by Dylann Crush
She followed his lead, her head tucked against his shoulder. The night air was a welcome change from the stale interior of the station. As they walked toward the truck Bodie pressed the fob to unlock the doors. He wasn’t going to force Lacey to talk; he’d wait until she was ready.
He held her door and helped her climb in. She seemed so fragile. What had happened to the woman who’d told him to “back the hell off” a few weeks ago? She had to be in there somewhere. Maybe a good night’s sleep would help. By the time he’d walked around the truck and climbed in, she’d buckled her seat belt and stared straight ahead. Her shoulders slumped, her chin didn’t hold that same confident angle he’d grown accustomed to.
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to make the drive back home tonight. How do you feel about finding a room here in town and we can head back first thing in the morning?”
She nodded.
Okay. He pulled out of the parking lot and pointed toward home. On the outskirts of town there was a decent hotel he’d stayed in before. If Lacey didn’t offer up any opinions, he’d take charge. She might bust his balls tomorrow but in the state she was in right now, she didn’t appear to have the energy left to give him a hard time.
They drove in silence until he stopped in front of the hotel. “So, is one room with two beds okay or do you want your own room?” He wasn’t sure how to broach the subject. The idea of sleeping anywhere near Lacey almost made the enchiladas he’d scarfed down for lunch reappear. Not that he was opposed to sharing a room. But Lacey wasn’t the kind of woman he could mess around with. Even if she was, knowing her brother would kick his ass for touching her would ensure Bodie kept his hands to himself.
“One room is fine. I don’t have the cash to cover my own.” She tilted her head but didn’t meet his eyes. “Two beds, right?”
Bodie bit his lip and nodded. “Yep. Two beds. You want to come in with me or wait in the truck?”
“I’ll wait here.”
“I’ll leave it on. Back in just a sec.” He needed to say something but he had no idea what. Something that would put a smile back on her face and chase away the sadness in her eyes. One step at a time. First step—he needed to get them a room.
The clerk at the desk didn’t give him any trouble. Check-in took about three minutes from start to finish and before he’d had a chance to come up with step two, he was headed back to the truck. He hadn’t thought to pack a bag and Lacey didn’t have anything with her so there was no need to worry about any kind of luggage.
He knocked at her window to get her attention. She startled then rolled it down.
“Room two-forty-two. You want to turn off the truck and hand me the keys?”
She did before grabbing her purse and climbing out of the truck. Standing on the pavement next to him, she seemed to shrink.
“Come on. Let’s get you tucked in. Nothing that a good night’s sleep won’t cure.”
Lacey followed behind him, fresh out of attitude. The silence seemed louder than any griping she’d done before. He’d never admit it to her, but he kind of liked her loud attempts at trying to run the show better than this complacent quietness.
The room wasn’t anything special. Two double beds with a small nightstand between them.
“Which one do you want?” he asked.
“Doesn’t matter.” She tossed her purse on the one closest to the window. “You don’t snore, do you?”
He hung his jacket in the small closet area. “It’s kind of late to be asking about that, don’t you think?”
The start of a smile lifted the edges of her lips. He’d take it.
“You don’t by chance have an extra shirt, do you?” Lacey took off her jacket and turned to face him. Rows of circles lined her shirt.
He squinted, reading the print at the top. “Lick Me?”
“No thanks. When the last guy tried that I ended up in jail.” She slumped into the chair next to the TV. “I never should have come to Dallas.”
Bodie had been waiting for a conversation starter like that to fall into his lap. “It’s not your fault. The officer said you pack a mean stomp on the foot.”
Lacey groaned as she cradled her head in her hands. “How did I not notice the difference between the stripper cops and the real cops?”
“Maybe because the real cops were just as buff as the strippers?” Bodie tried to joke. Somehow the thought of a stranger putting his mouth on her shirt fired up a few nerves. Easy now. Even though he’d always kept an eye out for Luke’s younger sister, Lacey wasn’t his to protect.
She snorted. “I wasn’t in the mood to check out their pecs.”
“How about now?” He flexed, first one position, then another, in trying to get another laugh out of her.
Shaking her head, she blew off his lame attempt at humor. “Can I ask you something serious?”
He put a hand on the back of her chair and spun her around to face him. The bed creaked as he sat down on the edge. He wanted to give her his full attention. “What’s up?”
“Why did you come and get me?” Her palm landed on his knee. She kept her gaze trained on the spot where her fingers rested against his leg.
His heart kicked up a notch at the contact. “Because you called.”
“But I hung up on you.” Blue eyes met his, ratcheting his pulse up even higher.
He put his hand on hers. “I’m there for you, Sweets. Anytime. Okay?”
“Because of Luke.” She nodded, sliding her hand out from under his.
“No.” The firm tone in his voice surprised her. Hell, it surprised him. She met his gaze again. “Because of you.”
“What do you mean, because of me? I’ve done nothing but try to boss you around since I took over as mayor. And all you’ve done is try to help me.” Her eyes reflected a combination of confusion and hurt.
