by Erika Kelly
“Babe.” His hand landed on her shoulder, and he turned her to face him. “Tell me those are tears of happiness. Tell me that I made you happy.”
“So happy.” Her voice came out a whisper. “This means everything to me.”
“I know.”
“Did you get my text?” Knox leaned into the passenger side window.
“Been driving. What’s up?” Fact: right after his late afternoon conditioning, Gray had jumped in his truck to go pick her up. Didn’t check his phone, grab a water, nothing. Just raced over here to see her.
Highlight of my day.
She opened the door and climbed in. First thing she did was close the window. “It’s freezing.” She dumped her tote on the floor and lunged for him. With her cold hands on his cheeks, she planted a kiss on his mouth. Nothing sexual, but he didn’t care. He just wanted her hands on him.
Holding him close, she said, “Hi,” with her dazzling smile.
Fuck, she made him happy. “Hi, beautiful. Good day?”
Before letting him go, she scraped her fingernails through his scruff. When her thumb caressed his lower lip, he about died. And then she sat back in her seat and buckled herself in. “The best. Robert stopped by.”
Robert had made her this happy?
“I can’t even believe it, but he got the biggest editor and blogger in the bridal business to come to my show. I mean, Luc’s PR firm had already booked her for the original one, and she’d made a big deal about it on her page, but the fact that she rearranged her schedule for me is huge.”
“That’s great.” Dammit. The pieces just didn’t fit. The Robert he found in the bar yesterday didn’t align with the Robert who was hitting all his marks for this show.
He sure as hell wished Mrs. Granger would get back to him. He’d sent a text and an email. No response.
“I mean, even if no one else comes, I’m still going to have the single biggest influencer there.” She tipped her head back. “Oh, my God, Gray, it’s going to happen. I’m going to be in Bridal Fashion Week.”
He flashed her a grin before turning onto the highway. “I’m happy for you.”
“And it’s Robert. Of all people. Like, out of the blue he shows up and within a week, I’ve got my show back.”
He sure as hell hoped she did. If Robert was fucking with her…well, they wouldn’t let him. They’d stay on top of everything.
“Is everything okay?” She shifted in her seat to face him, hitching up a knee.
Pulled out of his thoughts, he pasted on a smile. “Of course. I’m happy for you.”
“Oh, come on. I’ve known you practically your whole life. I know your smiles.”
“My smiles?”
“Yes, and that one says you’re withholding information.”
“What?”
“You’ve got the lazy, hey-man-how’s-it-going one.” She showed him with half-lidded eyes and a stoner grin. “And the you’re-seriously-the-most-delightful-person-I’ve-ever-met one.” She gave him a lovelorn look. “That one’s reserved for me.”
“I’ve never smiled like that in my life.”
“And you’ve got the one you just gave me, so what aren’t you telling me?”
Bringing up the bar would stir up a hornet’s nest of trouble. She’d confront Robert, who’d, in turn, come after Gray, accusing him of throwing shade on him just to look better in Knox’s eyes. Stupidly competitive, but that was just the way it had always been between them. With two weeks until the show, she didn’t need their drama.
He did, though, need to address his concerns. “So far, Robert’s delivered on all of his promises. We’ve checked into the gallery, the florist…we’ve seen the agency contracts. Everything’s above-board. How can we be sure he’s got this blogger?”
She dug into her tote and pulled out her phone. “She’d definitely post it on her blog. Say something about the fact that Knox Holliday’s back, that my show’s actually going to happen.” It only took her a minute to find what she was looking for. “No. Not yet. But that doesn’t mean anything.”
“He just heard back from her today.”
“True. And her last post is from yesterday.” She dropped the phone into the tote. “Okay, so I can be happy but not too happy.”
“Cautiously optimistic.”
“But is that your only hesitation? Like, if we find out the gallery’s real and the blogger’s actually coming, are you going to bounce around in your seat and pump your fist?”
