All those years of practice were certainly coming in handy for him, because he crafted her desire with the skill of an expert.
“Will,” she said on a gasp.
He kissed her palm and moved it over the slope of her belly, down beneath the waistband of her panties between her legs.
She closed her eyes. They were doing this. He was doing this. With her hand. Was that even possible?
Yes, clearly it was because his fingers mingled with hers, against her wetness, in an utterly wanton experience.
He lifted his head from where he’d buried it against her throat. “I have a confession.”
“Please don’t confess you want to stop.” She gasped as he moved his knuckle over the already sensitive flesh of her entrance.
He chuckled. “Not a chance.”
“Thank God.” She bit against her bottom lip. “Then what’s the confession?”
“I’ve wanted to be inside you since the first moment I saw you.” He kissed along the line of her collarbone.
No, that wasn’t true. She knew that much. He hadn’t wanted her at all in Florida.
“I’ll match your confession,” she said against his chest.
“Yeah?” He caught her gaze and held it.
“We’re wearing too many clothes.”
“You forgot to confess.” He grinned a you-lost-the-game grin.
Damn.
His mouth never left hers as he grappled with the fly of his jeans. Before she could take a solid breath, the barrier was gone. Holy crap, the Committee for the Furthering of the Covington Name had left him quite the endowment.
He yanked her panties to her thighs. She shimmied out of them while he pulled his shirt over his head to toss it aside.
His erection pressed against the side of her leg when his mouth covered hers again. His hands ran along the curve of her hip, igniting a path along her flesh. She gasped when he rubbed his palm against the heat of her, finding the sweet spot and caressing until little bursts of light flashed in her eyes.
She reveled in the safety of his embrace and the rough fingertips moving intimately against her wetness. “I confess, I really love when you call me Luce,” she said.
He pressed his lips against her ear. “Luce.”
Her panting turned harsh, in tempo with the rhythm of his fingertips. The intensity of his touch amplified every breath. She groaned as her head fell back, the edge of her release remaining out of reach.
“You’re safe with me, Luce.”
She was. And somehow on a fundamental level she finally understood what safety meant.
One of his fingers slid inside her, testing, exploring. She gasped.
Then he added another.
She was safe. The little walls she’d built all around herself to protect her emotions crumbled.
Her body throbbed, and the wave of orgasm finally released in the security of his arms. She held onto him as though he’d disappear, taking his fantastic fingers with him. But he wasn’t done. He continued to work her up once more until the intensity overtook her again and she came hard against his hand.
Before she could take a solid breath, the warmth of his body was gone. A drawer rolled open and then smacked closed.
“I need you.” His voice broke as he returned to her. “Now.”
At his coarse words, she stripped her nightgown over her head. He dealt with the condom, and his arousal stretched the damp apex of her thighs. Her legs wrapped around his hips as gradually their boundaries blurred. Together they drowned in each other.
Chapter Eighteen
Lucy woke as Will drew his lips along her neck. She peeked at the alarm clock beside the bed. Two o’clock in the morning was entirely too early.
“Good morning.” His breath tickled against her skin. After round two several hours ago, they’d fallen into bed naked and slept tangled that way.
She drew a sharp breath when he paused near the curve of her breast. The hard muscles of his back tensed under her hands. “Ye—” The word cracked. “Yes.”
“We have to leave today.” His tongue flicked at her nipple.
Yes, yes, they would. They had the story. Now it was back to reality.
She gripped his hair, holding his mouth in place. “We have right now, though.”
His hands got in on the action and every neuron in her brain focused on them. Coherent thoughts stopped coming in that moment.
“Uh-huh.” He smiled against her skin and tucked her hand into his own.
The world came into sharp focus as he trailed kisses across her belly. He freed his hand from hers to spread her knees. He continued to kiss and lick, lower and lower. Her heart hammered in her chest.
No one had ever gone down on her before.
“I’ve never done…” She grabbed a fistful of his hair. “Oh. That’s nice.”
Gently, he set her hand aside. He glanced up from his explorations and flashed those damn dimples. “Then I’d say it’s about time.”
He ran his tongue in a circle over the bundle of nerves at the core of her, flicking and sucking in alternate waves. She couldn’t stop the moan that escaped from between her lips, and had no way to suppress her heels as they dug into the bed to lift her hips more firmly against his mouth.
Their therapist had been right. There were other things he could do that had nothing to do with—oh dear, his fingertips trailed up her thigh and spread her center apart. Then they went there. One and then two dipped inside. He made some kind of feral noise as his tongue continued to do really amazing things.
How did he get it to turn to the side like—oh God, the muscles inside began to contract as he continued his work. He picked her heels up off the bed and wrapped them around his shoulders, his own palms trailing along her lower back to hold her against his mouth. In turn, she gripped the bed sheet in two solid handfuls.
She thought he could kiss before. He’d been holding back. The French had nothing on the way he moved his tongue down there.
She made a sound she was pretty sure wasn’t lady like at all, and then everything seemed to spin. The heat between her thighs burned hot for him before releasing her on a wave and pulling her under.
