Now it felt like a caged-up beast that was about to go on a fucking spree, as long as it involved Miss Katie Hill, the Georgia Peach.
“Come to bed, Katie. I won’t bite,” I rumbled gruffly as I unzipped the flap of the tent for her.
She gave me a confused look as she went in, her gorgeous ass in the air as she crawled on all fours into the tent.
This was going to be a trial of all my willpower tonight, I thought as I crawled into the tent behind her.
Dinner had been strained.
And it was definitely my fault.
Poor Katie probably thought I was the worst trail guide ever.
First, I kissed her. And then I stopped talking to her.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
I glanced up at her. It was dark in the tent with just one small flashlight lantern lighting the interior. But it was bright enough for me to see the downward turn at the corner of her lips.
I cleared my throat. “Uh, just preparing our bed.”
“Why are you spreading the sleeping bags out like that?”
Because I need to feel you next to me tonight.
“It will be warmer this way.”
Itwouldbe if I managed to do half the things to her that I wanted.
But those thoughts would only lead to trouble.
She crossed her arms and watched me work. It didn’t take long to get the bags unzipped and spread out.
I crawled under the top sleeping bag, then pulled my pants and coat off. I left my thermal base layers in place, along with my socks, hat and scarf.
“You coming to bed?” I asked her.
She pursed her lips and asked, “Do you have a girlfriend… or a wife?”
“What?No.”
Why was she asking that?
“I’m just trying to figure out why you would kiss me and then feel sobadabout it.”
“I don’t feel bad.” As I thought about it, I realized I did.
So I tried to clarify, “I mean, I shouldn’t be fucking tourists.”
That came out all wrong, so I tried again. “What I mean is, it’s not professional.”
Katie raised her eyebrows at that. “Nothing about your little tour business is professional, Boone. Do you even have liability insurance if someone got hurt?”
I ran a hand through my hair. This is exactly what leads to bad reviews. Jameson was going to give me shit if Katie left a bad review at the end of this. Our whole livelihood depended on good reviews.
Feeling like all I was doing was digging myself in deeper, I opted for honesty. “Look, Katie. I’m not with anyone. There’s no woman getting spurned at home. Not as far as I’m concerned. I—if I’m being honest… I’m really attracted to you. Like abnormally so. And I’m trying not to fu—. What I mean is, I’m not supposed to… damn it, Jameson and I made a deal. No fucking the tourists. It could hurt our ratings.”
I could see her blinking rapidly, trying to take everything in. “Ratings?”
