He winced. “Don’t have to. In fact, I’m going to hope Rene still keeps some spare clothes here or it’s going to be another weird trip back to town for me.” He leaned over and kissed her. “You were so hot I went off like a rocket.”
There was a bark at the door.
Major stood, letting Dolly in. He reached down to run a hand over the dog’s head. “You keep her company while I get cleaned up, and then we’ll see about dinner, and maybe she’ll show us what she worked on today.”
She had her work because Major had thought to bring it along.
“I can do that, and you take your time.” He’d taken care of her. The least she could do was to warm up the man’s dinner. She could heat up a can of chili. It might be the extent of her kitchen skills, but as long as there was heat, she should be able to manage it. “I’ll make us supper.”
He moved in close and brushed his lips against hers with a sigh. “I would love that. I’ll start a fire. It can get chilly this time of year. I’ll be right back.”
Her whole body hummed with pleasure, and it was about more than the orgasm he’d given her. There was a sweet domesticity to the idea of making something for them to eat, of sitting with him and talking about the day.
And then maybe they could kiss again. Maybe this time she could be the one touching him.
There was a buzzing sound, and she realized it was a sound she hadn’t heard all day. The sound of a text coming through on her phone. She glanced over at where she’d placed her tote bag. It buzzed again. And again. And again.
“I thought we didn’t get cell service out here.” She stared at the bag.
“Rene paid to have a receiver installed. It covers the cabin and a couple of the other inhabited islands. He didn’t like the thought of being out here with his wife and daughter and not having a way to contact someone during an emergency,” Major said. From the distance of his voice, she thought he was somewhere in the back of the cabin.
Lucky her. The billionaire had made it easy for her mom to find her. She should turn off her locator service. And then her mom would call the sheriff again.
When would her mom realize she was an adult and had been for a long time? Brynn pulled her cell out of the tote bag and glanced down. Sure enough, there were twenty-four unread messages. She should have answered that call early this morning. Though she likely couldn’t have stopped her mom from coming, she would have at least had a heads-up. She could have warned Seraphina.
She started going through the texts, each one more dramatic than the next.
“Hey, how long can we hide out here?” Her mom would be waiting for her, planning the lecture of a lifetime.
“A little while if you like,” he replied. “But I have to be at work in the morning. Why? You want to run away from your momma?”
Put like that she sounded like a wayward teen. “Just not looking forward to the conversation we’re going to have to have. I need to stand my ground, but I haven’t done that a lot with her. It’s funny because I’m actually pretty good at it everywhere else in my life.”
“She’s your mom.” Major stepped back into the main room. He’d changed into a pair of sweats that fit him like a glove, showing off some very muscular legs. She’d seen those gorgeous gams of his, but somehow it was different since they’d begun a physical relationship. “Moms are hard to deny even when they’re overbearing.” He grimaced. “Sorry. I shouldn’t judge.”
Oh, he should. “She’s completely overbearing. She still thinks I’m a child who needs every moment of my life managed so I don’t screw things up.” She took a deep breath. The last message had been sent fifteen minutes before. Her mom must have gotten back to Papillon quickly. It asked her to please come back to the B and B when she was done with her date, and she was sorry she’d interrupted. And she loved her very much. Yup. Sometimes she wished her mom was the monster people made her out to be. “She’s spent most of my life looking out for me. It’s hard for her to let go. It doesn’t help that she’s also my manager.”
“Have you thought about getting a new one?”
A laugh huffed from Brynn’s mouth. “Only four times a day since I was six years old.” She slid the phone back into her bag. She moved around the comfy sofa toward what looked like the kitchen. “But she’s done a good job, and she’s avoided the pitfalls of the celebrity momager.”