Page 40 of Never Dance with the Devils (Never Say Never #6)

MADDOX

W e stay like that for hours, staring at the black sky and pointing out pretty stars we don’t know the names of.

“I haven’t done this since I was a kid,” I sigh.

“Done what?” Kayla asks.

“Look up,” I say with a small laugh, though it’s oddly true. “I’m always ‘eyes on the puck’, but my dad took me camping when I was a kid. That’s how I know those two constellations.”

“Of course he did,” Riggs grumbles. “Picture perfect childhood-having asshole.”

He’s giving me shit, not truly envious considering his childhood was pretty great too.

“Jealous?” I taunt, smiling at the memories flooding over me.

“Dad would make a whole thing of it every summer. We’d pack up, just the two of us, and spend a long weekend in the woods somewhere.

” I laugh, remembering the rules he always made sure I was clear on.

“He would tell Mom we were doing manly things, like fishing for our dinner, chopping wood, and starting a campfire by rubbing sticks together. But in reality, Dad would buy a small cord of wood before we hit the campsite and we’d use a lighter to start the fire.

We’d have hot dogs for dinner and then toast the marshmallows Mom packed for us.

They always tasted a little like hot dogs from being on the same wire hanger.

” I swallow, swearing I can taste them now.

They were always a bit gross to me because of the mix of flavors, but I’d give anything to eat those slightly meaty, definitely burned, sticky, sugary clouds until my stomach ached while Dad talked about the stars and we listened to the owls and frogs whose songs sounded so close, before he'd zip me up in a sleeping bag for the night.

“Did your mom know the camping trips weren’t exactly as sold?”

I shrug, thinking back. “As a kid, I would’ve said absolutely not. That’s why the ‘just us guys’ secrecy was important. In hindsight, though the male bonding was important, it was more likely Dad’s attempt to give Mom a weekend away from us… and hockey.”

“She doesn’t like hockey?” Kayla asks, sounding surprised.

“I think she likes Dad and me, and hockey is what we do, so it’s what she did.

Early morning drives to practices, games every weekend, travelling to tournaments…

it was a lot, but she was sitting on those cold bleachers every time I glanced up there, smiling and cheering her heart out for her boys.

” I smile, remembering how she always bundled up in a coat and hat, but never gloves, saying she wanted me to hear her applause, and gloves, while they would’ve made her warmer, would’ve muffled the sound of each clap.

“You sh ould’ve seen how happy she was when I got drafted.

The only person who cried more was Dad.”

“Aww, that’s sweet.” I can hear the smile in Kayla’s voice and her head falls over to my shoulder.

“They still watch my games, but it’s while they’re on their own adventures. Dad’s still my number-one fan, but Mom probably does Sudoku on her phone when I’m not on the ice,” I admit.

“You don’t mind that she’s not obsessed with hockey?”

I can read between those lines as clear as day.

She’s not really asking how I feel about my mother, but rather if I care about her not being a hockey person.

“Couldn’t care less,” I assure her. “Nor does she give a single shit that I don’t have the attention span to arrange numbers in columns and rows.

Everyone has their thing,” I say airily.

“I think this could be mine—stargazing in the woods.”

“You giving up hockey for astronomy? Seems reasonable,” Riggs teases.

Kayla giggles, but given the ways she’s starting to shift and squirm, I don’t think she’s laughing at Riggs’s joke, but rather what he’s doing to her.

“What the hell, man? I’m over here spilling my guts about my childhood camping trips and you’re playing with her pussy?”

“Maybe,” he answers, unbothered.

Kayla moans. “In his defense, he just started.”

I turn over onto my side, catching Kayla’s jaw in my hand and bringing her face to mine even though it’s too dark to really see her.

I let my voice go rough and low as I tell her, “Keep your eyes open while he makes you come. Keep looking up at the stars while we give you another experience to catalog in that pretty brain of yours.”

She whimpers, and I wonder if she’s let her eyes fall closed, either from blissed out pleasure or pure defiance. But trusting her to want this as much as I do, we make use of the cover of night for some outdoor nature explorations, giving Kayla another experience all her own.

We sleep late in the morning and groggily make our way to the small but efficient kitchen. After staring into the fridge at the ingredients we brought, I hold up the carton of eggs with a questioning look. “I’m not a chef, but I can scramble some eggs and throw some cheese in?”

