Reading Online Novel

Secretly Hers (Sterling Canyon)(47)

 
He crossed the room as if he owned it—cowboy boots clacking on the wood floors—and lifted her off her feet. “How can you look prettier every time I see you?”
 
Then he kissed her hard. Without thought she kissed him back, her body naturally molding to his, content in his embrace. When he cut the kiss short and set her back on her feet, she struggled to find her balance.
 
“How’s your father?” she asked, ignoring her earlier vow to maintain emotional distance.
 
“Better.” Trip squeezed her waist.
 
“Your brother and stepmom?” She kept her arms loosely thrown over his shoulders, her fingertips brushing the hair around the base of his neck, temporarily fooling herself into believing they were more than friends with benefits.
 
“We’re all still standing. But let’s not talk about them.” He reached into his jacket pocket, his eyes twinkling, and retrieved a small box. “I brought you something. A thank-you for all the calls and sweet texts you sent me while I was away. I’m not used to anyone looking out for me. It was . . . nice.”
 
“You didn’t have to buy me anything, Trip. I cared about how you were doing. That’s what friends do.”
 
“Not all friends. Just like not all friends treat their friends to a Cabo trip.” He gently touched her breastbone and winked. “That generous heart of yours is almost as sexy as the package it comes in. But I can be generous, too, with people who deserve it.”
 
If he kept bringing her gifts and telling her how pretty she was, how would she ever end things? Was it possible he cared more than he was willing to admit? And if so, how could she confirm it?
 
Trip held out the small box. Not a ring box, but her pulse still raced.
 
“Aren’t you curious?” he asked.
 
“You know I am.” She took the tissue-wrapped package from his hand and unwrapped two bejeweled vintage hair combs. Holding them up to the light, she watched sparkles cast around the room. “These are gorgeous. Are they real antiques?”
 
“Of course. Victorian era, fit for a princess.” His smile widened. He took them from her and gently tucked two small sections of her hair back with the combs, causing a light prickling sensation to race over her scalp and down her neck. “Now you can wear your hair down without it getting in your way while you’re working.”
 
She touched the combs, keeping her eyes on Trip’s face. If only he would tell her he felt something more than friendship and lust, her heart would burst. She’d wrap him up in so much love, all the pain and loneliness he’d felt since his mom died would become a faint memory.
 
Although she’d never considered herself a coward, she knew she wasn’t brave enough to have a frank discussion about their relationship. Perhaps a few subtle questions could uncover his true feelings. “Thank you. I have to say, you keep surprising me with thoughtful gestures. If you’re not careful, I’m going to start thinking you’re falling for me, cowboy.”
 
His brief hesitation gave her false hope—until he opened his mouth and brushed off her statement with flirtatious joking.
 
“Princess, I fell for you the first time I laid eyes on you.” He lowered his hands to her hips and tugged her against his body. “Now how ’bout we take this little reunion   to the bedroom.”
 
Before she could protest, he swooped her up in his arms and carted her off to her room.
 
“Trip—”
 
“Call me by my real name, not the nickname Grey gave me.” Trip’s deep voice grazed her cheek just before he nibbled on her ear.
 
He laid her on the bed. After withdrawing a two-pack of condoms from his pocket, he tossed them to land next to her. “I want to hear you say my name when we’re alone like this.”
 
Trip looked her in the eyes, cradled her jaw, and then kissed her, long and slow, before reaching for the hem of her skirt. A streak of goose bumps dashed up her thighs. She was putty in his hands, unable to resist the intimacy of his request. “Gunner.”
 
He moaned in response, his hands quickly unzipping her skirt and removing her clothes and then his own. The sight of his bare chest and abs made her lick her lips as her hands caressed his well-defined muscles.
 
Before she could catch her breath, he rolled over and pulled her on top of him. “I want to see all of you. And when I’m buried so deep inside you that you fall apart, I want you to scream my name.”
 
He matched the urgency of his command with the force of his kiss, then his hands cupped her breasts. Her nipples hardened at his touch, and every muscle in her body trembled.