Melt For Him(41)

“Right,” she said, raising her voice in emphasis. “We agreed not to do anything else. That it was a onetime thing. And we just can’t keep—” She stopped to shake her head in amusement. “Jesus. Look at us. A grown man and woman and we’re running off to the goddamn woods to make out.”

He chuckled at the way she’d put it. Perfectly. “And then you can’t keep your hands off me in the woods. Even though you left me blue-balled,” he added, and she laughed deeply at his take on events, since he’d chosen to walk away before it went further. “But I don’t care because I like knowing you enjoyed yourself,” he said, placing one hand on her bare thigh and running his rough fingers across her smooth skin. She shivered lightly from his touch.

Sure, he was left hanging sexually, but it didn’t matter. Being with her soothed him. Her laughter, her forthright nature, her stories from the mud pies to the owl that watched over her, banished the constant rattle and hum in his head. They were gone in the way she knew his favorite cereal, they were gone in the way she asked him why he became a firefighter, and they were gone in the way she couldn’t mask herself with him. She’d tried that first night, tried so damn hard to only reveal so much. But the more time he spent with her, the more she shared. And today, it had simply been how much she wanted him.

As much as he wanted her.

She turned to him with narrowed eyes that hinted of laughter. Then seriousness. “No, Becker. I can’t keep my hands off you. And that’s the problem. Let’s be grown-ups and figure out what we’re doing, even if I’m only here for another week.”

The thought flashed by—what if they went back to plan A? Made a go of things for the week or so while she was here? Would that really hurt his friendship with Travis? Their relationship had an expiration date, so how could they hurt each other? He could surely convince Travis that a few days was nothing to worry about. Right? While he could sneak around with Megan for the rest of her brief stay, Travis none the wiser, Becker wasn’t that kind of guy. He wasn’t going to pursue even a casual fling without being on the up-and-up with his buddy. To do anything less would be wrong.

“I agree. So why don’t I talk to Travis—”

But the rest of the words were cut off when they turned the corner and spotted Travis in the driveway of their mom’s house. Becker’s chest constricted at the sight of his friend leaning against the hood of his Jeep. He had to strip himself of all emotions, all feelings, anything that would reveal what he’d done or how he felt about his buddy’s little sister.

Megan shot him a quick, nervous look.

“Let’s pick this up later and figure things out, okay?” he said, and she nodded as they pulled into the driveway. “I’ll call you tonight.”

Right now it was time to shut the hell up, and the fact that he was lying to his buddy was like swallowing a stone, and about as uncomfortable. He hoped to hell his feelings weren’t written on his face, but he was practiced in stoicism. Was Megan a good actor too, though? Another wave of self-loathing rolled through him for even wishing she could pull off a poker face. He cut the engine, and they hopped out of his truck. Music played from the Jeep’s radio. Travis was singing along, tapping out the rhythm with his hands on the hood of the car.

“Where were you guys? Hard at work shooting the calendar?” he asked, and the tension flared again inside Becker. The question was a slingshot back to reality. This was his job—to look out for his guys. To take care of his men. To set a fucking example. Not to sneak around with his friend’s sister. Didn’t matter if this was temporary with Megan.

Travis was like a brother to him. He was his family, in a way, here in Hidden Oaks, and a damn important part of why this town had started to feel like a new home to him. Because of people like Travis and all the guys he worked with. He’d toyed with giving up the work after the fire in Chicago, but he hadn’t been able to walk away from the firehouse. His future was set in stone from the moment his brother broke his arm when they were kids. He was a fireman and that wasn’t changing. That meant he could never give Megan what she deserved. The promise of coming home.

But they could have this much—the rest of her time here. They both wanted more; they should make the most of the short time, like a vacation on a beautiful island, where you soak up the sun every second of the day. He had to do this right and man up. Come clean with Travis. But before he did that, he needed to finish his conversation with Megan and now was clearly not the time.