Kenny nodded and kept his eyes forward. He pulled the sander into the parking lot of a motel. “There are hotels farther from the highway, but I’ve got to get back to sanding. The more time I’m off the road, the more likely it’ll be that I’ll come across someone else the ice took out.”
Clay shook his hand and waited while Kenny wrote his number on a napkin. After pocketing it, Clay helped Lexi out of the truck and retrieved their bags. To his surprise, Lexi leaned back into the truck and said, “Kenny, good things happen to good people every day. Don’t be afraid to tell your wife about the job. Go home and Google Clay Landon. He’s the real deal.”
Kenny smiled. “I’ll do that.”
Lexi closed the door to the truck and stepped back. Clay put his arm around her and they both stood there, the snow falling down all around them, watching the truck pull away. When she finished waving, Lexi asked, “Should we have asked him to wait to see if there’s an open room?”
Clay kissed her briefly. “There’ll be a room.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, sorry, I forgot what a big deal you are.”
He chuckled and bent to pick up their luggage. “There you go talking about my size again. All I meant was that most places keep one or two rooms open to accommodate the unexpected, but you can’t keep your mind out of the gutter.”
They walked toward the office of the motel, their steps quickening as the cold began to nip at them. They were both still smiling until the clerk asked, “One room?”
Clay didn’t want to pressure her, but he couldn’t imagine not holding her that night. On the other hand, he’d said he would wait for New Year’s Eve. Could that ever happen if they shared the same room? The same bed?
“One,” Lexi said softly and Clay’s blood shot downward.
“I’m sorry?” the clerk said, looking up from the computer.
“One,” Clay said more firmly.
One?
Give me strength.
Chapter Nine
An hour later, Lexi lay beneath the covers on one side of the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She considered herself relatively experienced when it came to men, but she had no idea what to do. Clay had her completely confused. One minute he was hot and heavy, the next he avoided her touch like he was afraid to catch something from her. “Clay?”
“Yes?” he answered from his side of the bed.
“Is the wall of pillows between us really necessary?”
“Yes.”
“Did I say something to offend you?”
“No.”
“So you’re not upset with me?”
“Not at all.”
“Then why do you sound angry?”
“Because I told you that I could wait until New Year’s Eve, and I’m damn well going to keep that promise. I’m not going to be the reason you break your celibacy cleanse.”
“It was a joke, Clay. A test. We were flirting, and I wanted to prove to myself that you’d move on if you thought I wouldn’t sleep with you that night.”
He growled from deep in his throat. “Well, now you know I’m not quite that shallow.”
“Yes, I do.” She rolled onto her side. In the faint light of the room she could see his profile. He was stretched on top of the blanket on his back with his arms crossed beneath his head. “It really was just a joke.”
“Doesn’t matter, I said I’d honor it, and I will.” Although he’d changed into a T-shirt and lounge pants, he was still covered from head to toe.
“You’re serious.” She went up on one elbow and looked across at him.
“I am.”
“Then thank God you kept your socks on, or I’d be jumping these pillows and ravishing you,” she said cheekily and reached out to touch his chest.
He slapped her hand lightly. “No touching until tomorrow.”
The light sting on her hand was more exciting than painful. “That wasn’t the rule earlier in the Hummer.”
“Desperate situations call for desperate measures.” He punched the rolled up blanket beneath his head. “Good night.”
Lexi flopped onto her back and sighed. Although she liked the idea that he was holding to a promise he’d made her, it didn’t make her feel irresistible. In fact, apparently, she was quite resistible. “Good night,” she said angrily and turned onto her side. The room was temporarily illuminated by the light from Clay’s phone. After hearing him replace it on the beside table, she asked, “Texting someone to bring more pillows?”
“Setting my alarm. Get some sleep. I’ll see you at midnight.”
“Midnight?”
“That’s when my promise expires.”
Lexi’s body hummed with anticipation at his words. “You’re joking, right?”
“Didn’t you say you could always tell when I wasn’t serious?”
“I was wrong. I have no idea anymore.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to wait until midnight.”
Ridiculous.
Crazy.
So very sexy she almost couldn’t breathe.
“I guess I will.”
Clay was hanging onto his control by a thread. He couldn’t imagine ever sharing the story of that night with anyone because it would sound crazy in the retelling. Hell, it was crazy. He was lying in the same bed with a woman he’d just realized he loved, and he was doing nothing, despite the fact that she seemed more than willing.
He could have carried her into the room, thrown her on the bed and already tasted every inch of her. By now they would be on round two, or three. Her sweet mouth might even be wrapped around him at that very moment. He shuddered.
I’m nuts.
What do I really think this will prove? That I can commit to something? More like confirm that I should be committed.
No, I said I would do this and I will.
He glanced at the clock. Three hours until midnight. Three fucking hours.
“Clay?”
She’s not helping. “Yes?”
“We’re in a motel. Have you ever stayed in one before?”
“No.”
“But you have no problem staying here?”
“Do you?”
