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Chapter 5 - Ben
I was convinced I shouldn’t have brought her up here, but Laurel was turning out to be good company. I wasn’t actually miserable, which was a big change for me. Did I like it? Or was it too dangerous to let myself get anywhere near happiness again? I knew how quickly it could all get taken away.
Oh damn. The way she was enjoying my cooking made me think of other ways I could make her enjoy herself. The look of bliss on her face when her eyes closed and her head tilted back almost sent me over the edge. My pants were way too tight all of a sudden, and it took all my willpower not to lean over and lick up her throat, under her jaw, and then focus on her lips. No, I needed to stop focusing on her lips. Except, when she licked hers while looking at me like I was the next course, I was sure she was about to kiss me. I’d already had my fun bossing her around, I was happy to let her take the lead. Looking forward to it.
Her head swiveled back toward her plate as she furiously cut another bite of steak. “So, snowboarding and skiing? I guess you did know how to have fun at some point.”
Well, shit. Did she chicken out or come to her senses? I quietly took a breath, trying to get my own senses back. As sexy as she was, as distracting as she was, she was also at least partly unhinged, with her cliff-jumping obsession.
“I still know how to have fun,” I said, looking at her until she met my gaze.
So much for coming to my senses. She swallowed hard and I didn’t mind throwing her off kilter a little. She’d certainly thrown me way off. My eyes dropped to her chest. She was breathing hard, the tops of her breasts billowing up over the edge of her tank top. Glancing further down I saw her nipples were rock hard. I could relate to that since I was as hard as the granite mountains outside the cabin windows. When I looked back up, her cheeks were as red as cherries. I liked how easily she blushed and wondered what she’d taste like. I waited for her to make the next move. I had a feeling she could be fiery.
She cleared her throat and took a drink. “When was the last time you went snowboarding? That’s my favorite winter sport. Do you like wakeboarding, too? There’s a lake nearby. I could give you directions.”
Her nervous stream of chatter was all the answer I needed to pump the brakes. Back to a pleasant evening, then, not fiery. “Why don’t you take me to the lake?” I asked, keeping my tone light and my eyes on my dinner. I did enjoy wakeboarding and the idea of seeing her curves in a bathing suit didn’t hurt, either.
She sighed long and hard. “Well, I won’t have any free time since I have to search for a new location for my stunt,” she said.
“How hard can it be?” I asked, my good mood starting to shrivel along with other things.
Another sigh. “I’ve rappelled down that ravine at least a hundred times. I’m familiar with it. And it doesn’t help that it’s the highest cliff around here. Lots of room to soar. There’s just nothing comparable around.”
Soaring led to falling, and I shuddered at the thought. “I’m sure you’ll manage.”
I cut my eyes to the side to see her looking at me with disappointment. I wasn’t sure if it was because my good mood was all the way gone or because I wasn’t giving her what she wanted. Or maybe because I was realizing what I wanted didn’t seem to be what she wanted. A crack of thunder underscored our tense silence.
“I didn’t think it was going to rain,” she said. “But the sky does what it wants up here.”
“Unlike you,” I muttered under my breath. She looked a little hurt by that, and I decided to cut her some slack, hoping to get the evening back to being just pleasant. Arguing with her wasn’t the kind of fire I was interested in. “Does the road to town get flooded?” I asked.
Was I hoping she’d get stuck here? Wasn’t she just annoying the crap out of me a second ago? And a second before that I wanted to lick her neck, among other body parts. This woman was worse than any storm Montana could brew up.
Her shoulders relaxed, and she shook her head. “Not usually, since the incline is so steep. You’ll be lucky if you get to see some lightning out your windows tonight.”
“Nature always puts on the best show, doesn’t it?”
My question was rewarded with a smile that tugged at my heart. I could tell she really loved living here. I felt a pang of something… envy maybe, that she was so content with her life.
“Yes,” she breathed, looking toward the darkened windows. “Who needs a TV?”
It actually seemed like this was an important question to her. “Not me,” I said, getting another smile. “If I’m not outside taking pictures, I’m editing them.”
“Do you only take nature shots? I’d love to see your work.” She glanced hopefully toward the stairs leading to my bedroom, and I stirred with interest again. Although, she might have only wanted to see my photos.
“Scenic views, up close nature shots, and outdoor sports photography are my main areas,” I said.
She perked up. “Oh yeah? What kind of sports? You came to the right place, we have everything nearby.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and showed her some of my most recent shots, close to a year old now since I hadn’t wanted to work since the accident. I watched her expression as she scrolled through some of a fly fisherman pulling a big trout out of a river. She zoomed in and trailed the water droplets with her fingertip.
“These are so good. I feel like I’m the one reeling it in.” When I scowled at her, she turned pink again. “I mean it. I haven’t fished since… I used to go with my dad, so it’s been about six years.”
I stared at her as she stared down at my pictures. I knew exactly what she was feeling, and wondered if she was thinking of all the things she wished she could tell her dad, all the things she might have done differently. “I’m sorry,” I said.
She blew out a breath and handed my phone back. “It sucks.”
“Yes, it does.”
