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Chapter 4 - Laurel
Operation Butter Up was in full swing, but I thought I might have been taking the teasing too far. The most unreliable ATM in the county saved me, though, and I really did always want to see inside the big cabin at the top of the mountain. The outside was fantastic, with a wraparound porch and huge balconies on the upper level. The entire wall facing the ravine was glass, so I imagined the views were incredible.
Actually, the view next to me, as we drove up, wasn’t too bad, either. I knew he was good looking, but I was too mad to process it after our tussle near the cliff. Up close, he was even better, with wavy dark hair, mesmerizing blue eyes, and broad shoulders. I had to actively restrain myself from reaching out to see if his hair was as soft as it looked while he was bandaging my ankle. That would have been bad enough but having his face so close to my knees made me want to spread them and see what he’d do. I could have sworn he glanced up at me with a bit of a lusty glint in his eyes. And his strong, tanned fingers gripping my foot made me squirm in my seat. I had a thing for hands, and I could definitely imagine Ben’s running along my skin. It was worse now with him in such close proximity. He still smelled good, like the fresh mountain air mixed with a light, musky aftershave. No, it couldn’t be aftershave because he had a bit of sexy stubble. Damn it, I was staring at him and thinking he was sexy. I simply could not allow myself to be attracted to him. I had a career to focus on, sponsors to get, and a cliff to jump off. I was only there to butter him up.
I breathed out hard and forced myself to look out the window. Was it a smart idea, going to his secluded cabin alone with him? Probably not. I didn’t know a thing about him, and I couldn’t get a good read on him, either. One second he was a scowly grump, the next he was shouting a laugh at one of my digs. And the moment after he stopped laughing, there was sadness in his eyes, as if he felt guilty for finding something funny. His clothes were clearly well worn and nothing special, but he had on what I was sure was an extremely expensive watch, and he was paying well above the usual rate for the cabin just to shut down the top of the mountain. I should have left Operation Butter Up to more public spaces, but for whatever reason, I felt safe around him. I didn’t like him or anything, but I didn’t think he would kill me.
“Home sweet home,” he said as we pulled through the gate and onto the gravel driveway.
Like when he was wrapping my ankle, his deep voice rumbled right through me, causing a flutter in my core.Concentrate, Laurel.“For how long, do you think?”
He laughed but didn’t answer my question. It was the strangest feeling following him to the door and checking out his fine backside while also wanting to kick him.
The inside of the cabin was even cooler than I imagined, all retro 1970s furniture, wood paneling, and modern art. The sunken living room had a massive sectional sofa and two bright orange egg chairs hung in front of the sliding glass door leading out to the porch that looked like it hung straight over the side of the mountain. With an excited gasp, I ran to swing in one of the egg chairs, then looked out the window.
“Gosh, this mountain is the best, isn’t it?” I sighed. Turning around, I found him staring at me with a bemused expression. Then his face creaked into a smile, and he hopped down the three steps, jogging across the living room to take my hand.
“Come with me.”
There was that bossiness again. Normally a tone like his would have made me dig in my heels and brought out every ounce of my extraordinary stubbornness. But with Ben’s strong hand wrapped around mine, all I could do was follow him like a little lamb. We passed through the kitchen which had all high tech appliances but also the original yellow Formica countertops polished to a satiny sheen. An old olive green landline phone hung on the wall near the open pantry. He hadn’t lied. The only thing in there was half a loaf of sliced bread.
“This place is amazing,” I said, tugging on his hand because I wanted to go down a hall and see what treasures of the past it contained.
He snorted. “You call me an elderly person. You like this old style?”
“Vintage,” I corrected. “And I love it. I feel like I should have on a fur vest and a paisley micro miniskirt. Faux fur of course.”
He looked me up and down, hopefully imagining me in the miniskirt. Ugh, why did I care if he was thinking about my body? Probably because I couldn’t stop thinking about his, with his t-shirt practically pasted to his pecs.
“Of course,” he said. He kept leading me upstairs, stopping in front of the big bank of picture windows. “How’s that for amazing?”
The sun was just slipping below the tree line across the ravine and cast the mountainside into dramatic shadows. I took in the gorgeous expanse of pure beauty and sighed. He pointed toward the crisp peaks in the far distance, always snowcapped even in the summer, and his arm brushed mine. He asked me the names of the peaks, and I answered him, unable to drag my eyes off the deep red and purple sky. As the last bit of the bright golden sun disappeared, I turned to find him looking down at me with curiosity. My face heated up. Why was he looking at me instead of the glorious sunset?
“So, you never get bored of these views?” he asked. Somehow we’d gotten close enough that our arms were touching. If I moved an inch I would have been leaning against him and maybe he would have put his arm around me. Then…
I snapped myself out of my daydream and forced myself to look back at the mountains. “I’ve lived here all my life, and I’ve never yet gotten sick of them,” I told him. “Where are you from?”
He grimaced slightly. “New York City.” I made a face, and he laughed, clapping his hand on my shoulder. “I knew you’d pull a face. Not a city girl?”
“Never.” I shuddered, then shrugged. “I mean, I guess you get some okay views as well.”
“I think if you saw them, you’d approve,” he said, trapping me with his intense blue eyes.
For the first time in my life I wanted to visit New York. But only if Ben was my tour guide.
He turned away, and I wanted to grab him back, but followed him to the kitchen. He opened and shut cabinet drawers until he found the pan he wanted, then dumped his meager groceries onto the counter.
“Let me cut up the vegetables,” I said, hurrying around to help. Just help, not get close to him again.
He nodded toward the hallway. “Go have a look around. I know you’re dying to see the rest of the place.” My eyes widened and he nodded again. “Have at it, I have no secrets.”
I ran through the rest of the cabin, taking in all the rustic furniture mixed with high end luxury. The biggest bedroom had his suitcase open on the bed, revealing several cameras. The urge to paw through his things made me scramble back to the kitchen. I might have had a mission I was trying to complete, but I wasn’t going to invade his privacy.
“Everything you dreamed?” he asked.
“You’re being sarcastic, but yes,” I told him. “I used to babysit for the owner’s daughter, but I never wrangled an invitation before.”
“You’re welcome, then.”
