Page 15 of Don't Make Me Fall
The electric kiss from earlier has been on replay in my overactive mind, and I’ve been desperate to touch this man ever since.
Inside the tent, it’s such a tight fit that I can’t imagine Hudson fitting comfortably by himself. Yet, somehow, we’ve managed to sandwich two of us inside it now. Our sleeping bags are side-by-side, the outer edges butted up against the tent sides, as we both lay flat on our backs. The heat of him radiates against my side, warming me instantly. He’s the fire I’ve been craving since I was stupid enough to cast him out of the tent.
“Tyler Duncan is my boss,” I finally say.
“And?”
It’s slightly terrifying how perceptive this man is, but his tone says it all. He knows it’s not that simple. He seems to know me better in the few hours we’ve spent together than Tyler ever did in the two years I worked for him.
“And I’ve had this stupid crush on him that’s gone exactly nowhere considering he’s marrying Cindy from accounting.” Bitterness coats my words, but the sting is less…stingy. Maybe that has something to do with the way making out with Hudson earlier made my entire body come alive in a way that a single chaste kiss with Tyler never did.
“So naturally you threw your phone off the top of a mountain?” Hudson asks, his curious tone a light tease.
“I threw my phone off the mountain because the pompous jerk asked me to help plan the wedding after months of leading me to believe there was something betweenus. He failed to mention he was even dating anyone else, let alone someone in the office. And I know how I sound.”
“How do you sound?”
“Pathetic. Stupid. Hopeless. So fucking naïve.”
“You’re none of those things, Alanna.”
“You don’t know me very well then.”
“Maybe not. But I’m a good judge of character. And I’d bet the lodge that you are the exact opposite of the things you just described.”
“Nice how you’d bet something that doesn’t belong to you,” I tease, hoping to deflect.
“But it does.”
I lift up on my elbow and look at him. The soft glow of a nearly full moon casts his face in a gentle glow. “Explain this to me.”
“I bought the lodge, with Reid and Mason. All three of us own it.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize that. So why are you doing hiking tours?”
“I’m more of a silent partner. And because I hate being cooped up.”
“Have you always been that way?”
“Yeah, I suppose I have.”
“Why did you get out of the Army?” I ask.
He looks away, out through the thin screen that’s allowing in the moonlight.
“I showed you mine.”
He looks back at me, his dark eyes dropping to my chest.
“Don’t be twelve,” I tease him, swatting at his chest. But my own gaze drops to his lips, and I seem unable to move it.
“If you’re going to kiss me again, I want to make sure it’smeyou’re kissing.”
“You think I’m in love with Tyler?”
“Are you?”
I lay back down on my back and let out a heavy exhale. Tears prick the corners of my eyes unexpectedly, and I fight to keep them in place. “I thought I was.”
