by Laura Kaye
They hit an alignment-destroying rut in the road and Kady threw out her arms to steady herself on a surprised cry. One hand grasped the back of the seat in front of her, brushing Colton’s forearm in the process.
His gaze cut back to her and his eyes narrowed at the gap in the front of the suit jacket her position had created. “Better hold on tight, cupcake.”
“Oh, don’t worry, Colt, I will,” she said, returning his annoying term of endearment with the nickname she knew he found equally grating. His gaze was almost a physical caress on her face and breasts, but Kady refused to meet it because she didn’t want him to see that his words had affected her again. But in truth, the stupid little term of endearment curled anger into her belly because it took her right back to the night three years before when the competitiveness and tension between them had flashed red hot and led to the single most intense sexual experience of her life. And they hadn’t even had sex. Not because she hadn’t wanted to, but because Colton had developed second thoughts and declared the whole thing a mistake.
The wheels caught in another pothole that tossed Kady in her seat.
Their hookup had happened at the party welcoming Colton home from the military. Before that night, she’d only seen him now and then when he’d come home on leave and hung out with her brother. But that night, from the moment she’d seen Colton out on the back deck leaning against the railing, beer in hand and absolutely glorious smile on his suntanned face, he’d totally stolen her breath. During his two tours in the army, he’d gone from a gorgeous boy to an incredibly hot man who had the filled-out, muscular body, survival skills, and wartime experiences to justify the arrogance that had always been part of his personality. Her friend Regan, who had a knack for summing people up in just three words, didn’t refer to Colton as a loyal, driven badass for nothing.
Kady could certainly agree with the “ass” part anyway.
“Well, damn. Is that really you, cupcake?” Those were the first words he’d said to her that night. The nickname had been cute for about five minutes when she’d been, like, thirteen, and afterward he’d continued to call her that simply because he knew it annoyed her.
And though she’d teased right back that eight years in the military apparently hadn’t changed him at all, it hadn’t taken her long to realize that wasn’t actually the case. Because all night, Colton had looked at her differently. Like, for the first time in their lives, he actually saw her, and not just Tyler’s little sister. Her. Kady. The twenty-three-year-old woman.
After hours of circling each other and subtle glances that had turned more brazen the later it had gotten, he’d walked into the pool house after she’d changed into her bikini and stared at her like a starving man at a feast. “Problem?” she’d asked. And his answer to the question had been to close them in one of the dressing rooms, kiss her senseless, and make her scream his name not once but twice, first with his thick fingers and then with his mouth. God, between his dirty talk and rough handling he’d had her so out of her mind she’d freaking begged for him to fuck her. In that moment, nothing else had mattered but him burying himself as deep inside her as he could go.
Then her brother—who had the gift of perhaps the worst timing in the history of man—had come looking for Colton, and the sound of Tyler’s voice had totally thrown Colton out of the moment and sent him flailing back from her like she was a snake that might strike him down.
What was worse was that, in college, Regan and Kady’s sorority sister Christine had predicted that outcome—both how incendiary Kady and Colton would be if they ever gave in to the chemistry brewing between them and the fact that he’d pull a duck and cover. Which was exactly what he’d done. But had Kady listened? Nope. She’d led with her body instead of her brain and gotten her heart stomped on for her trouble.
Ugh, whatever.
Thunder crashed above them, pulling Kady out of the memory. She wished she could make out some detail of the passing scenery through the rain-blurred windows because she really didn’t need to dwell on how he’d commanded her body that night, nor on the humiliating words he’d said afterward. Not with the man himself sitting two feet in front of her.
Besides, young girl crush aside, it wasn’t like she had feelings for him or anything. Despite the fact that he was the only man who’d ever been able to get her off. She could take care of herself just fine, but other men? Kady didn’t know if Colton had ruined her or held the only key to her lock, but either way, it didn’t matter. She could never get there no matter how hard she—or her lovers—tried. At this rate, it might be a wise financial investment to buy stock in Duracell.
Kady’s cheeks caught on absolute fire at the thought. Sitting. In. Front. Of. You. Dresco. Right. No more thinking about orgasms or lack thereof in the presence of the infuriating sex god. Got it.
Needing a distraction, Kady pulled out her iPhone and thumbed open her email. She needed to let Christine know she wouldn’t be home today so she wouldn’t worry, but the little loading icon spun and spun but never actually produced any new emails. She tried her social media accounts and found more of the same. With a sigh, she dropped the phone back into her purse.
As the rain drummed on the van’s metal roof, Kady imagined the gorgeous weather she’d no doubt be enjoying back home in southern San Fran. Her firm, Resnick Security Services, was headquartered in California’s Silicon Valley. She loved living near the Pacific Ocean, visiting the wineries, and going out with Christine and their girlfriends to all the amazing restaurants in the city, but she still missed the mountains of Boulder where she’d grown up and her family still lived.
Finally, another series of harsh bounces had them turning into the lot of the Desert Paradise Motel. Through the windows, she could just make out the long one-story, cinder-block building with doors facing the parking lot. At one end sat a small office, and beyond that a bright-orange roof covered what appeared to be a diner. Seemed to her the ratio between desert and paradise at the place was just a bit off.
