Katee Robert - In Bed with Mr. Wrong

“Do you know the junior high boys still camp out on Main Street on snow days and try to ambush people?” She winked. “I think Old Joe watches for them, because he always seems to show up in the nick of time to save the innocent bystanders.”

A strange look came over his face. “No, I didn’t know that.”

Before she could ask what he was thinking about, his snowball hit her in the shoulder, but by that point she already had another in hand and sent it flying. Things got chaotic from there, her laughing so hard she could barely breathe, let alone focus on dodging his attacks and launching her own. As she peeked out from behind the tree she’d taken cover behind, Ryan swooped in and grabbed her around the waist, taking them both to the ground. They rolled several times before she came up on top, still giggling like a fool. “This is fun.”

“Yeah, it really is.” He smiled up at her as he adjusted her hat. “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad Drew and Avery got this insane plan in their heads.”

She still couldn’t quite wrap her mind around how much had changed in such a short time. Two days ago, she would have died rather than frolic around in the snow like a crazy kid with Ryan. And yet here she was, having the time of her life. With him. “I am, too.”

Then she grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it down his shirt. He cursed and grabbed for her, but she was already up and running to the back door of the cabin. Bri turned around just long enough to stick her tongue out at him, and then she was inside. As soon as the heat from the fireplace hit her, she realized just how wet her clothes were and shivered.

“Well, don’t just stand there shaking like a leaf. Get naked.”

“Get naked.” Bri stared as he stripped off his shirt. The man’s shoulders should be illegal. She gave herself a mental shake—or shiver, as it were. “And they say romance is dead.”

“Liars, all of them. Your man just gave you an orgasm and a snowball fight. If that’s not romance, I don’t know what is.”

Your man . She pulled off her shirt in an effort not to let him see how much his words affected her. Ryan might be a lot of things—many of them great—but he wasn’t hers. He couldn’t be.

Except she no longer quite believed that.

By the time she finished taking off her wet things, he was there with a blanket to wrap around her shoulders. “Now, sit. I’ll get some more hot chocolate whipped up.”

There he went, taking care of her again. She sank onto the rug they’d had sex on not too long ago and watched him move purposefully about the kitchen. All this time, she’d been operating under the assumption that something between her and Ryan couldn’t work. But what if it could?

Ryan built up the fire, then pulled Bri to her feet and swept her into his arms. The snowball fight had been impulsive and silly, but the sound of her gleeful giggles still echoed in his mind. This day had been the most fun he’d had in longer than he cared to remember.

Sure, he enjoyed his squad-mates and they’d had some good times together when they weren’t deployed, but he could only hang out in so many bars and drink so many beers and interact with so many of the same kind of woman, all looking for exactly the same thing. He’d stopped truly enjoying it years ago, though he’d never been able to put his finger on what it was that he actually did want.

Now he knew.

He wanted this. He wanted a partner to act like a fool with, to laugh with, to share new experiences with, to fuck until they both forgot their names. If he were going to be truly honest, he wanted it with this woman.

He laid her on the bed and followed her down, propping himself up next to her. Bri reached up and ran a single finger over his biceps, almost as if she weren’t sure of her welcome. “What are you thinking about?”

He responded by cupping her hip and tucking her against him. “Lots of things.”

“Tell me.”

“I was thinking that I’ve been chasing all the wrong things this entire time.”

She turned those wide blue eyes on him. “What do you mean?”

“I joined the PJs because I got to see some of the world I’d been so desperate for and serve a higher purpose—and to get away from the boy I was, growing up in Wellingford. It was everything I thought I wanted.” He took a deep breath. “But it hasn’t been enough for a long time. Something was always missing.” Something he’d just gotten a glimpse of and didn’t want to let go.

She ran a hand up his arm and back down again. “I don’t want to be presumptuous, but I think I might understand what you mean. You were content, but you haven’t been happy.”

He considered. “Yeah, that’s a pretty fair description.”

“I’m familiar with the feeling.” Then she cuddled a little closer, making his heart give another one of those almost-painful lurches. “So, what are you going to do about it?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? Ryan smoothed his fingers through her hair, marveling at how thick and soft it was. This was the moment when things could change, either for the better or to make their remaining time in this cabin hell. But there was only one way to find out, and his brother hadn’t raised a coward. “I’d like a chance to date you, Bri. Exclusively,” he added, because the thought of her with anyone else made him want to beat the prospective man bloody.

Her breathing picked up, but she didn’t slap him and run from the bedroom, so he figured she wasn’t entirely against the idea. Then again, he could never be sure when it came to her. She was just as likely to be considering how much time it would take for her to grab a chair and bean him again.

When the silence stretched out, Ryan wondered if he’d misread the situation. He rubbed his thumb over a strand of her hair. “No pressure. Things haven’t exactly been smooth between us from the start, so I get it if you—”

She lifted her head and kissed him, silencing whatever the hell he’d been about to say. Once his thoughts were completely frazzled, she leaned back and smiled at him. “I’d like that.”

Had he heard her right? “You would?”

“Yes.” Her smile took on a bashful tone. “After all, there are so many childhood memories we haven’t covered yet.”

“A lifetime’s worth.” Shit, had he just said that aloud? He kissed her, hoping it didn’t freak her out that he was already thinking about a possible future. “How about we take it one day at a time?”

…

One day at a time. She could do one day at a time. Especially if they were anything like today. He’d breached boundary after boundary she’d created to keep her heart safe, all the while coaxing her into experiences she never would have dreamed of. Yes, they’d been silly and cute, but priceless to her.

And he seemed to know it.

Could she date him? It wasn’t the exclusiveness she was worried about…not really. He was leaving, flying off back to his base in a week. The thought of standing at the airport and being left behind made her sick to her stomach. But she could see how the week went, couldn’t she? Seven days was plenty of time to see if things would continue like they had today, or if they would go back to fighting. “One day at a time.” She swallowed hard. “That’s doable.”

The grin on Ryan’s face warmed her right through, pushing away her worries. He rolled onto his back, pulling her with him until she straddled his hips. “This mean you’re going to be my girlfriend?”

Girlfriend. The label shouldn’t make her both happy and terrified at the same time, but it did. Bri attempted a smile. “Don’t you think that’s moving a bit fast?”