Chapter 9
NINE
Ariel groaned as she looked at her phone calendar, still tucked in bed. God, how could it only be Monday? And why did family time seem to take so much longer? It was like all the baggage everyone was carrying ground time to a freaking halt.
She didn’t know how she was going to make it to the wedding, let alone through it.
Then she heard someone moving around in the hallway, clearly trying to be quiet, but there were a couple of squeaky floorboards, and he’d stepped on one.
The thought of Dax was like a fire burst or a bite of saltwater taffy on a perfect summer day.
“Good morning, sunshine!” she called out, feeling the weight of eternity lift as she flung off the covers and flew out of bed, opening the door. “How about chicken and waffles to start the day?”
He leaned against her doorjamb, his shoulders taking up the whole space. His Navy T-shirt was damp with sweat, suggesting he’d just returned from a run. He looked hot and vital and smelled like man, nature, and spice. Another bonus. He hadn’t shaved yet, and goodness, did he look good enough to eat. Add in some maple syrup, and she’d never want to stop.
“Good morning to you too,” he answered with a grin, “and that sounds perfect. I need to shower. Five minutes?”
“Terrific.” She tugged his shirt into her hands and pulled him close until his head was inches above hers. “Also…thank you for last night. I know it wasn’t Pride and the Pickle Jar .”
His deep rumbling laughter had her bare toes curling. “Did I say that? Hmm… Mine involved penetration, I believe. Yours sounds like a mystery by Agatha Christie.”
Penetration. That might be the sexiest word in the entire English language, she decided, breathless now.
“Oh, honey.” She swatted his chest, feeling happy and daring. “Come here and give me a proper good morning.”
He leaned down as she rose up onto her tippy-toes. When their mouths met, she sighed in delight. Yes. This. Time stood still for another reason this time, and the eternity in this kiss was something she didn’t want to end.
When he lifted his head, he was grinning. His green eyes twinkled with flirtation, a really good look on him. “You’re peppy this morning. I like it. See you in a few.”
With one last swift kiss, he headed off toward his room, whistling. She closed the door and leaned back against it. Closing her eyes, she took in the moment. The feel of his lips moving over hers. The way she could taste his desire for her and his happiness at seeing her. She ran her fingers over her still-tingly lips.
They were going to have a good day.
She was not going to let her family mess this up.
As she dressed, she checked her texts. Her mother had texted that she and the Three Tornadoes were going to the beach for the day with the boys while the men went golfing. Which meant they’d be going to her grandmother’s house.
Her stomach flipped.
She pressed her hand to it. That was why she was doing this. Forget the insults and the gas tank analogies—God, what had she been thinking? She needed to focus and do her job. Stop letting anything else bother her. Because Tiffany’s reminder about their deal last night had chilled her to the core.
With that pep talk done, she went to take Sherlock out, only to have him stand unmoving beside the fireplace.
“Oh, Dax let you out, didn’t he?” She gave her dog an affectionate rubdown as she noted he’d had his breakfast too. “Isn’t that nice? We like him, don’t we, boy?”
He gave a resounding ruff before she retraced her steps to her room and grabbed her things. Dax came out of his room as she emerged.
“You look nice.” His drawl was as lazy as the once-over he gave her, speeding up her heart.
“You’re not too bad yourself,” she quipped, knowing he was checking out her legs.
Yes, she was wearing the same jean skirt as yesterday, but she didn’t think he’d mind. She wanted to look a little sexier, and shorts weren’t going to cut it.
“So before we leave, I have something very important to tell you.”
He stilled and clasped his hands, immediately serious. “All right.”
She bit the inside of her cheek to hide her smile. “Nothing to worry about, but the place I am taking you to will ruin you for chicken and waffles forever. I need to know if you’re good with that.”
His chortle was spontaneous and short-lived. “Is that all? Elizabeth, you had me concerned.”
She waved a hand in the air and headed toward the door. “We’re not doing ‘concerned’ today. We’re taking the day off on that one. And you’re driving.”
“Hallelujah. Because we can outrun your family faster in my Bronco.”
