Wrapped Up in You

by Jill Shalvis

  “It’s okay,” he said. “I get it. For you, it’s all about trust, which takes time. There’s plenty of that. I’m not going to rush you. I’m just asking if you’re interested in me staying.”

  There were a lot of things happening on her inside. Pulse going a little too fast and too hard. Air backed up in her lungs. And then there was her heart, which was squeezed in both hope and fear.

  Kel ran a hand up and down her back, waiting until she remembered that she knew how to breathe. “Too hard of a question?” he asked gently.

  She closed her eyes. “No.” She knew that when he left for Idaho it would hurt. But beyond that? She gave it a thought and knew the truth, even if she couldn’t say it. “I wouldn’t mind seeing where this might go,” she admitted quietly.

  He took her hand in his. “I like the sound of that,” he murmured.

  What she liked was the way he was looking at her, and his confidence in what they might have. Unable to stop herself, she reached out to touch him, running a hand up his chest, around the back of his neck to sink into his hair. “If I kiss you, is anyone going to be watching us out the window?”

  “With my family? You never know.” Standing, he pulled her up as well, turning them to the only tree in the corner of the yard. He tugged on something and a rope ladder fell down.

  He gestured that she should start climbing and she blinked.

  “It’s a tree house,” he said. “It was here when Remy and Ethan moved in. Remy won’t go up there because she’s afraid of heights. Are you afraid of heights?”

  “No, just intimacy, relationships, and true love.”

  His teeth flashed white in the dark and he gave her a nudge.

  So she started climbing. The tree house was one small room with a cut-out window street-side. There was one of those huge beanbag chairs that took up almost all the space, and a shelf on which sat a six pack of beer.

  “It’s Ethan’s man cave,” Kel said. He plopped into the beanbag chair, snagged her hand, and tugged her into his lap.

  “How often does he come out here?”

  “With a new baby? I’m guessing not much.” He turned her to face him and his lips met hers in a kiss that went straight to DEFCON 5. The heat started in her core and spread outward and before she knew it, he had his hands under her clothes and she was practically purring. She could feel him hard and ready beneath her and shifted her legs to accommodate him, and was rewarded by a low masculine groan of pleasure that had her trying to get his jeans opened.

  “Here?” he asked huskily, adding his hands to the cause.

  “Here.” She wrapped her fingers around him and started to rise up on her knees, but he stopped her.

  “No condom,” he whispered, voice strained.

  They stared at each other.

  Then she smiled into his eyes. “I think we can work around that.” She began to slide down on his body but he caught her, pulling her up for a kiss that left her panting. Then he rolled in the beanbag, and it was a testament to his core strength and those delicious abs of his that he managed to tuck her beneath him so that she was on the bottom, him between her legs. He kissed her softly. “Ladies first,” he whispered and shifted lower, adjusting her clothing as he went, freeing a nipple for his hot mouth, then a hipbone, which he nipped, making her jump and then moan when he soothed the ache with his tongue.

  Then he was southbound, his hands moving her turned-to-jelly legs the way he wanted them. And the way he wanted them was draped over his forearms, his hands on her ass. This left her extremely exposed, but she wanted his mouth on her so badly, there was no room for modesty.

  He took the longest moment in history to look his fill. “Gorgeous,” he whispered.

  She squirmed. “Kel—”

  He used his teeth to pull the scrap of lace between her legs aside and then he put that amazing mouth on her.

  They were outside, within shouting distance of his family. It was cold, and she was pretty sure her exposed nipple was going to fall off, but she didn’t care because his mouth. God, his mouth. She tried to hold her breath, not trusting herself to be quiet, but then he added his fingers and she was flying.

  When she came back to herself, she sucked in a breath. “Oh God,” she whispered in horror. “Was I too loud? I’m so sorry—”

  “You were perfect,” he said.

