"What?" I asked, tugging my hand back.
"These are working hands. You have calluses. Why would a businessman have so many calluses?"
I said nothing, fighting an inner battle I'd likely lost the moment I'd spotted Hollister. I had to go home; that was an unavoidable truth. But why couldn't Hollister come to Walker County? I kept the two sides of me separate now. Why couldn't I do the same at home?
Hollister worked hard, both to pay his bills and to help those in need. Despite his hard work, it didn't sound like he'd taken a single vacation in all the years since coming to Seattle. Not because he didn't deserve one. He'd jokingly described himself as a guardian gayngel, but though he'd said it like a joke, it was true. The man worked long hours, and when he wasn't working, he was volunteering, trying to help young people who were lost, lonely, or needed help. My pet was an angel, but he deserved a break.
"Hollister." His name rumbled out of me.
"Hm?"
"My name is Aver."
Hollister's eyebrows furrowed, and he spun in my arms, turning his back to the dawning sun. "Hi, Aver." He smiled. "Why are you telling me this now?"
He sounded suspicious. The man was sexy and smart.
"I've got to go back home today. The ferry is leaving, and I have to be on it. I don't want to say goodbye to you yet, and I'm pretty sure you aren't ready to say goodbye either. But I can't stay longer in Seattle. I have to go home."
Hollister frowned, his chin dropped as he burrowed his forehead against my chest.
I leaned back, wishing I could allow him to hide in my embrace as he wanted. "Come with me, Hollister. It will be like a vacation. I'd cover everything. You don't have to worry about paying for a thing."
Hollister stiffened, and I had to strangle my alpha's urge to tighten my arms around him. I had to know that if Hollister wanted to go, I would let him. I couldn't kidnap him and convince him he'd wanted to go with me all along—even if I wanted to.
Hollister searched my face. "I get to go on this all-expenses-paid vacation in exchange for what, Aver?"
I frowned. That wasn't right. He wasn't meant to say my name with that level of suspicion. "In exchange for nothing, Hollister. I've enjoyed my time with you, more than I can describe. I don't want to say goodbye. I already have a cabin. It's nice. We could stay out there, live the rustic forest life. At the very least, you'll get time to rest. You deserve that much."
Chapter Four
Hollister
I shouldn't have needed to think his offer over. Running off with a man I'd just met to a place I wasn't familiar with was just about the stupidest thing I could think to do. Though my tongue pressed against the back of my teeth, readying to spit out the word that would a stop to this madness, I couldn't pull the trigger.
What if I did agree to go away with him? With precautions, of course. I'd tell my friends exactly where we were going, and Jorge and Sam would check in on me. If they didn't hear from me or if something happened, I trusted them to sound the alarm. But should I go away with a man when these sorts of thoughts were at the forefront?
If any one of my friends had approached me saying they wanted to run away with a man they'd just met, I'd—well, after I'd made sure the man wasn't a killer in disguise—I'd wish them well and make sure they stayed in contact. So then why was the situation different when it was me poised to spend a few days laying around in a bed in the middle of the forest getting fucked?
Jazz came and went as he pleased. Sam left on conferences a few times each year, and Jorge visited his sister in southern California as often as he could afford the trip down. Even Sprinkles was known to disappear for days at a time, always popping up the moment before we could report him missing.
During all that, I remained in the city. How long had it been since I'd gone a night without being lulled to sleep by the soothing sounds of sirens and traffic?
"Say something, Hollister. Let me know how much convincing I need to do."
I smirked. Mr. W—Aver—sat up but didn't let that put space between us. He tugged me into his lap. "It's a beautiful cabin. Surrounded by green all year around."
"Seattle is green."
Aver frowned and scratched the bristles at his cheek. "There's a creek nearby. You can lose yourself in its gentle babbling."
My smirk curved into a smile. "I've gotten lost in Seattle."
Aver hugged me, gently shaking me. "Hollister," he growled, and though it sounded like a warning, I didn't bristle against him.
I didn't do a lot of the things I normally did with Aver. Every domineering look and possessive touch would have normally set my alarms off. My mind, body, and desires were my own. Always. So what did it mean that I didn't mind as much when Aver had started saying that mine stuff?
I'd heard several men claim that I was theirs. With Aver, for the first time, I believed it.
That is crazy, Hol. You just met the man.
Yeah, I'd just met him, but touching him was like stepping into whatever circle of hell was filled with nonstop orgies. Call me crazy, but I didn't want to say goodbye to Mr. Orgy Skin so soon.
And all that physical stuff aside, Aver was so much more than the arrogant businessman I'd first pegged him for. He could be sexy and sweet, cunning and kind. "Are there lumberjacks around for me to ogle?"
Aver made that sexy chest rumbling noise. "No. You'll ogle me."
See, domineering and possessive, and yet I was exactly where I wanted to be. "Can you dress like a lumberjack? Put on a flannel? Carry an ax? Ravage me against a tree?"
"All of that can be arranged," Aver said quickly. "Does that mean yes?" He tightened his arms briefly before relaxing his hold. He kept doing that, almost like he had to force himself not to hold me as tightly as he wished.
"That means maybe. It all depends on one very important thing."
Aver's forehead pressed against mine. He puckered his lips to kiss my nose. "Anything you want and I'll give it to you."
A thrill of desire skittered down my spine and settled between my legs. His confidence was hypnotizing. "Will there be pancakes? I require pancakes. And bacon."
"Every morning." Aver smiled. The playful curve of his lips was one I hadn't seen—yet a new side to this enigmatic man.
How many sides did he have? If I was really considering running off with him to the middle of nowhere, I guessed there would be time to figure that out. "When do we leave?"
***
The ferry's horn blasted our arrival. I plastered my face against the window of our first-class cabin. I hadn't even known ferries had first-class options. We had the square space entirely to ourselves, and there weren't benches but comfy swivel chairs that faced each other.
The island grew before my eyes, steadily emerging from the twilight fog. It was as lush and green as I'd been told, and though my excitement grew with every minute, Aver had gone quiet about an hour ago, and I'd only been able to get one-word answers from him since.
He'd been all over me all morning. When we'd gone back to my place to pack a bag, he hadn't let me out of his sight and had encouraged me to keep packing. By the time he was satisfied, I'd packed most of my belongings. I probably should have anyway, since I didn't trust my roommates or that my room would still be mine after leaving it for so many days, but that wasn't the point.