“No. I just assumed—”
“That I would be a snob about where we stayed?”
“Yes.”
“Just because I haven’t done something doesn’t mean I think I’m too good for it.”
She was quiet for several long moments. “Clay, why did you say that you and I run a foundation together?”
“Because I am in the process of creating one and before you take one of those jobs I lined up for you, I’m hoping you’ll consider working with me.”
“I don’t think working for you would be a good idea, Clay.”
“With, Lexi. I’m looking for a partner, not a secretary.”
“A partner? What would I do?”
He looked across the darkness at the outline of her. “I don’t even know what my role will be exactly, but I want to do this. I need to do this. And it’s right up your alley. I’ve never met anyone as able to jump into a job they knew nothing about and make it look easy.”
She flashed a smile at him. “And we could help people like Kenny and his friends.”
“Yes, we could.”
“We could make a real difference.”
“And we could do it together.” He reached out to take her hand and jumped when she slapped him back.
“Keep your hands to yourself. It’s not midnight yet, buddy.”
He rolled onto his back and laughed. “Did I ever tell you how perfect you are?”
“No, but I’m all ears,” she said with a light laugh.
“I knew it from the first time I saw you,” he said as he went back in time. They spent the next couple of hours talking about everything and nothing, comfortable with each other on a level he struggled to put into words. With her there was no pretense, no game. They simply enjoyed each other.
They were both beginning to doze off when the alarm on his phone sli
ced through the air.
Chapter Ten
Midnight.
Lexi froze. She didn’t know what to expect, but she knew what she wanted. No matter where their time together led, she had a hunger that only one man could ease.
Wordlessly, he picked up one pillow and threw it to the floor. Then another. One by one he removed each of the four pillows that had separated them. Lexi held her breath.
“You’re wearing too much clothing, Lexi. Strip for me.”
She didn’t move. “You first.”
He laughed. “Shy?”
“Something like that.” Vulnerable was more like it. She wasn’t ready to lay herself out for him until she was sure he was willing to do the same for her.
He sat up and pulled his shirt over his head, revealing a perfectly muscled bare chest. With an expert move, he leaned back and slid out of the rest of his clothing in one swift move. Then he smiled and pulled off his socks, dropping them with flair off the side of the bed. Her eyes slid down the expanse of his chest to the throbbing evidence of his arousal.
“Now you,” he ordered softly.
She crawled out from beneath the blanket and got to her feet beside the bed. Ever so slowly, she pulled her shirt up and off, then dropped it to the floor. He turned on the light beside the bed and smiled. “So damn beautiful.”
She felt beautiful, more than she had in a long time. And daring. She stuck one of her fingers in her mouth, wet it, then drew a circle on one of her nipples before repeating the action with her other. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“You still have too much clothing on.” His voice was deep and full of promise.
She put her fingers under the waistband on either side of her hips and snapped the elastic. “Oh, no, it seems to be stuck. How disappointing.”
He was across the bed in a heartbeat, standing before her. “Let me see what I can do.” He kissed her neck hungrily, grabbed her ass from behind and ground her pelvis against his excitement.
Lexi threw her head back as pleasure shot through her. Every place his lips touched came to life for him, adding to the need that was already close to sending her out of control. She gripped his shoulders and lifted one of her legs so he fit more closely against her sex. She moved against him, loving each time her nipples grazed his hot skin.
“I thought that would do it,” he said into her ear. “Looks like I’ll have to try something else.”
He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled her across his lap face down. There was a roughness to his moves, but Lexi welcomed it. He ran his hand over her upward turned ass as if claiming it as his through her pajama pants. Holding her still with one hand on the middle of her back, he ran his other hand up the inside of her thighs. He cupped her sex through the cloth and moved his hand up and down against it. “I can feel how wet you are already. I’m going to fuck you, Lexi, until you can’t remember who you were with before me.” He pulled the back of her pajama bottoms down and gripped her cheeks so tight it hurt, but a good hurt.
Lexi remained where she was, draped across his lap. She didn’t know what he’d do next, but she trusted him. He slid her bottoms down, inch by inch, until he pulled them off entirely. Then he eased her back onto her feet. “So perfect,” he growled, then looked away long enough to grab a condom and sheath himself.
She leaned down and kissed him. As soon as their mouths met all semblance of control left them. He stood and hauled her against him. She dug her hands into his hair and kissed him with all the passion she’d held back. They grasped at one another, frantically sought to bring each other pleasure while greedily taking their own.
He half walked, half carried her the few feet to the wall and slammed her back against it. She yanked him forward, digging her nails into his shoulders as she climbed onto him. Locked in a passionate kiss, he took her against the wall in a wild mating. She arched and met his thrusts. He fisted one hand in her hair and held her up with his other, all while pounding upward into her.
Lost in wave after wave of pleasure, Lexi cried out his name as she came. He groaned and bent her farther back so he could take one of her nipples into his mouth. His tongue and teeth worked her nub in a way that could only be described as sinful magic. She begged for him not to stop when he moved his attention to her other breast and started all over, and she sobbed at the searing pleasure that rocked through her.
