Decidedly with Wishes - Stina Lindenblatt Page 0,47

evaporated from the heat we were generating.

God, I wanted this man.

He crouched slightly and hooked his hands behind my thighs. He effortlessly lifted me, and my legs eagerly wrapped around him.

They say when a man is cold, his manhood faces some serious shrinkage. I had no idea the extent of that when it came to Eli after he emerged from the river. All I could attest to was just how un-shrunken he was now.

His hard, thick length pressed against my equally aroused core. I moaned into the kiss. He moved my body, rubbing me along him.

I moaned louder.

The sharp crack of a twig being stepped on came from the forest behind us.

I ignored it. It was probably a small animal…like a squirrel or a chipmunk. Something friendly and cute.

The sound came again, only this time it didn’t make me think of something quite so benign.

In a horror movie or thriller, this was the moment when the killer came crashing through the trees—and the unsuspecting, humping teenagers became the next victims.

I mean, sure, Eli and I hadn’t been teens in years, but that didn’t mean the killer would casually stroll past us because we were too old.

“What’s wrong?” Eli lowered me to the ground, noticing the change in my demeanor.

“Someone’s in the trees, watching us,” I whispered. “Or maybe I heard a bear. They have bears here, right?”

He turned around and peered into the trees. “I don’t think it’s a bear—”

A black shape bounded toward us from the direction I’d heard the noise.

“You see.” My words tumbled out in a trembling squeak.

Eli laughed. “Nala, meet Maui. Maui, Nala.”

The bear?

A black Labrador wagged his tail as Eli stroked him.

A tall, good-looking man in jeans, a gray-blue T-shirt, and cowboy boots entered the clearing. His hair was the same dark blond as Eli’s.

He grinned at us. “Didn’t expect to find you two here. Hi, I’m Jake.” He held out his hand to me. “I was going to say you must be Eddie, but Eli just told my dog that your name is Nala.” He raised his eyebrow at Eli.

Eli cringed, and I laughed.

“Can’t wait to hear this story.”

“Jake is Sophie’s fiancé,” Eli told me. “He and his brothers own this land and the ranch beyond the trees. And yes, Nala is the same woman who everyone in town thinks is Eddie. I told my mother that I had a girlfriend because she was planning to set me up with a date for the wedding.”

Jake laughed again. “And you prefer keeping your single status the way it is. So I’m going out on a limb and say you aren’t really Eli’s girlfriend, are you?”

“Nope, just a friend.”

A friend who was humping Eli only moments ago.

Did Jake need to know that?

I didn’t think so either.

“I don’t suppose you’ll keep that part between the three of us,” Eli said.

Jake frowned. “You want me to keep that from Sophie?”

“That’s right.”

“You know I don’t lie to her.”

“I know, but consider this a matter of life and death.”

Jake slapped Eli on the arm. “I’m not going to lie to her, but I won’t tell her either. However, if she guesses the truth, you’re on your own.”

“Thanks. I owe you one, man.”

“Yep, you do.”

17

Eli

The unofficial definition for “wedding”?

That’s right—a large gathering of people who spend the time interrogating others about their plans to get married.

Yup, my cousin’s wedding went without a hitch. Abby beamed as she walked down the aisle with Hazel’s five-old-year nephew. No one found any reason for the bride and groom not to get married, and no one flubbed their vows.

And now everyone felt like asking Nala and me about our plans for tying the knot. We were outside, in the large garden, the early evening sun still in the sky. A tent had been erected for the reception, but most of the guests were milling around the patio, drinking. Tiny white lights twinkled in the nearby trees.

“You two make such a gorgeous couple,” Aunt May said after she pinched my cheek like she had when I was five years old.

The only difference was, she had to reach up to do it this time.

Nala looked as though she was fighting to keep from laughing out loud. She bit her lower lip in a way that only increased her sex appeal.

And once again, I cursed Jake for his lousy timing yesterday.

Or maybe it was great timing. If things had progressed between Nala and me in the direction we’d been heading, he might have seen more than he’d counted