***
“Grant!”
At the sound of Abby’s voice coming from a distance, I grow still inside my large tent. At first, I think it’s just my imagination – I’ve been thinking about Abby way too much and there’s no way she’d be here. When I hear the voice again, though, I rush out of my tent, my breath catching as I see Abby standing just a few feet away from me.
“Abby.”
Just the sight of her out of breath in her dark jeans and green shirt, her hair hidden under a gray cap with the rest flowing past her shoulders, is enough to send my heart pounding and heat coursing through my veins straight to my crotch. There’s nothing I want more than to pull her into my arms and fuck her inside my tent, to engrave my whole body into hers so that she’ll never stop wanting me again.
I restrain myself, though, reminding myself that it’s not about the fucking.
I can’t scare her away.
“Please sit down,” I tell her calmly, gesturing to the foldable chair while I sit on the rock in front of the fire pit, the wood still hot from the lunch I cooked earlier. “You must be tired.”
She remains standing even though she’s still panting, her hands on the straps of her backpack. “I won’t stay long.”
I frown. Not only does she not look the least bit happy to see me, she’s even in a rush to leave.
Why? Why is she mad at me? I should be the one getting mad at her after what she’s put me through.
I take a deep breath. “How did you find me?”
“With difficulty,” she answers, annoyance in her voice. “And a little bit of help from Roger.”
I look around. “Where’s Roger?”
“When your tent was in sight, he told me to go ahead. He said he didn’t want you to bite his head off.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because you come out here to escape, not just from work and life but from women.”
That’s true.
“Don’t worry. Like I said, I won’t stay long. I’ll leave as soon as you sign the papers.”
“Papers?” I raise an eyebrow.
She moves her backpack to her chest and opens it, taking out a plastic folder and handing it to me. “If you had only kept your phone open, you would have known that your lawyer needs these papers signed immediately.”
I take the folder, opening it on my lap. “I don’t have a signal out here.”
“I sent a hundred messages. Some of them must have arrived before you left your hotel.”
I go through the papers. “I was busy.”
“Well, if you had brought me with you, then there wouldn’t have been a problem, would there?” She puts a hand on her hip.
So, that’s why she’s annoyed – because I left her behind.
I close the folder. “Well, I wouldn’t have left you if you hadn’t acted so mean.”
“Mean?” Her eyes grow wide. “I was just… being professional.”
I set the folder on the ground and get up, walking toward her. “If nothing happens between us because I’m your boss, that’s you being professional. If something happens even though I’m your boss and you deny it, that’s cowardice and it’s mean.”
She steps back, swallowing.
Now I’ve scared her. I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t help it, not with that attitude of hers. Besides, if I’m going to open up to her, she should do the same.
I grasp her trembling chin. “Why don’t you just admit how you feel about me, Abby?”
Her jaw clenches. Even though she’s quivering in fear, she’s still trying to put up a brave front. She’s still doing her best to resist me.
She slaps my hand away. “How dare you presume to know how I feel. You—”
I silence her with a kiss as I pull her into my arms, unable to restrain myself any longer. The more she resists, the more I want her.
At first, her arms flay at her sides, her backpack falling to the ground. Her tongue tries to push mine out as she tries to push me away, to slip out of my grip. I can tell she isn’t really putting all her efforts into it, though, and little by little, as my tongue pushes hers back and explores her mouth with all the passion I’ve been keeping at bay, her resistance wilts and her body melts in my arms.
Fuck. I’ve missed this.
As the cap falls off her head, I run my fingers through her hair, messing up the silky tendrils as I pull her body even closer to mine, delighting in the feel of her soft breasts against my hardened chest and grinding my hard cock into that valley between her legs.
Another shudder goes through her, a moan escaping her lips as she clings to me. I grin in triumph, and as we break the kiss for air, I place my mouth near her ear, my voice hoarse as I speak.
“You can’t fight it, Abby.”
The moment I finish my sentence, I see her body immediately become tense again and I realize I should have kept my mouth busy with something other than talking.
With both hands, she pushes me away, seriously this time. As she steps back, she glares at me, her eyes like icy daggers even as they brim with tears.
Then she runs back into the woods.
“Abby!”
I start to run after her but Roger stops me, having emerged from his hiding, his gaze telling me all I need to know.
I fucked up. Bad.
And now, I wonder if I can ever make it right.