Page 50 of Penalty Zone

“You seem tense,” Leo comments.

“Ya think?” I angle toward him, incredulous. “We’ve had sexual relations and no one can know, yet here we are all cozy like a date from my fantasy, only it’s a nightmare and you’re going to sleep in a twin bed a few feet from me. What part of this do you find relaxing?” I whisper-yell at him.

“Your mom said it’s an extra-long twin,” he says with a smirk.

I try to throw my hands up but just allow cold air under the blankets.

“Is this really your idea of a fantasy date?” He rests his palm on my thigh.

I shut my eyes. “This is too much.” It feels too real, like Leo wants to give me the date I imagined as a teen, as if we have a future. Me and a guy cuddling under covers with big, fat snowflakes gently raining down on us as we sip hot chocolate and can’t keep our hands or lips off each other. I always pictured doing this with a guy for some reason.

“I’m sorry.” Leo moves over, putting the few inches between us again.

Immediately, I feel the loss of his heat and the comfort of his touch.

“It’s hard for me not to want you when you’re this close.” I have got to learn how to filter my words. Leo doesn’t need to hear my sob story.

“I feel the same way about you,” he says quietly, and my heart skips a beat. “Tell me why you enjoy this ride.”

I blow out a breath. We’ve plodded through the field and are at the tree line. “It’s so beautiful with the snow on the trees. The stillness is peaceful, and I love listening to the crunch under the horses’ hooves. It’s an enchanted forest, full of possibilities and magic when you look for it.”

Leo hums in agreement, tipping his head back, then opens his mouth to catch a snowflake on his tongue. “I haven’t done that in over forty years.” His smile lights up the night.

“When it’s not snowing, you can see the stars through the trees, so it’s a different kind of magic.” I look up, but there are too many clouds.

Leo puts his arm around me, and my body melts into his.

Fuck it.

I can distance myself from him after this trip.

When I rest my head on his shoulder, he kisses the top of my head. “Show me your magic.”

We spend the remainder of the ride tangled together as I point out animal habitats, a few branches shaped like hearts, and tell him the stories I’ve made up about the markings on the trees.

“They’re probably for the maple syrup, but I like to think they’re directions to make sure your true love finds their way home,” I say, sighing, and snake my arm across his belly to hug him.

“I love that.” He squeezes me. “Thank you for sharing this. I can’t pretend I took an earlier flight solely to see my son. The lure of seeing your childhood home was too good to let a storm stop me,” he admits.

“Ugh, we’re hopeless,” I say dramatically, and he laughs.

“What if we let things happen and are careful?” Leo strokes the side of my neck.

Everything in me wants to say yes. How could I possibly say no to the man I’ve been obsessed with for years?

It’s worth it to have him now. I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I said no. I’m sure this is a temporary thing since he could never want me long term.

“Vermont is widely known as a place to keep secrets.” I tilt my head up, and he places a chaste kiss on my lips.

“Excellent. I forgot to return this.” He reaches into his pocket and hands me my bloodstone, then runs his hand between my thighs, but I catch his wrist and sit up straight.

“The start is over there.” I point and can see my dad waiting in the distance. The stone is warm in my hand from Leo, but I wish he’d kept it. I liked him having something of mine.

“We’ll have to continue at home.”

At home.

Chapter 23

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