The Ultimate Treasure

by Anne, Melody

Lance was consuming her, and she didn’t want to feel anything but his touch, anything but the desire he was giving her. She’d waited too long, and now she was ready to be his — and only his.

  Pulling back, Lexie tried to follow him, but his hand slid below the hem of her shirt, and she knew his intention and was more than willing to let him go there. The last time he’d kissed her like this, he’d given her an orgasm just from his mouth on her nipples.

  As hot as she was at this very moment, she had a feeling he could do it again . . . and again . . . and please yes . . . again.

  His fingers reached her breasts, and he cupped them in his large hands, squeezing and kneading until she was whimpering against his mouth. Perfect, it was so damn perfect, she couldn’t imagine anything better. Her nipples strained against his palms as she desperately sought sweet relief.

  His mouth opened wider over hers, his tongue claiming her as his, and she was more than happy with the surrender. She reached between their bodies, desperately seeking his pants so she could undo them, push them away, and have him buried deep inside her. If only she’d decided to wear a skirt, it could happen that much sooner.

  All Lexie wanted was for him to claim her, to make her his, to do whatever he wanted with her body. He was an incredible lover, and the places he could take her would make her journey back to reality smoother. Maybe she could live in this fantasyland longer and make it all worth it.

  “I need to be buried inside you,” Lance said.

  “Yes, yes, please,” she huskily whispered. His kiss grew more urgent as he reached for her pants.

  It took a moment as lost as she was in his arms, but through the lust-filled haze of her sanity, Lexie realized Lance had stiffened beneath her, realized he’d pulled his lips from hers, and he wasn’t kissing her neck, wasn’t pulling off her shirt. She wanted to drag him back to her, but she felt something — something that had nothing to do with pleasure.

  “You two obviously aren’t lost kids. You might want to take it down a few notches, considering you’re on a public beach.”

  The words came to Lexie through a long tunnel, or what seemed to be one. There was someone there, and by the voice, she didn’t seem too happy with the activity she’d just witnessed. Lexie was so mortified she couldn’t turn around. She buried her head in Lance’s neck and let him face the intruder.

  “I’m sorry about that. We got carried away,” Lance said, putting a smile on his face that Lexie could feel even with her face buried in his neck. “We’re newlyweds and can’t seem to keep our hands off each other,” he added.

  The words sent a longing through her that she knew was wrong on so many levels. The glare she’d felt at her back disappeared though as the person spoke again, this time far less harshly.

  “Oh, that’s so sweet,” she said. “But why don’t you take it back to your room?”

  “We’ll do that,” Lance said easily. “Have a great day.”

  There were several moments of utter silence and Lexie refused to remove her face from where it was buried, then she felt Lance’s chest shake as he let out a laugh. She didn’t see what he had to laugh about. The situation was mortifying.

  “I don’t think I’ve been caught with my pants down in a long time,” he said. “The coast is clear, so you can quit hiding.”

  “Thankfully our pants weren’t down,” she told him, still far too mortified to be laughing about the situation.

  “I plan on rectifying that as soon as I get you home,” he told her. He stood up, easily carrying her in his arms. Lexie was still afraid to show her face, so she kept it right where it was, even though she was embarrassed to be carried around by this man.

  “Yeah, I think the mood is over,” she told him.

  “I can get you back in the mood,” he said, panic popping into his voice as he picked up his pace.

  “This is too hard, Lance. I think we made a mistake,” she said.

  He stopped, and she was now afraid to look at him for fear of seeing disgust in his expression. He set her down, and she realized they’d already made it to the car. When he didn’t speak for several moments she was left with no choice but to finally look at him.

  “Us together is never a mistake,” he said as he placed a gentle finger beneath her chin. “But if you want to wait a while longer, I will accept that.”

  She was so awed by his understanding, she wanted to throw her arms around him again and restart the unfinished kissing. But she was also confused. And with her hormones not raging, those doubts popped up in her mind again, those images of her father hitting her mother, hitting her sister.

  “Can you take me home?” she asked.

  He was disappointed, she could clearly see that, but he covered it up quickly. “Yes, of course. Let me run down and grab our shoes first.”

  Lexie was grateful for the few moments by herself as she tried to collect herself. It was growing harder for her to believe it possible for Lance to have a dark side. But that’s what really frightened her. If he did ever turn on her, she would never trust a single soul again.

  Lance reached over on the drive back and placed his hand on her leg. This time it wasn’t about sex; it was about comfort. He was telling her without words that he was there for her. She was a fool to not take what he was offering. A big fool.

  Chapter Eleven

  Lexie looked at the jet as she and Lance made their way to it. Her only thought was that she’d been a fool. More than a week ago she’d been ready to make love to him, but she’d been scared, and by the time they’d returned to the house, she had decided it wasn’t worth the risk of losing her heart to him.

  She’d already given him a piece of her and now it was too late. Their trip was going to be over soon, and she’d be back in the real world where men like Lance Storm didn’t hang out with ordinary women like her unless there was something wrong with them.

  Sure, her sister had married his brother, but her sister was also a genius and going places in life. Lexie wasn’t as lucky as Savs. She had wandered a long time, trying to find herself. She was now getting older, and the journey felt like it was only beginning.

