Wild (18 page)

“I'll be down in about fifteen minutes, okay?”

“That works.” He leaned close and kissed her. “I don't think I've ever wanted a woman the way I want you. Please don't change your mind. And I realize begging isn't manly, but I think I'm already desperate.”

She laughed. “S'okay. Desperation works. I don't intend to—change my mind, that is. I'm curious, though. Is this the way you greet all your guests?”

Slowly, he shook his head. “Never. I'm really picky about women. Don't know what it is about you, but I'm going with it.”

“Good. I hope you've got protection, because I didn't bring any. I had no idea what the extracurricular activities were like here.”

He kissed her quickly and stepped away. “Neither did I. I have to admit, this is a new one for me.” Then he turned away and went out the door without looking back. She was glad of that. If he'd turned to her again, she had a feeling she'd be dragging him to the bed, protection or not.

She wanted him that badly.

*   *   *

Elle followed this mountain of a man through the woods. He'd said his name was Kentucky and told her to call him Tuck, but he didn't say much more beyond the introduction. A few words about the resort, that there was less than a month before they closed for the season. She wasn't really sure what else he'd said, because she'd stopped listening to his specific words within a few sentences, too mesmerized by the deep growl of his voice to actually pay attention to the content.

She really hoped it wasn't anything important.

Walking a few steps behind him was its own kind of torture. His shoulders were so broad that she didn't think she'd ever seen a man this large, this impressively built. They tapered down to one of the finest butts she'd ever followed in her life, and it was all she could do not to reach out and touch. Realizing her fingers were actually twitching had her biting back a bad case of inappropriate laughter, but she couldn't wait to see what the other girls thought of him.

Elle thought he was the hottest thing she'd ever seen.

He led her into a small clearing, and she stopped dead in her tracks and laughed. “It looks like the Three Bears' cabin.” When he turned and smiled at her, she just shook her head. “Does that make me Goldilocks?”

He surprised her then, turning and taking a step closer to her, looping a long, loose curl of her hair around his forefinger. It was naturally dark brown, but she'd added some auburn highlights last time she colored that turned it deep burgundy in the sunlight. Tuck held it up and stared at it as if this were a major decision.

“Not gold,” he said, rubbing the curl between his fingers. “But it's really unique. I think you're our first guest with burgundy-colored hair. I like it. It fits you.”

She stood there, speechless, shaken by both his words and her response. When he'd touched her hair, she'd wanted to lean into him. Wanted him.

Then he turned as if he'd felt nothing at all and went up the steps. Sighing, Elle followed.

The cabin was adorable, all rich-looking cedar logs with a nice little front porch, a table and a couple of chairs, and forest-green mini blinds at the windows. Practical and comfortable. Elle followed him as he opened the door and stepped aside so she could enter first. She walked through the doorway and stopped in her tracks to get the feel of the absolutely wonderful space that would be her home for the next week. This was even better than the photos on the website. She turned, and Tuck was right there, so close that her breasts brushed his chest.

They both stepped apart. “I'm sorry,” he said. He dipped his head and actually flushed a deep red. “I didn't mean to crowd you.”

She looked directly into his eyes—they were a dark, cloudy gray with a burst of gold, so mesmerizing she could easily lose herself in his calm gaze. “You didn't crowd me. I'm actually enjoying this unusual sense of feeling almost petite.” She laughed when he smiled at her. “So often when I'm around a man, I feel like an absolute moose. You make me feel normal.”

He carefully set her bags on the floor and cupped her shoulders in his big hands. “You're never going to be anything as average as normal, Elle. You're much too special. You are an impressive, beautiful woman, one I'd like to get to know a lot better.”

His words startled her, but she did her best not to let it show. He was a spectacular man—big all over, with those broad shoulders and long, strong legs. His hair was dark, lying in soft curls much longer than it appeared at first glance. He was bearded, though it was neatly trimmed and framed his strong jaw in a most attractive manner. The sleeveless T-shirt he wore exposed muscular arms and a vivid tattoo that stretched around his right shoulder and upper arm. Dark hair covered his forearms, and he was, without a doubt, the most attractive man Elle had ever seen.

