I was grinning as I walked outside, my mind full of ideas about whatever those bags held. I planned on trying to get answers on our walk to the main house, but I didn’t see Nyx anywhere. I went a few steps off my porch and toward the house, wondering if she’d already started up there without me. Then I heard her voice coming from the other side of the next cabin and moved closer to be able to hear when she was done talking to Dru.
“…I told you to stay away.”
I frowned. That didn’t sound like a conversation that had to do with work. Unless there was something going on with one of the people at work, and Nyx wasn’t as much worried about her business as she was about a human being.
“I understand, but it’ll just make things harder for you.”
This didn’t sound like a conversation I should be overhearing.
I took a few steps back and put my hands in my pockets in an attempt to look casual, but I wasn’t sure it would actually work. I could’ve just looked like an idiot. But I hoped however I looked, it didn’t show that I’d overheard something I shouldn’t.
When Nyx walked around the cabin and saw me waiting, a shadow passed across her eyes, going by too fast for me to catch exactly what it was, but then she smiled. “Ready to eat? I’m sure Shadae has some massive lunch set up for us.”
I walked toward her and held out my hand. She took it and laced her fingers between mine. “I could eat.” As we started to walk toward the house, I asked, “How’s everything at work?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The grin on her face should’ve convinced me that nothing was up, but my gut still said something was off.
No matter. We’d eat with our friends, catch up, and then go back to the cabin and make love. Whatever else was going on, I refused to let it ruin our time together. If Nyx wanted me to know, she’d tell me.
Three
Nyx
When I’d first come to the ranch, Bradyn had taken me out on a ride, the first time I’d ever been on a horse. I hadn’t really had the opportunity to be on one much since then, but Ralphie was as gentle as ever. Bradyn was on one of the new ones whose name I didn’t know. It was beautiful, though. Roan, I thought the color was called.
Like before, Bradyn had brought picnic basket, and I had a feeling we were even going to the same place. It was strange, having such good and bad memories tangled up together in Savannah. I’d associated this city with my stepfather for so long since this was where he’d grown up. Then, it’d become the place where I’d been accused of murder and nearly killed. The place I’d seen the absolute hatred my sister still carried for me.
It’d also been difficult for me to see Savannah as the place where I’d met people who’d become like extended family to me, as well as the people who would actually become extended family at the end of this week. Because I’d also found love here. I’d never been in love before, and I’d never thought it would happen to me. Not after what I’d been through.
Now, as we reached the same beautiful clearing as before, I thought only good thoughts about being here. The memory of that day came back and sent a wave of heat through me. It’d been the first time I’d ever had sex in ‘the missionary position.’
Because of the abuse I’d suffered as a kid, I’d never even had sex – rape didn’t count – until I’d found the BDSM world at Club Privé a few years before I met Bradyn, but there were still things I hadn’t done until I’d met him. That first had been here in this secluded spot.
As Bradyn helped me down from the horse, the look on his face told me he was thinking the same thing. The beautiful trees and creek made it the type of place people would normally flock to, eager to take pictures of and take in the view. Lucky for us, this wasn’t a commonly visited location. Still private. Just for us.
In the low sixties, it was a perfect day. Bright sun, blue sky, and only a few wisps of clouds. The kind of day that made me want to forget about anything and everything that wasn’t right here, right now. And because this was a vacation, we could do just that.
The two of us didn’t talk much as we laid out the blanket and everything Shadae had packed. The buzz of insects, birds in the trees, and the splashing from a creek created background music that surrounded us, so we weren’t in silence, but the noises were so different from what we had at home that it just added to the isolated, almost surreal feeling this afternoon.
Both of us were hard working and focused, the type of people who did well in the fast-paced world of the Big Apple. We were always moving, always working. We’d been on our own so long, and our relationship had started under such insane circumstances that it’d taken nearly half a year before we realized that we needed to make changes. Once we figured it out, we’d made a vow to establish a balance before our wedding, and even though we’d had to work our asses off the last few months to get ready for this trip, we still intended for this to be the beginning.
Our first step had been to take a vacation before the wedding. Most things moved slower in the South, and adapting to the laid-back pace was the start of us finding that happy medium where our work and our family could thrive. We’d get married on Christmas Eve, spend Christmas Day here too, and then leave the next day for Daytona Beach, where we’d stay through New Year’s Day before heading back home, hopefully refreshed and ready to begin our life as husband and wife.
But right now, food…and probably sex.
One look at the heat in Bradyn’s eyes made me change my mind.
Definitely sex. There was no maybe about the way he was looking at me.
“Work up an appetite first?” he asked with a smug smile that said he was certain of my answer.
Every so often, when he had that expression, I had the urge to disagree, just for the fun of it.
Today wasn’t one of those days.
I answered him by pulling my shirt over my head. By the time I’d shimmied out of my jeans, he was naked and didn’t seem bothered by the slight chill in the air. Even as goosebumps broke out over my skin, I didn’t mind. I’d be more than warm enough soon.
“I want you on top.” He stretched out on the blanket, propping himself up on his elbows so he could watch me walk toward him.
“Translation: you want me to do all the work,” I teased as I closed the short distance between us.
“Just want to admire the view.”
“Mine’s pretty good from up here,” I said as I ran my gaze down his body and back up again.
Damn. The man was a work of art, even without the ink, though I was partial to it. The scales of justice on the outside of his upper left arm had been joined by a new design he’d had done after he proposed. The phoenix matched the one on my back, curling around his left side and up to his chest where the wings came together as if they held his heart.
When he’d told me what he’d wanted to do, he’d been worried that I’d be upset, but it’d brought me to tears in the completely opposite way. I’d been stunned into silence, totally overwhelmed that he’d wanted something that tied us together so visually. He’d gently reminded me that we were getting married, and for him, those vows tied us together every bit as permanently as the tattoos did.