by Alicia Rae
I chuckled. “That’s great he helps you.”
“Yes, he does. He’s like my superhero and a super dad all rolled into one sexy package.” Lily faced me and blushed, fanning herself. “Sometimes, I have to douse myself with a cold shower just to keep from overheating in his presence.”
“Wow. You’d better not let him go then. He definitely sounds like a keeper.” I winked.
“Oh, I won’t.” Lily giggled. “So, where would you like us to put our bags for the night?”
“I’ll show you.” I motioned for Lily to follow me down the hallway to the left of the kitchen, heading in the opposite direction of Colton’s room. “There are three spare bedrooms past the bathroom. You all can choose which one you’d like.” I noticed we were one bed short for our guests. “One couple will have to stay in Colton’s office.”
“Okay,” Lily said as we came to the first room on the right. “This one will be fine for Kyle and me.”
“Why don’t you go ahead and get settled? And I’ll bring you some fresh linens.”
“Thank you, dear.” Lily smiled.
I walked over to the linen closet, pulled out some towels and extra blankets, and divided them between the rooms. Next, I grabbed an air mattress, entered Colton’s office, and found an outlet.
Kyle came down the hallway and peeked his head into the room. “Where are Lily and I staying for the night, Pixie?”
I pointed across the hall. “First door on the right.”
“Got it.” Kyle nodded before continuing onward.
I turned the pump on and started to fill the air mattress when Colton entered the room. “Need some help?”
“No, thanks. I got it covered.”
Colton’s expression filled with humor. “Who’s taking this room?”
“Not sure yet. But I figured we needed it, so no one has to sleep on the couch.”
“Guess they’ll have to fight for it.” Colton chuckled. “I’ll show the rest of them around.”
“Sounds good.”
After the mattress was full, I quickly opened the sheets and made the bed as I overheard Colton leading Audrey and Blake to a guest bedroom. Gail and Damon offered to take the office, so Jason and Abbey would be staying in the other guest room.
Gail and Damon walked into the office with two small suitcases just as I finished fluffing the pillows.
“You didn’t have to do that, Paige. I could have helped,” Gail said as she set her luggage next to the far wall.
“Nonsense.” I laughed and rose to my feet. “You guys are our guests. I’ll let you two get settled in.”
“Thank you,” Damon said.
I headed for the door, so they could have some privacy. “Of course.”
I went back into the living room to pick up the odds and ends around the room. It was amazing to see how fast knick-knacks and garbage could clutter an area. Our friends congregated back into the living room and pitched in to help put things away.
By the time the ten of us finished, we all plopped ourselves down on the furniture wherever there was room. Kyle had Lily tucked in his arms on the couch while Jason and Abbey snuggled together on the love seat with their legs hanging over one end. Gail was sprawled out on top of Damon in the La-Z-Boy chair in the corner of the room. And Audrey was nestled into Blake’s side on the floor in a massive bundle of blankets and pillows.
Colton was the only one missing from the room. His bedroom door was shut, so I assumed he was showering.
Kyle had the remote in his hand as he flipped through the channels. “How is it that we pay a boatload for cable, and when the time comes, not a single good movie is on?” he asked in wonder.
“I don’t know, but that shit happens to us all the time,” Jason huffed.
“How about we watch a movie on Netflix?” Gail asked from Damon’s lap.
Lily lifted her head and peered over at Gail. “Oh, yes! Didn’t Horrible Bosses with Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman just release?”
“Yes! I wanted to see that!” Abbey chimed in.
Suddenly, I found myself unable to resist the urge to yawn. The hard day of work had finally caught up to me, and I was exhausted. Furthermore, it was getting late, and my body was craving a hot shower to ease the ache in my muscles before going to the bed that was calling my name.
The thought of staying the night crossed my mind as I longed to drift to sleep in my cowboy’s arms. I frowned and tossed the idea away. Colton had been so quiet toward me today—not that I could blame him because we had all worked our butts off—so I didn’t exactly feel comfortable with inviting myself over to stay the night.
I crossed the living room en route to the front door and smiled. “Well, I’ll see you all bright and early in the morning. Good night.”
“Wait.” Lily’s soft voice cut in, making me spin around to face her. “Aren’t you staying the night, too?”
At her confused expression, my heart sank as it dawned on me that our friends had no idea why I was leaving.
Eight pairs of eyes landed on me, making me feel out of place and embarrassed. With the worst possible timing, Colton rounded the corner. His hair was wet from a shower as he entered the room in an old worn T-shirt and lounge pants. It wasn’t fair that he looked so irresistibly sexy.
Not wanting to see Colton’s inquisitive stare, I forced my gaze back to Lily. “Uh,” I fumbled for a response while I kept my eyes off of Colton, sensing his were surely on me. “No,” I answered at last and smiled. “But I’ll be back at sunrise to make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.”
“Man, chocolate and pancakes mixed together sound too good to be true,” Jason groaned.
“Oh, okay,” Lily murmured. Then, she offered an apologetic smile.
Of course, I wasn’t mad at her because it wasn’t her fault for asking an innocent question. Last everyone had heard at our camping trip in Lake Tahoe, Colton and I were back together, not in the middle of this mountainous bump in the road, as my father liked to call it.
