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  It only happened because I agreed to his condition that it would only be a one-time thing. And I plan on sticking to my word. I just wonder if he will go back to being cold toward me, or if he will at least be able to keep the friendship we’ve been building at work. I know one thing more than anything else, though: Ethan owns me in a way no man ever has or ever will. If he doesn’t want me, I’ll learn to deal, but he’s already ruined me. No man will ever compare.

  When the door opens and Ethan walks in, a cold gust of wind blows through the room, and it makes me shiver.

  “Good. I was hoping you’d found breakfast,” he says, shrugging out of his coat.

  “It’s delicious. Thank you.” I offer up a small smile.

  He returns the gesture and sits across from me, pouring his own cup of coffee.

  “I thought you were sick of coffee.”

  He shrugs as he grabs a muffin for himself. “I am, but it’s cold as fuck out there and it’s too early to drink anything harder. It looks like it snowed a good two feet last night, but it was probably more like six inches. I’m glad you found me when you did. If you hadn’t…” he shakes his head once. “Well, I’m just glad you did.”

  My face reddens. “Me too.” In more ways than one.

  We’re both quiet as we sit and eat. It’s like neither of us knows how to act. Do we act like nothing happened last night? Do we go back to being friends, or do I need to get out of here as quickly as possible?

  “I should probably get back up the mountain and pack up so I can call a tow truck to get my car.”

  “Your car is here, fully packed. I found your phone in the tent. It was dead, so it’s charging in the truck.” He motions outside.

  “You packed up everything for me and managed to get my car unstuck?”

  He nods with a laugh. “And just so we’re clear: wine, pepperoni, and cheese are not survival foods.”

  I join in on his laughter. “Well, I wasn’t packing to survive anything. I just wanted to go out and relax with a boatload of wine. I thought it’d be a nice night. I wanted to lie back and watch the stars while drinking way too much and warming my feet by a fire.”

  “No more camping by yourself, Aria. Promise me. If you want to camp, I’ll take you camping—the right way.”

  I sip my coffee and keep my eyes downcast, afraid to look at him. “You will?”

  “I’ll do everything. All you gotta do is show up. I’ll pack, I’ll cook, I’ll set up. Got it?”

  My smile stretches across my face. “Deal.”

  Finally, I chance a look at him and find him watching me from beneath his lashes, but his smile is still in place.

  “Ethan?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Why are you acting like this? I wasn’t expecting…” I let my sentence drop off.

  “Expecting what?” he questions.

  “This.” I motion toward the table. “I wasn’t expecting breakfast and coffee. I wasn’t expecting you to go pack up all my stuff for me or bring me my car. I know what I agreed to last night.”

  He looks a little surprised, and maybe even a little mad. “So, what, Aria? You just thought I’d spend the evening fucking you and then I’d kick you out in the morning without so much as breakfast?”

  I roll my eyes. “No. I didn’t mean that. It’s just that…”

  “What?”

  “I’ve had more hookups than relationships, Ethan. And none of my hookups ever resulted in a romantic breakfast together. No guy has ever hung my clothes by the fire to dry, or stuck around for more than five minutes after we woke up—if he slept over at all,” I add on.

  “It sounds like you’ve been dealing with a bunch of assholes, Aria,” is his only reply.

  Finally, I let the subject drop. “I enjoyed spending the evening with you, Ethan.”

  I watch as his chest visibly falls with the deep breath he lets out. “I enjoyed spending the evening with you too, Aria.”

  I stand, causing the chair to scrape against the wood floor again. He watches me with wide eyes as I close the distance between us. I sit on his lap, straddling him as I wrap my arms around his neck. “I know our feet have hit the floor and our time is up, but—” My words are cut off by his mouth pressing against mine.

  He knew I was going to ask to stay in our make-believe world a little longer, and it looks like he wants to stay here just as badly as I do.

