Chapter Four
Remembering how to smile…
“Rayne, David’s going to be late. Can you grab the guy at table nine?”
Fucking David. That guy hadn’t been on time for a single shift since I met him. He was my replacement, so I couldn’t suggest they fire him because if anything changed with Elle I’d be leaving again and David would be necessary.
“Sure. Let me just run this tray of burgers over to my other table.”
Wedging two Mai Tais between the plates filling my order, I carefully balanced the tray and headed to the back of the restaurant. It was Saturday, so the bar was filling up early. The owners had added some patio seating off the street, which had tripled the number of patrons I was used to and my feet were feeling the effects. But it kept me busy enough not to dwell on other things.
Waiting for the woman blocking my way to move her ass, I patiently smiled and held my tray above my shoulder.
“Oh, sorry,” she twittered.
“Take your time.” I hate people.
She finally scooted into a chair and as I turned the corner my body jolted and my head did a double take. A tingle of excitement churned rapidly through my belly and then drained into numbness only to surge back up with the force of a tsunami, much like when a person almost falls down a flight of steps but catches themselves in the last instant.
The sound of dishes shattering barely registered as breath sucked deep into my lungs and my eyes stung with the shock of tears. Mouth agape, I watched him rise from the booth, broad shoulders perfectly filling out the cut of his tailored jacket, eyes so intoxicating I was drunk on the spot. It had to be a dream.
Am I hallucinating?
A startled grin curved his full lips. An ocean of concerned faces stared, but I only had eyes for him. The next thing I knew I was running like a Barcelona bull through a china shop and throwing my body into mid-air. “Hale!”
His strong arms caught me as my legs wrapped around him, wrenching a grunt from deep in his chest. My catapulted body suctioned to his like an octopus on the attack. My lips peppered his neck and jaw as I cupped his face and laughed.
“What are you doing here?”
Sliding my body down his front, he looked into my eyes and smiled. “I told you I missed you.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Where’s Elara?” How could he just leave and come here when he had work and a baby?
“She’s around the corner. We’re staying at the Heathman.”
“We?” I couldn’t stop touching him, my hands roaming over his fancy suit shirt like a pickpocket on the hunt for his soul. He’s here!
“Me, my brother, and my mom.”
“Oh, my God! I could pee my pants I’m so happy!” Not used to smiling, I touched my cheeks, which were already sore. I glanced at the rubbernecking patrons, uncaring that I was making a scene. “This is my boyfriend! My boyfriend.”
Those who knew me would appreciate that tidbit, being that I never dated—by choice—before Hale.
“You dropped your tray,” Hale murmured, angling his chin toward the disaster left in my wake.
I waved a hand. “I’ll get it cleaned up. How long are you staying? Can we go see Elara? I’ve missed you so much. Oh, my God, you’re going to meet my mom! I swear she thinks I made you up. Ha! I’ll show her!
He chuckled. “Take a breath, baby. I’m here for a while and I’d love to meet your mom. As soon as you’re finished I can take you back to the hotel to see Elara.”
I spun in a circle like a dog seeking a resting spot. I needed keys and—damn, there was a serious mess on the floor. “Where the fuck is David?”
“Who’s David?”
“A waiter. I’m done my shift, but he’s late.”
His lips compressed and I grinned, because he tried so hard not to show any sign of impatience, but he couldn’t hide his emotions from me. What I once believed to be the world’s greatest poker face now seemed as readable as a Dr. Seuss book. Ha. He really did miss me.
Carrie Ann, my boss, appeared with a broom.
“I’ll be right back,” I said to Hale, smiling and dragging my hand down the front of his pressed shirt. “Don’t go anywhere.” God, I loved his fancy ass.
Returning to the slopped tray on the floor, I panted, already out of breath. “I’ll get that, Carrie Ann.”
I made quick work of cleaning up the mess. My gaze pinged back to Hale, way too overdressed for our little hipster town.
