Chapter 12 #3
Dipping his head, he placed his mouth on her throat where her pulse was thundering, and the contact made her tremble. She whispered his name.
His hands moved from her shoulders down her arms until he had her dropping her purse on the floor. Then they traveled back up before reaching around and cupping her breasts, firmly holding her against him. His mouth kept moving against her—each kiss, each nip hungrier than the last.
“Milo…”
“I’m a selfish bastard,” he said gruffly. “I told myself not to push. That I would keep my thoughts and feelings to myself and let you have time alone. But I can’t. I just can’t, Nora. I need you too much. Please don’t go.”
His hold on her was almost brutal, and she wanted to turn in his arms, to kiss him like she was aching to, but he didn’t let her. “I don’t want time alone,” she sighed, moving against him. “I…I thought you were having regrets…that you were sorry that you even shared your feelings with me, and…”
He spun her around and silenced her words as he kissed her.
Her arms instantly went around him, and she wanted to climb him like a tree.
The transformation of this man from quiet techy to lover was breathtaking, and she loved it.
He fascinated her, intrigued her, and turned her on so much that she thought she’d combust.
Wordlessly, he lifted her up and carried her across the cabin and into his bedroom, where he gently placed her on the bed.
She felt boneless, completely awash in the sensations his hands and mouth were creating, and when he lowered himself onto her, Nora realized maybe this was the man he was always meant to be.
Not that it mattered. She loved the man he was—whether he was in his uptight, work mode, or this incredibly sexy and sensual man who seemed to live to give her pleasure. He was a complex person, but so was she.
“You’re thinking,” he murmured breathlessly as he kissed his way down her body, tugging her jeans down her legs. “No thinking. Only feeling.”
Reaching down, she anchored her hands in his hair. “Yes, sir.”
“Good girl,” he said gruffly, and she nearly had an orgasm just from that tone.
It was insane how turned on he made her, but she loved moments like this—the way he made her heart race, the way his hands touched her, the way he kissed—but more than anything, she loved the closeness. It went beyond sex to something more.
And she was pretty certain that there was nothing that would make her give this up.
It was late, and everything was quiet except for their breathing.
They’d made love twice like it was vital, like their discussion earlier needed to be erased and the only way to do that was beneath the sheets.
Only…the sheets were cooling, and her memory was just fine.
Right now, they were tangled together—Milo’s arms around her while her head rested on his chest—and on any other night, she’d probably be fighting to stay awake. But her mind was racing, and she felt like there were things they needed to say.
“So, um…do you know exactly when you’ll be heading back to Seattle?”
“Nora…”
Twisting slightly, she looked up at him. “Not talking about it isn’t going to change anything. Eventually it’s going to happen. Wouldn’t it be better if we were both prepared for it?”
Even in the room's dimness, she could see him frown. “Maybe.”
“Did you have a date planned before you and I became…you know…you and I?”
“I did. The end of this month.”
Doing the math quickly in her head, she said, “So…three weeks from now.”
“Yup.”
“And how often were you planning on coming back?”
“There’s never been a set schedule. I just show up when I’m needed. Sometimes it was for meetings about plans when we were still in the renovation stage, but sometimes it was personal.”
“Personal?”
“There has been a lot of drama in almost everyone’s personal lives since we started this project, and sometimes that drama meant all hands on deck. The last real one was the intervention we had to do with Connor over his obsession with the menus.”
“Was that before or after he force-fed Slater some kind of cake in the middle of the night?” she asked with amusement.
“That was the final straw, so…yeah.” He sighed softly before reaching up and caressing her cheek. “But typically, I’m not the guy who’s needed here.”
“Oh.”
That was certainly going to make things a little more difficult to navigate moving forward.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t come back more often,” he said, interrupting her thoughts. “Now, I have a reason to.”
That eased her mind a little, but…
“And I love that, but I hate the thought of you having to fly across the country all the time. Obviously I’ll have a little more flexibility in the winter months, but I haven’t accumulated any vacation time so it will be a while before I can be the one flying to you.”
“I don’t mind flying here. I’d fly anywhere in the world if it meant we could be together like this.”
Her heart seriously ached at his words, even as her head gently fell forward against his chest. “This sucks. Why did I have to meet such a great guy who literally lives on the other side of the country?”
Milo’s hand smoothed down her back. “I feel the same way. Why did I have to meet a woman who’s on the other side of the country and who makes me want to have a life outside of my career?”
Neither had an answer to that.
After several long moments, she finally asked, “We’re going to try though, right?”
“Absolutely.”
A little more time passed before she found the energy to lift her head. “Any chance you’re tired of living in Seattle and want to move your company here?”
He laughed sadly. “That wouldn’t really be possible.”
“I figured. But I still had to ask.” The yawn was out before she could stop it, but sleep wasn’t an option just yet. “Did you really want me to move to Seattle with you during the winter months?”
“Nora, don’t. Please. I would hate myself if you gave up this opportunity because of me.”
“Not because of you,” she countered. “For you. For us.”
Then she realized that maybe he was having second thoughts.
Like maybe now that he had time to think about it, he realized he had been a little impulsive.
Well, crap.
“Listen, in a perfect world, you’d be able to have both,” he said softly, and she could tell he was equally sleepy.
“But things at the resort are just starting to fall into place, and we’re all still in a learning phase.
You being here and helping shape what these seasons are going to look like is important.
There’s no one more qualified for this than you. I mean…other than Slater.”
She nodded.
“And I’m going to be here as much as I can. It’s not exactly conventional or ideal, but…we’ll make it work.”
“But…what if it gets to be too much?” she asked quietly. “What if…I really like it here and this is where I want to stay?”
Because that was a very real possibility.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, but know this—I’m going to wait for you because I believe this has the potential to be something amazing.”
“Milo…”
“I mean it. I’m not going anywhere.” Then he laughed softly. “Well…I mean, I’m obviously going home to Seattle, but I’m all in with this relationship.”
And now her mind was back to being at ease.
“Me too.”
His arms tightened around her ever so slightly as he carefully pulled her up so he could kiss her. And he did. Slowly. Tenderly. But in a matter of minutes, they were both falling asleep, and being in his arms was her favorite place to be.