The Ticket by Heather Grace Stewart

Author:Heather Grace Stewart [Stewart, Heather Grace]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: Romance, Contemporary, Women
Publisher: Graceful Publications
Published: 2016-02-11T05:00:00+00:00

ALLIE

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

What was I even thinking going on this trip? I’m not ready to be this close to a man again. This is all happening too fast.

I pull open the screen door, and I’m about to let it slam shut when I remember that I’m the guest here. I carefully close it, tiptoe in, and quietly slip past Sandy and Nadia, who are both snoring on the pull-out wall bed in the kitchen-living-room-office-bathroom.

Damnshitcrapola! They don’t own much stuff, so what the hell did I just stub my toe on? I attempt to muffle my cursing and heavy breathing by hopping on one foot and massaging the other with my hands, but after four beers and all that steam, I feel dizzy and start to lose my balance.

“Woaahhh, let me help you,” Pete whispers. He’s right behind me, but I don’t startle. I kind of knew he’d come after me.

“Uaooohgah.” Sandy grunts and rolls over, but he doesn’t wake. Nadia’s out cold.

“I thought you’d run into the woods,” Pete continues talking softly. With one arm around my waist, he guides me through the darkness toward the loft ladder.

“Yeah,” I whisper. “I started to, but—mosquitoes. Turns out I’m a city girl through and through.”

“Mosquitoes? Here? In winter?”

“I felt them—I swear.” Didn’t I?

His hand remains firm at my waist, and now I can feel his chest moving. He’s chuckling, but trying to keep it to himself. We reach the ladder, and I grab the middle rung.

“Here we are. I won’t sleep up there, if that’s what you’d prefer, but I need to help you up, Al, okay?” he whispers, and gives me a little shove to help me crawl up the ladder. One strong hand holds my hips, the other rests at the back of my calves. If he thinks that’s helping me, then he has no idea what that kiss just did to me.

I wish he’d put his towel back around his abs and cover up those wet, black briefs. He’s in tremendous shape. Not that I was staring or anything—okay, maybe just a teensie weensie bit at how cut his abs are—when we were in the hot tub. When his arms were wrapped around me outside, it felt like Superman might be holding me. Superman. What the fuck am I supposed to do with that? Get myself a cape and a pair of tights and hold on for the ride?

I make it up to the loft, towel off my hair and shirt, crawl into bed, and wrap myself in the warm duvet. This t-shirt is mostly dried off, but it smells like a country bonfire. I’ll take it off later, when he’s not looking. Still can’t believe he guessed about my pink panties. I glance over at him, standing atop the ladder, staring at me.

“Jesus, Pete, you’re shivering! Here, take this,” I whisper and hand him the orange blanket lying at the foot of the bed. “You’ve got pajamas in your suitcase right?”

“Yeah, but there was no space for it up here.

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