The Lemon Sisters (Wildstone #3)(82)

“Well, what?”

“I’m not going to be the only one in my skivvies.”

He toed off his boots and socks. He then tugged off his shirt and shoved down his jeans, kicking them away.

He was commando.

She took in his lean, hard body, lit only by the pale blue interior light of the hot tub, and felt her mouth water.

“You’ve got choices here,” he said.

“Such as?”

“Such as, you put your clothes back on and go home to bed.”

“Or?”

“Or you get in the hot tub and let me make you feel better.”

“Without talking?” she asked hopefully.

“Definitely not without talking.”

Walking next door was definitely the easier route, but the easy route had never really worked out for her. She started to climb into the hot tub, but Garrett stopped her, gesturing to her bra and panties.

“I’m not going to fight with you naked,” she said.

“Who says we’re going to fight?”

“Isn’t that what we usually do?” She stared up into his dark eyes. There was something new to his expression now. Like he was testing her to see if she trusted him.

Did she?

Yeah, she decided. She did, and if that’s what he needed to see, she could absolutely give it to him. She unhooked her bra and let it hit the ground. Then she slid off her panties and tried to lift a leg to climb into the hot tub, stopping to gasp in pain. Shit, she was sore, big-time.

Garrett scooped her up and saved her, easily stepping into the water with her and slowly lowering them down into the bubbles. Because she was on his lap, held close to his body, she could attest to the fact he was telling her the truth—he was not in a fighting mood, but another mood entirely.

“You’re in the driver’s seat,” he said quietly, and gave a little smile.

Turning so that her spine was to his chest, she leaned back on him, tilting her head against his shoulder and staring up into the night sky.

His arms came around her, and she sighed with pleasure.

“Comfortable?” he asked.

“Yes. Your siding needs to be treated.”

“This place needs a lot of things.”

“I could help you.”

He seemed surprised.

“What?” she said. “I mean, granted, it’s been a while, but you and I oil-stained the siding years ago, for Ann. So it’s nothing we haven’t done before.”

“Well, if that’s the rule today,” he teased.

Heat flashed through her, but she shook it off with a laugh. “You have something to say,” she guessed. “Lay it on me.”

“All right.” He didn’t hesitate. “I’ve been thinking about what happened to you. And how you lied to me at the time about how badly you were hurt.”

She’d been out of it when she’d been airlifted off the mountain after the helicopter accident. Things had been complicated by a foreign hospital and her being of legal age. When she’d become lucid just before her first surgery, she’d told the doctors she didn’t want anyone to know the extent of her injuries. They’d obliged, not telling her family or Garrett a thing, which had enabled her to give them an abbreviated version of the truth. “I did,” she said quietly.

“I want to know that you won’t do anything like that ever again.”

“I couldn’t even if I wanted to,” she said. “You’re able to tell whenever I try.”

He turned her so that she was straddling him, facing him. “I want you to stop trying. I want to be able to trust you with you.”

His gaze held hers prisoner, searching, and she let out a long breath. “I’m getting there.”

He cupped her face, letting a thumb gently glide just beneath her stitches. “Good.”

“I’ve maybe even matured,” she said, lighter now, allowing a teasing tone to come into her voice. “But not mature mature. I mean, I still have to say ‘righty tighty, lefty loosey’ to open stuff. And then there’s the whole counting thing. Don’t get me started.”

Garrett smiled as his hands skimmed down her body. “I was really into the girl you were,” he murmured. “You were such a feisty smart-ass who knew all my buttons and just how to push them. Every second with you was an adventure, a heart-thumping, adrenaline-rush adventure.” Very gently, he slid his fingers into her hair. “I was addicted to you.”

Since she was no longer that girl, nothing even close to that girl, maybe only a shell of that person, she started to tense.

“But the woman you’ve become . . .” he murmured.

She closed her eyes, not wanting to hear how she no longer measured up. “Don’t—”

“You’re smart instead of reckless. You think before you act or speak because you care about other people’s feelings. You’re still unpredictable as shit, but you’re thoughtful, caring, warm . . . still a feisty smart-ass, though.”

She could hear the smile in his voice.

“Love that part a lot,” he murmured.

“An unpredictable, feisty smart-ass, huh?” she asked, unable to hide her own smile at his words and the meaning behind them. “I can’t help but notice you said nothing about being sexy and mysterious.”