  They stepped into the plane and the sadness was overwhelming. She wished she was brave enough to share how she was feeling, but she knew she’d keep it all inside. If she didn’t act vulnerable, she felt more protected. That might someday be her downfall.

  Lance wasn’t wearing his customary smile when they entered the jet, and she wanted to reach out to him, but he left her in the main part of the plane and disappeared down the hallway. Was he in the bedroom? Should she follow him? There were so many things she wanted to do, but instead she sat in the same seat she’d been in on the flight there and accepted a vodka tonic, gulping it down and asking for a second.

  It didn’t take long for the jet to close, and when they were taxiing down the runway, she still didn’t see Lance. Maybe he’d given up on her. If she were him, she most certainly would have by now. She was rational one minute, and then tucked safely back inside her own head the next. She was acting like a crazy woman, and every person had their breaking point when dealing with someone like her.

  Lexie sat by herself, feeling the weight of sadness flowing over her as they lifted into the sky and she said goodbye to another chapter in her life. She’d always admired her sister, and she wished she were there with her now.

  But with only a week until Christmas, there was no way Lexie was going to burden her sister with her messy emotions. She would do what she always did and hold it inside, doing her best to make it through not only this flight, but the rest of her life back in the real world.

  Lance didn’t reappear, and Lexie turned away the offered meal, feeling the weight of not sleeping much settle over her. She let her eyes close.

  Waking in the middle of the night, Lexie was vaguely aware of a blanket over her. Exhaustion pulled her back under as she snuggle
d deeper into the blanket and thanked the blissful blackness that took her sadness away.

  “Lexie . . . Lexie . . .” The chipper voice was pulling her from a wonderful dream and she didn’t want to wake up. Her hand fluttered as she tried to shoo the voice away.

  “Come on, beautiful, it’s time to wake up. You’ve slept for about fourteen hours straight. If I hadn’t seen your chest moving, I would have been a little concerned.”

  “What?” The fog was lifting as Lexie opened her eyes. It took a minute for her to focus but when she did, she saw Lance leaning over her, a soft smile on his lips. He looked so different from the man she’d boarded the jet with. “Did you say I’ve slept for fourteen hours?”

  Lexie sat up, the rest of her sleep-drugged mind clearing as she looked out the dark windows, rain sliding down them. They were no longer in the Philippines, that was for sure.

  “Yep. I guess jet lag and exhaustion have finally caught up to you,” he said with a chuckle.

  “We’re almost home?” She gasped. The rest of her time with Lance was gone, just like that. She felt closer to crying than ever before.

  “Yep, we’re starting our descent into Seattle,” he told her.

  Lexie had to keep her lips sealed because she was afraid she would burst into tears. She hadn’t thought she’d be brave enough to take him back to that beautiful bedroom at the back of the jet, but now she would never know. Her little nap had turned into a full-on snooze fest.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, though she wasn’t sure who she was apologizing to. Maybe it was to him, or maybe to herself. She’d missed an opportunity of a lifetime, and in a short time she’d be saying goodbye for good.

  “Lexie, I have a favor to ask,” he said. That caught her attention. After everything the man had done for her, she wasn’t sure she could say no to anything he asked — especially if it was to warm his bed for the night.

  Dang, her mind had sunk to the gutter and it seemed it wasn’t coming up anytime soon. As soon as she was away from him, things would change. Until then, she had to keep herself together.

  “Of course. What do you need?”

  “A girlfriend for the week.”

  It took a bit to process his words. She looked at him as if he was crazy. She waited for him to go on, but he just smiled as if he was asking the most reasonable thing in the world.

  “Did you say a girlfriend — like a middle school fling?” she asked, needing to make sure she’d heard what she thought she had.

  “Yep, exactly. Want to help a guy out?” He still wore that innocent expression, and she didn’t know what to think.

  “I don’t understand what you’re asking,” she told him.

  He smiled that smile that made her want to do anything he wanted. It was a killer grin, and she could see it getting her into more trouble than she cared to get into.

  “My family is putting on pressure this year for me to settle down and get married. If I take you to the lodge for the holiday, maybe they will lay off. They know we just spent a month together, so they wouldn’t blink at a romance blossoming. Come with me for a messy, crazy, chaotic Christmas and act like I’m irresistible to you, and I will be your servant for life,” he told her.

  Lexie’s first thought was to tell him she wouldn’t mind being his real girlfriend. Luckily she stopped before saying that out loud. Her next thought was there was no way she would be able to pull that off. She wasn’t an actress. But as she looked at him, she realized she wouldn’t be putting on much of an act at all. She had been falling for the guy. To pretend she was doing exactly that would be easy. And she wouldn’t need to have her heart broken, because he would assume it was all an act and wouldn’t know how she truly felt. But she couldn’t just crash a family Christmas, could she?

  “I don’t think that sounds like a very good idea,” she told him.

  His expression didn’t falter. “Come on, Lex, there will be turkey and ham, mashed potatoes and yams, all the treats you can imagine, and your sister will be there,” he added as if the rest wasn’t tempting enough.

