Page 35 of Westin

“Definitely.”

Lea brushed her fingers over the curve of his jaw, the roughness of his stubble an erotic texture that would have driven her crazy if it was on her own body, but turned her on to no end on him. She could already feel that scratchiness against her mouth, her throat, and that increased the ache that had been burning deep in her belly since the moment she set her eyes on him.

She rose up on her tiptoes and nibbled at his bottom lip, smiling when she saw the fire she’d lit in his eyes. “Why don’t you stay the night? I think we could both use a little release. Don’t you?”

“You’re relentless, aren’t you?”

“I’m going to let you in on a little secret, Westin. Women enjoy sex as much as men.”

“That’s not really a secret.”

“I’m not asking for a lifetime commitment. Just one night, just a little release.” She kissed the corner of his mouth, her hand sliding down his chest to the top of his jeans, snagging behind his belt buckle. “Just two adults giving each other a little pleasure.”

He groaned, stepping into her, pressing his body hard against hers. He captured her mouth, taking everything all at once, exploring her with a passion that sent shivers from her head to her toes. She sighed, tugging at his belt to pull him even closer, giving back as much as he was offering. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had made her toes curl. There’d been a few—a sweet boy back in high school who’d thrilled her despite his naïvety, and a boy in college who’d been exciting but more because of his endurance than anything else. But that had been longer ago than she cared to think about, a more innocent time she’d believed was gone from her life forever. And she had been right. But maybe a little wrong, too.

Something about Westin’s kiss sent her back to that time, awakening things inside of her that had long been dormant. Just looking into those stormy blue eyes made her have thoughts that were unlike her. She had these boxes in her head, in her heart, that kept everything compartmentalized. It was important in her work that she not get emotional, that she not get too attached to the people around her. It’d made her hard, and that made it difficult to make connections when she wasn’t working. So, this caught her by surprise, the way Westin somehow broke open a few of those boxes with just a look.

She was almost sad that this little vacation was almost over. But that was all it was. An impromptu vacation.

Westin ran his hand down her back, cupping her ass in the borrowed jeans she was wearing. His fingers were searching, and her body immediately responded, her muscles going slack to give him all the access she could. But his hand continued moving, grabbing her sore thigh, pulling her leg up along his side. She went willingly as he pulled her up, wrapped her legs around him, moaning with both pleasure and pain as her sore thighs cried out with the movement.

His hat fell off as she slipped her hands up along his skull, running her fingers through his thick, dark hair. He grunted, started to turn his head to see where his hat had gone, but she stopped him, a hand on his jaw. She wasn’t letting him escape her just yet.

“You’re something else,” he mumbled against her ear as his lips burned a trail along her throat. “You’d make a monk break his vows.”

She started to laugh, but his teeth nibbling against the curve of her shoulder turned her laugh into a groan. Hell, he knew what to do with that perfect mouth of his! And his hands on her ass were strong and curious, doing things through her jeans that she never could have imagined would feel half as good as they did. If he stopped now, she was pretty sure she would lose her mind.

At some point, the door popped open behind them. Logically, she knew he had to have turned the knob, but she wasn’t sure when or how. She was lost in the way his lips were moving against her throat, the heat of his breath and the pleasure of his touch. And then his mouth was back on hers, touching places inside her that hadn’t been touched in… hell, she was pretty sure they’d never been touched. At least not the way he was doing it.

Her head was spinning, and a part of her felt as though it was separating from reality, slipping into something else, something cosmic. She’d never felt anything quite like it before—like she was removed from her body, feeling everything in a way that was limited by the restraints of her physical being. Every point at which their bodies touched was like a hotspot, sending so much information to her brain that it was overwhelmed. Blown.

She wanted him so desperately that it almost hurt.

They stopped halfway down the corridor, slamming against the wall so hard she lost the air in her lungs for a minute. She didn’t care. If this was the last thing she ever felt, it would be worth it.

She wanted his jacket gone. It was so big and so bulky, and she craved the feel of his skin against hers. She started to tug at it, her fingers fumbling in their rush. He set her on her feet, the same idea on his mind. Almost like a gentle caretaker, he carefully pulled at the zipper, sliding it all the way down until it separated, exposing the soft sweater she wore underneath. He dropped to his knees and lifted the bottom edge of the sweater, his lips brushing against her bare skin. Her thighs immediately decided they couldn’t possibly hold her up, those sore muscles finally giving up after the punishment she’d offered them all day long. Westin saw her going down, and he managed to catch her as he jumped back up onto his feet.

Westin swung Lea up in his arms and carried her the rest of the way down the hall. She laid her head on his shoulder, every nerve in her body alive and sparking, excited about what came next. But she felt something change in Westin just before he mumbled, “What the fuck?”

He set her down and she stumbled. He turned, calling out into what she could now see was the open door to her room.

“Who’s in there? Come out where I can see you!”

It took Lea a second to understand what was happening. She reached behind her body, looking for a weapon that wasn’t there. Westin stormed into the room ahead of her, making himself as big as possible as he moved with surprising grace, his footsteps light.

“Come out!” he bellowed again.

Lea heard something crash, a lamp maybe. And then Westin stormed ahead of her, disappearing for a second. She heard another crash, and her instincts kicked in. She quickly slammed the door behind her to block off that exit, then rushed to help Westin. However, by the time she was fully in the room, the glass in the window was shattered and Westin was standing among the broken pieces, watching as someone in a dark jacket and jeans ran into the snow.

“What the hell?”

Westin spun on her. “What have you brought here? Who was that?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“He was after something.” He gestured around him, pointing out the open drawers and the mattress that had been shoved off the bed. “Why here? Why your room when there’s a massive house just half a mile from here? What is he looking for?”

Lea shook her head, her legs weak again. She stumbled back, hit the wall. “I don’t know. No one knows I’m here. He couldn’t—”

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