Page 43 of Love and Other Trials
His brows slammed together. “No, I’m not.”
“You are!” She watched him shrug and ruefully shake his head. “See—I knew you’d watchedPride and Prejudicebefore!”
“That was below the belt, Elizabeth.” His brows drew together suspiciously. “Jesus, did you pick that name because of Elizabeth Bennet?”
“Not consciously.” She rolled her window down and let the fresh air cool her head. “Trust me, the last man who’d entice me is a pompous ass like Darcy is in the beginning. I wouldn’t stick around to see if there was a nice guy underneath it all. That’s why I liked you right away, Captain Hotpants. From the minute I got your text and looked you up, I knew you were a great guy.”
And hearing him talk about his wedding day like that had lit a new longing within her. She wanted the man she married to feel like that on their wedding day. About her. If she ever found someone she wanted to walk down the aisle toward…
“Let’s change the subject, shall we?” He pulled into the parking lot at the resort and cut the engine. “I’m just a regular guy who does his duty to his country and loves his family. People like to make us out to be heroes, but all it involves is showing up. That’s what a true hero does.”
With that statement—another that left her reeling—he exited the vehicle and came around to open her door. She put her hand on his meaty arm as she alighted from the car. She could tell he didn’t want to meet her eyes. He was embarrassed, which only made him more endearing. “I feel like that when people call me a hero too. I’m not sure how Sherlock feels.”
He snorted at that.
“But I agree with you about showing up. However, I do want to insist on one thing.”
“What is it?” he asked, putting his hand on the car near her head.
“Youarea great guy.” When he rolled his eyes, she tugged on his T-shirt. “For that I want to thank you. I needed someone like you to remind me why people do things like this.”
Now she was a little embarrassed herself, so she ducked under his arm and opened the back door for Sherlock. He jumped out after she clipped on his leash. Her nephews were chasing each other with bloodcurdling cries, spraying each other with water guns. When they saw her coming, they headed her way.
She held up a hand. “Don’t you dare.”
“What she said.” Dax suddenly pushed her behind him. “I’ll toss all of you in the ocean, and that’s a promise.”
Marshall extended his gun toward them but didn’t fire. Ripp ran off along with the rest of the boys. After a flinty stare-down, Marshall turned and followed.
“He’s an angry kid,” Dax commented as they continued their way to the cottage.
“I remember feeling that way, but it doesn’t justify some of his actions.” She let herself inside after Sherlock raced in and held open the door for him this time, aware he was watching her.
When she turned the lock, his hands were on her shoulders. “I hope you don’t mind, but I need your mouth right now.”
She lifted onto her toes and pulled his head down. The first kiss rocked her back into the door. His body pressed into her as the kiss went wild. The wall of heat pressed against her had her moaning into his mouth. This was no time for discovering or feeling things out. After the desire that had blossomed between them today, they were both ravenous. She opened her mouth when he pressed in deep and rubbed her tongue against his. Her hands went to his waist and slid under his T-shirt. The feel of his hot, sculpted muscles had her heartbeat pounding in her ears.
“God, Ariel,” he whispered, kissing her neck softly.
She could feel another moan at the back of her throat, the loud kind, the kind that would travel across distances.
Grabbing his hand, she dragged him deeper into the house. When she was at the entrance to her bedroom, she stopped. Dax halted beside her and looked at her, breathing hard now. His green eyes were dark with need. She tuned in for a moment.
Her heart already knew the answer.
“I know it’s early, but I want you.” She could feel a little tinge of vulnerability creep into her, likely from the cracks in her heart that had come from past hurts and disappointments.
“I want you too.” His voice was a shade deeper but filled with the certainty she’d come to expect from him. “It might be early, but time doesn’t seem to matter sometimes. You know when something is right, and this is more than right. It’s perfect. But I want you to be sure.”
She touched his jaw, feeling the stubble there, wanting it against her skin. “I’m sure. I know when something is right too, Dax. Come to bed with me.”
He took her hand and led her inside, locking the door with a flirtatious wink before closing the blinds. There was still light seeping into the room, and she had no trouble seeing the heat in his eyes as he stripped off his T-shirt and kept coming. She couldn’t take her eyes off the hard line of his chest, decked out with ridges of muscles that flowed into washboard abs. God, he was beautiful, and right now he was all hers.
When he reached her, he picked her up in his arms and lowered his mouth to hers. They kissed, taking it slower this time, knowing they’d get where they’d wanted to go all along.
He slid his hands under her shirt, caressing the skin at her waist, making her arch into his touch, before seeking her breasts. She wanted to feel his hands on her, so she reached back and unsnapped her bra. He helped her at the last moment before running a smooth finger around her side until he reached her breast. Giving it a slow caress, he watched her, and she could see the kindness, the arousal, and the thing that made him Dax. There was goodness and awareness and a desire to connect with her as much as touch her, and she fell deeper under his spell.
“You are so beautiful, Ariel.”
