Chapter 17
“Please,” Silver whispered as she sat next to Dustin on the front porch swing in the fading evening. “I’d love to go to the hot springs.”
Dustin paused in pushing the swing with his foot. He didn’t immediately say no to going to the hot springs, which was a good sign, wasn’t it?
The pools held so many good memories. “It would be nice to get out for a little while.” After spending the entire day at the cabin and not going anywhere or doing anything, she was restless. She wasn’t used to a sedentary life.
The only consolation for staying in the cabin was that she’d been with Dustin all day, and she’d loved spending endless hours with him . . . even if he’d been more careful to keep his distance after Tyler and Isaac had walked in on them that morning doing a little kissing on the couch.
They hadn’t been making out as Ty had claimed. But even though they’d agreed not to kiss again, their cuddling together could easily have shifted into kissing, maybe even would have turned into that.
She wouldn’t have minded. She’d relished waking up next to Dustin again and having him so tenderly caressing her hair. His touch had been incredible, making her feel cherished.
When Tyler had teased Dustin about still loving her, he hadn’t said yes. But he also hadn’t immediately said no. And he hadn’t brought up the no-more-kissing rule either.
She really shouldn’t read into his silence, but she was hoping his lack of protest meant he had deeper feelings for her. Because the more she was with him, the easier it was to acknowledge she still had feelings for him.
If they did reignite their old feelings, what could they do when they both had such different lives?
She could never ask him to stop being an EPA and settle down with her.
But could she give up her passion for helping others in order to live with him?
If she did so, how often would she see him, since he traveled so much for his work?
She wasn’t one to easily concede defeat. So she hadn’t given up hope they could find a way to have a relationship . . . if he was willing to consider one. But at this point, she also needed to be careful, because she’d been hurt once by him, and she didn’t want to get hurt again.
Dustin scrolled through the footage on his tablet, the various cameras that were still giving him and Isaac a view of the Double H and any activity. It had been a normal day like every other, with the clients coming and going and the few staff who commuted from Boulder or Denver.
They hadn’t noticed anything strange. No one had done anything differently from the usual routine. At the evening hour, it now appeared that everyone had retired.
Dustin’s agency had hired a private detective to keep a constant surveillance on Gideon Finch, the disgruntled one-time date who had been seen in the area.
Dustin was keeping in close contact with the detective, and so far, Gideon hadn’t done anything or gone anywhere that had been cause for concern.
“Do you think we’re safe for another night?” She peered out at the darkening forest that bordered the cabin. With the last rays of the setting sun casting an amber hue over the sky, the scenery was gorgeous, painted in a thin coat of gold.
Tonight she had her hair up in a clip and was wearing a pair of jean shorts with a lacy top, but with the lengthening shadows, she would have to change into something warmer soon.
Dustin had called her beautiful earlier. She’d been surprised by his compliment, hadn’t expected it. But once it was out, she’d realized she wanted to hear him say it again, wanted his attention, wanted him to want her.
She wasn’t sure where the longing was coming from and how it had gotten so strong so quickly.
Dustin touched a tab on his tablet to bring up a screen showing the footage from all the cameras at Healing Springs Ranch. “If everything remains quiet over the next few hours, then I’ll take you to the hot springs.”
“Yay!” She did a small hop and pushed the swing higher.
Just as she did, the front door of the cabin next door opened. The young wife, who they’d learned was named Debbie, stepped out in an elegant hot-pink gown and was followed by her older husband, Stan.
Debbie paused at the edge of the porch, fixed her wrap, then held out a hand to her husband. He finished adjusting his bow tie, paired with a mauve dress shirt and white dress slacks.
Without giving herself a chance to doubt her actions, Silver climbed onto Dustin’s lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and rested her head against his.
He froze, of course.
She could feel him about to protest and pressed her mouth to his ear. “It’s showtime. Debbie and Stan are out.”
“No more shows,” he growled in a low voice.
“Oh, come on. It’s fun.”
“No.” Even as he protested again, his hand slid around her waist, and he buried his face in her hair.
All it took was that tiny bit of acquiescence on his part for energy to cascade through her. “Hello, neighbors,” she called cheerfully.
Debbie halted on the top step, and her gaze swung their direction.
Silver lifted a hand to Dustin’s hair and combed her fingers through the short spikes. At the same time, she leaned into him more fully, increasing the appearance of intimacy.
