One Funeral (No Weddings #2)(41)

All the great effort he put into slowly courting me touched my heart. The simple act of being embraced drew me closer toward this wonderful man who held himself back for my benefit.

I sighed, content to drink in the moment.

When my uncontrollable shaking finally stopped, I looked up into his concerned eyes. “So what now? My clothes are soaked.”

The corners of his lips twitched. “Well, I guess sex in a boathouse is out.”

I snorted. “You have me half naked already. Not going to try to go all the way?”

His gaze roved over my face, then dropped lower to my cleavage. “Hannah, I would love nothing more than to peel your underwear off and turn this into an incredible memory for you. But you freezing and wet is not how I’d imagined our first time going down. Well” —his eyes sparked with wickedness— “wet, yes. Very, very wet.” He touched a finger to the tip of my nose. “But definitely not during one of our business events.”

“How did you imagine it?”

He shook his head. “Not telling. I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise. But you already know another fantasy I have—kitchen islands, chocolate sauce, honey.”

I smirked.

His gaze held mine, eyes smoldering. “What are some of your fantasies of us?”

“How do you know I have any?”

He arched a brow.

A hot flush crept up my neck, heating my face. “Okay.” I took a deep breath. “Maybe I imagine us being in the shower, you holding me up, pressing into me as my back slides on the tiles.”

I felt a twitch beneath my ass. He was hard under me. His eyes were dark, and he sucked in a breath. On a hard swallow, he shifted his hold and scanned the room. “We need to get out of here before our first time ends up being in a boathouse.”

I leaned my head in, resting it on his shoulder. “That wouldn’t be so bad. I like this boathouse.”

His finger hooked under my chin, lifting my face. “Then we’ll come back here, my little criminal. We’ll trespass, break in, and have wild sex all over this boathouse.”

I bit my lip, hiding my smile, and with a shaking hand, I traced a fingertip along his stubbled jawline. “Deal.”

On that word, he leaned to the side, swinging me around and sitting me on the bench. He crossed the room and pulled two thick blankets from a pile I hadn’t noticed in the corner. Over his jacket, he wrapped them around me, covering me from my shoulders to my ankles.

I looked down, sighing. “I’m a human burrito.”

“A very cute human burrito. Don’t worry, no one will see you.”

“Says you. I can barely walk in this thing.”

“Who says you’re walking?” With his hands on my shoulders, he spun me around and swooped me up into his arms.

“Ummm, what about my clothes?”

He glanced over his shoulder to the wet pile on the floor. “We’ll come back for them. I’m already struggling under your massive weight. Pray a pine needle doesn’t drop into your lap.”

Gaping, I wriggled an arm free and smacked his chest as it rumbled with laughter.

We emerged back into daylight, Cade making an enormous production of taking sneaking steps, and me alternating between rolling my eyes and peering over his shoulder at the portion of the party we could see on the far lawn. Not one person looked in our direction.

Grateful that our antics remained under the radar, I relaxed in his hold as we made our way to a side entrance of the house. He put me down, and I leaned against a wall while he retrieved both of our keys and phones from a back bedroom.

By the time we made it back to my place and he carried me up my front steps, I’d grown sleepy, my eyelids falling half shut. I yawned as he propped me in my entryway, unlocking the door.

“You look like you need a nap.”

I nodded.

Without further hesitation, he picked me back up and whisked me into my bedroom, then gently laid my burritoed body onto the coverlet. Big blue eyes stared down at me until he lowered down, giving me a tender kiss.

“Sleep well, Hannah.”

Unable to do anything other than close my eyes, I sank into a deep sleep.





I woke to a pitch-black room. Pushing aside the blankets that had loosened around me, I stretched my arms above my head and toes toward the opposite wall, making a creaking sound with my throat. Closing my eyes, I listened for sounds in the house but only heard the rustling of tree limbs outside my window and the low whir of the heat blowing from the register.

Curious where Cade had run off to, I scooted off the bed, keeping the blankets draped around my shoulders. I searched the entire house, but he’d left. One of his sisters had probably picked him up.

Arms and legs aching, I decided to take a hot bath. I flipped the water on in my clawfoot tub and dropped the blankets, turning toward the mirror. I gasped at the horrific sight reflecting back. My hair was a tangled mess, and the skin on my face was a pallid gray. But it was the bluish bruise spreading under two pink Hello Kitty Band-Aid strips that caught my attention.

When I touched the lower Band-Aid, I winced as pain sparked out. I had to have been out cold for Cade to put those on without my knowledge.

I grabbed a carton of Epsom salts, then poured two cups’ worth into the hot water, wondering if Cade had left a note somewhere. I must have missed it. I put the salts back under the cabinet and went searching.