“Maybe Dr. Marc the Podiatrist is around,” Warner jokes, and Ford gives him a disgruntled look.
“No Dr. Marc, but I’ll call Dr. Isaac.” Corin heads off to the main house.
When I catch Jana’s eye, I mouth thank you, meaning it all the way to my core. She shakes her head like it was nothing, but it wasn’t nothing to me. In fact, I think I just fell for her a little more.
Dr. Isaac arrives and looks at my ankle, telling me it’s a bad sprain. He wraps it and gives me a set of crutches to use until I get back to Florida to see my regular doctor.
We’re at the bonfire after dinner. Tomorrow we have some sharing session in the morning, then we get back on the bus to drive to the airport to fly home. My bed sounds so good right about now.
Corin stands and claps. “Okay, it’s ten o’clock, which means bedtime!”
Jana stands up next to me, and I clasp her hand for just one more touch. Her smile is illuminated by the flames.
“Come on, we’ll help you get to bed.” Ford and Aiden come over and offer me each a shoulder to balance my weight. The crutches aren’t worth shit with all the uneven ground.
“I think he should be allowed to stay in the main house,” Jana broaches the subject with Corin one more time.
“I’m sorry, but as I said, Clark doesn’t allow any other men in the house.”
“But Kane is injured. Surely, he can see this circumstance is different.”
“It’s okay, Jana,” I say, appreciating the effort.
“See? He’s fine. Now you come, Miss Jana. Bedtime.”
I head to my small cabin with the help of the guys, and Jana heads to the main house with Corin. I’m not gonna lie, I’d hoped that they’d let me stay in Jana’s room. Not that I would’ve had sex with her in someone else’s house, but just to be near her. Thank her again for doing what she did for me.
“Thanks, guys,” I say when they deposit me on my bed.
“No problem.” Ford runs his hand through his hair. “She really went the distance to make sure you guys won. Reminds me of Lena.”
“Yeah. Don’t be too jealous of our trophy.” I nod toward the generic gold trophy with two people holding hands on top.
“I might steal it, so be careful,” Aiden says. “Who knew Jana had that in her?”
We all agree. They leave, and I lie in my bed, going over all the events of today. Rehashing and dissecting every look Jana gave me, everything she said. From our kiss at the water fountain to running from station to station, to her eyes lighting up when she showed up with the wheelbarrow. When we first met, I never thought she had this many layers. I’m ashamed to admit that I assumed things about her because of her family name, and she continues to prove me wrong.
My eyes slide closed for a moment, fatigue from a full day of being outdoors taking over, when my door creaks open.
I sit up, hoping this isn’t Warner about to cry to me about missing his family. And I really hope it isn’t Corin or Clark. I could see them having some agreement about sex with other people.
“Hey,” Jana’s sweet voice whispers.
“What are you doing here?” I whisper back.
“I want to be here with you, plus they’re at it again.” She touches the side of the bed and I slide over to the wall, giving her room to slide in. “Do you mind?”
“Are you crazy? Come here.”
She climbs under the sheet, and I wrap my arm around her waist, tucking her into my side. “Are you sure this is okay? I’ve never gone to a boy’s room before.”
I laugh and she pinches my arm, sobering me up because no one can know she’s here.
“I’m not a boy, Jana.”
“I know that. I just meant…” She turns to face me, and her hands locate the sides of my face in the dark. “This is me making the move.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, let’s give this a try. You and me.”
Relief rushes through me, and for a moment, I feel euphoric. Even the throbbing pain in my ankle is a distant memory. I bend forward to kiss her, and she presses her finger to my lips.
“But let’s just keep it between us.”
“Until the end of the season. After that, we go public.”
She leans her forehead on mine. “If we’re still together. Deal.”
“Oh, we’ll still be together.” I lower her to her back and bring myself on top of her, which is a little harder to do with only one leg. The pain will be worth it. “That I can promise.”
I seal that promise with a kiss I hope she never forgets.
I was nervous before stepping into Kane’s small cabin. What if he didn’t want me to bother him right now? He has a sprained ankle, and I’m sure he’s tired, but I couldn’t listen to Corin call Clark daddy anymore.
Kane’s balancing his weight over me, and I reach for his face in the dark, his beard scratchy against my palms.
“Me on top,” I whisper. “You’re hurt.”
He allows me to flip him onto his back, a sure sign that he’s in more pain than he’s letting on. His hands grasp my waist, his thumbs running over my hip bones. Trying to take control, he runs my center over his erection. I sigh and place my hands on his chest.
I always kept it to myself when we were hooking up, but I’ve never had a lover who read my body the way Kane does. But that speaks to the man he is in general. Of course it would transfer to the bedroom. He’s consistently doing for others, putting their needs before his own.
One of his hands travels up my side, and goose bumps chase his fingers. He grasps the back of my head and urges me down until his lips meet mine. The kiss starts slow and exploratory, but the more I grind along his length, the firmer the press of his lips, his tongue becomes more demanding, and our rhythm more frantic. One of the things I love about Kane is that he’s not timid. He’s sure of his skills and it’s sexy as hell.
“God, I feel like I’m in a dream. Tell me I’m not,” he whispers. “I’m not hallucinating, right?”
I giggle, low enough that hopefully no one hears us. “I’m right here in the flesh.”
His hand on my hip tightens as if he has to check himself. “I finally wore you down, huh?”
“Yeah. I can be stubborn.”
“I knew you’d come around. I mean, I’m Kane Burrows.”
I lightly slap his bare chest, and he grabs my hand, tugging me down so I’m completely flat over him. He turns my head to kiss my jaw, and his tongue travels the length and down my neck.
“Too many clothes,” he murmurs against my skin. His hands glide under the bottom of my pajama shorts, palming my ass. “And you’re cold as fuck.”
“I figured you’d warm me up.”
He kisses my earlobe before nibbling. “Anytime, baby. I’ll warm you up anytime.”
Shivers rack my spine. His hands travel down to the sides of my shirt, grab the hem, and pull the fabric over my head, leaving me bare from the waist up.
“They missed me, right?” He palms my breasts, his thumbs and forefingers pinching my nipples. My body stiffens as the sensation travels down between my legs.