in a slow, controlled kiss. But I forced myself to pull back before I lost my composure. Because if I let myself take what I really wanted right now, I wouldn’t stop.
Jamie’s eyes were still closed, lips parted, like she was under a spell.
For a moment, I understood exactly why Dylan kept circling her.
How do you walk away from a woman like this? Even a bruised ego would be worth it.
“I have a lot of memories of this place,” she murmured, still dazed. “But I think this one’s going to be the second-best.”
“Second-best?”
Her eyes snapped open. “Oh shit.”
“Too late, beautiful. You brought it up. You owe me the story.”
“Our deal?”
“You’re catching on.”
She looked at me like I was pushing her too far.
Hell, maybe I was. But I was eager for more of her. For the parts she kept hidden. And I wasn’t backing off.
She exhaled. “When I was little, I came up here with my family. I wasn’t much older than Kara, the language patrol kid.” She huffed a laugh. “Honestly, how did her parents manage two more with her around?”
I smiled at her joke but folded my arms and waited.
The scowl she shot me could’ve scorched bark off a tree.
“Fine,” she muttered. “We were on a hike, but I was playing in my own little world. I kept drifting farther behind. My mom was annoyed with me, but she was busy arguing with my sister about hiking shoes that weren’t pink enough.”
Her voice softened as she talked about them. The bickering. The rhythm of it. The normalcy.
I didn’t interrupt.
“My mom lost track of me, and my dad was way ahead, doing his leader-of-the-pack thing.”
I reached for her hand without thinking.
“I didn’t even notice at first. I just remember looking up and suddenly realizing I was alone.”
“Your best memory of this place is getting lost?” The breeze caught a piece of her hair, and I brushed it back.
“That’s not the good part.” She shook her head, eyes drifting past me to the waterfall. “I was scared for a second. But I remembered what my dad taught me. I stayed put and trusted he’d find me.
“I pretended I was a forest princess on a stone throne. When he showed up, he was my knight. That’s why it’s my favorite memory. He was my hero.”
Her fingers tightened around mine, her smile faltering. “He taught me to be brave and strong, but turns out, he was the thing I couldn’t survive.”
The ache in her voice settled deep.
She still loved him. That was the part that hurt. Not anger. Not resentment. Love. Even after he’d become something she had to escape.
“He found me that day. But after my mom and sister died…we both got lost. And I think I was supposed to find him this time.” Her breath hitched. “I was supposed to save him. Instead, I ran.”
Her words splintered. “I ran. And I’ve felt lost ever since.”
She’d decided it was her job to fix him. To carry him. To be stronger than the man who raised her. And when she couldn’t, she called it failure.
“You’re not lost, Jamie.” I didn’t soften the words. If I did, she’d twist them into pity. “You took a detour. That’s not the same thing.”
She looked at me like she wanted to believe it, but believing meant letting go of the blame.
Silence stretched between us—too thick, too unsettled.
I shifted before it could swallow us whole. “Guess I owe you a secret now.”
She swiped at her eyes, mouth twitching. “I believe a little secret-telling is in order. Cough it up, big boy.”
Big boy.
My grin widened despite myself. “Alright. That billboard idea of yours? I didn’t rent space, but my dick’s already had its fifteen minutes.”
She blinked. “What?”
“An ex took a few photos, then decided to share them. They made the rounds. Ended up on some nude selfie site. She thought it was hilarious.”
I hadn’t. But that part didn’t matter right now.
“Oh my God, Eric. That’s awful. Are they still up?”
“Yeah. Once something’s online, it stays online.”
“And you didn’t know she’d taken them?”
“I knew.” My jaw tightened. “I just didn’t think they’d leave her phone.”
Her expression shifted, amusement fading. “That’s such a violation.”
“It was. But I’m still here.”
“Just think of all the creeps who’ve seen them. Gross.” She wrinkled her nose. “What site did you say that was? You know…in case I get bored later.”
The laugh that escaped her was bright and wicked. And I liked it a whole hell of a lot.
“You don’t need to go digging through the internet. I’m right here. I can give you a private showing. No search bar required.”
Her fingers curled into my shirt, tugging me toward her. “Oh really?”
I slid an arm around her neck, close enough to feel her breath catch. My teeth grazed the line of her jaw. “Name the time and place, beautiful.”
She laughed and pushed me back a step. But when she looked up, the laughter was gone.
“Eric. This thing with you and me…I don’t know what this is.”
She held my gaze. “I like you. And I really want to fuck you. But this was supposed to be a fake relationship. I don’t know if I’m ready for it to be anything more than that.”
My first instinct was to close the distance and take the choice out of her hands. Not because I didn’t respect her boundary but because I hated that she thought she needed one.
But she didn’t know me. Not really. With the mess we were both standing in and the history she was still carrying, it made sense that she wanted to protect herself.
“You’re afraid it’ll get bigger than you can handle.”
Her chin lifted, defiance flashing. “Of course I’m afraid, Eric. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”
“You don’t need to have it figured out.” I stepped back into her space, my hand settling at her waist with quiet authority. “In public, I’m your boyfriend. I’ll play the part.”
I drew her closer until there wasn’t room for doubt. “That doesn’t mean pressure. Or promises. But we agreed—no more pretending. So don’t hide behind the word fake when what you really mean is you’re scared. Okay?”
She leaned in, her arms coming up around my neck. “Okay.”
“I’m not going to lie to you, Jamie. I probably want you a little too fucking much.”
She sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes going wide. Even caught off guard, she was stunning.
Done with negotiating, I leaned in and took her mouth again.
This time, I didn’t hold back. Fuck restraint. Forget being careful. I said no more pretending, and I meant it.
She met my lips with enthusiasm, letting out a soft, needy sound that went straight to my cock. Her mouth would either be my death or my salvation—I hadn’t decided.
She’d joked about the thrill of getting caught, but I doubted public sex was on the table. I tore my mouth from hers with a low groan and forced a sliver of distance between us. My chest heaved, body already tight and aching.
She looked just as wrecked. Good.
I scrubbed a hand through my hair, adjusted myself without apology, and met her eyes again. “I hope you don’t think I’m going to let that other thing you said slide.”
Her brow furrowed. “What thing?”
“The part where you said you want to fuck me.”
Color climbed back into her cheeks. “Oh.”
“Honestly, that’s the only part I really heard. Everything else you said was just blah, blah, blah…so much talking.”
She laughed, breath still uneven. “Who was talking? I only remember kissing.”