He was going to miss that smile, he realized with a shock.
She braced herself on his forearms and scooted from the vehicle, sliding against him. Rockets of heat launched through him and he groaned. Clinging to his biceps, she wobbled on her heels. He didn’t know or care whether she did so to tease him or because she was genuinely unsteady. He had to rein in his desire before he made a bigger fool of himself than his brother had. Getting arrested for indecent exposure in the Lagoon’s parking deck wouldn’t help Trent’s cause with the HAMC board.
But he had to admit Paige tempted him to say to hell with the consequences, drop his pants and drive into her wet heat right here, right now.
And that was probably how his brother had ended up in trouble. Paige had worked her magic on both of them. And for the first time in his life, Trent was jealous of his brother—and whatever it was Brent had shared with Paige twelve months ago.
Paige’s body still hummed with arousal despite the orgasm. Would Trent finish what he’d started in the parking lot?
She held her apartment door open for him, hoping for one more opportunity to soak up as much of him and his lovemaking as possible. “Come in.”
He seemed oddly reluctant to enter, given he’d made her melt ten minutes earlier. “Trent, I’m not a black widow spider. I don’t kill my mate after he’s given me what I need.”
His lips twitched. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“I have a bottle of South Carolina Riesling in the fridge. Would you like a glass while I change?”
“No, thanks.” He scanned the photos in her living room. “Which sister is which?”
She followed him across the room and lifted the picture he’d indicated. She tapped the glass. “This is Kelly, the oldest. That’s her little boy, Nate.”
His gaze found hers. “The one she almost didn’t have?”
He remembered. “Yes. Nate’s another thing I miss. He’s growing like a weed.” But a man didn’t want to hear a woman yap about babies. It made them nervous. “Next in line is Jessie, the real-estate agent, then Ashley, the nurse, and finally Sammie.”
“The soon-to-be school teacher.”
“Yes. Do you have any pictures of your brother and sisters?”
“No.”
“None? Not even on your laptop computer?”
“No. I imagine that will change when my sisters and sister-in-law give birth.”
“You have three pregnant women in the family?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll definitely need to keep a camera handy. Babies grow up so fast.” Oops. The baby thing again. “I make a mean fettuccini Alfredo. We could relax and eat here and save the roller coaster for tomorrow night.”
“No. We’ll try the NASCAR Café as soon as you change.”
“You’re sure? I wouldn’t mind having you for dessert.” Her cheeks burned over her boldness, but the flare of passion in his eyes made her glad she’d taken the leap.
“We’ll revisit that after we ride the coaster.”
“Okay.” But that didn’t mean she’d accept his refusal easily. She’d promised herself she’d be more like Jessie and ask for what she wanted. Might as well start now. She turned her back to him. “Unzip me?”
After a moment his knuckle brushed her nape. The zipper descended, allowing air to cool her spine. She shrugged her shoulders, and the dress slid to her ankles, leaving her nak*d except for her bra and boots. Reaching behind her back, she flicked open her bra, removed it and then bent over very slowly to scoop up both items. Hooking them over her fingertips, she straightened and pivoted.
Trent’s hot gaze raked her from head to br**sts to h*ps then legs and back. The rising bulge behind his fly rewarded her bravery. She smiled. Maybe Jessie had been right when she’d claimed seducing a man was more fun than shopping. “I’ll be right back.”
She strolled toward her bedroom, putting as much sway in her walk as she could muster. She heard movement behind her then his hand clamped on her wrist. He spun her around and backed her against wall so quickly she lost her breath. His pelvis pinned her in place.
“You are a tease, Paige McCauley,” he said without malice, but with a dangerous glint in his eyes that sent her blood humming.
“Oh, please, you made me come in a parking deck. Consider it payback.”
His hands briskly brushed down her body, over her br**sts, her waist, then found the sensitive spot between her legs. “Is that a complaint?”
A moan squeezed past her tightly mashed lips as he unerringly circled with exactly the right pressure and tempo to rekindle her desire. With a few deft strokes he created a knot of tension low in her belly.
“No. But Trent, I want to please you, too. Only you’re playing hard to get.”
He caught her hand and carried it to his erection. “Definitely hard.”
She rubbed him through his jeans and he thickened even more. Trent slammed his mouth over hers in a kiss of pure hunger and aggression. She wiggled her fingers between them to unbutton his jeans, then slid down his zipper and slipped her hand inside. His heat burned her through his underwear. She shoved his jeans and boxers out of the way and curled her fingers around his hot, satiny flesh.
He broke the kiss to whistle in a breath, then covered her fist with his and guided her with long, slow strokes. She used her other hand to smooth the slick droplet over the engorged head.
He threw back his head, straining the tendons of his neck. “The way you touch me is…damned good.”
