Chapter 11 #4
Her eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head. “Don’t. I’m okay with having a fling with you, because my entire life I’ve dreamed of you looking at me the way you are right now. But don’t lead me on. Don’t let me think this can be something permanent.”
Brick frowned. It seemed unfathomable this woman didn’t know her own worth. But he had plenty of time to make her see it. “Okay,” he agreed quietly.
He had no intention of letting her out of his bed, ever, now that she was in it. But if she needed the reassurance that he would tell her if he wanted out of the relationship, he’d give it to her. He had no plans of ending anything. She’d realize that eventually.
“How about a kiss to seal the deal?” he said as he lowered his head. He didn’t give her a chance to agree or disagree.
She clearly wouldn’t deny him. In fact, she went up on her tiptoes and kissed him back just as passionately.
Brick felt more energized than he had in years. He’d been excited when The Refuge opened, but having Alaska agree to be his felt as if it opened up possibilities he’d never dreamed of.
They were both breathing hard again when he pulled back a second time.
“Now, can we talk about how the hell you know how to use our computer system?” he asked, doing his best to ignore the way her breasts filled out her blouse—and how badly he wanted to drag her down the hallway to the bed they shared every night.
“It’s not that hard,” she said with a shrug.
“It took Becky two weeks just to learn how to check people in and out.”
She frowned. “It did?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. Well, the system is a lot like one I used when I worked in France. And the phone is exactly like one I used back in Finland. There are minor differences, of course, but I took ten minutes and clicked around in the system and figured out how to do the easy stuff. Reports usually take me a bit longer to learn.”
“So…Becky quit. It’ll take us a while to find someone to replace her. Will you—”
“Yes,” she said, not letting him finish.
“You don’t know what I was going to say,” he replied with a grin.
“If you were going to ask me if I would help out, the answer’s yes,” she told him.
“Thank God. I can’t tell you how much we all hate working the desk. And we’re not that good at it either.”
“I doubt that. All the guests I’ve met have loved you guys.”
“That’s because we aren’t trying to work the computer,” he said with a grin. “And I’ll talk to the others about the prices of the rooms. And the donation button is a great idea. We’ll pay you, of course.”
Alaska was already shaking her head. “I’ve been staying here free for two weeks. I don’t need money.”
“Yes, you’ve been here as my guest—and you’ll continue to stay as my guest,” he added firmly. “This isn’t negotiable. If you do admin work for us, you’ll get paid.”
“All right,” she agreed quietly.
“And you’ll only work four hours a day.”
“But, Drake—”
“I mean it. You’re here to heal, not work like a dog,” he said sternly. “I’m thinking you can get what needs to be done in that amount of time. I’m guessing you’re twice as efficient as Becky was, anyway.”
“What about guests who need to check in late?” she asked.
“I’ll get Tiny to handle that. He’s our go-to guy when it comes to the late arrivals.”
“Okay.”
“Okay,” Brick agreed. His eyes raked over her face.
“What?” she asked, a blush forming on her cheeks.
“I’m just still pinching myself that you’re really here. Ever since we reconnected in Germany, I’ve thought about you constantly. Felt as if I was missing something. You, Alaska. I was missing you.”
She pressed her lips together tightly and he saw tears form in her eyes.
“Don’t cry,” he ordered. “I can’t handle when you cry.”
“They’re good tears.”
“Even so. I’m not going to fuck this up,” he said, more to himself than her.
“I’m going to do my best not to either,” she said.
“Right. So…you think there’re any of those cookies left?”
Alaska smiled. “Well, I made sure to nab a few. They should still be at the desk—unless Owl’s found and eaten them all by now. But I’m guessing Robert wouldn’t mind making another batch if I asked him to.”
“It doesn’t surprise me in the least that you’ve got Robert wrapped around your little finger.” Brick kissed her once more. A short, hard kiss, then twined his fingers with hers and turned toward the door.
They were halfway back to the lodge when she asked hesitantly, “Is this weird, Drake?”
“No,” he answered without having to think about it. “I like you, you like me, we’re already sleeping together…what’s weird about it?”
To his relief, she giggled. “Right. What could possibly be weird about this?” she asked rhetorically.
When they stepped back into the lodge, it was obvious Owl had filled in the others on what had happened. Everyone profusely thanked Alaska for her help.
Spike eyed their clasped hands and raised an eyebrow. Brick figured it was best to address that now.
“Alaska and I are dating,” he said baldly. “She’s also willing to take over the admin stuff until we can hire someone, but only four hours a day. Tiny, if you can manage the late check-ins, I think we’ll be good.”
“What about the July Fourth reservations?” Stone asked.
“If Owl can stay on the desk, I’ll check the messages and start returning calls,” Alaska said.
“Deal,” all the guys said at once.
“We hate the phone,” Pipe added with a grimace.
“Alaska’s had some suggestions I think we should consider, as well,” Brick told his friends.
“It’s nothing that needs to happen immediately,” she protested.
“Color me curious,” Spike said.
“Me too,” Owl agreed.
“We can discuss them when we get back together to talk about the meeting we had this morning,” Pipe suggested.
Everyone nodded their approval and began to wander off. Tonka had apparently already escaped to the barn.
“You sure you’re good?” Brick asked her.
“Yeah. If I have any questions, I’ll ask Owl,” she reassured him.
“It’s weird to be both pissed off and thankful for that day so long ago,” Brick said quietly, referring to when he’d gotten hurt and his teammates had been killed.
“Drake,” Alaska protested softly.
“I’m gonna go talk to Robert, make sure he’s good,” he said, not letting her dwell on his words. “I’ll bring you some cookies later.”
“Thanks.”
Brick was equally thankful, but not surprised, that his friends hadn’t said a word about his and Alaska’s updated relationship status.
He’d caught their questioning and speculative glances over the last two weeks, but he hadn’t explained his decision to move her into his cabin, beyond reiterating that they were friends.
Their non-reaction over his declaration was as good as an approval.
He leaned in and kissed her on the lips before squeezing her hand and heading toward the kitchen. It felt incredible to be able to kiss her the way he’d longed to for days now. He’d be an idiot to let Alaska slip through his fingers—and he was anything but an idiot.
Smiling, and feeling lighter than he had in a long while, Brick went in search of more cookies.
Yong Chen smiled as he stared at the blank screen on his computer. He’d spent the last few hours lying his ass off, and he felt really good about his progress. He was getting closer to getting what he wanted.
His new plan was even more exciting than his original one.
Yes, having his plaything already with him in China so he could break her, sell her to his faithful clients, would’ve been preferable.
But snatching her right out from under the nose of the man who’d saved her would be even better.
Because of his vast connections on the dark web, he already had over a dozen men in the US interested in taking a turn with his acquisition… after he’d had his turn, of course.
He would take the bitch to California and spend a few weeks with her there. A friend he’d met years ago, who had similar sexual interests, had offered his basement playroom. He already had a soundproof setup with restraints and every conceivable device Yong might need to…play.
When he was done, when she fully understood she hadn’t escaped her fate after all, he’d pocket the money he’d make from renting her out—much more than he’d paid for her in the first place—and head back to China.
He had a new girl on order. He’d return home just in time to collect her.
His clients in Beijing would be disappointed they hadn’t gotten to play with the American they were promised, but he had a feeling they’d like the next one even better…she was younger, slimmer, and had natural blonde hair. A novelty in China.
Smiling, Yong stood and adjusted his cock in his pants. Soon. His time was coming soon.