by Stacy Finz
He helped her get her exercise bra off. Delaney’s breasts were pure poetry and he didn’t waste any time touching them, circling her nipples with his thumbs to make them pucker.
“That’s good,” she moaned, leaning her head against the door of the shower stall and shutting her eyes.
“What about these?” Her yoga pants. He hooked his fingers in the waist and pulled them down.
She walked out of them, leaving her in nothing but a thong. All curves and alabaster skin. God, she made him hot.
“Off with this.” She rucked up his T-shirt and helped him drag it over his head, then pushed him back for a long, lingering look. “You have the best chest, Colt.”
“Yeah?” He pulled her back into his arms and felt her full breasts press against him. “So do you.”
He clamped his mouth over hers and kissed her so thoroughly he felt her knees buckle. He nudged her back against the door for leverage so his hands could wander. “I’ve got you.”
She reached for the buttons on his jeans. “Off, so we can get clean.”
He somehow was able to get his pants and shorts off at the same time as maneuvering her into the snug shower stall. She tugged off her thong, threw it over the door, and turned on the water.
“This too hot?”
“Huh?” He pushed her against the tile wall and rocked into her, letting her know what she’d gotten herself into.
“Colt? Condom.”
“Uh . . . right.” Lifted from his sex fog, he hopped out of the shower.
“Where you going?”
“To find one.” He was almost certain there was a stash in the men’s locker room.
“You’re naked,” she called as he unlocked the door and checked the gym to see if they were still alone.
“Be right back.” He ran across the fitness center, zigzagging around the exercise equipment, praying that no one caught him. They—his brothers—would never let him live it down.
Inside the men’s showers, he tore the place apart looking for rubbers. Finally, he found two next to a package of old razors in one of the sink drawers and quickly checked the expiration date. Still good, thank God. He raced back to the women’s locker room and rushed into the shower stall to find Delaney in hysterics.
“What’s so freaking funny?”
“This”—she gestured at his nakedness—“running.”
Well, it wasn’t funny that he’d lost his hard on, which he planned to rectify. Immediately. “Be quiet and kiss me.” He didn’t wait, just covered her mouth and stuck his tongue inside.
“Did you relock the door?”
“Shush.” He spread her legs apart with his knee. “No more talking until I’m inside you.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed against him. He felt his erection spring back to life. Harder than before, and throbbing.
“You feel good,” he said as he trailed kisses down her neck and reached around to hold her ass in the palms of his hands, pressing her tighter.
“You too.” She reached down and stroked him and he felt himself jerk.
“Uh-uh. No more. Not yet.” He moved her hand away, grabbed one of the condoms off the shampoo ledge, ripped it open, and rolled it down his length. Then he lifted her and slid in, moving in and out in slow motion.
She moaned and tilted her head against the tile as the water sluiced over them.
“Okay?”
“Beyond okay.” She wrapped her legs around him and he increased the pace.
He pressed her deeper against the wall so he could pump harder. “This hurting your back?”
“Don’t stop” was her only answer.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Delaney.”
“You won’t.” She clung to him as he continued to drive into her. “I’m so close.”
She moved with him, closing her eyes. He let the rhythm of their pulsing bodies take him away, urging her higher and higher. Her lips dragged across his shoulders as her breath rose.
With the water washing over her body and her dark hair tangled in a wet mess, she looked so damned beautiful he nearly lost his mind. He watched her come apart in his arms and something jackhammered in his chest. Pride that he could fulfill her like this. A fierce possessiveness. Hell, he didn’t know what it was . . . whether he even liked it. It made him feel like he was losing control.
As she called out his name, he took his own release. His orgasm was long and powerful, coming in waves that made him shudder and grunt. They just stood there for a while, entangled in each other’s arms until finally he shut off the water. The cool air formed tiny bumps on her skin.
“You cold?”
“A little bit. But I like it like this.” In his arms.
He picked her up and carried her to some shelves where there were towels, put her down, and wrapped her in terrycloth. “Better?”
“Yes, thank you.” Her blue gaze held his. “That was intense.”
“Yeah. It always is with us. . . . I mean the sex.”
“Right,” she said. “The sex.”
He didn’t want to talk about it, so he kissed her instead. Long and deep, making his heart kick. She laced her hands around his neck and he let the kiss go on and on, partly because he didn’t want to let her go and partly because it was easier than exploring a truckload of feelings he didn’t want to have. And she tasted good. Like heaven.
“You hear that?” She lifted her head to a voice coming from one of the back offices.
“Shit!” It was either his dad or one of his brothers. “Hurry up and get dressed.”
“No one will come in here, right?”
Only his mom but she’d gone to Reno. “No, but we need to get out of here.”
She started to laugh again, covering her mouth so no one would hear her. He couldn’t help it and laughed too. They huddled together, to keep from collapsing in hysterics.
“Seriously, we need to get dressed,” he said.
It took them more than a few minutes to find their clothes and put them on. Colt put his ear to the door, hoping that whoever it was had left. No such luck. By his count at least two people were out there.
“I’ll go and distract them while you sneak out the side door,” he whispered.
“Don’t you think you’re being ridiculous? Why don’t you just tell them the truth?”
