Chapter 13 #2
Something in her expression softened. She leaned back into him, fitting herself there like it was instinct. “That’s good,” she said. “I like having you here.”
Milo swallowed. So do I , he thought, but kept that to himself.
As the song faded and applause rose around them, he didn’t rush to pull away. Neither did she. They stayed there a moment longer, suspended between what was and what was coming, letting the night hold them.
Whatever this was, it wasn’t fragile because it was new.
It was fragile because it mattered.
And soon it would just be a memory.
Thankfully, another slow ballad began to play, and they simply picked up where they left off. He was savoring the feel of her in his arms, loving the warmth of her skin, the scent of her perfume, and the way she fit perfectly against him.
Her hand rested at the back of his neck, her thumb brushing there once, absent and affectionate. It wasn’t a grand gesture. It was just comforting.
He looked down at her—really looked at the way her lashes cast faint shadows under her eyes and the soft curve of her mouth like she was perpetually on the edge of a smile. She felt steady in his arms, like something his body had already decided to trust long before his brain caught up.
I love you.
The words rose fully formed, calm and certain.
They scared the hell out of him.
Because love meant risk, distance, and timing that didn’t line up neatly. Love meant he could already picture the quiet ache of an empty condo in Seattle, the way his phone would feel heavier in his hand when her name popped up instead of her voice filling the room.
Love meant this wasn’t temporary to him.
He pressed his lips to her temple instead, brief and careful, like he was sealing the words away beneath the gesture. She shifted closer in response, as if she felt it anyway, as if some part of her understood what he hadn’t said.
“Hey,” she murmured, barely audible over the music.
“Hey,” he replied, his voice steady despite the riot under his ribs.
If he said it now, it would change things—make them bigger, brighter, more dangerous.
So he didn’t.
But when that song ended and they stepped back into the soft chaos of the reception, Milo knew one thing with startling clarity: He wasn’t falling anymore.
He was already there.
Two days later, Nora was heading back to her cabin after a long day.
She’d taken an intermediate group out on a hike, and it had been brutal thanks to a few really unpleasant guests.
She’d spent the last thirty minutes ranting to Slater about them because she had been holding all her frustration in for the last three hours.
They had a code word for situations like this: dragonfly.
She’d texted that word to Slater and said it a grand total of eighteen times over their walkie-talkies by the time the hike was over. Naturally, he’d calmed her down while she wrote up her report, but she was seriously getting tired of all the bad behavior.
In all of her previous jobs, she’d deal with unwanted advances and guys doing really inappropriate things. But here it was different; it was just general bad behavior, like people being unruly, not following instructions, getting belligerent…
It was days like this that made her want to tell Slater, “Thanks but no thanks,” and take Milo up on his offer to go to Seattle with him.
But she wasn’t a quitter. Today was just a bad day, and she was going to be fine once she could go and relax and have a quiet night in. The last thing she wanted was to eat out at the restaurant and risk running into anyone from today’s group.
Stomping up the porch steps, she found a note taped to her door.
Pack an overnight bag. I’ll be there at 5:30. xoxo
“What the…?” She glanced around, but there was no sign of him. Still, her heart did a little happy dance that they were getting away for the night.
At least…that’s the way she was taking it.
Ripping the note down, she stepped into the cabin and immediately sprang into action.
After taking a quick shower, she tossed a change of clothes, her robe, and her toiletry bag into her weekender tote.
Then she made sure she moisturized every inch of her body before getting dressed.
She had barely finished when Milo was knocking on her door.
Breathlessly, she opened it, smiling. “Hey! Come on in. I’m just about ready.”
“No rush. Take your time,” he said before sitting down on the couch.
Nora walked around grabbing everything, and when she thought she had it all, she dropped her bag on the coffee table and looked at him expectantly. “So? Where are we going?”
“Well, I heard you had a real dragonfly of a day,” he said with a grin. “And I booked us a suite up at the lodge.”
“Oh.” It wasn’t that she was disappointed, but…it would have been awesome for them to go somewhere that wasn’t here.
