King's Treasure (Oil Kings Book 3) by Marie Johnston (great novels .TXT) 📗

we could find work around there. There was Macedonia and the birthplace of Mother Teresa, but Xander didn’t want to go to a big city like Skopje.

Rina shrugged. “After doing the hiking tours, you’ll have no trouble finding work. Some hostels are always looking for help, and I heard of a couple developing an ecovillage that might be hiring, but you’d want to do it before it snows.”

“What do you think about an ecocenter?”

My smile was perfunctory. The three of them fired ideas back and forth, but I wanted to ask, What was wrong with Montana? What was wrong with introducing me to his family? Meeting his dad and Kendall had basically been an accident.

Was his hesitation about me or the money?

It could be me. He hadn’t been taking pictures. He hadn’t used the laptop he’d worked on at home. And he didn’t talk anymore of photojournalism or his photography. There were those simple photos he’d taken for Hector, then he’d tucked his camera away and helped build another cabin.

I’d once thought I only attracted two types of men—those like Chief and those with Peter Pan syndrome who wanted to freeload through life. Xander didn’t fit either description. Instead, he was a bit of both. He worked his ass off, but he avoided important parts of his life. His life was constructed around being able to leave at a moment’s notice. When we’d first met, that ability had attracted me. But I’d been with him long enough to know that he’d built his life that way so he could avoid hard discussions.

I’d grown up wealthy, and I’d been able to see that money didn’t solve everything. So what would Xander do when he got all that money? What would he do when he and I needed to have a long, hard discussion about us?

Anxiety churned in my stomach. The memory of watching him pack his bags when we’d had our first and last argument was still perfectly clear, even months later.

Xander

I lifted my shirt over my head. The chill of the room wafted over my skin, but I wasn’t worried. As soon as I crawled into bed with Savvy, I’d heat up past the point of discomfort. I dreamed of the day we’d have a bigger bed and some privacy. I’d taken that first night together for granted. Our own room with a queen-size bed. That sounded like heaven.

At the same time, I’d miss this. Snuggling close, careful not to shove each other off the side. Cozy. Intimate, now that Savvy could stay awake for a little longer after she laid her head down.

She was fucking amazing and she got more unbelievable each day. She handled dude-bro enthusiasts with ease, channeling her mother like a boss. And every time we had female campers, they drifted toward her like moths to a campfire. Making friends with Rina had boosted her confidence.

Just when I thought she couldn’t glow more, she’d see or experience something new and her expression would brighten like the summer sun.

Savvy wiggled in bed to make room for me. Now that she’d been here awhile, she was more impervious to the temperature drop when the sun went down, and neither of us wanted Hector and Eris to waste money on heat for us.

I crawled in and wrapped myself around her. She was used to my dick pressing into her by now, but each time it made her giggle. Tonight, I did it intentionally. She’d gone quiet outside when Brady and Rina had helped brainstorm about where we could go next.

“Aren’t you ever tired?” she whispered.

“If I am, this thing wakes me up as soon as you’re close.”

“Can you imagine what it’s going to be like when we don’t have to sneak a quickie in the shower?”

“I’m gonna make you scream so loud.”

She chuckled, then bit her lip to keep the sound down. As much as I liked Rina, she didn’t need to know our sex schedule. Though Savvy probably gossiped with her about it anyway.

“Do you think Brady and Rina are going to get together?” she asked. Her head rested on my arm. I covered her shoulder with the blanket, leaving mine out. I was already warm enough and with her ass pressed against my half-erect dick, I needed the chill.

“I think she needs to make him work for it if she wants anything other than a hookup.”

“I don’t know if she does, but I agree.”

I nuzzled behind her ear. “Is it bad that I hope he stays because I feel like shit leaving Hector and Eris once they have a baby? They’ll want the privacy, but they’ll also need more help than ever.”

“But we are leaving?”

I winced at the timidity in her voice. A big decision loomed over us. “Only if you want to. I figured you wouldn’t want to hang out either when the baby comes.”

“Agreed. I feel like we’d be in the way.” She went quiet, her warm breath caressing my arm.

“We have almost six months to go before we have some spending money.” I could do my normal routine, roam and do odd jobs until I had a few bills for room and board, but I hated to risk Savvy being on the streets or stranded in the middle of a strange city with me.

“How do you feel about going home?”

“I don’t have a home.” At my sharp tone, she turned to look at me, her eyes brimming with concern. “I mean, Montana’s home, but the place is Dawson’s.” Aiden worked for Dad, Beckett and Dad had mended their figurative fences, and Dad helped Dawson with the ranch every year. I was the oddball.

“You don’t want to go because we won’t have a place to stay?”

“No, Dawson has plenty of room and I have an open invite.”

“Then why don’t you want to go?” When I didn’t answer she wormed her way around until she was facing me. “Talk to me, Xander.”

She made it sound like talking would be easy. When I was a