“That we were having sex in the women’s locker room?”
“No, of course not. That you were teaching me how to rock climb.”
One look at them and his brothers would know instantly what they’d been doing. He eyed the frosted window in the corner and wondered if Delaney could fit through it. That is, if he could manage to pry it open without making a lot of noise. Too tight for him, but she was much smaller.
“Don’t even think about it,” she said, watching him size her and the window up.
He shrugged. “Just an idea.”
She did an eye roll, then wiped the steamed-up mirror with the towel and finger combed her hair, deftly swooping it up and clipping it with one of those barrette things. When she started for the door he grabbed her arm.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Going out and saying hi to whoever it is.”
“Let me go first. Wait about five minutes, then you come out.” It would look pretty bad otherwise.
“Whatever,” she said, plainly perturbed.
He made it halfway to the door and turned around. “Come here.”
When she didn’t move, he went to her and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Thanks for rocking my world.”
He walked to the door, opened it a crack, and peeked out. There was still time to salvage this as long as no one saw him coming from the women’s locker room. The gym remained empty and the voices appeared to be coming from the lobby. He quickly darted out and stealthily went in search of whoever was there. At the front desk, he found TJ and Win dicking around on the computer.
“Looking for porn sites?”
TJ jumped. “What
the hell? Don’t sneak up like that.” He gave Colt a sharp perusal, noting his wet hair. “You worked out?”
“Climbed the wall ... with Delaney.”
Win peered around his back. “Where is she?”
“Women’s locker room. Showering, I assume.”
“I didn’t know Delaney climbed,” TJ said.
“She wanted to learn so I gave her a lesson.”
“I bet you did.” Win snickered and Colt had a very real urge to punch him in the face.
“How are the adventure clothes coming along?” At least TJ had a one-track mind. Business. It was always business with him.
“You can ask her when she comes out.”
“For two people who aren’t seeing each other, you seem to see a lot of each other,” Win said.
“We’re neighbors.”
“Hey.” Delaney came strolling into the reception area, carrying her gym bag, looking about as innocent as a three-time felon.
“Heard you did the wall,” TJ said.
And me, Colt thought to himself.
“Mm-hmm.” Delaney turned pink, probably because her mind had traveled the same route as his with the “did” comment. “Colt was kind enough to show me the ropes. I figured for the sake of the clothes, I should try some of this stuff.”
TJ had the decency not to make an off-color remark, which was huge for him. “It’s addictive. Pretty soon, you’ll be one of us, an adrenaline junky.”
“Highly doubtful, but it was a lot of fun.” She adjusted the bag on her shoulder and Colt took it from her and put it on top of the counter.
“Colt’s an excellent teacher,” Win added with sarcasm, and flashed him a smarmy-ass smile.
“He is.”
“Well, we better get going,” Colt said, and glanced at his watch. “It’s getting late and I’ve got stuff to do.”
He grabbed the gym bag, put his hand at the small of Delaney’s back, and guided her to the door.
“See ya,” his brothers called in unison. Colt didn’t have to look behind him to know that they were high-fiving each other. They were idiots but not stupid.
Chapter Twenty
Delaney spent her days in a creative whirlwind and her nights in Colt’s bed. It was the most gratifying time of her life. After she had delivered the last of the samples, the Garner brothers had put the adventure wear through the ringer, wearing her pieces while kayaking, climbing, bouldering, windsurfing, and paddleboarding. They’d come up with a list of tweaks—a pocket here, a gusset there, a dart a half inch over—but nothing major.
Garments for her couture line had gone to the cutter and she was just waiting on samples. She’d begun sketching a second collection for a ready-to-wear line. Once again, she’d let the mountains be her inspiration, using a palette of muted colors. Moss, clay, wood, and winter white. Short, flowy dresses paired with hiking boots; suede skinny pants under long sweaters; cashmere tunics over leather leggings; and body-conscious angora cowl-necks. The pieces were rich and warm and Delaney’s hopes soared that the collection would be a hit.
After their lovemaking, she would sit up in bed and show Colt her work. For a man who knew nothing about fashion, he had good instincts. Perhaps it was the musician in him, because he knew what flowed and what didn’t, what worked and what tried too hard.
They’d argued more about the CMAs and forcing Lisa to come clean. Adamant, Colt refused to budge. At least the awards weren’t until November, time enough for him to put it out of his mind.
While Delaney’s career got a second wind, Colt’s gasped for breath. It became more and more evident every day that the mayor wanted to replace him. Members of the city council had become surprisingly tight-lipped on the subject. Even the city attorney, who was supposedly Colt’s friend, had clammed up, leaving him in an anxious state of limbo. Although he tried to remain blasé, she knew it was killing him. Garner Adventure would welcome him with open arms, but Colt’s true calling was law enforcement.
At least she’d managed to distract him with her upcoming fashion show. Given more reflection, she’d decided to showcase all three collections, using GA as her venue. Glory Junction had, after all, inspired her new lines and she hoped that using it as a backdrop would be a marketing tool to entice investors. But there was so much preparation she didn’t know where to start first, including coming up with a name for her label.