Still, she opened the door a crack and peeked out, making sure no one in her family was waiting on the front porch.
“Is the coast clear?” His enticing whisper tickled her ear.
“Yeah.” God help her, she could feel her knees going weak in relief. Or was that Dax’s hot breath against the side of her neck?
“Whew!” He was nuzzling her in the most moan-inducing way. “I was afraid I was going to have to ignore the law and drive my Bronco onto the beach so I could pick you up out back.”
“You’d do that for me?” She turned her head and patted his cheek sweetly as he nodded with a lazy grin. “Come on. We’re still going to need to run for it.”
She was out the door in a flash, Sherlock racing ahead of her. Dax’s pursuit sounded in her ears, kicking up her heart rate. Another fun moment. They were stacking them up like blocks in Jenga.
He beat her to her car door and opened it for her grandly. “If I may…”
“You may indeed.” She felt the compulsion to kiss his cheek, so she leaned over and did it before he could close the door. When he returned the gesture, she clasped his face in her hands and gave it her all. He was groaning when he broke free, and she had trouble fitting her seat belt into the buckle.
After running around to his side, he had them on their way.
When they entered her favorite place, Sherlock at her side, the three college-aged employees chatting behind the hostess station barely said hello. Usually when you entered a place in Charleston, you heard, “Welcome. We’re happy to have you. How y’all doing?”
She turned to Dax as one of the girls led them upstairs to their table. “Do I have a dark cloud over me?” she whispered.
“No. That’s all her, honey.”
Her smile was forced as the server seated them, but the waiter appeared with a smile and a welcome for everyone, including Sherlock. He wasn’t a college student, and when she asked, he said he was Charleston born and raised, which had her thinking maybe the college girls didn’t understand Charleston was all about hospitality. But surely this would have been mentioned in their training.
She knew her grandma had strong views about outsiders moving in and not getting into the “spirit” of things, but seeing the lack of hospitality made her sad. She planned to make a home here. She wanted to feel that spirit as much as she gave it.
“You’re frowning.” Dax leaned across the table after the server left with their order, the scent of his understated cologne making her olfactory senses cheer at least. “Hey… Do we need to start bringing your flask with us?”
“Now that’s an idea…” He’d love her garter flask, and they were at the point where she’d let him reach under her skirt and find it. “Maybe we should have a mimosa.”
An indulgent smile played across his lips. “You can. Even if I weren’t driving, that’s too sweet for me.”
Right. Guys drinking mimosas was rare, except for Jeffrey, who adored them. But Dax did groan when he took his first bite of chicken and waffles, and that deep sound pinged something low in her belly.
She wanted him groaning like that with her . “Good?”
“You’re right.” He closed his eyes in pure bliss, so manly, she wanted to leap across the table between them and launch herself at him. “I’m ruined for them elsewhere.”
Or he could come back here with her…
Was it crazy to start hoping he might actually want to relocate here? Yeah, but crazy ran in the family. “Another thing to love about Charleston.”
Seed thrown down.
“Honey, you’re the best thing about Charleston. Chicken and waffles are like here.” She watched as he set a reasonably high bar in the air before he raised his hand over his head. “You’re here.”
Her heart fluttered. “That’s mighty high praise. I’d say the same about you, and I really love me some chicken and waffles.”
The way his mouth curved as he forked another bite had her clenching her thighs. Goodness, this man was hot and she wanted him like a plate of chicken and waffles. With butter and syrup on top.
“You’re not eating.”
The implication was in the rough edge of his voice. You’re watching.
Her inner reply was immediate. Yes, Captain Hotpants, I am.
“I’m anticipating.” She drew out the words, enjoying the way his green eyes sparked with heat. “I know the taste is going to be out of this world.”
He seemed to lick his lips as he finished chewing before tearing off the end of another chicken tender and holding it out to her. “You’re damn right it’s the best you’re ever going to have. I guarantee it.”
