He chuckled and pressed a hand on the wall over her head. “No one caught that but me, but I admit, I almost laughed out loud.”
“I know!” she said. “I saw your face and wanted to strangle you.” She shook her head. “And Mom called you ‘son.’ Son, Caleb.” She leaned her head against the door. “This, after we just had sex in your shower together. We’re playing with fire here. They are never going to trust you again if they find out you’re sleeping with me.”
He smiled with the memory of that time in the shower—straddling her hips with his, his hand on her slender waist. “We had amazing sex in my shower.”
“Exactly,” she agreed as if that was the point. “Amazing sex makes it worse.”
He wasn’t even going to try and understand her logic, because there was none. “We’re alone for two weeks, Shay. What would have seemed a nearly impossible feat, but we’ve achieved it. Let’s just relax and enjoy being together.”
She pressed her hands to his chest. “How do I relax when we’re headed toward a crash-and-burn? I don’t want you ostracized from the family, Caleb. They trust you to look out for me.”
“I’m not breaking that trust, Shay,” he said. “You need to know right now—I have no intention of keeping our relationship a secret. Not if we decide that’s what this is. Either we’re working through a fantasy or we’re working toward a future. And I can tell you right now…I like who we are together. I like us, Shay. I don’t want to throw that away because we’re afraid of the family’s initial shock that we’re together.”
She softened instantly. “I like us, too.”
He slid his fingers under her hair, caressing the delicate skin of her neck. “Then let’s be ‘us’ during this rare solitary time we have, and see where it leads. Don’t think about what everyone else will say. Just you and me. Can you do that?”
Her lips trembled. “Yes. Yes, I’d like that.”
He smiled. “Good.” He kissed her temple, and then her jaw, and then her neck. “You smell like sunshine.”
“I smell like your cologne,” she said, a smile in her voice. “I was afraid someone would notice.”
He pulled back and looked at her. “I’m really going to have to work on your paranoia,” he said, his hands sliding up her sides, over her breasts.
She moaned. “Not here, Caleb.”
“Oh, yes,” he said. “Most definitely here.” He shoved her T-shirt up and pressed down her bra, thumbing her nipples. “I’ve fantasized about you in this house too many times to miss this opportunity.”
Her hands went to his arms, but she didn’t push him away. “I have to get the key to my car before the car dealership closes,” she panted.
“I’m staying the night at your place,” he said. “I’ll take you to work tomorrow and get the key before you leave work.” His hand slid around her backside, and molded her to his hips, nuzzling his erection in the V of her body. “Problem solved.”
“I don’t remember inviting you to stay the night,” she said.
“Oh, I remember,” he said, brushing his lips over hers. “In the shower.”
“I was being blackmailed at the time, if I remember correctly,” she said. “You were withholding on me.”
She’d wanted to come. He’d wanted assurance he could wake up to another shower adventure the next morning. “I’m staying the night tonight. And tomorrow night.” He stared down at her. “And every night for at least the next two weeks.”
She wet her lips. “At the end of the two weeks, Caleb, then what?”
“I’m sure we can come up with any number of possibilities. Right now. I’m trying to figure out which fantasy to act out first.” He slid down to his knees in front of her. “The one where I strip you naked in the hallway seems a good place to start.”
THE FOLLOWING FRIDAY NIGHT, almost a week into Shay and Caleb’s little escape from the family, they sat in the corner of a dimly lit fondue restaurant with Jennifer, Sabrina, Bobby and Ryan. Dinner was over, and the women had gathered at one end of the table to talk while the guys did the same at the other end. Shay couldn’t help but steal looks at Caleb here and there. The week had been such a wonderful whirlwind of all kinds of intimacy and pleasure. They’d spent the week at her place, but they planned to spend the weekend at his to accommodate his sunrise jumps.
Sabrina’s phone rang, and she eyed the number and rolled her eyes. She looked at Ryan, who was tall and dark compared to Bobby’s tall and blond, and held up the phone. “One guess.”
