Chapter Seven
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Kai was peeling potatoes from their dwindling supply the next morning when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Addison was chopping onions, scraping the pieces into a big metal bowl every so often. He had to admit he was getting to like having a prep cook. It sped things up, and Addison was easy to work with.
It had been hard to let her go to her tent last night after their walk. Kissing her was torture since he couldn’t do more than that with the camera crews around.
Waiting was killing him, but these were early days. He didn’t want to rush things with Addison.
“Kai here.”
“Hold for David Linkley.”
David Linkley? Kai nearly dropped the phone in his attempt to juggle it on his shoulder while wiping his hands, stripping off the apron tied around his waist and smoothing a hand over his hair, as if the producer could see he wasn’t camera-ready at the moment.
Which was ironic, since he was being filmed even now.
Addison, head cocked, raised an eyebrow. Kai turned his back on her.
“Kai?” a masculine voice boomed over the line.
“Yes. David?” Crap. Was he supposed to call the producer David? Had he ruined his chances in his first utterance?
“David Linkley here. Want to talk to you about this cooking show idea you’ve got.”
“Great.” God, he sounded like a boys choir dropout, his voice cracking and weird. He had to pull it together.
“A SEAL’s Meals. I love it. It’ll sell great with the barbecue crowd. The armchair quarterbacks who like to get their friends together to watch the game. That kind of thing.”
“Uh—” Barbecue crowd didn’t sound right at all. Kai cooked everything, but he didn’t serve up slabs of meat as a rule because of the damage to the environment that came from the overgrazing of cattle. He’d envisioned aiming his show at a younger, active, educated crowd who loved eating—but were environmentally conscious, too.
“We want to shoot a pilot. At Base Camp.”
All Kai’s concerns flew straight out the window. David Linkley wanted to shoot a pilot?
“That’s… great.” Fuck. What was he saying? Didn’t he know any other words?
“Good, good. Glad you’re on board. I’ve talked to Renata. She’s all for this. It’s going to be complicated, though; film crews filming film crews. Very meta. Very now. Don’t you worry, we’ll make this show shine. All you have to do is show up with your star power. Think you can do that?”
“Great. I mean—yes. Yes, I can do that. I’ll be ready for you.”
“We’ll send over particulars when we have them. Renata will fill you in on our ideas.”
“Gr—that sounds terrific. Can’t wait to work with you.”
Linkley hung up, and Kai turned around and pumped his fists. “I got a show!”
“You got a show?” Addison dropped her knife on the counter and rushed to him. Kai swooped her up and spun her around.
“I got a show! We’re filming a pilot right here!”
“When?”
“I don’t know. Soon.”
“That’s fantastic!”
“I know. Isn’t it great?” Kai set her on her feet, wrapped his fingers in her hair, tilted her head back and kissed her square on the mouth, not caring if they were filmed, not stopping for a long time, either. This new victory had fired him up even more, and the hunger he’d felt earlier increased to a gnawing pain. When could he be alone with Addison? When would it be all right to pursue a closer connection? Kai fought for control. When he finally pulled back, he had to steady her. “Sorry; got carried away. You all right?”
She grinned at him. “Yes.”
Kai’s phone buzzed again. “Hold that thought.” It was Grace. “I’ve got to take this. Sorry.” He answered the call. “Grace! You won’t believe this!”
“How’s the wife thing going?”
“Good. Really good! But I got a television show!”
“I know; I’ve been watching it.” Grace laughed.
“No—a new one. A chance at one, anyway. I’m filming the pilot soon.” He explained everything to her, noticing that Addison was listening in, beaming at his excitement.
“That’s terrific! Everything’s coming together, isn’t it?” Grace said.
Something in her voice stopped him. “Yeah, it is. You okay?”
“I am. Too okay. Kai—I’m scared.”
He clutched the phone, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. His elation disappeared in a flash. “What’s going on. Are you safe? Where are you?”
Addison’s smile faded, and concern furrowed her brow.
“Kai—it’s not like that. I’m fine,” Grace assured him.
“Then what’s happening?”
