Goodbye Gifts: (The Steamy Version) (A 'HOT' Castle Mountain Lodge Romance Book 5) (10 page)

Anger boiled in Carmen’s core for the man she’d never met who could possibly ruin Dylan for the possibility of love and happiness. It didn’t seem to matter that she herself had sworn off marriage and commitment, because she’d made her choices for much different reasons. It wasn’t because she didn’t think that a relationship could work. It was because she didn’t think it could work for
her
. She couldn’t be a successful woman in her own right if she was tied down to a man. But wasn’t that exactly what Dylan was saying?

“No,” she said aloud.

“No?” Dylan raised his eyebrows and examined her. “I really do think he loved her; he just didn’t know how to show it.”

“That’s not what I meant,” she said. “Sorry.” Carmen looked out and found her parents’ boat across the lake, still paddling along. “I think you’re wrong about not being able to find love and success at the same time.” She spoke so softly that she wasn’t sure she’d even spoken aloud, but the look on Dylan’s face confirmed it.

“Then why don’t you believe that?” He slid the paddle down into the boat and moved forward, coming off the bench, so he, too, was sitting on the bottom of the canoe.

“I think my opinion may be changing,” she whispered.

Dylan leaned forward; the boat rocked and Carmen gripped the sides. He was so close she could feel the heat come off his body. She wanted to reach out and tuck her hands under his shirt to pull him close.

“Maybe mine’s changing, too.” His voice came out in puffs of air on her cheek.

They moved at the same time, and their lips met in a soft crush. Dylan used one hand to hold himself stable and the other to trail a thumb down her cheek.

She sighed into the kiss, wanting it to last forever. She slipped down again, so she was on the floorboards of the boat. This time, Dylan came down on top of her, and braced himself on either side of the boat so he didn’t crush her. She wanted him closer, needed to feel him on top of her with a need that almost scared her with its intensity.

“Carmen, I don’t do things like this.”

She tilted her head. “Like what?”

“Like hookups in a boat.” His lips curled up in a smile.

“You think we’re going to hook up?” she teased, despite the fact that she didn’t do things like that either. With Dylan, she wanted to. Man, did she want to. “Because I thought we were just—”

He swallowed her words with his lips on hers again. This time, there was more urgency behind his kiss, and one of his hands slipped up under her T-shirt and squeezed her breast. She groaned in pleasure. Every touch sent her further out of control, and the need for this man—whom she’d just met but felt as if she’d known forever—grew deeper, stronger, more intense.

“Dylan, I want…”

Her words trailed away, as she realized she could clearly feel his want as it pressed into her belly. She slid her hand down until she could cup him through his jeans. His moan was almost her undoing. He wanted her just as badly as she wanted him, and that was a crazy turn-on. Without thinking about what she was doing, she reached up and undid the buttons on his jeans, until she could slip her hand inside and wrap her fingers around the length of him properly.

“Oh God, Carmen.” He strained for control in his voice. “I swear, I won’t be able to…”

His words were lost in another moan of pleasure as she stroked him slowly, squeezing and trailing her fingers over him while she moved. The boat rocked under her and for a moment, nothing else mattered. Not the fact that they’d both just confessed to avoiding relationships, not Trent and his stupid blackmailing deal, not even the fact that even though it felt as if they were the only two people in the world, alone in their boat in the middle of the beautiful glacier lake—they weren’t.

“Carmen!” Her mother’s voice floated across the expanse, and echoed off the surrounding mountains. “What are you two doing back there?”

With a start, Dylan sat up. He tucked himself back into his jeans so quickly, the boat rocked dangerously. He helped her up with a smile and she bit her bottom lip and watched Dylan for signs of regret. “Sorry,” she said. “I forgot about the parent factor.”

Dylan reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. His fingers trailed down her neck, and she leaned into his touch. “Don’t be sorry. I’d like to continue that later.”

“Carmen?” her dad yelled.

Still, Carmen and Dylan didn’t move. She stared into his eyes, willing him to kiss her again, because whatever objections she’d had only moments ago, she couldn’t seem to remember them anymore. The only thing that mattered was the way he’d made her feel, the heat he’d ignited within her, a feeling she’d never felt before. Looking at him, she knew with no uncertainty that whatever it was that was happening between them, she wanted it to continue. In that moment, Carmen made the decision to phone Trent and tell him their deal was over, and she’d make that call before they left Crown Lake. She didn’t want to wait any longer than she had to.

