I nestled against him, my face buried in the side of his neck, holding on like I’d never held on to anyone before. No matter how many times my brain told me to be careful, my treacherous heart told me it was okay. Remy was the one. The one for what remained to be seen, but right now and for the foreseeable future? He was everything I’d ever dreamed of.
“You okay, babe?” His soft, gravelly voice made my insides clench with longing and my battered soul give in to what it wanted.
“I need you,” I whispered.
“Breakfast will be here any minute,” he whispered back. “Can you hang on until then?”
We laughed together, softly, our lips lightly touching.
The knock on the door made us jump but Remy got up, holding me in his arms, and gently put me on the bed before padding over to open the door.
“Thanks, Vera,” he said. “Smells wonderful.”
A moment later she was gone and he’d put the tray with our breakfast on the dresser. Before I could say anything, he stripped off his sweats and T-shirt and crawled under the covers.
“I believe you’re wearing too many clothes,” he said, giving me a look that made my insides quiver expectantly.
I wiggled out of the layers of clothes I’d been wearing and then crawled back under the covers next to Remy, our bodies close together. But instead of ravishing me the way he usually did, Remy just lay there, trailing the fingers of one hand along my hairline, my jaw, my collarbone.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured. “I love looking at you.”
“I love the way you look at me,” I admitted breathlessly. “No one’s ever looked at me like they really see me.”
“I can’t see anyone else when you’re in the room,” he said, leaning in to kiss me. And again, the passion was there, but it simmered beneath the surface while his focus was on teasing and seducing me. As if I needed to be seduced. I was so far gone for this guy, all he had to do was look at me and I melted.
We kissed tenderly. Not rushing, not intensifying, just touching and exploring like it was the first time all over again. And it was wonderful.
“Do you trust me, Noelle?” His voice was barely a whisper against my ear and I couldn’t help but hesitate.
“I’m trying,” I whispered back.
“Are you protected against pregnancy?”
I nodded. “Yes, I have an IUD.”
“Do you trust me to make love to you without a condom?”
“I…yes.” There was no other answer because I knew he’d wear one if I said no, but I didn’t want to say no. Not to this, not to anything. How could I trust him with my whole being if I didn’t even trust him to be healthy and safe?
His eyes locked with mine and he slid into me without another word. His forehead dropped to mine and he didn’t move.
“This is the best part,” he said, nipping at my lips. “Just being inside you and enjoying the intimacy, before we lose control.”
I sighed happily, my eyes fluttering closed because while maybe it wasn’t the best part, it was definitely up there. “Mmhm.”
“And now that I have your undivided attention, tell me what you want.”
I forced my eyes open, trying to focus on his words instead of everything I was feeling. “Um…is this a trick question.”
He shook his head, slowly pulling almost all the way out and then stopping.
“This isn’t fair.”
He chuckled. “Did I ever claim to play fair?”
“What do I want in what regard?” I asked when I realized he wasn’t going to move until I answered his question.
“The thing you want most.”
I gazed up at him as a million thoughts raced through my mind. But only one thing stood out; the only thing that mattered. “You.”
He pushed back in with enough force to make us both grunt. “Don’t say what I want to hear,” he growled. “The truth.”
“You.”
He started to move again, slow and methodical, as if testing out every inch of me to see what made me squirm.
“A new place to live?” he panted. “A new car? What else?”
I shook my head, finding it a little hard to concentrate. “Just you.”
“Aw, fuck, Noelle.” His mouth fused to mine and everything blurred into a hazy cloud of ecstasy. His body, my body, our mingled breaths. I was helpless to do anything but go along for the ride.
* * *
With our bodies spent and our hearts still hammering, neither of us said anything for a long time. He’d rolled off of me and we were on our backs side by side, fingers laced between us.
“Come to Florida with me,” he said after a while.
“I can’t,” I said sadly. “We never got the passport thing done.”
“I’m going to get my attorney to handle it, okay? I’d mentioned it to him and there are services that will expedite it for us. Is that all right with you?”
I nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
“I don’t know what it’ll take to get a tourist or resident visa for you, but I’ll have him work on that too. I think you can come for a few months before we have to worry about it.”
“And then what?” I asked quietly. “I can’t leave the arena for a few months and then just come back like I wasn’t gone.”
“I know.” He turned onto his side. “You trust me, right?”
I looked into his eyes. “Didn’t we already have this conversation?”
“Then I’m going to take care of everything. As soon as the shops open, we’re going to go Christmas shopping and then we’re heading back to Vancouver to spend time with my family.”
I bit my lip. “Remy?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“I’d like to spend a little time with Connie. I think she’s going to dump Craig after Christmas and I don’t think they have anything to eat or gifts for the kids.”
“Then we’ll add Christmas-for-Connie-and-family to our shopping list.”
Tears unexpectedly welled in my eyes and I swiped at them. “I keep wanting to say no, that it’s too much.”
“Listen to me.” He gently gripped my chin between two of his fingers. “This isn’t about making you or anyone else feel bad. Do you know how much money I donate to random charities every year? Tens of thousands. And none of it means anything other than tax write-offs and occasionally some good press. This? This is much more important because it’s personal. I’m going to give every single employee at the rink a Christmas bonus of a thousand dollars. Because I can and because I want to. I’m going to give Connie and the kids and that fuckhead she’s engaged to a Christmas they’ll never forget. Not because of you, but because I feel good doing nice things for others. I’m going to give Rudy and Vera a gift card for enough gas to keep that generator running for a year. And if you know of anyone else in town who’s hurting, who needs help but is too proud to ask for it, tell me who and I’ll find a way to make their holidays and lives better too.”
“How are you such a good guy?”
“I dunno.” He cocked his head. “You look like you’re going to cry. Does me being nice make you want to cry?”