“You won’t see it, but it’ll be happening inside.” He reached for her hand and kissed her palm. “He’d have to be a sociopath to lie about things we can easily verify.”
“True. Okay, so…I’m going to just sit here and be a little bit excited.”
He’d like to not be driving while she did that, so he could watch. “You want to get dinner?”
“I’m too excited to eat.” She glanced at his clothing. “Besides, don’t you want to shower and change first?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Actually, you know what I want, what I really, really want? I want to drive. No destination. Just…drive. You and me, in the truck.”
“Highway or four-wheelin’?”
“You did not just ask me that question.” Her smile lit up the cab, and he wanted to bathe in it, read by it, live inside its heat.
Just ahead was a turn-out that headed across the meadow and right to the base of the mountain. He took it. She reached for the radio, flicked it on, and played around until she found a song she liked.
Rolling down her window, she stuck her arm outside and danced along with the country tune. It threw him back to high school, when they’d drive aimlessly, blasting tunes. When he’d loved her, wanted her, but couldn’t have her.
Only this time he could have her. And, fuck, if that didn’t make his blood hot.
The truck lurched, then bounced along the rutted road. At the base of the mountain, he shot her a questioning look, and she nodded, a gleam in her eyes. So, he floored it, clots of dirt pinging against the truck, the growl of the engine overpowering the radio.
She turned up the volume, singing along with the country tune. The narrow road didn’t afford him a chance to watch her. He wanted to see her skirt ride up, exposing more of her tights-covered thighs, her hair flying in the chilly breeze. Wanted to get his hands and mouth on her.
At the first turn-out, he pulled off, drove right up to the edge and killed the lights. Jackson Hole spread out before them, clusters of light indicating the small towns spread out within the basin.
Just as the song ended, another one came on. “Oh, I love this one. Come on.” She threw open the door and started dancing. He cut the engine but kept the radio on and, when she drifted out of sight, he got out of the truck. Knox was rocking out, her hips swaying, arms waving, completely letting loose. Every now and then she’d double over, letting the tips of her hair brush the ground, then fling back up, a cascade of shimmering beauty. Her ass shook, and he wanted to clutch it, but if he did that, she’d stop dancing and singing, and that wouldn’t do.
He lowered the back of the truck and leapt onto it, sitting on the edge to watch her dance in the moonlight.
She held her arms out to him. “Dance with me.”
Not a chance would he miss the show.
“Come on, sexy pants.” With a hand on her stomach, she rocked her hips slowly as she got low to the ground then climbed back up. She cupped her hand, fingers waving him over. “Get over here.”
He shook his head, joy filling his body to overflowing. She was the sexiest woman he’d ever seen. And she’s mine.
The song ended, and the next one was slower. A ballad. She sashayed over to the truck, hitching a foot onto the bed and climbing on. Eyes on him, teeth biting into that plump lower lip, she made her way over to him, crooking a finger. She didn’t know what all that untamed hair did to him. Didn’t know that her playful smile made his heart pound furiously.
He swiveled around to her, parting his t
highs when she got up close.
Hands on his shoulders, her hair brushing across his cheeks, she leaned over. “If you dance with me, I’ll make it worth your while.”
He got up, but she didn’t take a step back, which meant he grazed her, every cell in his body bursting into flames as it came in contact with her lush body. Not a single word in his vocabulary could express how fiercely he wanted her, how her beauty made him wild, and so he showed her with a grip on her ass and a kiss so consuming that need ripped through his body like wind at the summit of a mountain.
Licking into her mouth, he tasted her hunger, reveled in the feel of her hands tangling in his hair. He needed more. More skin, more taste, deeper, harder connection.
Trailing sucking kisses down her neck, he filled his senses with her scent—vanilla, flowery shampoo, and a hint of fresh peaches.
“Gray.” She pressed up against him so hard his cock ached.
