Page 94 of Wild Desire

After I dropped off deliveries at the lodge, I ran into Eli in the lobby. "Got a minute?"

He nodded, leading me into a small room off the lobby reserved for meetings with guests.

"I'm wondering if I could still take you up on that offer to have days off from donuts?"

Eli raised a brow. "The offer stands. Do you know which days you want off yet?"

"Not yet. I have to figure somethings out first."

He nodded. "Just let me know."

"Thanks for being so flexible."

"We have a line out the door every morning for your donuts, and the guests are raving about our personal assistant service. They feel like it's the ultimate luxury and shockingly affordable."

I smiled at the praise. "I think I'm going to need to hire a few more assistants to keep up."

Eli nodded. "That's a good thing, Noelle. You're on your way."

"It's hard to believe it will last."

"You've got two strong businesses right now. I know you have the means to build them into something that will support you and your family."

I blinked away the tears. "That's the goal."

Eli's phone buzzed. "I have to take this. Was that all you needed?"

I nodded.

He left the room, and I took a few minutes to collect myself. Then my phone buzzed with new requests, and I drove back into town. By the time I got back to the lodge, I was exhausted. I needed to place the task of hiring employees high on my list if I could fit it in.

I swiped my card and pushed the door open, expecting a quiet, empty apartment, and that's exactly what I got.

I put my stuff down and kicked off my shoes. My feet ached, and my shoulders were tight. That's when I noted the rose petals that were on the floor, creating a path to the master bedroom. Who could be here?

Any of the Wilde brothers or staff could get in, but why would they put rose petals on the ground for me to find?

I followed the trail with my heart pounding loudly in my ears. It couldn't be Killian. Riley had said he was too busy to talk to me, much less plan a visit home.

He had training and publicity and zero time for Telluride or whoever might be waiting for him.

When I reached the bedroom, it was illuminated with flickering candles. There was a massage table by the bed, and I wondered if Eli had ordered me a massage service for the hard work I'd been doing. I couldn't help but feel disappointed. It was nice, but I wanted Killian.

That's when the bathroom door opened, and Killian walked out, a towel tied low on his hips.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, my gaze moving from him to the table and then back again. He looked even better than I remembered. Were his muscles more defined than the last time I saw him naked?

He smirked. "Eyes up here, baby."

I sucked in a breath as I forced my gaze to meet his. He moved until he was in front of me. "I had to see you."

"I wanted to talk to you too. I left messages." My brain felt a little scattered. I was fairly sure it was the amount of bare skin on display.

"I didn't get them until I was off the plane, and then I thought we should talk in person. It's better this way."

He wouldn't have come home to break up with me, would he? We weren't technically together. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I made a mistake." His hand went to my chin, and he lifted it slightly, then moved to cup my cheek. My hand lifted involuntarily to his chest where his heart pounded under my touch. I wanted to touch him all over. But first, I needed to know why he was here.