As luck would have it, his idea was a fantastic one.
…
William sat on the bench outside the cabin and wanted to beat his chest like the caveman he’d proven himself to be. He was fairly certain he’d never been a woman’s first anything before. Even his first had been thoroughly experienced when they hooked up in high school. He grinned at the lake in front of him as though he expected it to respond somehow. His night with Lucy had been unbelievable. Yeah, this morning had been incredible, too. Caught up in their activities, neither had gotten much sleep. Although, given the satisfied smile she wore when they tumbled out of the shower, she didn’t mind.
He sipped at his cup of coffee. His heart gave a little tug. Damn, he had never fallen for a woman this hard. He was in trouble, and he didn’t even care.
“Hey.” Lucy emerged from the cabin and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Coffee again? You’re the best.”
Yeah. He’d proven that around four times in the past ten hours. She smiled, uncertain, and raised her mug to him.
Even in the early morning, she was stunning with her hair haphazardly pinned up. Her ridiculous nightshirt dipped a little low, showing just enough cleavage to make him want to immediately take it off. With the intimate knowledge of what lay underneath, he squeezed his hand on the handle of his mug to keep from doing just that.
“You’re beautiful, Luce.”
“You don’t have to say that.” Her body brushed against his, and she ran her hands along his bare stomach.
“I said it because it’s true. Get dressed. Let’s go to the lodge and grab breakfast before we head out.”
She rolled her eyes. “So demanding.”
He lifted her chin with his fingertip. “We established that last night.”
A heavy red blush covered her cheeks.
&n
bsp; “You’re blushing, and I didn’t even take out my—”
“Stop.” She jabbed her fingertip at his chest.
He caught her around the waist to kiss her thoroughly. “You stop.”
“You’re smooshing me,” she said against his shoulder.
His phone buzzed with a new voicemail. One glance and he winced. He jabbed the play button, and his father’s curt voice echoed through the phone. “William. No time for attorneys. The Colorado Springs station received another offer. They’re entertaining it, and the whole thing doesn’t look good for Crestone. Their managers are headed to Confluence, and I’m meeting with them this afternoon. You’re expected to attend. Call me when you get this.”
Damn. Damn. Damn.
Damn.
His father’s irritating command seriously grated. Of course William would attend, but not because his father commanded. He wouldn’t be left out of a meeting that important. Which meant his plans for the day just changed.
He tossed his phone on the bench a bit harder than necessary.
“Everything okay?” Lucy glanced up from under her eyelashes.
He felt her gaze straight in his chest.
“We’re headed back.” He stomped inside.
He had a feeling that even if the meeting was a success, he’d need to make a few trips over the mountain to ensure the buyout moved forward.
Chapter Nineteen
A quick wrap-up with the management at Twin Lakes, a chat with the local deputy, one arrest warrant issued, and William and Lucy loaded the truck. They were on the road in record time. Once they saw the video there wasn’t much management could say. The desk clerk admitted to the double-bookings but held out on the thefts until she realized there was a video. The resort had a load of bad publicity coming their way once the story broke. At the moment, that was the least of William’s concern.
They turned into the KDVX parking lot, and he glanced across the cab of the truck to Lucy. Her forehead leaned against the glass, her expression tense.
The connection they had started to build would be strong enough to survive reality. William hoped.
Didn’t he deserve to be happy? He’d screwed up a lot in his life. He’d also spent years redeeming himself. Enough was enough. He wanted to be with her. Whatever she was willing to give, he was ready to take.
“I have to wrap up a few things here. Stick around, and I’ll follow you home?” He threaded his fingers with hers.
She pulled away and shook her head. “I need to get back to my cat. Simon didn’t make it over this morning.”
He tried again. “I’ll check in on you when I get there.”
“After I feed Mitzy, I’m going to crash.” She opened her door before he came to a complete stop.
He climbed out of the truck. “Lucy.” Her name lay heavy on his lips. “I’ll only be a minute.”
She retrieved her keys from her purse and hopped down. “Seriously, home and bed. That’s my plan. I’ll text you when I get there. Thanks for the trip. It was really fun.”
Really fun? The woman was maddening.
He grabbed her suitcase and followed her. “What’s going on, Lucy?”
“This is inappropriate. You’re going to be my boss.” Her slightly terrified gaze met his.
Reality officially sucked.
He didn’t buy her declaration for a second.
Lucy pulled her fake ring off and slipped it into his hand. Heart heavy, he closed his fingers around the cubic zirconia.
“This isn’t about me being your boss. What’s this about?” He pinned her back against her car, arms on either side of her head.
“Nothing.” She reached for the door handle behind her.
She was scared. Something was holding her back, and it wasn’t his takeover of Crestone. “Drive safe,” he said.
“Okee dokee.” Her smile was absolutely forced.
He dropped his head to kiss her. She pressed her lips together and turned to the side so his lips hit her cheek. “I have to go.”
“Right,” he muttered, deflated. He moved so she could climb inside.
