Hideaway

by Sandy James

  “I am sorry to have embarrassed you,” she said, her voice trembling. “I shall not do so again.”

  “Kayla…”

  “I have humiliated myself.”

  “You have not.”

  She bowed her head. “It would be wise for you to sleep in a different room. Perhaps you should use the room Drew and Gideon share so that you may stay warmer at night.”

  That idea seemed a blasphemy. Not sleep at her side, holding her close through the night? Until she suggested it, Drake hadn’t realized how important being near her, knowing that after a hard day of work he could look forward to spending evenings with her, had become. She’d always cuddled against him, and they’d talk, sharing not only the day’s events but ideas about her house.

  The only thing they never spoke of was the future.

  He went to her, but when he tried to put his arms around her, she stepped to the side and brushed past him.

  “I want to talk about this,” he insisted.

  She went to the foot of the bed and stared at him with haunted eyes. “What is there to talk about? You don’t want me.”

  He couldn’t stop a scoffing laugh from escaping. “Not want you? Oh, Kayla. I want you somethin’ fierce.”

  Her eyes widened. “Then why?”

  “Why what? Why not make love to you?” Drake shook his head. “I’m not the man for you.”

  Even as he said it, he wanted to shout that no other man would touch her so long as he lived. His emotions were tumbling in ways that he’d never known, making him feel dizzy. And vulnerable. She deserved so much better than him, but the mere idea that she might one day belong to another man made him fighting mad.

  Kayla slowly lowered the quilt, baring her shoulders. The firelight painted her smooth skin golden. “I am not asking you for anything, Drake. No commitment. No promises.”

  Women were such strange creatures. This one was particularly perplexing. She shouldn’t be dangling herself in front of him like a sweet treat without expecting marriage in return.

  Yet there she stood, tempting him beyond his endurance. Only his tattered honor kept him glued to the spot.

  Her arms lowered, dropping the quilt to her waist. Her breasts pressed against the thin material of her shift, nipples hard and straining. “I want to matter to someone.” A tear spilled over her lashes, tracing a wet path down her cheek.

  Drake was lost.

  He strode to her, brushed the blanket from her hands, and then took her into his arms. “You matter to me.” He took her into his embrace then captured her lips in a searing kiss. There was need there. His need to show her what she meant to him, even if he couldn’t find the words to tell her exactly how much.

  Her need to belong to him, even if only for the here and now.

  Kayla broke free of any tethers on her mind and her body. Drake might not have told her that he loved her—would probably never say those words to her—but he had told her what she needed to hear.

  “You matter to me.”

  When his tongue thrust past her lips, she returned the caress, swallowing his growl when she gripped his tongue with her teeth.

  There would be no stopping this time.

  Finding some strength, she stepped back, out of his arms. As she gave him a shy smile, she crossed her arms and slid the thin straps of her shift from her shoulders. When she lowered her arms, the garment fell to her waist.

  Drake sucked in a long breath. “Dear God, you’re beautiful.”

  Her face heated in response, but he reached her heart. Before she could summon a reply, he was out of his long johns, casting them aside.

  His body was perfect to her, so different than her own. Well-defined muscles formed broad shoulders and strong arms. The patch of hair on his chest thinned to a line that ran the length of his torso until it thickened at his groin. His cock rose hard and long from that nest of crisp hair.

  Words froze in her throat, and Kayla could only stare at him as her core tightened.

  He swept back the covers from the bed and came to stand before her. After he pushed the shift over her hips to let it fall to the floor, he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed.

  Setting her on the linens, he stretched out next to her and kissed her again. This kiss was different. New. Full of a hunger she hadn’t felt in him before, a ferocity that she’d somehow unleashed.

  Kayla reveled in it, giving herself over to anything he wanted from her.

