Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
“Lexi? What are you…?” The words died away because he knew exactly what she was doing.
The same thing he was coming up here to do.
She’d just beaten him to it.
He tugged her into the elevator and waited for the doors to close. “I thought we talked about this,” he said evenly.
“We did, and you said I didn’t have to fight your battles for you, or something like that, but this was my battle and I fought it,” she said almost defiantly.
“Wait…do you think I’m mad about it?”
“Well…you look mad…”
“I am, but not at you! I’m mad at my parents and needed to come and speak my mind so I could get all this rage out. I can’t seem to relax. I’ve been pacing in the cabin, and when Maisie showed up to see how Annabeth was, I asked if she could hang out until Ruth got there. I hope that’s alright.”
“Of course it is! Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Because Jonah’s there too.”
“Connor, if we’re going to be a family, we’re going to have to trust each other’s decisions,” she reminded him.
He sensed she had more to say, so he prompted her with, “But…?”
She sighed. “But…I don’t think you should go up there right now and talk to your parents.”
“Why not?”
“Because I just went a bit scorched earth on them, and I think they need to think about what they did.” She giggled. “That sounded like I put them in timeout, didn’t it?”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “A little bit.”
“Anyway, I think you’re too upset, and so are they, so…”
He crowded her, backing her up against the elevator wall. “Did they hurt you? What did they say?”
She gave him a serene smile. “They didn’t say anything. I didn’t really give them a chance. Your mom was crying when she opened the door, but I wasn’t sure if it was an act or not. I chose to think it was so I could say what I needed to say.”
“That was probably smart.” They arrived in the lobby and stepped out, but he was still unsettled. Tense. Anxious. And probably not fit to be around his staff at the moment, which is what he told Lexi.
“Hmm…” She studied him for a moment. “What if we found a way for you to work off some of that energy?” she asked seductively, and he loved that her mind went there.
“The kids are in the cabin, and yours is too far away.” He moved in close, one arm around her waist as he whispered for her ears only, “We need someplace close. Fast.”
This was the perfect distraction, and now that it was out there, he didn’t want to wait.
“Um…Slater and Nora are in my office,” she whispered. “What about the supply room downstairs?”
But he was already shaking his head, and before he could stop himself, he said, “Screw it,” and walked over to the front desk where Walker was talking to one of their clerks.
“Hey, Connor. Is everything okay? You look a little…”
He motioned for him to step aside so they could talk privately. “I need a room. Now.”
Rolling his eyes, Walker groaned. “For the love of it. Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously. Give me a key and a room number and make sure we’re not disturbed.”
“Dude, seriously…this is not a good look for the management.”
“Neither is me and Lexi doing it in the pantry, so…a key. Please.”
“Fine.” He walked away and tapped a few things on the computer and was back a minute later. “Room 130. It’s a suite all the way at the end of the hall. Let me know when you’re done so I can send housekeeping in.”
“We will. Thanks.”
“Don’t make this a habit.”
Connor took the key from him. “So not the time for a lecture…bye!”
Taking Lexi by the hand, they ran like two kids laughing their asses off down the hall to their room. It felt good to laugh after what had happened this morning and last night. Just knowing they were back on track was such a damn turn-on.
In the room, he quickly put the “Do Not Disturb” placard on the door before shutting and locking it. When he turned around, Lexi was already kicking off her sneakers and closing the curtains.
His shirt came off as he crossed the room, and when he met her by the windows, he kicked his own shoes off and hauled her into his arms. “I missed you,” he growled. “I’ve missed sleeping next to you, touching you…kissing you…”
She was breathless as her hands roamed over his chest. “It was only one night.”
“It doesn’t matter. I missed you. Now that we had those nights, I never want to sleep alone again,” he said as he caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. “I don’t like my world when you’re not there beside me.”
She whispered his name; that was it, just a whisper, and he was lost.
He needed this—her—to right his world again. Everything else could wait, but not this.
There was no easing into the kiss, it was like he was dying and reaching for a lifeline, and she was it.
Her arms wrapped around him right before she hopped up and did the same with her legs.
He grabbed her bottom and turned them toward the bed.
Placing her down, they continued to kiss, but as much as he wanted to worship her and do all the things he knew she loved, he was going to be a bit selfish right now.
