Lark Lake Lodge

Chapter Sixteen

Visitors and Ruses

The next morning, I was sore in muscles I didn’t even know I had. Slipping out from under the arm Harlan draped over me, I climbed out of bed, stretched, and made my way to the bathroom to pee and brush my teeth. Odds were good that Harlan—a man whose sexual stamina was proving superhuman—would want to go for a fourth time when he woke up, and I didn’t want to greet him with sour, dragon breath.

Standing naked in the bathroom, dragging the brush over my teeth, the memory of our middle-of-the-night condom fail hit me like a ton of bricks.

What if I get pregnant?

Harlan had done a stellar job putting my mind at ease the night before, but a pregnancy scare stays with you until the moment you see the results on a test. I started to get anxious thinking about how a baby would affect my lodge plans and my newly minted relationship. Harlan had been supportive and excited the night before, but reality could be a whole other ball of wax.

My mental cacophony of terrifying thoughts was so loud, I didn’t hear him get up. He appeared behind me in the mirror and kissed my shoulder. I jolted so hard, I nearly swallowed my toothbrush.

“Jumpy,” he said as he wrapped his arms around my middle.

“Can you blame me? You appeared out of thin air. I’d appreciate if you could stomp around more when you greet me naked,” I said through a mouthful of toothpaste.

He smiled and buried his head in my neck. Lingering panic wrenched my stomach and sent a fluttery shiver under my skin, but I pasted on a neutral expression as I continued to scrub my teeth. Harlan had a calm and happy air about him. I didn’t want to muck it up by openly freaking out.

Bending over the sink, I spat out toothpaste foam, filled a cup of water and rinsed my mouth. The gentle drag of his lips along my shoulder and the press of his morning wood against my ass were nearly enough to Men In Black -style erase all memory of my worry. But my brain was too fired up to let go and give in to his potent sex magic.

“I’m gonna take a shower,” he murmured into my neck. “You wanna join me?”

“No, I’ll go after you. I’m gonna check my email and probably call my family. Want to make the best of having phone service and internet before we go home.”

He released me and stood up straight. He took my shoulders and gently turned me to face him. His eyes were soft and his gigantic smile made my heart flutter.

“You said, ‘home.’”

“Oh, you know what I meant!” I playfully slapped his shoulder.

“It sounds nice,” he said, leaning in for a kiss.

Holy shit. This is all moving so fast. Are we living together now? And what if I’m pregnant? Dear God, what if I’m fucking pregnant?

I had to get out of there. After a lingering kiss, I left him to his shower, slipped on my hotel pajamas, put on a pot of coffee, and probably wore a groove in the kitchen floor from all the nervous pacing I did. I sipped coffee, mulled, and chewed my thumbnail down to nothing—unable to stop thinking about what horrible timing that defective condom had.

I’d worked myself into a swirling funnel cloud of all-consuming worry, when a knock tapped on the carriage house door. I let out a squeak and jumped. With a racing heart, I made my way to the door and pulled it open. Simon stood there grinning at me in a powder blue Firebrand polo and khakis. He held a hanger with a flowy floral print dress on it. Red with white flowers, it had buttons running all the way down the front.

“Brought you a present. I know you don’t have anything to wear,” he pushed past me and hung the dress on the coat tree by the door. He crossed to the coffee pot and helped himself to a cup. “One of the guests left her Easter dress behind when she checked out. I had it cleaned.”

“Won’t she miss it?” I asked.

“Nope. She’s a frequent guest, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wear the same thing twice,” he said. “Come on. Live a little. Plus, I’m sure your new lover would like to see you in a dress just once. I know I would. You’re always hiding your assets in jeans and hoodies.”

Rolling my eyes at him, I laughed and said, “Thanks, Simon. And thanks for letting us stay. It’s been great.”

“I bet it has,” he said. “I expect a full report on your comment card.” He gave me a peck on the cheek and made his way to the door. “Oh, and I’ll have the staff drop your truck off. You should ride home together. Otherwise, it’s kinda walk of shame-y.” He laughed as he disappeared out of the door carrying his coffee with him.

Harlan emerged and I snuck the dress Simon had given me into the bathroom when I went to shower. It was worth the clandestine effort when I walked into the kitchen a short while later wearing it. Harlan eyed me hungrily.

