The pun was so awful I wanted to be angry, but I chuckled instead. “That was bad. Do those lines get you laid?”
“Almost never?”
“Almost!”
He laughed and put his arm around me. He flexed, and I didn’t get tired of the way his muscles bulged when he moved me closer to his side. Pure strength hid in him, and the thought had my cock taking a renewed notice of our situation. I’d never been so on edge.
“Youarehere. I contend my lines work just fine.” He kissed my cheek. “You’re not buckled. Be safe. Get the belt on.”
Nodding, I did as he asked, but mostly because he had a point and not because he was telling me to.
He said, “Good, that’s just what I wanted from you,” against my ear, and I squirmed on the spot. Why did his approval make me so happy?
Brooks urged me to relax against him again, and since I wasn’t about to wrestle him for his phone, I did. I would be calling someone to take me home as soon as we reached this retreat, but in the meantime, this wasn’t terrible. He made an approving sound and stroked my hair off my forehead.
Confusion swamped me as I blinked my eyes open. The car wasn’t moving, and the sky was growing long with sun and edged in purple. A cabin sat off to our right, though calling it a house would have been more accurate because there were two stories, and beyond that a mirror of water shimmered in the near distance, a crystal clear mountain lake that reflected the trees at its edges like a Bob Ross painting. I sucked in a deep breath and held it.
“There he is. Hello, sweet prince. Are you with me?”
“Mm. I forgot I always used to fall asleep in cars. Don’t go anywhere often.” I stretched some of the stiffness out of my arms by pushing them out in front of myself with a groan. The partition was down, so I had to wonder if Levi had seen me sleeping. I oddly disliked the thought.
Brooks laughed and stole my attention back to him. “I had dinner delivered so it would be ready when we arrived. I know you used to eat lightly. I stayed away from steaks.” He opened his door and got out while I gaped after him. How in the hell did he know that? No one paid that much attention to me. Levi opened Lemonade’s door, unhooking her lead so she was able to hop out with a happy little dog whuffle that wasn’t quite a bark. I smiled at her and scooted out after Brooks.
The lake shifted pink as the sun got closer to disappearing over the edge of the world, and I gasped at the sudden change in the sheen on top of the water.
“What, did you see a copperhead?” Brooks didn’t appear too concerned as he stepped over to rest his hand on my arm.
“No,” I said with a chuckle. “The sunset is….” I felt lame. Any words I had would not do the view even one iota of justice. “Thank you for bringing me here. It’s pretty as a picture.”
He hummed, and I got the feeling he was laughing at me a bit, but I was still waking up and not quite with it. “Tell me about what you’re seeing.”
I rambled about the pinks and golds. Nearby peep frogs began a chorus while I talked, making everything seem very magical, at least to me. “I don’t leave the city much, so this is phenomenal.”
“Exactly what I wanted to hear.” He turned my cheek with a touch to my chin and kissed me softly. I got lost in the warmth of his mouth and the strange sounds of nature that weren’t usually so close.
Nearby, Levi cleared his throat and brushed a hand through his black hair. “Sir, where am I staying?”
“Next cabin over. I shouldn’t need you tonight. You can get some R and R. Bill my room for a couple of fun things and any meals. Don’t worry about what you spend, I mean it. We can bring in the luggage ourselves,” he said, stopping Levi as he shifted to the trunk of the car. Levi glared at me, and the hatred that blazed there had me wanting to apologize profusely, even as anger began to pop in my chest.
“Your meds, sir?” Levi asked and doused my blossoming outrage, withering it on the spot. I darted my attention to Brooks. That was why he’d had the seizure at the Courtesan. Med mess-up. I didn’t want to be the reason for it twice. Guilt gnawed at me.
“They’re tucked in my laptop bag. Darcy can assist if I need a hand. I bet he knows how to read and everything.”
Levi and I both glared at Brooks, and he only laughed, but then Levi directed his dour expression toward me, and I cringed. If he thought he could get away with murdering me, I was sure he’d do it. He even had a convenient forest nearby to hide my body.
“What’s wrong?” Brooks asked. Levi winced, and I shrugged.
“Nothing,” I said.
Before he took off, Levi popped the trunk with the keys, then handed them to Brooks. As soon as Brooks stood steady with his cane in one hand and Lemonade’s harness in the other, Levi grabbed out his small bag and took off for a cabin visible through some trees across a lawn. We grabbed our bags, and Mother’s treachery hit home. She really must have been up to something because I recognized her luggage. I was almost scared to open it and see what she’d deemed appropriate for me to wear on a trip like this.
When we went in the front door, I was stunned. The cabin truly was magnificent, at least by my standards. I gaped at the rustic interior. Everything was made of wood, but the furniture surrounding a fireplace we probably wouldn’t use appeared to be constructed of clouds—white, fluffy, and dreamy. Part of the cabin jutted outward with a wall of windows that curved up and back to where the extension met the house. There was a small table tucked in the nook and laid out with a full dinner service. The food waited for us covered with silver toppers, and I knew which company they’d likely ordered them from because we had the same ones at the hotel. I set down our bags and went to the table. Brooks gave Lemonade a soft command to follow me and put his arm around my waist when he reached my side.
“Why are you tense?” he asked. “There can’t be anything in here that bad. Food smells great.”
“Maybe taking me someplace with staff was a bad idea. They set the table wrong. They have the forks and spoons switched. I just want to go yell at someone and it isn’t my job here.” I hung my head.
He laughed and looped his arms around me. “Will you stay with me? Let me relax you if you can’t do it yourself?” He slid around until my back was pressed against his front, and he humped against my ass. I had to laugh.
