AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“How about pouring the wine?” she asked.
Somehow her nerves had returned. Too often when they were chatting in the kitchen, she’d remember the image of Zach taking off his sweater and shirt and showing her the scar on his back. When he’d turned around, she’d almost melted looking at his muscular body. It made sense that he’d have amazing abs since he hiked all day long and was a werewolf.
Zach placed a hand on her back, and warmth spread through her. “I set the table,” he said. “Ready?”
“Yes.” She carried over the salad, while Zach picked up the casserole dish.
When they sat opposite each other, a desire to have this intimate setting be part of her life forever shook her to the core. Cassidy understood that she wanted Mike, too, but Zach was the one here.
Mindy had said that if she moved back home, both men would never live a fully satisfied life—and neither would she—but her family and her job were in Thomas Ridge. Would these men be willing to follow her to Wyoming? Or was that too selfish of her to ask?
Zach held up his glass, and Cassidy cut off her thoughts. She tapped her glass against his. “Thank you for everything you, Mike, and your family have done for me. I can never repay you for all of your help.”
“Our pleasure.”
They both drank and then dug into the meal. Wanting to keep her mind off of sex, Cassidy pummeled him with questions about what a forest ranger’s job entailed. It was clear that Zach loved being in the woods. Without a doubt, he was very good at his job. The strange thing was that his enthusiasm seemed to enter her body. Cassidy could picture herself wandering through the woods, checking the trails, and then helping people in need. In that sense, their jobs were similar.
Zach sat back. “You know what we forgot?”
She couldn’t imagine. “What?”
“Ice cream for the brownies.”
He was such a kid. “I think we’ll survive.”
“Next time, I won’t forget. Let me clean up since you did most of the cooking. The meal was fantastic, by the way. You should try your hand at being a chef.”
“Maybe.” She liked the growing of the food as much as cooking it, but there was something about preventing a building from being destroyed or saving a life that was dear to her heart.
As soon as Zach picked up their plates, she grabbed the casserole dish. Cassidy had been brought up to pull her own weight.
Once they cleaned up, Zach suggested they watch a movie.
“Can I have a raincheck? I think the lack of sleep in the cabin is catching up to me.” Not really, since she'd slept like the dead last night in that soft bed, but she'd rather make love with Zach than watch TV.
“Of course.”
She waited a beat to see if he’d suggest he stay with her instead of curling up in front of the door in his wolf form, but he seemed rather oblivious to her hints. She bet if Mike had been there, he would have found a smooth way to suggest they sleep together.
Wait a minute. Hadn’t she already decided it would be best if she refrained from having sex with the men—at least for now? Not only that, if Doug ever found her, he’d come with his men, which might result in a fight to the death. Cassidy would be highly distraught if anything happened to either Zach or Mike.
“I’ll see you in the morning then,” she said.
“Sleep well.”
Because she didn’t want Zach to have any doubt about whether she wanted to be with him, she stepped over to him and kissed him on the…cheek.Chicken. She’d wanted to kiss those lips of his. “Thank you again for everything.”
“You bet.”
Since he didn’t grab her and kiss her, Cassidy went into the bedroom.
Not one to pass up hot water, she stripped and stepped into the bathroom. In the shower was a bar of soap and shampoo. If she’d been thinking, she would have bought some instead of using Mike’s supply, but she'd already spent too much at the drugstore.
When she ducked under the hot flow, she listened for any movement outside the bathroom door that she happened to leave ajar. Cassidy honestly didn’t think Zach would come in, but she bet he’d think about it—just like she was doing now.
Not wanting to take too long, she washed up and then stood under the water for a bit longer before shutting it off. Once she dried off, she debated what to wear to bed. It was cold in the room, but putting on her long johns that hadn’t been washed wouldn’t be pleasant. About her only choice was to throw on one of the Wildwood Rescue Center T-shirts that Tawny had given her.
With a towel wrapped around her body, Cassidy went into the bedroom to locate the nightwear. She found a pretty pink shirt and pulled it on. All of her underwear were plain white cotton panties.Ugh. Not having any other options, she donned a pair and slipped into bed.
