by Addison Cole
“That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard,” Jade said, just above a whisper.
Rex wrapped the chain with the man around Jade’s neck and hooked it beneath her hair. Then Jade did the same for him. They stood that way for a long time, their eyes saying all the things that their voices were just not up to producing: I love you. I’ve always loved you. I am yours.
Chapter Twenty-Three
THEY WERE SILENT on the drive back toward Jade’s car. A quiet contentment filled the space between them. Rex held her hand in his, and her other hand had held the charm against her chest since they’d left the store. Even if Jade hadn’t believed that there was more to this world than met the eye, what just happened would have made her a believer. She waited for Rex to say something, not wanting to rush him. When they reached her car, he parked and turned toward her.
“I’m not ready to leave you yet,” he said. “I swore I was going to behave on our first date, but, Jade, I need to be close to you. I want to be close to you. We don’t have to do anything at all, but I want to hold you beside me.”
Without any thought, she said, “I want that, too.” Everything between them moved so quickly, but at the same time, it didn’t scare her. It felt right; it felt real.
“You sure?” he asked.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
He backed out and sped back to Allure, then pulled into the parking lot of the Allure Marriott. Every step toward the entrance made her heart beat faster. She had a fleeting thought about how she could manage to stay out all night without her father worrying. I really have to move out of their house. Soon.
“Your best suite, please?” Rex pulled out his wallet at the front desk.
“Sir? That would be our presidential suite, at the rate of twelve hundred and forty dollars a night,” the slim young man with the pasty skin said in a disbelieving tone, one that clearly indicated that he expected Rex to change his mind.
“Perfect,” Rex said.
“Twelve hundred and forty dollars a night? Rex, we don’t need that.”
He touched her cheek, and she knew this was something he wanted to do, not to prove anything to her, but because he wanted to do it as a gift to them.
They came off the elevators on the top floor. At the end of the hall, a set of white double doors awaited them, complete with fresh roses in vases on either side.
“This is too much,” Jade said.
“Nothing is too much.” He ran the card through the electronic reader and the door clicked open.
Jade took a step toward the room, and in one swift move Rex swept her off her feet with one arm behind her knees and the other behind her neck. When she began to protest, he kissed her lips.
“Let me,” he said with a teasing smile.
He carried her over the threshold, and she gasped at the sheer size of the room. The back wall was a sheet of glass, with views of Allure set against the backdrop of the mountains. Jade felt like she was floating above the beautiful little town.
Rex kissed her more deeply, then set her on her feet.
“Have you been here before?” she asked, then instantly wished she hadn’t. “No, please, don’t tell me. I want to believe this is just ours.”
“It is just ours.” He brushed her hair from her shoulders. “I’ve never taken another woman to a hotel. I’ve never ridden a roller coaster. I’ve never taken a bath with anyone else, and I’ve never woken up beside a woman without wanting to run. I look forward to so many firsts with you. Just you.”
She swallowed the emotions that welled inside of her. “What about our families?” she asked.
“I’m not thinking past right here and now. I’ll have you home before morning, and we’ll still have to figure things out, but I want this. I want you. Even if it’s only for a few hours. I want to remain in our private little world.”
“Me too,” was all she could manage. She wanted all those things just as badly, but she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.
REX OPENED A bottle of wine that the front desk had sent up and turned down the lights. Seeing Jade on the oversized sofa, with her bare feet tucked beneath her, he’d never felt so much like he was in the exact right place at exactly the right time. There was a large-screen television mounted on the wall, and he laughed to himself. Talking with Jade was all he wanted. Beside the television was another set of double doors, which he assumed led to the bedroom.
He handed Jade a glass of wine and sat beside her. “I meant what I said. I don’t need to fool around. I just want to spend time with you, and not in a car or a restaurant or a store. I wanted to relax with you beside me.”
“This is wonderful,” she said, but her voice was strained.
“What is it? Too much too fast?”
She smiled. “No. I need to let my parents know I’ll be even later or they’ll worry.”
Her loyalty to her family struck a chord with him and made him love her even more. “Sure. Call them.”
She smirked. “And tell them what? Um, hi, Dad. I’m at a hotel with Rex Braden, and I’ll be back in the morning?”
He touched her leg, and his body instantly heated up. “Not exactly that. Where does he think you are tonight?”
“Out with Riley, in Preston visiting girlfriends.” Her eyes lit up. “I’m so stupid.” She called her father. “Hi, Dad. I’m going to stay over at Joanne’s tonight. We’re having too good of a time to break it up just yet. Okay. Yes, sure. Love you, too.”
She came back around the couch and sat down. “That was way too easy. I feel so much better.” She snuggled in beneath his arm. “It’s crazy to think I’m a grown woman and I need to check in with my father.”
“He loves you, Jade, and that’s a good thing.” He ran his hand through her hair, thinking about what his father had said to him. “You know, if you were Savannah, you’d have more trouble dealing with me, Treat, or Dane than our own father. He’s protective, but we’re the ones who always kept our eyes on her.” He had an overwhelming urge to share with Jade—his life, his thoughts, his touch, his beliefs.