He slipped a hand between her legs, fingers stroking. Her head tipped back, her eyelids fluttered closed, and she made a soft exhalation, before pushing him off. Lifting her dress, she pulled down her tights and panties and kicked them aside. Then, she turned around. “Unzip me.”
His fingers barely managed to latch onto that tiny pull tab, but he got the dress off her shoulders and, before she could turn back around, he reached under the silky fabric to cup her breasts. She moaned, her hair spilling forward, moonlight making the back of her neck glow milky white.
He didn’t want a handful of satin, he wanted her. One flick of his fingers undid the bra clasp. He nudged the bra straps off and filled his hands with warm, plump flesh, the nipples hard beads against his palms.
She bent over just a little, hands braced on the lip of the truck, and pressed her ass against his cock, swishing it back and forth. Jesus. He had to have her. Unbuttoning his jeans with one hand, he grasped his cock and slowly eased inside, the pleasure so intense he had to stop and get a hold of himself. “You feel so fucking good.”
Cupping her breasts, she rubbed her nipples roughly. She took what she wanted, and that was hot. Gray pulled out, then slid back in.
“Yes,” her voice a breathless hush over the music floating in the air.
Sweat beaded at his hairline, as his hips pumped hard and fast. She arched her back, bringing that spectacular ass higher, slamming it back against him in time with his thrusts.
With the black velvet sky ablaze in glittering stars and the pine-scented air swirling around him, Gray had never felt more connected, more perfectly plugged into his life and the world. This woman, she closed his circle. With her, he was complete.
A deep and profound sense of love swept over him, as he lost himself in her wet heat. Her cries grew more frenzied, her fingers turned white where they clutched the metal. The rush of his climax came in hot and dark, and he didn’t know how he could keep it from crashing over him.
He reached around to caress her clit, and the sound ripped from her throat was all it took to push him over. Gripping her hips, he held her in place, as he slammed hard into her and held, his release so intense he about blacked out. But he kept pumping until she threw her head back, cried out, and spasmed in his arms.
This woman was a shooting star.
He just didn’t know how to hang onto her.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
It had been bothering him all night, so the moment she stirred beside him, he said, “I have to tell you something.”
“With your hands?” Her arms rose out of the covers, and her body twisted with a crazy stretch. She let out a tortured groan that ended in a shout. “Because I love when you tell me things with your hands.”
“No.” He hated to douse her playful mood. “It’s about Robert.”
She stilled. “What about him? Did something happen?”
“Remember I said we dropped in on Gros Ventre to do some backcountry skiing? Well, we parked at the resort in Victor and, before we headed back, we went in to use the bathroom.”
“I’m pretty sure peeing in a hotel bathroom isn’t the punchline.”
“Nope.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Robert was there.”
“In Idaho? That’s weird. What was he doing?”
“He didn’t say, but I found him in the bar.”
She sat up. “The bar? Was he wasted?”
“No. He seemed sober. And that’s why I didn’t tell you right away. I didn’t want it to become—”
“Who was he with?”
“Don’t know. Looked like a bunch of older men.”
“But you didn’t recognize any of them?”
He shook his head, growing uneasy with her line of questioning.
“What was he drinking?”
And here we go again. “I couldn’t tell.”
“Did he smell like booze? Because you can’t hide it. He gets this gluey kind of smell. It’s hard to describe.”
“If I thought he’d been drinking, I would’ve told you right away. I didn’t smell his breath, but he didn’t seem intoxicated.”
“So that’s why you were subdued last night, when I told you my news.”
“That’s why.”
“I don’t understand why he’d be in a bar in the middle of the day in Idaho. What’s in Victor?”
He didn’t bother answering, because it just felt too damn familiar. Knox, drilling him to try and make sense of behaviors that didn’t add up. She said she didn’t want to go back there, but she was doing it. “I only know what I just told you. Nothing more.” And maybe this is why I didn’t tell her right away. He couldn’t stomach this version of her.
