Dare to Resist (Wedding Dare, #0.5)(8)
A memory sucked her three years back in time.
After Tyler left the pool house, Colton retrieved his shirt from the floor of the dressing room and refused to meet her gaze. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. You were just…there, and it’s been a long time.”
Humiliation heated Kady’s face. God. If Tyler hadn’t walked in, she would’ve had sex with Colton—and this was what he thought of her? “What? Like, I was just any warm body?” she said, embarrassment shivering over her nakedness as his words battered against the affection she’d always felt for him, even when he made her crazy. “Like this wasn’t about me and you? Wow. And I thought you’d actually seen me tonight.”
Anger darkened his expression. “Of course I see you. I’ve always seen you.”
“No, you haven’t,” she said, crossing her arms over her breasts. It would take too long to fix the ties on her bikini top, and she didn’t feel like swimming anymore now anyway. Or staying at this party for a second longer. “You’ve always seen Tyler’s sister.”
He threw out his hands. “Well, you are Tyler’s little sister. What the hell do you want from me?”
“Not a thing.” Kady scooped up her top and paused, her hand on the dressing room door. “But think about what you just said, Brooks. You have no idea who I am.”
“Yeah? Well, you don’t know me, either.”
“Clearly,” she said, and then she slipped out the door.
“You okay?” Colton asked, expression serious.
Kady blinked out of the memory and shook off the phantom pain of the exchange. That was old news and she’d gotten over it, and they’d seen each other enough times since that night that awkwardness no longer lingered. “Yep,” she said, giving him a smile. “Ready to go see what lurks behind door number three?”
Colton tapped the plastic key chain against his hand. “Guess we better before the moaning starts.”
Chuckling, Kady turned and dashed toward Colton’s room—their room, now. “God forbid,” she called over her shoulder. “Bad enough I’ll have the image in my head. I don’t need the soundtrack. Hurry up.”
Colton walked toward her slowly, and though she was cold and wet and freaking out just a little, she couldn’t deny the way his almost calculated approach made her belly flip-flop. Tall, dark, beautiful, brooding… But not for her. Didn’t hurt to look though, did it? Her gaze dragged over the lean muscles of his body. Nope, didn’t hurt at all.
He jingled the key, then slipped it in the lock. “Here goes nothing.” The door swung open and he flicked at the light switch just inside.
“Oh,” Kady said. “Looks like third time’s a charm.” In the positive column was the fact that it was a rain-and-masturbator-free room. In the negative column was the fact that there was just one bed. As in, one. For both of them. She stepped inside, dropped her bags onto the little round table in front of the window, and slipped out of Colton’s coat.
The door clicked shut behind her and Colton settled his bag on the floor beside a chair. He lingered by the door for a long moment, hands on his hips as his gaze surveyed the typical motel accommodations. Did this room feel small or did Colton just seem to take up a lot of it? He took off his shoes, then turned on a few lamps, peeked into the bathroom, and generally checked things out.
Kady stepped out of her waterlogged heels, but then didn’t know what to do with herself. The rain drummed on the roof loud enough to compete with the whirr of the air-conditioning unit, which chilled her wet blouse and made her shiver. What she really wanted was a hot shower, but given the odd tension hanging in the air like a fog, she thought it might be a little early to start getting naked. “Well,” she said, shoving away the thought of Colton totally bared to her eyes. “I think I’ll check some email and return some calls.”
Colton ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah. Me, too. No doubt my in-box has exploded in the last eight hours.”
Taking a seat at the table, Kady smiled as she unpacked her laptop. “Guess that’s what happens when you’re the boss man, huh?” Two years ago, he’d opened his own computer security services firm in Boulder and immediately won contracts working with the military and defense contractors who prized his experience with the army’s Cyber Command both in the States and while deployed on field teams overseas. Truth be told, Kady envied the autonomy he had working for himself.
“Like you wouldn’t believe. But I haven’t found anyone I want to take on as a partner, yet.” With a sigh, he grabbed his laptop bag and settled into the chair across from her. A flash of lightning threw shadows over the table for a moment. “I brought a surge protector if you want to plug into that,” he said.
“That’s so awesome I’m not even going to crack a Boy Scout joke. This storm is crazy.”
Colton gave her a droll smile. “Your restraint is unparalleled.”
Ha! You have no idea, Colton. I’m trapped in a tiny room with the only man I know who’s capable of giving me an orgasm and I haven’t jumped him. Kady smiled to herself as she bent under the table to plug in her power cord, then she set up her laptop and hot spot and logged in to her firm’s network. She ran through a few easy emails and peeked over the top of her screen at her roommate. Brow furrowed in concentration, his brown eyes moved as if he were reading. She watched him for a moment, struck by the fact that it was…kinda nice to be sitting here working with him like this.