Colt and his brothers had begun building a set and stage. Karen had been charged with organizing the show. And in the next couple of weeks, Delaney’s staff, sound technicians, and lighting crew would descend on Glory Junction. She’d already reserved rooms at two local hotels, including the Four Seasons, and made arrangements with the area’s private airport for a chartered jet. The show would cost her an arm and a leg.
She only wished she had more time. But if Delaney wanted to be taken seriously, she had to follow Fashion Week’s September schedule. Besides, the show would help secure investors. The sale of her house—the buyers had accepted her counter—would help a little. But she needed some of the proceeds to buy a new place to live. And LA real estate, even a condo, didn’t come cheap.
Her phone rang, which it had been doing nonstop these days.
“Hi, Karen.” Hiring her had been Delaney’s best move yet, though Robert had been furious.
“I still think it’s crazy to try to pull this off in two weeks but the models are handled. They’re thrilled to be working with you again. Some did London’s Fashion Week with Olivia and are still complaining about what a mean bitch she is.”
Models, especially the big-name ones, were typically hard to please, regardless of the designer. “They whine, Karen, you know that.”
“Well, I didn’t, not until I worked for Olivia.”
Delaney didn’t have time to think about Olivia. She had her hands full with her own company.
“I’m glad you were able to get them.” With Fashion Week, models were in high demand, traveling between Milan and Paris. “We have sound and lighting secured?”
“Check. But you haven’t even had samples made for the ready-to-wear collection. You sure we’re not rushing this?”
“I need investors, Karen. I’ll make the deadline, don’t you worry. You just keep doing what you do and we’ll be fine.” She hoped.
She clicked off with Karen and drove downtown to meet the girls and Foster for lunch. Their get-togethers had become a regular thing and Delaney enjoyed them more than she ever could’ve imagined. She grabbed a jacket from the backseat of her car and walked the half block from her parking space to Old Glory. A blonde sat at the bar, chatting up Boden. He waved to Delaney and pointed to the back of the dining room to where Deb sat.
“I took the liberty of ordering the buffalo wings,” she said as Delaney took a seat. “Foster is running late, as usual.”
“Where’s Hannah?” Her purse and jacket were slung over the chair.
“Bathroom. At least the store is slow right now and she can linger over lunch. How about you? Things must be crazy.”
Hannah returned and sat down. “What’s crazy?”
“Trying to get this show together in such a short amount of time. My house manager called right before I left to tell me I’m nuts.”
“You’re not nuts,” Hannah said. “Everything’s coming together. I went over to bring Josh breakfast this morning and the stage is half done. It’s going to look amazing. I’ve never seen TJ so excited. He thinks the partnership and the fashion show will bring a lot of press.”
“I don’t know about that.” Delaney had been away from the LA fashion scene for a year. And holding the show in Glory Junction could be risky. Her PR people warned her that daring to be different might be misconstrued as a publicity stunt. “Was Colt there this morning?”
“No, he and Jack may have caught someone involved in those burglaries. It’s supposed to be hush-hush, so don’t say anything.” Hannah looked directly at Deb when she threw out the warning, then turned back to Delaney. “You and Colt have ce
rtainly gotten cozy.”
“He’s a good friend.” He’s everything.
“The rumor is that Pond is planning to can him this week,” Deb said, and both Delaney and Hannah gaped at her.
“You waited until now to drop that little bomb?” Hannah said.
Boden came over with a pitcher of iced tea and the three of them instantly stopped talking. “Did I interrupt some serious girl talk?”
“We were just discussing Colt,” Deb said.
“The gossip that he’s getting axed today?”
“We all knew it was only a matter of time,” Deb said. “Pond’s been introducing that cop from the Bay Area all over the place.”
“The guy’s a first-class weasel.” Boden filled their glasses with tea. “Anyone hear from him . . . Colt, not Pond Scum?”
Everyone looked at Delaney. “Not a word. Should I call him?” She reached for her phone.
Truthfully, she wanted to run over to the station and make sure he was okay. Colt wouldn’t like it, though. He was an island when it came to his own problems, remote and self-reliant. Case in point: the situation with Lisa. She and all the Garners agreed that the woman shouldn’t be allowed to make millions off his song. But when Colt made his mind up about something he was unyielding.
“Nah,” Boden said. “It could be a bad rumor. Why stir shit up?”
Good point, but she still intended to call him when she got home.
Foster rushed in. “Sorry I’m late. I got a last-minute gladiola shipment. I heard ‘rumor.’ What’s going on?”
They told him.
“Yeah, I heard it too, from Rachel. She heard it from a teller at Wells Fargo, who heard from Pond’s housekeeper. It doesn’t look good. But hey, at least he’s nominated for a CMA.”
“The one Lisa Laredo, the wonder slut, is gonna get credit for,” Deb said. The whole town really did know about Colt’s song. “I say someone drops a dime to TMZ.”
“Hey,” Hannah interrupted, “this is a sore spot for Colt. He’s got enough going on in his life right now.”
Boden nodded his head as if he agreed. Despite the fact that Colt didn’t let many people in, he had good friends. People who had his back. People who knew what a good man he was, honest, fair, and hardworking.