  With desire still pooled low in her stomach, she wanted, needed, to have her wild, wicked way with him. Pulling free, she shoved him to his back and climbed on top of him. Pressing her lips to the hollow at the base of his throat, she began to kiss her way down. Dropping to her knees, she licked her lips and leaned forward and—

  “Kel?” a voice called up from the ground below.

  Remy.

  Ivy startled and fell over.

  Kel picked her back up and then knocked his head back against the wall several times. “No worries on not having birth control,” he muttered.

  “My party has a happy ending!” Remy called up. “Ethan just pulled out a huge chocolate cake! It says Merry Christmas on it, but hey, that’s what happens when you have a baby shower on Christmas Eve eve, right?”

  Ivy’s eyes met his and she put a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh because she was pretty sure she was thinking the same thing as he—that while she’d gotten her happy ending, he’d been shafted. Because of cake. “Coming,” he called, and Ivy snorted as she fought to right her clothing.

  “Well that was almost true,” she whispered. “You were almost coming.”

  Much later, Ivy and Kel were leaving the party when Remy caught up with them. “Hey,” she said to her brother. “Can I have a sec?” Remy glanced at Ivy. “Do you mind? I’ll be quick.”

  “No problem,” Ivy said and moved down the front steps to give them privacy.

  But it turned out Kel’s family wasn’t a quiet bunch.

  Remy took Kel’s hands in hers—Ivy suspected so he wouldn’t walk away—and looked right into his eyes. “You didn’t say goodbye to Mom.”

  “Sure I did.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “I waved,” Kel said.

  “Lame,” Remy said. “And also pretty rude.”

  He shifted on his feet. “Remy—”

  “I’ve seen you looking at all the family pics, Kel. And I know you realize you’re not in most of them.”

  “Any,” he said. “I’m not in any.”

  “And who’s doing is that?” Remy asked, then pulled him in for a hug before he could answer. “Just think about it, okay? Promise me, Kel.”

  Ivy wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help it. The way his sister loved him and had his back . . . it grabbed her by the heart and squeezed.

  Ethan appeared behind Remy with Harper asleep on his shoulder, drooling down his back. He and Kel hugged goodbye, and not one of those silly male half-handshake, shoulder bump things, but a real hug without a care in the world as to what that might say about their masculinity.

  As far as Ivy was concerned, it was the cutest, warmest, sexiest thing she’d ever seen. But then Kel lifted little Harper and kissed her on the tip of her tiny nose before burying his face in her neck and breathing in her sweet baby scent.

  Ivy’s ovaries actually sobbed a little.

  But it was more than that. He had something here, something she’d never had, something she’d only recognized because of movies and TV. And it didn’t make her feel envious so much as . . . warm and fuzzy. And something else too. Seeing him allow his emotions to show, seeing him easily give love and affection to those he cared about . . .

  Yeah. He’d never been as sexy to her as he was right that moment.

  Remy hugged him goodbye and then came down the steps to do the same to Ivy. “Take good care of him,” his sister whispered. “He doesn’t know it, but he could use someone to watch his back for once.”

  Ivy pulled back and met her gaze.

  “He’s always been the one of us to hold it together,” Remy explained. “For the whol
e family. When my dad died, who held it together? Kel. When my mom had her breakdown and stayed away for a bunch of years, he held it together, and me. He’s always held me together. And my grandparents too. He helped me get into college, helped Grandpa keep his ranch, helped my grandma through her grief. Because that’s who he is, our protector. The keeper of our hearts. But he’s never allowed anyone to do the same for him.”

  “Remy—” This from Kel in a low, exasperated tone. He said a firmer goodbye and walked Ivy to his truck, a hand at the small of her back.

  She loved the touch. Needed more. Far more. Watching him love his family tonight had turned her into one big bundle of need.

  “You okay?” he asked, opening the passenger door for her.

  “Yes. Why?”

  “Because you just moaned. When I touched you.”

  She glanced up at him and bit her lower lip.

  He met her gaze and stilled, his eyes heating as they held hers. “Let’s go,” he finally said, a husky quality to his voice now. “There’s something I want to show you.”

