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Collapsing on the couch next to me, she smiled lazily. “You know, I’m not usually like this.”
I curled up beside her and brushed a strand of hair from her face. My fingers ran along her bare skin, I couldn’t help but touch her with her being so close to me.
“Not that it matters, I wouldn’t care if you were. But I know.”
Her eyes grew heavy with sleep, and as much as I wanted to climb up the stairs and crawl into bed with her, I knew I still had to finish up at the library. I couldn’t leave Sasha there to close up on her own, I had the key.
I didn’t want to leave.She will still be here tomorrow, I told myself. Her eyes closed as I stroked her cheek.
She would be safe there in her cottage. Reed had deactivated her old bracelet, and no one was getting into her room without her letting them in. Tomorrow we would see about getting Hunter out of the resort if Gage hadn’t handled that already against Reed’s wishes.
But the important thing was, she was safe.
“Would you like me to take you up to bed?” I asked her.
Her eyes opened, but just barely. “As in, carry me?”
“Of course,” I said.
She laughed. “As much as I like the sound of that, I think I should shower first. You can join me if you’d like…”
“I would love nothing more, but unfortunately, I have to close up the library for the night.”
“I could wait for you,” she said through her yawn.
I leaned over and kissed her sweet lips one more time. “You’re exhausted, don’t wait up for me. I’ll stop by tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she said as her eyes closed once more.
I had a feeling she wasn’t going to get that shower in. She likely wouldn’t even make it up to her bed; good thing the couch was comfortable as well.
“Goodnight, princess,” I said.
She opened one eye and chuckled. “Princess?”
“Mmm-hmm, you just remind me of a princess from a novel, too beautiful and precious to be real.” I kept my voice soft because it was clear she was drifting off to sleep. Her breathing evened out and she didn’t respond to me.
With that, I kissed her forehead and grabbed a throw from the ottoman nearby, covering her with it.
People often called me a hopeless romantic. They said I fell in love too easily. Maybe they were right. But there was something there with Snow. I believed that love at first sight was reserved only for novels, and usually bad ones at that, but seeing her there, looking so peaceful and beautiful, I started to wonder if there was some truth to it.
Nah, you don’t love her.
Not yet at least, I thought as I slipped quietly from her cottage.But give it time, you never know.
We only had a few days together though, so unless we saw each other after she left…Don’t close your mind to the possibilities, I argued with myself.
We’d just have to wait and see what happened.
16
Anthony
The evening air was crisp and cool, and in the summer months, it was one of the many reasons I preferred working at night. It was a lot quieter too, especially around the pools. I’d been alone for the greater part of the evening, most everyone choosing to go to the club or the pool closest to the club rather than the one tucked away on the west side of the resort, which is the one I preferred..
I thought maybe the woman I’d met earlier, Snow, might eventually show up since I’d dropped some hints. But she never did. Maybe tomorrow.Or maybe never, I thought with a laugh, which was probably for the best considering being distracted by the guests was not a good idea.
I packed up my laptop and started the walk toward home. It was near the main building but tucked away in a private enclave. All of us owners lived on the property full-time, in our own custom cottages. Not only because it made it easier to keep the resort up and running, but because we had created a little slice of heaven, a place where folks could be free to be themselves, tucked away in the beautiful mountains. Why would we want to leave? The place was created by all of us with each of our own interests and desires in mind, and it was perfect.
