Her cheeks became hot from his intense gaze, and she quickly glanced down, thankful when his hand didn’t give her any resistance. What’s wrong with you, Lilly? She poured the warm syrup on her pancakes and started eating.
“I’m going to go get some more wood. I’ll be back a little later.”
Lilly glanced out the window as she chewed her food. “How do you plan on getting wood when there’s like six feet of snow out there?” she said around a mouth full of food.
She raised a brow at him, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly with amusement.
“Snowmobiles, love. Besides, we went through a lot of wood the past week and are running low,” Riley smiled softly at her.
Riley had a generator for if the power went out, but on several occasions this past week, the lights had flickered and everyone worried about the power going out because the storm was so bad.
No, not worried about it going out, but trying to be prepared for when it did go out. It was only a matter of time.
Tallin got up and brought his dishes to the sink. He walked back over, kissed her on the head, and left out the side door. She watched as the door shut and then, turning back around, noticed that Riley had taken Tallin’s seat.
He pushed a bowl of fruit in front of her as he started eating. She picked up a strawberry, brought it to her mouth and gently bit the tip, and let the sweet juice fill her mouth. She stared out the window again and saw Tallin get on the snowmobile and speed away.
The machine was loud and fast as he disappeared in the bordering forest. She took another bite of the strawberry, again leaving it in her mouth so the sweet juices coated her taste buds.
The back of her neck prickled, the sense of being watched filling her. With her lips still around the strawberry, she turned to look at Riley, feeling her eyes widening at the expression that covered his face. His head was slightly downcast, his eyes at half-mast as he gazed at her mouth.
She realized that she still had half the strawberry in her mouth and the juice was spilling out of it while her lips were suctioned around the red flesh. His fork was midair, the syrup covering the pancake square slowly dripping from the prongs.
She put the strawberry on her plate and finished eating, very aware of the tingle traveling through her. She knew she shouldn’t be feeling the emotions currently bombarding her.
These were her best friends, and here she was, experiencing unfamiliar emotions that she had no right to feel. It was wrong to feel arousal when they had done nothing but comfort and protect her.
The fact that the sight of them made her lustful had shame and guilt filling her. She remembered how Tallin had stared at her, his smoky emerald eyes seeming to see right into her soul, and Riley’s heated amber gaze that spoke of hidden desire.
Lilly shook her head, knowing that there was no way they could possibly feel arousal for her. For God’s sake, they had been friends since they were toddlers.
They had never showed sexual interest in her before. Both of them had had plenty of dates in high school, even serious girlfriends during college.
Stop thinking about them like this. Stop thinking they might want more from you.
It was all in her imagination. Her brain was fried, and she was imagining things that could and would never be.
“When do you have to go back to work?” She glanced up at him, needing to change the subject.
His jaw was tense as he stared at his food. “I took some personal time.” His words were gruff, and he cleared his throat. “What about you? When do you have to go back?”
She had had this conversation with Tallin and had told him she didn’t know if she was going back. As the days passed though, she really had no desire to go back to Denver. Her mind was pretty much made up.
She would be losing a really great job, but there was work in Burkett, and just being around the people she loved was worth the financial loss she would take.
“To be honest, I don’t think I am going back to Denver. It doesn’t hold the appeal it used to. I’d rather stay in Burkett where I can be close to you guys.” It was the honest truth. Tallin and Riley were her rocks, and she knew that without them, this situation would have broken her.
“Really?”
There was surprise in his voice, and she glanced up again. She beamed at the happiness that shone on his face. “Yeah, seriously.”
His smile was broad.
“I’m glad my decision makes you happy. My feelings might have been hurt if you had suggested I go back.”
His face had gone serious, all hints of the previous happiness gone. “Why would I do that?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. During Christian’s wake, a lot of people were telling me I should go back to Denver. They told me staying in Burkett might be too hard. I know they meant well and didn’t want to see me in pain, but the more I thought about it, the more the idea of leaving hurt.” She heard his chair scrape across the floor a second before she was being pulled out of hers and wrapped in his warm embrace.
He just held her, neither one of them speaking as he led her into the living room, their dishes forgotten.