by Amy Ruttan
Henry pulled out his phone. “Still no bars.”
“I’m sure the diner will have a phone that we can borrow.” She opened the door and welcomed the blast of warm air.
“Grab a seat and I’ll see if I can call a tow truck.”
Kiera nodded and slid into a booth, trying to get warm again.
Henry made his way to the counter of the almost empty diner and spoke with the waitress. She handed him her phone and Henry made a call.
As Kiera sat there and tried to warm up, she realized she was shaking for another reason.
She avoided places like this.
Honey, how long have you been here? the police officer had asked her gently.
Kiera had shied away. Her father didn’t like police officers and had told her they weren’t safe. Dunno.
Are you waiting for someone?
Daddy.
The police officer had nodded. Where did he go?
To the car. He left the money there. She’d brushed away a tear, wishing her father would come back.
Why don’t you come with me?
I can’t. Daddy could come back.
We’ll let him know where to find you if he does.
You swear? Kiera had asked.
The police officer had nodded. I swear.
Her reverie was interrupted by a waitress.
“Coffee? You look like you need it,” the waitress asked, interrupting the memory Kiera thought was long buried.
“That would be great. And one for my friend.”
The waitress nodded and filled the two white mugs that were on the table. “The kitchen is closed, but we can do sandwiches if you’re hungry?”
“I’m good for now, but thanks!”
The waitress nodded and walked away as Henry came and slid into the booth, still shivering. “The tow truck will take it into Aspen tomorrow morning and the only rental agency in this town is closed for the night.”
“So, there’s no way to get back to Aspen?” she asked. She didn’t want to stay here. She was uncomfortable. She hated diners.
“Not tonight. I even called Mike, but my father has him for the night. Mike said he can come tomorrow to get us.”
Kiera groaned. “Great. Just how I wanted to spend my night, sitting up in a diner. Shivering.”
“There is a motel right next door.”
The suggestion caught her off guard. Her eyes widened and her heart hammered against her chest.
“What?”
“We’re both wet and cold. We can hang our clothes up to dry in our rooms, have a shower and stay warm. And it’s not a diner.”
Henry was right. The last thing she needed to do was catch a cold. The smart thing was to cut her losses and try and get some sleep tonight. And Henry had said “rooms,” although secretly she wouldn’t mind sharing a room with him. Of course, since they had left Agnes’s she’d been trying not to think about him.
Or kissing him.
Or the need he stirred in her. A motel wouldn’t help one bit.
“Rooms, right?” she asked, quickly.
“Of course.”
“Okay.”
They finished their coffee, paid for some sandwiches and headed through the adjoining doors into the small motel that was attached to the diner.
The owner of the motel looked up from his paper. “How can I help you folks?”
“We were hoping you had a couple of rooms for the night?”
“I only have one room left,” the motel manager said.
Kiera’s heart started to race. “Only one room?”
“It has two beds,” the owner said.
Even though she knew it would be a mistake, they really had no choice and she nodded to Henry, who looked just as worried as she did.
They were adults.
Nothing had to happen.
They could control themselves for one night.
“Okay. We’ll take it.” Henry paid the motel owner, and once the paperwork was filled out and the owner had handed them keys, they made their way back outside into the cold. Down to the end of the motel where they had the very last room.
As Henry put the key in the door, the sign flicked from Vacancy to No Vacancy.
“I’ve never seen that happen before.”
“I’m sure you don’t really stay at retro motels that were popular in the sixties.”
“No. That’s true.” He opened the door and stepped in, flicking on the lights. Kiera followed him and she was relieved to see there were two beds.
The room was clean and completely outdated, but it was a warm and a safe place to be until morning.
She set her bag down on the bed closest to the door and Henry set down the sandwiches and his bag on the small dinette set. He locked the door and pulled the drapes so the streetlights wouldn’t shine in on them.
“Do you want to shower first? A hot shower will warm you up faster. Then we can have our dinner.” He wasn’t looking at her as he peeled off his wet jacket and draped it over a chair.
“Yeah, that would be nice.” She was hoping that her voice wasn’t shaking, revealing her anxiety about being alone with him in this room.
Not that he would do anything; it was herself she was nervous about.
She honestly didn’t know why she was fighting it.
She was an adult.
She’d done this before and she wanted to again and with Henry.
You can’t.
Only she really wanted to.
Her skin broke out in goose bumps, and she took off her wet jacket and placed it on the other chair.
“I’ll be quick, so I don’t use all the hot water.”
Henry smiled briefly. “Great.”
She nodded and felt her cheeks warm as she scurried to the bathroom. Once she was in there, she was able to lock the door and take a deep breath.
This was going to be a long night.
