Page 19 of Cody (Maine Silver Foxes)

A lina

We’d been driving for a few short minutes when Cody slowed and turned down a dark dirt road.

I knew this road. It led to a dead end and an old hunting cabin in the woods.

A family out of New Hampshire had owned it for years and had only used it during hunting season.

When I’d been in high school it had been a popular hangout for kids who needed a place to hook up and party.

Before long I could see a light in the distance, and as we got closer the outline of a couple of buildings began to take shape. Cody pulled up in front of the cabin where a lamp glowed brightly in the center of a large window. He turned off the truck and looked over at me.

“You bought the old Fletcher cabin?”

I could see the flash of his teeth when he explained, “Yup. About four years ago. It was in pretty rough shape.”

I cringed, recalling what the inside had looked like the last time I’d been there.

Teenagers didn’t care about cleanup after a wild party, especially in a place that was abandoned for most of the year.

There had been plenty of years that the Fletcher’s hadn’t shown up at all.

I could well imagine how much more damage had been done in the years leading up to when Cody purchased it.

“That building is new.” I indicated the structure off to the side.

“Built it to have a place to store my bike and use as a workshop while I renovate the inside of the cabin.”

“I’m really surprised it’s still standing after all these years.”

“Whoever built it chose the right wood. Northern white cedar holds up well. It’s durable and has a natural resistance to decay and bugs.” His husky laugh moved over me like a warm blanket, making the inside of the cab feel intimate. “The inside was another matter.”

There was so much he wasn’t revealing in his lighthearted comment because I could imagine what the inside of the cabin must have looked like. He was right about the structure though. Years of weather had given the cedar a beautiful rustic appearance.

Since I now knew that it hadn’t been converted into a restaurant, I asked, “So, um, why are we here?” I purposely injected a little suspicion in my tone.

“I cooked dinner.” He reached for the door handle.

I didn’t pretend to be surprised that Cody knew how to cook. The man had never been married. Of course, he knew how to cook. He exited the truck, and I opened my door to do the same thing.

“Wait for me!” Cody ordered, rushing around the front to my side. “I don’t want you to fall.”

I was thankful for his assistance because the truck was high off the ground, and it was dark outside.

It would have been easy to lose my footing in the kitten heels I was wearing.

I turned on the seat so he was able to put his hands on my waist, then used his shoulders for support when he lifted me off the seat and slowly lowered me down the front of his body.

I caught my breath at his intentional move, awareness sharpening my senses when I felt his arousal and heard the catch in his breath.

“Thank you,” I breathed. Cody took my hand and led me to the door. I followed him inside, immediately overtaken by the pleasant aroma of whatever he was cooking. “Hmm, something smells delicious.” He released my hand and went to the small kitchen.

“Make yourself at home.”

I stood for a moment to take in my surroundings while Cody checked something in the oven.

I marveled at the changes he’d made to the place.

The cabin was small, but it had an open floor plan that made it appear bigger inside.

A couple of large windows had been added, and a long, oblong island was the only thing that separated the kitchen from the rest of the room.

At the far corner and bumped up against the wall was a large bed, and next to it was a wardrobe.

It was the only concession made for a bedroom.

He'd somehow made it work in the limited space that was available.

I knew that the one and only door in the room led to a bathroom.

Cody had arranged a sofa in front of the rustic stone fireplace, and there was an old-fashioned, braided rug in front of it, which, if memory served me correctly, had always been here.

One recliner sat next to the sofa, and I knew by its worn appearance that it was where Cody liked to sit.

There was a huge, flat screen TV above the fireplace.

“I really like what you’ve done to the place.” I walked to the kitchen island, pulled out one of the bar stools, and sat down. “What else do you have planned?”

Cody turned from setting a pan down on top of the stove, removing the oven mitt as he walked over to me. “Eventually, I want to add a loft that I can use as a bedroom.”

I glanced up at the ceiling, wondering how he was going to accomplish that. “So you’re going to make this your permanent residence?”

He nodded with a smile in his eyes. “That’s the plan.”

I hadn’t realized there were stools on the other side of the island until he pulled one out and sat down across from me. “You like small and simple,” I concluded, noticing the tags he wore around his thick neck.

He smirked. “If you’re talking about my home, I like simple and low maintenance.” He reached forward and tucked some loose hair behind my ear. “If you’re talking about my women, I like tight and wet.”

I hadn’t been talking about his women, but damn him.

His words made me wet. I clenched my thighs to appease the sudden ache there.

“We weren’t talking about your women,” I pointed out, holding his gaze.

He leaned in, and for a second I thought he was going to kiss me.

I was a little disappointed when he didn’t.

“Would you like a drink?” The gleam in his eyes told me that he knew exactly what I was feeling.

