to push his body. Increasing his speed, despite the three miles he’d already covered, Roman fought the need that pumped through his bloodstream with good old-fashioned sweat and effort.
His feet thumped over the ground, the occasional twig or branch making a satisfying crack as his weight split it in half. Cool air swept in and out of his lungs with increasing force and he reveled in the effort, satisfied when it required more of his attention.
God, how she twisted him up and made him forget—
Without warning, one second he was upright and moving at a steady clip and the next he flew ass over head down a slippery embankment.
“Fuck!”
The words tore from his lips as he used his hands to stop his momentum. He closed his eyes against the ground that rose up to meet him and tucked his shoulder at the last minute, as if approaching contact with the boards at the rink.
“Effective, Forsyth,” he muttered to himself when he ended up facedown in a pile of wet leaves and grass.
Roman rolled over, opened his eyes and looked around. A slight twinge echoed through his shoulder—more the result of an old injury than any real damage—and a quick assessment of his body ensured the fall had been more of an embarrassment than truly damaging.
A massive fucking embarrassment when he looked back up at the embankment and saw what he’d missed.
The path had a divot about the width of a foot and he’d stepped right into it. And he hadn’t seen it at all because the hole had been in his peripheral vision.
Something he hadn’t had in his right eye for almost three months.
Fuck, shit and damn.
He stood and brushed the grass off, swiping at his shorts. A large cut gaped at his knee and he could see blood on the cap.
“Great way to start the day, asshole,” he muttered to himself. “Horny and banged up. Welcome the fuck home.”
Chapter Five
A very walked into the café around seven. Although there was plenty of breakfast at the hotel, she wasn’t interested in making small talk with the guests, and Susan had taken pity on her.
Or had recognized she’d scare off any repeat visitors with an attitude that could rival a grizzly bear’s.
“You’re up early.” Mick smiled at her from a booth near the door and waved her over.
“I could say the same for you. What are you doing here by yourself? Where’s Grier?”
“My little party animal is sleeping off last night’s fun.”
“She was sobering up when I left the reception.”
“Jell-O shots,” Mick explained as he took a sip of coffee. “Someone had them in a cooler on the way out and she thought they’d be a good idea.”
“I bet she feels a bit different this morning.”
“Which is why I made about as much noise as one of my planes this morning as I got ready to head out.”
Avery couldn’t help but smile at that. “You’re an evil man. It’s one of your most charming qualities.”
“I’m not sure Grier thought it was so charming.”
“Actually, when she comes out of her self-induced stupor, I think she’ll probably applaud you for it. She’s twisted that way. Which”—Avery picked up the mug of coffee their waitress set down in front of her—“is the reason she’s so damn crazy about you. You give her a run for her money.”
“Sort of like you and Roman?”
Her good humor fled, replaced immediately with the grizzly attitude. “It’s nothing like me and Roman.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
“The whole town thinks differently.”
“Then they’re going to be very disappointed to realize how wrong they are.”
“Ah, but the real question, my friend, is, are they wrong?”
Avery mulled his words over as she looked at her menu. She knew exactly what she wanted—had known before walking in the door—but the menu gave her a handy excuse to stall.
She’d carried her feelings for Roman so close to the surface for so long that it hurt in a way she could never have imagined to have him dangled in front of her once more. She
His feet thumped over the ground, the occasional twig or branch making a satisfying crack as his weight split it in half. Cool air swept in and out of his lungs with increasing force and he reveled in the effort, satisfied when it required more of his attention.
God, how she twisted him up and made him forget—
Without warning, one second he was upright and moving at a steady clip and the next he flew ass over head down a slippery embankment.
“Fuck!”
The words tore from his lips as he used his hands to stop his momentum. He closed his eyes against the ground that rose up to meet him and tucked his shoulder at the last minute, as if approaching contact with the boards at the rink.
“Effective, Forsyth,” he muttered to himself when he ended up facedown in a pile of wet leaves and grass.
Roman rolled over, opened his eyes and looked around. A slight twinge echoed through his shoulder—more the result of an old injury than any real damage—and a quick assessment of his body ensured the fall had been more of an embarrassment than truly damaging.
A massive fucking embarrassment when he looked back up at the embankment and saw what he’d missed.
The path had a divot about the width of a foot and he’d stepped right into it. And he hadn’t seen it at all because the hole had been in his peripheral vision.
Something he hadn’t had in his right eye for almost three months.
Fuck, shit and damn.
He stood and brushed the grass off, swiping at his shorts. A large cut gaped at his knee and he could see blood on the cap.
“Great way to start the day, asshole,” he muttered to himself. “Horny and banged up. Welcome the fuck home.”
Chapter Five
A very walked into the café around seven. Although there was plenty of breakfast at the hotel, she wasn’t interested in making small talk with the guests, and Susan had taken pity on her.
Or had recognized she’d scare off any repeat visitors with an attitude that could rival a grizzly bear’s.
“You’re up early.” Mick smiled at her from a booth near the door and waved her over.
“I could say the same for you. What are you doing here by yourself? Where’s Grier?”
“My little party animal is sleeping off last night’s fun.”
“She was sobering up when I left the reception.”
“Jell-O shots,” Mick explained as he took a sip of coffee. “Someone had them in a cooler on the way out and she thought they’d be a good idea.”
“I bet she feels a bit different this morning.”
“Which is why I made about as much noise as one of my planes this morning as I got ready to head out.”
Avery couldn’t help but smile at that. “You’re an evil man. It’s one of your most charming qualities.”
“I’m not sure Grier thought it was so charming.”
“Actually, when she comes out of her self-induced stupor, I think she’ll probably applaud you for it. She’s twisted that way. Which”—Avery picked up the mug of coffee their waitress set down in front of her—“is the reason she’s so damn crazy about you. You give her a run for her money.”
“Sort of like you and Roman?”
Her good humor fled, replaced immediately with the grizzly attitude. “It’s nothing like me and Roman.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
“The whole town thinks differently.”
“Then they’re going to be very disappointed to realize how wrong they are.”
“Ah, but the real question, my friend, is, are they wrong?”
Avery mulled his words over as she looked at her menu. She knew exactly what she wanted—had known before walking in the door—but the menu gave her a handy excuse to stall.
She’d carried her feelings for Roman so close to the surface for so long that it hurt in a way she could never have imagined to have him dangled in front of her once more. She
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