  “Savvy will know it’s an act,” she pointed out. “I’ve never been able to lie to her.”

  “We’ll bring her in on the secret if it becomes necessary,” he said as if it were a done deal. “What were you going to do anyway?”

  Lexie didn’t want to admit what her Christmas plans had been. They were too pathetic to talk about. Of course, Savs had tried to get her to come to the holiday bash he was speaking of, but she’d made excuses not to. Now that Lance was inviting her, the temptation to go was so great she didn’t want to say no. She found herself gazing at him, wondering if her silent tears had been so obvious he was making this up because he felt sorry for her.

  “What exactly would I have to do?” she asked. She couldn’t believe she was actually considering this.

  “You just have to laugh at my dumb jokes, pretend you can’t live without me, and say only great things to my family about what a wonderful guy I am,” he said with a wink.

  “I think that’s impossible,” she told him with a roll of her eyes.

  “Ah, come on, you had fun with me over the last month, didn’t you?”

  “It wasn’t all bad,” she admitted.

  “That’s the spirit,” he told her with that mesmerizing smile. “So tell me you’ll come, so I don’t have to kidnap you,” he insisted.

  “Okay.”

  Lexie wasn’t sure which of them was more shocked when she said that one simple word. Her gaze widened as they looked into each other’s eyes, and she felt him lean in just a little and wondered if he wanted to seal the deal with a kiss.

  She’d have to continue to wonder, because the captain announced they had to buckle up for landing in a few minutes. Lexie glanced over at Lance as they touched down and wondered if she should take back her agreement.

  But as she tried to utter the words, she realized she didn’t want to. The last thing she wanted was to leave the airport and go to an empty apartment with no Christmas decorations and nothing but loneliness.

  At least for this holiday season she could pretend her life was golden, and she’d be doing it on the arm of Lance Storm. Her life could be a hell of a lot worse right now.

  Chapter Twelve

  Lance didn’t understand why he was so damn nervous. He’d spent the last month with this woman who was now quietly riding next to him, looking out the window as they climbed higher into the mountains. The snow appeared to be turning into a blizzard.

  His family was one of those rare entities that enjoyed the holidays, and even more strangely, enjoyed each other’s company. It hadn’t been that way for a lot of years, but since meeting new relatives they hadn’t known they had, their family had tripled, and now any occasion to get together was worth celebrating.

  Lance’s uncle Joseph had bought a lodge in the mountains of Washington and that was where the family spent Christmas every year now. Lance wasn’t sure how many rooms were in the place, but he knew it had once been a travel destination. A person could seriously get lost while trying to find the kitchen if they weren’t careful.

  The closer they drew to the lodge, the more excited Lance became. He was going there with Lexie as his girlfriend, and by the end of the visit, he hoped and prayed it was true. Yes, he also wanted to make love to her more than he wanted to keep his legs attached and he couldn’t stomach the thought of letting her go.

  For most of the return flight, he’d gazed at this woman who had changed his entire way of thinking. He had to find out if it was her father’s abuse that she was so afraid of. If she decided to share with him, maybe the two of them could begin to build some sort of future together.

  Far too soon, he was pulling up to the lodge where a dozen vehicles were getting buried in the falling snow. It looked as if they were the last to arrive. He looked at the lights glistening around the lodge. T
his year his father and uncles had gone all out.

  He smiled knowing his brothers and cousins had been out there freezing their butts off as they hooked them all up. The females would have gotten a pass since they’d taken over cooking for the huge clan. Except for Christmas Eve and Day. His uncles and father brought in cooks so the family could enjoy each other fully on those magical days.

  If he’d been a day sooner, he would have been risking life and limb to hang whatever the patriarchs of the family had demanded. It seemed like the decorations got a bit crazier every year.

  Lexie gazed in awe at the sight before she faced him with a panicked look on her beautiful face. It was too late for her to back out, so he wasn’t worried about it.

  “This looks like a storefront,” she said, obviously wondering if they were in the correct place.

  “Yep, that would be Uncle Joseph and Uncle George’s fault, along with my father, Richard,” Lance said with a chuckle.

  “I thought you said we were going to a house,” she said, looking a bit distrustful.

  “Well, it’s a large family so Uncle Joseph considers this a house,” he said before he stepped from the car and ran around to open her door. Lance loved that she waited for him. It was such a simple thing, but he liked opening her door, pulling out her chair, and holding her hand. It made him feel like he was taking care of her.

  “We can stand here in the snow and make out in case anyone is peeking through the windows,” he suggested.

  Lexie gave him an eye roll before she turned back to the lodge. “Let’s save the acting for when we know people are watching,” she said.

  “Who said it was acting?” he asked as he pushed her against the car and brushed some hair out of her face. He needed another taste of her, and being at this place made him realize he would be expected to kiss her all he wanted. He should have brought the two of them to his family a heck of a lot sooner.

  “Lance . . .” He wasn’t sure if it was a protest or a come-on, but the way his name rushed off her lips in that husky voice made him hard and ready in less than a second. Hell with the acting, he wanted to take her right there against the side of the car that was getting buried in snow. They were both hot enough it would all melt around them anyway.