I resisted the urge to lean in and kiss him and tried to breathe normally. I didn’t want to appear too eager. “Yes. That would be nice.”

He swung around and slid off the stool. “I have wine, whiskey, and beer.”

“Wine, please.” This didn’t seem like a beer moment, and I didn’t care for whiskey. I watched his movements as he dug out two glasses and poured us each a drink. It didn’t surprise me when he returned to the island with a whiskey for himself.

I accepted the glass of wine from him.

“Are you hungry?”

I ignored the double meaning behind his question, but there was no disguising the awareness darkening his eyes that told me just what Cody was hungry for. It gave me a little thrill to know where our evening would undoubtedly end. “I am.”

The intensity of his stare caused my heart to race, and I half-expected him to drag me across the island and have his way with me right then and there. I would have let him. Finally, he said, “Then let’s eat.”

My gaze followed him when he turned back to the stove. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Nope. Got it covered. Just sit there and look pretty.”

His compliment made me smile, and for the first time I noticed two plates and silverware wrapped in linen napkins on the counter. It just went to show how being in his presence made everything else seem to fade around us. The thought kind of scared me, and revealed what this man did to me.

Cody’s movements revealed that he was plating up the food.

When he was done, he returned and set a small platter down between us.

My brows lifted with pleasant surprise. There was some kind of stuffed fish swimming in a thick sauce, complete with garnishes and roasted vegetables.

The delicious aroma wafting up to me caused my belly to rumble with hunger.

“Mmm.” I smiled at Cody as he settled on his stool. “I’m impressed. This looks good, Cody. What kind of fish is this?”

“Flounder, stuffed with crab. Wait ‘til you try it.” He scooped a serving onto my plate, along with some vegetables.

I waited until he’d prepared his own plate before anxiously taking the first bite.

“Oh, my God, this is good!” I moaned. Cody’s grin revealed his pleasure at my response.

“This is five-star good, Cody.” I was being honest. Never would I have expected a big, rough brute like Cody capable of preparing an elevated dish like this.

I took another bite and moaned again. I couldn’t help it.

The fish was flaky, and I could tell that it was fresh.

Cody’s rough laughter drew my gaze to him. “I taught myself to cook. I wasn’t about to go through life on processed food or take out. What did you expect?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Something that goes with beer,” I joked.

“You wound me, woman.” He pointed his fork at me and said, “I know how to wine and dine a woman.” He laughed good-naturedly before adding in a quiet undertone, “Just like I know how to make her scream in my bed.”

His arrogance was staggering, but I couldn’t argue with him.

He’d certainly made me scream at the brook that day.

I cast a subtle glance at his bed, wondering how much screaming I’d be making there before the evening was over.

I wondered how many women he’d had there, suddenly thankful that he’d been honest with me about his dating habits.

I ate every bit of the food on my plate, it was that good. Once I was finished, I reached for my glass and leaned away from the table. My gaze met the amusement in Cody’s eyes. “What?”

“I’m glad you enjoyed dinner.”

Was he making fun of me for cleaning my plate?

I thought about asking for seconds just to see his reaction.

“It was an excellent meal, and when I’m hungry I eat.

” I wasn’t one bit embarrassed about cleaning off my plate.

“You think picking at my food and living on salads gave me these womanly curves?” I teased while running my hand down my body.

His eyes flickered before slowly traveling over me.

I’d given Cody an invitation without even realizing, but in truth, I liked his eyes on me.

I liked the way they grew lazy and darkened over what he saw.

My nipples tingled, and I knew they were growing hard and that he could see them poking through the material of my dress.

He made no attempt to cover up where his heated gaze had halted.

A rush of heat spread over me as I once again felt a throbbing between my thighs, an itch I couldn’t scratch on my own unless I reached down between my legs and rubbed the ache away.

Somehow, I doubted I’d get away with that.

Instead, I picked up my plate and rose to my feet.

“Are you done?” His plate was empty, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t want seconds.

“ With dinner ,” Cody specified in a tone that revealed that that was all he was done with.

The gruffness of his tone gave me goose bumps. I added his plate on top of mine, picked up the platter, and took them to the sink. I turned on the water to rinse them off. Why was I nervous all of a sudden?

“Leave them and come back here.”

I turned the water off and turned around, leaning against the sink. Arousal had turned his expression into something feral and dangerous, speaking loudly of his intentions and making me quiver with need.

“I’m done with dinner, but I’m not done with you .”

There was so much meaning in his comment.

So much fire burning in his eyes. They stripped my simple dress off and scorched my flesh.

Why did he have to be so charismatic, and so damned sure of himself?

I wanted to condemn his confident arrogance by shooting him down, but my body didn’t get the memo.

If I wasn’t careful, I was going to let Cody hurt me.