by Erika Kelly
He lowered the back of the truck and leapt onto it, sitting on the edge to watch her dance in the moonlight.
She held her arms out to him. “Dance with me.”
Not a chance would he miss the show.
“Come on, sexy pants.” With a hand on her stomach, she rocked her hips slowly as she got low to the ground then climbed back up. She cupped her hand, fingers waving him over. “Get over here.”
He shook his head, joy filling his body to overflowing. She was the sexiest woman he’d ever seen. And she’s mine.
The song ended, and the next one was slower. A ballad. She sashayed over to the truck, hitching a foot onto the bed and climbing on. Eyes on him, teeth biting into that plump lower lip, she made her way over to him, crooking a finger. She didn’t know what all that untamed hair did to him. Didn’t know that her playful smile made his heart pound furiously.
He swiveled around to her, parting his thighs when she got up close.
Hands on his shoulders, her hair brushing across his cheeks, she leaned over. “If you dance with me, I’ll make it worth your while.”
He got up, but she didn’t take a step back, which meant he grazed her, every cell in his body bursting into flames as it came in contact with her lush body. Not a single word in his vocabulary could express how fiercely he wanted her, how her beauty made him wild, and so he showed her with a grip on her ass and a kiss so consuming that need ripped through his body like wind at the summit of a mountain.
Licking into her mouth, he tasted her hunger, reveled in the feel of her hands tangling in his hair. He needed more. More skin, more taste, deeper, harder connection.
Trailing sucking kisses down her neck, he filled his senses with her scent—vanilla, flowery shampoo, and a hint of fresh peaches.
“Gray.” She pressed up against him so hard his cock ached.
He slipped a hand between her legs, fingers stroking. Her head tipped back, her eyelids fluttered closed, and she made a soft exhalation, before pushing him off. Lifting her dress, she pulled down her tights and panties and kicked them aside. Then, she turned around. “Unzip me.”
His fingers barely managed to latch onto that tiny pull tab, but he got the dress off her shoulders and, before she could turn back around, he reached under the silky fabric to cup her breasts. She moaned, her hair spilling forward, moonlight making the back of her neck glow milky white.
He didn’t want a handful of satin, he wanted her. One flick of his fingers undid the bra clasp. He nudged the bra straps off and filled his hands with warm, plump flesh, the nipples hard beads against his palms.
She bent over just a little, hands braced on the lip of the truck, and pressed her ass against his cock, swishing it back and forth. Jesus. He had to have her. Unbuttoning his jeans with one hand, he grasped his cock and slowly eased inside, the pleasure so intense he had to stop and get a hold of himself. “You feel so fucking good.”
Cupping her breasts, she rubbed her nipples roughly. She took what she wanted, and that was hot. Gray pulled out, then slid back in.
“Yes,” her voice a breathless hush over the music floating in the air.
Sweat beaded at his hairline, as his hips pumped hard and fast. She arched her back, bringing that spectacular ass higher, slamming it back against him in time with his thrusts.
With the black velvet sky ablaze in glittering stars and the pine-scented air swirling around him, Gray had never felt more connected, more perfectly plugged into his life and the world. This woman, she closed his circle. With her, he was complete.
A deep and profound sense of love swept over him, as he lost himself in her wet heat. Her cries grew more frenzied, her fingers turned white where they clutched the metal. The rush of his climax came in hot and dark, and he didn’t know how he could keep it from crashing over him.
He reached around to caress her clit, and the sound ripped from her throat was all it took to push him over. Gripping her hips, he held her in place, as he slammed hard into her and held, his release so intense he about blacked out. But he kept pumping until she threw her head back, cried out, and spasmed in his arms.
This woman was a shooting star.
He just didn’t know how to hang onto her.
Chapter Eighteen
It had been bothering him all night, so the moment she stirred beside him, he said, “I have to tell you something.”
“With your hands?” Her arms rose out of the covers, and her body twisted with a crazy stretch. She let out a tortured groan that ended in a shout. “Because I love when you tell me things with your hands.”
“No.” He hated to douse her playful mood. “It’s about Robert.”
She stilled. “What about him? Did something happen?”
“Remember I said we dropped in on Gros Ventre to do some backcountry skiing? Well, we parked at the resort in Victor and, before we headed back, we went in to use the bathroom.”
“I’m pretty sure peeing in a hotel bathroom isn’t the punchline.”
“Nope.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Robert was there.”
“In Idaho? That’s weird. What was he doing?”
“He didn’t say, but I found him in the bar.”
She sat up. “The bar? Was he wasted?”
“No. He seemed sober. And that’s why I didn’t tell you right away. I didn’t want it to become—”
“Who was he with?”
“Don’t know. Looked like a bunch of older men.”
“But you didn’t recognize any of them?”
He shook his head, growing uneasy with her line of questioning.
“What was he drinking?”
And here we go again. “I couldn’t tell.”
“Did he smell like booze? Because you can’t hide it. He gets this gluey kind of smell. It’s hard to describe.”
“If I thought he’d been drinking, I would’ve told you right away. I didn’t smell his breath, but he didn’t seem intoxicated.”