“I’m being a freak; that’s what’s happening. Everything’s good. My work is good. My life is good. My fiancé is good. We’re buying a house, Kai. A little place near Mom and Dad. They’re helping us with the down payment. It’s small, and it needs lots of work, but it’s perfect.”
“So, what’s wrong?” He had begun to pace the room. Addison watched him, leaning against the counter, her work forgotten.
“Nothing. That’s what’s wrong; there’s always something wrong. When’s the other boot going to drop?”
Kai took a deep breath. He understood what she meant. Even after all their years with the Ledbetters, they still expected life to fall to pieces at any moment. “Maybe it’s not. Maybe this is how life is now. Try to soak it in while you can. You know there’s always going to be some little problem to solve. With your job and a new husband and a house to fix up? There’s bound to be hiccups, but they don’t have to be bad ones anymore.”
“You think so?” Grace’s voice had gone thready, and Kai wished he could give his sister a bear hug.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“What about you?”
“Things are pretty great here, too.” He nodded at Addison, who relaxed and nodded back. She turned to the vegetables she was preparing.
“Are you soaking it up?”
“Trying to.” Kai laughed, watching Addison work. “Yeah, I’m really trying to.”
“There’ll be things for you to solve, too,” Grace said.
“Bound to be.”
“But today’s good, huh?” she asked softly.
“Yeah, today’s good. Let’s hold on to that.”
“Okay. Thanks. I’m happy for you, Kai.”
“I’m happy for you, too.”
The next morning, Addison woke with a pit in her stomach. Two days left until her self-imposed deadline to leave Chance Creek, and the thought of it made her want to curl in a ball and hide under the covers. She’d already grown comfortable with the rhythm of her life here at Base Camp. Each day, she did a half hour of prep work and another half hour of cleanup around each meal, helping Kai. In between, she went up to the manor with the other women and pitched in there, taking over most of the daily chores, freeing up the other women to see to their guests. As soon as she’d realized Samantha worked in the gardens, Addison had told her not to worry about pitching in at the manor anymore. Kai had mentioned it was harvest time and that they were scrambling to store enough food for the winter. Addison wanted to do all she could to help. He always seemed strained when he talked about the harvest.
She hated to think she was going to let them all down in just a few days.
As for leaving Kai…
She wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or furious he hadn’t tried to take their relationship to a deeper level. Her time with him and the kisses they’d shared were going to make it nearly impossible for her to go when the time came. If she slept with him—
Addison shook her head to dislodge that thought. She hadn’t slept with him. And she wasn’t going to. She realized now that would be unfair to them both. There was no way a single time with Kai would quench her thirst for this man. As hard as it was for her to believe, she was coming to think he might feel similarly about her. Although, that was an illusion. He still thought she was the woman Felicity had made her seem in her video. He didn’t know anything about her, really.
It was best to keep things simple. Easy to break off.
Addison snorted. Yeah, easy.
She sat up and climbed out of her sleeping bag, suddenly anxious to hold on to every moment of this day so she had something to remember when she got back home to her empty life—
Addison froze.
Empty life?
“Addison?” a feminine voice whispered outside her tent. “Are you awake?”
She was grateful for Avery’s interruption, because she didn’t want to unpack the meaning of that phrase. She wasn’t going back to an empty life; she was going back to the chance to pursue a long-held dream.
At least, she hoped she was. If Felicity decided to be a stickler for the rules, she was really going back to a nonexistent actuarial job and a nonexistent apartment in Hartford. Or to a hole-in-the-wall apartment in New York City where she’d have to take whatever job came her way, for now.
“I’m here,” she whispered back. “Hold on; I’ll be right out.” When guests stayed at the manor, the women took turns sleeping up there to be on call during the night. Addison had gotten used to the fact that it took help to get in and out of her Regency gowns, so she was glad the others always made sure someone was in Base Camp. Avery was an early riser, so this wasn’t the first time they’d assisted each other.
