Into the Tide (Cottonwood Cove #1)(25)

“What is it?”

“Del told me that showering with a man is pretty amazing. So, I thought I’d add it to the list,” she said, before quickly looking away. I moved closer and placed my large hand beneath her chin, turning her face to look at mine.

“Have you never been touched, Lila?”

“I have. Of course, I have. I’ve dated a few guys. I mean I haven’t done a lot, and obviously, I’ve never had sex, and when I talked about showering with Jeremy once, he said he didn’t feel comfortable showering with me before we had sex, so we just never did it.”

I’d never been more turned on in my life, watching this gorgeous woman who was embarrassed that she hadn’t done much and had no clue how fucking sexy it was that she was curious and wanting to explore all of these things that most people took for granted. Hell, I was one of them. I didn’t think much about any of this shit because I’d been having sex for so long.

“You’ve got time, Snow. And Jeremy is a dickhead for saying that. You don’t have to have sex with someone to shower with them.”

“Have you showered with a lot of women?” she asked, her eyes searching mine as I held my hand beneath her chin.

“I’ve showered with one or two. I never much cared for it because it felt too intimate. But it certainly didn’t have anything to do with whether or not I’d had sex with them. It was more about feeling close enough to want to share that with someone.”

“I think it would be even sexier to take a bath with someone. Have you ever done that?” she asked, biting down on that juicy bottom lip.

“I have not. I’m not a big bath guy.” I chuckled. “You always were a bath girl, weren’t you? I remember Travis used to bang on the bathroom door because you’d be in there for so long.”

My voice was gruff, and I knew I was messing with fire talking about this shit with her.

“I’ll always pick a bath over a shower. It’s just more relaxing, you know? That was what I most looked forward to after every race.”

I glanced over at the door leading to her bathroom. “I know there’s just a shower in there, but you know you’re welcome to use my tub in my bathroom any time, right?”

“Ahhh… I might take you up on that. I’m a little sore after my run this morning.”

I ran my thumb over her cheek before stepping back and walking toward the door.

“Any time.”

“Thanks, Bear. And I’m definitely adding that to the list.”

Bathing with a man.

Fuck me.

I needed to get out of here before I did something I couldn’t take back.

Took something I didn’t deserve.

I wasn’t that man.

“Goodnight, Snow.”

She stared down at her notebook, writing quickly, but she glanced up and smiled.

“Goodnight. Thanks for helping me. I can’t wait to start checking things off the list.” She laughed, and I shook my head, tugging the door open.

The first thing on my list tonight…

A cold fucking shower and a date with my right hand.

I’d never cross the line with my best friend’s little sister in real life, but in fantasy…

I was going to let myself enjoy every dirty thought I had about Lila James.





eight





Lila





Hugh and I had fallen into a rhythm over the last week. I handled the books at all three locations, and I had taken over the scheduling for him, as well. We’d come up with a plan to increase staffing at each location, but the focus was mostly on Reynolds’ as it was the busiest by far. He was running a few interviews today, and my hope was that this would lighten his load. The man was burning the candle at both ends, and I knew he’d eventually burn out if he didn’t get things under control. I liked helping him organize his businesses. The financials had been super easy to input on QuickBooks, and I showed him how to categorize everything. He’d been doing a lot of it by hand, and he wasn’t keeping up. Now things were up-to-date and running smoothly.

I’d jumped behind the bar last night with Joseph, another bartender, as Kline had been off both yesterday and today, and I’d helped manage the rush while Hugh was busy in the kitchen helping the servers. I’d loved working behind the bar. I’d picked things up quickly, and it had been a lot of fun. Del, Sloane, and Rina had come by for a drink, and they’d been thrilled to find me behind the bar. We had plans to go to the biker bar this weekend after I toured Havenwood, the facility that I was looking at for my dad.

Things were falling into place for me, and I was happy. It felt good to just enjoy each day as it arrived. I was running in the mornings and going as far as I felt like going, as there was no set workout that I had to complete. Hugh and I ate breakfast together every morning, and then we’d head to work and usually end up eating dinner together and heading home at the same time.

I leaned back in my chair as my phone rang, and I saw my father’s face on the screen.

“Hey, Dad,” I said, holding the phone up as he was FaceTiming me.

“Hi, sweetheart. I wanted you to know that I went to work today at the auto shop, and I’m home now and going to make a little dinner and watch some TV.” He was sitting on the couch, and I quickly assessed that he was sober.