Chapter Six Gideon #2
But I’m not handsy with women. I’m not flirty. That’s all Ryker. He can charm the pants off a pineapple.
I tend to scare people away.
Maybe I just need to get laid and work off some steam.
Shaking my head, I lean my palm on the tile and fist my aching cock as visions of Lena stripping out of her shirt fill my mind. She had a simple white bra on that cupped her tits perfectly. She’s all soft, smooth skin and lean muscle and fuck.
I pump my fist quickly and grunt when the orgasm moves through me, then pull the nozzle off the wall and wash the cum down the drain.
Thirty minutes later, dressed in clean cargo pants and a T-shirt, I walk downstairs and find Lena outside sitting on the steps, staring at the mountains. Her reaction to the view this morning didn’t surprise me. It still knocks me on my ass every day.
“I’m going to sketch it,” she says, not looking my way, as I step out with her. “Probably over and over again. Do you mind tracking my order for me?”
“I don’t mind.” I pull out my phone and check my email. “Looks like two more days and it’ll be here.”
She nods. “Do you have regular paper and pencils here?”
Frowning, I sit next to her, just like this morning, sure to keep my distance from her.
“Yeah, I have those. You can have them.”
“Thanks.”
Feeling her gaze on me, I glance her way, and before I realize what I’m doing, I tuck her hair behind her ear.
Keep your hands to yourself, James.
“Sorry I snapped at you,” she says softly.
“No, you’re not.”
Those lips tip up into a soft smile. “Not really, but I don’t want to make you mad.”
“Why not?”
A line appears between her brows. “What do you mean?”
“Why don’t you want to piss me off? It never bothered you before. You pushed my buttons every chance you got.”
She takes a deep breath and turns her gaze back to the mountains. “That’s not true. It’s always bothered me, but I’m not good at saying no.”
As Lena falls silent, a bald eagle flies overhead, dips down to the surface of the lake, and then pulls up with a fish caught in its talons.
“Wow.” Lena gasps, her eyes pinned to the bird as it flies away, probably to its nest in the woods. “Holy shit, that was cool.”
“We should get over to the farmhouse for breakfast.”
I stand and hold out my hand, which she takes, and I pull her to her feet. She doesn’t flinch, but she’s careful when she walks down the steps.
“We’re taking the ATV.” I point to the four-wheeler sitting next to the garage. “Hop on.”
“Would you take this if I wasn’t here?”
“No, I’d walk.”
“Then let’s walk.”
“Get on, Rebel.”
“Why have you started calling me that?”
I always called her that in my head, but I could never say it out loud.
“Because you’re stubborn as fuck and you don’t do what you’re told. Let’s go.”
I get on, and she slides on behind me, and I immediately regret my life choices. Because for the second time in one day, Lena has her front pressed to me, and she rests her cheek in the center of my back.
It’s intimate.
It’s too fucking much.
So I hop off and grip her by the hips, scooting her forward.
“This is the gas,” I tell her. “This is the brake. It’s easy to steer, and you don’t have to shift gears. I’ll meet you there.”
“I can—”
“Go.” I take off at a jog, not glancing back to see if she’s going to drive the stupid thing. If she gets off and goes inside, I don’t care. I’ll tell Willow that Lena was tired or not feeling well.
But the engine revs, and a few seconds later, she comes inching up next to me.
She doesn’t pull away from me, keeping pace as I run faster than she ever could, stretching my muscles and lungs, finally getting a good workout in for the day, even if it is a short half a mile.
When we reach the farmhouse, I cut the engine on the four-wheeler, and Lena hops off, frowning at me.
“Were you trying to make me feel like shit?”
“About what?”
“About how fast I can’t run. Jesus, who are you, Captain America?”
I can’t help but laugh at that, and Lena’s face softens as she laughs with me, breaking the tension between us.
“I can’t do that with you,” she says, shaking her head sadly. “Not even once I get used to the altitude.”
“I have longer legs than you.”
“Yeah, and you must take your Flintstones vitamins too.”
Lips twitching, I gesture for her to climb the stairs to the front door. “I take two a day.”
“I knew it.”
I open the door and find Willow already walking our way.
She’s not smiling.
Fuck, this could be bad.
“Hello, I’m—” Lena begins, but Willow cuts her off.
“Lena,” Willow finishes for her. She actually takes Lena’s offered hand, which surprises me. But she must squeeze it hard, because Lena gives her hand a little shake after Willow lets go, and looks up at me with wide eyes.
Fuck.
Ryker walks up behind Willow, his face grim, and he shakes his head. Aiden’s watching with a blank face from the living room.
“You have a lovely home,” Lena says. I can tell that she’s nervous, and I wish Wills would smile and put Lena at ease, the way I know she normally would.
But she doesn’t.
No smile. No warm welcome.
Fuck.
“Would you like something to drink?” Willow asks and turns to lead us all to the kitchen.
“Oh, I’d love some water, thanks.”
“Gid?” she asks and finally smiles at me.
“I’m okay.”
With a nod, Willow pulls a bottle of water from the fridge and offers it to Lena, who takes it but doesn’t open it right away. She sets it on the island and shifts on her feet.
“You can have a seat,” I tell her, gesturing to the stool, but she shakes her head and stays standing. Her whole body is tense. She doesn’t want to be here.
And based on the lack of welcome from the woman I consider my sister, I can’t blame her.
“What do you think of the ranch so far, Lena?” Ryker asks, cutting through the tension in the room.
“It’s so beautiful,” Lena says with a smile. “The mountains take my breath away. That and the altitude. I’m adjusting to that. I had no idea that Gideon had a place in Montana, let alone a gorgeous ranch like this—”
“Why would you know that?” Willow asks, and I see anger in her cheeks.
Shit.
“Trouble—”
“Why would you think that you’d know anything about him? All you ever were was a pain in his ass, making him work harder than he needed to, pulling him away from his family.”
“Wills—”
“You’re the little girl who hurt my guy,” Willow continues, and Lena’s entire body stiffens, her face goes white, and I step in front of her, blocking her from Willow’s wrath. Lena’s hands bunch into the back of my T-shirt, and then she pulls back.
“No.” My voice is granite. “You won’t speak to her like that, baby girl.”
“She’s in my house, and I’ll—”
I hear footsteps, the front door opens and then closes behind me, the engine of the four-wheeler starts, and I look out the window to see Lena headed back to my place, the wind whipping through her dark hair.
“You’re out of fucking line,” I say to Willow. “Don’t ever do that again.”
I turn to follow Lena, but Willow grabs my arm.
“Gid—”
“You know, I love you,” I tell her, pulling away from her.
I’m so frustrated with her. What the fuck does she think she just proved?
“And you’ve been with me through a lot of shit.
I don’t know where you ever got it in that head of yours that what happened to my leg was Lena’s fault. I never said or implied that.”
“You were protecting her, and—”
“Yeah. I was protecting her. She didn’t fire that gun.
She didn’t do anything except have the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But the thing that disappoints me the most is, I’ve never heard you speak like that to anyone.
Never. You invited us over here so you could put her in her place and bully the fuck out of her, but all you did was piss me off. ”
“Gid—”
Shaking my head, I ignore Ryker and run back to the house. The ATV is sitting by the back door, and I expect to find Lena upset in her bedroom.
Instead, I find her vacuuming the living room.
And she’s singing at the top of her lungs.
Badly.