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This is Mistyvale. I’ll be fine, I swear. You are absolutely not packing up camp in the rain to come get me. Honestly. I haven’t exercised since we came here, it’ll be good for me to move my body.
Rhyett
Axel? Jameson?? Maverick?
Noel
Rhyett, it’s fine. Take care of your truck.
Okay,so Mistyvale rain and Tampa rain were two entirely different species. Florida has this fantastic habit of dumping several inches of shower-warm rain in about forty minutes, then blowing away the clouds like puffs of smoke. But when Alaska rains, it…drizzles?Piddles. Whatever you call this pathetic, dreary grayblah. This was precipitation with commitment issues. Invested enough to darken your doorstep but not enough to deliver the goods.
In my frustration, I nearly kicked a puddle, only to realize that my sad, mucky tennis shoes were in no way waterproof. Swearing internally, I ventured on, clinging to my jar of sea glass as my teeth chattered, my back aching. Rallying my courage, the pep talk began.
Kaia would not be right. I was going to get home and be able to look at Rhyett and, with my pride intact, tell him this was, in fact, no big deal. I grew up battling one-hundred percent humidity and mosquitos that putJumanjito shame. A little nebulous precipitation was not about to ruin my day, dammit.
A gunmetal Chevy pickup rolled down the center of the road only to slow considerably, creeping towards the right shoulder. Was the driverdrunk? High? Could he see the lines through this mess? I eyeballed the sharp decline of the bank. It was steep but not so severe I couldn’t trust my feet to scale it quickly if I needed to. My larger concern was the fact that I was invariably alone with this stranger, not a car in sight, just the puffing towers of smoke from the neighboring homes. Could I get to one of the doors if I needed to? Hands flexing at my sides, brain scrambling to make sense as the vehicle pulled clear to the yellow line and slowed to a crawl, my entire being relaxed when Jameson Rhodes swung out of the driver’s side door and waved me over.
Frustration clashed with the desire to get the hell out of this freezing drizzle. I peered through the gray to the hill ahead, knowing beyond that, it was only another block and then about a football field down to Rhyett’s house. Having already made it this far, I was certainly not about to put myself one foot away from the irritatingly attractive man who’d seen me naked, insulted my taste, and now, no doubt, bared the burn blisters courtesy of my clumsiness.Nope. No way. Hard pass, thank you very much.
Waving in a manner that I hoped was a friendly refusal, I stepped around his tailgate.
“Lizzy! Come on, I’ll take you home!” he barked.
Oh, will you now? Certainly news to me. I shook my head. “I’m fine.”
“Oh, sweet Jesus. Get in the truck.”
“I said I’m fine, Jameson. Thanks though.”
“For fucks sake,” he grumbled. Even over the engine, I could hear his frustration a beat before the door slammed shut. As my toes protested the disgusting, chilly squish of rain-sodden socks inside saturated tennis shoes, I huffed a sigh; the Gemini in me thoroughly divided between logic and pride. Logic shoving me toward the warm cab beside the sexy fisherman, while pride clung to the fact that said sinfully tempting mountain man had done nothing but insult me.
Curiosity might’ve killed the cat, but pure stubborn willpower might very well put an end to me, because the latter won out, and I kept right along, marching down the road. It was the subtle clink and rattle ofhisjar of sea glass clutched against my chest and the simultaneous protest of my aching feet that made me realize exactly how stupid I was being.
Window humming down as the truck crawled up the road, Jameson barked, “You’ll catch your death. Get in the damn truck.”
Welp, I could only stick to my guns at this point, right? “No.”
“Why the fuck not?”
I leveled him with a glare, wishing my frozen feet could move faster over the rocky asphalt.Come on, Noel. Keep some ounce of integrity intact. I tried to remember the look on his face as he creeped through my damn window, but it did nothing to aid my crumbling resolve. Why couldn’t I bring myself to be mad about that?
Grinding my teeth as my mind debated the merits and pitfalls of stubborn willpower, I added, “See you around,neighbor.”
“Jesus.” He romped on the accelerator, engine rumbling to life, but my momentary tango between relief and disappointment was short-lived, as the truck cut off onto the shoulder, blocking my path. Jameson flew out of the driver’s side door, stomping his way towards me through the gray. “Look, Skittles, I’m literally driving to the housenext to yours. I know I’m a real prick. You don’t have to like me. But I can’t let you freeze to death, or Brexley will execute me by a thousand cuts. You don’t even have totalk to me. Just…come warm up.”
Pointedly, I glared at his chest before eyeing the truck like it was a venomous snake rather than a perfectly acceptable mode of transportation. It was sexy as fuck, that’s what it was. Just like its dang owner. Lifted just enough to tell me he put time into it–probably used it for work– but not so much I needed to worry about his manhood.Dammit. When my reservation still spoke volumes, he threw back his hood, freeing loose curls that begged to be touched, dropping his head to force me to look at him.
“This isridiculous. You could get hit in a downpour like this.” When I kept my face directed toward the road, I swore he growled. Like a bear. Or a werewolf. I mean, it would be fitting in this climate for the creatures of nightmares to be alive and well. However,insulting mecertainly wasn’t about to entice me into being captive in his cab. Although…maybe he had a point. Seeming to spot the fissure in my resolve, he said, “It’s freezing and about to get worse. Get. In. The. Truck. Or I’mputting youin the truck. Either way, I’m getting you home safe.”
“You wouldn’tdare,” I bit out, glaring in his direction while simultaneously trying to decide if he was bluffing. Jameson’s face gave away nothing as he chuckled darkly, the sound doing something wild to my insides. Thick, round water droplets began dripping off his hair onto his dark lashes, only stoking the churning in my core. Why’d he have to be so freaking beautiful? The bossy bastard.
“I havesixsisters,” he said, smirking as he added, “and at least as many cousins. You wouldn’t be the first. And certainly won’t be the last.” Narrowing my eyes in challenge, not buying his bullshit for a moment, I harrumphed and moved to sidestep him. I didn’t make it a foot before he sighed, “Have it your way,” and snagged my wrist, turning me back to face him.
“Hey!” I barked, but the protest came to a screeching halt as he bent down and, in one quick motion,threw meover his shoulder like a freaking rag doll. “Jameson!” I yelped, my jar of sea glass tumbling out of my hands as they flew to wrap around his solid body, desperate for purchase. My stomach flipped in loops. A deep chuckle rumbled through his ribs, his grip moving to tighten on my upper thigh, the touch sending blood rushing to my cheeks. Nothing about my predicament should be erotic, but the rush of sensations in my body said otherwise. Embarrassment and some deeply messed up sense of anticipation collided in my chest. My therapist was going to have a field day with this.
Coming face-to-face with a delectable, denim-clad ass, I squawked, “Put me down!” He said nothing, shoulder barely jostling as he moved for the truck like I weighed nothing. What the hell did hedoon that boat!? Water trickled precariously close to my nostrils, the world bouncing by in a blur of evergreen and gray. For a moment, I seriously debated the merit of biting into that perfect butt in retaliation but opted instead to slam my hands against him, snarling, “Jameson! Are youserious?!” The world flipped again as he bowed low and plopped me into the cab, gingerly shifting my legs inside to make sure they were clear.
“Stay put,” he demanded, slamming the door closed to punctuate the order. Shaking his head, amusement tugged the corner of his lips up as he turned from the window.