  Chapter Eight

  Ethan

  “Will anyone miss you?” I ask, breaking the kiss.

  She shakes her head, causing her mess of dark curls to fall all around her face. “Ves is out of town, and I don’t usually see my parents on the weekend. As long as I’m at work tomorrow, everything will be fine.”

  “That’s all I needed,” I mumble, moving back in to press my mouth to hers as I stand and carry her back to my bed, where I’d like her to stay forever.

  We fall down onto the mattress, and I crawl up between her parted knees. We get one more night of our make-believe world—a world where only she and I exist, a world where it’s not wrong to be together. It’s a place where I live in her, and she only lives for me. I’d love to keep her tied up in my bed all day long, just waiting for the next time I slide deep inside her. Rolling my hips, I slide inside easily, and she lets out a sigh of relief. My hands hold her hips firmly, keeping her right where I need her.

  “I don’t want to leave you for the rest of the day,” I whisper.

  “I don’t want you to either,” she says against my lips.

  My mouth turns up into a grin, but I don’t stop kissing her. I can’t. She’s a woman I shouldn’t want, but I want her like nothing I’ve ever wanted before. Somehow, she’s gotten under my skin, and every minute I’m not inside her, I itch uncontrollably. She’s my addiction—my drug of choice.

  The rest of the day, we’re either in bed or making love in every inch of the cabin: in the shower, on the kitchen table, in front of the fireplace, against the wall, and on every surface that can support our weight. Eventually, we pull apart long enough to have a quick dinner of cheese, pepperoni, and wine in front of the fireplace before tangling together once again.

  I wake when I feel her move beside me. She stretches and lets out a groan. “Ugh, I’m so sore. I don’t even want to move.”

  “Then don’t,” I tell her, wrapping my arm around her stomach and pulling her back to my chest.

  “It’s going on seven a.m. and we both have to be in by ten. We have to get moving.”

  This time, I groan. “I guess it had to come to an end eventually.”

  “But we’ll always have the cabin—our place, our world, where no one can find us,” she whispers, landing a soft kiss to my lips.

  “This is our little secret. Here, it’s just us. Nobody else matters.”

  “Deal,” she says, kissing me once more.

  We manage to pull away from each other, and we both quickly dress.

  “Oh, my car is out of gas,” she says, freezing with her hand on the doorknob as we’re walking out.

  “I put gas in it yesterday. I always keep some stocked up.”

  “Thank you.” She smiles and wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me in for one last kiss before we step out of our world.

  Her tongue slips into my mouth and tangles with my own. It teases every sense and nerve ending. It boils my blood beneath my skin. It makes every muscle tighten. It’s how I know that I’m in deeper than I ever thought I’d be. And all it took was one kiss—one kiss I couldn’t manage to pull away from. One kiss that led to the weekend that has forever changed my life.

  I pull away before I no longer have the ability to. “Are you ready to go back to the real world?”

  She giggles. “No.”

  “Me neither,” I say, opening the door and allowing her to step out. “I’ll follow you down the mountain and into town. I’ll see you at the shop.”

  She shoots me a smile before sliding behind the wheel of her car.

  I get into my truck and
twist the key. The engine roars to life, and I shift into drive. I wait until she takes off, then follow her down the mountain and into town where there’s more frost on the ground than snow. I can see why she wasn’t prepared for snow.

  It’s easy to forget that the weather on the mountain is different from the weather in town if it’s not something you have to deal with every day. I’m just thankful that she found me when she did. I’d hate to think of the way the weekend could’ve turned out if she hadn’t. And apparently, it’s exactly what needed to happen. The devil knew I’d never make a move. He wanted to make sure I wouldn’t be able to turn her away. Now, I’m more wrapped up in her than I should be. But as long as our alone time doesn’t happen outside of that cabin, we’ll be all right. Our families are the only ones who would have a problem with us anyway. And no one but me comes to the cabin. It’s our safe place.