“I remember. You beat up Steve one time because of something he said about her.”
“Yeah, and I’d do it again now if someone bothered her. Family knows no boundaries.” I’m breaking everything I believe in with Jade, but she feels like family to me—or like she should be family.
“I love that about you. My father says that same thing—family knows no boundaries.”
“I thought my father made that up,” Rex admitted.
“They were so close when they were younger. It probably came from one of their fathers. I know my father loves me, but he can have a heavy hand when it comes to his kids, and I guess I’ve been staying there because it’s easy and safe.”
“Safe from what?” he asked.
When she didn’t answer, he moved a little closer to her.
“Safe from what?” he asked again.
She dropped her eyes. “Don’t you know why I came back home?”
“I heard rumors, something about a breakup, but that was the extent of it.” Now he wondered what would possibly have scared his strong, capable girlfriend. Girlfriend. Wow, that feels good.
“That’s true. I did break up with my…the guy I was dating.”
“And?” The muscles in his neck tensed.
“He turned out to be a bit of a stalker. He went nutty after we broke up, and he wouldn’t stop calling and coming by my house. It just got to be too much.” She shrugged. “So, I packed up and came home, where it was safe. He’d never follow me out of Oklahoma. He’s not that brave.”
Rex pulled her close again. “You must have been frightened.”
“I wasn’t at first, because I just thought he wasn’t over me, you know. But then he’d show up at all hours, and when I went out, he’d be there, in a dark corner of the restaurant, waiting in the parking lot. It was pretty creepy.”
His mind was running down all sorts of protective
paths.
“I know that look. Listen, Superman.” She splayed her hand on his chest. “You’ve already saved me once from the guy in the parking lot. There won’t be a reason to save me again. Let’s talk about something else. Tell me about your mom.”
He touched the charm beneath his shirt. “My father says he still talks to her. Actually, he even argues with her. I’m not so sure he isn’t really talking to her.”
“He could be,” she said. “I believe that those that are really, truly loved never leave us completely.”
He kissed her head, chalking her belief up as just another thing to love about her. “You’re just like my mom. My father told me today that she was worried about me. And then he said something to me that worried me a little.”
“Dads always do that.”
“He told me to be careful where I tread. I had the feeling he knew about us, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out how he could.” He took off his boots and set them beside the couch, then removed his belt and loosened his shirt.
“Striptease?” Jade asked with a flirty smile.
“Comfort,” he answered, also with a flirty smile. He sat beside her. “You’ve already stripped me bare and made me obey your commands.” Let me. Just thinking about it gave him chills.
“You call that a command? Where have you been all my life?”
“Hiding from you, so I wouldn’t have to live inside a cold shower.”
“Oh, let me tell you something, Mr. Braden.” She scooted up on her knees, running her fingers beneath the open buttons of his shirt, and touched his chest. “There are so many things I’ve wanted to do, but I’ve never trusted any man enough to do them.”
She planted soft kisses on his chest.
“Don’t you have anything you’ve been dying to do with a woman?”
He could think of a million things. He told her what he felt was the most pressing. “Yes, wake up with you still in my arms.”
“That’s a given,” she said.
He’d tried all night to keep himself from fulfilling his carnal urges, and now, smelling her, feeling her tender lips on his skin, he knew he wasn’t going to last. His appetite for Jade was insatiable.
“Anything?” she asked again, unbuttoning his jeans.
“I’m really trying to restrain myself here, to make sure you know that I’m with you for more than sex, and you are making it immensely difficult.”
“I can’t help it if you drive me crazy. I want to talk with you, but I can’t with all these raging hormones between us.” She kissed his collarbone. “Anything?” she repeated.
In one swift move, he took her head in his hand and kissed so hard their teeth knocked. He slid from the couch. Fire shone in her eyes. She stood on the couch and reached for him. He couldn’t control his need for another second. She’d pushed him to the edge—talking could wait. He picked her up with one arm and kissed her again, then backed her up against the wall.
Still entwined, he carried her to the bedroom. She looked at him with hunger in her eyes as he lowered her to the edge of the bed.
The feelings of wanting to cherish her competed with the desire to devour her. He looked down at her, and the desire to love her took over. Content for the second time in forever, he said, “I want to hold you and kiss you, touch you and love you. And then I want to start all over again.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
SOMETIME DURING THE wee hours of the morning they made love again, and when Jade woke up, with the sun barely brightening the cloudy sky, she lay perfectly still, wrapped in Rex’s embrace. She felt safe and warm, and as she closed her eyes, she had a momentary flash of embarrassment over the things they’d done the night before.
“No need for that embarrassment,” Rex whispered in her ear.
She felt her face flush. “How could you possibly know?” She reached for the necklace lying against her breastbone and held the charm between her fingers.
