Chapter Eleven
The hotel was just off the interstate, and Ty knew exactly where he was going.
Shayna looked over at him from the passenger seat. “Have you been here before – to Salt Lake? It seems like you know where In N Out is.”
“Yeah, I’ve been here a few times. And I know where it is because when I used to drive home from base, Salt Lake was the last chance I had to get one of their burgers.”
“You used to drive from Coronado to Montana?”
“Yep. It’s easy. I-15 – the interstate that we’re on right now – runs all the way from San Diego to Montana – it goes right up to the Canadian border, but I hop off it when I’m almost home. In the summer, that means in Idaho because I can take a shortcut through the park, in the winter I have to go a bit farther north before I can turn east.”
“The park?”
He glanced over at her. “Yellowstone. Have you ever been there?”
“No. I haven’t really been anywhere.”
“I’ll take you if you want to see it.”
The way she smiled made his heart buzz in his chest. “I’d love that, thank you.”
“Me too. I’ll show you the park because everyone always wants to see it – but that’s only because they’ve heard of it. The valley where I live is just as beautiful, maybe more so, but it doesn’t get as swamped with tourists because they think that only the part they have to pay to get in and see is worth anything.”
“I know what you mean. I went to Yosemite a few years ago. It was beautiful, but the crowds kind of spoiled it, and there are places around Summer Lake that are just as pretty, and way more enjoyable to visit because no one knows about them.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing this lake of yours.”
She smiled. “We can take a boat out if you like. They have them at the resort. And if you want to ride, I’m sure Lily will let us take some of the horses out by ourselves. I used to lead trail rides for her, but it doesn’t fit with my schedule these days. I don’t make as much for a two-hour afternoon ride as I do for an eight-hour afternoon shift at the grocery store. Bet you can guess which I enjoy more, though.”
He glanced over at her, and she made a face at him.
“I’m not whining!”
He laughed. “I didn’t think you were. I was thinking that you’re amazing.”
“Yeah, right. How far is it?”
“So, you don’t take compliments well?”
“I guess not, and I really am hungry.”
“We’re almost there. Sorry, we could have gone to a closer one if I’d thought. It’s just that you talked about eating our burgers with a view, so I wanted to come to this one. We can ride up into the foothills and find a spot. But we can eat first and then go up there.”
“That’s okay. I can eat some of my fries on the way. If we take too long about it, it’ll be dark before we find a place with a view.”
He grinned at her.
“What? What did I say now?”
He laughed. “You read my mind. I wanted to find us a spot so that you can enjoy the view before it goes dark, but I didn’t want to rush you. I like that you’re so easy-going.”
“I am usually, but I might get hangry soon.”
“No worries. We’re almost there.” He took the next exit, and Shayna bounced in her seat when she spotted the sign.
“Oh my god! This is the best date ever. I get you and In N Out.”
“And I get you. Do you know what you want?” he asked as he pulled into the drive-thru.
“Yep. I’ll take a … oh wait, do you like onions?”
He gave her a puzzled look. “I do but, I’m talking about what you want.”
Her cheeks turned pink, and she looked away before looking back at him. “I know, but I don’t want onion-breath if you can’t stand onions or something.”
“Ah, right. I do like them. I didn’t think about needing to avoid them. If we both have them then onion-breath shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Awesome! Then, I’ll have a Double-Double cut in half, Animal-Style fries, and a Neapolitan shake.”
She took her wallet out of her purse, but he shook his head. “I’ve got this.”
“Thanks, I’ll pay next time.”
He shrugged. He didn’t intend to let her pay for a damn thing, but they didn’t need to get into that yet.
He pulled forward and placed their order, adding a Quad-Quad burger, Animal-Style fries and a black and white shake for himself to Shayna’s request.
When they were back out on the road, Shayna pulled a whole stack of napkins out of her purse.
He laughed. “Do you carry those for emergencies, or what?”
She laughed with him. “I … you should probably get used to it. It’s a habit I guess, I collect them everywhere I go. And you can’t criticize – you’re going to need them when you get to your fries.”
She was right, Animal-Style fries were messy considering that they were topped with sauce, cheese, and onions, but they were so worth it.
