Two stubborn souls trapped together proved to be quite the tug-of-war.
Yet they matched each other in bed and out. She shouldn’t be thinking of all the ways they blended and complemented each other, but she couldn’t help herself.
Alexa padded barefoot back into the bedroom and started adjusting the covers. Her body heated all over again as she recalled exactly what they’d done here hours ago.
But her heart clenched as night fell and she worried about Mason. Even if she’d been next door at the B and B, nighttime would still be difficult. She’d laid out his favorite book for Sadie to read him after his bath, but Alexa just wanted to hear his voice.
More than likely this separation was more difficult for her than for Mason. He was probably playing, watching his favorite cartoons and keeping Sadie on her feet.
What she and Hayes had going on was as simple as it was complicated. Bringing her son into the mix, other than just speaking of him and showing off pictures, was just another layer of intimacy that probably wasn’t a smart idea.
This was all so temporary. She definitely wasn’t ready to bring anyone home to meet her son or step up to play Daddy.
“The rain has slowed.”
Alexa glanced over her shoulder. Hayes came into the room wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. “You lose your clothes in the rain?”
He hooked his thumbs in his briefs and stripped them off as well. Oh, mercy. That man had some serious confidence, and for good reason. All of those well-defined muscles, lean hips, broad shoulders, the smattering of hair across his chest, and that ink she’d all too happily traced with her tongue earlier... Honestly, if she looked half as sexy as he did, she’d parade around naked, as well. Alas, she had dips and curves and dimples in places that were not attractive. Yet Hayes made her feel exactly the opposite. And desired.
The man definitely made her feel desired.
“I put my clothes in the utility room since they were soaked. Figured you wouldn’t mind.”
“Not a bit.” She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to calm her heart. “What are we doing, though?”
He continued coming toward her. “I plan on messing up that bed you just straightened.”
Those big firm hands slid around her waist. Every time her body lined up with his, she couldn’t help but think how perfectly they felt together. Why did something so temporary feel so right, so comfortable?
Were her mind and her hormones playing tricks on her? Even though it had been a couple of years since she’d become a widow, was Hayes the rebound guy?
“I’m not asking for more, but this is all we are, right?” she asked. “After I leave, we’re done.”
The muscle clenched in his jaw as he lined their hips up and palmed her backside. “But you’re not leaving yet.”
If he was trying to throw her off by dodging her question, it was working. “Do you ever get tired?” she joked.
He nipped her lips. “Oh, I’m tired. I plan on crawling into this bed and holding you until I get my stamina back.”
Her heart ached. She hadn’t slept in a bed with a man other than her husband. “Um...maybe I should sleep in the spare room.”
And that was really saying something about her fear of becoming too attached or pretending to play house. The man was wearing nothing and she had on only his shirt as he ground against her...and she was making plans to sleep elsewhere.
“Is that what you want?” he asked, easing back to look her in the eye.
Alexa swallowed. “I have no clue, to be honest. I haven’t slept in the same bed with a man since my husband died.”
Something dark slid across his eyes. “I wouldn’t make you do anything. You want to sleep somewhere else, then I’ll get the bed ready. You’re in control here.”
Was she? Because this all felt eerily out of control and spiraling into something she was neither ready for nor could wrap her mind around. Since meeting him in the stables, everything had snowballed. It was almost like she was watching this all happen to someone else.
Placing her hands on his shoulders, Alexa stared at the difference between their skin tones, hers dusky and his lighter. They might be completely opposite in their lifestyles, their upbringings, pretty much everything. But Hayes seemed to get her, to understand her need for space, and how could she not find that even more attractive than just the physical package?
“Why don’t we watch a movie? Could we do something simple like that?”
Raking his hands up her sides, pulling the shirt with them, he let out a soft laugh before stepping back and dropping the material back in place.
“Sure, on two conditions.”
“What’s that?”
He nodded toward the bed. “We lie right there and you wear nothing.”
Alexa opened her mouth, but Hayes held his hands up, palms out. “That’s all. Anything that happens beyond that is your call.”
“You think we’re going to lie there naked and nothing will happen?”
Hayes leaned forward enough to brush his lips against hers. “I said you were in charge. I never said nothing wouldn’t happen.”
Yeah, well, there was only so much a woman could take and Hayes had already proven he was well beyond her breaking point.
“You fight dirty,” she muttered as she turned toward the bed and jerked the T-shirt over her head.
She was treated with a smack on her bare backside and a deep laugh.
One hour later, the movie still hadn’t captured her interest. How could it? The man was not playing fair. Oh, he hadn’t so much as touched her. He remained across the king-size bed with the sheet draped over his hips, just low enough to torment her. He’d propped pillows up and crossed his arms behind his head, showcasing ripped arms and a mouth-watering chest.
But even when the oversize footboard procured a gigantic flat screen at just the touch of a button, she still hadn’t been able to concentrate on anything other than the dangerous game they were playing.