Good Lord! She was going to die right here. Leaning forward, she let him feed her, not breaking their stare once. The green in his eyes darkened from the heat he found in her gaze, and she was grateful she had a full water glass because once she finished chewing, she was going to be downing half of it and crunching some ice cubes to cool down.
By the time they finished their meal, she was sure her face and neck were flushed. Sherlock was even looking at her oddly with his expressive eyes. She wanted to explain. I’m in heat. For this man. You remember what mating season feels like, right, buddy?
After Dax paid the check, his hand settled on the low right side of her back. Close to her waist. His hand was hot. She was glad she wasn’t alone.
When he opened the door and helped her into her seat, he leaned in. “Excuse me, but I can’t wait another minute.”
His mouth covered hers, hot and searching. She lifted her hand and threaded it through his sandy hair. She had the taste of maple and fried chicken along with Dax in her mouth. And when his tongue slid through the seam of her lips and rubbed against hers, she gave in to a soul-deep groan.
He answered, the reverberation rolling through her, as he pressed her back into the seat. His mouth slanted over hers, changing the angle, making things hotter until he was pulling back, breathing hard. “We’re in the middle of a parking lot.”
“Kissing in public is probably against the law,” she replied hoarsely with a laugh. “I think spitting is still illegal for women. You know those old laws.”
“Damn, because I’m a rule follower.” His mouth looked absolutely luscious when he grinned. “Law-abiding citizen and all. Although I’m relieved to know they temper women’s spitting, I won’t lie.”
She swatted him. “Men are the gross spitters with all that…” Her attempt to mimic a man coughing up a loogie made him chortle.
“You’re terrible at that. Here, let me show you.”
“No!” She put her hands on his shoulders, like that would stop him.
They both started laughing so hard they were wheezing. A car pulling into the space a couple of cars down had them sobering up. Dax tucked her into her seat, fixing her seat belt for her.
She hissed as his hand slid across her belly in a sexy caress. “Stop that! I’m so hot I might…”
His brows edged up and a satisfied smirk appeared on his face. “Good to know I’m not alone.”
With that, he walked around to his side and let himself in. “Where to next?”
He gave her the same attention he would a fellow poker player, watching for a tell. Intense. Connected. All-consuming. She liked it. Men who listened were sexy. She'd never had her head turned by a pretty face alone.
She thought about her list, telling herself she should have brought a to-go cup of ice water with her. “We’re heading to Home Depot.”
When he took out his phone to plug in the directions, he smiled at the photo of them. “Awesome! Now that’s my kind of place.”
“Excellent!” She kicked her feet out with the hope the action might release some of her trapped sexual tension. “Because I’ll need you to haul a few things.”
A lock of his sandy hair flopped onto his wide forehead as he turned and flexed his incredible forearm. “Me and my muscles are entirely at your disposal.”
Her already heated blood turned white-hot. “Good, because we need to buy some sand.”
“Sand?”
Yeah, that’s what she’d thought when she’d first read about it. “Yes, because it might be windy, and we’ll need to anchor the outside flower arrangements so they won’t topple over.”
He pulled out of the parking lot. “The details you’re juggling blow my mind.”
Indeed.
They bought sand, probably her favorite errand of the day because it involved watching Dax’s muscles flex. Yum! And he had no trouble throwing it over his shoulder. Goodness, that man was strong. He didn’t seem to mind it either.
When they went to the printer, though, Dax started tapping his foot on the floor. Boredom, she knew, but they had to go over every printed place card and sign to make sure everything was correct. Even her eyes were crossing as she studied the list. The truth was he didn’t need to accompany her to all her errands. They were having such a good time together, but even she had to call it.
“Why don’t you head back to the resort?” she asked when the woman went for another round of beverages.
He put his hands on his thighs, looking very manly in the pale green office with fake orchids adorning the gold-leafed tables. Like a large jungle cat let loose in a tea parlor. “If you can take it, so can I.”
Oh, she wanted to tell him how she could take it…
He seemed to know because his sandy brows rose, but then the woman was returning, clearing her throat as if she knew something was going on.