“I wasn’t criticizing. It’s cute.”
She scowled at him. “Don’t go calling me cute.”
“No? Why not?”
“Because cute isn’t … I mean, bunnies are cute, and … oh, I don’t know, it just doesn’t … I don’t think anyone ever aspired to be cute, you know?”
“I do now.”
He pointed his truck in the direction that he hoped would lead them to a park at the edge of the foothills.
“Oh my god! I’d forgotten just how good they are!”
He glanced over at her, and she gave him a shamefaced smile. “Told you I wouldn’t be able to wait.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. Eat! We should be able to stop in a minute. You enjoy; I’m only a little bit jealous, but I can wait.”
“Aw, that’s not fair – you shouldn’t have to wait.” She reached across and fed him a fry.
“Thanks. They are so damn good.”
She held a couple more up in front of him, but he shook his head. “You eat them – you’re the one who’s starving.”
“Yeah, but we can share.”
He opened his mouth, and she popped the fries in. They both laughed when he tried to bite her fingers as well.
By the time he found the park and a spot with a view just near the trailhead, her fries were almost gone. He turned off the engine and turned sideways in his seat. She was already handing him his burger and fries. He took them with a smile as she stuck the straw into his milkshake. Next, she gave him a handful of her napkins.
“There you go, I think you’re all set.”
“I need one more thing.”
She looked up at him. “Oh no, what’s missing?”
“A kiss, come here.”
Her eyes shone as she leaned across the console to meet him. He pressed a peck to her lips, and she reached up to touch his beard as he brushed his lips over hers again.
“Okay, eat! I could kiss you all night, but I’m trying to be good here.”
She sat back with a smile. “I’ll have to save you for later.”
He nodded happily as he divided his fries and gave her half.
“They’re yours!”
“And I just ate half of yours.”
“Are you sure?”
He caught hold of her chin and made her look him in the eye. “You’re going to have to get used to it, Shay.”
“Used to what?”
“To me making sure that I get you taken care of.”
She inhaled sharply, and he had a feeling that her mind had gone to the same place his had. Yes, he intended to make sure that he took care of her in bed as well, but he wasn’t going to rush her into it, and he didn’t think she was ready to have that conversation yet.
He grinned and pointed at the fries. “So, eat them. Are you going to tell me that your burger would taste as good without them?”
“I wouldn’t lie to you.”
They were quiet while they ate – except for the appreciative little noises that Shayna made that made him smile and shift in his seat at the same time.
When she’d finished, she let out a big sigh. “That was wonderful, thank you so much.”
He chuckled. “My pleasure. We’ll eat here again before we leave.” His smile faded.
“What’s wrong?”
He shook his head. “We only just got here, and I don’t want to think about leaving.”
“Then don’t. We’ll face goodbye when we have to – not before.”
“Hey, Shay?”
She turned to him with a smile. “Hi, Ty.”
He held her gaze. “It’s not going to be goodbye. At least, shit … it can be if you want, but I’m hoping it’ll only be a see ya later . And not much later. I’m going to get down there to see you again just as soon as I can.”
She nodded. “I hope so. I …” She lifted a shoulder. “We live a long, long way from each other, though.”
His heart sank. “Are you saying that you don’t think it’s worth it?”
“No! Oh my god, no, Ty! I think you’re totally worth it. I just … I don’t know how it’s going to work – but I want it to.”
“I do, too, sweetheart. We’ll figure it out.”
She dropped her gaze, and he hoped that she wasn’t already admitting defeat.
“What is it? You can tell me.”
When she looked up at him, she was smiling. “Can I steal some of your milkshake? I love the black and white; I couldn’t decide which to go for, and since you got my other favorite ...”
He laughed. “Have at it. I can never usually decide between chocolate and vanilla, and with the black and white I don’t have to. “And yours is just a black and white with strawberry, right?”
“Yep. Taste it and see what you think.”
When they were finished with everything, Shayna stuffed all the trash back into the bag and reached for the door handle.
“I’ll just go and throw …”
“Wait up.” He jumped out and went around to her door just as she was getting out. “I was going to take it,” he told her.
“This might take a lot of getting used to – you trying to do everything for me.”