She welcomed Avery’s whispered chatter as they walked to the bunkhouse, where they took turns showering and primping in the bathroom. By the time they were dressed there was a lineup for the single inside shower, but Addison knew Kai and some of the other men would use the outdoor ones, even in this cool weather. She wasn’t nearly that tough, although the thought of Kai naked and lathered up was intriguing.
She found herself watching Kai as they prepped for breakfast, all too aware that in just a few days she’d be gone and wouldn’t ever be this near him again. She’d never guessed this would become so painful. If Felicity had wanted to shake her up, she’d done a good job.
Avery met her at the manor door later that morning with a fistful of RSVPs for the ball. “It’s going to be the event of the season.”
Her words hit Addison like a fist to the gut. The event of the season.
And she wasn’t going to be there.
What was she doing leaving all of this behind? Could she really go back to New York—or Connecticut—and make a life half this good?
Addison was torn. On the one hand, she was enjoying herself so much here. She had built-in friends, engaging work, a man who took her breath away.
On the other hand, this was a ranch in Montana—and it would always be a ranch in Montana. She could throw a hundred balls and there wouldn’t be any red carpets or paparazzi. Her events wouldn’t be written up in the society pages. And Kai was no millionaire—
“Addison? Are you okay?” Avery touched her arm, concern written in her face. “Come to the kitchen. Let’s get you a cup of tea.”
Addison followed her automatically, her mind wheeling. Paparazzi? Society pages. A millionaire? Was that what she was after?
Who was she trying to be… Felicity?
She sat down hard in the chair Avery pulled out for her in the kitchen and took the cup of tea when Avery placed it in her hands. She was grateful no camera crews had followed her here.
Because it occurred to her that’s exactly what she’d been doing for years; waiting for an opportunity to become Felicity. And that was—awful.
It wasn’t true, she decided. Not really.
She didn’t want to have her sister’s relationship with their mother. Didn’t secretly have a thing for Evan. Didn’t want to be a model.
But she wanted the glamour, the attention, the self-confidence… the penthouse.
And she’d been putting off moving forward with her own life out of fear she couldn’t attain any of that.
She groaned. “What am I doing?”
Avery looked at her in alarm. “I don’t know. What are you doing? Are you having second thoughts about Kai?”
Addison shook her head. About Kai? No.
About herself. About the way she was wasting her life. She’d been waiting for a fairy godmother to come and change her into someone like her sister. That was never going to happen, though. Even if she attained her dream and became a fantastic event planner, she’d never have Felicity’s life.
She had to make her own.
She didn’t even know where to begin.
Except…
Addison looked around. Here she was in a manor kitchen, in a Regency gown, on a sustainable ranch, participating in a reality television show in which she was supposed to marry her dream man.
Maybe she should begin right here.
“I just… I don’t know what I’m supposed to…”
“Breathe,” Avery told her. “Just breathe a moment.” She demonstrated, and Addison tried to follow her cues. She was dizzy. Her head swimming.
Why had she ever wanted Felicity’s life anyway?
It wasn’t like she hated herself. She had her own work. Her own hobbies. Her parties. She loved her parties. She’d never done those to be like Felicity. She did them out of love.
“I’m good at throwing parties,” she said aloud.
Avery nodded. “I can tell. You really love working on the ball.”
“I do. But—” Could she say it out loud? Would Avery understand? “I’ve been going off course. Trying not to be me. Trying to be someone else.”
Avery nodded again. “Who do you want to be?”
“I don’t know.” She hated feeling so unsure.
“But you know you like parties,” Avery said, and a smile quirked her lips. “I’m not trying to be sarcastic. It’s something to hold on to. What else do you think you like?”
Addison was more grateful than she could say that Avery hadn’t run the minute she started talking nonsense. It was as if Avery understood where she was coming from. Her practical questions were helping.
“I like this.” Addison gestured to their surroundings. “I like being here. Having people to talk to all the time. Live-in friends,” she added shyly.
“It’s pretty awesome, isn’t it?” Avery agreed.
Addison swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I love the manor. And I love Base Camp, too.” She realized it was true; she loved the rough, camping-style camaraderie she’d found there. “I love being with everyone. And—” She broke off, not sure if she should go on.