And he wanted to get to know her better. “I think I'd like that,” she said. “Very much.”

He smiled almost shyly, picked up her bags, and set the large one on a luggage rack near a simply designed armoire, like all the furniture, obviously built by craftsmen. The smaller bag went on the end of the bed. “I'm helping Lawz with dinner tonight, so I need to get back to the dining room. Take a few minutes to relax, but come back to the lodge as soon as you can. I'll fix you a drink and make sure you've got something to snack on while we get everything going. Does that work?”

“It does. Thank you.” She wanted to kiss him, wanted to see what that beard would feel like against her cheeks, what his lips would taste like, but that was silly. They didn't know each other, but she smiled and realized she was biting her lips, noticed he was focused on her mouth, and she wanted him to kiss her so badly she almost ached.

He must have gotten the message. He actually groaned when he reached for her, and she moved into his embrace as if they'd been lovers for years. She'd never been held by a man as large as Tuck, never found a man who fit so well with her, who held her as if she were spun glass, a precious thing to be cared for. He kissed her carefully, his mouth coming down on hers as if he feared damaging her, and she realized that, as big as he was, he'd probably only been with normal-sized women, and it was awkward for him when a woman was so small next to his huge size.

There was no awkwardness with the two of them. She wasn't that much shorter than Tuck, yet he was so much larger than she was, a big man with a strong body, sure of himself, and yet in an endearing way, so obviously unsure of her. She loved it, loved that small sense of vulnerability in the way he held her, the way he kissed her.

And it was so unexpected, to be in this remote lodge with her very best friends, meeting a man who was her ideal—at least in size and appearance—more than any man she'd ever met.

He ended the kiss, slowly, almost regretfully, and leaned his forehead against hers. “Don't take too long,” he said. “I'm going to be waiting very impatiently for you.”

She watched as he left the cabin, and she didn't close the door until he disappeared along the shadowed trail beneath the trees. Then she rushed into the bathroom to get a quick shower so she could chase him down at the lodge.

*   *   *

Jules really wished she could get past the nerves because the man leading her through the woods was someone she really wanted to get to know better. But it wasn't going to happen, not the way she was shaking. No doubt in her mind at all, he was the sexiest guy she'd ever seen, but she figured the source of her nerves was a little like PTSD, which made sense.

She had an excellent reason to fear a man she didn't know. She'd known Andrew, and he'd still done a number on her. She'd never had the courage to tell her friends the truth about her old boyfriend. He'd looked great when she'd listed his qualities—he was sharp looking, personable, successful. They'd all liked him the one time they'd met.

They had no idea that she'd discovered the hard way that there was another side to the man. One not nearly as much fun or as likable. Now, following Armando through the woods, she wasn't certain if the chills along her spine were fear or arousal.

You'd think at this point she'd be able to tell the two apart.

They stepped out of the shadowed trail into a tiny glen, where a beam of sunlight illuminated the log cabin sitting in the middle of the woods as if it sat under a spotlight. It was so utterly peaceful, her nervousness fled and a sense of calm settled over her shoulders like a warm shawl. “This is where I'm staying?”

Armando merely turned and raised an eyebrow. “Of course. What do you think of it?”

“I love it. It's so much better than I imagined. It's peaceful. Welcoming, even.” She stepped around him and walked up the front steps to the small deck.

“I actually helped build this one.” He sounded justifiably proud as he carried her bags up the steps.

Jules opened the door for him and followed him inside. The cabin was small, but very comfortable with a large bed and very simple oak furniture. Everything fit the rustic setting with impeccable style. “I think I'm really going to love it here. I swear I feel more relaxed just walking through the door.”

He set her large case on a suitcase rack and placed her smaller bag on the foot of the bed. “You're supposed to feel relaxed. That's the purpose of your visit, isn't it?”