He winked at her. “You’ll get there. What do you think, want to go for a bit of a walk?”
“I’d love to. After sitting on the plane and then sitting in your truck, I feel like I need to stretch my legs.”
He dumped the trash in a nearby trash can and then slung his arm around her shoulders as they walked.
“If you like, we can go up in the mountains and hike tomorrow. Or we can take a look around the city. Whatever you want.”
“I’d love to hike, but I’ve got Eli in the afternoon remember, and again Sunday lunchtime. I …”
“Is it bad that I totally forgot about that? We can stick close then, so that you’re not worried about getting there on time. Then, after you’re done, we can see what we want to do.”
“Thanks, Ty.”
They followed the trail up a little way, and she turned to look out at the lights twinkling in the valley below them as the dusk settled. He stood behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.
“Is your valley like this?”
He laughed. “Nope. It’s long and narrow, the mountains are high on either side, and the river flows through the middle. It’s about fifty miles long and … you see all those miles and miles of housing developments? We don’t have enough people to fill even one of them. All we have is miles and miles of fields and cattle. Although, they reckon that the human population is about 1500 these days.”
“Wow! That’s hardly anyone.”
He chuckled. “It’s a lot more than it used to be.”
She leaned back against him, and he wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head.
“You might not like it up there, it’s kind of remote compared to most places.”
“And I was just thinking that I love the sound of it.”
“You think you could stand to live in a place where it’s a thirty-mile run to the grocery store?”
He felt her tense and wished he hadn’t asked – he was getting ahead of himself.
“Never mind. Forget I asked. We’ll get you up there for a visit – one step at a time, like you said.”
As they walked back to the truck hand in hand, she looked up at him. “You’d never move away from there, would you?”
He met her gaze and held it. “I never thought I would.”
Her eyes widened, and he tugged on her hand. “Come on, Shayna Rose. Let’s get you back to the hotel. You have a big day tomorrow.”
~ ~ ~
When they got back to the hotel, Ty came up to her floor with her and walked her to her room. She could feel her cheeks burning as she looked up at him.
“Do you want to come in for a while – I don’t mean …”
His smile was so gentle, it made her heart feel like it melted in her chest. “I’d love to, but I want to be straight with you about something first …”
They both turned when two guys came out of the elevators and stumbled down the hallway toward them, obviously drunk.
“Evening!” one of them said with a grin.
Ty moved in front of her.
The other guy met Ty’s gaze and nodded. “Lucky bastard, I hope you’re going to nail that hard – I will if you’re not.”
“Open the door and go inside, sweetheart.”
There was a hard edge to his voice, he didn’t sound like himself, and Shayna’s hands shook as she swiped the key against the lock.
“Go inside.”
“Come with me.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“Better hurry up about it before I beat you to it. Or do you want all three of us, sweetheart ?”
“Get the fuck out of here,” Ty said as he took a step forward. “Go! Now, before …”
“Come on inside.” She tugged at his sleeve.
“Leave ‘em alone, Marty. You wouldn’t be able to get it up even if she wanted you. You’re shit-faced.”
“Ty?” She was afraid that he was going to pounce on them and let out a sigh of relief when he turned to look at her. As soon as his gaze met hers, he visibly relaxed.
He jerked his chin, indicating that she should go into her room. She tugged his sleeve again and only moved when he came with her.
Once they were inside, he closed the door, turned the deadbolt and put the bar over.
When he finally turned back to her, she couldn’t read his expression.
“Are you all right?”
He blew out a sigh. “Yeah, sorry about that.”
“About what? You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“No, but I almost did. Are you all right? Did they scare you?”
She stared at him. She hadn’t been even a little bit afraid of them – how could she be with him there?
“Shit! I’m so sorry, Shay! I scared you, didn’t I?”
“No! You didn’t scare me. I was a little bit worried about what might happen if you kicked the crap out of them, like you obviously wanted to, but I wasn’t scared of you.”
He blew out a big sigh. “Good.”
She went to him and slid her arms around his waist. “Relax. It was nothing, and now it’s over. You were going to tell me something before we came inside.”