“And?” Avery prompted.
“I like Kai,” Addison whispered. “A lot.”
“Sounds like you’re exactly where you’re meant to be,” Avery said.
Addison found herself blinking back tears. “But I’m not in the right place at all. I’m supposed to—” She snapped her mouth shut and buried her head in her hands.
“You’re supposed to what?” Avery leaned forward and touched her arm, suddenly serious. “What are you supposed to do, Addison? Did Montague send you to mess things up?”
Shocked, Addison’s tears dried up. “No. Of course not.”
“But you didn’t come here to marry Kai, did you?”
Addison bit her lip. Now she’d really blown it, and Avery was going to hate her; everyone would. She slowly shook her head. “I thought it was all fake,” she said helplessly.
“Fake? You mean the show?” Avery dropped her hand and leaned back. “But then—” Her eyes grew wide. “You thought you were coming to play a part? Are you an actress?”
“No. It was my sister’s idea. Because of this stupid book I was reading.” Addison realized there was nothing for it except to explain the whole thing, so she did, starting with the day Felicity came up with the idea of the month of yes. Avery, to her credit, listened to her without comment. When Addison was done, she sat quietly, as if considering what to say.
“What should I do?” Addison asked her when she couldn’t take it anymore.
“I think you should keep saying yes.”
Addison blinked. “But—”
“You just told me you love it here, you love the work, you love the company, the manor, Base Camp—and Kai.”
“I didn’t say I loved him.”
“You said you like him. A lot.”
“There’s a difference.”
“Is there?”
“I’ve known him five days!” Addison realized she was twisting the fabric of her dress in her fingers. She let it go and tried to smooth out the wrinkles.
“Which is why you need to stay until you really get to know him. He might be the love of your life,” Avery argued.
“But if he isn’t, he won’t have time to find someone else.”
“Don’t underestimate Boone,” Avery said darkly. “He’ll marry Kai off whether it’s to you or someone else. Why not take a chance and see if it should be you? I can tell Kai wants it to be. Addison, you should see the way he looks at you. He’s fallen for you, hard. Don’t you owe it to him to see if you could love him back?”
“I promised myself I’d leave in one week. That it was the right thing to do.”
“Well, I’m telling you it’s the wrong thing to do. You need to stay here through the ball, at the very least. You can’t leave us all in the lurch when you said you’d take care of it. One more week. Then, if you still want to go back to New York, Kai will have more than a week to find your replacement.”
Addison winced. Her replacement?
Avery smiled. “See? You’d better stay, hadn’t you?”
“I guess so.” Avery was right; she had said she’d run the ball, and no matter how she tried to convince herself otherwise, she had fallen for Kai.
“Then it’s settled. You’re staying through Halloween. I won’t tell anyone what you told me until you let me know what your decision is after the ball. But Addison—try to love him, okay? We need you.”
Addison nodded. She wouldn’t have to try. She was halfway there already.
“Go wash your face, and when you come back we’ll get to work,” Avery said gently.
“Okay.”
Avery caught her hand as she walked by. “You’re meant to be here; you’ll see.”
After freshening up, Addison forcibly turned her attention to her chores, refusing to acknowledge her relief at gaining a week’s reprieve from leaving Kai. She and Avery talked over her plans for the event until Mrs. Wood arrived to finalize the menu and the B and B guests began to appear for breakfast.
When they were done, Maud and James Russell came by to pick up Mrs. Wood and insisted on taking Addison for a short drive.
“How are the preparations coming?” Maud asked when they were rattling down the lane. Addison loved the slow pace of the carriage and the way it made it seem they had all the time in the world to get where they were going.
“Quite well, thank you,” Addison told her.
Maud fixed her with a sharp, knowing look and pronounced, “You are a party person. I recognize you because James and I are, too. There’s nothing we enjoy more than planning a party.”
“We like to make people happy,” James put in, turning around on his high seat from where he held the horses’ reins.
“But sometimes people make it so hard,” Maud said. “Even Avery and her friends here at the manor. They don’t want to take advantage of us.”