“You look…God,” he said, as walked to me and took me in his arms. “If you planned to leave here soon, you’re going about it the wrong way. This dress on you makes me want to spend another full day in bed.”

“Well then I probably shouldn’t tell you that I’m not wearing any underwear.”

I stood on my tiptoes, give him a quick peck on the lips, walked across the room to grab the VIP tote bag full of my clothes and jammies and headed to the door. Turning to look back at him, his red cheeks and wide eyes made me chuckle. He was frozen in place like a Roman marble statue of a hot dad with a semi.

The entire ride back to his place, Harlan was super handsy. My no underwear declaration had really revved his motor, and he kept putting his palm on my thigh and trying to undo the buttons on my dress. I playfully slapped his hands away over and over. Each time I let him make a little more progress. It was a thrilling game that I knew would end up spilling over into his bed once we got home. And it was exactly the distraction I needed from my cycle of worry.

When we arrived and saw Miguel waiting for us on the porch, I made sure to secure all the buttons on the front of my dress. Harlan had arranged for Miguel to spend the night to keep watch over the dogs. Our young friend was no better than Simon in the suggestive looks and comments department.

“Did you guys have a fun getaway?” he called to us with a wide grin as we climbed down from Harlan’s truck .

“It was fine , Miguel,“ Harlan said, his voice chock full of gravelly warning.

“Oh, I bet it was. Roger and Ralph are in the kennel with the other dogs. I figured you might still need some alone time.” He trotted down the porch stairs and dodged Harlan’s half-hearted swat as he passed us. Once we were on the porch, he stopped, standing next to his truck. “Hey, maybe you two could schedule a few more sleepovers somewhere? Maybe even go out of town? The extra hours will really help me get this laptop I’m saving up for.”

“Would you get out of here?” Harlan’s cheeks were adorably red.

“Have fun!”

Harlan grumbled and I laughed as Miguel’s tires kicked up gravel when he pulled away from the house.

Once inside the door to Harlan’s house, I turned to him. Standing opposite me in the foyer, his stare was full of fire and he was nearly panting. He looked like a jaguar ready to pounce.

“I think I’ll put some coffee on,” I said, pretending not to notice and casually walking to the kitchen.

He stalked my every step. As I moved around the kitchen to fetch everything I needed, he hovered around me silently, exuding agonizing want from every pore. He was careful not to touch me, which charged the air with crackling electricity. We were seconds away from crashing into each other, pawing and moaning.

Once I set the coffee to brew, he surprised me by turning away and pulling out a chair at the kitchen table. He sat down and without a word, he patted his hand on the table, an obvious sign that he wanted me to sit in front of him.

Oh, my ever-living Lord.

This guy could turn me on without saying a single word. One little bossy gesture from him and my bones liquefied. I numbly padded to the table and pulled myself up to sit .

He unbuttoned the two lowest buttons on the front of my dress. It opened the front to my knees. His gentle hands glided in slow, sensual strokes up and down my bare legs. There was no room in my head for any of the stress and anxiety I’d suffered back at the carriage house. All of that could wait. For now, there was only Harlan, his hands, and his super sexy silence.

His warm palms slid over my knees and then reached for my buttons again. This time he kept unbuttoning until he reached the top of my thighs. Slowly, he pushed my knees apart and scooted his chair closer. My heart hammered and my breath was shallow and quick. I gripped the edge of the table so hard, my knuckles were white.

He laid a trail of kisses up one thigh and then down the other, completely avoiding my center, hidden under the flowery red fabric. He kissed his way back up and took the next fastened button between his teeth. He bit it off and spat it across the room like a watermelon seed.

Can a person actually faint from too much arousal?

I didn’t give a damn that he’d just damaged my new dress. It was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen someone do. He could shred the dress to pieces and light it on fire if he kept proving himself such a god of seduction.

He slid his hands up my thighs and then pushed the two halves of my dress open. His eyes darkened when he saw me fully exposed. Grasping my ass in two hands, he pulled me closer to the edge of the table, pushed my thighs wider and leaned in. His tongue slid between my lips and traced an excruciatingly slow path up my sex until he gave my clit a flick. I collapsed back on the table like a rag doll.

“Oh my God,” I moaned.