“You’re thinking too much,” Lexi said against his lips.
It was crazy how well she knew him.
“This time’s going to be fast, but I’ll make it up to you later,” he promised.
Her hand snaked through his hair. “Less talking, more doing.”
This girl…
Rolling around they awkwardly finished undressing, and then he followed her directive and did all the doing.
Breathless and a little sweaty, Connor turned his head on the pillow to look at Lexi—who was equally breathless and sweaty.
She looked at him. “What? What are you smiling about?”
“Just looking at you makes me smile,” he told her. “Not to mention what we just did. Twice.”
Grinning, she giggled. “I can’t believe you went and asked Walker for a room. I want to say I’m embarrassed, but right now I’m too satisfied to care.”
Rolling onto his side, he studied her. “Yeah, he wasn’t too pleased about it, but I didn’t care. I’m one of the owners and it was an emergency.”
She rolled over too. “An emergency? Connor, come on. Be serious. I mean, there was a sense of urgency for sure, but we could have found another way.”
“Nope. It would have taken too long.”
“Maybe. But now everyone knows what we’re doing.”
“Walker mentioned that it wasn’t a good look for the management…”
Groaning, Lexi rolled onto her back. “Any chance we can just move into this room and never leave?”
“Stop,” he teased. “It’s fine. Everyone knows we’re together.”
“I get that, but they don’t have to know when we’re doing it,” she countered. “Which reminds me, what time is it? Slater needs to leave by noon, and I really need to get to work.” Another groan. “If this were any other job, I’d be fired.”
When she went to roll off the bed, he gently tugged her back and waited for her to look at him. “No one’s getting fired, and you need to relax. It’s not like we do this all the time. Every other time we were on our lunch break and down in the cabins. I think we’re okay this one time.”
Sighing, she said, “Maybe. But I’m still a little self-conscious. I like our staff, and I don’t want anyone gossiping about me. Us.”
“There’s a solution to that, you know.”
She eyed him warily. “Please do not send out a memo telling people not to gossip. That would be the worst.”
He chuckled. “Um…no. I would not send out a memo.”
“Oh. Okay. Then what’s your solution?”
“Marry me. Soon. Today. Now,” he said, knowing it was ridiculous to suggest, but he’d never been more serious in his life.
“Connor…we just started talking about that. And we can’t get married today.”
“Fine, maybe not today, but we can go and get a license and be married the same day.”
“And what about a wedding? Are you saying you want to get married at the courthouse?”
He couldn’t tell if she was on board with the idea or not.
“I’d get married in the damn woodshed if you said yes to it. I don’t care where it happens, just as long as it does.” He reached for her hand and placed it on his chest. “We will do whatever it is that you want, but I just want you to know how I feel. The minute you say yes, we’ll start planning.”
She didn’t say anything for a minute as she studied where her hand was on him. But when her gaze met his, he saw the hint of a smile.
“This just isn’t the time to be planning a wedding,” she said. “The resort’s opening, the summer schedule is going to be insane, and we definitely need a bigger place to live than the cabin.”
Trying not to sound too eager, he nodded. “All good points.”
Her smile grew. “I know.”
“But that all sounded like a yes to me,” he said, feeling his own smile grow. “A roundabout yes, but still a yes.”
“That’s because it was a yes. So…”
Before she could say anything else, he rolled her under him and extended their stay in the room. After all, this was deserving of a private celebration.
Slater was already gone by the time she made it back to the office.
After the third time and a quick shower, it was almost one in the afternoon. She felt terrible about it, but Nora assured her that everything was fine. So, she settled at her desk and dove into her list of things to do.
At some point, Connor brought her a sandwich and let her know that the kids were fine and had eaten lunch down at the cabin.
Her cabin.
She knew he was being overly cautious because he wanted to keep his parents away from his daughter, and she honestly couldn’t blame him. With any luck, the Winslowes checked out and are long gone. It would be nice to have dinner without that hanging over their heads.
By five, he was back and convincing her that her workday was over.
“Connor…I was gone for four days and then missed half the day. I really should stay and take care of some things,” she argued lightly.
“Nonsense. Everyone else is done for the day, and you were only scheduled until five.”
“I know that, but I was also scheduled to start at eight, and I didn’t actually start until one, so…”