“They don’t let us take advantage of them, either,” James said. “All these potential party guests, and we’re banned from throwing parties.”
“Not all the time, you understand,” Maud said. “But we have to plan them carefully.”
“We count weeks on the calendar, you know,” James added. “Tricky business. Not the way parties are supposed to be at all.”
“We confuse them by varying the type of get-togethers we hold,” Maud said. “Dinner parties, dances, musical evenings…” She counted on her fingertips.
“But they catch on.” James frowned.
“They invite us back.” Maud steepled her fingers. “Very tiresome, this business of tit-for-tat entertaining.”
“You see, it isn’t the same.”
“Oh, it’s very nice at Westfield, don’t you know,” Maud hurried to explain, “and I enjoy being feted now and then as much as anyone, but—”
She broke off, apparently at a loss for words. Addison hadn’t thought that was possible.
“But you see,” James continued for her, “we like to be the ones giving the parties.”
“I completely understand.” Pleased to finally get a word into the conversation, Addison made the most of it. “Tell you what. As long as I’m here, I’ll do what I can to make them accept.”
“Splendid!” Maud and James seemed very happy, and Addison had to smile. She knew the Russells could help her make events at Westfield extraordinary.
Unless she went home.
“My dear,” Maud said. “You seem made for Westfield. Are you happy here?”
“Yes,” Addison told her truthfully, and she wondered again if she should stay for good.
Mornings were far better for birdwatching than afternoons, but as desperate as Kai was to spend some time with Addison, he’d take any excuse he could get. Breakfast and lunch came far too close together for him to have much time to spare mid-morning. As they washed and dried dishes from the noon-day meal, Kai asked casually, “Can you spare an hour when we’re done?”
“Uh…”
At first Kai thought she’d say no. He knew how busy she was helping with the chores at the manor and preparing for the Halloween masquerade ball as well.
“Yes,” she said.
He’d noticed she did her best to be accommodating. In fact, Kai thought as he scrubbed at a particularly encrusted pan, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever heard her say no.
Funny.
“Is something happening I should know about?” she interrupted his musings.
“Just want to spend some time with my future wife,” he said lightly.
“Okay.” She turned away, which made Kai wonder—again—what her thoughts about marriage really were. They’d gotten stuck in a holding pattern in which they spent a lot of time together prepping and cleaning up from meals but never talked about the future.
At first Kai had wanted to give Addison time to settle into the reality of the show. If she’d come thinking the setup was fake, then he needed to give her a chance to adjust her ideas. When he’d asked her to make a commitment to staying, she had. But not convincingly enough. Something wasn’t right, and it was time for them to take the conversation deeper. He had to know if she was going to marry him.
Kai blamed the presence of the cameras for their lack of real communication, which was why he’d asked Curtis to try to organize a distraction. He needed time alone with Addison if their relationship was going to progress.
When they were done with the post-meal cleanup, Kai led the way outside. Addison followed, and after her came the camera crew, who angled around to try to get ahead of them so they weren’t filming their backs.
Curtis, still sitting at the fire pit with Angus and Jericho, leaped to his feet and shouted, “Holy shit!” pointing at the distant line of trees. He took off running, Daisy yipping and barking at his heels. Angus and Jericho followed.
The camera crew peeled off after them.
“Come on.” Kai grabbed Addison’s hand and began to run as well, but in the opposite direction. He made a quick stop at his tent and grabbed a pack he’d prepared, slung it over his shoulder and dashed with her down the track toward Pittance Creek. Halfway there, he steered them off and raced through the trees parallel to the running water. He knew a camera crew would eventually look for them at the creek where the track connected to it, but he also knew the crew members weren’t particularly adventurous. They wouldn’t bushwhack through the woods to find them.
When they were out of sight of the others, he slowed to a walk, suddenly conscious Addison was fighting to breathe. She wasn’t dressed for jogging.
“You okay?”
“Give me a minute.”
“I forgot about your corset.”
“No wonder women used to faint all the time,” Addison said, but her breathing was slowing and she smiled.
