“This was my grandfather’s study. It hasn’t been used since he passed.”
Alexa turned now, crossing her arms over her chest. He’d changed his clothes, and thankfully put a shirt on. His hair was still damp, as was hers, but he looked...exhausted. Not merely tired, but absolutely worn down, almost beaten and defeated.
A piece of her softened because she truly had no idea what Hayes had gone through. If he’d open up just a little, maybe she could help. Then again, they’d just met and someone like Hayes wasn’t about to bare his soul. She’d bet her entire year’s salary that he’d been appointed a counselor through the military and had balked at talking to a professional. Someone like Hayes would think he could get through the difficult times on his own, or maybe he’d enlist the help of his brothers. But he was strong and determined, and not about to admit any type of weakness.
Hayes took a step inside the room. “What happened earlier—”
“Won’t happen again.”
He stopped a few feet from her and lifted one dark brow. “Is that right?”
“I’m pretty positive, considering the way you backed away from me.”
Not to mention the fact that she hadn’t missed how he’d closed up when she’d flashed images of Mason. Some men just weren’t interested in children. Which was fine, it wasn’t like she was about to take Hayes home or anything.
Hayes’s lips quirked into a grin. Damn that man for being sexy and for making her want him. He’d touched her, kissed her, teased the hell out of her, and that orgasm hadn’t done a thing to rid her of this desire. Now she wasn’t just fighting attraction—she was trying to fend off the memories of how amazing he’d made her feel.
“Darlin’.” He took another step closer “I set out to seduce you.”
“Really? You have a terrible way of going about that.”
He stopped just beside the cloth-covered sofa and leaned a hip against the arm. “You threw me for a loop when I saw you down in the stables and then to have you stranded here didn’t help. But seeing you in my clothes, the way they plastered all over your curves, made me snap.”
“How is that a problem?” she asked, her heart revving up all over again at his bold declarations. “I thought we were both on the same page.”
He shook his head and glanced down to his hands. “We were until my mind started lying to me again and I went to war with myself.”
Alexa padded across the hardwood toward him. “Don’t be so cliché to say ‘it’s not you, it’s me.’”
“My entire life is a damn cliché,” he snorted. “You recall my fiancée and my CO, but I’ll save you the sob story. In this instance, though, it was me. Damn it, I still want you, but...”
He shook his head and glanced toward the windows, where the rain skewed the view.
“You can’t leave that sentence hanging.”
Those dark eyes came back to hold her. “You don’t seem like you’d be happy with a fling and I would honestly be using you to fill a void.”
He’d be using her? Did he know how long it had been since a man looked at her the way he did? Did he realize that in the past two years she hadn’t taken an interest in anyone at all and everything about him had her practically begging? She’d been turned on well before he made her come apart, and now that she knew what he was capable of...well...
“You don’t know what type of girl I am,” she countered. “No, I don’t do flings, which should tell you something, considering I want you, too. But standing around chatting about it isn’t helping either one of us. We’re stuck here, we’re attracted to each other and we’re adults with our eyes wide open.”
“What do you suggest?”
Alexa knew it was a risk, but she kept her eyes locked with his as she pulled her tank over her head and clutched it at her side.
“I suggest you finish what you started and quit worrying. Do you want me or not, cowboy?”
* * *
Holy—
Was she really doing this? After the way he’d treated her and acted like a complete jerk, Alexa stood before him wearing her lacy bra and hip-hugging jeans. With that midnight-black hair flowing around her shoulders, framing her mesmerizing face, she held all the power. His resolve had evaporated...if he’d truly ever had it to begin with where this vixen was concerned.
What was it about her? Her looks were definitely striking, but there was so much more. Her no-nonsense attitude, the vulnerability she tried to hide, her compassion he kept pushing away while she thrust it in his face anyway.
“Alexa.”
She raised a brow and propped her hands on her hips. “I’ve seen the way you look at me, Hayes. I know this isn’t some fairy tale or promise of commitment. We’re adults, we’re stranded, we’re attracted. It’s like the trifecta for a fling.”
He laughed. Damn if this woman wasn’t saying everything a man would want to hear. No-strings sex? What the hell was he waiting on? She’d already come apart in his arms, so he knew the desire was there.
Just because he was ready to rip the rest of their clothes off didn’t mean he could stop worrying. She wasn’t like other women who threw themselves into meaningless sex. He might have just met her, but that was one thing he knew for certain. So why him? Why now?
The Southern gentleman in him made him pause to assess the situation, but the Alpha male inside him was roaring to life and pumping with anticipation.
“Unless you’ve changed your mind—”
Hayes took one step to close the gap between them. Snaking his arms around her waist, he pulled her flush against him. “What do you think?”
“I think you better not go inside your head again and start thinking of all the reasons this isn’t a good idea.”
“It’s not a good idea.”
She trembled against him and threaded her fingers through his hair. “Do you really care?”
“Hell no.”
He crushed his lips to hers, his need growing even more when she moaned and arched herself against him. Just one touch and the woman damn near exploded. He’d never been a one-night stand type of guy; he left that to his brother Beau. But if Hayes was going to have one, Alexa was perfect. She knew full well going in exactly what this was...and what it wasn’t.
Hayes shifted his hands and gripped her backside, needing to feel her hips against his. She opened her mouth wider, taking more and giving just as much. Her fingertips trailed down and found the hem of his shirt. She tugged until he eased back just enough to be free of the unwanted garment.
When her hands went to the waistband of his jeans, Hayes gripped her wrists. “Protection.”
Her lids lowered, her shoulders sagged as she blew out a frustrated sigh. “Obviously that’s not something I carry with me, especially when I go out of town alone.”
Disappointment rolled off her, but Hayes nipped at her lips. “My bedroom.”
He might not have planned to be intimate since returning home, but that didn’t mean he was a fool, either. And right now, he was beyond thankful he’d grabbed a box of condoms when he’d gone out for other necessities at the drug store.
A naughty smile spread across her face. “Then it looks like we’re in the wrong room.”
Hayes lifted her against him, forcing her to wrap her arms around his neck and legs around his waist. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get where you need to go.”
Those