By the third morning, I didn’t know why Oliver was back. When he took off yesterday, I couldn’t have been more straight forward that I didn’t need his help anymore. As hard as it was to look in his green eyes and tell him to leave, I had done just that. I needed space from him. I couldn’t spend another day locked up inside while he worked shirtless within view. All it did was make me think of all the dirty and kinky things we could do out here away from the world. I had spent most of yesterday trying to avoid glimpses of his sculpted body. Trying to scold myself for wanting him to bang more than that hammer into the railing. God, I was losing it.

I looked out of the kitchen window to see his ridiculously expensive truck park in the driveway. The truck bed was full of equipment.

I sighed. Why was he back?

Did he like the constant torture? Did he think he could actually break down my defenses with those smoldering stares of his? He had to know that in the end, when he was done with his projects I still wasn’t going to sell off one square inch of this property. It was mine. I was never going to let it fall into Hawthorne hands.

I met him on the porch. “You’re back, again? Yesterday wasn’t discouraging enough?”

He grinned, extending a hot cup of coffee. “I brought Aubey’s for you.”

My fingertips brushed over his when I reached for the cup. A shiver ran along my arm and straight to my core. Shit. It didn’t seem to bother him. Maybe the man really was made from stone. Nothing seemed to upset him.

I sat in the rocking chair at the end of the porch. The coffee tasted good. It always did.

Oliver joined me. Today he had on a white T-shirt and jeans. I knew it wouldn’t be long before the shirt would be dangled over a post. I tried to look in front of me. The birds flew from branch to branch while a pair of squirrels chased each other around a tree.

“It really is peaceful out here,” he commented.

“It is. It’s why I’m not willing to give it up. I need the quiet.” I hadn’t meant to let that last part slip. I felt as if I had shared something with him I didn’t want to.

“You do?” He turned toward me with interested eyes.

“Forget I said that part.”

“Oh no. I can’t forget something like that. Tell me why a pretty girl like you wants out of the city and wants to live all alone in the woods. Doesn’t seem like the safest scenario in my opinion.”

He wasn’t wrong, but I couldn’t admit that. I still hadn’t convinced myself to unlock the gun cabinet upstairs in the hallway. Uncle Seton had stocked it with hunting rifles.

“I need a break. That’s all. And I’m not afraid to be here. I’m not far from Promise Lake.”

“There’s not far. And then there is this.” His eyes bore into mine. “Why? What are you hiding from, Savi?”

My eyes widened. “Are we on nickname terms now? Should I start calling you Ollie?”

He chuckled. “You are excellent at avoiding questions. About as good as my brother in a board meeting. But maybe you’ve noticed, I’m not one to give up.” His tone softened. “What has you out here? All alone. With no one to take care of you.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. I didn’t know why I opened up. Why I started talking. Why I spilled my soul to a man I sincerely hated. He stood for everything I couldn’t stand. And yet, I was so drawn to him, I couldn’t stop myself.

“I had to get out of the city. I need a reset. Have you ever had a moment like that?” I studied the green in his eyes. I sighed. “Of course not. You’re a Hawthorne. You wouldn’t need a reset.”

“Hey.” His hand landed on my wrist. “Everyone needs a reset. What brought on yours?”

I took a deep breath. “I was injured. And no amount of rehab could ever get me back to a hundred percent.” I couldn’t look at him. I didn’t feel whole anymore without being able to skate. I was afraid if I told Oliver, he wouldn’t look at me the same way either. That somehow he would think I was less of a woman. That the injury defined me. It had already taken away so much

“What happened, Savi? What kind of injury?”

“Skating.”

“Like ice skating?”

I nodded. “Yes. I skated in college, but I didn’t want a full-blown professional career. I realized I could skate a lot longer if I cut back the training and focused on teaching instead.”

“Sounds like a smart move.”

“I thought it was.” My eyes drifted back to the pair of squirrels.

“Keep going,” he encouraged.

“So I started my own teaching studio, but on ice.” I smiled. “I loved it. How it felt to work with the kids. To coach them. To see them blossom into beautiful skaters.” I paused. “I was booked solid. I thought I needed to expand, to make more money. So I hired other teachers and then I began to buy into an ice rink so that I owned my own space.”

“You are fearless aren’t you?” he said with amazement.

