Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
A storm moved in and the temperature dipped despite it being mid-morning. I shivered.
“Here,” Stratton said, removing his jacket and placing it around my shoulders.
It was warm and smelled like him. I had to fight every instinct to burrow my nose in the lapel and inhale like a scent addict.
“Gold,” Arden called out. “Pure gold. Keep talking to each other.”
“Why do I keep forgetting she’s there?” Stratton asked me.
I peered into his blue eyes that seemed somehow brighter and more intense than they had been before. Full of yearning and . . . something else.
He wore his heart on his sleeve and I think he wore mine too.
“I keep forgetting too,” I admitted with a wry smile. “So, do you have any siblings?”
“Nah. I wish. That’s why I like working here,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“There are four Calhoun siblings,” he explained. “Three brothers and a sister, who’s the baby of the family. I’ve only met Greer once because she hardly comes home. But Griffin, Garrett and Gideon are all close to one another and they’re good guys.”
“And you feel like part of the club,” I said.
“Exactly.”
“Nice,” I said with a sigh. “That must be really nice.”
“It is.” He paused. “I could introduce you to them sometime.”
I swallowed, knowing what he was saying without him having to say it. “I live in Coeur d’Alene.”
“Which is only a forty-five minute drive to Huckleberry Hill.” He stepped even closer, grasping the lapels of his jacket to keep me in place. “And I don’t live in a bunkhouse.”
“No?”
He shook his head slowly. “I rent a cabin. It’s small. Cozy. With a wood stove.”
I suddenly wanted to be snowed in with him.
Maybe that’s how we’ll make our first baby . . .
A shiver of longing wracked my entire body.
“I kind of lied to you. Before,” I blurted out.
“When? About what?”
My tongue darted out to touch my suddenly dry lips, which only dragged his attention to my mouth. “I do have a long-distance boyfriend. But he’s not willing to move to Coeur d’Alene.”
“I don’t get it. If you’re not moving to Seattle and he’s not moving here, then what are you doing?”
“I don’t know,” I murmured.
“Who’s idea was it to do long distance? His, right?”
“Yeah,” I admitted.
He sighed. “I knew that without having to ask.”
“How did you know?”
“Because he wants to keep you around in case he doesn’t find what he wants close by. He’s fucking around on you, Maisie.”
His words speared through me. And I rejected them instantly.
I tried to run, but his hands were still on the lapels of his jacket that was wrapped around me and I couldn’t move. And then Stratton pulled me closer to him until I was pressed against his chest. Trembling, waiting for the pain of truth to subside.
“I’m not saying any of this to be a dick,” he said, cradling the back of my neck in his large warm hand.
“I know.”
“And I’m not saying this because I want you. Even though I do.”
I shifted and felt his erection against the fly of his trousers, but I said nothing.
“I’m saying this so you can face the fact that your relationship was over a long time ago, only you’re just now realizing it. It’s time to move on, and I want you to move on with me.”
He gently squeezed my neck and forced me to look up at him.
“Are you ready?” he whispered.
“Ready for what?”
“Ready to move on.”
I nodded slowly.
“I’m going to kiss you now.”
“Okay,” I whispered and nodded slightly.
My body melted into his, but he held me upright as his head dipped. His lips touched mine, teasing and gentle, but when I opened my mouth and allowed him entrance, he swooped in with domination and expert determination.
I would’ve collapsed on matchstick legs if he hadn’t been holding me upright. His arm came around me and held me to him while his mouth seduced my senses, teased my nerves, and pleasure sparked in every crevice of my body.
Danger. Danger. Danger.
I wanted more. I wanted all of it. And I wanted it now.
The sound of a throat being cleared shot through my foggy brain and brought me back to the present.
Mortification flushed my cheeks when I realized my best friend was standing a few feet away and she’d witnessed the entire moment between us.
“Good, got what we needed,” Arden drawled. “I’m packing this bitch up. That’s a wrap.”
I stared after her as she booked it to the barn.
And then I looked up at Stratton.
His eyes were dark with want and I had no idea guessing what he had in mind for us.
As much as I wanted Stratton, I wanted to ensure I was completely untangled from any prior emotional hold. And to do that, I needed to talk to Ethan.
Stratton brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. “Let’s change. Then I’ll buy you lunch.”