Page 121 of Timid (Lark Cove 2)

I chuckled, following her to the bathroom. We cleaned up, then came back to the bedroom and sorted through the mess of piled clothes.

As she finished pulling on her boots, she looked up at me. “Are my cheeks still red?”

“Yep.” It would take at least ten minutes for the sign of her orgasm to go away.

She sighed. “My parents are going to know exactly what we were doing.”

“Yeah.” I pulled her into my arms. “Make-up sex.”

She giggled. “We should fight more. Just not on holidays when we have to spend the day with my parents and your little brother.”

“Good idea.” Though I was sure that all three would be more than happy to see us together. The strife between us hadn’t been missed by anyone.

“Come on. Let’s go.” I took her hand and led her back outside. As we walked down the staircase, I took a long look at the playground.

The battleground.

Until the day I died, I’d never forget how Willa had fought for me by that swing set.

“Can I ask you something?” Willa asked as we walked toward her parents’ deck.

I glanced down at her. “As long as it isn’t why. You hit your quota for that one already today.”

“It’s not why.” She smiled. “I was just wondering where you went the other night.”

“What other night?” I asked, even though I knew exactly what night she was talking about.

“Last week when you left in the middle of the night. Where did you go?”

“Oh, uh, just the bar. I was restless so I went down for a drink. I was being a dick to you, and all the shit with Ryder . . . I just needed to get my head right. So I went down and had a couple of drinks and made sure the new bartender was doing okay. Sorry. I didn’t realize you’d even heard me.”

“Hmmm.” She frowned. “In the future, talking to me might be the better decision. Contrary to popular belief, tequila isn’t exactly a problem solver.”

“You’re right.” I kissed the top of her head. “I’ll work on it. Sorry.”

I would work on drowning my problems with booze, but sometimes, a man just needed a drink. And that night, I’d needed a big fucking drink. Luckily, our new bartender, Dakota, had been more than happy to pour them for his boss.

“Was that who called you?” she asked. “Dakota? I thought I heard you on the phone before you left.”

I looked her right in the eye, hoping like hell this was the one lie I could pull off today. “It was no one. Just a wrong number.”

“Hey!” I smiled and stood from my chair as Jackson strode into my office at the camp. “This is a surprise.”

He was supposed to be driving to Kalispell this morning in my car. We’d swapped vehicles because he wanted to clean mine on his trip to town. Apparently, he had a favorite car wash in Kalispell and he was going up there to shop for Ryder’s Christmas presents. So while he was running errands, I’d come to the camp to get some work done before a meeting with Logan.

“What are you doing here?” I asked as he came around the desk.

He answered by taking my face in his hands and crushing his lips down on mine.

It took me a second to catch up, but as soon as I did, I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling myself closer. I gripped the back of his Carhartt coat, fisting the thick canvas.

His tongue invaded my mouth and his fingers threaded into my hair. When he broke away, the world was spinning and my lips were deliciously swollen.

“Gosh,” I breathed. “What was that for? Not that I’m complaining.”

He grinned and kissed me again, this time soft and sweet. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome?” I had no idea what he was thanking me for, especially since I was the one getting the favor today. I hated cleaning my car.