He was instantly on his feet. “We can go somewhere else if you’d like. I just know that it’s late and you’ve worked a long day, and I arranged for a suite with a big soaker tub, room service, and for you to have tomorrow morning off. But we can…”
She held up a hand to stop him. “Actually, that sounds perfect. I just didn’t want to run into anyone from today’s hike. Or any guests,” she added with a weary sigh. “They really took it out of me today.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll go in the back way and up in the utility elevator if you’d like. With any luck, the only people we’ll see are the staff.”
“Really? That’s possible?”
“Absolutely.” He picked up her bag. “Let’s go.”
With her hand in his, she followed him out the door. “What about your stuff?”
“Already up in the room.”
“Aww…”
“I’m really sorry about your day.”
“Don’t be. People are just jerks sometimes. And the whole group wasn’t awful. Just half of them.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Why didn’t anyone come to help you? I mean…you clearly messaged Slater about the situation. Why isn’t there a policy in place about this sort of thing? Or why is it only one guide per group? It doesn’t sound safe.”
“Most of the time, it totally is. And as for why Slater didn’t come and help, it would have taken him way too long to catch up with us.
I sent him the first message an hour into the hike.
He wouldn’t have left right away, so he would have been an hour and fifteen behind us.
Just like the day I came to find you, it would mean practically jogging up the mountain. ”
“Still, the situation could have been dangerous, and no one was there to help you. I don’t like it,” he said, and he actually sounded angry about it.
The problem was, Nora wasn’t sure if she thought it was sweet or insulting.
“It’s something to consider moving forward, but…can we just…not talk about this? All I want is a nice, quiet evening to relax. Is that okay?”
Raising her hand to his lips, he kissed it. “It is, and I’m sorry. I never should have brought it up. The rest of the night is all about making you feel good.”
And yeah, the sexy statement matched his gruff tone and intense gaze.
“Mmm…I like the sound of that.”
“Good.”
They made their way through the back entrance—walking through the kitchen and down an employee-only hallway that took them to a service elevator.
“I didn’t even know this was back here,” she told him, giggling at how they were sneaking around. Beside her, she could feel the tension rolling off his body. But that was okay; she was so excited about the whole thing that her own body was trembling.
When the doors opened, she was relieved to see they were alone.
Tugging her inside, Milo pressed the button for the top floor, pulled her into his arms, and crushed his mouth to hers.
The feel and taste of him were so familiar, and yet every time they found themselves like this, she was intoxicated.
Wrapping her arms around him, her lips opened and her tongue darted out to mate with his, all wild and untamed need.
Milo turned her so her back was against the wall, rubbing against her in the most carnal way.
And because she was feeling naughty, she slid her hand between them and slid down his abs and then lower, stroking his arousal.
He practically jumped away from her, and she felt empowered.
At this point, she wasn’t sure they’d even make it to their suite.
If it were up to her, she’d stop the elevator and let him take her right here, right now, in the elevator, against the wall.
But when the bell chimed, signaling their arrival, they both nearly sagged with relief when they realized it was their floor and no employees were waiting outside the elevator doors.
It was torture to move away from him, but she knew the sooner they got to the suite, the sooner they could resume what they’d started.
Taking her by the hand again, Milo led her down the hall, and in no time at all, he had the door open and they were inside.
He pinned Nora up against the back of the door and lifted her until she wrapped her legs around his waist. His mouth was back on hers, and Nora raked her hand through his hair, making him moan low and oh-so-sexily right into her mouth.
“I can’t wait,” he said breathlessly as he lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “The bed. Now.”
Nodding eagerly, she agreed. “Yes, please,” she said and trailed kisses along his jaw and his throat. “Hurry.”
In the blink of an eye, she was airborne before bouncing lightly on the mattress.
She kicked her shoes off as Milo peeled his shirt up and over his head.
They held each other’s gazes as they stripped, and there wasn’t anything sexy about it; it was clumsy and fast. But when he covered her body with his, she swore she saw heaven.
She knew this wasn’t part of his plan, knew he probably had everything mapped out and on a schedule, but some things couldn’t wait.
And with all the breathy sighs and satisfied moans, she didn’t think he’d mind.
She sure as hell didn’t.
“Mmm…sexy bath time, oh how I’ve missed you.”