Page 16 of Wilde Sanctuary

“God yes.” She laughed. “But what about you?”

“I couldn’t have held back if I’d tried. I came with you,” he admitted with a wink.

“What? Really?” Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him.

“Yup. The way you came apart on my tongue was too much for me, beautiful.” He dropped a kiss to her temple and dragged her against his side.

She slid next to him, her breasts pushed against his bare chest. His dick twitched.

“Go to sleep,” he said, equally talking to Charlie and his dick.

She curled against his side, and they both drifted off to sleep to the sound of rain on the windows.

Chapter Seven

Rhett

It was the early hours of the morning when Rhett woke, Charlie’s warm curves curled into his side. He was lying on his back, with Charlie using his shoulder as a pillow, her hand resting on his chest. Her breath was slow and soft, relaxed in sleep.

He couldn’t resist rubbing his cheek against her soft hair. The scent of her enveloped him and a deep sense of contentment had him smiling.

Surely last night was just the beginning. Even if she was only in Cape Wilde for a few days, who knew where this could lead? He may as well make the most of whatever time they had. He smiled as he took his time watching her sleep. Her eyelashes were long, swooping over cheeks dotted with fine freckles.

The sunlight broke through the trees. It was past time to get up, and he slipped out from under Charlie’s arm and padded into the kitchen, a towel wrapped around his waist. While he waited for the coffee to brew, he pulled on his boots and went out to his truck, feeling more than a little silly in boots and a towel.

The cause of the noise the night before became clear. Rhett paused with a hand resting on the side of the truck. A tree had fallen across the track, completely blocking the way back to Cape Wilde. Had it fallen in a different direction, it could have hit the cabin. He shook his head. They’d been lucky. He’d have to move it before they could leave, and he didn’t like the idea of Charlie out here alone without him checking to see if there were any other trees likely to come down.

All that could wait until after he’d had at least one cup of coffee.

Rhett grabbed the duffel he kept on the backseat and headed back to the cabin. Toeing off his boots, he reached inside the bag and pulled out the old pair of jeans and a tee shirt he kept in the truck. He dressed quickly and soon had coffee in hand. It wasn’t anything like Joe and Pierre made at Wilde Buns, but it was passable.

His morning lifeblood restored, he was leaning with one hip propped on the cabin door, staring into the early light when Charlie approached. She was wearing a pair of pink flannel pajama pants with cartoon cats of all different colors, and the cardigan from last night wrapped tightly around her against the chill morning air.

“Good morning,” she said.

Rhett grunted. Great, just the impression he wanted to make. Sophisticated man here, grunting at the polished city slicker.

“So, um. Can we talk?” she asked, her hands twisting the hem of her shirt nervously. “I have an idea.”

“Sure,” he said, turning to lean into the jam. He sipped his coffee as he waited for her to start.

“What if you didn’t have to sell the land?”

He laughed. “I don’t have to sell it.”

She huffed and bit her bottom lip, staring out the door. “I know that. But it’s obvious you need money.”

He shifted, shoulders stiffening.

“Look,” she said, her voice soft, “there’s a lot of opportunity here. The land is great, the views are amazing?—”

“I’m not building some resort?—”

She held up a hand. “Just listen. Please.”

He had a bad feeling about this, so he drained his cup and returned it to the kitchen. “Can it wait? I have to get rid of a tree blocking the trail or we’ll never get out of here.”

He knew he was being an asshole, but he didn’t want to stand here and have her pick apart his business. He did the best he could with the resources he had. He hadn’t gone to college, had barely finished high school, but he wasn’t blind. He knew what she saw.

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