Hard to Fight
He walks over, reaching out and hooking his arm around me. He pulls me close, moving his arm down to my waist. He leans down, brushing his lips across my forehead. There he murmurs, “Go and shower or take a bath, and I’ll make some food.”
“There’s food here?” I breathe.
“Yeah, lady, got some neighbors. Told them I was comin’, they stocked the fridge.”
“Doesn’t seem like you’d have neighbors up here.”
He grins. “They live about twenty minutes west.”
“Oh.”
“Shower, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
I turn and find the suitcase. I dig through until I find a pair of cotton shorts and a tank, then I go into the bathroom. It’s gorgeous. The walls are of the same wood as the rest of the cabin, the shower is double, and a bath sits right below a beautiful big window. You wouldn’t even have to worry about someone seeing you out here. I strip off and turn the shower on, stepping in and sighing.
As the water washes over me, I think about Raide and the situation I’ve gotten myself into. It’s risky, but I can’t deny there are feelings building in my heart for him, and I want to help him. I know what my job is, and I know the risk I’m taking, but Raide deserves someone to at least try to help him. I’ve still got a few weeks till the deadline. If I can use some of my contacts, I might be able to get something to help him. Either way, he’s got to go in, but if I find something to prove he’s innocent, he might just be able to get back out and we’ll be closer to getting the right man put away.
I flick the thoughts from my mind for now and decide to push the guilt away and just enjoy these next few days. It’ll be over before I know it, and I’ll be forced to make a damned hard choice. I take a towel from the rack and turn off the shower. I dry off, get dressed, and then run a brush through my hair. When I’m presentable, I head back out. Raide is standing in the kitchen, whisking what I’m assuming is eggs.
“A man who cooks—I must say I’m shocked.” I grin.
Raide’s lips curve up into a sexy half smile. “I’ll have you know I’ve evolved quite well.”
I giggle. “So you’re not going to throw me over your shoulder and carry me off to your cave?”
He chuckles while whisking. “It’s not a bad idea, might help to fix that sassy mouth of yours.”
“I am not sassy,” I gasp, but keep the smile on my face.
He looks up at me with narrowed eyes. “You’re kidding right?”
“Of course,” I grin. “I live to be sassy.”
His lips spread into a bigger smile, which makes my heart pitter-patter. “Were you always sassy?”
I shrug. “Not always—there was this time when I was in my mother’s stomach that I didn’t get the chance to find my sassy side.”
He shakes his head. “That answers my question.”
“We’ve all got to be something, Raide.”
He tilts his head and studies me. “Yeah, lady, I think you’re right about that.”
I throw myself onto the bed, stretching out. Suddenly the whisking stops and the floorboards creak. I try to hide my smile as Raide approaches the bed. A moment later he’s over me, hard body flattening mine, elbows beside my head. His amber eyes hold mine for long moments, and then he dips his head and kisses my neck. Oh boy.
“I thought we were having eggs,” I gasp.
“Fuck the eggs.”
Right.
His lips move down my throat, and my fingers find his biceps and give them a light squeeze. He growls, I whimper, and a throat clears.
Raide’s off me in a second, and I’m bolting upright, gasping as I lay eyes on a man standing at the door. Oh my God. He could have seen so much worse than us making out. We didn’t even hear him enter. I turn to Raide and see he’s grinning, big and broad.
“Benny!” he says.
“Sorry to interrupt, brother. Heard you were here a few days, thought I’d come say hi.”
Raide starts striding toward him, then stops and adjusts his erection—yes, adjusts it—before completing the distance. I want to curl up and die. My cheeks are burning. It’s clear Raide knows Benny, because the two embrace in a man hug to beat all man hugs, and then both are staring at me.
“Benny, this is Gracie.”
Benny nods and I scurry off the bed, rushing over to thrust my hand at him. He shakes it with a crooked grin on his face. “Nice to meet you, sweetheart.”
Benny is cute. Now that I’m closer, I can see that. He’s got long blond hair that falls around his shoulders. He looks to be in his early thirties, and his eyes are a light hazel and his skin is olive, but not in the natural way, more the ‘I’ve had too much sun’ way. His body is tall and lean, and he’s got a shotgun slung over his shoulder. His big black boots are undone, laces trailing off behind him. It’s clear Benny doesn’t go to town often.
“Come in, was just makin’ some eggs. You hungry?” Raide says, giving me a lustful look before turning to the kitchen.
“Clear you were makin’ something, bro,” Benny chuckles.
My cheeks heat once more.
Benny slides past me with a grin and flops down onto the couch. He pats a cushion and calls me over.
Hesitantly, I slink over and sit beside him.
“Tell me, Gracie, what’d he have to do to get you up here?”
Raide snorts.
“I’m sure he’s had plenty of girls up here,” I say.
Benny laughs. “Nope, he’s a loner. I thought he was swinging for the other team, you know?”
I giggle.
“Fuck off, Benny,” Raide grunts.
“Can’t blame me. There was that time you tried to get me up here.”
“For a fuckin’ guys weekend,” Raide mutters.
“Sure, buddy,” Benny laughs, nudging me to let me know he’s just playing around.
“Well, I must say, it was probably his charm and good looks that got me up here.” I laugh softly, too.
“Lucky man, he is. Tell me what you do, Grace?”
I shrug. “Just a waitress.”
Benny raises his brows. “A waitress? Seriously?”
Here we go again.
“That’s what I said,” Raide mumbles from the kitchen.
“I have no idea why it’s so surprising.”
“Lady,” Raide calls. “I’ve seen you drop grown men. You ain’t cut out for a waitressing job.”
“So I’m skilled in self-defense—aren’t most women?”
“Skilled?” Raide chuckles. “Ben, you should have seen her take down this dude for tryin’ to nab her purse.”
Benny chuckles. “Think I’d like to see that.”
I roll my eyes. “What do you do, Benny?”
His eyes soften and he replies with a gentle voice. “Lost my wife two years ago, been tough since. Been working on my land, fixin’ cars for folks, things like that.”
My heart breaks. “I’m so sorry.”
He smiles. “Life happens, sweetheart. Lost her to cancer.”
I look down at my hands, and my heart twists. Good people. All of them. Raide, Benny, good people.