Henry heard the shower come on and he tried not to think about the fact that only a thin wall separated him from a very naked and wet Kiera. He had to pull himself together. This was not an ideal situation, that was for sure.
He’d rather be in his own room.
But would he really not think about her showering in his condo?
His blood was hot, his body wound tight because he wanted her, and he was holding himself back.
It had been a long time since he’d wanted someone like this.
This was probably a bad idea, but since they were stuck, he could resist for one night. He could make it through to morning.
Henry sat on the edge of his bed, waiting for his turn in the shower. After that he was going to climb into his bed and tie himself down.
Because he was so tempted when it came to Kiera Brown.
So very tempted.
The shower stopped and his pulse was thundering in his ears as he watched the door open and Kiera slip out. A too-short towel was wrapped around her. She’d braided her damp, long red hair.
He kept his gaze focused on her legs as she scooted across the room, pulled back the covers and climbed into her bed, pulling the blankets up to her chin. She was shivering.
“Are you cold?”
“A bit. I didn’t realize how much it had affected me,” she said through chattering teeth.
Without thinking he left the safety of his own bed and came to sit down on her bed. She didn’t move away from him. She just clutched her covers tighter, under her chin.
He reached back to his bed and pulled off the top cover. He wrapped it around behind her, pulling it around her. And then he pulled her close to him, holding her as she shivered. She was so close he could feel her breath on his neck and it sent a curl of desire through him.
He wanted to kiss her again, but when he had touched her face outside Agnes�
�s place, she’d pulled away. Just like with the first kiss they’d shared in the car. She’d pulled away then, too. She didn’t want him and that was fine.
Kiera gazed up at him, her mouth open and her green eyes sparkling in the dim light. He keenly remembered the feel of her lips and wanted to taste them again.
“Well,” he said, breaking the silence that always seemed to come between them when they were close like this. “I think I’ll go have a shower.”
“Okay,” she whispered, still shivering.
“You’re so cold.”
“I know. I can’t get warm.”
Henry glanced at the shower, but he couldn’t leave her shivering like this. So instead he stood up and pulled off his shirt. Her eyes widened.
“What’re you doing?”
“My clothes are wet and you’re freezing. I’m going to climb into bed with you.”
Kiera just nodded. She didn’t argue with him, because he was pretty sure she knew the fastest way to regulate temperature was for him to take off his cold, damp clothes and cuddle up close to her.
And that’s what he had to focus on.
He was just helping her stay warm. That was it.
He removed his wet socks and slipped off his jeans, keeping on his boxer briefs, so he wouldn’t freak her out further. He grabbed the rest of the blankets from the bed and climbed in beside her.
Kiera didn’t fight him or make a sarcastic comment. Instead, she snuggled up against him, her head resting against his chest as he held her in the double bed. And he realized she didn’t have the towel on anymore and that it was her naked body pressed against him, holding him.
“Your heart is racing,” she whispered, her head on his chest.
“Can you blame me?” he said, pulling her closer.
Her shivering stopped and she looked up at him. “No, because my heart is racing, too.”
Henry touched her face. “You really are so beautiful.”
Pink flushed in her cheeks and she worried her bottom lip. And all he could think about was how soft her lips were. How close she was.
How much he burned for her.
Wanted her.
Needed her.
“About that kiss...”
“We don’t need to talk about that kiss.” He wanted to do more than talk about that kiss. He wanted to relive it. Right here. Right now.
He yearned to taste her again. Over and over and never let her go.
He needed her out of his mind.
He wanted the lust out of his blood.
“I think we do.”
“Why? It was a kiss. You made it very clear to me that you didn’t want to kiss me, and that’s okay.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. “I wanted that kiss, Henry. I liked it.”
His blood heated. “You pushed me away, and then tonight, when I touched you, you pulled away again.”
Kiera sighed. “It’s because I’m terrified. Henry, I’ve never wanted a man as much as I want you. You make me feel safe and that scares me.”
“Wy does it scare you?”
“Because I can’t trust you.”
That made him pause. He wanted her to trust him.
“You’re safe with me. I promise. I won’t hurt you.”
She reached up and touched his face and he closed his eyes, reveling in the sensation of her touch, the softness of her skin on his.
He grabbed her hand and instinctively kissed the pulse point of her wrist.
She was scared. So was he.
He’d been with other women since Michelle, but Kiera was the first woman who had made his blood burn with desire. She was the first since Michelle who made him want more.
And that scared him, too.
Kiera sighed as he stroked her arm, touching the bare skin he could.
He wanted her. He wanted to kiss her again. And he pulled her closer, touching her face, making her shiver as he touched her. Her breath coming quickly. He leaned in and drank in the scent of her skin.
