A Chance This Christmas(39)
She wanted to be there for him. For Gavin.
She would take the risk with her heart for this man because she loved him. It occurred to her now that she hadn’t come to Yuletide to make peace with Luke—or the town—at all. Her need to return had been tied to this man from the start.
“I know you’re leaving after the wedding.” She gripped his lapels lightly while inside the ballroom the violinist played the final notes of a last song to end the night, stretching out the refrain in a bittersweet ending. “But that doesn’t change anything for me. I want to be with you tonight, Gavin.”
Not giving him time to think about an answer, a denial, or a reasoned argument, Rachel found her courage. Arching up on her toes, she pressed her lips to his.
*
The need to be with her roared in Gavin’s ears. Low and insistent at first, like the rumble of an oncoming avalanche. And then, as her soft lips made a sweet, unspoken promise to his, the rumble turned to a ground-shifting, seismic quake.
He crushed her to him, caught up in the moment and the delicate gift of her bare arms wrapping around his neck, her body pressed thoroughly to his. Chivalrous notions took flame, burned away by the words that had torched over him.
I want to be with you.
He could still hear the echo of a statement that turned his world upside down faster than any aerial jump. And they hadn’t even left the shadowy nook off the hotel lobby.
“Come on.” He broke away from her abruptly, before he lost that ability. Hanging on to sanity by a thread, he shoved open a door to a fire stairwell, sucking in deep breaths of cooler air as he drew her upward with him. “We can talk upstairs.”
He palmed the keycard for his room and toed open the door to the third floor, holding it wide for her. Rachel hurried past him, her blue skirt swishing as she moved, everything about her a sweet temptation. He matched her step, guiding her toward his suite, his brain struggling to work past the attraction. To think his way through it. She couldn’t possibly mean what he thought she meant.
Except, as he turned the handle to admit them to the living area decorated in Adirondack furnishings and green plaid accents, Rachel stepped inside with a determined sense of purpose.
It was apparent in the set of her shoulders as she shrugged out of her cape and the lace jacket she’d worn over her dress. More apparent in the way she plucked a pin from her hair and sent dark waves cascading over her shoulders.
Speechless, Gavin closed the distance between them, any reason why he should refuse drying up like dust on his tongue. Steadying her—or maybe himself—by holding her upper arms, he drew her closer. He took his time falling captive to her heated blue gaze tracking his every movement. Finally, he cupped her chin and tilted her head, perfecting the angle for a taste.
Everything about her was exquisite, from the peppermint glide of her tongue along his to the fresh apple fragrance of her hair. Little satin flowers slid out of the dark mass as he raked his fingers through it, letting the silky strands glide over his hands.
The back of her neck was so soft. The skin above the zipper to her dress even softer. His hands skimmed all over her, learning the ways she liked to be touched by the way her breath caught on a sigh or her teeth captured her lip.
He’d burned to touch her for days, but he’d been prepared to get on that plane tomorrow without giving himself the satisfaction. Knowing he might not be able to keep his promise to his team with her siren’s voice in his ear, her laughter—her happiness—a sound he could grow addicted to.
She slid off his tie, her fingers stealthily unfastening buttons, gliding over bare skin. Pressing a kiss to the center of his chest, she folded his shirt back and off his shoulders, taking the tie with it.
He walked her backward through the suite, grateful he’d left the living room lights on so he could see where he was going…toward the separate bedroom with a king-sized bed that housekeeping had helpfully turned down for the night. He swiped aside the chocolates on the pillow before she tumbled onto the mattress with him in a tangle of limbs and hair, her soft giggle floating over him.
Rolling her to her side, he kissed away the straps of her dress, letting them slip off each shoulder with a gentle nudge. She helped him at first, wriggling and arching to free herself of the rest of the dress, but when he insisted on taking his time, she lay back and watched, her hair spilling over the ivory sheets.
He couldn’t get enough of her taste, her scent. By the time he had their clothes off, they were both breathless. Ready. He could see her well enough in the light from the outer room through the half-open door, her cheeks flushed pink. A surge of protectiveness slammed him, the need to keep her safe and please her overriding his own pleasure.
Overriding everything. Shoving off the bed, he stalked into the bathroom and found a condom in his shaving kit, a prank gift from the younger guys on the snowboard cross team who thought nothing of one-night encounters. For Gavin, it had to mean more.
No question, with Rachel, it meant everything.
The knowledge socked him square in the chest as he returned to the bedroom to find her tucked in the sheets, hugging the pillow beside her. He didn’t know what it meant. But he hadn’t wanted this night to end. Had been ready to trade anything for a chance to explore the attraction.
And now? She was giving him the most precious gift he could have imagined.
“Are you sure about this?” He needed her to be one hundred percent certain.