“I . . . I was.”
“Are you feeling better?” he asked, his voice lifting. “It’s so romantic out here, alone in the woods . . .”
“Lucy and Andrew are in the next room,” I pointed out, my throat threatening to close again. I was enough of a traitor to kiss and fantasize and get myself off to David’s beautiful face, strong grasp, his fierce need for me. I couldn’t let Bill inside my body within hours of that. “And I’m definitely coming down with something. What if you catch it and can’t go out on the boat tomorrow?”
Bill sighed and wrapped his arm around me, hugging me close. “You smell nice from your shower.”
I was a horrible person. I swallowed dryly as I whispered, “Thanks, babe.”
“You’re right, though. Don’t want to get sick.”
I exhaled my immense relief as he rolled onto his back, away from me.
I’d betrayed Bill. Another man’s hands, another man’s lips, another man’s scent had been on me.
One thing had been tugging at my conscience all night, a transgression I hadn’t been able to bring myself to acknowledge until now—in the complete dark, wide awake, and alone with my guilt.
Davidhad stopped the kiss. I hadn’t.
I’d been too wrapped up in him to see the mistake I was making. How long would I have let it go on? Long enough that Bill would’ve walked in on us?
I hid my face in my pillow and prayed I’d never see David ever again. Things were dangerously easy with him, and I’d proven myself as weak as any of his girls.
But I had the memory, and it was unshakable. I began to drift amongst thoughts of wandering arms and curling toes, gripping fingers, yearning lips and eyes, smooth skin, rough palms, tuxedos, cufflinks . . .
* * *
The following night, seated at a round oak dining table, Andrew placed his last set of cards on the dining table. “Rummy.”
The three of us groaned and threw down our hands. “I’m done,” Bill said, leaning back in his chair. “That’s three in a row. Let’s play something else. Something Andrew sucks at.”
“How about Texas Hold ’Em?” I suggested.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Andrew asked, narrowing his eyes at me.
“Good idea, babe,” Bill said, tugging on my sweatshirt. “I think I saw a poker set around here somewhere.”
“Veto,” Lucy said. “Andrew was cranky for a week after the last time we played.”
“Don’t like losing to a girl?” I asked, shuffling the deck.
“I don’t like losing a hundred bucks, period. Two hundred if you count Lucy.”
“But I used it to buy the most beautiful leather boots,” I said wistfully.
Bill chuckled and leaned over to plant a kiss on my cheek. I snuggled in the crook of his arm.
“Anyone want more salmon before I put it away?” Lucy asked. “It shouldn’t sit out any longer.”
“I’m full,” Bill said. “We got lucky with that Coho, man. The guys next to us said they usually cap around five or six pounds.”
“Yeah?” Andrew said. “Let’s see if we can pull it off again tomorrow.”
“If you do, throw the fish back,” I said, pushing away from the table. “We have plenty of food.”
“I’ll throwyouback,” Bill joked as I took my empty beer into the kitchen.
Rinsing out the bottle, I looked out the small window over the sink into the dark forest. David’s strong hands clasped around my shoulders the same unrelenting way they had in Lucy’s office. He turned me around, and his hips fastened me to the counter, his erection begging against my stomach. His hold on me confident, unyielding, but his lips reverent as they touched mine. I bit my lip as his tongue slid against it. The fantasy washed over me, made of new details, unlike my furious memory in the shower.