“Your father,” Ryan said, understanding immediately.
She nodded.
Ryan flagged the waitress and pointed to his wife. “We need another margarita right here.”
Sabrina smiled and turned back to Shay and Jennifer. “Oh, I love that man. He knows exactly what I need. I should probably hire you to examine my head, Shay. I mean, my father is a politician. I write a political column. I know what happens when I disagree with one of his positions—I get the press, and him, on my backside. But what do I do? I write what I feel.”
The waiter set a margarita in front of her, and she took a big drink.
“You might as well get used to this,” Jennifer said, blowing blond hair from her eyes and reaching for Sabrina’s drink to have a sip. “Every time she does this, we all need a drink.”
Shay glanced at Caleb, who was watching her, a smile in his eyes, clearly enjoying having her here, in the midst of his friends. Shay liked it, too.
“So what do you say, Shay?” Sabrina asked. “Will you take me on as a patient?”
Shay laughed. “Not a chance,” she said. “I never take on family or friends as patients. But off the record, my opinion is, it takes a confident, well-adjusted person to stand up for their own beliefs when you know you will feel some pain for doing so.”
“Wow,” Sabrina said. “You’re good. That was the perfect thing to say.”
Shay laughed. “If only my real patients were that easy.” She glanced at Jennifer. “Sabrina’s coming out to my flight lesson tomorrow. You should come.”
“I wish I could,” Jennifer said. “I have a clinic. My animals need me. But I’m loving the idea of the women of the Hotzone having their own wings. That’s so cool. We’ll show these guys they aren’t the only ones with skill.”
“It would be cool,” Shay said, swallowing hard at the implications that she was already one of those Hotzone women. Fear gripped her throat. Fear this was too good to be true. Illogical fear she’d normally quickly decipher like a puzzle in a patient, but in herself, it was a struggle to understand. Her gaze radiated toward Caleb as it had so many times already. He was laughing at something Ryan had said, looking sexy and calm, and just watching him made her stomach flutter. She loved him. She loved him so much. More of that fear tightened in her chest.
Shay shifted her gaze from Caleb and set her napkin on the table. “I’m going to run to the ladies’ room.” She pushed to her feet and headed down toward the back corner of the restaurant.
The hallway was dark and vacant, and Shay pushed through into the single-stall restroom to find it empty. She’d barely shut the door when a knock sounded.
“Shay.” It was Caleb.
Part of her yearned for a few minutes to think, but a bigger part reveled in him following, in how he always knew something was wrong or right. Shay opened the door.
Instantly, his hands settled on her waist, and he walked her back into the restroom and shut the door. “What upset you?”
Shay’s eyes tingled—heck, her skin tingled—with the emotion that overcame her. “I knew you knew I was upset.”
His hand stroked her hair. “Talk to me, Shay.”
“I think I’m just overwhelmed,” she said, being as honest as she could be. “A week ago I couldn’t kiss you. Now, I have Jennifer and Sabrina referring to me as one of the Hotzone women.”
“Hotzone women,” he repeated and smiled. “I like it.”
She pushed away from him. “Caleb,” she continu
ed, “don’t you see? I shouldn’t be here, involved with your friends, until we know I’m staying involved. I think I’m liking this too much. I’m confused. I want—”
He tugged her close. “What do you want, Shay? Because I want you involved in every aspect of my life. There’s no ‘maybe’ about it. A week isn’t going to change that for me, and it’s not going to change it for you.”
“Caleb,” she whispered, all that emotion welling in her chest, now stealing her voice.
“That’s not the response I’m looking for,” he said. “This is where you say you feel the same way.”
“It’s complicated, Caleb.”
“It’s not complicated for me. Either you want to be a part of my life, or you don’t.”
“So that’s it?” she asked. “If I’m not a Hotzone woman, I’m not in your life at all? What about the rest of the family?”