At the time, she wondered if he was just going to lie there, but he’d put on some new movie she’d never seen and hadn’t said one word. Not one. He hadn’t looked her way or “accidentally” brushed a hand in her direction.
For the past hour, Alexa had lain on the other side of the bed with an ache. Her bare skin slid over his sheets each time she shifted. She was seriously trying to hold still. The last thing he needed was to realize just how much this little cat and mouse game affected her.
Fine. If he wanted to play, then she was about to bring her A game.
Alexa pushed the sheet aside and eased from the bed. As she crossed the room toward the bathroom, she didn’t so much as look his way, but she most definitely sucked her belly in and attempted to look somewhat fit and sexy. Not an easy feat when the only workout she received was chasing her kids in the classroom and giving Mason piggyback rides.
From the corner of her eye, she noted Hayes’s attention following her as she entered the master bath. Once inside, she stood there for just a moment and simply stared straight ahead at the large soaker tub on the far wall. She had nothing to do in here, but she wasn’t going to just lie in that damn bed and let him drive her out of her ever-loving mind.
Bare feet slid over the tile floor behind her. Before she could turn, strong arms banded around her midsection. Alexa found herself hauled back against a very chiseled, very firm chest. She couldn’t suppress the smile that spread across her face.
“I thought I was in control and calling the shots,” she reminded him.
Hayes’s lips nuzzled her neck, causing goose bumps to race over her skin.
“Oh, you did call the shots when you strutted by me,” he murmured in her ear. “You lay beside me shifting those legs, trying to ignore that ache. So here I am.”
She should’ve known he’d see through her. Still, if this was her punishment,
she welcomed the discipline...she was on borrowed time, after all.
Hayes’s hand splayed across her stomach. His other slid up to cup her chin and turn her head just enough to look at him. But she didn’t get a chance before his mouth crashed down onto hers. That hand on her belly went lower and Alexa whimpered.
The moment he touched her where she’d been aching for the last hour, Alexa nearly slid to the floor. Her knees weakened as every one of her senses was assaulted in the most glorious of ways.
Hayes continued to stroke her, kiss her, drive her completely insane until her body tingled more as it climbed higher and higher. Finally, she jerked from the kiss and cried out. He murmured something as he continued to pleasure her and Alexa reached to the side to grip the edge of the counter.
Moments later, her body settled, but she wanted more. Damn him for touching her exactly the way she needed to take the edge off but still leave her craving more.
“We should be ready to finish that movie now.”
Alexa spun around, ready to tear into him for such an asinine statement when she realized he’d been joking. The gleam in his eyes was part amusement, part arousal.
“You better finish what you started, cowboy.”
Those rough hands came to her waist and lifted her up onto the cool vanity. “We both know who started this, darlin’.”
She locked her ankles behind his back and he reached into a drawer to pull out protection. Clearly, as long as she was here, they were going to have to keep those packets in every room.
In no time, he was sheathed and joining their bodies. Alexa knew this was absolute insanity to be this attracted to a man she’d just met. Still, there was nothing that could stop her from taking all the passion he gave. It had been so long... Didn’t she deserve a little selfish happiness?
“Stop thinking,” he whispered against her mouth. “Just feel. Relax.”
Their bodies moved together as if they’d been together for years as opposed to less than twenty-four hours. Hayes’s hands roamed all over her, his lips made their own path over her heated skin. The pleasure he gave was all-consuming. Alexa had never felt so needy and fulfilled at the same time. The way Hayes continued to explore her as if he couldn’t get enough wasn’t something she was used to...and she was quickly slipping into something deeper than just a heated affair.
Hayes slid those talented lips up the column of her throat as her body tightened all around him. He nipped at her ear before jerking his hips faster and capturing her lips. Alexa held on to him as she let the euphoria sweep over her.
Beneath her hands, Hayes’s shoulders tightened as he continued to assault her mouth. For a long time, they clung to each other and she wondered when they’d be finished with each other. Would it be when she left? Would she be out of his system before then?
She’d never favored one-night stands, but she had to admit this was a memorable experience. Life-altering, actually. Because she knew for certain the next time she took a partner to bed, she would demand more than she’d ever realized she’d wanted.
Hayes rested his forehead against hers and let out a low grumble of laughter. “You ready for that movie now? Because I sure as hell couldn’t concentrate earlier.”
Alexa eased back as much as she could to look him in the eye. “You’re such a liar. You lay there like you were so enthralled without a care in the world.”
That naughty grin she’d come to appreciate spread across his face. “I knew you’d cave.”
Swatting at his chest, Alexa uncrossed her legs. “You came after me.”
“After you paraded in front of the screen. I wouldn’t be much of a gentleman if I ignored your invitation.”
When he stepped back, Alexa rolled her eyes, hating the instant chill that fell over her bare skin. “I’m picking the next movie and you’re going to watch it.”
With a shrug, he replied, “Fine by me.”
Alexa named a title, something old that was ridiculously unpopular and very rare. Hayes lifted his brows in surprise.
“There’s only one other person I’ve ever heard mention that film,” he told her.