He frowned, no doubt trying to remember what he’d been about to say. Then he smiled. “Oh yeah. You invited me in, and I wanted to be clear about something first.” He stepped away from her and looked around, as if only now realizing that he was in her room. “I … Jesus, I hope I don’t mess this up. Before I came to meet you, I made a deal with myself that no matter what happened, I wasn’t going to sleep with you this weekend. Shit, that sounds arrogant of me, doesn’t it? I had no idea if you’d even consider sleeping with me, I just wanted to give myself some ground rules.”
He gave her a rueful smile. “You have no idea how much I’m kicking myself over that right now, but … I don’t want to rush this, Shay. I … I don’t know where you stand on that kind of thing. You don’t seem like the kind of girl who’d sleep with a guy on a first date. But … well, this is going so much better than I hoped. To say that I’m attracted to you doesn’t even come close to describing how I feel. You seem like you think that I’m passable, too.”
She laughed. “You know that’s not true – passable? Ha! You know how I feel.”
“Yeah, and that’s why I wanted to spell it out. The attraction’s there. The chemistry’s there – in a big way. But I’m a man of my word – even when the only person I gave my word to is me. I’m not going to make a move on you, no matter how much I want to. And … I’d hate for you to think that it’s because I’m not interested – I am.”
He reached down and adjusted the front of his jeans. She couldn’t help watching – or noticing the sizable bulge that he was trying to accommodate.
“It’s going to kill me, but …”
“It might kill me, too, but I’m glad you spelled it out. You’re right. I’m not the kind of girl who’d sleep with a guy straight away. Although, I might just reconsider that if you asked.”
“Fuck!” He ran his hand over his face.
His pained expression made her laugh. “Seriously though, Ty. Hopefully, we’ll have more time together after this weekend – more chances. And I’m grateful you told me, because after things have gone so well, I think I would be wondering what I’d done wrong if you didn’t make a move.”
He nodded. “That’s what I figured. But we’ve promised each other we’ll be honest. So … now you know.” He chuckled. “You know that I’m a damn fool! And with that, do you still want to invite me in? Even though I’m already here?”
“I do. We can just hang out, right?”
He nodded, and she loved the way he smiled as he stalked toward her.
“What?” she asked. “What’s that look for?”
He chuckled as he cupped her face between his hands. “Just because I’m not going to try to get in your pants yet, doesn’t mean that I can’t …”
He claimed her mouth in a kiss that left her breathless. He slid one hand into her hair and the other down her back until he was holding her ass. She looped her arms around his neck and moaned when he held her closer, crushing her against his hard chest.
When they finally came up for air, she met his gaze and held it. “That you can’t what?”
He pressed a peck to her lips. “Kiss you.” Then, he ran his hand over her hair. “Get to know you better.”
Heat flared in her veins when he squeezed her ass and held her closer against his erection that was pressing into her belly.
“Drive us both nuts with anticipation and wanting.”
She ran her hands down over his chest, and stopped when they were resting on his belt buckle. “You’d better be intending to come and see me real soon.”
He nodded. “Just as soon as I can. At this rate, it might turn out that I wasn’t joking about following you home.”
She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “What do you think? Do you want a drink and we can just hang out and …”
He closed his arms around her waist and walked backward, taking her with him until he hit the bed and fell back on it. She landed on top of him and closed her eyes when he rocked his hips, sending waves of desire coursing through her.
“I thought we weren’t …”
“We’re not.” He rolled them so that she was on her back, looking up into his gorgeous eyes. “But unless you tell me no, I think we should work on the kissing, and getting to know each other better and …”
He positioned himself between her legs and she moaned into his mouth when he kissed her deeply. When his hand moved up her side and his thumb grazed her breast, she wrapped her legs around him.
He lifted his head and gave her a pained smile. “Fuck, Shay!”
She laughed. “You said we can’t, but I’m pretty sure that we can go big on the driving each other nuts with anticipation and wanting.”
He slid a hand under her ass and lifted her so that she could better feel his hard length pressing into the heat between her legs.
“Ty!” she breathed.
He nuzzled his lips against her neck. “Say it again.”
“Say what?”
“My name.”
She closed her hand around the back of his head and kissed his temple. “Ty.”
