When I hear Willie laughing across the room, I finally pull my mouth away, but my hold on her stays steady. We’re both gasping for breath, almost panting, and she’s looking at me as if I could do anything right now and she’d let me.
My cock hardens even more. “Lakelyn...”
She shakes her head and lays it against my chest. She stays there, and I don’t say another word, just enjoying her in my arms. “Tate?”
“Yeah, honey?” I don’t know where the endearment comes from, but it feels right.
“That’s the second time that I’ve been told you’ll be done with me in one night. Are you a player?”
My fingers dig into her hips. How do I even explain this to her? “I’m not a player.”
She’s still not looking at me, and I miss having her eyes on me.
Her voice is soft and unsure. “I didn’t think you were... but...”
She stops, and I know what she’s thinking is bad. If she’s been warned about me twice then yeah, it’s bad. All I can do is set her straight. “I was engaged once. She broke it off and moved away. I haven’t really dated since... it’s become sort of a joke to the town that I’m never going to settle down.”
Finally she tilts her head up and rests her chin on my chest. She’s searching my eyes. “Do you love her?”
I shake my head side to side. “No, but she did a number on me...”
She’s waiting on me to continue. I know she is, and I don’t blame her, but I don’t want to get into it. How do you explain that you just weren’t good enough for someone?
She pats me on the chest. “One day you’ll tell me.”
I don’t answer because the truth is, she’ll be gone soon, and she’s not going to care anyway. “I should probably get you back. We both have to work in the morning.”
She nods and steps back. Her hand slides into mine, and I walk her out the door of the Whiskey Whistler. It’s the first time I’ve ever been in there and only had water to drink, but with Lakelyn’s hand in mine I feel more off kilter than I’ve ever felt before.
7
Lakelyn
Mornings in Whiskey Run are amazing. I usually get up early and walk five miles through town and back. Then Jessie, the owner of the Whiskey Run Lodge, has breakfast waiting for me when I return. I always try to just drink coffee, but her fried apple scones are hard to refuse.
But today, I missed out on the walk and breakfast. By the time I rolled over and peeled my eyes open it was already midmorning, and I had exactly twenty minutes before I was supposed to start shooting. It’s no one’s fault but my own... well and Tate’s. Of course he doesn’t know it but yeah, I blame him for the reason that I couldn’t sleep last night.
He kissed me... heck with that, he absolutely possessed my lips at the bar last night, took me to the B&B, and walked me to the front door. That’s it. No kiss goodnight, no see you tomorrow, nothing. It’s like he couldn’t get away from me fast enough.
So instead of sleeping like I should have been, I stayed up half the night trying to figure out what happened. Did I do something wrong? Say something that spooked him or what?
After walking into town, I’m now sitting in the chair as Tara does her magic and makes me beautiful. Kameron has already voiced his displeasure of me being late. As a matter of fact, after his first tirade, he circled back around and let me have it again. I just took it. I was late, and that’s usually not like me. Heck, that’s never like me. So I deserve him and the rest of the team being upset with me.
“Late night?” Tara asks.
I blow out a breath. “I just couldn’t sleep.”
Tara laughs. “Trust me, I get it. I mean there’s no noise here... I don’t see how people can stand it. I’m ready to get back to the city.”
It’s an automatic reaction for me to defend Whiskey Run. I don’t know what it is about this place, but I love it... I’ve loved being here. “I don’t know. I sort of like the pace of Whiskey Run.”
“Are you ready yet?”
Tara rolls her eyes in the mirror at me. Kameron has his head poking in the door of the makeup and dressing room tent. “Yes, she’s ready... and beautiful as ever.”
“Finally. Let’s go,” Kameron says as he steps back out.
“I mean it, you know.”
I look at Tara, flattening the short flowy skirt around my thighs. “Mean what?”
She shrugs. “That you’re beautiful as ever... there’s definitely a glow about you. Maybe Whiskey Run is exactly what you need.”
I laugh. “You might be right. I feel different here.”