She hopped off the counter. “Really? Who else?”
“My best buddy from high school. We remained pretty close even during my first deployment, but then we lost touch and he passed away recently.”
Unease curled through her. There was no way. Absolutely not.
“What was his name?” she asked, almost afraid of the answer.
“Scott Parsons.”
Alexa’s stomach dropped, her heart twisted, all the moisture in her mouth dried up the second her late husband’s name landed right between her and Hayes.
Now what the hell did she do? She’d slept with her husband’s best friend and Hayes already had issues with trust.
Tonight was about to get even more interesting.
Ten
Somewhere between the bathroom and the movie, Alexa had mentally and physically checked out. She’d slept in the spare bedroom, claiming she wasn’t comfortable sleeping with a man since her husband.
That was understandable. Hell, he wasn’t looking for snuggles and whispered promises in the dark so he should be relieved at her decision. But he wasn’t.
Hayes wanted her beside him so he could roll over and touch her, pleasure her when he wanted. He’d never been this way with another woman—not even his fiancée.
So why Alexa? What was it about this affair that had him craving even more?
When he’d been with Carly they just fell into everything because of timing, something he could see clearly after the fact. Hindsight and all that. They’d been stationed together, had fallen into an easy pattern of friendship, which led them straight to bed. Of course they’d snuck around, but once their relationship turned serious, with an engagement, they went to their CO and explained things.
Hayes hated how he must’ve looked like a fool from the start. All of those inclinations of marriage, family and settling down here at Pebblebrook were naive goals he’d once held close.
Between the war zones he’d jumped into and the shock from the betrayal, it was a wonder Alexa had even made it into his bed. He’d been the poster child for needing a distraction and the perfect storm literally landed her on his doorstep.
So what the hell had happened last night that had spooked her? They’d both agreed this was only temporary. She’d been even more adamant than he had.
On the flip side, Hayes should be relieved she wasn’t in his bed when the nightmares hit. She’d already witnessed his waking demons—there was no sense in her experiencing them while sleeping, as well.
The next morning, Hayes stood at the kitchen sink sipping his black coffee and staring out at the riverbank. Well, where the bank used to be. The usual cutoff from the land to the water had shifted somewhat as the flooding came up to nearly the slope that led to his porch. The rain had stopped. The storm had eased sometime during the night.
Actually, it had come to a head at eight minutes after two. He knew because he’d lain awake staring at the ceiling. After another nightmare and a clap of thunder, his sleep had been nonexistent. More than likely he’d never get a good night’s rest again, not with the demons constantly chasing him away from any type of normalcy.
The crashing overhead jerked him from his thoughts. His eyes went to the ceiling as he set his mug on the counter. Whatever Alexa had done, it sounded as though something had broke and his gut tightened at the thought of her being hurt.
Hayes raced up the stairs and down the hall leading to the room she’d chosen on the opposite end from his.
When he turned the corner, Alexa sat on the floor, his T-shirt bunched around her hips, and one of his grandmother’s antique pitchers, which had sat on the dresser, was in the floor in shards.
“Don’t come in,” she told him as she reached for the larger pieces.
“Go get me something I can put all these broken pieces in. I just... I wasn’t paying attention and bumped the dresser. I’m so sorry.”
Her hands shook as she lifted another piece. Hayes carefully watched where he stepped and crossed the room.
“Put those down,” he ordered. “You’re going to cut yourself.”
She sniffed and glanced up to him, unshed tears swimming in her eyes. “Just get me the trash so I can throw these pieces away.”
Hayes took the three large chunks from her hand and set them back on the floor. Without warning, he lifted her from the floor and adjusted until one arm was beneath her knees and the other behind her back. He left the room with threatening protests from his houseguest.
“We’ll clean it up later,” he informed her as he went to his room. “Are you upset because you broke that piece? Because I don’t even go in that room and my mother wouldn’t want you to cry over broken porcelain.”
Alexa swiped a hand over her face. “I’m not crying, though I am sorry I broke that.”
“Your eyes are pretty watery. Must be allergies.” He sat her on the end of his bed and picked up one foot to assess for any cuts. Satisfied there were none, he checked her other foot. “You’re not cut anywhere. Let me see your hands.”
Like the hardheaded woman he’d come to know, she put her hands behind her back and tipped her chin. “My hands are fine. I’m going to get dressed and ride Jumper back to the main house.”
Hayes shook his head. “Not a good idea, darlin’. That low area on the property is swimming in water. Remember the spot I showed you when we rode through?”
Her chin quivered, but he had to hand it to her, she didn’t give in to the emotion. “I want to get back to my son.”
“How long were you staying at the B and B?”
“Two more days.” She narrowed her eyes. “I can’t be here that long.”
Hayes crouched down in front of her. “Listen, I don’t know what’s got you so spooked since last night, but there’s no pressure from me. If you’re worried about my expectations, I have none. Do I want you in my bed while you’re here? Hell yes, but I won’t push you.”
Taming the Texan Page 9