The moment didn’t last long. She began checking her names, as did Dax, and was grateful they only caught three errors. Except they needed to wait for those to be reprinted, of course.
By the time they were finished and headed back to the resort, Ariel had a low-grade headache. “All I want is a margarita,” she practically moaned.
He had his arm resting on the open window, and the breeze felt good. “Well, I need a whiskey, and I never need a drink. Why in the hell do people do this?”
“Get married?”
He choked before laughing. “No, this! The whole printed cards and sandbags for flowers shit.”
She tried to remember the reasons she recited to herself when the spreadsheets seemed to blur and the budget lines made her eyes widen. “Beauty. Immortality. Giving themselves and their guests a day to remember fondly.”
“I would think remembering your wedding day would be pretty easy.” The way the wind ruffled his sandy hair was downright sexy as he glanced over. “The moment you first wake up and know you’re getting married today. The first glance of her coming down the aisle in her wedding dress, looking so beautiful she takes your breath away. The way her eyes soften when you put your ring on her finger and say your vows to each other. The first kiss that seems so new and different, even though you’ve done it a million times. And then holding her hand as you smile at your friends and family because they know you’re the luckiest man in the world because now she’s yours forever.”
She fell back against her seat, stunned. He thought that? She turned to him. “Oh. My. God. You’re totally a romantic.”
His brows slammed together. “No, I’m not.”
“You are!” She watched him shrug and ruefully shake his head. “See—I knew you’d watched Pride and Prejudice before!”
“That was below the belt, Elizabeth.” His brows drew together suspiciously. “Jesus, did you pick that name because of Elizabeth Bennet?”
“Not consciously.” She rolled her window down and let the fresh air cool her head. “Trust me, the last man who’d entice me is a pompous ass like Darcy is in the beginning. I wouldn’t stick around to see if there was a nice guy underneath it all. That’s why I liked you right away, Captain Hotpants. From the minute I got your text and looked you up, I knew you were a great guy.”
And hearing him talk about his wedding day like that had lit a new longing within her. She wanted the man she married to feel like that on their wedding day. About her. If she ever found someone she wanted to walk down the aisle toward…
“Let’s change the subject, shall we?” He pulled into the parking lot at the resort and cut the engine. “I’m just a regular guy who does his duty to his country and loves his family. People like to make us out to be heroes, but all it involves is showing up. That’s what a true hero does.”
With that statement—another that left her reeling—he exited the vehicle and came around to open her door. She put her hand on his meaty arm as she alighted from the car. She could tell he didn’t want to meet her eyes. He was embarrassed, which only made him more endearing. “I feel like that when people call me a hero too. I’m not sure how Sherlock feels.”
He snorted at that.
“But I agree with you about showing up. However, I do want to insist on one thing.”
“What is it?” he asked, putting his hand on the car near her head.
“You are a great guy.” When he rolled his eyes, she tugged on his T-shirt. “For that I want to thank you. I needed someone like you to remind me why people do things like this.”
Now she was a little embarrassed herself, so she ducked under his arm and opened the back door for Sherlock. He jumped out after she clipped on his leash. Her nephews were chasing each other with bloodcurdling cries, spraying each other with water guns. When they saw her coming, they headed her way.
She held up a hand. “Don’t you dare.”
“What she said.” Dax suddenly pushed her behind him. “I’ll toss all of you in the ocean, and that’s a promise.”
Marshall extended his gun toward them but didn’t fire. Ripp ran off along with the rest of the boys. After a flinty stare-down, Marshall turned and followed.
“He’s an angry kid,” Dax commented as they continued their way to the cottage.
“I remember feeling that way, but it doesn’t justify some of his actions.” She let herself inside after Sherlock raced in and held open the door for him this time, aware he was watching her.
When she turned the lock, his hands were on her shoulders. “I hope you don’t mind, but I need your mouth right now.”
She lifted onto her toes and pulled his head down. The first kiss rocked her back into the door. His body pressed into her as the kiss went wild. The wall of heat pressed against her had her moaning into his mouth. This was no time for discovering or feeling things out. After the desire that had blossomed between them today, they were both ravenous. She opened her mouth when he pressed in deep and rubbed her tongue against his. Her hands went to his waist and slid under his T-shirt. The feel of his hot, sculpted muscles had her heartbeat pounding in her ears.
