She sniffled and laughed a little. "Boy, I sure know how to bring down the house." After a second, her forehead creased again. "I shouldn't have dragged out all this emotional baggage."
"Don't worry about it. It's fine. Besides, I was a bellhop for a while in college. I know how to handle baggage." I smiled at her, and the corners of her lips began to turn up.
"Man. Roadie, lawyer, bellhop. Is there anything you don't do?"
I thought about that. "Air-conditioning repair."
She grinned. "Good to know. I'm sorry, Tucker, but I need to get a Kleenex."
"That's no problem. It's late anyway."
But getting off the roof was a little more problematic than getting up had been. To launch yourself from the smaller surface of the post onto the big, solid roof was one thing. But to leave the security of the roof and land on the post was another. It even made me nervous.
"I don't know, Tucker," Dani said after I jumped. "I don't know if I can do it."
"Okay, hold on." I hopped off the post. "Leave the wine and glasses. I'll get them later. Scootch over to the edge of the roof, over here where it's safe, and lie down. I'll catch your legs."
"Okay, wait." She disappeared for a minute, and then returned, inching forward on her rear to the edge. She hung the wine bottle over. "I didn't want you to have to come back up here," she said with a smile. I took it from her and set it outside my door. "Okay, now the glasses. But you're going to have to catch these."
"Okay, ready." She let the first one drop and I caught it, no problem. The second one, I bobbled, but recovered.
She smiled. "Good hands."
"Oh, you wait," I teased. "Are you ready?"
"I think so." She started to turn over then swung around. "If you can't do it, get out of the way and let me fall. I'll be fine, it's not that far."
"Okay." I had no intention of doing that, but she didn't need to know it.
Dani lay flat on her stomach and began to back her legs over the edge. When they were within reach, I grabbed them. "Okay. Gotcha, babe. Just go slowly." She shimmied off until I had the majority of her legs. "Let go whenever you're ready." With only a second's hesitation, she let go, and I let her slide down in my arms. "You okay?"
She brushed off her jeans, laughing. "Fine. I feel like an idiot, is all."
"Let me get you that Kleenex." I quickly unlocked the door while she worked on her blouse. I brought back a handful. Her top was beyond salvaging. Not only had tar gotten on it, the rough shingles had ripped the sheer fabric.
"I should never have gotten you up there in the first place. That was stupid. I wanted to be alone with you, and I didn't think I should take you back to my room, or I'd end up in bed with you."
She took a few steps forward and put her arms around me. As her hands rested on my backside, my temperature rose a few degrees. "Would that have been so bad?" She lifted on her tippy-toes and kissed me.
I pulled away after a minute, or two. "Dani, this is probably way too early to say this, but... I really would like to spend more time with you. A lot more time." Like a lifetime. "I really want to do things right this time. Not rush into things. For your sake and mine."
"I understand." She ran a hand up my arm. "Will you walk me to my door, though?"
"Sure. Where's your room?"
Her lips quirked and she pointed. "Two-Twenty-One. Over there." She was, literally, three doors away.
I smiled. "I think I can manage that." We walked with our arms around each other. I stopped at the door and brushed some hair back from her face as she gazed up at me.
"Do you want to come in for a few minutes?"
I hesitated. "Sure." I didn't want things to get out of hand, but I wasn't ready to leave her yet, either.
Once inside she said, "Sit. I'll be right back. I'm going to clean up a little."
I sat on the edge of her bed and waited. Water ran, and then she came out. "I'm a mess." She walked over and stood right in front of me.
I put my hands on the backs of her thighs. "You look great to me."
She touched my face with her fingertips. When she spoke, her voice was choked. "Thanks, Tucker."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Thanks for what?"
"For listening. For understanding. For... wanting to spend more time with me." She bent and kissed me.
"Come here." I scooted until my back was against the headboard. "Let me hold you." She crawled beside me and put her head on my chest. I played with her hair. So silky, like the sleek fur of a cat.