  Drake shifted to her neck, nuzzling and licking, causing shivers in his wake. He worked his way down to her chest as she tunneled her fingers through his hair. He kissed the valley between her breasts, breathing in deeply. “You smell…wonderful,” he murmured against her skin. “Like roses.” His mouth covered her nipple, and he suckled gently.

  Everything inside her was on fire, and she arched into him, trying to hold him where he was. He shifted to her other breast as he smoothed his hand down her stomach and then eased it between her thighs.

  She tensed, but only for a moment as he nudged her legs open. His fingers combed through the hair before separating her folds. Whatever he touched there sent a thrill racing through her. She drew in a quick breath and lifted her hips off the bed.

  “Easy, darlin’,” he whispered. “I won’t hurt you.”

  “I trust you,” she whispered back.

  He must have been pleased to hear her say that, because he rose to kiss her, his lips almost brutal in their intensity. His fingers were doing magic to her, making a knot of need form in her core.

  Arms around his neck, Kayla felt as though she were reaching for something that was just out of her grasp. Everything inside her was tense, alert. When he slipped one of his fingers inside her, she gripped his shoulders, digging her nails into his skin. “Drake…”

  “Let go, Kayla. Just let go.”

  The huskiness in his voice only added to the thrill of what was happening to her. He might not ever belong to her, but from that moment on, she belonged to him.

  Drake couldn’t wait any longer. His thin thread of self-control snapped when she raised her head to lightly bite his shoulder. She was wet and hot and so damned tight, and although he loved touching her and feeling the response he had pulled from her, he needed to be inside her.

  Every one of her reactions was so raw, so pure. Accustomed to the way a whore would put on a show of pleasure, hoping for a few more coins, he appreciated Kayla’s innocent enjoyment of what they shared. She was so lovely, her eyes sparkling in the firelight, her lips wet from his kisses.

  How could she have ever believed that he didn’t want her? Seemed that he’d wanted her from the moment he laid eyes on her. It had just taken him some time to sort things out after banishing the alcohol from his mind.

  He pushed her thighs farther apart and settled himself against her, his cock nudging at her. But he hesitated, needing to know that she wasn’t going to condemn him later for taking the most important gift she could ever offer.

  Staring into her eyes, he loved the passion he saw reflected there. “Kayla, are you sure?”

  “I need you, Drake. Now.”

  In one hard, thrust, he buried himself inside her.

  Kayla let out a startled cry, and Drake worried he’d hurt her. Easing back, he thought to stop as to spare her any more pain even as he wondered how he could ever leave her.

  She retaliated by wrapping her legs around his hips and holding him right where he was. “Don’t leave me.”

  “I won’t leave you,” he declared. “Ever.” And in that moment, he realized that he would never let her go.

  Passion banished any rational thought, and all he could do was push into her, again and again, and hope he could hold off his release until she could find her own pleasure. But she felt so damned good that he was quickly losing the battle.

  “Drake!” As his name fell from her lips in surprised wonder, her body tightened around him as she arched up and clutched at his shoulders.

  His own release washe
d over him, making him shudder as he spilled himself inside her with her name on his lips.

  Never had he felt the kind of contentment that filled him—in mind, body, and soul. Although he didn’t want to separate from her, he was pretty sure his weight was crushing her. Rolling to his side, he pulled her up against him, pleased when she snuggled close, draping her leg across his thigh.

  It felt right to hold her, just as it had felt right to make love to her.

  There were promises he wanted to make, but he held his tongue. Right now, he had nothing to offer her. But in that moment when he’d realized how much she meant to him, he had promised himself that he would do whatever it took to become a man who deserved her.

  On that vow, Drake kissed Kayla’s forehead and let sleep claim him.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Kayla stirred, surprised to see bright sunlight, rare though it was, spilling through the window.

  She was peaceful after the night she’d spent with Drake. Stretching like a lazy cat, she winced when she realized how sore she was from the intimacy they’d shared. Trading a bit of tenderness for the harmony that had settled on her heart and mind seemed a bargain.