“God, Ariel,” he whispered, kissing her neck softly.
She could feel another moan at the back of her throat, the loud kind, the kind that would travel across distances.
Grabbing his hand, she dragged him deeper into the house. When she was at the entrance to her bedroom, she stopped. Dax halted beside her and looked at her, breathing hard now. His green eyes were dark with need. She tuned in for a moment.
Her heart already knew the answer.
“I know it’s early, but I want you.” She could feel a little tinge of vulnerability creep into her, likely from the cracks in her heart that had come from past hurts and disappointments.
“I want you too.” His voice was a shade deeper but filled with the certainty she’d come to expect from him. “It might be early, but time doesn’t seem to matter sometimes. You know when something is right, and this is more than right. It’s perfect. But I want you to be sure.”
She touched his jaw, feeling the stubble there, wanting it against her skin. “I’m sure. I know when something is right too, Dax. Come to bed with me.”
He took her hand and led her inside, locking the door with a flirtatious wink before closing the blinds. There was still light seeping into the room, and she had no trouble seeing the heat in his eyes as he stripped off his T-shirt and kept coming. She couldn’t take her eyes off the hard line of his chest, decked out with ridges of muscles that flowed into washboard abs. God, he was beautiful, and right now he was all hers.
When he reached her, he picked her up in his arms and lowered his mouth to hers. They kissed, taking it slower this time, knowing they’d get where they’d wanted to go all along.
He slid his hands under her shirt, caressing the skin at her waist, making her arch into his touch, before seeking her breasts. She wanted to feel his hands on her, so she reached back and unsnapped her bra. He helped her at the last moment before running a smooth finger around her side until he reached her breast. Giving it a slow caress, he watched her, and she could see the kindness, the arousal, and the thing that made him Dax. There was goodness and awareness and a desire to connect with her as much as touch her, and she fell deeper under his spell.
“You are so beautiful, Ariel.”
All the other words she’d been called rose up in her mind, ones that were anything but beautiful. She hated that, and she lowered her head, trying to force them back. He only tipped her chin up and kissed her slowly.
“Don’t listen to that chatter in your head. Listen to me. I know what I’m talking about. You. Are. Beautiful. I don’t think you know how much.”
She ducked her head, kissing his chest, trying to take his words into her, because they were precious, and now they were hers.
“Look at me now.”
She looked up and found his warm gaze resting on her. When he touched her cheek, she could almost hear him saying the words to her. You’re beautiful. When he touched her neck, the words were there too. You’re beautiful.
But it was when he tucked her short hair behind her ears and gave her a heart-melting smile that she finally believed it. A profound calm filled her, running through her already heated blood. She wasn’t feeling any urgency now. There was desire, yes, but also peace she’d never known with anyone else.
When his hand explored her more deeply, she arched into him, closing her eyes, giving herself up to the moment. When he finally laid her down on the bed and helped her off with her shirt and the rest of her bra, she was ready for the skin-to-skin embrace. The heat of it had them both groaning as they pressed together. He dipped his head to press soft kisses to her neck and shoulder while she gripped the hard muscles of his back.
His hands slid under her skirt, palming her butt. She tilted her hips toward him, loving the feel of his strong, warm hand. She was unable to smother the gut-wrenching groan that fell from her lips. He teased the edges of her panties, making her open wider for him. Running his fingers along her core, he gave her an open-mouthed kiss that left her shaking.
Needing more, she popped the button to her jean skirt and pushed it down with help from him. It dropped onto the floor, and he rose to strip off his shorts before pulling out his wallet and drawing out a condom.
She smiled like a woman who knew she was about to be well satisfied. “Good idea. I was getting there.”
He threw it on the bed and pulled her onto his lap, his arousal making her body clench with need. “Baby, we’re already there.”