After a minute or so she sat. She placed her hands on my chest and ran them out to my shoulders. Every inch of me came to attention. She began to slowly unbutton my shirt. She peered up. "Only your shirt. I swear." When she undid the last button she let it fall open. She ran her hands and her gaze over my chest, and my resolve crumbled. She straddled my lap. "Are you sure we need to take things slow?" She bit her bottom lip, her eyes dancing.
I found my voice after a second. "Fairly sure, yes."
"Hmm." She resumed her former position, and I swallowed and closed my eyes, praying for strength. She stood.
"Should I go?"
"No. No," she said immediately. "I'm going to slide off my jeans. That's all. Okay? It'll be more comfortable."
"S-sure."
She stood to unsnap and unzip her jeans, never breaking eye contact. I think it was the most erotic experience I've ever had. Until she bent to take them off, and I got a shot down her tank at those gentle curves of hers. Oh, sweet heaven. Black thigh-highs and garters and some sexy boy shorts with lace at the edges. She lifted her leg, setting her foot on the side of the bed, and undid the garter with a snap. She bent seductively over her leg and rolled off her hose. She'd put on fresh lip gloss in the bathroom. Now, I noticed, it was a particularly appealing peach color. After she removed the first leg, she placed the other one up, toes pointed, lengthening her legs all the more. She was playing with me, and I loved every minute of it.
She crawled over the bed to me like a cat, then climbed up my body. "Sure you want to take things slow... T-u-ck-er?" As she suspended herself above me, I slid my hands from the back of her knees to the very edge of her panties. Heat emanated from her. She started kissing her way up my chest.
When she got to my lips, I couldn't take it anymore. I flung her over, pressing my lips to hers. Like we were synchronized puppets, we reached at the same time and threaded our fingers together. She moaned, and I released her fingers in search of her breasts. But it was not enough to feel her through the fabric. Blood pounded through my veins as I sat, bringing her with me and fighting off her tank. In my haste, one of the straps ripped loose.
"I'm sorry," I mumbled, but she muffled my words with mouth and tongue.
"It was ruined, anyway," she said between kisses.
I tossed my shirt to the floor with her tank and coaxed her to the mattress again, seeking the warmth of her flesh, its scent intoxicating me. "Oh, Danielle," I groaned. "You're driving me crazy."
"Make love to me. I want to be with you."
I wanted to make love to her. Wanted it more than anything I ever wanted before. But I knew this would be over too soon if I didn't slow the tempo. So, with a great deal of effort, I separated from her, studying her in the yellow light of the hotel lamp. She was as exquisite as I dreamed, her cheeks and lips flushed, her eyes, piercingly blue as she searched mine. And then came those fatal words.
"Do you have a condom?"
"Shit!" I collapsed on top of her. "No," I moaned. I lifted my head, hanging on to my last thread of hope. "Do you?"
"No. I haven't exactly needed one."
"I haven't either. Damn."
"It's okay," she said, trying to salvage something. "We'll fool around a little."
I swung up, pushing my legs over the side of the bed. The tightness in my crotch made me shift things around before I could run my hands through my hair.
"Oh, come on, baby." Dani rose and kneeled behind me. She kissed my neck and back
, her hands coming around to my chest, melding her body with mine. She slowly moved her hands underneath the waistline of my jeans, bringing her luscious lips to my ear. "I can soothe you."
I grabbed her wrist. "No, damn it, Danielle!" I didn't mean for the words to come out as harshly as they did, but my self-control was gone. She stiffened from where I grasped her wrist all the way up the arms that curled around me. As her head jerked back I thought, Oh, shit! I spun around and caught the crushed expression on her face. I stared at my hand still trapping her wrist and loosened my grip, watching the red fingerprints disappear. "Dani," I said, reaching out and holding her face in my hands a second before pulling her to me. "The only thing that would soothe me now would be to make love to you, to become one." To my horror, she started crying.
"I'm sorry."
"What? Oh, baby. No."
"It's my fault. You were trying to be so smart about it, and I had to push things."
"Hey, no, baby. Shh. This is not a tragedy. There's no hurry. We'll have plenty of time together, if that's what you want."
"That's what I want," she said emphatically.