“You both look so fancy,” Silver continued.
Dustin still hadn’t lifted his face from her hair, so she bent in and pressed a hard kiss against his temple.
His arm immediately tightened around her waist.
Oh, she loved this playing around, not only because she was having fun riling up Debbie but also because she could get a reaction from Dustin. In fact, his reaction was exactly what she wanted—him giving in and enjoying the physical contact.
Debbie was taking in their apparel and cozy embrace. “Aren’t you going to dinner?”
“Not tonight. We can’t tear ourselves away from each other long enough for that, can we, darling?” She kissed his head again and began kneading the back of his neck.
He leaned back, his expression taut, his jaw clenched.
Was he upset she was kissing and touching him again?
His eyes were dark and unreadable but were fixed on her mouth with a determination that sent a tremor through her insides. It was single-minded and unswerving and told her he was about to kiss her. The question was, would the kiss be real? Or pretend?
In the next instant, he swooped in and captured her mouth decisively and deeply. He left her no time to breathe or brace herself. If she’d been standing, the move would have knocked her off her feet.
As it was, she turned into the kiss, and since she was sitting on his lap already, she wrapped her legs around his torso at the same time that she locked her arms behind his neck.
Maybe she was subconsciously trying to tell him she was all in for this kiss and didn’t plan to let him get away from her this time.
Whatever the case, she eagerly met his mouth stroke for stroke, eager for him and not afraid to show it.
The kiss didn’t start slow, and its tempo only increased with every passing second, an urgency driving them—an urgency to feel and understand each other and be together before they were ripped apart as they had been all those years ago.
Would they be ripped apart, though?
She didn’t want to think about that. She only wanted to live in the moment and savor every second of another kiss with Dustin, one he’d initiated this time and one he was leading with all its beauty.
He ran his hands up her back and paused at her hair clip. In the next instant, he freed her hair and dug his hands into the falling strands.
“Kiss me, Stan!” From a distance, Silver heard Debbie’s demand of her husband.
But the neighbors suddenly didn’t matter anymore.
This moment was just for her and Dustin and held an enormous weight, because she knew that when this kiss was done, they would be changed, their relationship would be different.
With a growl at the back of his throat, Dustin pushed up from the porch swing.
But rather than breaking the kiss and putting an end to their intimacy, he brought her up with him.
His bulky arms hedged her into his body, and his kiss continued just as forcefully without any hesitation or end in sight.
That was perfectly fine with her. It was actually more than fine. It was delicious, sending desire racing through her insides without any thought except to stay right where she was and to kiss him as long as she could.
She wrapped her legs tighter around his body, pressing against him, hungry for more of him.
For the briefest of moments, she glimpsed Debbie—in her tight evening gown—trying to wrap her legs around Stan.
But then Dustin shifted, hefting her up higher with a possessiveness that said she belonged to him and he never planned to let her go.
The very thought of belonging to Dustin sent heat racing through her blood.
He crossed the porch carrying her, kissing her, and somehow opened the door without breaking the exquisite tension that was now rising between them.
The kissing was so good. His body felt so incredible. And whatever was happening between them was so intense, she didn’t want it to end.
She felt him kick the door closed behind them. She half expected him to break the kiss, set her down, and stalk away from her while shaking his head in exasperation. But he didn’t let up. If anything, his kiss became more consuming, as though he had no intention of stopping any time soon.
He kissed her by the door for only a moment, then began to stride across the room. Was he taking her toward the bed?
Her heart gave a strange jump at the prospect of him laying her down there and then lowering himself beside her.
But at the same moment, something inside her hesitated.
She didn’t want to be another woman in Dustin’s long, forgettable list of those he’d dated and dumped.
No, she wanted to be much more to him than a fling he had while on an assignment, one that he would move on from and soon forget.
The truth was, she wanted everything from him—the whole big picture with love, marriage, and a future together.
If he wasn’t ready for that, then she couldn’t start a relationship with him.
Even if he was ready, they would have to discuss how they could make things work. They could find a way, couldn’t they?
As he halted, she was the one to break their kiss this time. Even though she was still clinging to him, had her arms and legs wrapped around him, she pulled back enough to see his face.
His handsome features were taut with desire, and his eyes were smoldering dark pools.
“We aren’t pretending anymore, are we, Dustin?”