He took her arm and began to walk at a leisurely pace along the side of the creek until they’d reached an area far from where Base Camp’s inhabitants usually strayed.
She waited for him to open his pack, pull out a blanket and spread it on the ground. “Are you going to explain that headlong dash?”
“No cameras,” he said simply.
She raised an eyebrow. Was she wondering if he planned to seduce her?
He hoped to, but slowly. He didn’t expect her to make love to him today. Despite the impression she’d given on first arriving at Base Camp, Kai had learned Addison wasn’t impetuous. She thought through her decisions, and he had a feeling she’d take her time with a man before offering herself to him. He wouldn’t have expected that from a woman who knit surf caps.
He wouldn’t mind speeding things up, though. He had so much desire pent up his frustration made it hard to think these days. When she bent to take a seat on the blanket, Addison’s breasts plumped up and it was all he could do not to reach out to trace a finger along the neckline of her dress. He’d like nothing better than to get naked with her and become acquainted with her body.
Instead, he handed her a pair of binoculars, and she took them with a bemused smile as he pulled another pair out of his backpack for himself.
“We’re looking for cyanocitta stellari. Stellar’s Jays,” he explained, giving the common name. “And anything else we happen to see. I’ve got my notebook.” He pulled that out, too. “Maybe we can add something to my list.”
He sat down and patted the blanket beside him. A moment later, Addison joined him, taking off her bonnet and smoothing the long skirts of her Regency gown out around her.
They lay on their backs, and he showed her how to work the dials to focus the lenses, enjoying the excuse to touch her hands. They were small and shapely. Delicate yet strong. Just like Addison. He squashed the urge to lift one to his lips in an old-fashioned gesture. He didn’t want to spook her even if they’d kissed before.
He knew Addison watched him when she thought she could get away with it. Knew she enjoyed their kisses. He wished he could get inside her brain and know what she was thinking right now. Where did she go in her mind when she grew quiet?
“I can see the treetops so clearly. I never thought to just look up with a pair of binoculars before.”
“Look at the moon sometime,” he told her.
“I’d like that.”
Kai scanned the treetops with his binoculars, content to let the quiet forest, the beautiful day and the pleasant activity do their work. When he spotted a black-capped chickadee on a branch some distance away, he helped Addison focus on it, too. It was a common bird, one he’d seen dozens of times, but he shared Addison’s joy in spying on something alive in its home territory. As time passed, they spotted several other species, as well.
“When did you get interested in bird-watching?” Addison asked, tucked beside him, her head resting on his shoulder. He’d put his arm around her when they’d focused on a nuthatch and he hadn’t removed it. Addison seemed comfortable enough, and if his arm was threatening to go numb, it was a small price to pay for the closeness they were sharing.
“When I started surfing, actually. Waterbirds were my gateway drug. Really had a thing for pelicans for a while there.”
“Pelicans, huh?”
“Got to be careful; they’ll drag you right off your board if you’re not careful,” he quipped.
“You’re making that up.”
“Maybe.”
“Not much chance of spotting a pelican around here.”
“No.”
“Do you miss California?” she asked, turning her head to look at him.
“No. Not really. I’m too involved with what we’re doing here. What about you? Is it going to be hard to leave Connecticut behind?”
“Not Connecticut.”
He waited. That hadn’t sounded like the end of a sentence.
“I guess I always had it in my mind I’d live in Manhattan someday.”
Kai held perfectly still, somehow aware that this was a crucial piece of information. She’d wanted to live in the city. Instead here she was in Montana, joining a sustainable community by volunteering to marry a stranger.
Like so much about Addison, it didn’t add up.
Kai thought about his own roundabout path to Chance Creek. His decision to join the Navy because of a desire to protect people. His decision to become a SEAL—as if becoming some sort of superman would help him stop anyone else from feeling pain.
The SEALs had made him the man he was today, but while he was proud of the work he’d done with them, the experience had opened his eyes to how many children in this big world were at risk. Now he was approaching the problem from a different angle here at Base Camp. Trying to get a message out about food security. Hoping one day to have a bigger platform and the ability to write books, manuals and teaching resources.
