by Jamie Pope
He’d never corrected the assumption. He liked hearing it, that people looked at them and thought they belonged together, that they had made that ultimate commitment.
She had told him that he made her happy. He wanted to keep making her happy. He wanted to keep her in his life.
He grabbed her hand, finding her fingers warm. “You hungry?”
“I could eat.” She squeezed his hand. “Thank you for that, Asa. I didn’t know it was something I wanted to do until the moment I saw that train.”
She didn’t have to thank him. Seeing her smile was enough of a thank-you for him. He took his key fob out of his pocket and hit the button for the automatic starter. “It was my pleasure. Go sit in the car. It should be warm soon. As soon as I get the snow cleared off the car we’ll be on our way.”
“I’ll help you,” she said, reaching into his car to pull out a snow brush. “It’s something that I will add to my lists of New York firsts.”
“What else is on your list?” He pulled out his second brush and worked on his side of the car.
She looked upward as if she was thinking about it. “Um. I want to do all those corny touristy things that most real New Yorkers don’t even do, like go to the Empire State Building. And I want to see the ballet. My hometown has a tiny dance studio that performs every year, but I would really like to see the professionals do it just once.”
“What else?”
“Eat those hot dogs they sell on the street.” She looked embarrassed.
“You’ve never done that?”
“No. I’ve been afraid to.”
He grinned at her. “You haven’t lived until you’ve had one.” He cleaned the snow off the roof of his car while she focused on the windshield and soon they were on their way to the resort.
Asa hadn’t known what to expect when he pulled up to the resort, but a castle certainly wasn’t it. Or porters and bellhops in full throwback uniforms.
“Are you sure we’re in the right place, Asa?”
He looked over at Hallie to see her eyes wide with wonder. “I think we are. This is the end of the road.”
“I’m dreaming, right? I start off my day on an old train and end up in a castle. I must be dreaming.”
“Then I’m dreaming right alongside you.”
“You didn’t plan this?”
He shook his head. He wished he’d had the foresight, but he would have never taken her here. The train ride was one thing, but taking a woman he had known for just a week away to a resort like this would have been a lot by anyone’s standards. But they were here now, seeking shelter from a storm, and it seemed like this was where they were meant to be.
“I was going to take you snow-tubing. That’s why I told you to bring a change of clothes, but then I thought that sending a woman recovering from a head injury flying down a slippery hill wasn’t the best idea.”
She grinned at him. “You really want me to fall in love with snow?”
“No. Just hate it a little less.” And he wanted to give her more firsts, be with her when she experienced new things. He kept thinking about how she’d said that she didn’t want to fall in love with him. But the potential for it was there and if she could make him feel this good just by liking him, he could only imagine what it would feel like to be loved by Hallie Roberts.
The valet walked up then, breaking him off those thoughts and soon he and Hallie were walking through the lobby of the large historical hotel. He had traveled a lot, but he had never been to a place like this and while he knew he should be taking it all in, he was too busy looking at Hallie. Whose eyes were wide and head was bent back as she took in all the details.
It had been like this while they were on the train. Her eyes had been glued to the scenery as they passed by it, and Asa couldn’t take his eyes off her now. He noted every change in her face, every expression of excitement and wonder and happiness. But he had to admit to himself that he would have been as enthralled if they had never left her apartment. He always had a hard time pulling his eyes off her. Surely he must have seen a more beautiful woman, but there had never been another woman he wanted to see as much as the one before him.
She wandered to the stand that displayed the day’s activities. “Look, Asa.” She took his hand. “It says here that they have an endurance contest for athletes. I’m sure he can show us to a flaming pit of fire that you can jump over or some barbed wire you can crawl through.”
“Only if you crawl through the barbed wire with me.”
She grinned at him for a moment. “There’s also gingerbread house decorating. And a covered ice-skating pavilion. And tea and cookies at four with Christmas carolers. Oh, and they’re showing Die Hard in their theater.”
“Die Hard?”
“One of the best Christmas movies ever made. One of the best movies ever made, period.”
“You like action movies?”
“I love them, and my mother has a weird thing for Bruce Willis, so I’ve seen every single one of his movies more than once. Don’t ask about who my mother is attracted to. She has very eclectic taste in men.”
“I won’t, but it is kind of interesting.” He grabbed her by the hips and pulled her into him. “Let’s not do the day pass. Let’s get a room while we’re here.”
“Okay.” She wrapped her arms around him. “You really want to stay for that movie, don’t you?”
He chuckled and dropped a kissed on her forehead. “No, but the snow doesn’t seem like it’s stopping anytime soon and I don’t want to push you too hard. I know you’re still healing. You should have a place to rest. Maybe take a nap. We can still go home tonight if the snow slows down.”
She pressed her lips to his. “You’re thoughtful.” She kissed him again. “And kind. I’m not sure I know how to handle it.”
“Handle being treated like you’re supposed to be treated? Hallie, I’m not doing anything special.”
“Yes, you are, Asa. You have to have a major flaw. You should let me know what it is right now and make it easier for me.”