All the while he pounded into her, filling her, driving her wildly closer and closer to her second climax. Just before she did, his hand tightened on her hair and forced her face upward toward his. “I’m going to marry you, Lexi Chambers,” he growled and thrust into her several times, taking them both over the edge together.
Sweaty, breathless, they stayed as they were, still intimately connected and braced against the wall. “Did you just ask me to marry you?” Lexi asked, trying to gather her thoughts.
He kissed her lips briefly, his breathing ragged and hot against her skin. “I believe it was more of a declaration than a request.” He lowered her gently to her feet.
She swayed then steadied herself by placing a hand on the corner of the table beside her. “That’s not fucking funny.”
He quickly cleaned himself off, dropped the condom in the trash, and swept her up into his arms. “The better response would be yes.”
She was still trying to get her bearings when he dropped her on the bed. She scrambled to sit up, but he was beside her, pulling her into his arms. She pushed him away. “How could I say yes when you haven’t actually asked me?”
He frowned at her. “You’re right.” He moved off the bed and dropped down to one knee beside it. “Lexi Chambers, you are the only woman I know who is crazy enough to take on a man like me. I am madly in love with you. If you don’t say you’ll marry me, I am going to keep you tied to this bed, keep fucking your brains out, until you’re so weak from multiple orgasms you’ll give in and agree.”
Lexi almost burst into happy tears, but instead she burst out laughing. “Now I’m torn. On one hand I could confess that I’m in love with you, too, but you made holding out sound so good I hate to agree too early.”
He crawled back into bed and settled himself above her. “Either way you’re stuck with me.”
She shifted beneath him, widening her legs so his cock came to rest against the lips of her sex. “I sure hope so.”
He was instantly rock hard again. “Don’t hope—believe.”
I do.
I finally do.
Much later, dressed in formal attire, Clay and Lexi walked into the dining room at the hotel in Stowe. It was decorated beautifully in white and gold, but the attendance at the event was a quarter of what had been expected. The storm had grounded most planes and closed the roads until a few hours earlier. Sophie had called and asked if Clay and Lexi would officially represent the Barringtons that evening.
Despite how much he would have preferred to spend that evening in bed with Lexi, Clay agreed to work the party for Sophie. He and Lexi greeted all of the guests and explained the circumstances that led them to being in charge. Well, not all of the circumstances. They were trying to stay on their best behavior, but it was hard. Innocent comments had them exchanging lusty looks and coughing back laughs like children who were under strict orders to be good but couldn’t quite hold it together.
“Well, it’s good that you were able to come.”
“Yes. Yes it was.”
More than one person attempted to share concerns about the low turnout or certain subpar meals being served when they first arrived. They quickly realized, though, that they were telling the wrong people. Nothing could wipe the silly smiles off Clay’s and Lexi’s faces.
The one who almost had Clay feeling guilty was Vincent Moretti, a high-end restauranteur who seemed to want to have a serious conversation. Moretti made the mistake, however, of saying, “I’m surprised you showed up. The snow came down a lot harder and for a lot longer than anyone expected.”
Without missing a beat, Lexi sa
id, “Longer and harder is not always a bad thing.”
Which sent Clay into a fit of laughter that Lexi joined in on. Shaking his head, Vincent said, “I’ll call you after the holidays.”
His quick departure only made the whole situation more amusing. I hope that guy gets laid this weekend. He’s all wound up.
People probably thought he and Lexi had sampled too much champagne, but they hadn’t. The high they were both on was solely the result of how good they made each other feel. And the great sex they’d had at midnight, later that morning, and as soon as they checked into the hotel in Stowe.
A courier arrived mid evening with a package Clay had requested. He took Lexi by the hand, pulled her out of the dining room into the hallway, and said, “Lexi, I had this delivered today.”
“Stop.” He started to go down on one knee when she stopped him. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m in. I’ll marry you. You don’t have to ask again. The answer is yes.”
“I want to do it right this time.”
Lexi smiled and cupped his face between both of her hands. “You did. Maybe you didn’t do it the traditional way, but you did it your way and that was even better. You and I, we don’t fit into the same mold as everyone else, but maybe that’s not a bad thing.”
“It’s not. You’re incredible, Lexi.”
She went up onto her tiptoes to kiss him. “You are equally wonderful.”
He laughed and she joined in.
“Together we’re fucking amazing,” he joked.
“You got that right.”
He opened the ring box. “I still want you to have this, Lexi. It was my mother’s engagement ring. It’s a red sapphire, not a diamond. My father claimed there was no diamond with enough fire to represent their love.” He slid it on her finger.
Lexi looked at it then ran her hand up his chest and pulled him down for a deep kiss. “I love you, Clay. I thought I knew what love was before I met you, but I didn’t.”
He chuckled. “I knew I had no fucking clue what it was about, but I get it now. I’m a better person with you at my side. I want to wake up in your arms, fight over something trivial, and have make-up sex every day.”