He wished he could help create a world where no child would ever end up hungry.
His stomach tightened, a knee-jerk reaction that never went away when he thought of his past. He crushed the memories that sprung into his mind: waiting for the apartment door to open. For his mother to come home. Keeping Grace inside. Watching the food in the cupboards dwindle.
Then run out.
Kai swallowed, determined to clear the thoughts from his mind, and knew it was time to broach the question he’d brought Addison here to ask, but when he turned to Addison, her slow breathing tickled his face. She had fallen asleep, and he didn’t have the heart to wake her. She’d been working as hard as any of them these past few days.
Kai took the opportunity to drink in the sight of her. Addison had already changed him. Made him more aware of everything around him. Things were different when she was near. He felt more hopeful. He liked the idea of having someone to share his future with.
It was like everything he needed was here in his arms. Tenderness rose within him as he watched Addison sleep. She was precious, and he wished he could tell her that. He couldn’t get enough of looking at her. He wanted—
He wanted to make her his wife.
Kai sucked in a breath and let it out again. The feeling had crept up on him. It was different from the infatuations he’d experienced before. He could see himself creating a life with Addison. Aging alongside her.
Starting a family.
His thoughts had never progressed that far with another woman.
He must have moved, because when he looked again, Addison was looking back at him.
“Did I fall asleep?”
He nodded.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He was glad she didn’t try to get up. He wanted to stay here. Like this. For as long as they were able. Preserve the moment before something interfered with it.
He touched her cheek. “You needed a rest.”
“I guess I did.”
“Either that or I bored you with birds.”
“You didn’t bore me with birds,” she said with a smile. “I like birds. I like looking for them—with you.”
“Can I kiss you?” he asked.
Her yes was buried against his mouth as he made his move, and Kai sighed inwardly, grateful for all the events that had led them both to this blanket on this piece of ground. The Universe had definitely gotten this right. When he slid his hand down to her hip and inched her closer, she came willingly, wriggling forward until they were pressed together, both of them lying on their sides.
“You feel good,” she confessed when they came up for air.
“So do you.” So good. It had been far too long since he’d had a woman in his life. Living like a monk wasn’t his style, but as soon as he’d come to Base Camp and started being filmed, he knew that anything he did could make or break his future. Now he wanted to toss all that caution to the wind. And why not? He didn’t have much time to get himself to the altar.
He took a chance, moved his hand and caressed Addison’s shapely bottom through the fabric of her dress. She didn’t pull back. In fact, she moved even closer to him.
That was all the answer he needed. She felt the attraction, too, and if he wasn’t mistaken, she wanted him to act on it.
But this dress…
Kai pulled back and examined it with a frown. “How do I get this thing off?”
“Honestly? It’s a pain in the ass. And we don’t have a lot of time, do we?” She got up on her knees and turned around. “Just undo those ties back there and loosen the neckline.”
Kai did so, and Addison tugged at her dress, fished inside the neckline—
And lifted her breasts free of the fabric of her chemise.
She looked up. “I really hope this is what you were angling for. If not, I’m going to put these girls away and leave on the next plane out of Chance Creek.”
“This is exactly what I was angling for,” he told her. Moving to kneel in front of her, he skimmed both hands up over her waist and higher until he cupped her breasts. “Has anyone ever told you you’re beautiful, Addison Jones?”
She didn’t answer that, but her breath caught when he slid his thumbs over her nipples and bent down to taste her. Addison closed her eyes and arched back to give him better access, and for the next few minutes he devoted all his attention to making her feel good. She was easy to please, and her soft sighs brought his body to full attention.
She lifted her hands to the top button of his shirt, and when she’d succeeded in undoing all of them, he pulled her into a rough embrace, loving the feel of her breasts against his chest. Soon he laid her back on the blanket, ducked under her skirt and went exploring.
“Kai—oh,” Addison said when his kisses trailed up her thighs to the sweet spot between her legs. He peeled down her panties, got out of her way so she could get them off and came back to enjoy her even more. Judging by the sounds she made, Addison was all too happy to let him. She was soft, open to him, trusting him so completely it turned him on even more.
