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“I’ll take care of it.” Jenny tapped something on her screen and slid a keycard across the desk toward me. “Want me to have Laverne check on her?”
“No, I’ll take care of her.”
Jenny’s smile widened. “First a horse, now the sweeping princess carry. So romantic.”
Yep, this would definitely be all over the orchard by morning.
Maybe even by tonight.
Helena’s arm slid down to hang at an awkward angle. My princess was currently drooling on my shoulder. Pure romance.
I took the card with the arm tucked under her legs, then I shuffled her closer against my chest and she settled her face against my neck. She brought her arm up to curl against my chest and officially started snoring.
I sighed and headed for the stairs. For the first time, I wished we had an elevator on this side of the building. She was a tiny thing, but by the time I climbed the last stair, I was glad she’d passed out because I was panting like an old man. My bruised ribs were screaming, and I was ready for bed myself.
Her floor was quiet, so the bridal party must have been in a different part of The Lodge. What had once been a small bed and breakfast was now the sprawling hub of our orchard. Half a dozen rooms had become thirty during our last renovation.
I found her door and juggled her to get the keycard into the slot before swinging the door open and collapsing against it for a moment. The hand curled against my chest came up to pat my face.
“My hero.”
I swallowed against the quick lump in my throat. I’d never been anyone’s hero before. Knowing it was the alcohol talking didn’t matter at that moment. I wanted to be one for her. And that was a dangerous road to think about driving down.
She was in a suite and Laverne’s crew must have stopped in since it was neat as a pin. I walked through the small living room to the bedroom and set her down on the bed. I turned on the lamp as she pulled her knees up to her chest and nestled into the pillow.
I flicked off her slip-on shoes and tried to figure out a way to get her under the covers without waking her up. I straightened and looked around the room for her suitcase. It was safely stashed on the luggage rack beside the dresser.
It was probably easier to leave her in the clothes she was wearing. I bypassed the suitcase to get her a glass of water. She’d definitely need it when she woke up. A toiletry kit sat open on the counter, and I found a travel bottle of Advil inside.
Leave it to Helena to think of everything for her trip.
I filled a glass and brought both water and meds into the bedroom. As I was setting them on the bedside table, she suddenly sat up.
“Off!” She pulled at her shirt. “Hot. Hot!” Since she’d done the girl tuck thing, she couldn’t get herself untangled. Her face was bright pink, and the rest of her skin was flushed.
“Hold on.”
She pushed at my hands and got the shirt up enough to cover her face. The strap that had given me a fleeting moment’s pause was nothing compared to the hot pink bra thing under her shirt. Especially since the stretchy lace was riding up with the shirt.
“Get it off!”
“Let me grab a nightshirt for you or something.”
“No. Nothing. It was so nice to sleep in nothing last night.”
That would end me.
She sat up and finally managed to get the shirt off, tossing it at my face. She inched off the bed, tugging at the snap and zipper of her wrinkled pants. Before I could blink, she had them bunched at her ankles, leaving her in a pair of matching lace panties that hugged her ass in ways I should not be noticing.
I immediately commanded my more than interested dick to calm the fuck down and aimed my gaze at the ceiling.
“You’ve seen it all,” she mumbled as she pulled at the bedclothes. She tossed the duvet and blankets toward the end of the mattress and crawled in, hugging one of the pillows as she settled back in the bed.
I was not prepared for any of this and needed to get the hell out of there. Because I had seen it all, touched it all, and tasted it all. And it hadn’t been nearly enough.
I stumbled back a step and flipped the sheet over her.
One night and everything in me wanted to follow her into that bed and curl around her. Nothing else. I damn well hadn’t been lying this morning when I told her she’d been the first thing since nicotine to make me want something I shouldn’t have.
