He glanced around the yard, but not with intent, then shut the door behind him. He was still fully dressed in what she was beginning to think was his uniform—plaid shirt and worn jeans, but he’d taken his hat off, revealing that dark wavy hair of his beneath. Her fingers flexed, remembering what it felt like between her fingers, wondering how that shadow of a beard would feel against her skin.
Stop it. Even knowing he had no interest in her, she couldn’t stop herself from the fantasies. It was as if his presence scrambled the signals in her brain—making her think things she never thought, want things she’d never considered. But after the humiliation of last night, she’d needed to get herself together and show him that she wasn’t some desperate woman trying to get his attention. He couldn’t know that he had any power over her. Not if they were going to exist together these next few weeks. They would need to agree to forget what happened last night and move on. Delete that episode altogether.
Just not tonight. She wasn’t ready for that conversation quite yet.
She held her breath, though at this distance there was no way he’d be able to hear her breathe, and watched. She expected him to head to his truck, but instead he turned at the far corner of the house and walked away from her and toward the resort. Apparently, he was going to work, but what would a resort need the owner for this late at night? Wouldn’t everyone be settling in or sleeping by now?
Once he was far enough away, she let her lungs empty and tucked her computer back into her knapsack. She’d be able to escape to her cabin without him ever knowing she was here if she left now. But as she watched Grant’s sauntering gait disappear into the night, she found herself rising from the bench and heading away from her cabin instead of toward it, the draw of the unknown too tempting for her reporter instincts.
If he could install a tracking device on her car, then she could be nosy, too.
She tucked her bag behind a bush near the back side of his cabin, then picked up her pace so she wouldn’t lose him. She kept a decent distance behind him. Grant had been in the military and so undoubtedly had finely tuned senses for people sneaking up on him. And the grounds were so damn quiet, one snapped twig and she’d reveal herself. But Grant never looked back, just continued to stride with that swagger of his. A man on a mission by the looks of it. Maybe something had gone wrong at the resort and he had been called over.
Grant opened the padlocked gate that led to the other side of the property, and Charli ducked behind a tree as he turned to swing the gate closed behind him. Some creepy-crawly thing landed on Charli’s arm and it took everything she had not to yelp and shake it off. Grant snapped the lock closed, the sound echoing in the silence, and continued on his way. As soon as his back was to her again, she did a little shake and got the damn bug off her arm, shuddering. She’d rather face a coyote than bugs.
In order to follow Grant, she had to climb over the low post-and-rail wooden fence, which made her glad she’d chosen sneakers tonight. She hopped down to the other side and glanced around, half-expecting a SWAT team to lower down from the surrounding trees. Grant had made everything sound so top secret over here.
But no one came to tackle her, and she was able to catch sight of Grant again in no time. There were paved paths on this side with solar-powered garden lights lining some portions of the trails. The wild Texas brush and trees were trimmed back and looked neater, more manicured. There really was no way to remain hidden, so instead she pushed her shoulders back and tried to pretend like she belonged there. If anyone but Grant saw her, maybe they’d assume she was another guest.
The main house loomed in the distance—a breathtakingly large building of cedar and river rock. Lights glittered around its perimeter but the few windows she could see were all dark. She had no idea if the main building had rentable rooms or if it was just the place for dining rooms and spas or whatever the hell rich people needed on their rustic vacation. Regardless, Grant seemed to be making a beeline in that direction.Author: Roni Loren
As soon as she rounded the last bend though, something off to the right caught her eye. A flash of movement. She turned her head, taking her eyes off Grant, and almost tripped over her feet when she saw two men underneath a nearby tree. One of the men was shirtless and pressed up against the bark; his partner’s forearm was pressed over his wrists, holding his arms taut above his head. Charli’s gaze tracked down and she couldn’t help but gasp when she saw where the man’s other hand was. The fly of shirtless guy’s pants was spread wide and the man’s fist was wrapped around his partner’s shaft in what looked to be a painfully tight grip.
The man against the tree shifted his gaze, catching sight of her. Their eyes locked.
Charli stopped, feet frozen in place. Not sure what to do. Was the guy being attacked? She couldn’t imagine any man wanting to be gripped that tightly. Did he need help? But then he smiled at her—a lazy, drunk-on-pleasure smile, one that stirred something unfamiliar within Charli. His partner released his grip on the man’s cock in an instant and smacked him audibly across the cheek.
Charli let out a little yelp.
“Eyes on me.” Or at least that’s what she thought she heard the man say after the slap.
She moved forward, not sure what she was going to do, but unable to stand there and watch someone get hurt. But the man against the tree shook his head at her and winked, then apologized to the guy who’d just hit him and lowered his head.
She halted her step. This was some kind of game.
A game he didn’t want her interfering with.
She backed away, moving onto the path again and trying to get her legs to work correctly beneath her. She had no idea what was going on. How had Grant passed right by this couple and not seen what was happening? What if someone on a family vacation passed by with their kids?
She wrapped her arms around herself, somehow both hot and cold at the same time. Her body’s odd reaction to seeing the couple was something she’d rather not think too hard on. She started walking up the path at a much faster pace than before. Now she was going to have to admit to Grant that she’d snuck onto the property. She didn’t know what was allowed at his resort, but she couldn’t imagine public sex was okay. He had a right to know what was going on.
She scanned the path in front of her and sighed. Of course, she’d lost sight of her cowboy during the diversion. Some stalker she was. Not sure what else to do, she made her way up to the main house and considered her options. The place had a number of doors and she had no idea which Grant had gone into or if they were locked or alarmed. And really, she no longer remembered why it had sounded like such a good idea to follow him in the first place. Maybe it was time to tuck tail and run.
“Do you need some help?”
The soft female voice startled Charli. She spun around to find a stunning blonde smiling back at her—a stunning blonde wearing what looked to be a red latex catsuit. “Uh…”
She tilted her head, assessing her. “You new here?”
“Yes.” The word tumbled out automatically. “I’m a friend of Grant’s.”
“Oh, wow, that’s great,” she said with genuine warmth. “Just a friend or a trainee?”
“Huh?”
She laughed. “Sorry. You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to. We’re all just a little curious about our tight-lipped boss.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Kelsey, by the way. Or Lady K as most everyone knows me around here these days.”
Pieces started to slide into place in Charli’s brain. “Nice to meet you. I’m Charli.”