“Well, good night.” I maintained a light voice and barreled for the door to slip on my boots.
Once outside, I shut the door at my back and beelined for my Gator. My humiliation increased with every step. But it wasn’t until I sat on my utility vehicle and turned over the key that I realized my cheeks were wet with tears at my utter embarrassment.
I wiped at them, pressed down on the brake, and set my right hand on the gearshift.
“Paige, wait!” Colton called, jogging long strides toward me.
I released a shaky breath and held my foot on the brake pedal. Colton came to a stop at my side, and I gazed up at him.
“What, Colton?” I snipped, unable to control myself.
“You don’t have to leave.”
His baby-blue eyes shone with genuine remorse. However, it didn’t settle my nerves. It only heightened them.
“You haven’t wanted me to stay the night for the past week, so why would you now?” I bit back the second wave of tears threatening to spill over. “I don’t want your pity, Colton. I’m a big girl. I can go home and sleep in my own bed.”
Colton scowled at me. “You know damn well that pity has nothing to do with it, and it pisses me off that you think it does.”
I pressed my thumb against the corner knob of the gearshift, preparing to put my Gator in drive. I broke our connection and stared at my steering wheel. I was not ready to go back inside and face our friends’ curious eyes, so I said, “I think it’s best if I go.”
“No one is judging you, Paige,” Colton said.
At his gift for reading my thoughts, my attention darted back to his face.
“I want you to stay with me.” He leaned over and spun my key to the left, turning the ignition off.
The beating of my heart slamming into my chest sounded in my ears as Colton took the key and stuck it in the front pocket of his lounge pants. Then, he raised his hands above his head and rested his forearms on the metal roll cage of my Gator, caging me in.
His eyes went dark, causing him to look strikingly hot. “You can either walk inside with me, or I can carry you, baby. Either way, you’re sleeping in my bed tonight.”
Well, shit!
I gaped at him and yelled, “That’s not playing fair!”
“Neither is this,” he muttered under his breath as he brought his hand to my waist. Pulling me off the Gator, he hoisted me onto his shoulders.
“Colton!” I shrieked, compelling myself not to laugh out loud. “You didn’t even give me time to decide!”
“There is no decision to be made.” He smacked my ass. “You’re all mine, and you will sleep in my bed.”
As he walked in the direction of his house, I heard Kyle shout, “Damn straight! That’s how it’s done!”
“Get your woman!” Blake joined in.
“Don’t take his shit, Paige! Show him who’s boss!” Gail yelled. Then, she squealed loudly before laughing uncontrollably.
“Oh my god,” I cried, staring at my view of the ground. “Please tell me they all aren’t watching us.”
“Oh, they are.” Colton chuckled a mischievous throaty sound. “Actually, all eight of those crazy asses either have their faces glued to the front window or are peeking their heads out the door.”
“Nice,” I sighed in exasperation. “You’re so going to pay for this, cowboy.”
He tightened his arm around the lower half of my body and tugged me forward. Oh-so slowly, my front side slid down his chest until my toes reached the ground. The porch light allowed me to see Colton’s eyes. They were locked on mine as he grinned wickedly.
“Looking forward to it.”
“Audrey! Lily! Help me!” Gail cried, giggling near the door that Colton must have left ajar when he’d come outside after me.
Damon was on top of his wife, tickling her. “So, who’s the boss?” he taunted her.
I raised a brow at Colton and shoved at his chest. “Look what you started,” I teased. “You got Gail in trouble with her man.”
Colton didn’t budge at my efforts. Instead, he yanked me into him and lifted his hand to my cheek. “You should be more concerned with how much trouble you’re in.”
As I parted my lips to argue, he gently set his finger over my mouth. “Come on. I drew you a warm bath.”
The fight eased out of me at the thought of soaking away the ache in my muscles. I playfully pushed at his chest, backing him up. “Why didn’t you say that earlier? You could have saved yourself a lot of trouble.”
Colton looped his hand with mine and guided me inside, laughing. “Where’s the fun in that?”
KYLE, JASON, BLAKE, AND DAMON were all looking at me with smirks on their faces as I walked through the living room, hauling Paige behind me.
“You going to watch a movie with us, man?” Kyle grinned, damn well knowing the answer to his question.
“Nope,” I stated, not breaking my stride.
“Aw, come on.” Jason chuckled. “You’re supposed to entertain your guests.”
“Good night.” I smirked without a backward glance.
“Night,” Damon crooned in amusement as Paige and I reached the hallway.
Pulling Paige into my bedroom, I shut the door, and we continued into the bathroom. The Jacuzzi was already filled.
“Oh, you really did draw me a bath,” Paige said.
I spun around to see her standing in the center of the room with her arms wrapped around her middle. A look of uncertainty in her eyes left me momentarily speechless. As much as I didn’t want to see it there, I couldn’t really blame her for feeling that way.
I gradually closed the space between us and pulled her into my arms. “Yes, I did,” I answered at last. My hand came to her cheek, and I wiped away a smudge of dirt.