The soldier brought the van to a stop and turned around in the driver’s seat. “The travel office booked you reservations here, so you’ll need to give them a credit card for incidentals, but the rooms are covered with late checkout. Assuming the roads reopen, we have you booked on the same evening flights tomorrow. Those are the first available. So, if Mother Nature cooperates, I’ll be here at fifteen hundred to take you to the airport.”
Colton nodded. “Roger that.”
“This place is the best you can do?” Beckstein asked, a sneer on his little round face.
The soldier didn’t take the bait and instead smiled. Kady wanted to give him a high five. “Yes, sir. Before the base, Panther Canyon was little more than a crossroads. This is the only motel in town until the new Best Western is finished.”
Beckstein released a long-suffering sigh. “Whole day lost,” he grumbled as he scrambled out of the van and into the rain.
Kady scooted to the edge of her seat and slipped her purse and laptop case under her arm where Colton’s coat would help keep them dry. “Sorry about him,” she called. “It’s not your fault it’s raining.”
The soldier grinned. “Thank you, ma’am.” He pointed out the front window. “The diner over there has decent burgers and great milk shakes if y’all get hungry later.”
“Sounds good,” Colton said, hauling open the sliding door. Wind and rain blew in so hard it made Kady catch her breath. Colton jumped out, his back hunched to offer some protection to his own computer, and offered Kady a hand. See? Sometimes, he could actually be a gentleman.
“Thank you,” she called to the driver as she accepted Colton’s hand. “And thank you, too,” she said to Colton.
“Did…did I hear Kady Dresco just thank me?” he asked, humor playing around his eyes and mouth.
Kady stepped down, the force of the rain making it hard to give him a good smirk. “Yes, but now I’m regretting it,” she said just as her foot sank into a deep, cold puddle, throwing her o
ff-balance.
She wobbled on her heels and Colton caught her with a hand on her ribs. “Okay?” he asked, dark eyes gazing down at her so intensely that for a moment she barely felt the rain on her face and shoulders.
“Yeah. Fine.” She pulled her hand free. She might find him irritating 90 percent of the time, but it was better to keep contact to a minimum, especially when he managed a bit of sweetness or charm. Because sweet and Colton equaled a lethal cocktail she’d never been able to resist.
Colton closed the door and then they dashed the short way across the lot to the entrance to the office. Kady could’ve sworn he kept a hand on the small of her back, as if he stood at the ready in case the combination of her three-inch heels and the two-inch-deep puddles made her unsteady again.
Beckstein pushed out of the door as they reached it, and of course he didn’t let them in first. What a ginormous asswipe.
Finally, they made it in out of the rain and stood dripping on the old linoleum floor of the tiny office.
“You can check in first,” Colton said, running a hand through his wet hair.
Kady’s phone rang. “Oh. Go ahead,” she said as she dug for the cell. Her assistant launched into a rundown of client calls before Kady stopped her. “Can you put all of this in an email to me? I’m stranded here overnight due to a storm, but if you send me everything I’ll return any calls I can today and all the rest tomorrow. Oh, and can you email Carson and copy me so we can reschedule the site visit I was supposed to do tomorrow?” A few more housekeeping matters kept her on the phone for another minute or two before she hung up and approached the registration desk just as Colton finished.
The man on the other side of the ancient, stained counter was quite possibly as old as the desert itself. He pushed his glasses up, then stared down his nose at her. “Welcome to paradise,” he said with a straight face.
Kady burst out laughing before she could stop herself. She slapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry,” she said.
He blinked lazily, as if she hadn’t just made an ass of herself. “Can I help you?”
“Right. Yes. I’m Kady Dresco. I’m with the guys who just checked in.” She glanced over her shoulder toward Colton, who stood by the door shaking his head at her. “What?” she mouthed.
“Here you go, missy.” In almost slow motion, and without really taking his gaze off the small television that sat to the side, the receptionist lifted a key off a row of hooks and pushed it across the counter to her. Before long, she was all checked in and held an actual metal key on a ring in her hand. The large plastic tag read “2.”
“Are there any stores that might sell clothing nearby?” she asked.
The man squinted for a moment, then shook his head. “Not unless you want something from the tack shop, which is about five miles from here. Otherwise, nearest shopping is in Battle Mountain. Won’t get there in this weather, though.”
About what Kady expected. Oh, well. Looked like she had an appointment with a hair dryer, after all. “Okay, thanks.”
Colton held up his key chain as she crossed the room toward him. “At least you won’t be able to forget your room number,” he said with a smirk.
“Shut up,” she said. You forget your room number and try to enter someone else’s room on one family vacation—of course, one where your brother’s hot best friend tags along—and you never live it down.
“Good comeback.” He winked as he pushed the door open for her.
Kady rolled her eyes as she sidestepped past him and out into the humid June afternoon. A narrow sidewalk skirted close to the building from the office around to the long row of guest rooms. Rain fell in a sheet over the edge of the obviously overworked gutter. It was almost like walking behind a waterfall. “This is me,” Kady said at the second room.
“I’m in ten,” he said, gesturing past her. “Do you mind?”