  “Kayla! Food’s ready!” Drake shouted.

  Drake cooked a meal for me?

  Quickly donning her robe, she headed to the kitchen to find him setting a dish on the table. She let her eyes catch his and then quirked a brow. “Only one plate?” she asked. “Wouldn’t you like to have something to eat?”

  “I ate before chores,” he replied with a note of humor in his voice.

  Guilt swept through her at the thought of the tasks she needed to complete, tasks which she’d clearly slept through. It would surely be sundown before she caught up. “I should go check the hens.”

  “Done.” Drake pulled the chair out for her.

  “And the cow?”

  “Milked. Sit and eat, Kayla. You must be hungry.”

  Still feeling guilty, she took a seat and glanced at the food. “Flapjacks?”

  He shrugged. “Only thing I can cook good.”

  “I adore flapjacks,” she said quickly, not wanting to appear ungrateful. “They look delicious.”

  Kayla cut a piece and took a bite. She was pleasantly surprised at how tasty the dish was. As she ate, she began to feel awkward when Drake simply sat across the table and watched her.

  It didn’t take long for her appetite to flee in wake of the awkward silence. What did a woman say to the man she’d been intimate with the night before? Should she be telling him that he pleased her? Should she be coy or pretend the things that had passed between them hadn’t changed their relationship?

  She wasn’t embarrassed. Not over sharing her body with him. Every part of what they’d enjoyed had felt right to her. No, the discomfort she was feeling had more to do with wondering where they would go from here.

  As he stared at her, she finally set her fork aside and pushed the plate away. She folded her hands and set them on the table. Better to talk about her worries than to let them eat away at her. “We should discuss a few things.”

  Drake leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. A deep frown settled on his face. “I’m real sorry about last night, Kayla.”

  An apology was the last thing in the world she’d wanted to hear. “Sorry? You’re sorry?”

  His shoulders sagged. “It…it won’t happen again. I swear it.”

  “It won’t?” She sounded absurd, parroting the words back to him, but his attitude took her entirely by surprise. After going to all the trouble to make breakfast, she’d figured that he’d been pleased with last night. Heaven knew she was already looking forward to being with him again, but it seemed as though Drake wanted to assure her that another interlude would never happen.

  Perhaps she’d been a disappointment to him. The experience had been so overwhelming, the feelings he inspired in her so new, so fresh, that all she’d been able to do was let him take the lead. Since he was accustomed to women with ample experience, perhaps her passivity had been dissatisfying to him.

  She frowned, not sure what to do or say. After having the manners of a lady pounded into her from the first moment she could remember, she found it difficult to think of a way to tell him that she’d enjoyed herself. Immensely. And that she hoped to do so again and again for as long as he was with her.

  “I mean what I say,” Drake vowed with a decisive nod. “I won’t be touchin’ you again.”

  “But what if I want you to touch me again?” Kayla blurted out. Her cheeks heated, but she refused to break eye contact, even though his eyes were now wide with surprise.

  At a loss of what else to say, she did the only thing she could think of to let him know that his attentions were something she craved. She stood and went to stand next to him. Then she sat on his lap, put her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

  * * *

  Drake was dumbfounded. Kayla’s lips were so soft, so insistent, that he was captured by her kiss before he could even think to push her away. His noble intentions vanished. Quickly caught up in desire, he tickled the seam of her lips with his tongue. Once she parted them, he took advantage by rubbing his tongue across hers.

  He let out a growl at the way her hips caressed his erection. The memories of the night they’d spent, the ones he’d tried to frantically to push aside, flooded his mind in the same way her nearness was flooding his senses. All of the promises he’d just made were gone in the wake of the passion she inspired.

  Cradling her against him, he stood, lifted her higher in his arms, and strode down the hall toward the room they’d shared. When he saw that the bed linens were still rumpled, he couldn’t help but remember how he’d felt when he’d been holding her, loving her. Now, he was nearly desperate to be inside her again.

