“I’m coming,” Spike said with a smile, as he locked the cabin door and turned her way.
“Why do you lock the door? Are you afraid of the guests stealing something?” she asked with a tilt of her head.
“Not really. It’s a habit. But no place is a hundred precent safe.”
“Good point,” Reese said with a nod.
Spike pocketed his keys. “Ready?”
“Ready,” she said with a huge smile. “Lead the way.”
“How about we go together?” Spike asked, holding out his hand.
If possible, her smile got bigger. “Sounds good to me.”
She put her hand in his. Spike noticed how his hand seemed to engulf hers, which he liked for some odd reason. She wasn’t a small woman, but to him, she seemed delicate and so damn feminine. The softness to all his hard edges.
They walked hand-in-hand toward the trees. There was no official trail to where they were going, but Spike didn’t need one. He went to the place they were headed when he needed some peace and quiet. When he wanted to recharge and get away from the demons in his head. He couldn’t wait to show it to Reese.
CHAPTER TEN
Reese couldn’t stop smiling.
She probably looked like an idiot, but she didn’t care.
Her lips were still tingling from their earlier kisses. She hadn’t lied, it was hard to believe Gus was interested in her. He was that guy every girl dreamed about taking one look at her and falling madly in love. The prince from Cinderella. The cute billionaire stranger who sat next to you on a plane and took you home to his mansion and declared his everlasting love.
Okay, those examples might be a stretch, as Gus didn’t have a drop of royalty in his blood and as far as she knew, he wasn’t a billionaire.
But she felt giddy inside that he was here with her, holding her hand, kissing her as if he’d never get enough, and generally being attentive and protective. She liked it. A lot. She was an independent woman, had always been that way. She didn’t need a man, but she couldn’t deny that she wanted one.
Her panties were still damp from the way he’d held her tightly against him as they’d kissed. She’d felt his cock—his huge cock—against her belly, and all she’d wanted to do was rip his clothes off right then and there and go down on her knees and taste him.
But she could be patient. Maybe. It had been a long time since she’d had sex, and she’d never had it with someone she wanted as badly as she wanted Gus. He’d hinted that sex would be in their future—making love, he’d called it…swoon—but she had a feeling he’d try to be a gentleman and go slowly when it came to intimacy.
Reese didn’t want slow. She’d wanted Gus for what seemed like forever. And she couldn’t help but think that maybe his attraction toward her might fade quickly. That he’d decide he didn’t want an overweight thirty-something engineer, and would rather have a skinny, bubbly twenty-year-old.
Shaking her head, Reese tried not to think about that. She’d accepted long ago that she was who she was and vowed not to change for any man. But…making sure Gus knew she was all for the physical intimacy that came with dating was definitely on her agenda. She didn’t want to wait some random period of time that society deemed acceptable before making love. She was ready now.
Peeking through her lashes at Gus, she smiled. He was made to be out here in the wilderness. He looked more relaxed and his strides were confident. She loved the sight of the tattoos on his arm, and how they flexed with his muscles as he shifted the pack on his back.
“What’s that look for?” he asked with a small grin.
Reese shrugged. “I’m just happy.”
“You’re always happy,” he returned.
She frowned. “That’s not true.”
Gus raised a brow.
“I wasn’t happy when I couldn’t get a hold of Woody. I wasn’t happy I had to go down to South America to try to find him when I had no idea where to start, other than Isabella’s address. I wasn’t happy when I got sick and had to stay in my hotel room instead of looking for them. I wasn’t happy when I was alone with the truck and you and Tiny went to that house, putting yourselves in danger. I wasn’t happy when we were being shot at and chased by gun-wielding drug cartel goons. I’m not happy when Angelo won’t talk to me. I’m not happy when—”
“Okay, okay,” Gus said with a laugh. “You’re happy most of time then. When you aren’t fiercely worried about your loved ones. Or your friends.”
Reese thought about that and gave him a small nod. “It’s better for my peace of mind to focus on the good parts of life more than the bad.”
“Which makes you different from about eighty percent of the world.”
“That’s not true,” she protested.
“It is. When you go on social media, most of the posts are about the shit happening in people’s lives. They’re complaining about one thing or another. I’ve seen your posts…you talk about the flowers you saw in the park. About how thrilled you are for a co-worker who got a raise. The present you bought for a friend’s son for his birthday.”
“I get upset,” she protested. “I get worried and mad just like everyone else.”
“I know, but you don’t dwell on it. I think it’s wonderful. And people like being around you because of it.”
“You included?” she couldn’t help but ask.
“Me especially. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t be sad or angry around me. I don’t want you to think I expect you to always be upbeat and chipper. In fact, I need you to be comfortable enough with me to let me see any darker parts of you, as well as the happy ones.”
“I’m not used to letting people in,” she admitted.
“You can trust me with your real feelings,” Gus told her as he squeezed her hand. “Lord knows I’ve got enough nasty shit swirling around in my head that nothing you do or say will faze me.”
“Was it bad?” she blurted.
“It?”
“The missions. Being a Delta. Always being in danger, sent into unsafe places and asked to be Superman.”
“Not always. But a lot of the time, yes. It’s why I finally called it quits.”
“You didn’t quit,” Reese said fiercely. She stopped walking, forcing Gus to stop along with her.
He huffed out a breath. “I did.”
“No, you had enough. Any sane person would. There’s only so much a person’s psyche can take. I admire you for knowing when the time was right.”
“Have you been talking to Henley?”
“About you specifically? No. About some of the horrible things our military guests have seen and done? Yes. I’m proud of you, my brother, and the rest of your team and what you all did. But I’m relieved that you’re not doing it anymore. I hated every second of when you guys were deployed. I dreaded getting that call, that visit, that would inform me someone had died. It’s selfish, I know that, but I was so damn thrilled when I heard you were getting out. Woody too.”
“It’s not selfish,” Gus said gently.