He was masterful and I was completely at his mercy. His technique was patient and confident. Not to compare, but… Rob had always treated the act like he was doing a favor he dreaded. He wanted it over with quickly, so he thought if he went really fast with a sort of berserker approach, he’d get me off and we could get to the stuff he liked. Harlan, on the other hand, worshipped me with his mouth. He was calm and deliberate as he licked and sucked. It was awestriking.

Within minutes I was squirming and whimpering, with my legs draped over his shoulders. He slid a finger inside me and then another, dragging in and out as his perfect mouth drove me perfectly insane. Echoing my moans, he hummed against my wet flesh and I was sure I’d lose my grip on reality. Just as I felt the tall tale thigh quivers, signaling my ascent into bliss, the screen door at the front of the house opened and fell shut.

“Dad? Are you in here?”

Oh my God! Also, noooooooo.

Harlan sat bolt upright. His eyes were like saucers.

“Shit. Shit. Shit. Get up,” he said in a desperate sounding whisper as he popped up from his chair.

I hopped off the table and started buttoning my dress with shaky hands. All the buttons, that is, except for the one he’d bitten off, which couldn’t have been in a worse place for a girl with no panties on. I positioned myself behind a dining chair just in case the dress gaped.

In the second it took for Shannon to drop her bags in the foyer and walk through to the kitchen, Harlan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then turned to me and whispered desperately, “She can’t know about us. Don’t say anything.”

“What?” I asked, stunned.

“Just not yet, okay?”

My stomach twisted and my throat ached. How could he worship me one minute and totally deny me the next?

Before I could answer him a tall blonde teen with a streak of purple in her hair entered the kitchen. “There you are!” she said. “I went to the kennel first, but you weren’t there.” She spotted me and a curious sparkle lit her eyes. .

“Doodle, what the hell are you doing here?” Harlan went into angry dad mode.

“I couldn’t do it, Dad. I couldn’t watch Cort kiss Billy’s ass for an entire week and pretend I wanted what he and Mom want,” she said, throwing her jacket on the table where I had just been shamelessly spread out. Guilt and embarrassment churned in my stomach. “Besides, I missed you. I wanted to see you and it wasn’t fair that I couldn’t come here.”

“How did you get a plane ticket? How’d you get here from the airport?”

“Um, Mom’s credit card and Uber. Pretty straightforward stuff, Dad.”

The teen eye roll in her voice made him grit his teeth and cross his arms. “Does your mother know where you are?”

“She does now. I texted her just before takeoff. I’m sure you have about a dozen messages on your ancient answering machine.”

He crossed the room to check. I could tell from his face that she was right. Thankfully he didn’t press play. I already felt awkward enough standing in the middle of this family drama without hearing his ex freaking out on his machine.

“Hi. I’m Shannon,” she said, giving me a wave. Until that point, I thought I’d succeeded in becoming completely invisible. But Shannon was sharp, just like her father. “Sorry my rude dad doesn’t seem to want to take the time to introduce us.”

Harlan spoke before I could. “This is Maisie. She’s my…partner.”

Shannon’s face lit up. She had a more modern understanding of the word than her dad. “Oh my God, Dad! You didn’t even say you were dating someone. This is awesome!”

“No. Not like that. She’s my business partner. She owns the lodge and I’m going to invest. We’re fixing it up together. She’s staying in the guest room until it’s done.”

I couldn’t believe it. Shannon had given him a perfect window to tell her we were an item. The girl was obviously thrilled at the idea. And still he lied.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, forcing a smile amidst all of the wrenching pain in my chest.

What was the deal? Was he ashamed of me? It was all so confusing after he’d been so fully ready to commit the night before. Hell, he was daydreaming about us making a brother or sister for this girl, and now I was merely his business partner. Unable to bear it any longer, I had to get out of there. “I’ve got a lot to do, so I’ll leave you to it.”

My hopes at a quick exit were dashed as I needed clothes and they were all in my bag in the guest room. I walked down the hall off the kitchen, grabbed a change of clothes marching past them with a tight smile and headed out the door. Harlan followed, closing the door behind him.

“Maisie, wait.”

I spun around and stared.

“I had no idea she was coming. I didn’t know what to do,” he said.

I heaved a sigh. “Typically, I find that telling the truth is the best option.” I weakly turned and walked off the porch, heading to the lodge.

“Maisie…Maisie come on,” he pleaded. I didn’t turn.