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“On the contrary,” she corrected softly, “it was exactly what I wanted to know. I like you, Keith Mitchell. Now that I’ve glimpsed who you really are inside.”
His lips curled up in a genuine gratified smile. She’d gotten him to share without intruding into an area he wasn’t comfortable with. It was nice. “I like you, too.”
Drifting in the silence, he blessed the storm that had brought them together.
* * *
The morning dawned through the floor-to-ceiling glass, nearly blinding Keith. So he shut his eyes and held the sleeping woman still tangled around him as if she couldn’t get close enough.
Her firm breasts were pressed against his side, nipples rubbing his skin with every breath he took. And the more they rubbed, the faster his lungs pumped. Last night had been about something other than sex, and that had been great. A totally different experience from any he’d ever had with a woman.
But this morning, all bets were off.
They were in bed—naked—and he wanted to connect with Cara more than he wanted his heart to beat. She’d unlocked all sorts of raw, primal emotions inside and he wanted to grab on to them, before they faded.
Nudging her legs apart, he slid his thigh between them, tight against her sex. He tipped up her chin and kissed her awake. She arched against him languidly and kissed him back, slow and deep.
He was so hot and hard and ready for her, he couldn’t wait. Poised at the entrance to heaven, he groaned, savoring the sensations, contemplating how slow he could reasonably take this before he came apart.
Suddenly, she broke the kiss and angled her body away from his. “Condom,” she murmured.
The reminder shocked him. How could he have almost forgotten? Hadn’t they both gone through enough anguish from the first pregnancy? They didn’t need another one.
So why was he thinking about what it might be like if they weren’t worried about an accidental pregnancy? If they had the kind of relationship where birth control wasn’t a consideration?
What was he doing to himself? That was crazy talk, and a little misplaced sadness that nothing in his life lasted longer than a few weeks was not a good enough reason to go off the deep end.
He fumbled around on the nightstand until he found a foil packet and rolled on the barrier quickly. Satisfied, she wiggled back into place and made short work of setting off fireworks behind his eyes.
As he sank into her, spiraling into oblivion, the rawness inside blossomed into something huge and real and so perfect, there should be a whole aisle at the greeting card store devoted to it.
He just wished he knew what the aisle would be labeled. Happy Temporary Fling Day didn’t have the right ring.
Finally, they heaved from bed at half past seven, a good hour later than he should have gotten up. But he wouldn’t have missed that round of good-morning sex for any price. Saucily, Cara paraded around in his unbuttoned shirt and he almost blurted out an invitation to take a real vacation with him after the expo—with limited luggage, a lot of water and no cell phone.
But he didn’t. If things went well, they’d both be very busy very shortly.
Before he lost his mind, he shooed her out the door with a kiss and a heartfelt “See you later.” She took half a step and his hand shot out to snag hers before she could fully leave. “Stay with me again tonight.”
Surprise danced around in her expression but she nodded. “Okay.”
Her concession gave him perma-grin. She’d stayed last night and it had ended up being unexpectedly amazing. Maybe he could do “more” after all. Maybe they both could.
Checking his text messages wiped the smile from his face in an instant. Elena had sent him a list of items that needed attention before nine o’clock, the witching hour. Regent executives would be arriving from the airport on the dot and the resort was not ready for prime time.
While he’d been lost in his little bubble with Cara, the show had come to a screeching halt. For crying out loud. Was he the only one around here who could make decisions?
Cursing, he stabbed Elena’s number and when she answered, he barked, “Talk to me.”
“Where have you been?” she demanded. “I sent you like ten emails and normally you respond within a few minutes. It’s like you dropped off the face of the earth.”
Close. He’d dropped off the face of the resort and it was unacceptable to have left things hanging. This was his job, his reason for being in Grace Bay. Cara wasn’t.
“Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll meet you in the lobby. Bring able bodies and sharp minds.”
