Joseph emphatically agreed. “A good woman is not something to treat lightly. You hold on tight and pray she never lets you go. I’ve been with my Katherine for over forty years now, and not a day goes by that I’m not grateful to have found her.”
“Yes, I’ve been blessed by having two great loves in my life. The last ten years with Esther have been a blessing, and I don’t know what I’d do without her,” George added.
“I’d give anything to have a woman to hold my heart close to hers. I haven’t given up,” Richard added with sadness.
“Don’t you worry, Brother! We’ll find you a bride,” Joseph said with excitement.
“Oh, no you won’t, Joseph. If love finds me, then it does, but I don’t need my brothers meddling in my life,” Richard said with a glare.
“You three argue about it. I’ll see you tonight.” With that, Crew picked Haley up in his arms and left the room. The sound of the men whistling followed them to the door.
Crew’s he-man act embarrassed her, but she melted against him. The strength of his arms as they flexed beneath her back, the feel of his tight abs pressing against her side, and the look of hunger in his eyes had her breath trapped in her throat.
“You are in quite the mood, aren’t you?” she teased as he rounded a corridor behind the bar and headed to his office.
“I’ve missed you,” he answered simply.
Her heart warmed at the thought.
“I like spending time with your dad and uncles. They are stubborn and ornery and I love every minute of it.”
“I love being with them, too, but right now I’m going to love being with you,” he said as he walked through his office door, quickly shutting it and latching it behind him.
After he put her down on his desk, his mouth quickly seized hers, and she forgot all about scotch, poker, and amusing old threes of a kind. Hunger washed through her as Crew unbuttoned her blouse, exposing her lace bra within seconds.
“Well, why didn’t you just say so?” she gasped as his mouth moved down her throat, and then sucked a hardening nipple through the delicate lace. She leaned back and cried out in pleasure.
He was moving quickly, and Haley wouldn’t have had it, or him, any other way. She wanted him to take her fast and hard, make her scream in pleasure again and again.
His hand found her front clasp and released her breasts so he could stroke them, tease them, and make her stomach ripple with need.
Running his arm across the surface of the desk, he flung everything there to the floor, then lay her down, unbuttoning her skirt and yanking it and her panties free, leaving her bare before him.
“I can’t ever get over how breathtaking you are. I look upon you and wonder how I ever got to be the lucky one who gets to bury myself deep within your heat, kiss every delicate piece of your skin, and then hold you all night while you dream of tomorrow,” he whispered, his eyes slowly moving across her body.
Oh, my gosh, the man knew what to say. She was a quivering mess as he ran his hands up her thighs and pushed them apart, leaving her wide open for his hungry gaze.
Suddenly his mouth descended, and she did indeed cry out when he fastened on to her swollen womanhood and turned her heat into an inferno. Lying back on her elbows, she called out his name as he stroked her flames higher, bringing her to the brink of pleasure before…stopping.
“Kiss me,” he demanded as he moved up her body, his clothing gone. When on earth had that happened? She didn’t know.
Instead of plundering her mouth as he’d done earlier — which she happened to like, a lot —he hovered over her, lightly brushing his lips across hers as his hands framed her face. The sweet moment brought tears to her eyes.
Heat and passion she could take, and take, and take. This loving, slow exploration of her mouth and mind dropped her to her knees. Trying not to shout her love for him, she deepened the kiss, knowing he was close to losing all control.
“I need you, Haley. I always need you,” he said as he aligned their bodies together. As he rested the thick head of his erection against her for just a moment, their eyes connected, and they were one.
She was his for the taking, and she wouldn’t let go until the moment he forced her to.
Flames ripped through her again as he slowly sank deep within her folds, and then pounded against her flesh, rocking her closer and closer to the edge of pure pleasure. She felt the muscles in his back flexing as he pushed inside her, and she sucked in his moans of desire as their tongues twined together.
The faster and harder he thrust against her, the louder she cried out. More. Always more. She couldn’t get enough of him.
Just before she came apart, Crew lifted his mouth and looked deep into her eyes. “Mine, Haley. You are mine. Today. Tomorrow. The day after. I won’t let you go.”
She tried to refuse his words, tried to not let them plant within her heart, but as they shattered together, she felt her tears threatening to spill. Yes. She wanted to be his forever.
But wasn’t that what people said in the heat of passion? They felt emotions on a much deeper level, but those emotions burned out swiftly. Still, she allowed herself to cherish a tiny hope of forever as he wrapped her in his arms and carried her to his oversized chair in the corner, holding her as she pulled herself together.
Maybe she wouldn’t have to let him go. Maybe her today would last an eternity.
Chapter Twenty-Four
What are you so afraid of, Haley?”
Grabbing her shirt and covering herself, she turned away as she searched for her panties. Where were the stupid things? There was no way she would leave this office without them and risk the embarrassment of having a resort maid suck them up into her vacuum.
It had been bad enough when they’d been caught making out in the sauna like a couple of teenagers. She’d been utterly mortified. Crew, darn him, had just sat back with a big grin on his face while his poor employee had run from the room with excuses and a flushed face. But really, why was she thinking of that incident now?
Probably because she was afraid to face the conversation he was attempting to have. If she opened up to him only to be let down, she would be hurt, just as she always was. He had a family he could lean on — she had nobody. Why couldn’t he understand that?
Even knowing all along it wasn’t smart to do anything with him other than take him on as a teacher, she’d still managed to let her heart get involved. So now she was scrambling to build up some sort of defense against the inevitable pain.
He was selling the resort, probably in a matter of days, and after the sale closed, he’d move on to his next big adventure and she’d be by herself again. She used to deal with that just fine, but that was before meeting Crew.
“I’m not afraid of anything, Crew. I like the way things are with us, and I don’t see why you keep pushing me,” she finally said when he blocked the door.
“What is wrong with admitting that we’re good together?” His face was earnest, but she’d shared so much already. What would he think if he knew the depth of her feelings? He was the man out for a good time — not a happily-ever-after.
“We are good together. I don’t deny that,” she said, giving him something so he’d hopefully let the subject drop. She tried to make her tone light, but her soaring stress levels weren’t making it easy.