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He hadn’t let it last long, but it was enough. I squeezed my legs together at the memory. God, he was hot.
And what an absolute flex that would be—my first time with someone like stern, sulky, sizzling Dr. Brady. If there was any time to be brave, it had to be this moment.
I chewed on my bottom lip and sneaked a glance at him sitting in the driver’s seat and leaning his elbow on the window as he listened and nodded while someone talked his ear off. I was grateful for whoever was on the other line. I needed time to scheme.
By the time we pulled into the Camp Wilderness parking lot, I had a plan. It was a shoddy plan based on romance novels and a desperate prayer, but it was a plan nonetheless.
“Okay, I’ll touch base with Melanie about the finance section and get back to you next week. Yeah, I’m still at the retreat thing.” Amos paused, listening. Then he chuckled, and his eyes strayed to mine. “Uh, no.” Another pause. “I’m hanging up now, Cade.”
“Everything okay with the… research thing?” I asked politely. Amos gave me a look like I’d confessed to leading a drug cartel ring. “You saved my life,” I said primly, sniffing. “I’m just being nice.”
“It’s freaking me out.”
I pursed my lips. “Rude.”
Amos turned in his seat, leaning his left forearm on the steering wheel and giving me a speculative look. “If you’re trying to get out of our deal by being the Sugar Plum Fairy, then you can forget about it. You’re going straight to bed, and you have to let me take your vitals every half an hour.”
I bristled. “I keep my word, you know.”
“Hm,” he said, unconvinced. “You’re up to something.”
You have no idea, Amos Brady.I gave him a bright, sparkly smile, and then exited the car with a bounce. “Go ahead to the cabin. I have to grab something first.”
“June,” he warned, and shoved open his car door.
I pointed finger guns, walking backwards. “I’m fine. Go to the cabin, and I’ll be there in like five minutes.”
“June,” he said again, his suspicion nearly coming out as a growl.
“BRB,” I waved. Thankfully, he respected my request, and I was able to sneak through the dark buildings toward the mess hall. I wondered who had managed to find their scavenger hunt items that afternoon. Did anyone else get attacked by a moose? Probably not.
I tiptoed into the kitchen, found what I was looking for, and then hurried back across the campus. My lungs were sore, and even though I’d slept most of the day in the hospital, fatigue hammered behind my eyes. But I didn’t have time to indulge in silly things like sleep. This felt like one of those chances—one of those things where if I didn’t at least try, I would not only regret it forever, but I likely wouldn’t get another shot at it.
I didn’t want to be a virgin. Truthfully, it pissed me right off. I wasn’t scared of having sex, and I loved how being turned on felt. I loved how orgasms felt. I’d been more than willing with the handful of “boyfriends” I’d had in the past, but I had spent the first eighteen years of my life with—understandably—chaste men from my religion. And then, when I’d veered away and gone on my own path, it seemed like my “newer” options were just assholes, in the end.
Brady was an asshole, but he was a good kind of asshole. The kind that annoyed the fuck out of me, but also, not very deep down, cared a whole lot more than his pride wanted to admit. It gave him an edge that called to me. I would bet my left butt cheek that Dr. Brady was a gentleman in the streets and a freak in the sheets.
Yes, he was perfect.You got this, June. Make it happen, Cap’n.
Even in early summer, Jackson Hole plummeted to icy temperatures at night, and as I made my way slowly through the empty campus, my path illuminated by the Edison bulb-strewn patio to my right, I blew out a foggy breath in wonder. Tilting my head back, I let the blanket of stars overhead drape me in courage. In an endless universe like that, teeming with undiscovered life and shimmering with mystical, faraway fairy lights, I realized how magical the little moments could be. This moment had magic written in it like runes, and only time would tell if I was casting a curse or a charm.
I padded up the stairs, wincing a little as my sandals pulled against raw spots on my ankles. They had left little rub wounds from the running and tree climbing debacle, and I’d be glad to never wear the damn things again.
As I entered, closing the door softly, I found Amos unpacking my medications from the crackly pharmacy bag and setting them up in a tidy row on my bedside table. The cabin, while simple, had an elegant charm about it. An antique, wrought iron full bed had been placed against the right wall, and two log end tables sandwiched it neatly. Each table had a shaded table lamp which provided most of the light in the small space. A woven, indigenous-style rug took up the empty space between the door and bed, and a vanity and sink had been built on the left wall. There were plenty of windows, all of them draped with homey, country-style curtains, and extra blankets and pillows had been piled on a table and in wicker baskets by the front door.
I hid my extracurricular activity behind my back. Amos glanced up, back down at the medications, and then swiftly back to me. “What’s behind your back?”
“Nothing.” I backed up a few steps toward the bathroom. “I’m going to shower.”
“What is your middle name?” he asked, advancing on me with annoyance written all over his handsome features. “I need it if I’m going to constantly redirect all your bad choices.”
“It’s Ella,” I said innocently, still backing up toward the bathroom. “But only people who like me get to use my middle name.”
“I like you,” he said quickly. The way his face froze told me he slightly regretted blurting that out. My lips twitched up. Amos folded his arms gruffly. “Do you need your bag?”
“Yes, please,” I smiled. I crossed the bathroom threshold and closed the door all but a sliver, which I poked one eye out of. “Just toss it in after I’m in the shower.” I took the chocolate syrup into the shower with me just in case he remained suspicious and tried to do some snooping.
While I showered, I tried to scrub away some of my nerves. It was one thing to feel unshakable confidence at theideathat Dr. Delicious might want to fool around in my bed. It was another thing entirely to maintain that confidence while I shaved every surface of my body and went over the possible outcomes.