Not only did he not have a beard, he was wearing a suit jacket. But he totally pulled it off in a don’t you want to touch me? sort of way. I kept glancing over my shoulder at him because he was mine and somehow he created the possessiveness of a monkey over a cupcake in me. Mine. My precioussssss…
I dumped the broken dishes in the trash and quickly remade two of the shittiest Mai Tais to ever exist, adding whatever was in front of me into the glasses. “Mel, I need you to remake that order.”
Our overweight, moody chef grumbled. “Already on it… You a walking calamity, girl.”
I smiled at him through the kitchen window. “My boyfriend’s here.”
“That’s great.” He flipped the burgers on the sizzling grill.
“It is great. He flew in from Florida to surprise me! He loves me.”
Mel didn’t seem to care, so I delivered the drinks to the table. “Your burgers will be up in a minute. My boyfriend surprised me.” They didn’t seem to care either.
I skipped over to Hale’s table as he greeted me with a silent chuckle and an amused glint in his devastatingly gray eyes. I was petting him again because I couldn’t resist. “David should be here any minute.”
“We have time.”
My gaze gobbled up every inch of him, from his strong shadowed jaw to his broad shoulders to his cufflinks and back up to those fascinating silver eyes. His lips looked extra full today and I was going to bite them soon. I sighed. He was so dreamy.
I, on the other hand, was a Velma. I’d always wanted to be a Daphne, but the truth was, I was born to be the awkward sidekick, sort of like an afterthought to the feminine part of the species. But this Velma was totally going to bang the Fred. To further illustrate my point, I was sitting here fantasizing sexual acts with Scooby Doo metaphors, while Hale was likely scouting over facts and figures in his brain and coming up with filthy grown-up words I couldn’t utter without giggling.
Oh, he had a magnificent vocabulary. Naughty, sinful words had whispered across those luscious lips as he dragged them over my skin. So self-assured, so devastatingly sexy. Annnnnd my nipples were hard. Rut-roe.
“I remember that look.” The slow rumble of his voice sent chills up my spine as the back of his knuckle teased the line of my jaw.
My finger made little swirls around the button of his jacket. “So … this hotel. Do you have your own room?”
Eyes heavy, he slowly nodded.
My heart tripped into double time. “Maybe you could show me before we see your family.”
“I’m planning on it.”
Cha-ching! Momma was cashing in on some lovin’. Cagney and Lacey—otherwise known as my boobs—were totally getting some action tonight!
“Rayne, order up!”
Still smiling, I pivoted and raced back toward the kitchen. “I’ll be right back.”
As I rushed to the bar a few customers tried to stop me on my way, but there wasn’t time for that. I grabbed the burgers and ran them over to the hungry table. “Can I get you anything else?”
“Can we have some ketchup?”
“Sure.” I went back to the bar and found Carrie Ann. “Hey, what are the chances I could get out of here before David gets here? That’s my boyfriend over there, the tall sexy one in the designer suit, and he came all the way from Florida to surprise me.”
Carrie Ann rolled her eyes. “Go.”
“Thank you!” I stripped off my apron and stuffed it under the bar.
As I passed the tables, the guy with the burger looked up expectantly. “Ketchup?”
I paused and reached over the customers to my right, stealing their bottle and plopping it on burger boy’s table. “Here you go.”
Returning to Hale, I rocked on my heels and preened. “Ready?”
He stood, his utter composure at total odds with my spastic energy. My eyes rolled back in my head as his hand rested on the base of my spine and he escorted me out of the bar. I was prouder than a mutt marching through a pedigree dog show. My boyfriend!
When we reached the parking lot I scanned the vehicles. “Where’s your car?”
“I have a rental.” He led me to a Lexus and opened the passenger door.
We both stilled as the world silenced around us. A thousand shivers chased over my skin as he leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. Divine. Luscious. Panty-drenching lips….
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I slipped my tongue into his mouth and hummed, pressing my breasts against his chest. His hand caught the back of my neck as he took over the kiss, gentling my frantic need.
Before Hale, I didn’t have much practice with the opposite sex, so I was never really sure what was appropriate and what bordered on Animal Planet. I had very little self-control around this man.