“Kai, I want you,” Addison said some minutes later, and he didn’t need to be told twice. He kicked off his boots, pants and boxer briefs, knelt between her legs and nearly came undone when she reached out and took the length of him in her hand. Braced there, it was his turn to close his eyes and give in to her ministrations. Her soft but firm touch soon had him in a desperate way.
When he couldn’t hold on any longer, he kneed her thighs farther apart, pushed her dress up to her waist, eased into position and nudged against her. He let his eyes do the questioning. Watched her for her answer.
“Yes,” she said.
He still hesitated. “Protection?”
“I’m on the Pill. Kai—” She put her hands on his hips and tugged him closer.
Pushing into her felt like coming home, and it took every ounce of his concentration to pull back and push in again. Addison was so hot. So sweet. So thoroughly with him as he stroked inside her. They found their rhythm, a strong pace of lifted hips and deep thrusts that soon had them both breathing hard. Determined to ride her all the way to an orgasm, Kai kept hold of himself, kept hold of his rhythm and worked in and out of her until Addison leaned back and gave a cry.
That unashamed sound of pleasure pulled him right over with her and they came together, his guttural grunts mixing with her sexy cries until they both collapsed in exhaustion.
Kai wrapped his arms around her, still inside of Addison, wanting to prolong the closeness. She clung to him just as tightly, even when her breathing slowed.
“I’m crushing you,” he said finally and pulled out, rolling to one side, bringing her with him. Her eyes were luminous, and he thought he saw an echo of the joy she’d brought to him there. “What?” he asked. “What are you thinking?”
“I want to do it again.”
Addison had never felt like this after lovemaking. Energized. Charged up rather than depleted. Her body ached to feel Kai inside her again.
“Again? Like… now?”
“Yes.” She loved saying it freely; not because of Felicity’s rules. She didn’t feel shy or embarrassed about what her body needed when she was with Kai. She refused to think about what the future might bring. Right now, this was all she wanted.
“I could go for that.”
His answer was humorous, but she thought she heard wonder in his voice. Was he realizing—as she was—that maybe he’d found someone so compatible that lovemaking, like everything else they did, was easy?
She rolled away from him, flipped her skirts up and got on her hands and knees. Kai needed no more encouragement. In a flash he was behind her, hard again, bumping up against her in a way that made her buzz with desire to feel him inside her again. Hooking an arm around her, he had perfect access to her breasts, too. He tested the weight of them in his hand and groaned.
“God, you are so sexy.”
She sighed as he played with her breasts with one hand and dipped his other between her legs, teasing her until she arched and moaned, the wonderful sensations nearly overwhelming her.
The only warning that he was about to enter her was the way he shifted behind her suddenly. Then he lodged between her legs and slid slowly in.
Addison gasped, feeling the length of him—and the girth—more acutely from this angle. His slow strokes, combined with the way he was still playing with her breasts, soon had her panting, pressing back against him. Wanting more.
Needing more.
She needed Kai, she realized. She had no idea what that meant for her plans—or for his. She’d never meant to come to Montana. Couldn’t imagine a life away from the East Coast. Didn’t know—
But, oh, being with him felt so good.
Kai increased the pace of his thrusts, and Addison clutched the rough blanket between her fingers, giving herself up to the sensations he was bringing to life. As he moved behind her, working in and out, the heat inside her flared to an irresistible flame. She couldn’t believe the way he made her feel. Couldn’t stop this if she’d wanted to; her body wanted Kai. Needed him. Craved the friction he was creating inside her.
She lost control just moments before he did, and they came together a second time, the sensations rolling through her in waves until she finally collapsed facedown on the blanket. Kai pulled out a final time and turned her over to gather her into the protection of his arms.
“I’m not letting you go,” he whispered into her hair. “You hear me, Addison? I need you.”
She knew what he meant. She didn’t want to let go, either. But staying meant taking a flying leap into a future she’d never planned for. How did you change your plans midstream?
But how could she leave Chance Creek and live—
Without Kai?