  “I really hope that’s a double entendre,” she said as she slid into the truck.

  He laughed and . . . didn’t drive her home. Instead, he took her over the bridge and north.

  “Where we headed, cowboy?” she asked, watching the city vanish in her side mirror.

  “Sonoma.”

  She turned from taking in the dark rolling hills to stare at him in surprise. “Wine country?”

  “Also horse country.”

  She blinked and he flashed her a smile in the dark, intimate interior of the truck. “Are you looking for another cowboy bar?” she asked. “I’m not sure I’m up for bull riding tonight.” Because it wasn’t a bull she wanted to ride . . .

  “My buddy Donovan owns a ranch up here. He’s been wanting to expand, but doesn’t have the capital. A ranch right next to his just went on the market.”

  “But you just said he doesn’t have the capital.”

  “He doesn’t.” He slid her a quick look. “He’s looking for a business partner.”

  She blinked again. “You want a horse ranch.”

  “I have a horse ranch.”

  There was a warmth in her chest now. She wasn’t quite sure, but she thought maybe it was hope. “So . . .”

  “What I don’t have is a horse ranch near San Francisco. What I do have is my own capital from years of being badgered by Caleb to invest wisely.”

  She sucked in some air. “And you like San Francisco.”

  “A whole lot,” he said. “But more than the city, I like who’s in it.”

  “Your family.”

  “Yes.” Eyes on the road, he reached out and took her hand. “And . . .”

  “Cowboy bars.”

  “Ivy.”

  She let the warmth spread. “Me,” she breathed.

  “Yes.”

  Forty-five minutes from the city, they were leaning against the front of his truck. The headlights were still on, revealing what looked like endless land. The stars above had never seemed so bright. “It’s beautiful,” she said quietly in the night air. “You’d live out here?”

  “No,” he said, surprising her. “At least not full-time.”

  She turned and looked at him. Cupping her face, he smiled. “I find I’m feeling the city again. It’s exciting there, and I want to work with Caleb.” He ran the pad of his thumb over her lower lip. “But I like this for an investment. Donovan would run the day-to-day. I’d oversee and manage.”

  “You like to manage a lot of things,” she said. “Your sister said you’re naturally bossy.”

  He smiled. “What about you, do you think I’m bossy?”

  “You can be.” She smiled back. “In bed. Which, just FYI, is the only place I like you a little bossy.”

  Pulling her into him, he kissed her for a good long time. When he lifted his head, she was shocked to find they were still out in the middle of nowhere. “Home,” she said. “Bed.”

  “I’m not the only bossy one.” He nipped at her lower lip. “And FYI . . . I like you bossy wherever you want.”

  The tension in the air on the drive home was palpable, and all erotic heat. She didn’t speak, and neither did Kel, he just drove with a quiet intensity that had her all revved up. She watched his hand on the wheel, the sinewy muscles of his forearms whenever he moved, and utterly unable to contain it, a small sound of longing escaped her.

  Kel glanced over at her and then took a second, longer look. “What are you thinking about?” he asked, voice low. Sexy.

  “The ways I intend to pay you back for the tree house.”

  His eyes darkened and heated, and he picked up the speed a bit, swearing roughly beneath his breath when she put a hand on his hard thigh. After that, there was touching, lots of touching, and by the time Kel found a spot near her building, Ivy was near combustion.

  After pulling the keys, Kel put a hand on her arm, warm and steady. “Wait for me.”

  Everything about him was warm and steady, and she’d never considered those traits a turn-on before, but in Kel they were incredibly arousing. She watched him round the front of the truck as he came to her side to let her out, nerves on fire for him. When he opened her door, she slid down, making sure to rub up against him, enjoying the response she got.

  They practically ran up the three flights of stairs. She was winded, but not from running. They stumbled inside together, wrapped up in each other, mouths already fused. Kel kicked the door shut, hit the lock, and then pressed her back against the wood.

