Riggs treated her better than anyone ever had, and she knew deep in her bones that he was exactly the kind of man he’d shown her so far. Honorable. Good. Protective. Safe.
At some point, she was going to have to deal with the reason she’d left Ohio in the first place, but she was too busy living in her own romance story at the moment. Maybe she’d write a book about a heroine who gets lost in the Maine wilderness and ends up at a mountain man’s cabin and lives happily ever after.
Butterflies swam in Carlise’s belly. She felt giddy. Excited. Happy.
And it had been a long time since she’d felt any of those emotions. Lately, she’d been filled with apprehension, fear, worry. It was a nice change. A great change.
Her attention was caught by Baxter when he chased some small animal ahead of them as they walked, but he didn’t run off. It didn’t seem as if he wanted to get more than twenty or so feet away from the humans he’d apparently claimed as his own.
“How does salmon sound for lunch?” Riggs asked. “I’ve got some in the icebox that I could cook up.”
“Sounds good. I could make a green-bean casserole to go with it?” Carlise asked.
“Perfect,” Riggs said.
Glancing at him, Carlise saw he was staring at her as he said that word, and somehow, she had a feeling he wasn’t talking about the food.
She returned his smile and snuggled into his side. She was the luckiest woman in the world. She’d go through all the crap she’d experienced in her life all over again if it meant ending up right here at Riggs’s side.
Chapter Nine
The last three days had been both heaven and hell for Chappy. Heaven because he’d never gotten along with a woman so well. Hell because he wanted her so damn badly, and he was doing his best to be a gentleman. To give them both time to be completely sure before he claimed her.
Carlise was funny and smart. She laughed a lot and made him laugh as well. She was also beautiful, she smelled amazing, and she kissed like she was starving for him. He wished they were in a tropical locale so he could see more of her curvy body, but then again, having her curl into him on the couch under one of his blankets was almost as wonderful.
There was something electric about the steadily building anticipation and sexual tension in the cabin. It was an incredible turn-on. Chappy masturbated every time he showered, although it barely touched the lust he felt coursing through his veins.
Yesterday morning, he’d also heard Carlise moaning quietly in the shower, and it took every ounce of his control to keep from joining her in the bathroom.
When they did finally make love, it was going to change his life. Chappy knew it. Carlise was going to ruin him for any other woman—and he was all in for that.
As much as he enjoyed sitting on the couch and reading while Carlise worked on one of her translations, enjoyed talking with her about nothing and everything, Chappy was a little relieved his friends were coming up to the cabin today. They claimed it was to make sure he was truly all right after being so sick, but he knew they wanted to check out Carlise.
They were his best friends, and he couldn’t be upset that they wanted to make sure she was good enough for him. That she wasn’t some user or gold digger. He wouldn’t have the privacy he needed to promise his friends that Carlise wasn’t anything like some of the bitches they’d met during and after their days in the military.
He was actually eager for them to meet her because he knew without a doubt that within minutes of being in her presence, they’d know he was one lucky son of a bitch.
Chappy could tell that Carlise was a little uneasy to meet his friends, though. He’d tried to reassure her that they’d love her, but knew she’d just have to see for herself how down-to-earth JJ, Cal, and Bob were. The plan was for them to try to find her CR-V on their way to the cabin and see if they could dig it out. They’d also grab the suitcase she’d left in the back and bring it up to the cabin.
As for the car itself, the battery could be shot from the cold weather, or there might be damage to the engine from the tree she’d hit. They’d check it out and pass on the info when they arrived. The sun had been out for the last three days, but it was still cold, and the snow hadn’t melted at all. The two feet of snow might’ve been too much for the small SUV to handle, but it didn’t matter. If Carlise needed to go to town, he’d take her there in his Jeep.
“What time do you think they’ll be here again?” Carlise asked nervously.
“I’m not sure. Probably around lunchtime,” he told her. “Bob has a plow on the front of his pickup, but ultimately the condition of the roads will determine when they arrive.”