Protector(73)

The transaction settled, Alex turned back toward her. “Looks like the elevators are down that hall. We’re on the tenth floor.”

She nodded, mostly because she didn’t know what to say. All of the easy dialogue they’d shared during those last few minutes of the drive melted away as if it had never existed. For each floor the elevator ascended, she could feel her throat constricting and her stomach tightening just that much more. It didn’t help that they were standing fairly close to one another in case someone else got on the elevator, close enough that she thought she could hear the beating of Alex’s heart. Or was that hers, hammering away in her chest?

The room was large and clean, with a fairly spectacular view of the downtown Pasadena area. Caitlin went to look out the window and stared down at all the lights sparkling beneath them. How big was Pasadena, anyway? Bigger than Tucson? Smaller? She had no real sense of scale, because everything felt big to her, compared to where she’d come from.

“What do you think?” Alex said, coming up to stand next to her and look out at the night cityscape.

“It looks pretty from up here,” she replied cautiously.

“True, but unless you want the whole world looking in, you might want to close the drapes.” He reached up and grabbed a sort of plastic wand hanging from the heavy outer curtains and pulled them shut.

Right. She should have thought of that. But she’d never stayed in a hotel in her life — up until this past summer, when she transferred to Northern Pines and moved into the apartment with Danica, she’d never even ventured farther afield than Prescott. Her whole life had been spent in tiny Jerome and the small towns of the Verde Valley.

“So…when do you think we should visit Simón tomorrow?”

If Alex was surprised by her abrupt change of subject, he didn’t show it. “Not until after ten. Maybe closer to eleven, just in case he isn’t a morning person. That gives us plenty of time to sleep in.”

Did he mean anything by that? Caitlin wasn’t sure, and she definitely wasn’t about to ask. “Okay,” she replied. “I’ll go ahead and start getting ready. You don’t mind if I take over the bathroom for a bit?”

“No,” he said, and then paused, gazing down at her. She tried not to flinch and look away, but it was hard. Those dark eyes seemed to be piercing right through her, seeing the crazy thoughts that had passed through her mind during the drive here. He continued, in a much different tone, “Thank you for telling me all that. About your writing, I mean. I think it’s an amazing thing you’re doing.”

Her mouth went dry. How was she supposed to reply to that? Tell him she thought he was pretty amazing, too? Finally, she managed, “Thanks.”

The word should have fallen flat, but he seemed to ignore how woefully inadequate it really was, and instead moved closer to her. Without truly understanding how it had happened, she felt his hands holding hers, pulling her closer to him. And then he was bending down, those strong, full lips of his touching her mouth, kissing her, making her open to him so she could taste him once again.

Something in her seemed to break, and melt, and she was pressed against him, feeling his body on hers, one of his hands reaching up to run through her loose hair. The kiss deepened, and then he was picking her up and carrying her to the nearest bed, only a few feet away from where they’d be standing by the window. His weight was on her, and his hands moving up under her top, warm against her flesh.

A moan escaped her lips, and that seemed to be all the encouragement he needed. He pushed her shirt up even further, fumbled with the front hook of her bra. Then it was loose, and it wasn’t just his hands on her, but his mouth as well, trailing feathery kisses up her stomach until at last he closed on her breast, suckling, and then she cried out even more, her fingers caught in his thick dark hair as she held him against her.

It wasn’t the first time she’d gone this far, but it had never felt like this before. Warm, heavy pulses of desire flooded through her, heat growing between her legs.

“Oh, Goddess,” she murmured.

He undid the button of her jeans, then pulled down the zipper. And then he was reaching down to stroke her, while she had to practically bite her lip from crying out at the sheer ecstasy of his touch, that strong finger caressing her right where she wanted it the most. The waves of heat grew stronger, and she felt it building in her, knew he was going to make her come right then and there.

Which she did, clinging to him as the orgasm flooded through her, blood surging through every limb and to her fingers and toes. Her head fell back against the pillow, and she gasped for air like someone who had nearly drowned. Maybe she was drowning. She knew she couldn’t fight this anymore, couldn’t tell herself it was crazy and that she had far more important things to worry about. Right then, Alex was the most important thing in her world. If that was wrong, well, she’d face the consequences later. But she also knew she had to tell him the truth.