“I guess I’m just filthy dirty,” she tells me with a smug grin.
“Damn right you are,” I growl, which is such a joke, because my mate is pure as an angel, and everyone knows it. “You okay if I mess you up a little, too?”
“Do your worst,” she purrs, wrapping her arms around my neck. “I’m just going to lie here, willing and wet.”
I groan, and the next half hour passes in a blur of grunts, knots, and so much pleasure, I feel like pure happiness is leaking out of my pores. When we finally take a break, I find the other guys propped up on a sea of cushions, watching us with avid eyes.
“Damn, soldier,” Tristan coos, fanning his face, “Maybe I should join your gym if it’s going to give me stamina like that.”
I laugh as I collapse beside Lily, who cuddles into me with a happy little whimper. “Pretty sure this crazy ass bed brings out the beast in me.”
Tristan shoots me a mock frown of disapproval. “Don’t hate on the nest. When Lily’s heat comes around, you’re going to be grateful for all this yardage.”
I cock a brow at that, but he’s raised an interesting point. Lily’s heat is still a few weeks away, but we haven’t talked about where she plans to spend it. In the past, I wasn’t part of thepicture, but as her mate, I’ll need to make sure it’s everything she needs, especially since it will be the first one with other guys on hand.
I glance down at Lily, but she’s noticeably quiet, and I decide to bring the issue up again when we’re alone. Tristan seems to pick up on her mood, because he clicks his tongue and tosses a tasseled cushion at his mate. “If Ellis could see us now, he’d lose his mind. Ot likes to tease him when he’s away on location, but missing out on this is going to be next-level torture.”
“Have you heard from him today?” Lily asks, concern in her voice. “Did he make it to San Francisco?”
“He’s fine,” Otley assures her, reaching for his cell phone. He scrolls through it for a moment, then sets it aside. “No new messages, so he must still be meeting with his lawyers. Otto, his last director, is trying to push for the full publicity tour and Tahlia, his ex-agent, is suing for breach of contract.” Lily winces and he gives her a steady look. It’s made of the kind of resolve that my commanding officers used to practice in the mirror but rarely pulled off. “We’ll take care of it, Lily, but it means he’ll have to stay in California another few days.”
It casts a somber note that sends us back to the bathroom, this time to get squeaky clean. I can tell that Lily is worrying about Leo, so as soon as we’re dressed, we leave the guys pottering in the kitchen and head to the lake to check on him. I grin when we find him in country boy heaven, sprawled on a floating pontoon with a fishing rod in hand. I’m glad he’s found a fishing partner in the lanky kid next to him, since it’s not a pastime I enjoy, and he shoots us a happy wave when he notices us on the dock. Lily tells them to come up to the house in half an hour for lunch, and the other boy gives her a respectful nod.
“Good kid,” I murmur as we start walking back towards the house. “Two good kids,” I amend. “Leo looks like he’s having the time of his life.”
Lily bites her lip but gives a cautious nod. “Who couldn’t be happy here?”
She nods at the landscape, and I have to admit, it’s pretty amazing. I visited a bunch of interesting places in the Corps, but I don’t think anything compares to the slice of paradise in front of us. On the way in, Tristan told me that there are multiple ponds and springs on the ranch, and that the surrounding pastures are regularly visited by elk and deer. It’s the kind of place where the living spaces naturally blend with the outdoors, and the ranch makes the most of the view with mountains framed in every window, and decks and patios nestled in the lush landscaping.
I steer Lily over to a couple of deck chairs around a fire pit, smiling as she bends down to smell a pot of purple flowers. “Talking about being happy here, you think you might like to stay awhile? After the press mess dies down, I mean.”
Lily blinks at me, clearly surprised. “What do you mean? For how long?”
I shrug, because the truth is, I haven’t thought this all the way through yet. “I’m just saying, if Rosie sells the farm, you can go wherever you want.”
“Wecan go, you mean.” She squirms in her chair, giving me that fierce look that makes my dick so hard. “I’m not going to start missing you all over again, Logan, and your work is in Knotty Falls.”
“Sure,” I admit, “but it doesn’t always have to be.” She frowns at that, and I reach over to squeeze her hand. “I’m just saying, I can PT anywhere, and it’s not like I have an issue with moving around.”
Lily still looks unsure, but the tension leaves her face as she catches sight of a familiar RV rolling down the road towards us. “Oh, my God!” she squeals, bouncing to her feet. “Is that who I think it is?”
I grin, watching as she bounds over to the newcomers, as excited as Leo on the first day of summer break. “Rosie! Doc! I can’t believe you’re here!”
Tears are streaming down her face by the time the older couple have leaped out of their RV. Rosie is a five-foot-nothing firecracker with red hair and a wicked grin, while Doc has the tranquil gaze of a man who has treated every Knotty Falls emergency in the last thirty years. “I’m so glad you’re here,” Lily exclaims, hugging them tight, “but what are you doing in Colorado? Don’t tell me you’re still looking for the blue columbines!”
Rosie clucks her tongue at her, drawing back to squeeze her cheeks. “Ye, of little faith! No, we were on our way to Texas when Logan told us you were coming here and we decided to backtrack. Are you alright, my girl? Those reporters need a sharp kick in the pants, driving you out of your home with their awful lies.”
Lily sniffs, but I can read the guilt in her eyes. “Sorry about that. It seemed better for the farm to stay away, given how crazy everything is.”
I decide to step in, kissing Rosie’s cheek and pumping Doc’s hand. “Clay tells me he’s holding his own.” I’ve already given Rosie the rundown of what’s happening back at Rosie’s Blooms, but I don’t want Lily to worry any more than she has to. “He’s not the kind of guy people push too hard.” I don’t add that if they do, they tend to look like roadkill that blew in off the highway.
“I like the sound of this Clay,” Rosie says approvingly, patting my shoulder. “You should tell him about your hunting bows in the barn, Lily. If he feels like a little target practice, I’m sure I could get Sheriff Winters to look the other way.” She nudges Doc in the ribs. “And you’d sign off on the autopsy report, right?”
I can’t hide my grin, since Lily definitely got her momma bear side from Rosie.
She slaps her hands on her hips, her grin a mile wide. “Well, now that we’re here, where’s my grandson?”
Lily turns to look at the lake, and even from this distance, it’s obvious that the boys are no longer on the pontoon. But before she can start to panic, I nod towards the cluster of buildings at the bottom of the rise. “They’re probably in the stables, feeding Moondance another barrel of apples.”
