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Lyric gave Thatch directions to Elina’s house and told him about the conversation she’d had with the girl in the driveway. When they pulled up, her heart started to pound. Beyond the curtains, the lights were on, so they’d have to make the secret delivery quietly and quickly.
Thatch parked on the street instead of turning into the driveway, and they stealthily made a few trips, depositing the bags onto the porch.
“I’ll go start up the truck and get ready to drive,” he instructed like this was an official op. “You knock and then run fast.”
“Got it.” Lyric waited on the porch until he’d backed the truck into the driveway and then knocked as loudly as she could before sprinting to the passenger’s side.
She jumped in, and Thatch peeled out of the driveway with a squeal of the tires. Lyric squealed too. “Covert ops are so fun!”
“Hopefully, our mission was accomplished.” Thatch drove the truck around the block and hit the brakes. “Nice job on the sprint.” He raised his hand for a high five.
“And your driving was top notch. Minus the squealing tires,” she teased.
“What can I say? I like to make a dramatic exit.”
That sexy grin of his brought her insides to a simmer. Between his magnetism and his compassion, she wasfinding him harder and harder to resist. “Should we drive around and make sure they brought everything inside?”
“Good idea.” He eased the truck along at a crawling pace, and when they passed by, the stoop was empty. “I guess we can call it a night, then.”
“I guess so.” And what a night. The kissing, the sharing, the mission. “Actually, this might be the best night I’ve had in a long time.”
“Me too.” Thatch reached over to rub her shoulder while he drove. It felt so natural, sitting next to him in his truck, feeling his caress.
She didn’t want the night to end, but she didn’t know where else she was ready to take it either.
Thatch parked the truck next to her car in front of the clinic and put it in park. “So I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning?”
“Bright and early.”
They were going on a trip together, and now she couldn’t wait.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Thatch had been trained to withstand torture. But even BUD/S couldn’t have prepared him for the special kind of torment he’d endured on day one of pretending to be in love with Lyric during a romantic weekend getaway.
They’d spent the entire first day of their trip doing what a normal couple would do: after taking their bags into their cabin, they met up with their friends—except for Tess, who was napping—for a long hike into the higher terrain complete with a picnic lunch, and played volleyball with some of the other guests. Then they’d all enjoyed an early dinner together.
The whole time, he and Lyric had bantered back and forth. He’d helped her up a rocky section on the hike and hadn’t let go of her hand for half an hour after. The smile she’d aimed in his direction had been different—for him alone. The connection between them had seemed so real. At least to him. But he had no idea what would happen tonight.
Now, as Thatch walked out of the changing room andonto the lavish deck surrounding the steaming waters of a natural hot spring, he had to be honest: He wasn’t pretending to be in love. He’d fallen. Spending the day with her had only confirmed how hard he’d fallen. After spreading out his towel on a lounge chair, he sat next to Silas. Aiden had already claimed the spot with the best exposure to the setting sun.
“That was some hike today.” Silas pulled off his shirt and jumped into the pool.
“Quite the scenery,” Aiden agreed.
Thatch stayed quiet. He’d been too distracted watching Lyric all day to notice much of the scenery. A dip in the pool was the last item on Kyra’s agenda for the day. And then what? Back to the cabin with a woman he wanted more with each passing hour but couldn’t have.
“Okay, I’m coming out,” Tess called from the doorway of the women’s changing room. “No one look at me in my maternity bathing suit.”
“You’re gorgeous, babe.” Silas hurried out of the water to meet her, offering his hand to help her walk down the steps into the pool.
“This is amazing.” Kyra walked out next, followed by Lyric.
Damn.
Thatch had been good all day. He’d been attentive but distant, making sure she had the space she needed even while they were supposed to be acting like a couple. But that bikini she was wearing would make it ten times harder for him to keep his hands off her.
“How’s the water?” She sat next to him on the lounge chair and pulled her long silky hair up onto her head, securing it with a rubber band.