“Sounds delicious,” Kayla answers.

“I can toast bread.” Riggs makes it sound like a humble brag and not a bare minimum of adult functionality.

“Coffee.” Kayla’s growl is cute, but she’s not kidding. She needs her caffeine in the morning. She stares at the pot, pushes a couple of buttons, and then hops up, sitting on the counter to watch Riggs and me do the rest.

Somehow, we still manage to fuck it up, burning both the toast and the eggs.

I’d blame the distracting points of Kayla’s nipples, but the only thing they’re responsible for is being too tempting to resist. At least the coffee is perfect—black and hot and bitter.

And we do manage to get fueled for the day, some grape jam helping the worst of the toast situation.

By mid-afternoon, Kayla’s getting fidgety, glancing around the cabin like she needs a project to manage. I could drag her back to bed, but I have an even better idea.

“Shoes on, everybody,” I declare, standing up from the couch where I’m nursing my second cup of coffee.

“What? Why?” The same questions come in unison from two directions, both Kayla and Riggs.

“We’re going on a hike,” I inform them.

Kayla laughs, shaking her head. “I’m not exactly outdoorsy, in case you hadn’t noticed.

” She gestures to herself, as if her entire being says ‘indoors only’ or ‘fragile—handle with care’.

To note, she is wearing a silk chemise nightie, her skin gleams from the lotion she slathered on this morning, and her painted nails perfectly match her toes. She looks like what she is—a princess.

“You felt pretty outdoorsy last night,” Riggs murmurs.

“Yeah, but it’s broad daylight now,” she purrs back, more onboard with Riggs’s idea than mine, and even as she argues that she doesn’t want to get fucked outside in the sunlight, I can tell she’s considering it.

Admittedly, it’s a great idea, and I’ll save it for later, but first… “Come here,” I tell Kayla, pulling her from the chair she’s lying sideways in. Pushing her out the back door, I stand right behind her, her back to my chest and my mouth to her ear as I say, “Close your eyes. Take a deep breath.”

She leans enough to make sure I see the glare she’s giving me from beneath an arched brow, but when I smile encouragingly, she reluctantly obeys.

“Smell that fresh air? Listen. Hear the birds singing? Feel the sunshine on your pretty skin?”

She takes another breath, her shoulders dropping an inch and her whole body softening. When she looks at me again, her lips have lifted into a smile and she nods. “Alright, people. Shoes and bug spray. I’m not searching you for ticks later. Let’s go.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Riggs answers with a half-assed salute.

But he hops up, grabbing the tennis shoes we picked up at Walmart last night as Kayla disappears to the bedroom to put on the hike-appropriate clothing I’m sure she packed in her bag.

I think that bag of hers is magic because stuff kept coming as she got ready for bed last night.

Even though we’re only here for the weekend, she set out several bottles of skin care and her toothbrush in the bathroom, hung up at least two feet worth of clothes in the closet, and laid out at least four pairs of shoes.

Kayla does not travel lightly. On the other hand, Riggs and I bought a twelve-pack of underwear to split between us, a few pairs of athletic shorts each, and a handful of T-shirts to go with our off-brand shoes.

We don’t have socks, but we do have bug spray. And a mega-size pack of condoms. The important things, you know?

As we step out the back door, ready for some nature, Kayla holds up a hand. “Disclaimer, if I’m attacked by a snake or touch poison ivy, I will take out every bit of my pain and suffering on you.”

“As you should,” I agree.

In the end, it’s more of a stroll than a hike, because despite her protests to the contrary, that not-outdoorsy girl points out every colorful flower and stops to watch the fish swimming in a creek like she’s never seen anything like it before.

And every minute she spends out here, away from her family and with us, she relaxes more and more.

It’s obvious in the stress in her shoulders, the way smiles come easier and quicker, and how she laughs.

I swear by the time we get back to the cabin, she’s nearly skipping as she calls first dibs on the shower, a reward she’s earned.

And once she’s slick and soapy, Riggs and I are going to join her for our reward too—her body.

All I can think is that I don’t want to go back to real life. Things are so much simpler out here.

That night, we’re sitting around the fire pit behind the cabin after a dinner we made together, watching the flames dance and smoke waft up, gray against the black sky.

“Can we stay here forever?” I wonder aloud.