by Allie Burton
The rigid line of his jaw dipped, and his eyelids lowered. He buried his head into her. Buried into her heart. “Jay and I argued. He stormed out of the house and drove away.”
Swallowing, she realized he must’ve been bottling this up since the accident. Blaming himself and not talking to anyone. “You said Jay didn’t cause the accident. So even if he was upset about your argument, he didn’t get in the accident because of your disagreement.”
Paul took a shattering breath, his entire body moving with the intake of air. “Maybe Jay would’ve been paying better attention, been able to stop in time…I don’t know.”
Compassion cascaded inside her. She dug her fingers into Paul’s hair, holding him close. He sounded lost. He’d held the guilt inside for days and now it came exploding out. Because she’d pushed him. Or did he trust her with hard truths?
She ached to hold him closer, tighter. She wanted to take the suffering away. “What were you two arguing about?”
He raised his head and the loss of his warmth chilled. His glare lasered, catching her in his sights. “You.”
The single word was a bullet. She knew Paul disagreed with his brother’s plans. She understood he’d been angry when Jay had signed with her. Nausea churned in her stomach. She’d come between the two brothers.
“I’m sorry.” She dropped a kiss on Paul’s forehead wanting to soothe whatever wounds she’d created. “I didn’t mean to cause trouble.” She kissed him on the nose, a gentle comforting kiss. “I’ll cancel the contract when Jay’s better.”
Paul’s gaze went from focused to foggy. The blue depths became smoky with desire. That smolder, that desire, had her body liquifying and she wanted to take him in. He stared as if she was the only one. No one had ever regarded her with such desire and intensity. She wanted him to always look at her with such ferocity. “No. Don’t cancel anything, Vivi.”
She didn’t know if it was the nickname, his ridiculous guilty confession, her willingness to listen, or the attraction arcing between them whenever they were close, but the mood changed. The air charged. Their connection strengthened.
Her body leaned toward him. She was drawn to him like no one else. She’d been drawn to him on the side of the mountain the first night. That’s why she took him to bed. She’d believed it had been a combination of fear, loneliness at her memories, and lust. It had been more. He’d been more. And she’d been too afraid to see what happened. So when he asked her on a date, she’d said no. She’d run scared.
Her muscles firmed. She didn’t want to run anymore. He’d been brave with his confession. She needed to be brave and see where this would lead.
His mouth planted on hers, rooted, a desperate attempt to regain control. Her lips tingled, and she responded. The kiss was rugged, comforting, and sensual. Had she ever used those words to describe a kiss?
No, because only his kiss evoked such emotions.
The excitement and its meaning sparked along her spine, setting off a chain reaction of desire bursting beneath her skin. Her fingers slid from his hair to his forehead to his cheeks. The tips sensed a wetness—a trail of his tears. A lump formed in her throat. She didn’t want to take advantage of him in such an emotional state. She didn’t want him regretting this later.
“Are you sure about this?” She whispered against his lips.
He answered with his mouth, pressing harder and ravishing her. His tongue dove between her lips, enticing her tongue to come out and play. His hands roved down her back to her waist and he lifted her sweater caressing her back. Her skin flamed.
She arched into him, pressing her front to his front. The length of his erection rode against her core. Streaks of light shot through her. “Oh, Paul.”
“Vivi.” The desperation in his tone set a new fire inside her. “I want you. I need you.”
The word need pressed against her conscious. Was needing the same thing as loving? Air swooshed through her. Is that what she wanted? There’d been hints over the past few months. Her inability to forget this man. Her search for him every time she visited town. Her need to be at his side when his brother was injured. Her compulsion to comfort and console.
And kiss him, too.
She knew one thing. “I want you, too.” Wanted to ease the pain. To comfort and caress. Just to get close.
His hands went to her waist and undid the button and zipper on her pants. His finger traced a line from one side of her abdomen to the other. Her stomach clenched with want. The sensations he elicited amazed. He pushed her pants off her hips while kissing her neck.
“Wait.” She hated speaking up. “What if someone comes in?”
“Door’s locked.” The whisper in her ear sent excited chills across her skin. “Take off your shoes and pants.”
While she did as told, he slipped off his own jeans and underwear. His penis stood erect. A thick steel rod coated in silk she couldn’t wait to run her hands over. Reaching out, she ran a finger over the top. A bead appeared, and she wanted the wetness inside her. Running her palm up and down his shaft, her core ignited, and anticipation soared.
His body responded. He grew bigger and he rubbed his naked body against hers setting off mini explosions of desire. She wanted him now.
Air caught between her ribs. “Condom. I don’t have a condom.” She’d provided the one last time. They couldn’t be deduced to a desperate scramble again.
His laughter rumbled through her. “We’re in a fully stocked medical facility. I’m sure there’s one in my med kit.”
Swiveling, he moved to the desk and bent to open an orange toolbox. The rounded apples of his butt stuck up in the air and took her breath away. He had a nice ass. She snuck behind him and nipped.
“Hey!” He whirled around and grabbed her butt, squeezing between his hands. “No biting.”
“Awe. You’re taking the fun out of it.” She tossed the tease easily and he laughed again.