  After he set Kayla on her feet, Drake undressed with a speed he hadn’t known he possessed. The way her eyes freely moved over his body with such obvious appreciation made him want to preen like a bird. He untied her robe and pushed it off her shoulders. Then he swept her shift over her head and cast it to the floor. He let his gaze drink her in. Just as he was ready to pick her up and lay her on the bed, he could only suck in a breath as she reached out to wrap her fingers around his hard cock.

  Looking up into his eyes, she smiled. “My boldness pleases you?”

  He answered her by nuzzling her neck, licking and nibbling until she was gripping him tightly.

  Gently brushing her hand away, Drake lifted Kayla into his arms and set her on the bed. Staring down at her slender form, he was nearly breathless at the beauty before him. In the dim firelight the night before, he hadn’t been able to see much of her body. That, and he’d been far too swept away by the passion they’d shared to do more than react. In the sunlight, he now drank in her ivory skin, her rose-colored nipples, and the thatch of dark hair between her thighs.

  A flush spread over her face, and her hands rose to cover her breasts. “I am unaccustomed to being seen like…this. The truth is that you are the first man to see me undressed.”

  There was something inside him, something primitive and much stronger than he could deny, that loved knowing that he was the only man to gaze at her naked. He also had no doubt that she’d been a virgin, and that also pleased him. Gently grasping her wrists, he moved her hands away. “You’re the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen.”

  He sounded like an idiot. A woman like Kayla wasn’t merely pretty; she was something so precious, so unique, that he couldn’t find adequate words to describe her.

  And she deserved far better than a dime-a-dozen knockabout like him.

  Opening her arms wide, she gave him a welcoming smile that was as strong as a punch to the gut. “Come to me, Drake.”

  As if he could ever deny her.

  Blanketing her body with his own, he wanted to touch her everywhere, to kiss every inch of that pale, soft skin.

  Her hands began to explore him, moving over his shoulders, down his sides. Each hesi
tant touch enflamed him. Rising above her, he settled between her legs, letting his cock rest against her core. Then he framed her face in his hands and kissed her, not holding back any of the strong emotions she inspired.

  Kayla felt beautiful when she was in his arms. The way Drake’s eyes darkened as he’d stared at her had set something inside her loose. In her whole life, she’d never been as free as she was when she was sharing herself with him. Every inch of her skin was alive, and the heat and tension building inside her was delicious.

  Spreading her thighs a little wider, she lifted her hips, not wanting to wait a moment longer to feel him thrust inside her again. When he didn’t immediately enter her, she tugged on his earlobe with her teeth. “Please, Drake…”

  Then he did exactly as she desired, entering her swiftly and pulling a small gasp from her due to her lingering soreness.

  Drake stopped moving and held himself up to look into her eyes. “Did I hurt you?”

  “Just a little. It’s merely some tenderness from last night. Please don’t stop.”

  “I shouldn’t do this.”

  When he tried to move away, she wrapped her legs around his hips. “Yes, you should.”

  “Kayla… I promised I wouldn’t touch you again.”

  “A silly promise to make when you are doing exactly what I wish.”

  His brows knit. “You want me?”

  “Oh, yes, my love, I want you.” She cupped his neck and pulled him into a passionate kiss as she squeezed him tightly inside her.

  Those actions seemed to make him lose his self-control. His kiss became ferocious, and she allowed herself to be caught up in the intensity. Pulling his hips back, he began to thrust into her, again and again. Harder and harder.

  Kayla didn’t fight the way Drake made her feel, and when the knot inside her snapped, she cried out and dug her nails into his shoulders. A few heartbeats later, he pushed into her one more time and let out a growl of surrender.

  Long moments passed as sanity slowly returned, and the moment that it did, she remembered begging the man to make love to her. A laugh bubbled up as she marveled at her own boldness.