“You're right. It is.” She smiled at him and realized her nerves had settled to a low hum. Yeah, this was definitely more arousal than fear. The sense of relief had her smiling. “Well, that and spending a last week with our friend Meg as a single woman. She's not getting married until October 2, but this was the only week we could all swing time off.”

“Are any of the others of your group married?”

Jules shook her head. “Nope. Not yet.”

She might have been, she thought. Thank goodness she'd figured out what a jerk Andrew was before they got any more serious than they had. After discovering what a slimeball she was dating, she figured she'd been lucky getting away with nothing more than a split lip. As much as he'd been screwing around—quite literally—she'd been thrilled she hadn't ended up with an STD.

Armando—
Manny,
the guys had called him—laughed. “Women today aren't rushing to get married like they used to. They have the freedom to hold out for what they really want.”

She sighed, running her fingers along the silky surface of the armoire. “We're not really holdouts, I don't think. Mostly just particular. I figure I'll know when the right guy comes along.”

Manny nodded sagely. “I agree. A lifelong commitment to one person is a huge decision. Not one to be made in haste.”

She loved the way he spoke, like a man from another time. His words were measured and calm, his voice as smooth as silk. Plus, he had long hair. Not overly long, but it was a deep, rich, silky brown that waved over his shoulders in front and curled against his shoulder blades in back. With his neatly trimmed beard and mustache and the slight widow's peak, he could have been one of the Three Musketeers. He only needed the white shirt with blousy sleeves and a laced neckline to complete the image.

She glanced at his long, long legs. Knee-high boots wouldn't hurt, though the faded jeans and moccasins worked just as well. “Yeah,” she said, responding to his comment. “I thought I'd met the one a while back. Then he knocked me out when I told him I knew he was cheating.”

Shocked that she'd said exactly what she was thinking, Jules slammed her hand over her mouth. “I'm sorry. I don't know what made me say that. I never talk about what happened. Even my closest friends don't know the whole story.”

She was still apologizing when Manny moved so quickly she had no idea how she ended up in his arms.

“No,” he said. “Please don't apologize. It explains so much.” He kissed her forehead and then held her close, comforting her in a strong but gentle embrace that brought her firmly against his chest. “I thought you were afraid of me, but if a man has treated you so badly, you have every right to be uncomfortable following a strange man into the woods. I wish I'd known. I would have made a point to make you feel safe. I'm sorry.”

“It's not your fault.” She was so embarrassed. She wanted to push him away, but his arms felt so good around her, and somehow hers had crept around his broad back. He was big but so gentle, and his deep, mellow voice calmed her.

“No,” he said, and she thought his voice sounded terribly sad. “Not mine, personally, but sometimes I feel compelled to apologize for all the bastards who share my gender. We're not all like that, truly. I can honestly say that every man here reveres women. You are all beautiful to us for so many reasons—we respect and admire your strength and your intelligence. We love your grace, your willingness to step out of your comfort zone and come here to what must feel like the back of beyond.”

She giggled against his chest, and she was not at all the kind of woman who giggled. “It's not entirely all the way to the back of beyond. You have running water, and the road was mostly paved.” She raised her head and smiled at him, pleased to see he was smiling back. Sometimes her sense of humor was lost on people. Face it, it was lost on most guys.

Armando got it. “True,” he said. “But you know the best thing? We have men who cook and then clean up after themselves. And this man needs to get to the kitchen.”

Then he tilted his head and kissed her. She was so surprised, she gasped. He took her unintended invitation and softly licked the seam of her lips. She tightened her arms around his waist and kissed him back, opened to a man she'd barely met and yet trusted more than any man she'd ever known.

And damn, but this guy could kiss. They were both breathing hard by the time they slowly pulled apart. Jules would have been embarrassed except Armando was obviously as deeply affected as she was, his erection a solid brand against her belly, rising hard beneath his faded jeans. He was close to a foot taller than her five and a half feet and so broad shouldered and powerful he made her feel petite in comparison. He wasn't bulky at all, but strongly built with a taut, muscular body like a long-distance runner, all lean muscle and long arms and legs. She tried to imagine him naked and realized she was trembling from head to foot.