Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Yes, baby. And even if you hate the fish.” I stretched so I could pat his knee. “I brought marshmallows and some of my mom’s famous chocolate chip cookies. Gourmet s’mores.”
“She knows you were headed camping?” Quinn pursed his lips, expression hard to read.
“I generally tell her where I am, yeah, especially if I’m leaving town. And I’m not blabbing to the whole cove, but I’m also not keeping our friendship some big secret.”
“Yeah.” Quinn studied his scuffed hiking boots. I still couldn’t tell whether he was embarrassed or simply confused.
I waited for him to glance up so I could meet his gaze. “Look, out here or in your bedroom, I can be your Daddy, and that’s only for us to know. But I don’t see any harm in also being publicly friends. Unless you’re afraid of being labeled kinky by association? Or being seen as slumming—”
“No!” Quinn cut me off with a sharp protest. “I’m not afraid of what people might think. I’m proud to be your friend. I was only worried about leading your poor mother on since this is only a summer thing.”
In truth, I had little intention of giving Quinn up come fall, but that was a conversation for another time, not here, where the day had been light and easy. Heaviness could wait for August. At least. And I would be busier when Ramona returned, helping her with Teddy along with everything else, but I wasn’t giving up Quinn simply because my to-do list was a little long.
“Don’t worry about her.” I laughed instead of correcting him. “She’s already tried to set me up with every eligible bachelor in the county. She’s like the mom in some wholesome gay holiday movie in search of a happy ending for her kid. That she hadn’t already tried to set me up with you is the true surprise. I can deal with her matchmaking.”
“Ah. All right.” Quinn nodded slowly, gaze dropping back to his plate. “And I like her, matchmaking and all. She taught you how to cook well. You didn’t even need the emergency venison.”
His chuckle was warmer than one of those cookies and twice as sweet.
“There’s always breakfast.”
“Ha. Seriously, the fish wasn’t bad. And thanks for packing vegetables.”
“Of course. I know what you like.” I gave him a pointed look that had little to do with food.
“You do.” Flushing, he hurried up and finished his plate.
“Help me put away the food to keep the animals away.” I started collecting our dishes and leftovers.
“Bears?” Quinn went all adorably alarmed as he helped pick up.
“Cougars are more likely, and even they are rare, but better safe than sorry.” I took care of the skillet at the outdoor sink. “The only bear you really need to worry about is me.”
“You don’t scare me.” He wrapped me up in a hug from behind that made me want to freeze time. In that moment, I didn’t want to be anywhere other than exactly where I was. Even my endless to-do list seemed miles and miles away, time with Quinn, my own personal battery recharger.
“Good.” Dishes and food handled, I headed toward the outdoor shower. “Now I’m gonna show you how to cool off out here.”
“This is rather…open.” Quinn followed behind me, inspecting the structure, which shared a sturdy wall with the bathroom building but also had two thinner, shorter walls and no roof.
“Only us here.” Grinning at him, I stripped off my shirt. “No one else to see. Or hear.”
“You did promise to make me scream.” Quinn finally got with the program and sat on the nearby low bench to remove his boots before joining me in getting naked.
“I did.” I adjusted the water to somewhere between tepid and warm in deference to how hot the air still was. The water came from a solar heated tank, which wasn’t as big nor as powerful as a traditional water heater, but it was plenty serviceable for my purposes.
Quinn still looked a little reluctant, so I drew him to me, showing him that the water wasn’t ice cold before pulling him under the spray with me. Holding him, I dropped little kisses along his neck. “See? Isn’t this nice? You can watch the sky start to change colors while I take care of you.”
“It’s perfect.” He’d said that a number of times already, and him appreciating one of my favorite spots made my enjoyment that much more.
Grabbing the soap, I had fun lathering him up, getting my hands all over every inch of his lean body. His arms, strong enough to do CPR or lift a patient, slim shoulders that held so much, and thighs that powered him on those twelve-hour shifts. I hummed my approval for each muscle group. There wasn’t a part of him that didn’t do it for me, making me hard and aching, but also soft with emotions I didn’t quite want to name yet.