“I could use a large cup of coffee, and a gigantic breakfast. I feel like I ran a marathon,” he said with a laugh.
His positive mood was a good thing. She’d just take her cue from him.
“The coffee sounds wonderful, but I need a hot shower first,” she said as she stretched her legs out and felt the soreness in her thighs. Feeling it made a grin spread across her face. She’d take her workouts beneath him any day over on top of a treadmill.
“Scratch what I said before. I’ll join you — coffee can wait.” His mouth was doing wicked things to her body, but she couldn’t go there again so soon. Maybe after a day of rest…
“I think I’ll take the shower alone for the sake of my sore…muscles,” she replied, giggling.
“Ah, you have no imagination,” he said with a wolfish grin, but his grasp loosened as he sat up in bed, then gently gripped her beneath the arms to help her up, slinging one of his arms around her back so she was still snuggled against him.
The feel of his hand massaging her back had her melting into him. His touch could turn her on fire, or soothe away her fears. A very talented man.
Her heart suffered a sudden pang of alarm while he held her in his arms. Many times she’d see lovers embracing in a park, or cozying up together at the movies. She’d envied their obvious ease in each other’s company. Now that she was getting a taste of it, she feared having to give it up.
Idly, her fingers stroked along his chest, memorizing the map of his toned muscles. She could sit like this the rest of the day and feel that there was no better thing to do in the world. Who needed to get up and work when they had a strong man to hold them in his arms all day, instead?
“I’m loving just holding you, Haley, but my body has other ideas. I don’t know how, but it does. If you don’t run away to the shower soon, I can’t be held responsible for my actions,” he warned with a playful nip on her shoulder.
The heck with being sore. It was worth it to have him pressed against her. As if he could read her thoughts, he gently shifted her away and rose from the bed with a pained but resolute expression across his beautiful features.
As he turned, her eyes were glued to his magnificent backside while he walked toward his discarded clothes and bent over. The muscles flexing in his legs were a sight to behold. She’d never been interested in painting, but as the early morning sun streamed down on his rock-hard body, she suddenly had a desire for a paintbrush and canvas. Perfection such as his should be recorded for all time.
Inspiration hit when she saw her new cell phone on the nightstand. With a quick lunge, she snatched it up and focused on his bare behind, then snapped a couple of shots. He turned incredulous eyes on her when he heard the click.
“All right, woman, get your shower. I’ll have breakfast waiting when you come out,” he said, glaring at her small black device before coming back over and giving her a lingering kiss. A low growl escaped his throat, but he turned and walked from the room.
Haley savored the moment, closing her eyes, leaning her head back, and inhaling deeply. She allowed herself to just soak it all in and think of nothing other than the fast rhythmic tempo of her heart. He was a heartbreaker — she had no doubt about that — but she was just too satisfied, too relaxed to care about that right now.
Finally getting up, she showered quickly, eager for that cup of coffee. Finding his oversized robe, she wrapped it around her body, then followed her nose to the smell of rich brewed espresso.
Crew was sitting at the table reading the paper while he sipped on a steaming mug, and she joined him, preparing her cup before grabbing a warm cinnamon roll and taking a bite, sighing as the fresh cinnamon, sugar and melted butter dripped on her tongue.
“Let’s move your things in,” he said, not looking up from his newspaper.
Haley’s eyes bolted up, her bite turning to sawdust in her mouth. Was he speaking to her?
“Excuse me?” she managed to mumble after a strained pause.
“I want you to move out of your room and come stay with me,” he replied as he put the paper down, his eyes gazing steadily back at her.
How did she reply to this? She hadn’t known him long enough to stay in his suite. That was insane, wasn’t it?
“I, ah, don’t think that would be wise,” she replied, automatically lifting her cup and taking a fortifying sip of her coffee, hoping the caffeine would clear the cobwebs from her brain.
“I plan on spending every night with you anyway, so wouldn’t it be much easier to just have your items here? This is a resort, Haley. It’s not like I’m asking you to give up your house,” he said as if he were making the most logical statement ever.
“Well, I just like to have my space,” she murmured.
He paused for a moment, looking at her quizzically. “Where do you live, anyway?”
It was a perfectly rational question, but she’d seem pathetic if she told him the truth. Dread filled her that he might realize she was indeed pitiful, and then end what they had barely even started.
“It doesn’t matter. I think we’re fine the way we are. So, any good articles in your paper?” Maybe she could sidetrack him with a change of subject.
Her ploy didn’t work.
“Come on, Haley. Give me something,” he said, then leaned across the table and grasped her free hand. She took another sip of coffee, scalding her tongue slightly.
“I live in Seattle in an apartment,” she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
“That’s not so bad. Why are you hesitant to tell me?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t like to give out too much information about myself. I guess it’s from the years of having to be self-reliant. It’s difficult for me to share…” she trailed off.
Crew looked at her strangely, just as she’d expected him to. She was hard to understand. Heck, she couldn’t really understand herself. How was she supposed to explain it to him?
“Did you have any other family you could turn to? I know your grandparents should have been drawn and quartered for the way they treated you, but was there anyone else in your life at all?”
This was a subject that Haley absolutely hated speaking about. No. She hadn’t had anyone in her life but the servants at her grandparents’ place, and even those relationships had faltered over the years. She hated dwelling on how alone she truly was. She’d fantasized about being part of a large, loving family, but had given up on that dream years before. She didn’t want him to fully comprehend how messed up her life was. This sharing of her past and present wasn’t what she’d signed on for.
“I had some rough years with my grandparents, as you know. I have fought against all the doubts they instilled in me since I got away from that ‘home,’ but I tend to psych myself out about it all too often. Going to school has really helped, but at the end of the day when I look in the mirror, I still see this person whom nobody wanted. I promise it’s getting better, but I’ve just had to do whatever it takes to make it day by day. If I think too far ahead, I get overwhelmed, and that’s when I find myself start sinking within myself.” She held her breath, waiting for him to roll his eyes and give up on her. She was too crazy for a man like Crew, who had it all together.