Chapter 15 #2
He peered at her. “Not true. You come home to them at the end of a long, grueling road trip. Knowing they’re there waiting for you is probably even more comforting than seeing them at the end of every day.
” He shrugged. “But I wouldn’t know. I just listen to my teammates talk—the ones in committed relationships anyway. ”
She let those words settle in. Josh might be a playboy who’d honed his bedroom skills by sharing his bed with many partners, but deep down he was a man who wanted some of the simple basics of life.
A lifelong partner to share the everyday joys and tribulations with.
The more time she spent with him, the more these little discoveries surprised her—along with the fact that he revealed them in the first place.
They traipsed through the sand in silence until they reached the outskirts of the hotel.
He tugged on her hand. “Can I buy you a drink? We can sit down and look up some other places to explore while we’re here,” he suggested.
“We could even rent a car and drive up the coast.” His eyebrows waggled.
“Unless you want to bag the activities, go back to your room, get naked, and stay that way for the rest of the week. I know that’s an activity I’d enjoy. ”
“You’re already enjoying it!” she laughed.
“Oh, but there’s so much more to appreciate.” He let out an exaggerated sigh. “Damn, it sounds like you want to keep busy doing other things besides letting me worship at the altar of Lexi Campbell.”
Oh. That was so … Wow. He’d left her speechless again.
Sex with Conrad had never been great, even when he’d consented to actual intercourse.
She’d accepted it, convinced herself that the act simply wasn’t what everyone made it out to be, but how wrong she had been.
If nothing else, Josh was gifting her that reality to hold on to.
Would she ever meet anyone again who did to her what he did?
Who made her feel the way he did? She could only hope.
“You’d be sick of me after a week in bed,” she said, flattered but embarrassed. Altar? Hardly.
He stopped and turned her by the shoulders so she faced him.
“Not sure it’s possible for me to get enough of you, babe.
One week of twenty-four-seven in your bed sure as hell won’t do it.
” The expression on his face conveyed pure genuineness, and any doubts she might have had were wiped away by the kiss he laid on her mouth right afterward.
The kiss was a soulful one, filled with emotions she couldn’t place.
She wanted to melt into him, fuse with him.
When he pulled away, his breathing had accelerated. “I love kissing you. Your ex-fiancé must have had a screw loose. What the fuck was wrong with that guy anyway?”
The question caught her completely off guard, and she opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
She’d asked herself the same question after Conrad had called off the wedding, but time and doubt had eaten away at the narrative until she’d turned the question on herself.
What was wrong with her? Being with Josh was making her realize she needed to flip it back.
Josh’s lips firmed into a contrite slash. “Sorry, baby. I was out of line.”
“No, you weren’t. It just surprised me, that’s all.”
They continued a slow walk toward the hotel’s outdoor patio.
“Can I ask you a question?” he probed.
She steeled herself, waiting for the emotional sweep that usually hit her whenever she revisited the breakup. “Yes, of course.”
“This Conrad guy—that’s his name, right?” She nodded. “Conrad claimed he didn’t love you and that’s why he broke up with you?”
Another nod. Oddly, the question didn’t yank at any tender strings this time.
“There wasn’t another woman? Or a man?”
“Neither that I’m aware of. I didn’t hear about him dating anyone for months afterward. Then I lost contact with the friends we’d had in common and honestly didn’t bother to find out what he was doing.”
“Yeah, I get that. You trust someone to the point where you’re willing to share the rest of your life with them, and then boom! You’re blindsided.”
She snorted a laugh. “I didn’t tell you the best part. The night he broke up with me, he sent me a text right after with a link to a song, saying it would explain everything.”
Josh cocked an eyebrow in question.
She turned to look up at him. “Ever heard ‘It’s Over’ by Level 42?”
“If I have, I don’t remember.”
“Well, it’s all about someone leaving someone else, and they’re sorry they’re breaking their heart, blah, blah, blah.
They go on to say they couldn’t pretend anymore.
Apparently, that was supposed to explain everything.
Of course, it explained nothing. How do you stay in a relationship with someone you don’t love for three years?