She paused. Dropped her head to the steering wheel. Then she looked at him. “I’m scared, Will. Because of the way I’m feeling about us. What we have. How it’ll work now that we’re home.”
The fear in her eyes made his gut clench. “Let’s go slow then.”
She nodded and started the car. He waited there until she drove from the lot, her taillights fading until they disappeared. When he finally glanced back to his truck, Parker leaned against his tailgate.
“Tell me I didn’t see what I just saw.” Parker crossed his arms.
“Don’t know what you saw, so no comment.” William lugged the equipment cases from the truck bed and stacked them beside a tire.
“Despite the fact that I’ve known you for years, or maybe because I’ve known you for years, I have to put out a big ol’ what the hell are you thinking? She’s staff. You can’t fool around with staff.”
“I care about her.” And it was none of Parker’s goddamned business.
Parker cursed under his breath. “Like all the women before her?”
“You’re not exactly one to talk with the daily rotation of women in and out of your bedroom.”
“Lucy doesn’t need your issues piled on top of everything else she’s dealing with at the station. She needs to focus. Do a good job. Not bang the boss.” Parker grabbed a box of equipment and added it to the growing pile.
“Do not talk about Lucy.”
“This is how you start. When you’re done, you toss them aside.”
“It’s not like that. We’re not like that.” William had never fought for a woman the way he was prepared to fight for Lucy. That meant something. He grabbed an armload of cases and moved to the building behind Parker.
“Don’t drag her through the chaos of your life,” Parker said.
“This time it’s different.” So different. On every level.
Parker caught the door to the building for them both. “This is a mistake.”
“My mistake to make.” William punched the elevator button.
At KDVX, the television in the control room buzzed low while the master control operator kept tabs on the daytime talk shows.
An extravagant bouquet of exotic flowers sat on the edge of Bridgett’s desk. The traditional romance shtick could be key to a relationship with Lucy. William would buy her flowers, take her to dinners, and go slow. They had gotten real serious, real fast. He’d never gone the slow route before. No one he’d ever dated was important enough for time-honored charm with dates and crap. Yeah, he could do it.
Parker began unloading the cameras onto the shelves in the small equipment closet. “I’m only watching your back—and hers. Don’t screw her around.”
“If you’re so worried about it, go rat me out to my dad.”
This conversation was over.
“Rat who out to me?” Joe Covington leaned against the doorjamb. He stood in his four-thousand-dollar suit, briefcase in hand.
Parker flinched.
William couldn’t catch his breath.
They were in the basement of the building, but that didn’t stop William’s stomach from dropping about ten stories. “No one.”
“Glad you made it back in time. I saw your truck in the parking lot. Thought I’d check in with you.” Joe shoved a hand into his slacks pocket. “Can’t believe you’re still driving that old thing.”
William continued to unload the equipment, taking his time to organize the shelves as he worked. “Yeah, well, that old thing’s gotten me where I need to go over the years.”
“Parker, how’s your sister doing?” Joe asked.
William paused. No one asked about Allie. She was expressly off-limits. Parker always made that clear.
“Same.” Parker shifted uncomfortably.
“Glad to hear she’s stable.” Joe nodded to William. “I trust you’ve been over all the documents I forwarded?”
> “You sent them an hour ago, and I just got back. So, nope, haven’t gone through them.”
His father’s expression was unreadable. “You’ll want to do that before morning. Prior proper planning—”
“Prevents piss poor performance,” William finished for him and then went back to organizing.
“You got your story?” Apparently, his father was interested in chit-chat. Fantastic.
“Yeah.” William folded up the last of the equipment cases they’d taken with them.
“Housekeepers stealing stuff?” Parker snagged the inventory clipboard off the hook on the wall.
William shook his head. “Nope. Front desk lady stealing stuff.”
“Sweeps week is coming soon.” His father lifted his briefcase and tucked it under his arm. “Hope you found something you can use.”
Yeah. William rubbed at his neck. “I’ve got some ideas.”
His father leveled a stare at him. “Stories aren’t always organic. Good reporters know when to push boundaries.”
William raised an eyebrow at him. “Better reporters know that pushing boundaries doesn’t mean testing the waters of journalistic ethics for the sake of ratings.”
Yeah, William had been the victim of pushing ethical boundaries on television once. It had cost him years of his life to repair his image because the producer of a stupid reality show wanted better ratings.
“Ratings mean money. Money pays the bills. It’s all about the ratings, son.”
“Journalism is supposed to be about truth, not ratings, Dad.”
Dad stared at him for a long beat before he smiled nearly imperceptibly and walked away.
William stared into the blank space his father left behind. What had that whole thing been about anyway?
“What kind of story did you end up with?” Parker asked as he counted tripods.
William leaned against the shelf. “We got good video, and they double-booked our room. The front desk clerk broke into our room and took cash. I’ve got a load to work with.”
Parker nodded and ticked the boxes on the inventory form.
“So, tell me, how’s life in the lion’s den with my dad? Sounds like you two are pretty chummy with him asking about Allie. You never talk to anyone about her.”
The Honeymoon Trap Page 15
