Page 11 of Forbidden Match

A brief image of me rubbing that oil into her shoulder, then down her back and around to her … I give myself a shake and try to focus on the rest of what she is pulling out of her bag.

She can’t help but join in my laughter as she looks through the rest of the items. “Here, this one’s just plain old face scrub. Nothing sexy about that.”

I don’t tell her that she’d find a way to make it sexy. The elevator stops at the top floor of the mansion and opens into a foyer that is half the size of my entire cabin. Molly forgets about me entirely as she brushes her hand over the velvet couch before she takes the key from me so she can check out our room.

It looks more like a luxury apartment, complete with a full kitchen equipped with top-of-the-line appliances. The wood floor looks original to the nearly hundred-year-old house but it’s shined to the point of being nearly reflective. It’s a tasteful mix of old and new, with thick velvet curtains half covering a wall of sliding glass doors that open out into a beautiful balcony. Being a builder, I have an idea how much someone shelled out to refurbish this place, and it’s impressive for that alone.

I walk over to check out the recessed lighting as Molly makes a beeline for the balcony.

I find a welcome letter outlining our activities to get to know each other and take it out to show her. I can tell she’s quickly losing her anger, and I want to show her this weekend doesn’t have to be a bust just because I’m interfering with her chanceto find love. Surprisingly, she reaches back and grabs my hand, pulling me to the rail with her.

“Look,” she breathes, gazing out over the breathtaking vista. “I never knew we had such beautiful countryside.”

My eyes skate over the rolling hills and the river lined with swaying evergreens before settling on her. “It’s a great view,” I agree, taking in the different shades of tawny reds and deep brown in her hair and the way the pale column of her throat drags my gaze down to her collarbones, then further to the swell of her ripe tits.

With a groan, I step away, holding out the welcome letter. “So, rowing on the river or ax throwing,” I say gruffly.

“Huh?” She turns, confused, then smiles when she reads through the itinerary. “Ooh, that five-course candlelit dinner sounds good. I’ve never had room service before.”

“Me neither,” I grunt. My hands are curled into fists at my sides to keep from reaching out and smoothing my hands down her sides. My cock is very dangerously close to rising up and making itself known to her. “How about rowing for our first date?”

Why did I just call it that? Just because that’s what this stupid retreat is calling it doesn’t mean I have to play along. Rowing seems like a good way to distract myself from her body, that’s all.

She shakes her head, a radiant smile lighting up her pretty face. “It’s fifty degrees out, and it’ll be colder on the water. Let’s do ax throwing. That sounds fun.”

All her anger seems to be gone. In fact, she reaches for my hand again as she pulls me back through the room. Pausing to look around the massive suite, she nods toward the big, canopied bed. “Have you ever seen such a huge bed?”

Is she …teasingme? Is that what the grin is about, or the twinkle in her green eyes? I nod toward the couch. “Who’s going to sleep on that, I wonder?”

She laughs. “I guess whoever’s worse at ax throwing.”

I roll my eyes. “So, you, then,” I say, meaning she gets the couch.

“Sure,” she says with a playful roll of her eyes. “I’ll definitely be worse.”

As we amble through the neatly manicured grounds, looking for the throwing range, I ask her why she wanted to come to this event so badly. “Be real,” I tell her. “I want to know.”

She gives me a long look I can’t decipher, before letting out a sigh. “I just want an adventure. I thought I’d be moving on with my life by now. Not still at home, still working at the diner. I love my classes at the community college but—Oh, Levi.” She stops and bites her lip, eyes going glassy.

“I get it,” I say. “And no, you’re not being ungrateful.”

“Thanks,” she says, leaning against me as a gust of wind hits us while we head toward the open field behind the resort. “I feel ungrateful sometimes. If Dad ever knew that I wish I could have gone, he’d never forgive himself.”

“He never asked you to stay.” I stop and take her by the shoulders. “You did that because you’re selfless.”

“No, I did it because I’d never forgive myself if I missed out on time with him.”

“Like I said, selfless.”

Her smile hits me like a boot to the chest. She shakes her head and ducks in front of me, spying the row of targets set up against hay bales. Except for an older man standing in front of a shed,we’re the only ones about to throw axes, and I’m glad to keep her all to myself.

“So, what about you?” she asks. “How come you haven’t left for greener pastures? Surely, you’d get more work or get paid more if you went to a bigger town.”

Well, you’re here,I don’t say. “This is my home. I mean, even if I don’t have too much family …”

“You’ve got us,” she says indignantly. She knows all about the indifferent uncle I have over for dinner maybe once every three months.

“Oh, do I?” For some reason, I slide my hand around her waist and tug her close to me. I’m just being friendly, big brotherly. Definitely, completely platonic.

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