Spending the day with Carmen and her parents had been just what Dylan needed to take his mind off everything. Especially that kiss. That had been exactly what he’d needed. He hadn’t kissed her again, but not because he didn’t want to. Boy, had he wanted to. But knowing the relationship Carmen had with her parents and not knowing what exactly the relationship between the two of them was—he hadn’t wanted to risk it.

They’d spent a few more hours paddling around and exploring the far shore. Dylan spent most of that time sneaking glances at her, and whenever he could, finding an excuse to touch her. Every time he made contact with her, even briefly, there was a spark between them, and all Dylan could think of was how badly he wanted to explore that connection between them.

He didn’t look at his phone once all day. Even when Carmen excused herself to make a few calls. When the sun started to sink in the sky and Carmen announced that they should probably be heading back, he reluctantly agreed. Dylan didn’t want to admit it, but he knew he couldn’t play hooky forever.

Back at the Lodge, he’d said his goodbyes to Bill and Linda, who were smiling and whispering at each other, giving Dylan the distinct impression that his avoiding kissing Carmen again had all been for nothing.

“We’ll see you both for dinner, then?” Bill asked. “We’re just going to have a little rest and then we’ll meet you at Oliver’s.”

“Oh, I don’t—“

“Sounds great,” Dylan interrupted Carmen before she could protest. “I don’t know about the two of you,” he continued, turning on the charm, “but all that paddling has certainly worked up an appetite.”

Dylan was aware that Carmen was staring at him, but he wasn’t going to let her get away so easily. Not when he had another opportunity to spend time with her.

“We’ll see you soon,” Linda said. Dylan knew Carmen hadn’t missed the twinkle in her mom’s eyes, or the little wink she gave her husband, but it didn’t matter. Let her parents think they were in a relationship. Especially because Dylan himself could no longer think of many objections to making that a reality.

After Bill and Linda left, Carmen turned and stared at him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m coming for dinner.” He smiled smugly. “And since I have the feeling they’re already talking about us, why not give them something to really talk about?”

She tipped her head and tried to look annoyed with him, but Dylan noticed the start of a smile. “Isn’t that a song?”

He reached out and tugged her into him. He’d been waiting all afternoon to hold her properly and the feel of her body against his was everything he’d expected it to be. “What’s the harm?” he said, his voice husky as he moved his mouth closer to hers.

“Dylan, I don’t think—“

“Then don’t.” He closed the gap between them and gently brushed her lips with his. Taking her soft moan as encouragement, Dylan deepened the kiss.

When he pulled back and looked into her eyes, he said, “I would like the opportunity to do that again. Wouldn’t you?”

Carmen nodded but Dylan could see conflict warring in her eyes.

“Don’t think,” Dylan said again. “Let’s just go with this.”

She closed her eyes for the briefest moment before opening them and answering him with a kiss. When she broke their connection, she said, “I have a feeling I’m going to regret this. But,” she bit her bottom lip before saying, “why not? Meet us for dinner at six thirty at Oliver’s.” She turned to walk away and shot one more look over her shoulder. “I am going to regret this, right?”

“I promise you won’t.”

Like a teenager, he smiled after her. He couldn’t help it; something about Carmen made him happier than he’d been in a long time. And kissing her? Well, that was a different story altogether.

If he ever did decide to commit himself to a relationship, Carmen would be exactly the type of woman he’d be interested in. And for the life of him, as he watched her walk down the hall, he couldn’t remember any of his objections to commitment. Carmen was gorgeous, smart, career driven— “Where the hell have you been?”

Trent’s voice came crashing through his reverie. He turned to see his big brother, storming across the lobby, fire burning in his eyes. “Trent.”

“Don’t you dare take that happy, easygoing, I’ve had a great day tone with me, little brother.” Trent came to a stop in front of him and narrowed his eyes. “Where have you been? I’ve been calling you all afternoon.”

A flash of guilt flew through him and Dylan dug his phone out of his back pocket, powering it on. Immediately, the screen lit up with missed call alerts and texts. “I had it off,” Dylan said dumbly.