  Which was as far as they got before they jumped each other.

  When Ivy could breathe again, she lifted her head. She was flat on her back on the floor, naked. Kel was in the same state next to her, except he had one sock still on, which made her laugh.

  At the sound, he turned his hand toward her. His gaze softened as he smiled, completely comfortable in his own skin. “You’d laugh at a naked man?”

  “When all he’s wearing is one sock.”

  “That’s because you tore my clothes off in your desperation to get to my good parts, and you forgot to take it off.”

  “I was not desperate,” she corrected. “I’m never desperate.”

  “Baby, you were desperately desperate.”

  “Oh please,” she said, even while doing a little quiver at the endearment and also while knowing that okay, yeah, she’d been desperately desperate.

  “You begged.”

  “I absolutely did not beg,” she said.

  He just smiled at her, and she remembered panting his name with a whole bunch of “oh pleases” and “don’t stops” . . . Fine. So she’d begged. “Don’t get used to it.”

  He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and tugged. Tucking her into his side, he looked into her face, his own unusually revealing.

  It’s not that he was as guarded as she, but he wasn’t exactly an open book either. Life and the job he’d chosen had given him a dark side, an edge, and knowledge that people were not innately good. He’d put walls up. Understandably, she thought.

  But those walls were down now, and knowing it was for her felt like both a gift and a curse. Because surely he’d expect the same from her, complete openness, and though she wanted this with him, she wasn’t sure she even knew how to be open and vulnerable with someone. At just the thought, she went a little cold, and shivered.

  With a low murmur of regret, he pulled her closer, sharing his body heat, his expression lazy and satisfied, like a big wild cat.

  “My bed is so close,” she managed to say, pointing to it, still unable to get up.

  “And yet so far . . .”

  She laughed, and he smiled as he managed to stagger to his feet. “So that’s funny too?” he asked.

  “What, that you’re so old you can’t get me to my bed?”

  “You’re just baiting me in the hopes that I’ll carry you,” he said.

  “Is it working?”

  “Yes, but you’re going to
pay for calling me old.” Scooping her up and flinging her over his shoulder, he carried her fireman style to the bed.

  Where he then proved just how not old he was.

  Several times, just to make sure it stuck.

  Kel came awake at the soft vibration of his phone from an incoming call. Never good at one in the morning. Reaching past a sleeping Ivy, he grabbed his cell from her nightstand.

  It was Caleb. “What’s wrong?” Kel asked.

  “Someone broke into the condo building and got into a fight with Arlo, who was just taken to the hospital by ambulance. I’m heading there now, but the site’s unsecured—”

  “On it,” Kel said, already on the move, off the bed, snatching his clothes from the floor where he’d dropped them and pulling them back on. “Arlo?”

  “Took a hit to the back of the head. Looked bad. I don’t know anything more yet.”

  “And the asshole who got the jump on him?”

  “Gone, but there’s blood here that isn’t Arlo’s. He told the medic he got a shot off, so hopefully the guy’s injured bad enough to end up in a hospital too so we can get him.”

  “Keep me posted,” Kel said and disconnected, shoving his feet into his shoes.

  Ivy sat up. “What’s wrong?”

  “There’s a problem on the job.”

  “Problem?”

  “Someone broke into the new building,” he said, shoving his things into various pockets.

  “Oh no,” she breathed. “Damages?”

  “Arlo was hurt, he’s on his way to the hospital now.”

  “Oh my God.”

  She looked so horrified he came back to bed, and with a hand on either side of her face, leaned in and kissed her quickly.

  Ivy fisted her hands in his shirt to hold him still for another second. “Come back after,” she whispered against his mouth. “When you can.”

  Their gazes met, and in hers, he saw a deep concern and worry. He stroked the pad of his thumb over her lower lip, kissed it again and then did what he didn’t want to do, what he was starting to realize he would never want to do—leave her.

  Chapter 22

  Let’s do this