A smile spread across my face. "Okay. Okay. Let's lie down and get some sleep then. I'll stay here with you, if you want." She nodded weakly and we made ourselves comfortable. I kept my pants on, not wanting to get things started again. "There. Now relax. I've got you."
It was quiet for a moment, and then her voice came muffled from my chest. "I'm not usually this much of a crier."
"Well, you probably don't often have this much to cry about," I reasoned. "And I'm sorry for whatever part I had in it."
"Oh, no." She sat up a little. "You've been great."
"Okay. Lay your head back. You need to get some sleep. You're exhausted."
She snuggled in, her arm stretched across my chest, her hand on my shoulder. Within minutes she was asleep. I wish I could have said the same. I lay awake for hours, stroking her hair. I shifted finally and moved her head to a pillow. I knelt by the side of the bed and watched her sleep for a long time. Even in sleep, she was beautiful. All those long, sleek lines and curves... Eventually, I reached over and turned out the light, then climbed in beside her. I watched her by the light that filtered under the door and through the curtains. She shifted at one point and mumbled my name.
"I'm here." She lifted her head, and I put my arm around her. She rolled over so I was behind her. Her warmth seemed to melt my lids closed.
Somewhere in the middle of the night, she woke with a start and a scream cut short, pushing my arms off her.
"Dani?"
She panted. "Tucker." It was as if it was making sense out of confusion.
"Yeah. Come here. My gosh. You're freezing. Do you want me to get my shirt for you?"
"No!" she cried. Then, more calmly, "No. Don't leave." Beyond tired, we soon drifted off again.
Chapter 27
Maxine
All that smooching between Tucker and Dani, and Kyle and Sam had me wound tighter than a music box some little kid gets a hold of, his curious little fingers turning the key over and over. I mean two great-looking guys. And nice, too. Though at this point, that was of little concern. They wouldn't even have to talk to me if I could get them alone in a dark room for about half-an-hour.
Oh, and when that Tucker started moving on the dance floor... It was like "Roadie's Gone Wild." Other than a strip bar—and I'd only been in one of those—I'd never seen a man move like that. There's nothing sexier than a guy who can dance.
And I say the two of them are going to Hell in a Coach bag. What about me? I'm practically salivating over their dates!
Around midnight I returned to my room, telling Alex goodnight at the door, and coming in to flop on my bed in disgust. I screamed into my pillow and thought it muffled the noise until Alex knocked on my door seconds later asking if I was okay.
"Sorry," I said, out of breath from screaming and running to the door. "I... saw a cockroach."
"Ooh. You did?" She sounded repulsed and automatically took a step back and cringed. "Did you get it?"
"Oh, yeah," I lied.
"As much as we're paying for these freaking rooms you should call the management."
I pushed her into the hallway. "Yeah. I'll do that. 'Nite, Al." I slammed the door and bolted it. I couldn't exactly tell her I was all hot and bothered over Dani's new boyfriend, now could I? With a deep sigh, I started to get ready for bed. I opened my suitcase and caught sight of a sleazy negligee in there, so I slammed it shut again and decided to hop in bed with my new Avalanche jersey on. A jersey I bought because I was sorry for myself, and it helped to balance out the scales some.
I lay there for hours, flopping from one side to the other and onto my back. I even tried my stomach a time or two. I glanced at the alarm clock. 1:18. That damn "Urgent" song played over and over again in my head until I considered another scream. But, I thought Alex wouldn't buy another cockroach story. I could practically see Tucker dancing over me in bed. Men should not be allowed to move like that in public. Unless they're shakin' it next to me, which would be perfectly acceptable, of course.
And that Kyle. He wasn't hard on the eyes either. Tight bod', nice hair, fine-looking ass... Not to mention, he had that whole sexy foreigner thing going for him. Okay, so a Canadian as a foreigner was kind of a stretch, but he did have a bit of an accent, on certain words. And then, since I thought the word foreigner, the whole song started again. Ugh. When the bleary numbers on the clock read 2:21, I snagged the phone and dialed home.