“So that’s why you were subdued last night, when I told you my news.”
“That’s why.”
“I don’t understand why he’d be in a bar in the middle of the day in Idaho. What’s in Victor?”
He didn’t bother answering, because it just felt too damn familiar. Knox, drilling him to try and make sense of behaviors that didn’t add up. She said she didn’t want to go back there, but she was doing it. “I only know what I just told you. Nothing more.” And maybe this is why I didn’t tell her right away. He couldn’t stomach this version of her.
“Well, it couldn’t be good. First of all, he shouldn’t be in a bar.”
“I brought that up, and he said he’d been sober for seven years. He could handle a beer or two.”
“Which is problematic in itself. Should I talk to him about it? I mean, I have a right. I can’t afford for anything to go wrong, and if he’s using—well, I think we all know how spectacularly bad things can go if he’s high.”
“If you want to talk to him about it, go ahead.” He threw back the covers. He needed a shower and a power shake before he hit the gym.
“Are you angry with me?” She got out of bed. “Gray?”
He turned back to her. “I’m not angry. I’m annoyed. I don’t want to dissect Robert’s behavior.” But, no matter how frustrated he was with the situation, he wouldn’t leave her to the internal dialogue he knew from past experience she’d be embroiled in for the rest of the day. “I believe two things. One, he needs a career, so I think he’s as invested in this working out as we are. If it fails, he looks bad not only in front of his family but in the one industry where he’s got a shot of kick-starting things.”
“I agree with that. What’s the other thing?”
“That he wants to do right by you.” He watched her carefully for a reaction, a little disgusted with himself. And when she softened, when she smiled, he felt it like a corkscrew twisting in his heart.
“Yeah. I think so, too.”
He wasn’t going to d
o it again, be the third wheel. He wasn’t going to watch her reunite with her first love. He went into the bathroom and shut the door. Didn’t even wait for the water to get hot, just stepped into the stall and let the cold water crash over him. It startled him, woke him up fully. He needed to hit the trails, run the madness out of his pores. Closing his eyes, he tipped his head back, the warming water saturating his scalp. He poured shampoo into his palms and attacked his hair like it was on fire.
Cold air swirled around his ankles, and he whipped around to find Knox stepping in beside him.
Looking chastised, she stood there in her loose tank top and boxer-style bottoms, water pummeling her, drenching her clothes. “I time-traveled, and I’m sorry. Dialed back the clock a full seven years. I thought…” She shook her head. “Well, I’m aware of it now and I promise to be better about it. But can you do me a favor?”
He reached for her, so damn happy when she stepped into his arms. “I’ll do anything for you. You know that.” Except compete with Robert. That…I won’t ever do again.
“I need you to tell me when I’m doing it. Don’t shut me out, and don’t walk away, okay?”
“Yeah, okay. But Knox?”
She tipped her head up, immediately shutting her eyes against the spray. Shielding her, he walked her back till she hit the wall.
“If you have feelings for Robert, you need to tell me right now. Don’t fuck with me about this.”
“Feelings? Oh, God, no. Gray. I just meant I fell back into the old pattern. I don’t have any romantic feelings for him.” She looked genuinely confused. “I’m with you. How could I possibly want anyone else?”
Relief sideswiped him, knocking him back a step.
She scraped the wet hair out of his eyes. “You okay, there?”
He answered with his hands.
Since she liked the way they talked to her.
* * *
“What the hell?” Robert stopped to take in the costumed actors performing a staged shoot-out on the street in front of them.
Owl Hoot, the wild west ghost town Brodie had turned into a living museum, looked right out of an old cowboy movie with its jail, saloon, and general store, but it’d been modernized with working shops, bars, and even an upscale resort.
Strolling on the boardwalk, a group of women in period dresses and parasols nodded to an actor tying his horse’s reins to a hitching post.
Robert winked at them. “This place is amazing.”
“Yeah, Brodie did a good job.” As his friend took it all in, Gray stepped behind Knox, bracing his hands on the wooden bannister, and nuzzled her ear. “Good day?” They hadn’t had a chance to catch up yet. He’d prefer to be alone with her, but Robert had wanted to update them on the show.
She touched his hands, leaning back into him. “Really good.”
“Tell me after dinner?”
“Is this what it was like for you?” Robert’s voice shattered their quiet intimacy. He observed them with a smile, but since Gray knew first-hand what it felt like to be the third wheel, he knew it wasn’t sincere.
It sucked not to be the one who got to go home with Knox. “It was a thousand times worse.” Because she’s my heart.
“We going to get some grub?” Robert asked.
“You bet.” Gray needed to be more careful. He didn’t want to make his friend uncomfortable. “Delilah’s expecting us.” They continued along the boardwalk, crossed the street, and headed into the resort hotel. Keeping with the wild west theme, the lobby had deep red carpet and shiny brass sconces and chandeliers. The staff dressed in the style of the early nineteen-hundreds, when Calamity was founded.
Reaching for Knox’s hand, Gray led the way to Wally’s, the elegant restaurant with one-hundred-eighty-degree views of the sage meadows and dark gray Teton range.