“Your heartbeat sped up and your body went stiff.”
She groaned.
“Nothing we do together will get to the Weston grapevine. I can swear that to you. I have never talked about my private life, and I don’t intend to. What you do with it is up to you. I’m not embarrassed by any of it. I find you dangerously provocative and deliciously libidinous, and I might just be the luckiest man on earth to have all that in a woman that I’m crazy about.”
She turned to face him. “I swear, you always know what to say. It’s like you studied how to say all the right things.”
“Nope. I speak from my heart, and I was brought up to be honest and loyal. That’s what I’ll always be with you.”
Her smile faded as she realized that their relationship would cause him to deny the things he believed in most when it came to his family. He must have noticed her facial features change, because he drew her eyes to his when he lifted her chin with his finger.
“We’ll figure out the family stuff. Give it a little time. This isn’t a race, and we are keeping this from them only until we figure out how best to handle it.”
She nodded, knowing he was right, but sometimes doing what was best felt very wrong.
Rex leaned on his elbow and ran his finger along her jawline. “Tell me what you eat in the mornings. Are you a coffee fanatic? Do you have a morning routine? I don’t want to get in your way.”
“Ice water with lemon in the mornings with a bowl of fruit and Greek yogurt, usually, and when I’m feeling like a rebel, I add granola. How’s that for a dullard?” She laughed.
He picked up the bedside telephone and requested everything she’d mentioned, including granola, egg whites and turkey sausage with toast for himself, and toothbrushes. He walked naked to the bathroom and returned a minute later with a thick robe for Jade. She could hardly pry her eyes from his gorgeous physique.
“And?” he asked.
“Oh, I don’t really have much of a morning routine. Shower, brush my teeth, breakfast, and I usually just do some stretches. Sometimes I go for a run, but I haven’t lately.”
He sat on the side of the bed and smiled. “I’d like to run with you sometime.”
“Yeah?” She thought about what it might be like to wake up with him and move through their days side by side. Kissing each other goodbye when they had to run errands or when she had to see clients, taking walks, going for a morning run. It all seemed so reasonable—until she remembered that he was a Braden and she a Johnson. She pushed the thoughts away.
“Wanna shower with me?” she asked.
“More than you know, but I respect your space. I don’t want you to get too sick of me too fast.”
She slipped into the luxurious robe. “So getting sick of you slowly would be okay?” She kissed his chest.
“It’s preferable to too quickly,” he joked.
Jade took his hand and they went into the bathroom together, then she turned on the warm water. Steam fogged the mirror, and she thought of how natural it felt to be with Rex. She’d never showered with a man before. The thought had crossed her mind more than once, but Kane was not a very prurient man, and her other boyfriends hadn’t been the shower-together type. As they stepped beneath the warm water, she knew that moment had been saved for Rex.
“This is a first for me,” she said.
“I was hoping to make your list,” he teased.
“Oh, you already made my list of firsts in about five different places.”
He lathered his hands and ran them over her shoulders, up her neck, and down her arms in slow, careful strokes. The familiar tug began down low and tickled her senses up through her chest as he bathed her. She tried to keep her eyes from continually dropping down his athletic body, but it was difficult to ignore.
She took the soap from him and began washing him, mimicking his slow strokes. He lowered his lips to hers, taking her in a mercifully long kiss. The water rained down on them, wetting their lips and washing the soap from their bodies.
“I just can’t get enough of you,” h
e said between frenzied kisses.
Then he was loving her again, all of her, fast and rough, then slow and sweet, whispering sweetness into her ear, until they clung together beneath the water, feeling sated and whole.
Chapter Twenty-Five
WEDNESDAY MORNING ON the Braden ranch arrived under a cloud of worry and avoidance. Rex hated lying to anyone, much less his family, and when he arrived home Wednesday morning, after the glorious night with Jade, Treat was waiting for him at the kitchen table with a cocky grin and a shake of his head.
“What’s that for?” Rex challenged him.
“You tell me,” Treat answered, taking a sip of his coffee.
“Dad around?” Rex wasn’t intent on dodging the question so much as finding out if his father was in earshot.
Treat nodded toward the barn. “He’s with Hope. I’m worried about him. He’s back to arguing with the wind.”
“Mom.”
“Right. He’s back to arguing with Mom. I don’t want him to end up in the hospital again.” Treat handed Rex a to-go cup of coffee.
“Thanks.” He sat at the table and wrapped his hands around the tall cup, staring at the table rather than his brother, concentrating on how to tell Treat what was going on.
“What’s around your neck?”
He reached up and touched the necklace. Shoot. He’d forgotten to tuck it beneath his T-shirt. He did that now and let out a long breath.
“Dance of two lovers.” He held Treat’s wide-eyed gaze.
“How?” Treat drew his eyebrows together.
“Mom’s favorite, right? How many times had she told us about her and Dad being created in the image of the lovers? I always thought it was a load of crap, you know, just a…a fantasy or whatever.”