A gravelly chuckle rumbled in his chest as he eased back. “Easy, baby. Let’s get to the hotel.”
“Oh. Right.” My insides zinged like the needle of a lie detector hooked to a politician, zipping and clanging wildly without restraint.
Once we were on our way I reached for his hand and bounced with excitement. Hale was here, and we were going to his hotel. The sex was happening. Thank God, because while I’d once been convinced good sex was an over-glorified lie women told, Hale had proved me wrong and now I missed the sex very much.
I glanced at my lap and bit my lip. When was the last time I shaved? Last week? No, that wasn’t right. Two weeks ago? Hmm. “Can we stop at that pharmacy up there?”
Briefly taking his eyes off the road, he glanced at me. “Is it something we can get later?”
“Um…” I lifted the cuff of my jeans and found a miniature jungle spiked with overgrowth. “I’ll be quick.”
He pulled into the pharmacy and I got out of the car before he could open my door. As he touched the handle I blurted, “I can just run in. I only need a few things.”
“I’ll go with you.” He was big on escorting me and I was in a rush, so I didn’t argue.
His hand returned to mine as soon as he rounded the car and in we went. I snatched a basket and casually sniffed my armpit through my shirt, which smelled like a deep fryer and Bud. It wasn’t great, but I had just finished a shift at the restaurant and that was what waitresses smelled like.
Shooting down the aisle with personal hygiene products I grabbed whatever might improve my sexiness. Deodorant, mango-scented lotion, shaving cream, a new razor. I even found nail polish and remover, but that wasn’t for me.
Hale’s lips twitched as I stocked up. He was laughing at me in that composed manner that was tough to detect, but I recognized the familiar twitch of a budding smile.
Slipping down the last aisle, I grabbed a toothbrush. “Okay, I think I’m good.”
Rolling his eyes, he smirked and took my basket, placing it in front of the clerk at the register. She totaled my items and Hale swiped his card.
“I would have paid for that.”
He said nothing as he opened the car door and I slipped inside.
The Heathman was probably one of the nicest hotels in our town. I’d never stayed there so I was excited for an excuse to see inside.
Hale was staying in the Warhol Suite, which had several original works of art created by Andy himself. I didn’t care about any of that as we made our way up to his floor. My mind was too focused on getting the stench of fries off my skin, the wool off my legs, and the sexy man naked beneath me.
Fisting my bag from the pharmacy, I followed him to his door and announced, “I need to use the bathroom real quick before we … do anything.”
He glanced at me but didn’t object. The door opened and… Wow. This was nice. There was a living room slash office, a little kitchenette area, and—bingo—bathroom. “I’ll just be a minute.”
Hale removed his jacket and draped it over a chair. “Don’t take too long.”
Nodding, I slipped into the bathroom and shut the door. I dumped my purchases on the counter and ripped open the toothbrush. Hale’s belongings were neatly put away in a black leather travel case—so adorably Hale. I found his toothpaste and got into a vigorous brushing while I nosed through the other items in his bag. Ooh, condoms. That was good. I giggled when I saw he’d packed over a dozen.
We had discussed me going on the pill, which was supposed to happen, but everything with Elle sort of took us on a detour. There had been a few times we might have been a tad irresponsible, but I didn’t like to think about that, especially since I was in no rush to have children and Hale already had one. So yeah, condoms were good.
“You almost done in there?” he called from the other room.
“Thirty seconds!” I yelled, rinsing out my mouth. I stripped off my jeans and hissed at the sight of things. “Christ, I have man legs.”
“You say something?”
“Can you make me a drink? Or order one?” That would take up time.
Shoving my items aside, I sat on the counter and made a complete mess. Shaving cream dripped off my legs in glops and water went everywhere.
“Fuck.” Sliding off the counter, I abandoned the idea that I might have any ladylike skills in the vanity department and took off my shirt as I started the shower.
Hale knocked at the door. “Rayne? Are you showering?”
“I’ll be right out!”
It was the speediest bathing experience of my life. I’d never been handy with a razor, so rushing to shave three weeks’ worth of hair wasn’t the best idea. Once I dabbed up the blood, I slathered my legs with the mango lotion.
