“Tell me what Russ said to you.”
We walk back to the waiting truck as he recounts the night he left me alone. How Russ threatened to expose him, not only to my parents but to his as well. He told me how he didn’t want to risk either of us getting in trouble, and he didn’t want to make matters worse. The more he tells me, the more his shoulders hunch. Talking about this is taking a toll on him.
“I knew you were getting close to Russ, and I didn’t want you to think I was saying shit just to say shit. I wanted you to make up your own mind about him, and I hoped, one day, we would be able to talk again. When I was ready, you had already blocked me, and I had no way to get in touch with you.
He takes a deep breath and looks at his feet in shame. “I got to see every desperate message you sent to me, begging me to answer you. It broke my heart, knowing I did that to you—caused you pain.”
When we get back, Kasey and Maddie have filed into the truck, and I hop in, sitting across from them. I think about everything Tristan just unloaded on me. As the truck jerks forward and I’m jostled in the back, I can’t help but think of what could have been if he would have just talked to me.
Would we have crashed and burned? Maybe. But things also could have worked out for us. All I know is there has never been another man who has made me feel anything like what Tristan makes me feel. And that thought scares me.
Chapter 6
Tristan
Igive Kasey a hug and swoop Maddie up into my arms, blowing a raspberry on her cheek. She giggles and wiggles around. “Be good for your mom, peanut.” I place her on her feet, and she reaches her tiny fingers up for Kasey’s.
“She’ll come around. Give her some space and keep trying,” Kasey says as she walks back to her car with Maddie in tow.
Lana took off toward her cabin the moment I dropped the hatch and she could scramble out. I know she needs some space right now, and I want to give it to her, but she’s also here for a job. I need to see her designs. I’m a selfish asshole and can use that as my excuse to make her talk to me. I push my fingers through my hair and huff out a breath.
I lock eyes with Holden and hold back a snarl. I want to yell at him; he deserves it. I’m still pissed he didn’t tell me he’s been talking to her all these years. If I had known, I could have found a way back into her life. I could have filled the void long ago, which seems to have dissipated since her return.
I can’t leave things like this between Lana and me. I take off in the direction of her cabin and stop just outside her door, catching my breath. I all but ran here. I take a deep breath, steadying my nerves, and raise my hand, knocking hard on the door. In the short time it took me to get here, I figured out everything I want to say to her. I knock again when she doesn’t answer, my patience wearing thin.
The wait is killing me, and when she doesn’t answer after a third time, I use my key and unlock the door. I hear the shower running from the other room, and I know I should turn around and leave, but I can’t bring myself to do it. The thought of her naked, just a few feet away from me, has my dick getting hard.I’m going to have a serious case of blue balls by the time she leaves.
I’ve had dreams on and off for the past ten years about her body. She was hot back then, but I’ve seen the hug of her jeans on her hips now, and she’s a knock-out. Think nineteen-fifties pin-up but with more modern clothes. She’s got curves to spare, and I want to run my fingers over every inch of them.
Before I know what I’m doing, I stomp to the back of the cabin and push the bathroom door open. A wall of steam smacks me in the face, and I can see her silhouette behind the curtain. She pops her head around the corner and glares at me.
“Do you make it a habit of breaking into your patrons’ rooms while they’re showering?” She glances down between my legs and cocks her eyebrow at me.
I feel exposed under her gaze. I glide my hand over my aching cock, covering it from her view, and clear my throat. “I knocked, and you didn’t answer.”
She turns the water off and pushes open the curtain, her naked form in front of me, standing tall like a Greek goddess. She has no shame, except for the tint of red I see staining her cheeks. I’m not sure if it’s from the temperature of the water, or if it’s because I’m here. When she licks her lips, I have my answer. She’s teasing me, and when I groan and close my eyes, shielding her perfect form from view, a soft groan passes her perfect lips. My cock jumps in my pants and pushes painfully against the zipper, trying to get to her. It remembers what it was like nestled between her legs, how warm and inviting her body was. I open them again to stare at her beauty.
She steps out of the shower and motions to the towel behind me. “Mind if I have my towel?”
I’m too stunned, looking at her naked form, to react. I know she asked me to get the damn towel, but I don’t want her to cover up. When I don’t move, she reaches around me, the swell of her breast grazing my bicep, and wraps the towel around her generous curves. My mouth finally catches up with my mind.
“Yes, I do mind.” I grab the back of her neck, pulling her flush against me. She puts her hands on my chest, and I know she feels my heart beating wildly. How could she not? It feels like it’s trying to jump out of my chest. She slides her hands down my body, and when she reaches my clothed cock, she rubs it. I press my needy lips to hers and swallow her moans of delight.
It’s like she never left, like we are picking up right where we left off all those years ago. Just a couple of horny teenagers hoping for some fun before we get caught. She opens her mouth, inviting me to delve deeper. I rip the towel from her body and roll her nipple between my thumb and forefinger. I’m rewarded with a gasp of surprise and a thrust of her hips. She gasps and grabs my ass, pulling me flush against hers as she grinds into me.
“That’s right, baby. I’ve got you. I promise.”
Her body tenses, and she pushes me back, wiping her mouth of my kisses.Fuck.As soon as the words left my lips, I knew they wouldn’t go over well. She grabs her towel from the floor and hurriedly wraps it around herself. The spell between us is broken, shattered. If I’d just kept my fucking mouth shut, I’d still be kissing her tender lips.
“Shit, Lana.” I try to reach for her, and she turns her body out so I can’t.
“Wait for me in the living room. We can go over the design ideas I’ve come up with. I assume that’s why you’re here.”
With no room for discussion, I drop my head and do as she asks. I close the door quietly behind me and sit on the couch with my head in my hands. I’m fucking this up at every turn. I’m at a loss on how to act around her. One minute, things felt how they should between us. She was letting her guard down. I could sense the shift. The next, I’m back at square one with her. She’s put the walls back up, making it hard for me to tear them down. Fuck that. I will fight for as long as I have to, until she lets me back in.
She sits next to me, pulling her feet up under her. She’s wearing a loose top that falls off one shoulder and a pair of shorts. I glance at the exposed skin on her shoulder and notice she’s not wearing a bra. It would be so easy to push her down onto her back and pick up where we left off. I let my mind wander as she pulls out her sketchbook.
“I have a few ideas for this place, but I need your approval before I can send it to the main office.”