The feel of her skin instantly ignited my desire for her. It had been a long fucking week, and I wanted nothing more than to have some time to relax with Paige in my arms. I fought against my need to have her, still unsure of what the future would bring. More importantly, I needed to get Paige cleaned up and tucked into bed before she collapsed on the floor at my feet. Her brown eyes were heavy with sleep, and her clothes were dirty from a hard day of grueling work.
I set my hands on either side of her and glided them down her waist until I grasped the hem of her shirt. “Come on. Let’s get you washed up and into bed.”
Paige didn’t fight me as she lifted her arms to remove her shirt, and I tossed it aside on the tile. She stood before me in a black sports bra with a white Nike sign that dipped between the beautiful curves of her breasts.
I’d never seen her wear one before, so I asked, “Since when do you wear these?”
“Since my physical therapy has become more intense, I bought them to be comfortable.” Paige shrugged nonchalantly.
“Oh.”
I slipped my fingers under the hemline and tugged upward. Paige’s whole body moved forward with my movement. It seemed the damn material was glued to her.
Going with a different tactic, I inched the elastic band up one side at a time. “You know how you feel about me chomping on a toothpick?” I asked as I finally had the sports bra halfway up her breasts.
“Yes.”
“That’s how I currently feel about you wearing a sports bra.” I made sure my movements were gentle while working the tight material up and over her head. I threw the bra over to the trash can placed to the left of the toilet. “Consider these things banned from use.”
“So, would now be a good time to tell you I bought five of them?” she inquired, her tone laced with amusement.
I repositioned my hands and unclasped her pants. I dragged her jeans and panties to her ankles in a torturously slow pace, letting my palms glide along her bare legs. With every downward inch, I felt myself hardening at the feel of her.
“I hope you saved your receipt.” My voice roughened with need at the sight of her beautiful body bare to my ravenous eyes.
I bit back the overwhelming desire to take her, and I stood, repeatedly reminding myself that it wasn’t a good idea, given my unresolved predicament with Hank. Plus, Paige was tired.
“I didn’t, so you’re stuck with them,” she breathed.
Paige distracted me by moistening her lips as she inched her way closer. She peered up at me with her stunning brown eyes and slipped her hands beneath my shirt. Her fingertips brushed along my stomach before inching my clothing upward.
Hardly holding on to my control by a mere single thread, I asked, “What are you doing?”
“Surely you didn’t think I’d let you strip me naked without returning the favor.”
My shirt was gone in the blink of an eye. I was unable to steady the incessant drumming of my heart as I told her, “The bath was for you. I already took a shower.”
She slowly shook her head from side to side and snuck her hands beneath the seam of my jeans, unbuttoning them. “That’s not the way this works, cowboy.” She lowered my pants and took my briefs along with them. “If I have to soak my muscles, so do you.”
After I kicked my pants away, Paige closed the gap between us and pressed herself against me. As my erection pulsed against her stomach, my breathing altered, becoming rough and ragged, and the atmosphere charged between us.
It was just her and me.
She set her hands on my chest and guided them up my shoulders, her touch igniting my skin along her path. It was heavenly. The raw need to claim her pumped heavily in my veins, and my willpower slipped by the second.
Paige was mine, and she’d always be mine. Nothing was going to ever change our fate. I’d simply have to find another way to keep her safe while she was at my side where she belonged.
“All I want is to protect you from afar where I know you’ll be safe”—my fingers grazed up and down her sides—“but you’re making it unbelievably hard to keep my hands off you,” I admitted with utmost honesty.
“Well, I love your hands on me and what they do to me, so you’ll have to find another
way because I’m not leaving you—ever.”
Fuck.
We weren’t going to make it to the bathtub.
I gripped the delicious curves of her waist, and I backed her up against the countertop. With one swift move, I effortlessly hoisted her onto the granite where I spread her legs wide and settled between her thighs.
Needing her more than my next breath, I grabbed her nape and brought her lips to mine.
Paige moaned and clung to me. I pressed my tongue against her mouth, parting her lips, so I could deepen our embrace.
This wasn’t a loving soft kiss. It was one of need and longing to devour her. She was mine to have, as I was hers.
When she was gasping for air, I broke our connection to trail my lips down to the base of her throat. I alternated between nipping at her flesh and soothing the bite with the tenderness of my lips.
My cock pulsated against her sex, sliding back and forth over the wetness already seeping from between her legs.
But I wasn’t ready to take her just yet.
I placed my hand in the middle of her luscious breasts and lightly pushed her backward, making her lean back and balance herself on her palms.
“Colton,” she rasped impatiently.
“Hold on, baby.”
I held on to her hip to steady her as I bent forward and circled my tongue around her left nipple, making it instantly harden. Then, I drew the stiff peak into my mouth and sucked before flicking the tip of it.
A sweet moan escaped from Paige, and she rocked her hips into me. The movement caused my cock to rub over her clit as I worked my way to her other breast.
Loving how sensitive and responsive she was, I told her, “Do it again.”
She swayed her hips into me for a second time. As I felt the tip of my erection slide forward between her folds, I pulled her nipple into my mouth and kneaded the swell of her opposite breast in my hand.