"Max, what's wrong?" Todd practically screamed into the receiver. Then again, since I woke him, he probably wasn't exactly rational yet.
"Nothing, honey," I said sheepishly. "Umm... I forgot about that whole time change thing."
"Oh. So you thought you were dialing me at two in the morning, not four in the morning? What's the difference, Maxine?"
"Well," I said, irritated with the reception I got. "As fun as this has been, I didn't really call for a long-distance pissing match, so I'll hang up now."
"No, wait. Maxi? Come on, wait. I'm sorry. It's just... I can't sleep when you're not here anyway, and I'd finally dozed off."
"You have trouble sleeping when I'm away?"
"Of course." He sighed. "I don't have you to cuddle with."
I smiled in the dark. "And if I were there to cuddle with you right now, what would you be doing?"
"Mmm... I'd be rubbing that smooth skin of yours. Feeling your body pressed against mine." He yawned, which took some of the sexy out of it, but I was desperate.
"And if I were there, where would you want to touch me?"
After a long pause he spoke, sounding more awake and interested. "You know what I like, Max."
I squeezed my eyes shut tight, frustrated. "But, I want you to tell me, honey."
"The kids might still be up," he whispered.
"Todd. It's four-fucking-o'clock in the morning. Nobody's up."
"Okay. I like... your bazombas."
"My bazombas? Can't you just say 'tits,' Todd? Like any other man? You like my TITS."
He laughed, and I started laughing, too. Laughing so hard tears squeezed out of the corners of my eyes. Every time I stopped, he'd crack up again, until I'd about peed my way-too-tight lacy undies, and I was out of breath.
"O-oh." I exhaled. "I miss you, babe."
"And I miss you, babe. And your fantastic bazombas, I mean tits."
We started laughing again, and it was a long time before we were under control enough to tell each other goodnight and hang up. When we did, I grabbed my extra pillow and squeezed it with a smile. He missed my bazombas. And, man, how I loved him.
Chapter 28
Kyle
After bidding Max and Alex goodnight, Sam and I strolled around the corner, and I grabbed Sam to press her against the wall. I drove my tongue into her mouth until we both had to come up for air.
She pressed both hands to the sides of her head. "I don't remember where my room is," she
mumbled.
"No problem," I glanced around to get my bearings. "Mine's right down here." I rushed off, dragging her behind me and counting off the door numbers in my head.
She laughed. "When did you get a room?"
"When I got up to go to the bathroom. I really have to go now, by the way."
"Thanks for sharing."
"Here it is." I jammed my keycard into the lock and opened the door, hauling her inside. I closed the door by backing her ass against it and reached for her face so I could kiss her again.
"I thought you had to go to the bathroom?" she said against my lips, laughing.
"Fuck it!" I yanked off my shoes and drew her by the waist of her jeans to the bed, then eased her down on it. I slowed for a moment to take note of the fact that I finally had the woman in my bed. Then with a smile, I got on my knees and began massaging her legs, moving up inch-by-inch until I almost reached her crotch.
"Ooh, baby. That's good." She moaned, arching her back. I flipped her shoes off, and she sat on her elbows. "Oh. You're not going to bite my toes are you? I understand you Canadians are into that."
I flipped her onto her stomach so quickly she let out a short scream, and then I pounced on her, bringing my mouth to her ear. "You mention another man in my bed one more time, and I'm out that door," I threatened.
"But, isn't this your room?"
"Oh, yeah." I laughed. "Then you're out that door."
She squirmed away from my arms and crawled to the headboard. The disappointment of losing her touch was short-lived as she kneeled, faced me, and then grabbed the headboard with arms spread wide. "You're all talk, Kyle," she taunted. "You couldn't throw me out of here because you want me too bad."
Oh, man, was she right. I'd never wanted a woman like this before. But I wasn't about to let her know that. I sat on the end of the bed, loosening my cuffs. "Aah, I could do without it if I had to."
She screamed and threw herself on my back like a maniac. "Take that back!"
"Ouch!" I laughed. "You're pulling my hair."
"And I'll keep pulling it until you admit you want me."
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