“Maybe I’m stupid. I didn’t count on anything going wrong.”

He watched me, waiting for me to continue.

“And then the injury happened. I had surgery on my knee. I had torn ligaments and a shredded meniscus. But my knee was never the same again. I can’t support all my weight to land on it. It’s just not safe.” A tear welled on my bottom lashes. “I couldn’t imagine trying to teach something I couldn’t do anymore.” My words were softer and softer.

“What happened?”

“I was so far invested in the business, I couldn’t abandon the other instructors. But once the parents found out I couldn’t skate they started pulling their kids. It was a domino effect. I lost all the revenue in four months and couldn’t make the payment on the rink’s lease.”

My eyes flashed to his. This was the part I had wanted to tell him. I had wanted to yell and scream and shout how much it had hurt me.

“One day I had a notice that the bank was taking the rink back. I tried to negotiate. I begged for an extension, but all I got was a cold no.”

“Wait. Who was the bank?”

I bit my lip. I had waited for this moment. But now that it was here I wasn’t as anxious to slap him with it. I had wanted him to feel my wrath. To know my pain.

“Hawthorne Financial,” I replied.

“Shit,” he muttered. “No wonder you’re pissed at me all the time.”

I didn’t know how to answer. Did he see me as a bitter woman, engrossed in my own misery? I didn’t want to be that person. Not around him.

“The business completely folded. I lost everything. After months of rehab and fighting my way back from injury, I lost everything.” I faced him. “And that’s when I found out I inherited Uncle Seton’s land.” I cleared my throat. The tears were gone.

“He gave me the cabin and the land for a reason. And it happened at this time in my life when I needed it most. It wasn’t so I could sell it off to you and your brothers.” I realized how harsh it sounded. “He didn’t leave it to me so Hawthorne Global could profit off me one more time.”

“Savi, I’m sorry. I’m sorry you were hurt. I’m sorry about teaching. I’m sorry about the bank.”

“Don’t.” I shook my head.

“I can call the bank president right now. Just say the word. I can get the ice rink back for you.”

I shook my head. “Don’t pretend like you care. I know you’re here for the land. You want all of this.”

“That’s not entirely true.”

I laughed. I wiped the tear that escaped with the pad of my thumb. “I’m not stupid. The coffee. The railing. The stone walkway. It’s all just one big seductive move to get what you want.”

He was faster than I could have imagined. Oliver pulled me from my chair, shaking my shoulders with his giant hands.

“What I want has nothing to do with Hawthorne Global,” he growled. “Or land.”

“It doesn’t?” I whispered.

He shook his head. “No. What I want is you.”

His mouth descended over mine and I moaned in protest as he planted a fiery kiss on my lips. I wiggled and squirmed, but he was strong. He bit at my lips, urging me to part my mouth and as I did, his tongue plunged inside, twining along mine. I sighed, unable to resist his moves. His tongue. His kiss.

I melted into his arms as he pulled me against his solid body. I felt the hardness of his cock penetrating through his jeans. A jolt of excitement shot through me. Holy hell, he was built everywhere.

His hands cascaded through my hair. I grabbed his neck, climbing up his body. My leg thrown against his hip as he lifted me to his waist.

“This is a bad idea,” I gasped.

He gripped my bottom as he staggered inside. “I disagree.”

“I don’t think we agree on anything.”

“Yes we do.” He sucked at my lips and I kissed him harder. He had the most delicious, firm lips of any man I’d ever kissed.

He lowered me to the couch. His fingers curled under my shirt and I was as anxious as he was to rid each other of any trace of clothing. My hands landed on the button of his jeans. I tugged at it while cooperating with one arm and then the other so my shirt was on the floor.

I was glad I had chosen to wear my pink lacey bra this morning. It was the sexiest one I owned and it seemed to work a little magic on Oliver. He traced over the edge of the lace, stopping to circle my nipple through the fabric. I groaned when he pinched until I was a hardened peak.

He growled, shoving the lace under my nipple and lashing over it with the heated swirl of his tongue.

“Oh God,” I whispered to the ceiling.

He broke free and the cool air grazed over the sensitive nub. I was breathless. I was on fire. I looked in his eyes. I didn’t know how we had gotten here, but I didn’t want to go back. I only wanted to go forward.