“Oops! Too much.” I was slicker than a newborn rhino. And now I was sweating, which was creating some sort of slather-mango-goo in my knee pits.
I grabbed the towel and buffed off some of the excess lotion. Ten minutes ago my skin had been drier than the Serengeti, but now I was like a human slip and slide. Hale was going to glide right off of me. I threw on some deodorant and wrapped myself in a towel.
Oh, condom! Right.
The bathroom was annihilated, but I was clean and ready for the sex. I opened the door to find Hale reclining on a chair, finishing a cocktail. Oh, he was fine. His collar was undone and his sleeves were rolled to his elbow. He raised an eyebrow. “You did shower.”
“Trust me, it needed to happen.”
He grinned, taking the last sip of his drink and placing the glass aside. “Come here.”
Breath filled my lungs as I sashayed over to him, resembling a cross between a drunken hooker and a newborn calf. This was why I needed him. I had no game in the boudoir, but Hale liked being in charge. I liked that he liked that very much.
I stood before him and he parted his knees, inviting me into his hemisphere. Taking hold of the towel, he tugged and I was naked.
“Oh, my.”
His gaze moved over me hungrily. “Fuck, I told myself you couldn’t be as beautiful as I remembered, but I was wrong. You surpass my memory.”
I preened happily because what girl didn’t like hearing that from a sexy man? “Yes, more talk like that, please.”
He sat up and pulled me onto his lap. My legs wedged between his hips and the chair as our mouths collided in a hungry kiss. Hands glided to my neck and pulled me closer as my hips ground against his hardening body.
“Jesus, Rayne,” he growled, catching my nipple in his mouth.
I arched and pulled at his shirt, those tiny, little buttons always making trouble. His fingers reached between us. Once his shirt was open my palms rode over his warm flesh, savoring every square inch of muscled, male flesh.
The first brush of his fingers between my legs had me trembling. I rose on my knees, granting him access. He pulled my mouth back to his as a finger slid deep into my sex. “Oh, God…”
He wasn’t gentle as he pumped his hand between my legs, but I’d have it no other way. Panting, I rode his touch and bit at his shoulder as he sucked hard on my nipple. My fingers pressed into his back where muscle tightened like twisted rope. A moan broke from my throat as the first trembles of an orgasm took hold. It was intense and quick, but we were far from finished.
Slithering down his lap I dropped my knees to the carpet and quickly unlatched his belt. Hale was a big man, and right now he was hard as a rock, so it was no easy task getting his pants off. In all of my excitement, I fell back trying to remove his shoe, but I quickly righted myself and grinned.
Hale steadied me with a hand and smiled. “My agile lady of grace.”
I smirked, hearing his adoration buried in sarcasm. Then my focus returned to his dick. “Oh, Prince Everhard, we meet again.”
Hale chuckled and brushed a gentle caress down my cheek. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d take pleasure from doing this to a man, but there was something to be said about doing it to Hale. I loved the way he watched me, held me, and lost himself when I took him into my mouth. Leaning over his lap, I winked and got to work.
He hissed in a breath and cupped the back of my head, pressing me down. Heat stroked over my tongue as I used my lips to add suction. My scalp tingled as his fingers knotted in my damp hair and then I was moving.
My hands slipped between us, cupping and massaging. He groaned as the muscles in his stomach and thighs bunched and flexed. “Christ, baby, don’t stop.”
I was terrible at dirty talk, but Hale had a way of making me say absolutely anything. One time I’d even yelled out ranch dressing during sex. I don’t know why. Who knows how my brain works? He was always so good with the naughty words, I think I just wanted to add something.
“Enough,” he slurred, pulling me back. “I need to be inside of you. Now.”
Before I could stand, he lifted me off the floor and tossed me onto the bed. His rock- hard body blanketed mine, his flesh scorching hot. My legs wrenched apart as his tongue trailed up my inner thigh and found my money spot.
