Page 9

9

THORN

I wasn’t looking forward to today.

As morning light crept under the motel curtains, I ran my mind over the events of the past few days.

Wilder and I had worked side by side, dismantling the cabin bathrooms, pulling out rotten wood, and ripping up stained, moldy carpet. Ugh. That last one was the worst.

Each day, I retreated to the main house for lunch and sat in the living room, while Wilder went home. He hated me so much he couldn’t share a space and eat lunch while we chatted about nothing in particular.

I had learned that he grew up in Cougar Lake and only left to attend college, saying this was where he belonged. I had a connection to the home where Dad and Father lived and where my Dad still resided, but that place would always be there, and I’d never felt the need to return to my hometown.

Even if Dad sold the place—which he would never do, he’d repeated that many times—those memories were locked in my heart and head and I could return to them anytime.

I studied my PB&J sandwich that I’d made myself in the motel room. It wasn’t filling, and I wished I’d stopped at the diner and bought lunch. I could go there now, it was just a hop, skip, and a jump away. But the real reason I hadn’t picked up anything was I’d hoped Wilder would invite me to his place for lunch.

That was a silly idea when he could barely put up with working beside me during the day. We were both sweaty and filthy after ten minutes of work, and I’d joked that we should jump in the lake during a break. In my head, we’d be naked. There was no one else around.

But Wilder gave me a look that said he’d rather lie on a highway during peak-hour traffic than take a swim with me.

“Don’t let me stop you,” was his response.

I wasn’t going to get butt naked and have him watch as I dunked my body in the cold lake water. Despite it being spring, Saul had informed me the lake was always cold, even at the height of summer.

Instead of removing all my clothes, I’d waded into the lake wearing my underwear. I could feel Wilder’s eyes on me. And yes, the water was freaking freezing, but I refused to yelp, instead swimming out a ways before turning around. He hadn’t moved, and I expected he’d tallied up points on my swimming style and speed.

A trolley rolled over the concrete outside my door, bringing me back to the present, and I heaved myself out of bed. As I stood under the lukewarm shower—the motel owner really needed to upgrade the building’s water heater—I was plagued with thoughts of how long I could continue to work beside Wilder and not throw myself at him.

But I reminded myself, I had to put my own feelings aside, because if he was appalled and downed tools, saying he couldn’t work with me, I’d be up shit creek without a paddle. Unable to do the repairs by myself and not having anyone to do the work with me.

Today I not only had breakfast at the diner but I bought lunch too and an extra coffee because this was going to be a multiple-coffee day. Not only was I tired from doing physical work, but resisting the urge to fling myself at Wilder took almost as much energy as ripping out old sinks and toilets.

Wilder was on site when I arrived. Not a surprise, as that was the norm. I wondered if he snuck back here at night and worked so he didn’t have me beside him.

It occurred to me Wilder might have a partner or a husband. He didn’t share anything about his relationship status, not that I did either, though I might have mentioned that I lived alone.

I raised a hand when he came into view and was greeted by a grunt. Wilder always had a thermos of coffee with him but never offered me a cup. I had my one additional coffee that was already cold, though I could heat it up in Uncle’s ancient microwave.

“Morning.” I didn’t add the word “good,” unsure if it was. Depending on how many grunts I received, I’d rate the morning.

“Mmmm.” That wasn’t bad. A one-grunt morning showed promise.

I tried to make conversation as we headed toward one of the cabins. “Do anything interesting last night?”

“Depends on what you call interesting.”

“Something out of the ordinary?”

“Nope.” He shut that line of conversation down pretty quickly.

“Tell me what the lodge was like in its heyday.” That was a subject that should give me more than a one-word answer.

“The cabins were booked all year round. In winter, guests went skiing, during summer, they swam and sailed. That was when the woods swarmed with cougars.”

“Wasn’t that a little dangerous? For people hiking?”

Now instead of a grunt, I got a growl, or maybe that was a snarl. I couldn’t distinguish between the two. Wilder stopped what he was doing, and I stilled my movements. I gulped, thinking of those long-gone cougars, sneaking up on me as I hiked the trails behind the lodge.

“No humans were ever hurt by the cougars.”

“Okay. Good to know.” My hands trembled as I pulled up dank, damp carpet and hurled it outside to the dumpster.

When I returned, I stood in the cabin doorway as Wilder yanked apart an old closet. He didn’t acknowledge me but brushed past me, dragging the wooden panels.

“I understand you worked for my uncle and you have no loyalty toward me. But I don’t understand why you hate me. We’re both just trying to restore the place.”

Wilder brushed dirt off his hands and using his upper arm, and pushed hair from his brow. He folded his arms. I understood that maneuver. He was protecting himself from me, maybe from the world.

“I don’t hate you,” he spat out through gritted teeth.

“Could have fooled me. You hardly talk to me, refuse to sit together at lunch time, and treat me like the enemy.”

“You know nothing.” His white-knuckled fingers were a sign he was holding back. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what he was keeping inside.

“Tell me.” I took a step toward him, and he clamped his teeth on his lower lip.

Wilder shrugged. “What is there to say?”

It was up to me, and I couldn’t keep my feelings bottled up inside any longer. Despite putting the renovations in jeopardy, I had to tell him and to heck with the consequences.

“I like you.”

“Yeah? Plenty of people like me.” It was almost as though he was goading me to say more, to reveal what was in my heart, or maybe my cock. But I hadn’t decided if this was an infatuation or something more.

“I like you, like you.”

His eyes widened, and I caught a glimpse of the darkness or maybe it was something old in his gaze.

“I really want to kiss you. And more.”

Wilder’s chest heaved, and he pursed his lips. “I don’t hate you, but I wish I did.”

How did I respond to that? Me hurling myself into his arms and face-planting on his lips.

Gods, they were so warm and soft, a huge contrast to his washboard abs and muscular arms and thighs. He tasted of coffee and something else that reminded me of Uncle’s overgrown herb garden. He grabbed my face, a hand on either side, and nibbled my bottom lip, each touch sending heat surging through my veins and engorging my cock.

“Mmmm.” I parted my lips, and he darted in, his tongue exploring my mouth before dueling with my tongue. His panting mirrored my own, and he brushed his hips against my crotch. I grabbed his butt and pulled him closer, grinding against him, wanting more than his tongue in me.

One of Wilder’s hands slipped under my shirt, gliding over my sweat-soaked skin to my nipple. He circled it and tapped the point as it hardened before tweaking it, making me groan into his mouth.

“I want you,” I mumbled, which was kinda unnecessary based on my actions.

Wilder pulled away, his eyes darker than I remembered. “You don’t know?—”

I cut him off. “I do.”

We gazed at one another, the lust in his eyes no doubt reflected in my own.

“Hello.”

Wilder hadn’t spoken, and I didn’t think I had either. But there was another, “Hello.” This time it was closer.

He jerked his head over his shoulder toward the door. Two men in uniform with clipboards and tablets were outside, one craning his neck upward, the other peering into the cabin.

“We’re the building inspectors.”

“Joe, hi. It’s Wilder. We didn’t expect you until later.”

Joe sniggered. “So I see.”

I hated Joe and his colleague. They ruined my day, maybe my life, and Wilder and I might never get back to when we were about to get naked.

Damn them!