My mind spun with possibilities about how I could convince her to come back to Manhattan with me. I could take care of her. She didn’t need the lodge.
But that was the problem. She wanted the lodge. She was not the kind of woman that wanted to be taken care of. It would destroy that bright light I had been drawn to in the very beginning.
I didn’t want to be responsible for taking away her joy. But I knew we were past that.
She parked near the lodge, and as had become our tradition over the past few days, I walked her to her door.
“Do you have a big day tomorrow?” I asked, not wanting the evening to end but running out of reasons to prolong it.
She shook her head. I caught a flash of sadness in her eyes. “We don’t have big days around here anymore unless we’re preparing for a special event. The next one is Christmas Eve.”
The reminder of how much her family was struggling hit me like a punch to the gut. They should be bustling with activity. The lodge should be fully booked with guests, preparing for their busiest season. Instead, they were barely hanging on, and I was about to make everything so much worse.
I felt bad. Why didn’t people know about this place? They should have advertised more. How could people not want to come here? I had never heard of the place. If more people knew, maybe they wouldn’t be going bankrupt.
“Can I come in?” I asked.
It was bold. And I wouldn’t have been surprised if she told me to pound sand.
She didn’t hesitate, just unlocked the door and pulled me inside greedily, like she’d been waiting for me to ask. We barely made it through the door before we were kissing.
The woman was insatiable.
Or maybe I was.
I kicked the door shut behind us without breaking the kiss. Her fingers tangled in my hair, tugging just hard enough to make me groan against her mouth. God, she was perfect. All soft curves and eager hands and that little breathy sound she made when I pressed her against the wall.
“Kent,” she whispered. Hearing my name on her lips like that nearly undid me. Damn, she was too sexy. Too hot. Too everything. It was sensory overload. I couldn’t kiss her fast enough. Touch her enough.
I pulled back to look at her, to make sure this was what she wanted. Her green eyes were dark with desire, her lips swollen from kissing, and when she reached for my shirt and started tugging at it with trembling fingers, I had my answer.
“You’re sure?” I asked anyway, because despite everything—despite the lies and the deception and the fact that I was going to destroy everything she loved—I needed her to want this. To want me.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything,” she said, and pulled me back to her.
I spun her around and pushed my body against hers. Breath whooshed from her lungs.
Her hands came up instinctively, but I caught her wrists and pinned them above her head against the cool wood. She gasped, her back arching slightly. I felt her pulse racing beneath my thumbs.
“Keep them there,” I commanded, my voice rough with need. She nodded, her eyes wide and trusting, and something primal in me roared to life.
I released her wrists but kept my eyes locked on hers, watching to see if she’d obey. She did, keeping her hands pressed flat against the wall above her head even as her chest rose and fell rapidly.
“Good girl,” I murmured, and was rewarded with a soft whimper that went straight through me.
For the second time that night, I stripped her naked. I kissed the back of her neck and over her bare shoulders, savoring every inch of smooth skin I revealed. She was trembling now from anticipation. From want.
“You have no idea what you do to me,” I said against her neck, my teeth grazing her pulse point. She tilted her head back, giving me better access, her breathing becoming more ragged.
“Kent, please.”
“Please what?” I pulled back to look at her, my hands stilling on her waist. “Tell me what you want, Sylvie.”
The way she said my name again, breathless and needy, nearly broke my control. But I held back, waiting. I needed to hear her say it.
“I want you,” she whispered. “All of you.”
I pulled back enough to unbuckle my belt and jeans, freeing my achingly hard cock from my boxers. Thank God I had another condom in my pocket. I jerked it out, ripped it open with my teeth, and quickly rolled it on.