Kissing her neck lightly as she sighed. Her blood racing through her neck, under his lips. The blankets that she’d been clutching to her so tightly fell away and he pulled her onto his lap, her long legs going around his waist as he trailed his kisses lower, his hands on her back.
“Henry,” she whispered. “Kiss me. This time, I want you to kiss me.”
He cupped her face with his hands and captured her lips with his. There was nothing more to say. He wanted her. He had wanted her from the first moment he’d laid eyes on her, when she’d pulled off her ridiculous woolen beanie and scarf after protesting outside.
He had wanted her every time she’d fought with him.
He had wanted her when she made her deal with him, when she came down the stairs in that jade dress.
Every day that he’d known her, he had wanted her.
And it was too much.
He prided himself on his control. Perfectionism, because when things were perfect he didn’t have to feel anything.
He didn’t want to feel.
He was numb, and it had been okay until Kiera had stumbled into his life.
His tight rein of control was slipping, and he didn’t care. Not with her in his arms.
His tongue twining with hers.
He stopped himself, although it was so hard with her naked in bed with him.
“Kiera, I don’t want... I don’t ever want to hurt you.”
And he meant it.
He cared for her. In this short amount of time she’d gotten through all his defenses like no one had done since Michelle.
“You won’t,” she whispered, her lips hovering over his, her delicate hands cupping his face. “You won’t.” And she kissed him again.
It was then he knew he was a lost man.
“Be with me tonight, Kiera. Be with me.”
“I want that.” She kissed him gently. “I want that. This doesn’t have to mean anything. I just want to be with you. Feel you.”
Henry couldn’t argue except that for him it meant something. He took her in his arms, pulling her closer. Touching her like he wanted to.
Just as he had wanted to do when he’d first met her.
It was so good to feel again. It had been so long. He usually just went through the motions. This was different, something he hadn’t felt in a long time.
A rush of feelings he couldn’t even get a grasp on.
It was like being alive when he’d been dead before.
Awake.
It also felt like a dream, one he didn’t want to wake up from.
They sank against the mattress together, kissing. He wanted to taste her, he wanted to be in this moment with her. Inside her. Claiming her.
He wanted Kiera to be his.
The realization jarred him, and he shook the thought from his head.
There was no need to think about this now, or that it scared him.
Right now, in this moment, all he needed was to feel.
Henry tipped her chin till she was looking up at him. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips were swollen from their shared kisses, and her green eyes sparkled in the dim light.
“You’re beautiful.” He kissed her again, his lips urgent as he pulled her flush with him. He didn’t want an ounce of space between them.
He let his mouth tail down from her lips, down her neck and over her breasts, kissing each one of her pulse points.
Tasting all he could of her.
He was hungry.
“Henry, I want you so much,” she murmured.
“I want you, too.” And admitting that made him feel free. His life since Michelle had died had been about control.
Numbness.
Control so he didn’t succumb to grief.
He didn’t feel. There was no point
to living.
With her in his arms and her wanting him, he felt free. Like something had sparked anew in him. He was alive.
“Do you have protection?” she asked.
“I do.” And he was thankful he carried it with him always.
He shifted away, not wanting to leave the warmth of her embrace, to grab protection out of his leather messenger bag. He got what he needed and put it on. He returned to her and resumed kissing her all over, touching her, making her tremble under his touch.
She was hot and wet for him between her thighs.
“I want you,” she panted, wrapping her legs around him, urging him to take her.
He was more than happy to oblige. Her pleas were all he needed as he settled between her legs and slowly entered her. Possessing her. She fit so tight around him.
Hot and warm.
It was almost more than he could take. She moved her hips, urging him deeper, to take her harder and faster.
She was so warm.
So tight.
He couldn’t hold back as he moved in and out of her. Thrusting into her hot depths.
It was just the two of them, locked together, gazing into each other’s eyes as they moved in sync. He ran his hands over her, reveling in the softness of her skin. He slipped his hand under her bottom, cupping her leg, holding her tight against him as he took her.
Just as she took him.
She wanted him as much as he wanted her.
It wasn’t long before she squeezed him, gasping and crying out, her nails digging into his back as she came around him. It wasn’t long before he followed.
Giving in to the pleasure.
He rolled over onto his back and she curled up against him, resting her head on his chest. Henry held her close, not wanting to let her go.
He had never thought it would be like this. He’d never thought he’d ever feel like this again.
When he was with her, he lost all control.
It frightened him, because he didn’t know anything else besides control and grief.
It had been a long time since he’d felt anything close to love.
And that was terrifying.
CHAPTER TEN
KIERA DIDN’T KNOW when she fell asleep, but she slept soundly after making love with Henry. She’d been with other men, but nothing compared to this. Nothing had ever felt like this before.