He shook his head. He did have flaws, but he wasn’t going to make it easier for her. He wasn’t going to be satisfied until he had all of her and that meant her heart, too. “Come on, let’s see what kind of damage we can do in this hotel.”
* * *
He was trying to make her fall in love with him. Hallie shook her head, looking at Asa as he lounged on the bed in their suite. He didn’t just get a simple room. He’d gotten them a suite overlooking the lake with an enormous fireplace and a hot tub in the middle of the room. But it wasn’t the luxurious or cozy surroundings that would make her fall. It was just him. Being with him was easy. He made a gingerbread house with her. And genuinely enjoyed himself. There was no begrudging acceptance. No macho pride. He wore a white apron and piped icing on the roof and it was one of the sexiest things she had ever seen. She had never been with a man who was so secure.
Could she even say she was with him? She wasn’t. She had to keep reminding herself that she hadn’t even known him a week yet. But she had spent nearly every day with him since she had hurt herself. Hours and hours of time. She had met his mother. He had seen her at her worst. From the outside, people might see them as strangers, but she felt like she had known him for a lifetime and she still wanted to know more about him.
“You impressed me today with your ice-skating moves,” she said to him as he flipped through the hotel’s brochure. “You should have stayed out there longer.”
“Nobody wants to skate by themselves.”
“Me and ice don’t get along.”
“No, but if you did we wouldn’t be here right now.”
She walked over and sat at the foot of the bed. “No. Maybe I should send it a thank-you letter.”
He gave her a smile that made her heart beat a little fa
ster. The romance of this room wasn’t lost on her. There was a fire roaring in the fireplace. A bottle of wine chilling on the nightstand and the huge bed that looked perfect for two people to get to know each other better in. She wanted him. She wanted him so bad she almost ached for him, but she couldn’t accuse him of trying to seduce her.
The snow had slowed down enough for them to drive home, but she was the one who suggested they stay. He hadn’t tried anything besides his normal touches, a simple caress of her arm, his hand on the small of her back, his fingers locked with hers. He was a perfect gentleman and she knew if she told him that she didn’t want to do anything but sleep in this big bed that he would be okay with it.
But she wasn’t going to tell him that tonight.
“Do you want to head down for dinner? Or are you still full from all that candy you put in your mouth instead of on your gingerbread house.”
“They had gummy bears. Pineapple ones, too. Those are my favorite. I wish they just sold them separately so I wouldn’t be forced to eat those inferior flavors, too.”
“Inferior? You’re being a bit harsh, don’t you think?”
“Maybe.” She grinned at him. “Maybe we should just order something to be sent to the room. I’m not sure if I have enough energy to go back downstairs.”
Asa sat up, the concern in his eyes back. “I knew we shouldn’t have crammed so much stuff in today. You’re still not fully recovered.”
“I’m fine. I’m appropriately tired after a good day. We played with candy and walked around the barn museum. It’s not like I plowed a field or anything.”
“No, but I watched you beat that old man at chess. You were pretty ruthless.”
“That old man was a physics professor. I was raised by an old man and they are tricky. Don’t let that tweed jacket fool you. That man was out for blood.”
“I like that you’re competitive. Maybe I can convince you to do a mud run with me in the summer.”
“Ha! I don’t think so. Unless you’re going to challenge me to competitive s’mores making or extreme sleeping, which I will gladly participate in.”
“What do you want for dinner?” He picked up the phone on the nightstand.
“Surprise me.” She stood up. “I’m going to the bathroom.”
She left him alone. It wasn’t lost on her that neither one of them had anything to sleep in. She had a change of clothes in her bag for the morning, but tonight she was going to go to sleep in that bed next to him and the thought of her skin touching his was enough to send a rush of tingles throughout her body.
She took off her socks, leggings and bra, emerging from the bathroom in her long sweater. Asa’s eyes snapped to her. She had felt his eyes on her a lot today, but the way he was looking at her now was different. He looked at her legs. She wouldn’t say they were her best feature. They weren’t long and slender by any stretch of the imagination, but the way Asa was looking at them, she felt as sexy as a showgirl.
She climbed back on, taking her spot again at the foot of the bed. “What did you order?”
“A bunch of stuff. A club sandwich, a burger, quesadillas, chocolate lava cake. It should be here soon.”
She crawled closer to him and took his hand, stroking his large warm palm. “That sounds perfect.”
“What are you doing,?”
“Getting closer to you. I had to sit across from you on the train, and at lunch. There were people around us all day and the only thing I really wanted was to feel your warm, heavy body close to mine like it was this morning before we left.”
“Like this?” He had her on her back, his large body on top of hers. His hand cupping the back of her thigh. He squeezed it and her nipples tightened.
“You smell good.” She buried her nose in his throat and then kissed him, pressing her lips to his Adam’s apple. “Clean.”
It was intoxicating. His scent was arousing and calming at the same time and she was pretty sure she was becoming addicted to him.
“Clean? My mother will be glad to hear that I’m still bathing regularly.”
