Page 27 of Depths of Desire
I didn’t smile, but my mouth twitched. That was about as far as I let it go.
“It’d be easier,” he added, a little softer. “No expectations here.”
I met his gaze for a moment too long, then looked away.
There was something dangerous about the ease between us this morning. Not the heat of last night. That was done. It was the familiarity that crept in now. The comfort. The way my shoulders weren’t tense for once and the silence between us didn’t feel like a failure.
That was the kind of thing I couldn’t afford.
“Thanks for breakfast,” I said, finishing the last of my eggs and pushing the plate aside.
Lennox leaned back in his chair, coffee mug cradled in both hands. “You talk more in the morning than I expected.”
“I talk when I have something to say.”
He didn’t press. Just nodded like that made sense to him. It did, apparently.
We finished the meal with minimal small talk. Outside, the parking lot had already been salted and cleared. People were beginning to pack their cars and head back down the mountain. I watched them through the glass, a quiet ache tightening somewhere behind my ribs.
Lennox caught the look, but he didn’t ask about it. Just stood and said, “Guess it’s time.”
“Yeah.”
I followed him out into the cold, snow crunching under our shoes. We were both quiet again, but not in the same way as yesterday. This wasn’t tension. It was understanding. Mutual, if unspoken.
Last night had been a moment.
This morning, we moved past it.
There was nothing else guys like us could afford to do anyway.
“Look,” Lennox said as we neared our cabin. “About last night…”
I shrugged. “We don’t need to overthink it.”
He stretched his lips into a smile that went all the way to his eyes. “I just wanted to say that it was great.”
“Yeah?” I asked, a touch of pride worming its way into my heart.
Lennox gave a strong nod. “I needed it.”
I searched for words that would mean something to him, but I failed to find them. “Yeah. Me too.”
Lennox switched to totally casual as he took another step toward the cabin and hesitated. “And hey, ten days back home is a long-ass time. If you’re ever bored, hit me up.”
Yes, I thought, heart leaping forward and dick stirring before I could control myself. Hastings was a cute place, but boring,and my family was intense. To carve out an hour and lose myself in Lennox seemed like an opportunity I couldn’t miss. Except, if I lost myself in him, I doubted I would find my way back so easily.
Lennox grinned, although it drained out of his eyes. “Or not. Whatever, you know?”
He was being kind, and I respected it. “It’s just…I don’t have that luxury right now to commit to anything. And…” I shrugged, leaving the rest unsaid.
But as we stepped into the house to pack our things, the words welled to my lips and begged to be said.And if I see you more, I’ll have no choice.
We didn’t rush packing, but we didn’t linger, either. The cabin felt smaller in the daylight. Less like a secret and more like a place that had served its purpose.
Lennox tossed our bags in the back of the car while I brushed the last of the snow from the windshield. The sun was out now, bright against the fresh snow, and the sky had that sharp, cloudless clarity you only get after a storm.
He drove. I watched the mountains fall away behind us, their peaks shrinking in the rearview. The heater hummed, and music played low. At some point, he passed me a protein bar and didn’t say anything about it. I took it. We drove a little farther.