“Well, it couldn’t be good. First of all, he shouldn’t be in a bar.”
“I brought that up, and he said he’d been sober for seven years. He could handle a beer or two.”
“Which is problematic in itself. Should I talk to him about it? I mean, I have a right. I can’t afford for anything to go wrong, and if he’s using—well, I think we all know how spectacularly bad things can go if he’s high.”
“If you want to talk to him about it, go ahead.” He threw back the covers. He needed a shower and a power shake before he hit the gym.
“Are you angry with me?” She got out of bed. “Gray?”
He turned back to her. “I’m not angry. I’m annoyed. I don’t want to dissect Robert’s behavior.” But, no matter how frustrated he was with the situation, he wouldn’t leave her to the internal dialogue he knew from past experience she’d be embroiled in for the rest of the day. “I believe two things. One, he needs a career, so I think he’s as invested in this working out as we are. If it fails, he looks bad not only in front of his family but in the one industry where he’s got a shot of kick-starting things.”
“I agree with that. What’s the other thing?”
“That he wants to do right by you.” He watched her carefully for a reaction, a little disgusted with himself. And when she softened, when she smiled, he felt it like a corkscrew twisting in his heart.
“Yeah. I think so, too.”
He wasn’t going to do it again, be the third wheel. He wasn’t going to watch her reunite with her first love. He went into the bathroom and shut the door. Didn’t even wait for the water to get hot, just stepped into the stall and let the cold water crash over him. It startled him, woke him up fully. He needed to hit the trails, run the madness out of his pores. Closing his eyes, he tipped his head back, the warming water saturating his scalp. He poured shampoo into his palms and attacked his hair like it was on fire.
Cold air swirled around his ankles, and he whipped around to find Knox stepping in beside him.
Looking chastised, she stood there in her loose tank top and boxer-style bottoms, water pummeling her, drenching her clothes. “I time-traveled, and I’m sorry. Dialed back the clock a full seven years. I thought…” She shook her head. “Well, I’m aware of it now and I promise to be better about it. But can you do me a favor?”
He reached for her, so damn happy when she stepped
into his arms. “I’ll do anything for you. You know that.” Except compete with Robert. That…I won’t ever do again.
“I need you to tell me when I’m doing it. Don’t shut me out, and don’t walk away, okay?”
“Yeah, okay. But Knox?”
She tipped her head up, immediately shutting her eyes against the spray. Shielding her, he walked her back till she hit the wall.
“If you have feelings for Robert, you need to tell me right now. Don’t fuck with me about this.”
“Feelings? Oh, God, no. Gray. I just meant I fell back into the old pattern. I don’t have any romantic feelings for him.” She looked genuinely confused. “I’m with you. How could I possibly want anyone else?”
Relief sideswiped him, knocking him back a step.
She scraped the wet hair out of his eyes. “You okay, there?”
He answered with his hands.
Since she liked the way they talked to her.
“What the hell?” Robert stopped to take in the costumed actors performing a staged shoot-out on the street in front of them.
Owl Hoot, the wild west ghost town Brodie had turned into a living museum, looked right out of an old cowboy movie with its jail, saloon, and general store, but it’d been modernized with working shops, bars, and even an upscale resort.
Strolling on the boardwalk, a group of women in period dresses and parasols nodded to an actor tying his horse’s reins to a hitching post.
Robert winked at them. “This place is amazing.”
“Yeah, Brodie did a good job.” As his friend took it all in, Gray stepped behind Knox, bracing his hands on the wooden bannister, and nuzzled her ear. “Good day?” They hadn’t had a chance to catch up yet. He’d prefer to be alone with her, but Robert had wanted to update them on the show.
She touched his hands, leaning back into him. “Really good.”
“Tell me after dinner?”
“Is this what it was like for you?” Robert’s voice shattered their quiet intimacy. He observed them with a smile, but since Gray knew first-hand what it felt like to be the third wheel, he knew it wasn’t sincere.
