The Mighty Quinns: Tristan. Kate Hoffmann
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to maintain her distance. But she would at least greet him along with the others. She climbed down the stairs and ran along the soft dirt path that led back to the main lodge.
When she reached the clearing, she noticed a large crowd had already gathered. Lily made a quick count and smiled to herself when the number matched the total number at camp. “I guess we’re all excited,” she murmured.
Lily slowly approached the group, her gaze on the man removing his bags from the trunk of his sports car. He was dressed differently today. His dress shirt and tie had been discarded in favor of relaxed shorts and a faded T-shirt. Sunglasses still hid his eyes and his thick, dark hair was covered by a baseball cap.
She moved to stand beside Aunt Violet, knowing that the eldest sister would be the one to make the official welcome. And as she had so many times over the years, Violet made a lovely little speech celebrating the event and introducing Quinn James to the entire group. After a quick round of applause and individual introductions, the group wandered off and Quinn was left with just three others—Violet, Lily and Finch.
Lily held out her hand. “It’s good to have you here, Quinn. I hope you enjoy your stay.”
“Thanks, Lily.”
A long silence descended between them and Lily continued to smile, waiting for Violet to chime in.
When she didn’t, Lily said, “I need to get back to my work.” She held up her paint-stained fingers. “I’m having a—a breakthrough. Very exciting. Perhaps I’ll see you this evening?”
“I was hoping that you would show Mr. James around the colony,” Violet said.
“I thought Finch did that yesterday,” Lily said.
“I only gave him a very brief tour,” Finch explained.
“And I’ve asked Mr. Finch to drive me into town to pick up a few things for tonight’s performance, haven’t I, Mr. Finch?”
The elderly man looked back and forth between the two women, then finally nodded. “Yes, you have, Miss Violet, you certainly have. And yesterday I just gave Mr. James a quick tour. My cabin, the dining hall. There’s much more for you to show him, Lily. I’ll just carry Mr. Quinn’s bags up to the cabin and then fetch the car.”
“Don’t worry,” Quinn said. “I can take care of that.”
Lily’s heart was beating so hard she was certain everyone around her could hear it. She swallowed hard. “Fine, let’s go, then.” Lily turned to Quinn. “Ready?”
“Lead on,” he said.
She picked up a pair of his smaller bags, then pointed in the direction of Finch’s cabin. “This way.”
As they walked, Lily tried to come up with something to say to him, but her mind was racing with thoughts of their first encounter and the attraction that had pulsed between them. “I hope you’re ready to live in rather primitive conditions,” she said. “There’s a sink in each cabin, but no en suite plumbing. For that, you have to go to the shower house just down the hill. Or pee in the woods, which most of the men do.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“There are screens on all the windows, but you’ll need to lower the shutters to keep the rain out. Some of the evenings can be chilly, so I hope you brought some heavy blankets.”
“I thought I’d go into town and buy whatever I needed,” he said. “Heavy blankets. I’ll put that on my list.”
When they reached the cabin, Lily pulled the door open, and stepped back to let him inside. The interior was cozy, the walls lined with windows and shabby furniture scattered about. Finch worked at a small desk by the window that he’d covered with papers and books. “You can take the empty bedroom. And we’ll find you another spot to work. One of the tree house studios is empty.”
“Tree house? That sounds like fun,” he said, setting the bags down on the floor.
“They’re not really tree houses, but...well, you’ll see.” She smoothed her hands over the front of her dress. “Is there somewhere else you’d like me to take you? I’m not sure how much Finch showed you yesterday.”
“You combed your hair,” he murmured. Quinn took a step toward her.
Lily quickly stepped back, her hand fluttering to her neck before she ran her fingers through the thick waves. “No. I—I mean, yes. I don’t always look like a—a wreck.”
He took another step, but this time, Lily held her ground. “I like your hair all messed up,” he said. Quinn took another step. He was close enough to reach out and touch a strand of hair that had curled on her temple. With gentle fingers, he tucked the curl behind her ear.
“It gets a little wild with the humidity,” she murmured.
Lily held her breath as he closed the last bit of distance between them. His gaze was fixed on hers and she knew he was about to kiss her. Every instinct told her to run away, to escape before he lured her into his trap. But she couldn’t contain her curiosity. It was just a kiss. And though she wasn’t sure who he was, Lily certainly knew who she was—and who she wasn’t.
She wasn’t the kind of girl who could be swept away by a stranger who might or might not be her enemy. She wasn’t the kind of girl who would let a simple kiss alter her judgement. She wasn’t—
His hands snaked around her waist and he pulled her against him. A few seconds later, his mouth came down on hers and she was drawn into a deep abyss of sensation. Her body felt weightless, her knees like they were ready to collapse. And when they did, she sank against the hard muscle and bone of his chest.
He drew back, his eyes scanning her face, trying to gauge her reaction. But Lily was still reeling from the aftereffects of the experience.
“I’ve been thinking about doing that since we met yesterday.”
“You have?” Her voice was breathless and she felt her cheeks warm. Fantasies of being seduced by him had been teasing her for the past twenty-four hours. But now that the reality was looking down at her with a tempting smile, Lily realized that she was in danger of getting in over her head.
“I should go,” she murmured. “And let you get settled.”
“Would you like to come into town with me?”
Lily shook her head. “No, I need to paint. You know how it is. When things are going well you don’t want to stop.”
He bent closer and dropped another kiss on her lips. “Seemed things were going very well there just a few minutes ago.”
Lily nodded. “Don’t forget to buy food in town. We all make our own meals except for Wednesday nights and Sunday afternoons. Then we have a potluck and everyone is assigned a dish. And please don’t ever kiss me again.”
With that, Lily turned and hurried to the door. Such strange sensations were running through her body, she thought as she pulled the screen door open. The temptation to stay and see what else might happen was nearly overwhelming her common sense!
She ran down the path toward her studio, but instead of climbing the steps to the loft, she turned toward the beach. Lily reached for the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head, discarding it on the small strip of sand at the water’s edge.
As she waded into the lake, the cool water hit her naked body and immediately calmed her nerves and erased all those unfamiliar sensations that his kiss had caused. She kicked her feet, diving down until she stroked the sandy bottom, then she popped up to the surface and raked her hair back as she stood.
This was what she’d have to do if she expected to cool her libido and survive the summer. She’d have to take up residence in the middle of Fence Lake.
* * *
TRISTAN STOOD AT the edge of the path, his gaze fixed on the naked woman splashing in the lake. Apparently,