  I honk the horn when she turns right to head to her apartment, and I continue driving south for mine. I pull into the parking lot and let myself inside. Mom has already left for work, so no need to take her a cup of coffee. Instead, I quickly shower and dress, then make a dash for my truck.

  I still have plenty of time before I need to be at work, and since I missed my mom this morning, I stop by the coffee shop for breakfast before going in for my shift.

  “Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Mom says when she sees me walking in the door.

  “Good morning to you too,” I laugh, dropping some cash on the counter. “Can I get two coffees and two blueberry muffins?”

  Mom lifts her eyebrow. “Two? Someone is awfully hungry today.” She rings it up and takes my money.

  “One is for me, and the other is for…”

  “Aria?” she asks.

  “No! Mr. Lawrence, my boss. I promised I’d bring him a cup of coffee from Amy’s coffee shop one of these days. He’s never been in.”

  Great. Now I’m lying to my own mother.

  “Mm-hmm,” she mumbles, handing me my change.

  “Can you add a little white chocolate to one of the coffees, please?” I ask, sticking the change in my pocket.

  “Oh, Mr. Lawrence likes white chocolate, huh?”

  “He’s just amazed with all the fancy stuff they can do nowadays, that’s all.” I can’t help the grin that appears when I lie.

  She places her hand on her hip. “You foolin’ around with that girl, Ethan?”

  “Mom,” I breathe out, shaking my head. “Nothing is going on. We’re friends, that’s all. And not even ‘let’s hang out’ friends. We’re work friends, and that’s it.”

  “All right. If you say so,” she mumbles, handing me a bag with the muffins. Seconds later, she slides two coffees across the counter.

  “Dinner tonight, Ma?”

  “Seven on the dot. Amy and Tyler are coming too.”

  “See you then.” I push out the door and climb back into my truck.

  It’s only nine-thirty when I pull up to work. Aria’s car is already in the lot. I grab our coffee and muffins and walk inside to find her behind the counter.

  “Hey, I stopped and grabbed some muffins and coffee, if you’re interested.”

  She smiles, and it makes my heart skip a beat. I feel like I haven’t seen her in days, even though I spent the entire weekend buried deep inside her.

  “Thank you,” she says, sitting behind the counter and taking a sip of coffee.

  I hand her a muffin and she begins picking at it. It’s only now I realize that she never did eat the muffins I had at the cabin either. Then it dawns on me: her diet.

  “You don’t eat muffins, do you?”

  She smiles. “Of course I do. See?” She takes the biggest bite I’ve ever seen her eat.

  I shake my head. “No, you don’t. You don’t eat normal food. I’ve gotta remember that.”

  She laughs. “I do to eat normal food. I just try to eat healthy.”

  “What do you eat? I want to know so that the next time I surprise you, I’ll actually get something you’ll eat.”

  “I’ll eat anything you bring, Ethan. I’m not that bad.”

  “Aria,” I warn, “just tell me what you like.”

  She lets out a deep breath. “For breakfast, fruit, yogurt, and whole wheat toast with sliced avocado. And smoothies are always good.”

  “Healthy.” I nod. “I gotta remember that.”

  She laughs and picks up her coffee to take a sip.

  “But I have to admit, I go a little overboard with coffee. What calories I don’t eat, I drink in a single coffee, which is why I don’t go out for coffee much. It’s just a special treat every once in a while.”

  “Well, I’m glad I got something right.” Without thinking, I lean forward and capture her mouth with my own.

  The minute our lips touch, we both freeze. How easy it is to forget that someone could walk through the door at any second, even though it feels like we’re alone.

  I pull back. “I’m sorry. I just…I wasn’t thinking.” I shake my head and she covers her lips with her fingertips. “I guess it’s just going to take some time to get used to this arrangement.”

  She nods. “Yeah, I mean, we’re not together or anything, right?”