She’d never joked with a lover before. There’d always been too much of a business aspect to it. Slot A into opening B. Cold and distant, each trying to reach their own climax. Sex with Paul hadn’t been that kind of experience. Not the first time, and not now either.
This meant more than sex, more than lovemaking.
“Then I’ll be the one doing the biting.” His mouth nibbled at her neck. He bit her earlobe. His mouth returned to kissing by tenderly chewing on her lips.
Sensation after sensation swarmed her with each nip. Electrical currents sizzled from every spot his lips made contact and lit a heated path to her core. Her hands roamed his naked body, not focusing, only feeling.
He whipped off her sweater and tweaked her breast. Her nipples pebbled. All rational thought was lost. He wanted her. She wanted him. That’s what mattered.
His body moved hers backward in a slow dance of desire. His hands spanned her waist and he lifted her off the ground.
“Paul?” The weightlessness made her experience a falling sensation. Falling in love. Her heart compressed and quivered and fell. Fell with confusion and fell with fear. She couldn’t be in love. It was too much, too soon.
He laid her on the gurney with tender care and ripped open the foil packet. She tried to control the dizziness. The realization wouldn’t let go. She loved Paul.
Loved his tenderness and humor. Loved how he cared for his family. Loved his devotion to his job and to the town of Castle Ridge. Loved how he made her feel.
“Sorry we don’t have a bed.” Balancing, he climbed onto the narrow gurney.
“I believe you promised me the second time we made love would be in a more interesting location.” Back then, she hadn’t believed it would ever happened again. “This is certainly a more interesting location.”
“Not more comfortable.” He kneeled between her legs and held his body up his with carved arms.
“Who needs comfort? All I need is you.”
* * *
Vivi’s words were a balm to Paul’s soul. His anger at himself had caused him to act badly
toward her. His distrust of the situation and the way she’d used him the first time they’d made love tangled his emotions and tied them in a knot.
Did she mean what she said or was that pillow talk? Did she feel for him as much as he felt for her?
Because he felt plenty. They’d started their relationship backwards. He only wanted to move forward from here. She’d listened to his confession, didn’t judge and had helped him see the nonsense of his claim. She might not understand the parenting gene and how guilt rammed you for everything that happened to your child, but she understood him. Connected to him.
She comforted him and excited him. And he wanted to thrill her. Wanted to prove he was more than a mountain man from a small town. Wanted to prove how good they’d be together.
Not only when they made love, always.
The permanence of the sentiment sent an electrified shock through his body. He wanted to discover how their relationship would progress. To spend time together, get to know each other, learn about each other’s past and present.
The only thing he wanted to learn about her right now was the best way to please.
Trying not to fall off the narrow gurney, he worked his way down her body with kisses. The gurney rocked slightly adding a risky-erotic element to the journey. A kiss on the sensitive spot at her neck. A swirl of his tongue around her breast. A trail of sucking kisses down her abdomen to her womanly core.
She moaned.
Oh yes. Elation is what he wanted her to experience. Knowing she felt good, made him feel good. His cock swelled and spasmed wanting to sense the heat he’d kindled.
Patience.
He nuzzled his face at her apex and licked her sensitive, already swollen nub. Her taste of honey soothed any doubts. He stroked with his tongue, eliciting more moans. Her hips bucked off the gurney as she searched for release. She was so close. He needed to give her this, to show her they were good together in many ways.
“Come on, baby.” He whispered, his mouth moving against her core.
His tongue moved faster. He wanted her experience to be exquisite because she was exquisite. He swirled around her nib. He wanted to make up for the way he’d acted, mistrustful and mean. He sucked on her core. He wanted her to feel his love.
Love?
The word orgasmed through him at the same time she orgasmed beneath him. The single word pulsed and pounded in his head. The deep-rooted reason he’d been mad at her from the start, why he didn’t trust her with his brother, why he believed she’d dump his brother the second she could. Because she’d dumped him.
Oh, hell. He loved Vivienne.
And she was leaving town tomorrow.
* * *
Paul woke up in his bed alone.
A normal occurrence, except after last night he expected everything in his world to be different. He and Vivi had made love in his cramped hospital office. She’d orgasmed again, together with him. They were in sync with each other.
His cock hardened remembering how in sync.
It wasn’t just making love. She’d listened and understood and been understanding of his confession. She believed in him, and he believed in her. He’d been too stupid after their original encounter, and too biased when he discovered she was the agent who’d signed his brother.
He couldn’t believe he’d made love to her at work. Not professional and talk about ruining both their reputations if they’d been discovered. They’d gotten dressed and he’d driven her home, to his home, not as if this was a date but as if this was their final destination.
As a serious couple.
A date. He put his flat palm up against the wall they shared. They’d both wanted to spend the night together, but he needed to explain things to his sisters first. He’d talk to them today. Talk to his sisters and plan a real date. Dinner at The Heights with deep conversation, a moonlit stroll down Main Street holding hands, a kiss to end the evening.
His cock pushed against the sheet, protesting. Okay, he wanted more than a kiss. He wanted all of her. He also wanted to get to know her, everything about her. They’d found each other. He loved her. She loved him. The words hadn’t been spoken, but it was there in every touch and caress.