The husky way he said that had her grabbing his nape and pulling him down for another kiss. They rubbed. They took. They gave. They whispered incoherent things to each other she wasn’t sure either of them could make out but they still somehow both understood.
His skin was so hot, but she only wanted more, and when he finally slid his fingers toward her core under her panties, she gave a loud cry and opened to him. His first touch held a certainty, a knowing, and she pressed into it, wanting more. He took her there easily the first time, and she was panting when she finally opened her eyes.
He was leaning over her on his elbow, his green eyes smoldering. “Okay?”
“Better than okay.” Her voice was hushed and low, and she smiled at the realization that she sounded rather sexy. “Pretty perfect actually, Stephan.”
He leaned down and kissed her slowly, his tongue dancing lightly before he leaned back. “Oh, Elizabeth. We’ve barely started. Let me show you.”
Pushing her onto her back, he slid her panties down her legs, tossing those aside too. She had no vulnerability now as he studied her, widening her so he could give her a deeper caress. One finger. Two. Soon she was lost in a sea of sensation. Her eyes closed again, only to open wide when she felt the first press of his hot, wet mouth on her core.
“Oh, God!”
“That’s right. Come for me, baby.”
She did. And then she did again when he slid his tongue deeper inside her. Making her keen and press up into his hot, clever mouth.
“Dax!”
“Right here.”
She reached out blindly and found a shoulder. “Condom. Now.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he drawled roughly.
Wanting to touch him, she rose onto her elbow and gave him a feather-like caress. He was beautiful and he was hot and hard and silky to the touch. He covered her hand with his own and then drew it away so he could fit the condom on.
“Have mercy, honey. I’ve been like this most of the day. All I’ve wanted is you. Let’s try and take it slow the first time.”
That had her snorting out a laugh. “Okay. We can try, but I can’t make any promises.”
He covered her and pressed into her with the same careful, methodical deliberation she expected made him a great pilot. When he was seated to the hilt, they were both breathing hard. Their eyes met. Their hands reached for each other at the same time, their fingers curling around each other.
“Ariel.”
She knew it was a benediction, and it made her heart pulse with feeling. Yes, this man. Right now. “Dax.”
“You’re perfect.”
His hands tightened on hers as he withdrew slowly and thrust again, setting the pace. She could feel her muscles clenching around him and knew it was destroying him, but he set his jaw and kept that delicious, pulse-quickening rhythm until she thrust up hard to him.
“More. I need more.”
His forehead pressed to hers, their sweat mingling. “God, so do I.”
And then he was thrusting hard and deep, making them both groan and moan and give in to their full desire. He pistoned his hips and she met him the whole way. When she could feel herself screaming for release, she grabbed his hands tightly and took him under with her.
She heard his shout along with her string of cries as she came and came and came, the sensations taking her to a place she’d never been. Her heart glowed. Everything pulsed. There was peace and a warmth inside her that she never thought would end.
She was aware of him pulling them onto their sides and moving for a moment before he fitted his body back to hers, woven together. She couldn’t open her eyes, but she didn’t want to leave this place yet. It was complete. A place where there was everything she’d ever wanted. No thoughts. No worries. No fears.
When she felt a tender kiss at her neck, she nuzzled him back to let him know she was there with him. Her heart continued to pound, but slower now. She could breathe deeper. She could open her eyes. He was there, waiting for her, the light in his green eyes dazzling.
“Hey,” was all he said, and yet it contained everything.
“Hey, yourself,” she answered, feeling an answering smile touch her lips.
He leaned in and kissed her, and she him, and it was just as slow and smooth as the first part of their joining.
When he leaned back and pulled her onto his chest, she knew he’d shifted from repletion to joy. “So that was pretty awesome… You remember my bar for you earlier with the chicken and waffles. Well, honey, I’d have to fly my plane up to the highest stratosphere I could find to show you where you stand now. Ariel…”
When he met her gaze again, his smile shifted. The light in his eyes grew brighter. She touched his jaw.
“Yeah…”
He grinned. “I’m good with a profound ‘yeah.’”
Funny. So was she.