“Yeah. I figured that out.”

“Look, I’m…” Dylan started. “What’s going on?” He opted for a direct approach.

“What’s going on?” Trent chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “I’ll tell you. When I got your message, I tried to call you back to tell you Sam Braxton had a few more questions.” Trent may as well have punched him for the nausea that immediately began to swirl in his gut as he listened.

“What do you—”

Trent held up a hand. “Just wait,” he said, ice in his voice. “It gets better. When I couldn’t get a hold of you, I went looking for you. I didn’t find you, obviously.” Trent sneered. “But what I did find was a note with your doodling on it.” He held up a page from Dylan’s notepad and Dylan instantly knew what Trent was going to say. To some, the note might look like a bunch of scribbles, but when you looked carefully, you could make out the dollar signs and Jake Mentz’s name, and both of those things had big, scrawling
Xs
through them.

“Trent, it’s just a doodle.” Even as he protested, Dylan knew it was pointless. The look on Trent’s face told him his brother had figured out exactly what was going on.

“That’s what I thought at first, too,” Trent said. “And then I remembered that you tend to doodle about whatever it is you’re talking about. So I phoned.”

“Jake?”

Trent nodded. “And that was interesting.”

Dylan knew exactly what was coming.

“Why exactly hasn’t he been paid for the last few months, Dylan? Why exactly did he ask me for confirmation of funds that need to be in place before he continues work? What the hell is going on?”

Dylan shook his head. “It’s all going to be okay,” he said. “There was a little hiccup with financing, but with the Braxton investment, we’re right on track.” As he spoke, something Trent had said earlier flashed through his head. “Wait. Did you answer their questions? Did they sign?”

“They didn’t.”

Icy fear pricked at the back of Dylan’s neck. “What? Why?”

“You weren’t here,” Trent continued, as if Dylan hadn’t spoken. “After my chat with Jake, I knew something was up and I couldn’t get a hold of you.” He glared at Dylan. “And then I got a call from Sam Braxton. He said you didn’t meet him for your lunch meeting, so he couldn’t get his questions answered.”

Dylan ran his hands through his hair, trying to control the spinning that was taking over his mind. “No,” he said. “No. I totally forgot.” He’d been so preoccupied with Carmen, he’d completely spaced on the most important business meeting of his career. He looked up. “Tell me he’s still here.”

Trent shook his head. “They left.”

“No.”

“I did my best to answer his questions, but they were specific to the build. And that’s your—“

“Wait.” A knot of ice formed in Dylan’s chest. They needed that money or the Springs project would be in serious jeopardy. “We need…I need…dammit.”

“They’re expecting your call,” Trent said. “I told them you weren’t feeling well. A stomach thing. It’s not over yet.”

It took a second for Trent’s words to register. “You what?”

“Well, I couldn’t very well tell them you were off screwing around with a girl, could I?”

Anger flared in him at his brother’s choice of words, but Dylan bit back a response and focused instead on the problem at hand. “I’ll call them.”

“Do that.” Trent took a moment to straighten his suit jacket and compose himself before he added, “Fix this, Dylan. This is a partnership and if you aren’t focused on the Springs project, it’s not going to work.”

“I’m focused.”

“Are you?”

Dylan didn’t miss the implication behind his words.

“I am.”

Trent assessed him for a moment before nodding. “Good. Then I’ll tell Carmen to back off. I can see now that it wasn’t a good idea.”

“Wait. What?” Dylan grabbed Trent’s arm before he could leave. “What did you say about Carmen?”

He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what Trent had to say, but he needed to know.

“I’m going to tell Carmen to back off,” Trent repeated. “I kind of told her to take you out so you could get your mind off of work a little bit. I see now that probably wasn’t the best idea. But as your big brother, I thought you could use a little fun and—“

“Slow down.” Dylan’s head was spinning with everything Trent was saying. He’d told Carmen to take him out? “What do you mean, you told her? She asked me for a drink.” Dylan thought back to the other day in the lobby of the Lodge when he’d met Carmen for the first time. She’d seemed a little uncomfortable, but it had definitely been her idea to go for the drink. Hadn’t it?