His whole body shuddered.
“You like that?”
He nodded. “Fucking love it. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but you own me when you say my name like that.”
She ran her fingers through his beard and made him look up at her. “No.”
“No what?”
“I don’t own you. I never will own you. No matter what happens between us, no matter how long it lasts, I will never own you.”
He frowned. “Okay. I … but you know what I mean?”
“I do, but find a different word, Ty. I don’t like that. I’ll never own you and you’ll never own me.” She smiled, wanting to lighten things back up. “I choose you. And I have a feeling that I’ll keep choosing you over and over. I hope that you’ll choose me, too.”
He dropped a kiss on her lips. “I do and I’ll keep choosing you over and over.” He smirked as he rocked his hips in time with his words, “Over, and over, and over.”
“Ty!”
“Yeah, baby?”
She sucked in a deep breath. “I’m going to need you to stop doing that.”
He thrust harder, still smirking. “You don’t like it?”
“I’m afraid I might like it a little too much.”
He grasped her ass tighter. “That’s sexy as hell, Shay!”
“It’s embarrassing! That you can take me straight to the edge within minutes, while we both still have our clothes on?”
He chuckled. “Nothing to be embarrassed about – you’re making me feel like a hero!”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s not …”
“Yeah, it is.” He held her gaze as he moved his hips in a steady, demanding rhythm. His hard cock was pressing into her heat, her zipper was rubbing against her in just the right place and … “Ty,” she breathed.
He held her gaze, and when his hand closed around her breast, she knew there was no turning back.
“Tell me to stop and I will. Tell me you don’t want it, and this ends now.”
She opened her mouth to speak but a moan came out instead. “I …”
“You want to come for me like this? You think you can?” he asked when she didn’t continue.
She bit down on her lip and nodded.
“Fuck, Shay!”
He picked up the pace, holding her gaze the whole time.
“You can’t watch me like that.”
He nodded and dropped his head to claim her mouth in one of his deep, intoxicating kisses. When his tongue entered her mouth, her thighs clenched around him. Her senses were all so heightened and they seemed to merge into one. He had her right on the edge. When he slid his hand between their bodies and pressed his thumb against her clit it was enough, even through her jeans, to make her gasp.
She broke the kiss as her head thrashed from side to side. “Ty!”
“Yeah, baby! Come for me.”
“I … I … I … Ty!”
She moved with him desperately as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her. He reclaimed her mouth and she clung to him, wishing that she could take him with her – wishing that he was inside her.
When she came back down, she gave him a shamefaced smile. “Sorry. It’s been a long time for me and …”
He silenced her with a kiss. “Don’t say sorry, Shay. That was … amazing. Seeing you come for me like that? It was …” He shook his head. “I love it. I … you’re going to have to get used to that. It’s the biggest turn on.”
“Yeah, but now, you’re all turned on, high and dry, and I’m all taken care of.” She reached for his zipper, but he shook his head.
“You don’t want …?”
“I want so badly it hurts, but if it comes out of my pants, we both know I’ll end up inside you.”
Her whole body quivered at the thought. “I want you …”
He rolled off her and off the bed. “So do I – so bad – but we’d regret it. Let’s do it right, Shay.”
“Okay, but only if you come back here and lie down with me.”
He chuckled. “And you won’t take advantage of me in my vulnerable state? Won’t talk me into doing something I don’t want to do yet?”
“I promise.”
He lay back down and wrapped his arms around her.
“Stay? Will you sleep with me, even though you won’t sleep with me?”
His arms tightened, and he pressed a kiss to her neck. “I’m not going anywhere. Do you need to call your people first, let them know you’re back at the hotel safe?”
“Oh my gosh, yes. I almost forgot. Thanks, Ty.”
He smiled. “Told you that I’m going to make sure you’re taken care of.”
She pulled back so that she could look into his eyes. “In so many ways!”
He chuckled. “Do you want me to leave while you call them? I can wait outside.”
“No, I’ll just text them. You go to your room if you want to get anything though.”
“I’m going nowhere.”
She hugged him tighter. “I like the sound of that.”
“Yeah, me too, Shay, me too.”