Page 60 of The Mating Game
“Well, get in if you’re going to,” Hunter says with a lot more composure than I have. “It’s cold as shit out here.”
And then it hits me that I’m about to be alone with him in a hot tub, since my brothers went into town for the evening. I swallow thickly, eyeing his wet chest again and wondering how I’ll survive the experience.
Painfully, I’d wager. Very painfully.
14
Hunter
I can tellshe’s stalling; it’s clear by her expression that she didn’t expect me to be out here when she came. She clutches what looks to be one of Jeannie’s old robes to her chest, eyeing me warily. Which seems silly, really, considering I’ve already seen her naked. Still, I look away to give her some sense of privacy so she can undress.
I hear the rustle of fabric as she no doubt discards her boots and hat, hear her slight hiss that must mean the robe has come off and the cold air has hit her fully. Her soft footsteps pad across the deck until she’s just beside the tub, and only then do I glance her way again.
It shouldn’t affect me like it does, seeing her in her forest-green sports bra and matching boy shorts—no doubt she didn’t think to bring a suit when she came to this part of the country—but I can’t pretend that noticing the way it molds to her body to accentuate every supple curve doesn’t have my dick twitching inmyswim shorts.
“Shit,” she hisses. “That’s hot.”
“Hot tub,” I remind her.
She sucks in air as she tries to settle in a little more naturally,sitting up a bit as she acclimates to the warm water. She sighs as she settles in front of one of the jets, a sound of contentment leaving her when she falls back against it.
“Oh God, that’s perfect,” she hums.
“Mm-hmm.”
She finally glances over at me, finding me watching her quietly. “So, uh, a hot tub is definitely something you should mention on your website. It’s a real perk.”
“I haven’t messed with that damn thing since it got up and running,” I say with a shrug. “It gets the job done.” I smile then. “Didn’t you know? We’re a real hot commodity. We got people coming in all the way from California, even.”
“I mean,” she says, laughing, “with the right marketing…this place could be booming.”
“Yeah, right.”
“No, really. Pretty spot like this? Seclusion factor? You spin it like some sort of secret getaway and people from LA and everywhere else would be all over it.”
“I’ll bet.”
“Honestly? You just need the right exposure. My social media channels will help a little, but Idoknow this guy atTravel Quarterwho covers smaller locations like this all the time. He’d probably wet himself over this place. He’d have the rest of California tripping over themselves to stay here. They’d want to plaster it all over their Instagram.”
“Is that what the internet people call ‘influencing’?”
She laughs loudly at that, the sound of it warming my belly. “You say it like a curse word. I don’t think you have to worry about it anytime soon. You’d have to get Wi-Fi first, anyway, and apparently that goes against your moral code.”
I roll my eyes. “Well, we snagged one, at least. No Wi-Fi and all.”
“Yeah, well,” she chuckles. “You could probably count me as a fluke, since you sort of hired me.”
“Lucky us,” I laugh.
“I could try to call my friend…” she says.
I shake my head. “I doubt they’d be interested. Probably isn’t worth your effort.” I gaze out at the snow wistfully. “Honestly, I keep finding myself wondering if all this reno is even worth it. If it will make any difference. For all I know, we might be closing our doors within a year.” I blink a few times, shaking my head. “Sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”
“You can talk to me about it if you want,” she says. “Sometimes it’s good to unload to an unbiased third party.”
“Unbiased third party, huh?”
“I mean,mostlyunbiased.”