“What? Oh,” she said. The sidewalk wasn’t wide enough for him to get around her without getting caught in the downpour. “Not afraid of a little rain, are ya?” He just looked at her. She grinned as she slipped the key into the lock and pushed open her door.
Kady froze.
It was raining. Inside her room. From about a half dozen places on the ceiling, water dripped at speeds ranging from Chinese water torture to what could only be described as a steady stream. The latter was right over the only bed in the room.
From behind her, she heard a low, male chuckle. “Not afraid of a little rain, are ya?”
Chapter Two
Colton Brooks couldn’t hold back laughing as Kady’s expression shifted from surprised to downright horrified. Really, he appreciated just about any reason to throw her off-kilter. Teasing and one-upmanship had always been their style, especially as her innate coding and hacking abilities emerged during her teenage years while he was six years older and busting his ass to master what came to her naturally. And since her older brother, Tyler, had been one of his best friend since…forever, Colton and Kady had been thrown together enough over the years to fuel the flames of their rivalry.
Fortunately, nowadays, that rivalry served the strategically important purpose of distracting Colton from what he’d otherwise be thinking about, especially now that Kady was all grown up—which was stripping her down and claiming her in every way a man could claim a woman.
Despite the fact that the very sexy real thing was standing an arm’s length away, a three-year-old image flashed into his mind’s eye. Kady’s face up close in the dimness of the pool house. Mouth open and eyes pleading as he boxed her up against the wall, restrained her hands above her head, and got her off with his fingers while his cock strained against her belly.
The memory was a sucker punch to the gut and shot blood southward.
Cut it out, Brooks.
Hot as that night had been and as often as it ran through the solitude of his thoughts, it had been a mistake then. And it remained one now. For a whole fucking host of reasons.
So, since he couldn’t give in to what he really wanted from Kady Dresco, he picked on her and snarked at her and generally gave her grief. And she gave it right back. None of it was ever mean-spirited and he suspected she enjoyed it every bit as much as he did. Sometimes he thought they were engaged in one long round of mental foreplay. Except they could never—would never—seal the deal.
Because Kady deserved a helluva lot better than him.
Colton stepped into the room right behind Kady and surveyed the water damage, which was much safer than admiring the way she looked in his jacket. No way he should like that as much as he did—or that he should take even an iota of satisfaction from the idea that his scent was now all over her. He cleared his throat. “You don’t even have to get out of bed to take a shower. Really, it’s such a time saver.”
The fiery green of her gaze cut to his face. “You are so funny, I can hardly breathe for the laughter,” she said with a completely straight face.
“Ooh, touchy,” he said, fighting back the smile that threatened.
She held out her key. “You like it so much, I’m happy to trade.”
He shook his head and let the smile loose. “Not a chance, Dresco.”
Kady rolled her eyes. “Uh-huh. Out of my way, then,” she said, pushing against his stomach and stepping past him.
He fisted his hands to restrain himself from acting on the urge to trap her against him, his fingers pressing into her soft skin. And right there was part of the problem where they were concerned—his sexual interests veered to the rough side. Definitely not the kind of thing you did to a nice girl six years your junior who you’d known when she wore pigtails and who was one of your best friends’ little sister. And even if Colton could get past all that, he couldn’t see Kady putting up with being manhandled and controlled in bed for even one minute.
“Sonofabitch,” he muttered beneath his breath as he forced his body under control and followed Kady back around the sidewalk to the office. She glanced over her shoulder, a question clear in thos
e beautiful eyes. He hiked his computer case higher on his shoulder and pretended not to notice.
Inside, Kady marched up to the desk and laid her key on the counter. “Excuse me?”
“Welcome to paradise,” the old man said. Kady didn’t laugh this time, though she did make an Oh my God, would you get a load of this guy? face over her shoulder at him. “Oh, you again, missy?” Colton smiled to himself as he imagined her reaction if he called her “missy.”
“Yes, sir. It’s raining in my room. I need another.”
The man cupped his hand to his ear. “Eh?”
“It’s raining in my current room,” she said slower and louder. “Can I please get a different room?”
For a long moment, the old dude just stared at her. No discernible reaction. “Oh, that’s right,” he finally said with a slow nod. “Two has a leak.”
Colton coughed to hide his laugh and covered his mouth with his fist.
“Um, with all due respect, sir. It’s raining in room two. As in, actual rain. In the room. On the furniture. On the carpet. On the bed.” She offered a hand motion that was apparently meant to illustrate the point.
The man stared at her hand like it might reveal the meaning of life and then shrugged when it didn’t. “I just work the desk, but I’ll let ’em know.”
Kady looked back at Colton with a totally bewildered expression on her face. He gave her a wink.
“Uh, okay,” she said as she tucked her long, wavy black hair behind her ears. It was longer than when he’d last seen her at Christmas, which made it even sexier. His hand twitched at the memory of how soft and thick her hair was, not to mention the thought of how damn good it would feel fisted in his hand while he—
“So, have any rooms without a leak?” she asked.
“O’ course,” the man said, glancing at the television. “Except we don’t have any vacancies.”
She settled her purse and laptop bag on the counter. “You mean—”