He stared down at her for several tension-laden seconds. His hands dropped from her sides. “Is that what you want?” he asked, ice touching his voice. “To go back to the past?” A knock sounded on the door. “Go away,” Caleb said stonily and then to Shay, he repeated, “Is that what you want?”
Panic flooded her at the realization she’d pushed him away, and she hugged him with all her might. “No. No. It’s not what I want.” She was barely holding back tears. She never cried. Shay looked up at him. He wasn’t touching her. He was just letting her hold him. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m freaked out. Scared. I don’t know why, Caleb. I don’t. This week has been one of the best of my life. I want this. I want you. I…I love you.”
The magic words. He kissed her, those strong wonderful arms surrounding her, holding her close. And when he finally came up for air, he said, “Let’s get out of here.”
Before she could digest the words, he was opening the door and pulling her with him. They were back at the table in a flash, and Shay grabbed her purse, as Caleb said, “We’re calling it a night.”
“Meet you at the Hotzone tomorrow,” Shay called to Sabrina, surprised to see her holding back a smile. As if they’d all expected the fast departure.
He led her to the truck, to the driver’s side, and kissed her, a deep, searing kiss that stole her breath, before he opened the door and helped her in. Inside the truck he kept her close, searing her with a look, as he had with the kiss, and then he silently put the truck in gear. And Shay tried to cling to that kiss, to the look in his eyes, the look that said she was his world. Not to the silence that taunted her, that he had yet to tell her he loved her, too.
Suddenly, she was scared again—that he might actually love her back. She didn’t know if she was ready to embrace the “coming out” to the family that might require. No. Not might. Would require. And then there was the fear that sex was all there really was between them—the possibility that their attraction was simply a long-burning fire that needed to be fully stoked before it could be extinguished. This could all be one big mistake, a giant bag of chocolate calling her name, promising big hips and lots of hours in the gym—however, resisting the bittersweet seduction was impossible. Not when Caleb had his hand on her leg, pushing her to the edge.
14
THE INSTANT THEY WERE inside the trailer, Shay found herself against the trailer door, Caleb pressed against her, kissing her. She forgot confessions of love. All she cared about was right here, right now. How much she needed him. And he needed her. Even if he didn’t love her, she felt the raw greediness in him, the must-have, must-touch madness eating him alive, as it was her. It was enough. For now, she repeated in her head. For now.
In a frenzied rush, they began stripping away the layers of clothes. The first skin-to-skin connection jolted Shay’s senses. He was so warm and hard all over. Her hands and body skimmed taut muscle. He was beautiful. Amazing.
Once their clothes were tossed here and there, and they were naked, Caleb’s forehead rested on hers, his hands gently gliding down her shoulders, leaving goose bumps in their path. “You’re amazing,” he whispered.
She smiled. “I was just thinking the same thing about you.”
“Were you?”
“Yes,” she said, her fingers splaying over his chest, lingering on his nipples. “Oh, yes. You are most definitely the most amazing man I’ve ever known…seen.”
With a low rumble in his throat, his hands cupped her backside, and he lifted her. Shay folded herself around him willingly, eagerly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, and clung to him, nipping his shoulder and his neck, while he headed toward the bedroom.
He went down on the bed on top of her, the heavy weight of him surrounding her, consuming her. Exactly what she needed. Shay breathed him in, willed him to take control. She didn’t want control—not tonight. She wanted to forget. She wanted to feel. She wanted Caleb. On top of her, inside her. She inhaled his scent, drew him in.
He slid between her thighs, thick, pulsing. The promise of escape and pleasure. Her lashes fluttered shut, her hips arching as he used his cock to tease the sensitive folds of her body.
“Look at me,” Caleb asked her gently, his fingers caressing her cheeks, her face.
Shay opened her eyes, and she wondered if she’d imagined the rigid mask he’d worn in that restroom, because the intense emotion in his face captured her soul.
