Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
“Callahan! You in there?”
Lily jolted awake at the sharp crack of fists against the cabin door.
Riggs let out a single, piercing bark before bounding toward it, his tail wagging like they had company he recognized.
A quick glance out the window showed that the snow had stopped.
It was midmorning, at least, based on the brightness.
She exhaled, relaxing just a little as she gathered her wits about her. Surely Cujo wouldn’t greet a serial killer with that much enthusiasm. The dog was way too grumpy for that. Whoever was outside, Riggs knew them.
“Who’s—” Her voice was husky with sleep as she sat up, yanking the quilt up when it slipped and exposed her bare breasts to the cold cabin.
She peeked over the side of the bed, searching for something to wear, only to freeze when her body protested.
She was deliciously, thoroughly sore, her skin still tingling from Rush’s hands, his mouth, the way he’d pressed her into the mattress.
Against his mouth.
Straddling him—
Oh God.
Her brain played an explicit highlight reel she definitely hadn’t asked for, flashing hot and unfiltered, as heat flooded her cheeks. She pressed her hands to her burning face.
She hadn’t—
That wasn’t—
The mattress shifted abruptly, and her gaze snapped to Rush. Oh, she did, and it had.
He was already up, looking enticingly rumpled and sexy with his dark hair and scruff shadowing his jaw, standing at the edge of the bed.
She watched covertly as he tugged on his jeans, leaving them unbuttoned enough to see the hint of gorgeous hip bones and dark, curly hair rising from the open fly.
The hard muscles in his thighs she’d rubbed all over.
That seriously gorgeous butt that she had a strange desire to sink her teeth into.
He snapped his jeans closed with a sharp flick, and she flopped back on the bed with a sigh. For a split second, she thought he might turn around and give her that wicked smirk that made her toes curl, maybe even haul her back under the covers for round—what was it? Three? Four?
The first time had been wild and mind-blowingly hot, the next slower and more relaxed, and finally, the last time, Rush had reached for her in the early hours of the morning and sunk into her from behind, all sleepy and warm.
They had rocked lazily like that, with her still slick and hot from him.
She’d come more times in one night than she had in the last six months.
She wanted to high-five herself. She’d totally had sex with Sheriff Sexy. Wait until Evie found out. Her sister would be so proud.
“Friends of yours?” she asked lightly, wondering how he managed to look so good while she was certain her hair had crossed into Medusa territory. She offered him a smile, but when his eyes met hers, all traces of the man she had known so very intimately the night before were gone.
Rush’s eyes were clear and impersonal, like last night hadn’t left a single mark on him, when she could clearly see the scratches on his back from where she sat.
She let that sink in for a split second. She was the kind of woman who left scratches on a man’s back after a night of crazy, no-holds-barred sex? Shocking.
But also… a little thrilling.
New Lily was definitely the kind of woman who did things like that.
Clearly, Rush was back in Sheriff Callahan mode, and she was going to put her game face on too. She straightened her shoulders and ignored the tiny bit of disappointment that snuck its way into her new, strong, confident self.
“Here, put this on.” Rush tossed her something soft. His flannel and sweatpants. The same ones he’d watched her strip off the night before.
Another loud bang rattled the door. “Rush! You alive in there?” A deep, teasing voice called through the wood, followed by a round of laughter. “Wake the fuck up!”
Rush was already across the room, yanking on his sweatshirt, scanning the room with a scowl on his face. With one hand on the door, he shot Lily a glance. “You decent?”
Okay, he was maybe a little better at being casual than she was. She was new to this.
She tried to catch his eye to offer a smile, but he turned away before she could, pulling the door open in one swift motion.
A blast of icy air swept in, along with three broad-shouldered men who looked half-frozen.
They were all dressed in some variation of the same uniform—ski parkas, snow pants, hats, gloves—coated in a dusting of snow.
One of them stepped forward and did that manly back-clap thing that men did to Rush’s back. “Good to see your face, Callahan. We found your truck half-buried down the mountain. Thought the snow took you out.” He flashed an easy grin at Rush, who returned it.
So he did remember how to smile.
