Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Holt
Idrag a hand through my hair and work hard to slow my breath and school my expression, but I don’t know how convincing I look as I reach the front door. I glance around the cabin, quick to make sure we haven’t left any evidence of…us.
But the whole place is evidence of us.
The couch where I fucked her for the first time.
The kitchen counter where she would sit and talk to me while I cooked, sneaking bites of veggies.
The dining table where I laid her out and ate her pussy for dessert.
The bedroom where…
I shake my head in an effort to clear it and pull the door open before Luke can bang on it again.
“There he is,” Luke says, stepping inside, clapping a hand on my shoulder as he walks past me. “I was beginning to think you’d gone missing.”
“Sorry,” I say. “Slept in.”
“You?” Luke raises his brows. “You don’t sleep,” he says. “And you definitely don’t sleep in.”
I shrug, hoping it looks more casual than it feels because there is no way I’m going to explain that having his little girl wrapped around me all night after I’ve spilled my seed into her sweet pussy has a sedative effect on me.
“Roads all clear?” I ask instead.
Luke nods and shrugs out of his jacket. “All good,” he says. “There were a few spots where washouts had to be fixed, but they’re all dry now at least. Must have been a big one.”
“It was.” I move into the kitchen to start some coffee. “You’re earlier than we expected. Tessa said you’d be here later this afternoon.”
“Meetings wrapped up early,” he says, following me into the kitchen. “Thought I’d surprise my little girl.”
I wince at the stark reminder of exactly who Tessa is to him. “Right. Well, I’m sure she’ll be surprised when she wakes up.”
He turns to look around the cabin. His gaze lingers on my bedroom door a second longer than it should. Or maybe it’s my imagination. “She’s still sleeping?”
I nod. “I gave her my room.” I don’t meet his gaze while I scoop grounds into the filter. “Better than the old cot.”
“Thanks.” He grunts his approval. “For taking care of her for me. When she called to say she was in town…” He blows a low whistle. “I don’t want to think what might have happened if you hadn’t been here.”
It’s a damn good thing he doesn’t know what happened because I was here.
And he never will.
“It’s all good. You know I got you, brother.”
He clasps his hand on my shoulder, and I finally turn. The gratitude is all over his face, and it hits me hard. We are brothers. We literally went to war for each other. Would do anything for each other, and I just…
I’m the biggest asshole who ever lived. I can’t just stand here and—
“Dad!”
We both spin at the sound of her voice. I watch my best friend’s face light up as she appears, fresh out of the shower, dressed in her own clothes—my shirt noticeably absent—her hair still damp at the edges, looking like she didn’t just have my hands all over her minutes ago.
He pulls her into a hug, and I step back instinctively, creating space I sure as hell didn’t want earlier.
Watching Luke embrace his daughter drives something sharp through me. I’d been about to—what? Tell him? That would have been a dick move, and I know it. If Luke found out what’s been going on for the last few days, it would destroy him. That won’t be good for anyone.
Besides. She’s leaving. It’s not like we were ever going to be anything.
It might kill me to keep quiet, but that’s on me. I won’t do anyone any good by admitting the truth only to make myself feel better.
Tessa
It’s weird seeing them together.
Not wrong. Just weird.
My dad and my lover.
My dad’s just standing in the cabin like he belongs there. And maybe he does. At least more than I do. After all, he’s been Holt’s best friend since before I was born.
And Holt is next to him as if nothing has changed.
Like he didn’t just have me beneath him, his fingers inside me, less than an hour ago.
I should feel guilty.
I don’t.
If anything, the sight of Holt in his jeans and worn T-shirt, coffee mug in hand, looking unfairly hot, only reminds me how right everything between us has felt.
But the three of us in this room together, my dad’s arms around me—makes it feel like something is wildly out of place.
Dad pulls back from our hug and holds me at arm’s length. “You look good, kiddo.” He brushes the damp hair from my face. “So grown up.”
Behind us, Holt chokes on a cough.
Oh? That’s interesting. And I can definitely work with that.
I step back and pull my damp hair over one shoulder. “I guess the mountain air agrees with me.” I spin to face Holt, who’s pretending to be busy with something but looks up as soon as I turn. “Don’t you think?”
He grunts in response. “Maybe I should stay here a bit longer.” I look back at Dad.
Again, Holt smothers his choke with a cough, and I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing. I have to admit, messing with him is kind of fun.
But it’s my dad who comments. “Here? Kiddo, you’d last a week.”
“Oh, please,” I say, stepping further into the kitchen like I own it. “I’ve been thriving here.” I reach past Holt into the fridge, brushing my chest against his arm. He stiffens with the brief touch. “Haven’t I, Holt?” I ask with an innocent flutter of my lashes.
He shoots me a warning look.
I ignore it, grab the cream from the top shelf, and step back. “Actually,” I continue sweetly, “Holt’s been taking very good care of me.”
Dad pulls out a chair at the table and sits. “I know he has. I wouldn’t trust anyone else.”
Holt’s jaw tightens a little. I can’t help myself. I push.
“So, what’s for breakfast?” I ask, hopping up on the counter just like I would have the day before, swinging my legs.
“You’re hungry?” Holt doesn’t look at me when he asks.
“I’m always hungry,” I say lightly. “You know that.”
My dad coughs. “You two seem like you got to know each other pretty well.”
“No.”
“We did.”
Both Holt and I respond at the same time, and Dad looks between us, confusion lining his face.
“Okay,” he says slowly. “I have a car full of groceries, kiddo. Why don’t we give Holt his space? I’ll take you home?”
Home.
I’ve never even been to my father’s cabin, but in only a few short days, Holt’s cabin does feel like home.
“That’s a good idea,” Holt says before I can recover. “I have a lot of work to catch up on.”
“Of course.” Dad stands and shoves the chair back under the table. “We’ve imposed on you long enough. Go grab your things, Tessa, and we’ll let Holt get back to his life.”
His life. Is that what he wants to get back to? His life? Without me?
I stare at him a beat longer than I probably should, willing him to turn to me and tell me not to go. To pull me into his arms and tell me that he doesn’t want me to go. That he wants me to stay right here, in his cabin with him, where finally both of us feel more ourselves than we have in years.
Instead, he crosses his arms over his chest, takes a step back, and says, “Good idea. You’ll want to spend as much time with her before she leaves.”
“Leaves?”
Dammit.
“Tessa? Are you going somewhere?”
I growl under my breath and try to catch Holt’s eye to glare at him, but he’s purposely focused on my father.
“Oh yeah,” Holt says casually. “Tessa has big plans to go traveling,” he continues, and I’m about ready to murder him. This is not how I wanted to tell him. Holt knows that.
“Is that right?” My father looks at me with a tilt of his head. “Sounds like we have lots to talk about, kiddo.”
Something about the way he says it makes me feel like a child again. I can’t look at Holt as I nod and hop down from the counter. “We sure do,” I say as lightly as I can.
I make sure to swing my hips as I walk from the kitchen into the living room and spin around, giving both men my brightest smile.
“Good thing I don’t get attached too easily.
” I shoot the tiniest little wink in Holt’s direction, no longer caring if my dad notices.
“I’ll go pack before I’m tempted to change my mind. ”