“Yeah. I get it. Although I don’t want him hurting you if he sees you with another girl. I need to straighten this out.”
Jeremy nodded, “I’d appreciate that. ‘Cause that dude is tough. He ain’t some spoiled pretty boy. He’d mess me up good if he thought I deserved it.”
“Okay. I’ll go back. You can stay or go. I’m just going to take the truck home after I talk to him.”
“You sure? I mean, he might opt out of skinny dipping with Becca and want to hang out with you.”
No. Cage might not be totally bad but he was still in no way good enough. Josh would never approve.
“I’ll just talk to him a few minutes then leave.”
Jeremy sighed, “Yeah, okay.”
I knew he didn’t completely get it. I walked over and gave him a quick hug before turning and heading back to the lake. The glow of the fire made it easy to get back. The crowd around the fire had dwindled and I didn’t see Cage anywhere. That meant he was at the lake. Maybe… naked.
Cage may not be good enough for me compared to what I had with Josh but I could still appreciate the beauty of his naked body. I’d never really seen Josh completely naked. I had never seen any guy completely naked.
I headed down to the lake staying just out of the light from the bonfire so no one saw me going down there. I didn’t want people making a big deal out of the fact Eva Brooks was going to the lake to skinny dip because I wasn’t. Not even close.
Turning the corner around the old oak tree, I stopped and slowly peeked around the corner. Splashing and giggling was growing louder from the water only a few feet away. Was Cage out there with Becca Lynn?
“You coming, Cage?” Becca Lynn’s voice was close and I backed up further into the shadows.
I worked hard to focus my eyes in the dark. Cage stepped out of the darkness. He reached up and threw his jeans over a low branch. The moonlight hit the backside of his body and I covered my mouth to keep from making a sound. Because DEAR GOD! His butt was unbelievable. The muscles in his back moved as he walked toward the water. He had muscles in his back!
“I’ll come in if you come out and get me,” he drawled. His completely naked front side faced the lake for Becca and anyone else who cared to look. He wasn’t ashamed at all. He knew they were looking and he didn’t care. Then again, when your body looked like that you wouldn’t mind who saw it.
Becca Lynn walked toward him, the water droplets rolled down her bare chest and stomach. I refused to let my gaze drop any lower. Cage’s hands slipped around her bare waist and he lowered his mouth to hers. That was all I could handle. My chest had a strange new ache and my stomach felt sick. I just wanted to go back home. I’d clear things up with Cage York another time.
Chapter Five
Cage
Tonight had been a bust. I didn’t f**k drunken innocents who I couldn’t walk away from the next morning. As good as Becca Lynn had felt all nice and wet, I hadn’t been able to go through with it. Her vomiting had helped make this decision much easier because at one point I’d been real close to forgetting how annoying it could be to have a pesky female who wouldn’t go away.
I stepped out of my jeans and pulled back the covers so I could crawl in my bed. The sheets weren’t bad. I had expected cheap sheets since this was a barn but they were nice. Soft. I closed my eyes and let myself imagine Eva putting the sheets on the bed for me. Her hands would be soft or maybe she’d have calluses. She did all the housework and she cooked. Wait. I hadn’t seen a mom yet. Eva had been the only woman I’d seen in that house. Had her mom died? Or just skipped out on her? Her dad loved her. That was obvious.
My phone rang and I reached for it. Low’s number once again lit up the screen.
“Hey, my favorite girl,” I said by way of a greeting.
“Hey, how are things?” Low replied. I could hear the smile in her voice.
“Hot and the cows are scarier than I imagined but my tiny bed has some really nice sheets.”
“What about the girl?”
Leave it to Low not to beat around the bush. “I’m pretty sure she hates me now more than she did when she first met me.”
“Why? What have you done to her?”
“I haven’t done a damn thing to her. I did threaten her fiancé and rough him up a bit. Nothing serious. But the douche was talking about another girl’s tits in front of Eva. It was disrespectful.”
Low was silent a minute. I knew she was processing this and trying to figure out how to fix my problem.
“So, she’s engaged?” was her response.
“Yeah, she is and the guy isn’t a good match for her. I like him but they just don’t fit, you know?”