Wanting to reassure her, he took her hand again. She didn’t pull away. He ran his gaze over her fingers. “I’ll always be there for you, Lacey. We’ve got a history together and your family has always been there for me. Even when mine . . .” He stopped. The shit his dad and pops had going on was too near the surface to share.
She stood, pulling his head to her chest, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “I know.”
His hands went to her back, rubbing small circles over her spine. She smelled like someone had spilled a gallon of vodka all over her then sat her out in the sun. Her shirt stuck to his cheek. He was tempted to flick his tongue out and see if the circles really did taste like salt. But this was Lacey. So what if she’d grown up in the time she’d been away? It didn’t matter that being this close to her made him painfully aware of just how much she’d changed from the gangly girl she’d been.
“For what it’s worth”—she leaned back and searched out his gaze—“I’m sorry.”
He pulled back, his cheek sticking to her shirt. “No need to apologize. I’ve got your back and you’ve got mine. We’re like . . .”
“Family.” The way she said it made him think she didn’t like having to claim him as some sort of kin.
“That’s not a bad thing, you know.” His hands fell from her back as he stood.
She shrugged before she stepped away. “It can be.”
twenty-four
Lacey took in a breath through her nose. The smell of home washed over her. Silly girl. It wasn’t home. It was the scent of Bodie’s shirt that made her feel warm and snug inside. She was playing with fire right now and she knew it. Nothing good would come out of her and Bodie hooking up. But a whole lot of bad sure might. As much as she wanted to hold him close, nestle his cheek against her chest, and let them both forget about everything waiting for them back home, she couldn’t. He’d never think of her as more than Luke’s little sister. No matter how much she might want him to.
“What’s wrong? What did I say now?” He stood, his chest filling
her vision as he rose to his full height.
“Nothing. It’s just been a long day. Do you care if I use the bathroom first?” She tried to rewind to a time when she didn’t crave Bodie’s touch. When being this close to him didn’t make her want to throw herself into his arms. It didn’t work. For as long as she could remember she’d had a major crush on Bodie Phillips.
He studied her for a moment, making her skin feel like it was baking under a hot July sun. “Go ahead.”
She stepped into the bathroom, eager to wash the frustration of the day away and douse the warmth being alone with Bodie had sparked. Without a change of clothes she wouldn’t be able to do much, but at least she could scrub the makeup off her face and freshen up a little bit. Too bad she didn’t have a shirt to change into. She’d give about anything to swap out the stupid Lick Me shirt for something more comfortable and less of a reminder of how she’d failed the family name.
When she finished in the bathroom, she opened the door a crack. “I’m coming out now.”
Bodie’s answer came from close by. Too close. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
“Are you decent?” She couldn’t afford to surprise him with his pants down. The sight of him fully clothed sent her hormones into a tailspin. No telling what might happen if she actually caught a glimpse of forbidden skin.
“Pretty much.” He held his shirt in front of the door. “Sorry I don’t have anything else to offer, but if you want to change, I just put this one on before I left tonight.”
Nothing would make her happier than to trash her stupid T-shirt, but could she spend an entire night surrounded by the remnants of Bodie’s body heat and still be able to hold herself in check? The scent of fabric softener drifted past her nose, a much better option than the mixture of hopelessness and despair her shirt had absorbed in the holding cell. She snaked her hand through the crack in the door and grabbed it. “Thank you.”
“You bet.”
A moment later she stepped out of the bathroom, Bodie’s shirt hanging halfway down her thighs. Just having the opportunity to wipe off her face and swap her shirt had given her mood a little bit of a boost.
“Wow.” He stood by his bed, his gaze drifting over her.
“What?” The sheer intensity of his stare made her cheeks warm. She briefly met his gaze then sucked in her breath as her eyes roamed over his bare torso. She’d been right—his pecs were carved from granite. No wonder every time she’d pressed against them it felt like solid rock under her hands.
“Nothing.” He ducked his head but not before she caught a flush of pink on his cheeks. Maybe they both felt a little out of their element. Instead of making her feel better, that thought caused a bolt of awareness to crackle through her. Bodie probably just felt uncomfortable being saddled with her for an evening. He couldn’t have the same kind of thoughts about her that she’d had about him.
She shed her shoes and jeans while Bodie took his turn in the bathroom. As she curled up in a ball and pulled the covers up to her chin, she tried not to think about the events of the evening. But she couldn’t hold the memories at bay. Her stomach tightened as Adeline’s last words looped through her head. “You’ll never make this work. I should have known better than to try to work with you.”
Her chance to save the town and redeem her family name had disappeared with Adeline’s temper tantrum. Not that Lacey blamed her for being upset. Lacey had single-handedly ruined the bachelorette party. Why couldn’t she have just let the guy suck on her shirt and called it good?
She clenched her hands into fists then released them, trying to alleviate some tension. She couldn’t because she didn’t want some stranger, granted a very good-looking stranger, putting his lips anywhere near her. It was her right to decide who had access to her body. And the only man whose lips she wanted roaming over her didn’t want to have anything to do with her. At least not in that capacity.
The bathroom door opened. “I’m coming out.”
“Okay.”