“No expensive, overwhelming cologne. Just clean, warm man. They should bottle this scent.”
“I don’t know what’s going on between us,” he said just before he kissed her. She shut her eyes and sunk into the bed as he gently explored her mouth. It was like her body was sighing, like it had been waiting all day for his lips to touch hers. It was just lips at first, but his tongue swept in, just when she needed it to, and he deepened the kiss. This was usually the place where she stopped him, when her core went all liquidy and it felt a little too good. But she wasn’t pushing him away this time. She wanted more of this, more of him.
She pulled up his sweater. He had a T-shirt tucked into his pants but she pulled it out, needing to run her hands over his hard back.
“I thought you just wanted to be friends.”
“I do, but I think I need this more.”
He looked at her for a moment. His eyes searching her face. “I don’t want to be your rebound guy.”
She just shook her head. This wasn’t a rebound. At least, it didn’t feel like one to her. She didn’t want to sleep with Asa to get over Brent. She had changed jobs. She had moved states away. Her life was different. She was different and she wasn’t hung up on her ex. She was just afraid of things not working out with Asa. The last thing she wanted or needed was another heartbreak. Her head was telling her to be careful, but her body, her heart was telling her to give her all to him. “Don’t stop now, Asa.”
“Once I start I won’t be able to stop.”
He was looking at her so intensely that her breath caught.
“I want you to be sure about this. No regrets.”
She took his face in her hands and pulled him into a kiss. She wouldn’t have any regrets, but she would be lying if she said there wasn’t a little fear there. She could already feel herself falling for him and she wasn’t the type of woman who could separate love and sex. She didn’t do casual relationships, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to be involved in another serious one so soon. She missed Hideaway Island. She missed her family and when things ended with Brent she promised herself she would finish her doctorate and get the job she had always wanted and do all the things she wasn’t able to do while she was being a superambitious man’s partner.
And then there was Asa. What did he want from this? Maybe she was overthinking it, but she was wondering if she should ask him. What did he want to happen after tonight? It had to be more. He couldn’t have gone through all the trouble he went through just to sleep with her. He was a beautiful man. He could have whatever woman he wanted.
But then his hand slid up her thigh and came to rest on her behind and she stopped thinking. She wrapped her legs around him and gave in to the sensation of being kissed.
She was just about to pull off his sweater when he broke the kiss and left her completely alone on the bed. “We have to stop now.”
“Why? What happened?” She sat up feeling bewildered.
“Nothing. The food is here.”
“Oh.” She collapsed backward on the bed. She was hungry, all right, but this time it wasn’t for food.
Chapter 8
Hallie Roberts knew how to drive a man crazy, Asa thought for the twentieth time that night. She kept touching him, and if there was any space between them she inched closer till their bodies were touching. And he loved every second of it. She was seductive without trying to be. Everything she did turned him on, the way she ate and laughed and walked around the room in just a sweater. He wanted to groan.
But it was the way she kissed him that had him nearly shaking with need for her. She didn’t hold back. She had wrapped her legs around him and moved against him and he had been so aroused he wasn’t sure he was going last longer than two seconds with her. He wa
s glad the food came when it did. It gave him a chance to think, to breathe. It couldn’t just be one night with them. That was why he was asking her if she was sure; that was why he wanted her to go into this with open eyes. No other woman made him feel anything near what she made him feel and he wasn’t going to give her up soon.
He understood why her ex was pining for her after eight months. The man was stupid to mistreat her, and Asa knew he wasn’t going to make the same mistake. He just had to keep his thoughts clear. He didn’t want things to get too hot too fast and then just burn out.
He wanted to take his time with her, but it was going to be nearly impossible.
She had left him alone on the bed after barely eating any of the food he had ordered. He wondered for a moment if she was feeling okay but she hadn’t acted any differently. Now she was at the hot tub that was perfectly positioned near the fireplace. “I’ve never been in one of these before,” she said as she turned on the faucet.
“No?”
“I keep telling you all of the things I’ve never done before. You must think I’ve lived a terribly sheltered life.”
“I don’t. I like seeing the look on your face when you experience something for the first time.”
“Is it childlike wonder?” she asked, grinning.
“No. There is nothing childlike about you.” He got up and sat in the overstuffed easy chair by the fireplace to be closer to her. She was now lounging on the side of the tub, her fingers in the water. “Why didn’t you eat more? I wouldn’t have ordered so much.”
“It won’t go to waste.” She stood up and reached beneath her sweater to pull off her underwear. His mouth went dry and his erection returned in full force. “I’m sure we’ll be hungry later. I didn’t eat much for vanity reasons.” She pulled the sweater off over her head to reveal her nude body. “I wanted to look good for you when I did this.”
“Do you think eating a few more French fries would have changed how attracted I am to you? I wanted you when you were dazed from knocking your head. I wanted you when you were in an old bathrobe and thick socks. I want you when you’re fully dressed and in a winter coat. I want you all the time because you are beautiful and you make me smile and I just like being with you.”