Arching, I cried out as his lips closed over my clit and his fingers filled me. He was a man possessed. His mouth was everywhere, biting, sucking, licking. And those fingers, slick with my arousal, slid deep until I was coming again.
He crawled up my trembling body and—Yup, that was his penis. My eyes went wide as he sank into me and I moaned long and slow. “You forgot a condom.”
Catching his breath, he rested his forehead on my shoulder. “Just give me a minute here. I’ll put one on.”
I didn’t want him to pull out anyway. For over three long weeks, I’d been horribly depressed and he was finally here. Something about having him inside me… It was like finding my anchor in a rocky sea of confusion where my life had shipwrecked.
My hand brushed over the back of his soft hair. “I love you.”
Lifting his gaze to mine, he leaned forward and kissed me tenderly. “I love you too, Rayne. God, I missed this—us.”
The slight shift of his body as he brought his lips to mine buried him deeper and we groaned through a kiss, the passion reaching an agonizing tease of pleasure. Slowly, he drew back and cursed. Neither of us wanted to interrupt the intimate reunion.
My fingers dug into his shoulders, holding him on the brink of his withdrawal. My heel pressed into his ass. I didn’t want to stop. Again, I knew we should, because condoms were good, but he felt so incredible where he was.
“I should put on a condom.”
My mouth pouted. My brain so addled I couldn’t recall where I was in my cycle. Damn it. Stupid math. “Fine.”
He withdrew and was back a second later. When he slipped back inside of me I gasped. That wasn’t so bad. I was definitely going on the pill though because there was a difference. He thrust, and my worries about birth control and other nonsense rushed out of my head as I clung to him.
His long, chiseled body rocked over mine, pressing me into the bedding as I breathed out little, needy moans. Muscles bunched under my fingertips as he penetrated deeper. His mouth teased over my throat as my chest mashed to his, delicious friction that had me clinging tighter to his broad shoulders. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t get close enough.
“More,” I cried, and he caught my knee, lifting my leg to his shoulder as he pounded into me.
The bed banged against the wall as he took me relentlessly. My cries built in a crescendo of pleas begging him to never stop. At one point I might have suggested he move into my vagina, forward his mail, and build a fort there.
I mentioned I wasn’t good at the sexy talk.
Sweat slicked our skin as it went on and on. I swear, a ballistic missile could have hit the bed and we would have kept on fucking. It was a hell of a way to go.
He’d made me come countless times and I was shocked he still managed to hold out. When his gaze finally found mine he slowed, his face a picture of devotion with love and affection banked in the depths of those silver eyes. That was Hale. No matter how intensely he came at me, no matter how raw we were, when he finished he always made sure I was looking at him so I could see the love in his eyes.
“I love you, baby.” He thrust deep and shivered.
My hands slid down his back and I let out a long exhale as his weight settled over me. “Wow.”
Lifting his body, he gently kissed me and slowly withdrew. “Shit.”
That didn’t sound right. “Problem?” I slurred because words would soon be beyond my ability.
“The condom broke.”
And there went my post-coital bliss. I eased up on my elbows. Hale was already standing. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Damn. Are we … safe?”
“Uh…” My head tried to do the math, but all my little brain minions were lounging around in silk robes, smoking cigarettes with sex-glazed eyes. “We should be fine.” No sense in worrying. Later, I’d look at a calendar and check for sure.
He disappeared into the bathroom. “What the hell did you do in here?”
“Girlie things. Shut up.”
He returned and fell onto the bed, pulling me into every nook of his long body. My butt nestled into his hips and I sighed. There was nothing like being held by Hale.
I was feeling rather sexy until my stomach rumbled. “Sorry.”
“Are you hungry?”
I laughed. “You know, I actually am. I haven’t had an appetite in weeks.”
“I can order room service.”
“What about Elara and your family?”
“They can wait a while. My mom’s fine and Barrett probably went out.”
I was a little surprised his brother made the trip. Barrett was whom Elle referred to as The Hot One. Not that she’d ever met him in person, but the Davenports were on television all the time.
