by Jane Keeler
“We’re terribly sorry to do this to you folks, but the road ahead has been closed for the night. The earlier downpour caused severe flooding in the valley, and with the approach of Hurricane Valerie we’ve decided it’s in everyone’s best interests if we close the roads. There is a hotel up ahead that is doing its best to provide rooms for everyone for the night. You’ll be on your way again in the morning. We’re terribly sorry for this, but it’s for your own safety and we hope you understand.”
Karlee sighed. “This is turning out to be the longest ride ever. Just wait until I tell my boss. He’s going to freak. Although I doubt he’s in any rush to see me.”
“Yeah, and I’m in no rush to see my father, so this suits me. And we get another hotel stay! Bonus! Here, let me get this. Can’t have your boss paying for everything. I could really do with some new clothes, too.”
“Tell me about it. I only packed one spare outfit and I’ve already changed into that.”
Gabe laughed. “What about me? My clothes were in my bag, which was stolen. There’s a very stylish-looking thief walking around.”
Gabe was making a joke, but the truth was that he desperately needed a change of clothes. There was long line at the hotel’s reception desk, and he didn’t see why they should both have to suffer.
“Why don’t you wait for me at the café downstairs? I’ll meet you there when I’m done.”
He found Karlee in the café afterwards.
“What’s wrong?” she asked when she saw the look of concern on his face.
“The hotel is pretty booked up. So, uh… we have to share a room. All they had left were singles.”
She laughed. “Are you horrified to share a room with me? I mean, I know I need new clothes, but I can’t be that bad.”
He chuckled. “You’re not that bad. Come on, let’s check it out.
The room was nice. Much nicer than the last one. There was a large, comfortable-looking bed in the middle of the room and both of them diligently avoided looking at it. It was really pouring down outside, and the sound of the rain on the window panes gave the room a cozy, intimate feeling.
“I guess room service is closed, huh? I’m starving,” Karlee said.
“Why don’t we order some pizza? Lots of them take credit cards for delivery. I like pepperoni and mushroom.” Gabe replied. “So,” he added, “do you want to shower first or shall I?”
“You go ahead; you need it worse than I do.” Karlee winked at him.
“Hey!”
She grinned unrepentantly.
“Saucy minx,” Gabe muttered on his way to the bathroom. A shower would feel good right now. He was grimy and stiff from hours of sitting on the bus and welcomed the chance to rinse it all away. He’d make it quick, because Karlee was waiting.
After his shower Gabe couldn’t face putting on his smelly shirt again. He did his best to wash it out in the sink with one of the little bars of soap the hotel provided, and then wrung it out. He put his grubby pants back on (ugh, he really needed to get some new clothes tomorrow), and went back out into the room with the wet shirt slung over one shoulder.
Karlee was TV channel surfing when Gabe came back into the room. She looked up and tried not to stare. He had such an appealing chest—his wasn’t a weightlifter’s bod, each muscle exercised in isolation until they all bulged out like an anatomy textbook. Gabe’s muscles fit well together. It looked like he must actually use them for something. She watched them play across his back as he draped his damp shirt over the top of one of the chairs to dry.
He turned to look at her, and she was instantly scarlet.
“Um, they’re saying the storm will cross over tonight. It’s weakening, too, so with any luck we should be good to go tomorrow.” Karlee did her best to sound nonchalant and hoped he hadn’t noticed her staring at him like he was a full buffet and she hadn’t eaten in three days.
“Wonderful! It’ll be great to see the sun for once.” He smiled innocently at her. “The shower’s all yours.”
Chapter 10
Gabe sat down on the bed and spent a few minutes looking at the weather map before turning off the TV. Karlee had definitely been checking him out. He had excellent peripheral vision. He chuckled to himself. If she’d blushed any harder she’d have turned into a tomato.
He was really enjoying her company. She was funny and down-to-earth, and those breasts were magnificent to behold. He didn’t feel like he had to put on a show or whip out his wallet to impress her. He’d read somewhere that one of the greatest tests of any relationship was a long road trip, and so far this one passed with flying colors.
Relationship? The word brought him up short. Was he really thinking about a relationship with this girl? He’d dated Angelica because she was gorgeous and had done her best to seduce him once she found out who he was. When he’d taken her out, the envy of other men in the room had been palpable. Having sex with her was like being in bed with a soft, warm, absolutely perfect doll.
The bathroom door creaked open and a gust of steam billowed out. He could see Karlee reflected in the hallway mirror. She was standing naked at the sink, washing out her clothes. He couldn’t get a good view with all the steam in the air and fog on the mirror, but what he saw was provocative enough.
There was something so sexy about seeing Karlee like this—seeing her but not seeing her at the same time. His imagination went wild. She turned slightly to the side and he saw the outline of her full breasts and the rosy tips of her nipples. For such a small girl, she was incredibly curvaceous. He strained to see the mound between her legs but had to make do with his imagination. He was sure she knew he was watching her.
Gabe jumped when the doorbell rang.
“I forgot about the pizza!” he called out to Karlee. They’d placed the order about an hour ago, and he’d been starving. He had gotten so caught up in watching Karlee that his hunger had all but disappeared. It had been replaced with a different sort of hunger.
