In the Firelight (18 page)

“And then you drop your gaze because you don't want me to see the fire burning in your eyes."

It was true. Everything he was saying about how she reacted to him. She kept her eyes lowered and attempted to calm her racing heart.

"Look at me, sweetheart," Rhys softly commanded. Shea's eyes clenched shut at first, then slowly opened and looked up at him. "I see it in you, right now. It's the same burn that's inside me." In the low light of their little corner, his eyes seemed so dark, a deep blue with a hint of warmth emanating through the intensity. “And this isn’t an everyday thing, Shea.”

“But does that really matter?” she asked quietly. “It doesn’t change the reality.”

Rhys knitted his brow thoughtfully as their waitress came over to get their order. Shea looked up and muttered a very unladylike, “Aw, shit,” at the young girl who appeared at the table. Rhys looked up.

Hmm, she looked relatively familiar.
He’d met her at the store, and again at the bar.
What was her name? Brittany? No, wait… Trinity.
And her eyes were wide as she took in the sight of Shea and Rhys at the table before her.

“Um, hey… Shea…” and turning to Rhys, she flushed deeply. “Rhys… You guys are, like… on a date or something?”

Shea groaned and planted her forehead in her palm, causing Rhys to smile.

“Um, yeah… took me a while, but I finally talked her into dinner. Gotta feed her now and then, you know. I can’t just keep her tied to the bed all the time.”

Shea’s head shot up in shock, and Trinity looked as though she was about to faint.

“Shea,” Rhys continued as though he hadn’t just said anything remotely scintillating, “do you know what you’d like?” He looked over at her stunned expression. “New York steak or filet mignon? Or, what’s the special tonight?”

“Um…” Trinity gasped, “Prime rib.”

“Sounds good to me. How about you, sweetheart?” he grinned back over at her. She was still stunned, but he could see a flicker of anger beginning to burn in her eyes.
God, she was fun to rile up.

“Prime rib is fine,” she said shortly. “And a Glacier Select Ale, please. No glass…”

Rhys nodded at her selection of the local microbrew. “Same for me, please.” He shot Trinity a smile as she rushed off to the kitchen.

“Why are you always doing that to me?” Shea demanded as soon as the young girl had left their table. “Is it like your goal in life to mortify me in front of that girl?”

Rhys chuckled and reached across the table for her hand, smoothing his fingertips over her painted nails. Remembering how these hands had clenched against his shoulders, tangled in his hair, stroked his cock.
Beautiful little hands.
“Honestly?”

“No, I want you to lie to me,” Shea sarcastically ground out. “What the fuck? Yes, honestly.”

“I love to see your eyes sparkle like they do when you get all feisty. The flush in your cheeks.” His voice lowered. “The way you draw in a deep breath and it pushes your tits out so beautifully. You’re incredibly sexy when you’re mad.”

Shea was stunned into silence for a minute. Her breathing stopped altogether. Rhys tugged at her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing her fingertips before pulling them into his mouth and sucking on them gently. Shea’s breath rushed out and then caught again, and her expression became sultry…
wanting
.

“Mmm…” he murmured. “You’re deliciously sexy, sweetheart. The way your breath hitches in your throat. I’ve been inside you enough to know what your pretty little pussy is doing when you make those gaspy sounds.” He sucked her fingers into his mouth once again. “Mmm… I can almost feel it.”

She licked her lips nervously and tried to pull her hand away, but Rhys refused to release it. His fingers laced together with hers and he tugged a little, pulling her forward so her breasts were pressed against the tabletop.

“The things you do to me… you have no idea. You fight it, although I can see that you want to give in. You put up a good front. But, when I’m deep inside you and you finally let go, it is so beautiful to see you come apart. Hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”

Trinity walked back over to their table with a two icy bottles of beer, and Shea yanked her fingers away from his to grab one, taking a long drink. Rhys was hypnotized by the way her mouth touched the top of the bottle, the way her tongue ran across her lips to catch a stray drop. She looked back up at him and he could see the intense tug-of-war inside her. She took another drink, keeping her eyes locked with his as she set the bottle back on the table with a lift of her chin.

Rhys smiled at the challenging attitude she put forth. “You just need to loosen up a little the rest of the time, sweetheart. You’re kind of a control freak, from what I can tell. It can’t be fun to be that constricted all the time.”

Crossing her arms over her chest in a defensive manner, she laughed. “I’m not a control freak.”

“Shea, you live all alone at the end of a rough mountain road and your roommate is a dog. From what I can tell, the only person that can ever get you to bend in the slightest is Michelle.” Rhys paused for a moment. “I’m just a little worried about you.”

“What? Worried?” Shea scoffed. “Rhys, I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. I don’t need anybody to worry about me.”

“You have to have something else to live for. Everyone’s got that one place they dream of going to live. There’s got to be
somewhere
else you’d like to go.”

“I just want to be here,” she said. “I was out there once. It wasn’t a happy time. Things with Gavin were so tense. I was a liability, keeping him from the girl he really wanted. I was in the way.”

“What an asshole,” Rhys muttered. “He cheated on you?”

Shea shrugged. “He loved her.”

“Did you have anyone at all? Friends? Anyone you could turn to?”

“Everyone was here. My grampa. Michelle and Robert. It was pretty lonely. I didn’t really want to get to know anyone there. I didn’t feel like I was worth anything. I felt like, if people knew me, they’d see all my failures.”