  “Right.” I nod and start walking backward for the door. “I’m going to get started. I’ll catch up with you later.” Without another word, I push through the door and get to work. Embarrassment floods my body and it annoys me. How could I fuck shit up already? I should’ve stuck to my word and not touched her. But fuck, she’s it for me. Too bad it has to be hidden.

  I shake my head free from thoughts of her. I need to clear my mind and focus on work. I’ll never get anything figured out if I overthink it again and again. Right now, our only agreement is that when we’re at the cabin, we’re together. When we’re not, we’re not. The end. Seems easy enough, right?

  I keep myself busy by dusting off the tractors outside and arranging them to make room for the two new ones that are coming in tomorrow. When I walk back in the shop around noon, Aria is bending over the counter, talking to a customer with a wide smile on her face. It’s something I’ve seen her do countless times over the last couple weeks of working here, but now, something about it pisses me off. Jealously flares up in my chest, causing stomach acid to bubble up my throat.

  She’s flirting with him to make a sale, and even though I know it means nothing to her, it eats at me.

  “Hey, can I help you with anything?” I ask, coming to a stop next to the man who’s probably old enough to be her father.

  She has a thing for older men, I remind myself, then bite the inside of my cheek since I’m now pissed off thanks to my own insecure thoughts.

  “No thanks. I think this beautiful young lady here answered all my questions.” He looks at her with a smile and a wink. “I’ll be back next week.”

  She nods. “Okay, Jeff. See you then.”

  “Have a good afternoon,” he says, waving at her as he pushes through the door.

  “What was that about?” I ask, looking at him.

  “He’s coming into some money and needs some new equipment. Why? What’s up?”

  I shake my head. “Nothing. I just felt like I was interrupting, that’s all.”

  She scoffs and I can practically hear her roll her eyes. She’s quiet for a second then says, “Dad left for the day.”

  Finally, I tear my eyes away from the man’s back to see her wide smile. It’s only been one day and I’m already willing to throw away our deal. The image of bending her over in the restroom comes to mind.

  I grab her wrist. “Come on,” I say, dragging her toward the restroom as she giggles behind me.

  Chapter Nine

  Aria

  The following evening I’m just stepping out of the shower when I hear someone knocking on the front door. Tightly wrapping my towel around my body, I walk through the apartment and look out the peephole. It’s Ethan.

  I pull the door open with a smile. “What are you doing here?”

/>   The next thing I know, I’m in his arms—legs wrapped around his hips with his lips on mine. “I don’t know what you did to me, but you won’t get the fuck out of my head, Aria,” he says against my lips.

  I kiss him deeply as excitement swells inside me. I pull away. “What happened to only in our place?”

  He shrugs as a grin plays on his lips. “Well, this is your place. Why can’t it be our place?”

  “I can’t argue with that logic,” I agree, pulling him back in for a long kiss I can feel in the tips of my toes.

  My phone begins ringing and I push against his chest until he puts me down. He sits on top of the counter while I answer my phone.

  “Hello?” I answer, watching only him and getting hotter the longer I check him out.

  “Ari, we’re going out. Amy and I are almost on our way,” Ves says.

  “What? Going where? I just got out of the shower. I’m not even dressed!”

  “I got back early, and we haven’t hung out in forever. So, girls’ night out! Get your ass dressed. We’re heading your way shortly.”

  “From where? I need time to get ready,” I argue.

  “We’re leaving the ranch in five minutes. That gives you an hour. Now, get to work and look hot. We’re finding you a man tonight,” Ves jokes before hanging up.

  I roll my eyes and set the phone down. “You have to go.” I grab his wrist and pull him from the counter. “Ves and Amy are on their way right now.”

  “When will they be here?” he asks, spinning around and pulling me against his chest.

  “One hour, and I have to get dressed. Apparently, Ves got back early so it’s girls’ night out.”

  “On a Monday?” He pulls me closer, landing a kiss on my lips.