Karlee laughed. “I forgot about it too, actually, which is crazy because I’m starving. Can you get it?”
“Sure!” Gabe got up to open the door, but realized he was in no state to see anyone. The bulge in his pants was far too visible. He opened the door just slightly and stuck his head out to greet the delivery man.
“Oh hi,” Gabe said casually. “Uh, hang on.” He handed his card out to the man and opened the door a little bit more to get the pizza and the charge slip. He scribbled his name across the bottom and handed it back out the narrow opening.
There was no way he was letting the man come in the room and see his highly aroused state. He quickly closed the door. When he turned around Karlee was looking at him strangely. She was wearing one of the hotel bathrobes and had her hair up in a towel.
“Why wouldn’t you open the door?” she asked. Then she looked down and noticed the bulge in his pants. “Oh wow, I guess you really like pizza.”
Gabe put the pizza down, walked straight up to Karlee and kissed her. He couldn’t resist. She smelled of soap and sunflower shampoo and her skin was still warm from the shower. He expected her to pull away but she didn’t. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth to his kiss. He pulled her close, enjoying the feeling of her breasts nestling against his chest.
When they finally separated she took his hand and pulled him towards the bed. Then she grinned and pulled the towel off her head; the robe followed it soon after. Gabe nearly came on the floor that second. She pulled him onto the bed with her. She was completely naked, and he still had his pants on.
He took the time to explore her body, starting with a trail of butterfly kisses down her neck. He spent a long time kissing her breasts, fondling their fullness and flicking her nipples with his tongue. His hands caressed her hips and belly and the soft flesh of her thighs. His kissed moved down her body, and then paused when he got between her legs. She opened them for him, and he tasted her clit with long slow strokes of his tongue.
Karlee moaned
and said, “I can’t believe you’re still dressed. Take those pants off now.”
Gabe laughed. “Your wish is my command,” he said. As soon as he’d stripped his pants off he moved on top of her and looked down at her naked body underneath him. He gaped at the sight. The look on her face made him even more aroused, if that were possible. He slid into her, gasping at how hot and wet she was. He loved the sounds she made, low in her throat, as he entered her.
They started slow, learning each other’s rhythm. Gabe felt all the stress of the last few days melt away—nothing existed but him and Karlee. He moved deeper inside her and she spread her legs wider, encouraging him.
“Faster,” she moaned in his ear. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him in even deeper. He pushed himself up on his elbows for better leverage and concentrated on stoking the fire between them.
Karlee was making small rhythmic noises as she moved under him. He looked down at her face. Her eyes were closed, lashes fluttering, and her mouth open as she gasped for breath. As if she could feel the touch of his gaze, she opened her eyes, bright blue even in the dim light of the room. Their bodies, perfectly in sync now, sped up.
The gaze took them over the brink. Her hips lost their rhythm, pumping hard and fast. He tried to keep up with her as he felt the strength of his orgasm building. With one last final pump, he felt it overtake him, blotting out everything and leaving them floating together in a warm, dark sea.
Later, Gabe studied her as she lay next to him. He liked how confident she was with her body, even though she looked nothing like the models he usually slept with. They were usually so timid, so unsure of themselves. Karlee was different. She was happy with who she was, and that made her all the more sexy to him.
Her red hair was splayed across the white pillow, and she looked like a fiery goddess. Sex with Karlee was everything he thought it would be—and he’d thought about it a lot lately. It was passionate, hot and beautiful all at once. Just like she was.
She smiled at him. “That was wonderful.”
He kissed her again. “That it was. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” He’d been hungry before they’d had sex, and now he’d worked up even more of an appetite.
“How lucky… We have pizza waiting for us. I tell you what, Gabe—this is turning out to be one hell of a bus ride.”
“Yeah.” He grinned. “I’m starting to like catching buses now. Or maybe I’ll just ride you all the way to New York.”
Chapter 11
Karlee almost screamed when she woke up. Gabe was lying next to her in bed and staring at her. For a second she didn’t know where she was or who was looking at her.
“Wow, you gave me a fright.” She put her hand on her heart. When she did she realized she was completely naked. She pulled up the sheets to cover herself and giggled.
“I’ve seen it all, you know,” he teased.
“I know. It’s just strange.” She felt a dull throb between her legs as a reminder of the night before. After the pizza they’d had sex again. And again.
“Is that… sunlight?” He got up and opened the curtains. “It is! Looks like the storm has finally gone—no more problems for the bus.”
“Any idea what time this bus is leaving today?”
“Good question. We were supposed to find out last night, remember?”
Karlee chuckled. “Yeah, but we sort of got caught up doing other things. Not that I’m complaining. Okay, let me phone reception.”
Karlee dialed reception and hoped they hadn’t missed the bus. They hadn’t. They had, however, missed breakfast. It was far later than both of them realized. The sex had obviously provided them with a better sleep than they’d had in a long time. She put the phone down and laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“Do you have any idea what time it is?”
“I don’t know. Seven?”
“It’s nine.”