Lily tilted her head. She didn’t know much about Rush outside of the cabin, but from what she’d seen of him around town, he wasn’t big on smiling.
Anytime she’d run into him, he’d had the same stoic, professional expression on his face, yet here he was, standing relaxed and looking at ease.
Riggs was practically vibrating with excitement, wagging his tail at the men’s feet like they were long-lost friends.
Rush ran a hand through his hair and cleared his throat. “Figured one of you would find us when the snow melted.”
At the word “us,” three pairs of eyes swung toward the bed.
Lily felt the blood rush to her cheeks. She already knew how she looked. Her swollen lips and tangled hair. The pink skin where Rush’s beard marked her last night.
One bed. One very obvious conclusion.
Oh well. No one could really know what had happened.
She could brazen this out, just as she would when she got back home and faced her family.
She grinned charmingly and channeled her inner goddess.
No big deal. Nothing to see here. Just two mature adults who shared a tiny cabin platonically and had absolutely not seen each other naked.
A beat of silence stretched around them until one of the men, the youngest of the three, stepped forward then stopped abruptly and lifted his eyes. “What the hell is that?”
He reached up and plucked something from the deer head mounted above the door.
Oh hell.
Lily’s very risqué, very lacy merry widow dangled from his fingers. The one she’d thrown over the creepy deer’s glassy eyes last night.
He held it up, frowning in confusion. Lily watched with a sense of inevitability as the men realized what it was. The room went awkwardly silent.
So much for platonic…
Rush crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. “Got something to say, Ian?”
Ian, dark-haired and wearing a cocky-as-hell grin, obviously enjoying himself, twirled the lace between his fingers and let out a low whistle. “Not a damn thing,” Ian replied, smirking. His blue eyes sparkled with mischief as he glanced at Lily, and she couldn’t help but smile back.
Rush stepped forward, that no-nonsense, bossy sheriff look on his face, and plucked the lacy scrap out of Ian’s hand, folded it, and slipped it into his back pocket.
Lily held her head high when she got out of bed. She had wanted new experiences, she reminded herself sternly. The metaphorical walk of shame was apparently one of them.
The three men, all dark haired and rough hewn like they’d been carved straight out of the Adirondacks, exchanged a look and seemed to reach some silent consensus.
Broad chests, big frames, and those ruggedly handsome faces under their hats—Lily could practically feel the testosterone humming off them.
And every one of them flicked their gaze between her and Rush with way too much knowing amusement.
Another of the men stepped forward. He had the same night-dark hair as the other two men, but his eyes were more watchful and serious.
He gave her a sharp, assessing look as he took off his glove and held out his hand.
“Sorry to interrupt. I’m Gage MacKenna, and these are my brothers, Ian and Connor.
We live up the mountain on Autumn Ridge. ”
Connor clapped Rush on the shoulder, the embroidered patch that read Park Ranger on his parka catching in the sunlight. Beneath his hat, dark-blue eyes crinkled warmly at the corners as he smiled at her.
“The storm took out most of the mountain’s power,” Connor said. “The roads are still bad, but we brought the snowmobiles if you need a ride on the trails.”
Rush didn’t hesitate. “Yeah. You can give her a ride to the lodge.” He shot Lily a quick, unreadable look. “You’ll be able to get a ride from there.”
It wasn’t a question, but Lily nodded even as her stomach dropped. Just like that, it was over. Even though she knew it was coming, it still hit her like missing a step in the dark.
Rush was already moving, gathering their things with quick, effective movements. He was back to being a remote, distant sheriff. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it was.
Lily might not have much experience, but she wasn’t na?ve enough to believe this could be real—at least not beyond the cozy bubble of the cabin.
This had been a weekend straight out of her wildest fantasies, a chance to forget who she was and be seen as someone brave enough to chase what she wanted.
But reality was hitting hard, and the bubble had popped when Rush opened the door.
She knew from the start that what happened between them this weekend wasn’t meant to last. Of course she did.
Lily stayed quiet while she picked up what was left of her dress. Her chest was strangely heavy, an ache that she hated curling behind her ribs.