Fake Vow (For Now) (Big Men of Blue Mountain 2)

Still, these pictures are the entire reason that I’m here, and there’s too much riding on this for me not to try.

2

Asher

This morning I was pissed that I was the only one available to give a tour to a prospective guest. Tours are boring as hell and answering the same questions over and over gets old really fast.

But now I’m thanking the fucking universe that I drew the short straw because in spite of that crack Leo made about me not sleeping with guests, I can’t take my eyes off this woman.

Rose.

She’s all curves, and the light summer dress she’s wearing isn’t hiding it. And given the way that she’s staring at me when she thinks I don’t notice…she wants me to look.

The bad thing is that Leo’s putting ideas in my brain. Because he said he doesn’t sleep with paying customers. Which only reminds me that she isn’t one. Not right now. Between that and that fucking dress, I’m dying to venture down and see what’s underneath.

For the sake of the lodge, I’m trying to keep it professional. This place is my life, and the more clients that we have, the better. But I would be lying if I said that I’m not fantasizing about pushing her up against the wall of the boathouse and peeling her out of that dress.

Rose takes a few pictures, but they’re strange. Not exactly the type of photos that people on tours usually take. They’re usually enamored of the view and the trees. Rose seems particularly fascinated by the equipment and boats.

But who am I to judge? I’m not going to tell anyone how to pick their vacation spot, and if those pictures help us book her girls’ weekend, then I couldn’t give a fuck.

“If you guys come here, what would you be looking to do?”

She hesitates, and I swear that for a moment she looks wistful. “Just…get away.”

“That’s all?”

“I guess.” She comes back to herself and smiles at me. “I imagine that we’d be pretty loose about it. Do a couple of excursions but mostly just relax. Get away from everyday life.”

“Nothing wrong with that.”

I lead her away from the river, around the back of the property and away from most of our buildings. We haven’t done anything with this area yet, but maybe we will. But there’s a part of me that also just wants to keep it undeveloped. It’s a lush green field with tall trees that form a canopy. In a way, it’s always reminded me of a ballroom. A giant, natural ballroom.

If we were a different kind of company, I’d suggest that we hold some kind of fancy event here. String up some lights and make it a party. Hell, that might not be a bad idea to pitch to people. Not only a natural getaway, but a party venue. Could we handle the parking?

Rose’s voice breaks through my thoughts and I snap back to the present. “I’m sorry, can you say that again?”

She blushes. “I just asked what it’s like to live out here. It seems like it would be pretty peaceful.”

“Most of the time it is,” I say. “Especially when there’s no one here. We have all this at our disposal, so even if it gets crazy busy, we can always just escape into the woods for a while.”

“That sounds nice.” The longing in her voice is obvious.

“We can tailor your trip to whatever you’d like it to be,” I say, keeping my voice even. “If you want it to be a week of adventure, we can make that happen. If you want something quiet and nature-focused, we can make that happen too.”

Rose glances at me with a smirk on her face. “If I choose the quiet and nature-focused, are you going to drag me and my girlfriends out here for yoga and meditation?”

“If I did, it would be a terrible class.”

“I don’t know,” she shrugs. “We were talking about eye candy. I don’t think anybody would care much about the class. You might even have more people than you can handle sign up.”

Fuck. She was flirting with me. And I wanted to serve it right back. We stopped in the middle of the field, facing each other, and there is no one around. No one stopping us from collapsing into the grass and fucking right here.

It would be fucking incredible, too. I can already see her hair spread out on the grass underneath me and hear the soft sounds of her moans getting lost in the wind.

“I’ll have to keep that in mind at our next strategy meeting.”

“If it makes you a shit ton of money, then I expect a cut.”

I laugh. “Noted.”

Crossing the rest of the field, we enter another section of tall trees, this time strung with rope and contraptions that might look like torture to someone who doesn’t recognize them. “Ropes course,” I tell her. “Part of the adventure package.”