Hale had originally been deemed The Other One. Of course, that was before I actually met him. Although he wasn’t very photogenic, in person he had a devastating presence, the kind that shot right to the nipples and rendered women speechless.
Barrett... Well, he was so seriously hot he probably outranked Hale, but in a dangerous way. I much preferred Hale to all the other Davenports. There was just something mysterious and authoritative about him, something Barrett lacked.
Barrett knew he was good looking and never failed to flaunt it. He was an underwear model for crying out loud! Sometimes he was hard to look at, like the sun. Once I looked at him for a full ten seconds, and I think I hurt myself.
Hale was devastating in a whole different way because he didn’t boast openly about his prowess or sex appeal. But it was there. Oh, it was there.
“What do you want to eat?” He gave me a little nudge with his nose as his lips pressed into my shoulder.
“You.”
He chuckled. “You had me.”
“I want you again.” I nestled my bottom against him and his hand cupped my breast, massaging gently.
“So you don’t want food? That’s not like you.”
I wasn’t overweight. I mean, I had fluffy parts, but my metabolism usually kept me pretty fit. However, I loved food, especially sweets, but lately, my life had been so chaotic I’d been surviving off vending machines. “I wish you’d brought Laurent.” Laurent was Remington’s chef and his food was to die for. I’d give anything to eat one of his beignets right now.
“What’s good in Oregon?”
“We’re known for fruit. I want something a little more savory than that.”
His smile curved against my shoulder. “Are you feeling like a carnivore?”
“Mmm. Yes.”
While Hale ordered dinner I cleaned up my mess in the bathroom. My lady bits were delightfully sore and I loved traipsing around the hotel room naked.
“Make it two baked potatoes,” he told the person on the phone.
I peeked out the curtains and gasped. All of Oregon was out there. We should totally do it against this window. I was pretty sure we were high enough that no one would recognize me.
“Thank you. Just leave it outside the door.” The phone clicked as he laid it back in the cradle. “There was a time you couldn’t bear being naked in front of me.”
He grinned and folded his arms behind his head, his legs stretching across the rumpled bedding—dick just dancing in the wind. Hale had never been shy about nudity.
I turned and pushed my butt between the curtains. “I’m totally mooning Oregon right now.”
He laughed. “Get over here.”
Prancing to the bed, I jumped and landed on my knees. “I can’t believe you’re here.” Leaning in, I kissed him. “Your dad has his cast off. How’s that going?”
“It’s going. He’s in Maine right now.”
“Maine? What’s he doing there?”
“Checking on things. I expect he’ll be traveling for a while. By the end of those six weeks, he had severe cabin fever.”
“Well, he better take it easy. He’s still got some healing to do.”
Remington was old, but he had the energy of jarred lightning. Still, he was old and shouldn’t push too hard too fast. I worried for the old bugger.
“You try telling him that.” Hale pulled me to his chest and I snuggled into him.
“I love hotels. I don’t know why, but they always make me happy. I think it’s the fresh towels and room service.”
He made a sound that he’d heard me, but no other response came. Hale had gotten that sort of luxury treatment all his life. Even at home, there was a wait staff and turn-down service.
His soft lips teased my temple. “Did you have plans tonight?”
I did, but they changed the minute I saw him. “I was going to go to the hospital for a bit.”
“How long do you usually visit?”
Not that I thought he would mind the long hours I sat at Elle’s bedside, but I didn’t feel like getting another lecture about not taking care of myself. Tyler and my mom already reprimanded me for not getting enough sleep or eating regularly. “I usually go for a few hours after work.”
“When do visiting hours end?”
Visiting hours didn’t apply to me. They should, but those nurses never got me out of there by eight. Some nights I slept on the loveseat, despite being told I had to leave. “They’re not real strict.”
“We can take a ride over after dinner.”
I pressed a cheek to his chest and smiled. Hale had never met Elle, but he knew she was important to me. “Thank you.”
After we ate I changed into my clothes and grabbed the things I needed to take with us to the hospital. Hale made a quick call to his mom to check on Elara and told her we’d be back in an hour. I tried not to panic over his timeline, but an hour wasn’t enough Elle time.