“Nine! But we went to bed so early.”
“I know. We missed breakfast. Apparently breakfast closes at nine on the dot. The woman was very clear about that on the phone. The bus leaves at twelve, so we have some time.”
“Well then, get up and get dressed. I’m taking you to get some food and some clothes. Don’t look at me with that expression on your face. That’s what we’re doing. Don’t say no.”
Karlee laughed. She’d never in her life had a man buy her clothes. “Trust me. I won’t.” She didn’t usually take gifts from people so easily, but the trip was proving to be far longer than she had planned and she was desperate for a fresh set of clothes. She promised herself she’d pay him back.
Chapter 12
It took them a while to get changed. Gabe could hardly keep his hands off her breasts, but she had to push him away or they would never get out of there. They went straight to the small shopping center they’d spotted near the hotel. Gabe treated her to bacon and eggs for breakfast and two cups of coffee.
She couldn’t believe how normal it felt to be around him, without any of the usual morning-after awkwardness. What was more surprising was how different he seemed to her now that she had gotten to know him. He wasn’t at all the man she thought he was. This wasn’t the infamous Gabriel Braxton who was always in the papers for being such a player.
On the other hand, perhaps she was being played all along. Maybe this was how he acted towards women to get them into bed. She hoped not, because she was having a good time with him. She thought she’d get a lot of looks, being with someone so well-known, but she was wrong.
As it turned out, not a lot of people really knew much about Gabriel Braxton. People in the media world knew a lot about him, but he wasn’t a movie star and therefore not easily recognizable for most people. She’d spotted him straight away, but she’d been in the newspaper industry for a very long time. He sure knew how to make headlines.
The looks she did get were ones of jealousy. It was impossible not to notice someone so good-looking. She was sure they were all wondering how an ordinary girl like her got to be with a man like him.
“This is a big breakfast, and all I’m going to be doing today is sitting on a bus, and we’ve got hours to kill until it comes. We should have time to go back to the hotel and spend a little more… quality time together.”
Gabe laughed. “You know, that might be the best thing anyone has ever said to me. I can’t believe you’re good to go so soon. It’s definitely a deal. Now, are you ready to do some shopping?”
Shopping with Gabe was a lot of fun. He made a lot of suggestions about outfits he’d like to see her in, and she put on a fashion show, trying on clothes and coming out to do a runway walk. He’d give her a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down, and he made the shop assistant join him. Karlee had never done anything like that before, and was surprised at how much she enjoyed herself.
The shop assistant was completely smitten with him, which was not surprising at all. All he had to do was bat his eyelashes at her and smile his white smile, and she was like putty in his hands.
It was clear to Karlee that she was dealing with someone who had money. It was a strange feeling not to have to look at the price tags when she chose something. Usually when she made purchases, especially non-essential items like clothes, she stuck to a very strict budget. She kept track of the prices to the penny, adding them up to make sure the total wasn’t more than she could afford. Now she could make her selection based on the look, not her bank account, and she had to admit the feeling was liberating.
Karlee didn’t care for money the way some people did, but she hadn’t treated herself in a very long time, and she couldn’t help but relish it for a while. She walked out with two new outfits and a few accessories she wouldn’t have dreamed of buying for herself. Gabe had wanted her to buy more but she’d insisted on stopping at two. Gabe, on the other hand, walked away with a full bag of new clothes.
Karlee laughed. “You like shopping more than most girls I know.”
“Hey, my bag got s
tolen, remember.”
“Ha! You make it sound like you don’t have a closet full of clothes back home! Like that bag was the only thing you had! You just wanted new clothes, admit it.”
“I will admit to nothing of the sort! Now, let’s hurry. We have just enough time to get in a workout before the bus arrives.”
“Workout? I didn’t know the hotel had a gym.” Karlee made a face. Why would she want to spend the morning going to the gym? That was the last thing she wanted to do. Was he trying to tell her she had eaten too much?
“What? You didn’t know? But you slept in it last night.”
Karlee blushed. “Oh yeah—that gym! How could I forget? I’m totally ready for a workout.”
Chapter 13
Shopping had taken a long time and they should have been rushed, but the sex was amazing. He took his time fondling her smooth, full breasts and licking her nipples. They played a game where she was a reluctant virgin having sex for the first time. She pretended to be reluctant to open her legs to his touch. He traced a slow, lazy line down her belly with his tongue ending up gently licking and kissing her clit.
He lay back and pretended to teach Karlee to rub his cock and fondle his balls. He gave her ‘instructions’ on how to take his cock into her mouth. She ‘reluctantly’ agreed to kiss the end and then lick the tip a few times. After a little more urging she finally took his shaft into her mouth. She was a quick learner and as she sucked down as much of his thick throbbing cock as she could manage, he maneuvered himself around until he could lick her pussy at the same time. He licked greedily as if it was the last time he would ever taste a woman’s sweetness. Their sucking and licking became more intense and energetic.
Karlee came at least three times with such intensity that she had to take his cock out of her mouth. She screamed aloud as she writhed on his face and jerked on his cock. Each time she plunged the straining member back into her mouth.