And I was such a dummy. I can’t believe I let it go on that long, especially when I look back on it. The clues were there the whole time.”
Josh squeezed her hand. “You’re not a dummy.
You’re warm and caring and trusting, and you loved the guy.
It was natural to believe what he told you.
” The hotel loomed before them, and he paused to look at her, his silver eyes flashing.
“I can’t say I understand because I’ve never been there, but I like to think I have some empathy.
So while part of me wants to be sorry that happened to you, I’m not sorry.
If you were still with him, I wouldn’t be standing here with you in this gorgeous setting getting to know you.
You’re special, Lexi Campbell, and don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise. ”
A flush blazed from her toes to her scalp.
He must have noticed her beet-red skin because he smiled. “Did I just embarrass you by saying that?”
“No, I just … I’m not used to—”
“Somebody saying how much they enjoy being with you? Well, that’s a fucking shame because you should hear that every day for the rest of your life.
” He placed his free hand against his heart.
“I’m honored I get to say it right now, even if it does make you feel uncomfortable.
After this week, you remember those words, so when the next guy comes along, you know your worth. ”
The words hit her like an arrow to the heart.
They were so sweet, so heartfelt, and yet so final.
He was making it obvious that what they shared in this moment was temporary; it wouldn’t go beyond this week.
But what had she expected? To find her Mr. Right at a hotel in Florida after one week?
That stuff only happened in Hallmark movies and in the dreams the wedding industry sold.
She was embarrassed, though, and felt like toeing her foot in the sand with an “Aw, shucks.”
“You’re just saying that because of our physical … connection.” She waved her hand between them.
He looked to the gathering clouds overhead.
“Maybe. It could be driving what I’m yammering on about, but I mean every word.
As for the physical connection itself, I love how we are and what we do in bed together.
I’ve never felt anything close to this with anyone before.
” He took both her hands in his and pulled her so close she felt the heat radiating from him in waves.
“I’ve got to say this. I love giving you pleasure, and I feel like a selfish bastard because it probably does more for me than it does for you.
You’re so damn responsive that I feel like a superhero when I take you, whether it’s with my mouth or my cock.
You’re incredible, Lexi, and I literally can’t get enough of you.
” He lifted his head and scanned their surroundings before looking back down at her.
He placed one of her hands on his fly, where said cock was thick and heavy and straining against his zipper.
“This is what you do to me. I lose all self-control when I’m with you.
I don’t understand what forces are involved, but I don’t believe this is only because of a physical connection. ”
What was he saying? What, if anything, could she read between those words?
Her brain was too muddled to puzzle it out, so she kicked the question to a back corner.
And God, if he was rehearsing his lines on her, he was damn good at it.
She was sold. She didn’t dare entertain how many times he might have repeated the same thing to other someones.
Deep down, though, her foolish heart told her he was sincere.
She began to pull away, but he kept her hand trapped there. “No one can see us.” His words came out scratchy like sandpaper. Leaning into him, she palmed his crotch, trapping it between them, stroking him with her fingertips.
“Fuck,” he gasped.
“Let’s skip the drink,” she whispered, loving how her touch made his hard-on swell to something resembling a steel-encased length of wood. “Right now I could stand some more exploring in my bed.”
He gently thrust against her palm. “We never got a chance to test out that fancy shower of yours. Now might be a good time.” He looked around again before cupping her breast. He deftly undid the top button of her blouse, and his clever thumb hooked below her bra and strummed her nipple.
It immediately furled into a tight little bead.
Hers wasn’t the only touch that garnered a powerful reaction.
“We both got a little wet and salty playing in the sand. Probably a good idea to clean up. Or I could just lick the salt off you. Or both. Wouldn’t want to dirty the sheets, now would we?
” His baritone slid over her like warm chocolate.
The throbbing at her juncture from this morning had quieted during the day, but it suddenly began pulsing with need again. “You mean the sheets we’re planning to dirty?”
“Ah, but they won’t be salty or sandy.”
“True. And I hear goalies are very limber. Could come in handy in a shower.”
And there came that bright gleam of lust in his orbs. “What you heard is true. Ready to find out how limber?”
So ready.
“Take me back to the room, Josh.”