Getting out of bed, he threw on a pair of shorts. Even though the house was quiet, he couldn’t wait any longer. He tiptoed out of his bedroom and went to make coffee first, picturing doing this for her every morning.
Keaton sat in the kitchen with her knees drawn up on the chair. “Morning.”
“Good morning.” He couldn’t keep the cheerfulness from his tone even though he still worried about his brother. If things could work out between him and Vivi, then things would work out with his brother.
“You’re sure happy.” Keaton’s voice lifted at the end questioning why this would be so. “I thought you and Vivienne had another fight.”
“We didn’t have a fight.” What they’d had was an amazing bout of lovemaking. He’d realized he loved her, and she’d realized she felt something for him, too. It had been in the way her hand clung to his as they drove home and the meaningful kiss goodnight at her bedroom door. He still floated on a cloud.
“Did you say something to upset her?” Keaton’s chin jutted in allegation.
“No.” He hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d made Vivi feel wonderful which made him feel wonderful. He should tell his sister now about this new-found relationship. Let both his sisters know he and Vivi would be going on a date tonight and continue seeing each other in the future. Sure, they’d need to work out the logistics of her living in Florida and him being in Castle Ridge. With the way they felt about each other they’d figure it out.
Keaton stood sliding the chair back with a scraping noise. “Then, why was Vivienne sneaking out of the house earlier this morning?”
It took a moment for the comment to register. Sneaking out of the house? His floating happy cloud collapsed. “No. Couldn’t be.”
The cloud surrounded, suffocating him. She wouldn’t leave without saying anything to him. Struggling to swallow air, he pounded toward her bedroom door. He wrapped on the wood panel. “Vivi?”
She must be sleeping. His sister must’ve dreamt she’d left. It wouldn’t be a dream for him. It would be a nightmare. When he didn’t hear a response, he cracked open the door and peeked inside. “Vivi?”
The bed was made. No one lying beneath the covers. No Vivienne.
The nightmare exploded in his head. He choked, strangling what little air he’d forced into his lungs.
The bed was empty. And she was gone.
Chapter Nine
Vivienne huddled on the hard, plastic bench at the tiny Castle Ridge airport. Private planes and chartered flights buzzed flying in and out of the mountain town. And of course, her flight was delayed giving her too much time to think.
And doubt.
She loved Paul. The thought dropped into her belly and relit the small fire burning since she first came to the conclusion. She loved Paul. A tremble ran the length of her body because the emotion terrified. What terrified her more? He might love her back. Terrified her so much she was running back to Miami. Or flying actually.
A heavy weight pressed on her remembering how she’d snuck out of the house resembling a guilty woman, or a loose one having an illicit affair. She’d never said goodbye. Never gave him the chance to express his feelings. Never let herself express hers.
The way he’d held her after making love demonstrated how he felt. The way he’d escorted her home with care. The way he’d kissed her goodnight by the door of his sister’s room explaining his reasons why. He respected her. He cared for her. He had to love her, right? It was part of his DNA.
Cringing, she rolled her shoulders and wanted to curl her entire body into a ball. She’d been a coward. Because if they loved each other he’d expect her to move to Castle Ridge. Meaning she’d have to adjust client expectations of flying to see them at a moment’s notice or give up her career entirely. She’d have to sell her beachfront cond
o and she’d miss the sunny skies.
Closing her eyelids tight, she pictured her morning stroll on the beach. Except the sun didn’t seem as bright or the ocean as blue. Not as blue as Paul’s eyes.
“I don’t have time for a weather delay.” The man’s hard tone cut through her thoughts.
Wearing an expensive designer business suit like armor, he marched past. His perfectly-styled hair didn’t have a strand out of place. His taut facial features and glare exhibited he was uptight, impatient, and unhappy.
The man reminded her of herself. Always rushing from one deal to the next. Always hating delays. Always alone.
Never happy.
Shivering, she imagined her life in the future. Is that what she wanted? To be rich and successful and alone? She loved her job, but did it make her happy? Especially when she could reach out and grab the winning trifecta? Paul’s love. His family. A happy future together.
Because her love for him was forever. She knew it by the steadiness of her heartbeat and the urge to be part of him, part of his life, and part of his family.
The moment Keaton and Colby had scampered into Jay’s hospital room popped. Their love and concern for each other. The way Paul had wrapped his arms around both sisters. Their hope for their brother. All that love in one place. And she could be part of it. She only had to tell him how she felt.
Like balancing pebbles on top of each other at the beach, she might topple. Her career would falter. Travel in and out of Castle Ridge was difficult. It wasn’t a quick flight to anywhere in the country or the world. There was electronic communication, video conferencing, online document signing. She could handle it. She could handle anything with Paul by her side. Even relocating to Castle Ridge.
Why was she risking the love of a lifetime?
* * *
“I’m going to Miami to talk to Vivienne.” The decision slipped out of Paul’s mouth before he had time to think about the repercussions of telling his family and the ski coach. He’d explained how she’d left early this morning to go back to Miami, and of course everyone from Jay to Keaton wanted to know why.