His hoarse words filled her with satisfaction. He wouldn’t dare forget her by this time next year. Nor would she forget him. Trent Hightower had gotten under her skin as permanently as a tattoo.
He stabbed a hand into his back pocket, withdrew a condom and quickly applied it. “Dessert first tonight.”
His hand hooked her leg behind her knee, then he lifted her leather-booted calf to his hip and drove in, forcing her breath from her lungs with the delicious depth of his penetration. She clung to his shoulders as he plunged and withdrew again and again. Her back skidded against the wall with each powerful thrust. With his eyes tightly shut and his jaw clenched, his face twisted as if he were in agony—the same wonderful agony she shared of wanting satisfaction and wanting to make the pleasure last.
His hands cupped her br**sts and tweaked her n**ples. Her head tilted to the side as a delicious sensation washed over her, making her skin hot and weighting her eyelids. His breath steamed her neck then he nipped her. The sharp love bite sent a shock through her and pushed her toward the edge of release. He thrust deeply and swiveled his hips, sending her body into spasms of pleasure.
His pace increased. She held on tight, fisting her fingers in his T-shirt, then raking her nails down his back. She matched every push and then he groaned against her neck and hammered even harder. His back bowed. He jerked once, twice, a third time, then his weight settled on her, a heavy, heaving blanket that she never wanted to let go.
She ran her hand over his hair, cradling his face to her neck. She loved him and she was going to lose him.
Unless you do something about it.
The voice in her head sounded a lot like Jessie taunting her. Paige’s heart pounded harder. She’d lost David because she hadn’t cared enough to fight for him. She wasn’t going to let Trent go as easily. Tomorrow she’d pull up the job Web site again and contact the Knoxville hotels to test for interest.
Then she’d find a way to convince Trent not to let a great relationship slip through his fingers.
The familiar rush working its way through Trent as he unlocked the door to his suite Saturday evening had nothing to do with flying airplanes or riding roller coasters and everything to do with the curvy blonde monopolizing his time and thoughts.
Waking in Paige’s arms this morning had felt good—right—as though he was finally where he was supposed to be. He’d woken before dawn and lain in her bed, watching her sleep. Despite the staggering amount of work waiting for him at the hotel, he’d wanted to say to hell with work, kiss her awake, make love to her, then spend the rest of the day alone with her in her apartment.
That staggering realization had sent him running. Nothing came between him and work. Especially women. He’d worked double-time today, attending seminars and networking during the breaks, trying to make the connections he’d missed during his evenings away from the hotel with Paige.
He dropped his briefcase by the workstation and loosened the necktie choking him. He didn’t know what in the hell had come over him yesterday. He’d lost control: first the parking deck, then against wall of Paige’s hallway. After the roller coaster and a shared bottle of her South Carolina wine, he’d give her a serious case of rug burn by taking her on her living-room floor and then again in her bed. He hadn’t been able to get enough of her.
Despite yesterday’s frat boy actions, a strange urgency still rode him today. It was more than just being horny. It was the knowledge that he had only fifteen hours left with Paige before her sisters arrived. Fifteen short hours to soak up every drop of her Southern charm. One more night. Then she’d be gone.
Just as he’d planned.
It wasn’t enough. He wanted more. He wanted—
Paige. He wanted Paige.
He’d fallen in love with his brother’s ex-lover.
Warning sirens screeched in his skull. A chill enveloped him and a crushing sensation settled on his chest. He stabbed a hand through his hair and headed for the minibar where he poured an airplane bottle of bourbon into a glass and knocked it back straight. The liquid burned a path down his throat and settled like a pool of lava in his belly.
He’d taken a bad situation and turned it into a freaking disaster by lying to Paige. Not even his siblings could bungle something this badly.
To have Paige in his life for more than one stolen week he’d have to risk everything by telling her the truth. But coming clean also meant risking his goals for HAMC, the family’s financial coffers and his brother’s marriage if his greedy sister-in-law learned the details of Brent’s affair.
Was the steep price worth it?
He poured himself another drink and stared into the amber liquid.
Yes. The prize—Paige—outweighed the risks.
His life was empty, and he had no one but himself to blame. He’d made it that way by cutting out all the things he enjoyed. He worked, slept and worked more. He had only one friend whom he saw infrequently, and he didn’t speak to his family unless it pertained to work or because one of them had screwed up, and then he talked at them rather than with them.
He didn’t have to worry about killing himself with his adrenaline pursuits. He’d already died in every way that counted. He’d become a robot programmed with an unfeeling get-the-job-done mentality.
Paige had changed that. She’d made him feel more than ambition and anger toward his father for forcing him into this job and his family for always needing to be bailed out. Paige had brought him back to life by challenging him to leave the cell he’d locked himself in. Sure, his father’s addictions would always be an issue lurking in the background like a genetic predisposition toward cancer, but with Paige beside him he could monitor it and control it.