Cole switched to the ball of my foot, pressing with just the perfect amount of pressure. I closed my eyes again; and purred like a kitten.
“But yes in that I’ve ‘heard’ from him,” I hissed, in blissful contentment. “In the five quick minutes my phone was on, I saw fifty missed calls and about three-hundred text-messages.”
Sawyer whistled. “You really know how to pick em, don’t ya?”
“Yeah,” I conceded. “But this one picked me.”
“Still counts,” he quipped. “Who’s Amy?”
I hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. “Amy was my therapist, back when I was going through something. I saw her for the better part of six months, before she fired me.”
“Fired you?” Sawyer squinted. “Why? What’d you do?”
“We hit it off like sisters,” I said, matter-of-factly. “I mean, Amy and Ireallygot along. So much that we started meeting for coffee, shopping together, and hanging out. She fired me as a patient, in order to maintain the friendship.”
“Sounds responsible enough,” Sawyer agreed. He glanced at me slyly. “Unless she’s sweet on you forotherreasons.”
I laughed. “You boys would like that, wouldn’t you? But no. Amy’s got a husband, actually. Sweet guy. He helps her take care of her sick mother. From what she tells me, they were childhood sweethearts.”
“Like you and Cole.”
I looked up at him through the tops of my half-lidded eyes. His look was immediately apologetic.
“Sorry. Cheap shot.”
His hands shifted to my other foot, his fingers bringing a fresh wave of total euphoria. I couldn’t help but groan, and the groan that escaped my lips couldn’t have been more sexual.
I found that I didn’t care a single, solitary bit.
“Smart move to turn your phone off,” Sawyer went on. “We do the same thing, whenever we’re up here. You can’t be in a place this beautiful, this serene, and not unplug. Getting off the grid two or three times a year is the only thing that keeps us sane.”
“And who tends the bar for you while you’re gone?” I found myself asking.
“It’s not my bar, it’s Carter’s,” Sawyer replied. “He inherited it from his father’s uncle. The guy was a Vietnam veteran, and the two of them were very close. He was somewhat of a legend, actually. He built the place with his own hands, after coming home from the war.”
I nodded dreamily. “That’s why it’s called The Refuge.”
“Something like that, yeah. Only by the time Carter acquired it, it should’ve been called Duct Tape and Daiquiris. The place hadn’t been maintained in decades.”
“It looks nice, now,” I pointed out. “At least, before Cole wrecked it.”
“Yeah, that’s because Bodie and I jumped in to help,” Sawyer said proudly. “We redid all the faulty wiring, patched the roof, and upgraded the kitchen. By the time we finished, The Refuge was a brand new bitch. Minus Grizz, of course. That old timer’s a permanent fixture; I don’t think he even moved from his stool. We remodeled the place around him.”
As he talked, Sawyer began alternating legs. His hands were kneading my ankles now, working their way up my tired calves. I found myself lifting my ass and shifting closer, to accommodate him. I also found him staring.
“We brought the place back, together. The three of us.”
I also found I didn’t mind him staring.
“Anyway, I’m glad you’re here with us,” he said genuinely. “We wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the weekend, knowing that dumpster fire of an ex was out looking for you.”
“He’s still out looking for me,” I sighed heavily.
“But you’re hundreds of miles away from that prick,” smiled Sawyer. “Deep in the woods. Safe and sound.”
His fingers crawled over my knee, and I didn’t dare move. He was kneading my thigh now. Working ever higher, ever closer; to where things got really dangerous, and the prize values were doubled.
My eyes followed those roaming fingers. And his eyes followed mine.