“Damn, it’s dark out here.” His feet shuffled on the carpet. The sound of Bodie getting settled under the covers brought a slight sense of comfort and a tidal wave of anxiety. “You okay?”
She waited a beat before answering. “Yeah.”
“It’s going to be fine. You believe me, don’t you?”
Rolling to face the direction of his voice, she took in a deep breath. “I want to.”
“It will. You’ll find someone else to have the first wedding.”
“But the story . . . I don’t know if the reporter will be on board if we don’t have Swynton royalty involved.”
Bodie’s chuckle sent a wave of warmth through her. “Swynton royalty? Is that a thing?”
“May as well be. I think Adeline’s crowned herself queen.”
“We don’t need Adeline. You’ll figure something out.” He yawned. “You always do.”
His faith in her ability to always find a solution had to be misplaced. She tried to close her eyes, give in to the sheer exhaustion she’d been battling since she climbed into the limo this morning. Her body craved sleep. But her brain operated on overdrive, trying to sort out options on how to handle the latest development in her quest to save the town.
Bodie’s breath evened out. She lifted the neck of his shirt to her nose, hoping his scent would calm down her frayed nerves. All it did was make her hyperaware of how close he was. Close enough to reach out and touch. Close enough to hear the breath leave his lips on an exhale. Close enough to guarantee she wouldn’t get a wink of sleep.
She lay there for what seemed like hours. The more she tried to fall asleep, the more wide awake she became. Until she finally gave up and threw the covers off in frustration. She’d cycled through the first five stages of grief since she’d been lying in the dark, a process she was unfortunately too familiar with, thanks to the therapy sessions her dad had forced on her when her mom passed. Now she was stuck in the all-is-lost phase.
“What the hell’s going on over there?” The sound of Bodie’s voice made her heart stop.
She tried to infuse her voice with sleepiness. “What?” she mumbled.
The mattress groaned as he shifted. “You’ve been tossing and turning more than a pig in a mud bath over there.”
“Nice.” Figured he’d compare her to a swine. If she’d harbored even a smidgen of hope that he might consider her a romantic interest, comparing her to a muddy pig had obliterated any chance.
“Neither one of us is going to get any sleep if you don’t talk about it.”
She stuck her lower lip out in a pout. He couldn’t see it though so it wasn’t worth the effort. “I blew it. I may as well resign as mayor and turn everything over to Swynton.”
Bodie’s mattress creaked then he sat down on the edge of her bed. “Look, you had a setback but all’s not lost.”
She scooted away, not wanting to roll toward him into the indentation he’d made. “It feels that way. I finally had everyone working toward a common goal. People were excited about being featured in the magazine. It would have given us such a boost.”
His hand patted the mattress, coming closer and closer. It landed on her hip. “Where the hell are you? Give me your hand.”
Heat prickled her hip. That wouldn’t do at all. She slid her hand on top of his, breaking the connection with her lower body. The hip bone connected to the pelvis bone. The pelvis bone connected to . . . she couldn’t go there.
“You’re being way too hard on yourself.”
She sat up, dropping his hand. “I got arrested. For assaulting an officer.”
Bodie laughed. “It was an honest mistake.”
“Have you ever been mistaken for a stripper?” As the question left her lips she immediately regretted it. With a body like his, Bodie definitely could have been a stripper. Based on what she’d seen of him, he put the actual strippers to shame.
>
He sighed. “I can’t say that I have.”
“I’m an idiot.”
“Come here.” He reached for her, drawing her into an awkward hug.
Her cheek pressed against his naked chest. His scent surrounded her, invading her personal space, heating her blood to an uncomfortable degree. With her face smashed against him, he wrapped his arms around her.
“Bodie, I . . .”
“Shh. I don’t want to hear you being so hard on yourself. You can’t even see how important you’ve been to the town, to the people who put their faith in you, to . . .”
“To what?”
“To me.”
Her cheeks tingled. He had to be able to feel the heat radiating from her face onto his chest. She pulled her head back and tilted it up in the direction of his. Darkness shrouded the room but she could make out the outline of his chin by the sliver of light that came through a crack in the curtains.
“What do you mean?” she whispered, her heart stalling while she waited for a response.
His hand came up to cup the back of her head. “You’re special, Lacey.”
“Special as in I require major adult supervision, or—” His lips sought hers, cutting off her self-deprecating remark. Heat exploded inside her chest, rocketing through her veins, igniting every nerve ending she had and some she hadn’t been aware of before.
His mouth on hers was so much better than the almost-kiss they’d shared at the warehouse. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it for weeks. She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, clinging to him as his kiss took her soaring, like climbing to the top of that wooden roller coaster she used to love as a kid.
He pulled back first. “I’m so sorry. That was out of line, I—”
She got to her knees, meeting his mouth with hers again. Her tongue played along the seam of his lips, testing, tasting. His hands roamed her back, tangled in her hair. She’d imagined how it would feel to have Bodie’s lips on hers so many times over the years. Tonight far exceeded her expectations. Her hands danced over the curve of his shoulders, hard biceps, the contours of his back. His skin was smooth under her touch. So much better than what her limited imagination had been able to conjure.