“They weren’t your failures, Shea.” Rhys covered her hands with his, giving a comforting squeeze. “He was a dick to do that to you.”

Shea shook her head and caustically chuckled. “As a kid, I wanted so bad to leave, to get out in the world. And then, when I finally did, it was horrible. I’ve never felt so beaten down.” She took another sip of her beer, then stroked the bottle neck with her thumb, toying with the moisture collecting on the chilled glass. “I guess maybe I’m a little afraid to be anywhere else. Maybe that’s why I’m fighting this thing with McHugh so hard. I want my community to stay the way it is.”

“Things are gonna change. Even if the ski hill doesn’t go through, eventually things are going to change.”

“Slowly, maybe. Over time. In a way that people here can adapt.”

“What happens if this resort goes in?” he asked quietly. “What will you do? Have you got any kind of plan? McHugh’s a pretty powerful developer and a damn cutthroat in business. This may be a fight you can’t win.”

“I have to win,” she replied with conviction. “I can’t lose that place, Rhys.”

“But what if you do?” he urged.

Shea’s eyes narrowed at him. “Why? Do you know something?” she asked with a suspicious lilt to her voice.

Rhys schooled his features, hating himself at the moment. Here was his chance, his golden opportunity.
He should tell her. Right now, he should just blurt it out.
He knew McHugh, knew his tricks and tactics. Maybe he could stop it.

But maybe he could stop it anyway, and she’d never have to know. She’d never learn about his treachery. She’d never feel the sting of his betrayal.

And, in the end, he chickened out. Totally.
Like a complete dickhead.

“It’s just something to think about, that’s all,” he finally replied.

At that moment, Trinity returned with their dinner. Shea was quiet and thoughtful as she took small bites. Rhys felt like he should say something to ease the discomfort lingering from their discussion. Something to bring back the fire in her eyes.

But, honestly, he was feeling kind of shitty himself at the moment.

Chapter 14 ~ The Library

Shea had never seen so many people at the library. It appeared that everyone in town had shown up. A section had been set aside so that even the kids could hang out, reading and playing, drinking Kool-Aid and supplementing their sugar rushes with plates of cookies.

She clung to Rhys’ arm a little apprehensively as they walked into the main room, a little wobbly from nervousness, a lot wobbly from the damn shoes she was wearing. Lorde’s husky, soulful voice floated throughout the room through a loudspeaker, and Rhys guided them to the refreshment table to get Shea a glass of champagne.

Shea was a little confounded by dinner. Rhys had the ability to make her cycle through emotions so fast that she almost felt schizophrenic. One minute, she felt warm and comforted by his presence, then she was shaking with need. The next moment, she was spitting nails. And a second later, she was suspicious and wary.

The rest of their dinner conversation had been fairly casual and light. Rhys talked a little about his dad in the Bitterroot, how the closure of the mill had changed so many things for him and that he was thinking about moving. Shea told a few stories about her and Michelle in high school, taking full credit for encouraging the blooming love affair between her and Robert that resulted in a quiet elopement right after they graduated.

In their quiet little alcove of the steakhouse, under the overtly watchful eye of Trinity, Shea had finally relaxed a little. She felt a certain ease around Rhys, in spite of the tumultuous, mercurial feelings he evoked within her.

But now, the apprehension choked her at the thought of people seeing them together at the library.
Together
. Not just sitting there having dinner, but actually mingling—something Shea abhorred anyway—as a couple. She silently cursed Michelle for the height of her heels, fearful that letting go of the steady support of Rhys’ arm would result in a wreck of magnificent proportion. She contemplated getting her snow boots from the car, and murmured this to Michelle when her friend gave her a welcoming hug.

Michelle only laughed. “Don’t even think about it. You’d be better off in a pair of
jandals
.”

“What the hell are
jandals
,” Rhys asked as Michelle walked away, “and why would you be wearing them?”

“It’s a kiwi-ism… New Zealand shit. She’s talking about flip-flops.” Rhys lifted a confused brow, so she quickly went on to explain. “I can barely walk in these fucking shoes. I haven’t worn heels in probably five years.”

Rhys slipped his arm around her waist and moved to stand before her, pulling her tight up against him. Instantly, a hot flush of passion rippled through her body as his other arm wrapped around her, encircling her.

“Just hang on to me, sweetheart,” he murmured into her hair. “I’m kind of enjoying the heels. They do some incredible shit to your legs… and consequently to my dick. I’d love to see you wearing them all night, even after the dress comes off.”

Shea’s breath caught in her throat, and the brush of his fingers along her bare back caused a molten sensation between her thighs. Every square inch of her body immediately tingled, and goosebumps spread down her arms.

She turned her face into his neck, breathing in deeply at the rich pine scent of him. The smooth fabric of his black dress shirt felt cool against the hot blush of her cheeks, and for a moment she allowed herself to melt into him slightly.

“Besides,” Rhys breathed into her ear, “if wearing heels makes you press your hot little body up against me, I’m starting to think you should wear them all the time.”

“Hey, Shea…” Frankie’s voice sounded behind her. She turned to look at him and saw the distressed look he gave to Rhys. “Rhys…” he frowned.

“Frankie,” Rhys greeted him in return. “Nice to see you again.”