“How the hell did Brodie do this?” Robert marveled at the décor, before heading into the restaurant with them. “I thought he designed terrain parks.”
“A little over a year ago, his friends were making noise about moving to Seattle or San Diego,” Gray said. “They couldn’t make a decent living here. My dad always called him a visionary, and I guess he was right, because Brodie came up with this idea and then, a year later, here we are. It’s a work in progress, of course, but he’s gotten a lot done.”
Robert looked to Knox. “See that? Brodie’s no architect. He’s not an engineer or a contractor. A year from now, I could be Luc Bellerose.”
“You absolutely could,” Knox said. “Though it might take a teeny bit more than a year.”
“Hey, Gray,” the hostess said. “Delilah’s got a table all set for you guys. She’s prepared a tasting menu. Come on.”
They wove their way through the light wood tables and pale green booths, greeting familiar faces, until they reached their four-top. Just as Gray moved to slide in next to Knox, Robert did the same, and they collided.
Robert grinned. “Old habit.” He took the chair across from them. “Okay, so, the florist’s all over your idea. He’s working with the gallery owner, who’s got concerns about her floor, but they said not to worry, they’ll take care of it. I’ve got three more models, which means we’re good to go even if I can’t get any more since they can repeat.”
“I have to ship the dresses to New York this Friday,” Knox said. “Are they going to the gallery? Can she store them for me?”
“She can’t close down that long,” Robert said. “But she does have a storage space we can use.”
“Well, they can’t just be in a storage space.” Knox looked worried. “They’re fragile, and the fabric picks up odors.”
Robert raised a hand. “It’s actually the unoccupied building right next door. We have to pay the landlord the same amount we’d pay for a pop-up store.”
“The person you’ve hired,” Gray said. “Does she know how to pack wedding gowns?”
“Of course.” Robert sounded offended. “I’m flying someone in from LA.”
“Hey, it’s a valid question,” Gray said.
“At some point you have to trust me. Have I fucked up yet, even once?”
“That’s got nothing to do with making sure the person you hired can handle seventy-five-thousand-dollars-worth of couture wedding gowns,” Gray said.
“Let’s put ego aside,” Knox said. “This is my show. I have to be on top of everything. I’d be stupid not to.” She pulled her napkin out from under the silverware and spread it across her lap. “Okay, so, we’ve got nine models.”
“Ten.” Robert smiled, pleased with himself. “That retired one I mentioned? She’s in.”
“Can I see them?”
“Yeah, sure.” He pulled out his phone, scrolled until he found what he was looking for, and passed it over. “I’ve got their portfolios in a Dropbox file.”
While Gray downed his water, Knox flipped quickly through the file. “I don’t recognize any of these women. Oh. Wait.” She looked up at him with a strange expression. “That’s Marie-Thérèse.”
“Yeah. She retired a couple years ago. After she had a baby.”
“I thought she only came out of retirement for Luc.”
“Apparently, she’ll do it for Grangers, too.” Robert took his phone back. “I can be pretty persuasive.”
“Oh, I’m well aware.”
“I’m sure you are, since you learned on the first day we met.” Robert grew animated. “You remember that day? I told you I’d followed a coyote.”
“How could I forget? Not many people spend Christmas morning alone in a park. It shocked the hell out of me to see someone else there. Especially a kid from school.”
“What were you doing there anyway?” Gray knew the story, of course, but as a kid he hadn’t thought to ask. It only struck him now that she’d been nine at the time. “You lived pretty far from any parks.”
“Christmas Eve, we spent the night at the lodge, where my mom worked,” Knox said. “I don’t really remember much, just that she wasn’t waking up, and I wa
s getting impatient to open my presents.”
“I’ll tell you why she left the room.” Robert only had eyes for Knox, and they glittered with a private joke. “You wanted hot chocolate.”
She leaned closer to Gray. “How do you even remember that?”
He lifted his arm and wrapped it around her, ridiculously pleased when she settled in against him.
“The lobby had a coffee and tea station, and you wanted cocoa. But you couldn’t reach it. You spilled something, and when people started coming over, you ran out of there like you’d just pulled off a heist.”
“That’s exactly what it felt like.”
“And you ran across the street to the park. As soon as I saw you, I wanted you to stay with me, but I knew you’d want to go back inside when the coast was clear.” One side of his mouth curled up. “So I told you I’d seen a coyote in my backyard, and that I’d followed him.”
“And there I went, trying to track down an imaginary wild animal. Nice job.”
“Well, it started us, so…no regrets.”
“All I really wanted was to open my presents.” She didn’t acknowledge his sentimental comment, and Gray appreciated it.
“And the hot chocolate,” Robert said.
“And the hot chocolate.” Knox turned to Gray. “We wound up spending the whole day together. Forgot all about the stupid coyote. My mom went nuts trying to find me, and I never did get my hot chocolate.”
Gray breathed in the scent of her floral shampoo. “Did you get what you wanted that Christmas?”
She rewarded his question with a sweet smile. “I did. My mom came through and got me the Deluxe Magnadoodle.”
“Oh, my God.” Robert slapped the table. “Do you remember those walkie talkies we had?”