He entered her then, pinning her in an emotion-laden stare, daring her to look away. But she didn’t want to look away. Not even when he sank deep into the depths of her, stretching her, claiming her, the pleasure causing her to quiver. She clung to the emotion in his face, to the message there that said more than words ever could. She didn’t want this to end. She wanted time to stop. He rotated his hips, deepened his position, settled on his elbows above her, lingering, savoring…unmoving. This is what she needed. For now, a voice whispered in her head, not letting her forget there would be a later.
Shay reached up and stroked the lines of his handsome face, traced his lip. He nibbled her fingers, slowly, sensually. She shoved the voice in her head aside and reached for his mouth, but he didn’t give it to her. Instead, he slid his hands to her hair again—she loved the way he was always touching her hair.
“I had it all planned, you know? Telling the truth. The big confession. It would be just like now. Me inside you. Us together like one. So when it came in the bathroom of a restaurant, I couldn’t bring myself to let go of the plan. To let it be less than how I’d planned it. The moment—this moment—when I would tell you, when I am telling you, that I can’t stand the idea of living another day without you. I love you, Shay White. You are, without a doubt, everything that has been missing the past ten years, and I felt every last second of your absence.”
Shay could barely breathe. “You love me.”
A tender smile touched his lips. “Very much. Shay, I want to tell the family. I want to stop hiding. I want us to be together. We’ll talk about how and when, but we have to do it.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “Yes.”
He kissed her then, and Shay lost track of time, in the many ways they pleasured each other. In the number of times they said they loved each other. Shay fell asleep in his arms, in a happy bubble so wonderful, she didn’t think it could ever burst.
That was until someone started pounding on the front door, jerking her to a sitting position, with Caleb following her. He glanced at the clock. “Who the hell is here at two in the morning?” He climbed over Shay to look out the window and cursed. “It’s Kent.”
“Kent?” Shay exclaimed.
“Yes,” Caleb said, already standing up. “I guess we know he’s home from his business trip.” He scavenged for his pants and cursed. “My clothes are in the living room.”
“Oh, God, so are mine,” Shay said, her heart in her throat. “And my purse. You have to hide them. Hide anything that looks like me.”
He stood there, naked, hands on his hips, and stared at her. “I thought we were done hiding.”
“We are,” she said. Whe
n the time was right. When she was sure nothing would go wrong. She had to try to make him understand. How could he not understand? “Having Kent find me in your bed when he’s obviously here for some abnormal reason isn’t likely to make him accept us as a couple, Caleb. We have to tell everyone the right way.” A bad thought hit her. “What if he knows? What if he’s here to confront you? What if he’s going to pick a fight? What if—”
He cut her off. “He doesn’t know, Shay.” He shook his head. “Before I go see what he wants, let’s be clear. You actually want to hide in the bedroom while I talk to your brother?”
“Yes,” she said. “I have to.”
He stared at her for a few hard seconds, during which more knocking ensued, and then said, “Whatever, Shay,” and turned away, heading, in all his naked glory, toward the living room.
Oh, yeah. The happy bubble had definitely burst. He was unreasonable and mad.
CALEB STALKED TO the living room and shoved on his pants. He snatched up Shay’s things and shoved them under a kitchen counter. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell her brother about them now. It was the something he saw in her eyes that was upsetting him. The panic. The certainty that she was nowhere near ready to come clean with the family about their relationship.
Again stalking, he headed to the door and yanked it open, to find Kent sitting on the front steps, his back to the door. Caleb flipped on the light and stepped outside, into the muggy night air. Kent didn’t turn around, and that spoke volumes. He was having trouble facing Caleb.
Caleb scrubbed the stubble grazing his jaw and sat down next to him. Silent. He was there when Kent was ready to tell him why he was here.
“I screwed up, Caleb,” Kent said. “I screwed up bad.”
“You’re here in one piece,” he said. “Everything else is fixable.”
He grunted and turned to lean against the wooden staircase, moonlight illuminating the sharp lines and strain of his face. “I was thinking about what you said about me not having a dime to my name. You were right. I’m pathetic.”