Saved By You (9 page)

I promised her I would.

The drive down to the Hill Country Lodge was a quick one. There was no traffic out on a Wednesday morning, and the parking lot was emptier than it had been the other night. Walking inside, I was greeted by the familiar, earthy decorum. The same white-haired lady sat behind the desk, and her eyes locked on me, like a hawk, the moment I stepped into the lobby. For a second, I wondered if she was going to try to throw me out again, but I quickly grabbed my phone and pressed Haden’s number. She gave me one more scowl, then turned back to her computer.

“Haden,” he answered. His voice was smooth on the phone, it sent a shiver through me.

“It’s Maggie,” I said.

There was a pause. “I know,” he said.

“Oh, right,” I said, remembering the caller ID.

There was a silence before he said anything.

“Is everything alright?” he asked.

“Yeah, of course,” I said. “Everything’s fine.”

Another pause.

“I don’t know what to say,” he said. “Did you need something? I’m kind of surprised you called.”

“Then I’ve got a bigger surprise for you,” I said. “I’m downstairs.”

“At the hotel?” he said, his voice rising, surprised.

“Yes. And the lady is giving me awful looks, again.” I hesitated for a second. “Can you come down?”

“I’ll be right there,” he said.

The phone went dead, but I held it to my ear like I was still talking on it. I could feel her glancing over at me every few seconds, as though I were going to vandalize the place at any moment.

A few minutes later an elevator dinged open, and Haden stepped off. My body groaned when I saw him. He wore a tight, white undershirt, and some faded jeans. His hair was pulled back and wet, like he’s just gotten out of the shower. Sandals clapped against his feet, and an image of us on the beach flashed in my mind.

“What’s going on?” he said. He gave me a big smile that made me quiver. He stopped a full foot away from me—an awkward distance, considering everything.

I shook my head, still eyeing the crone behind the desk. “Can we talk somewhere?” I said.

“Yeah. Let’s go up to the room.”

He turned to head back toward the elevator, but my feet didn’t move. He frowned at me.

“Not there,” I said. “I don’t think I could do it there.”

“Oh, right,” he began. “I didn’t mean to presume…”

“It’s not that,” I said, cutting him off. I bit my lip, nervous. “I don’t think I could handle seeing Kyle or Zoe right now.”

He grinned. “You don’t have to worry about that,” he said. He jerked his head toward the front desk. “I told Kyle he had to get his own room.”

“Oh,” I said, unsure what to make of it. “So you’ve got the penthouse to yourself?”

He nodded. “Just me.”

“Okay then,” I said, hesitantly. “That should be fine.”

I could feel the lady behind the desk studying us. I knew she was just waiting for the first sign that I was harassing one of the guests. Then it would be out on the street with me. I shot her an awkward smile as I followed Haden to the elevator.

There was an awkward silence as the elevator climbed the floors to the very top. The hotel wasn’t huge or anything, especially not compared to the ones back home, but it was big enough. Haden had the entire top floor to himself. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it was costing him each night.

As the elevator shuddered to a stop, the door slid open. As it did, I was taken back to just a few nights ago. Haden and I had first made love, and then gotten into the biggest fight of my life. And it had all taken place right there in that hotel room.

I stepped off, nervously, and followed him into the living room area. The guitars still sat in the corner, but some of the bags had been removed—Kyle’s, I guessed. The entire area looked a bit tidier than it had before, and I suspected that was also Haden’s doing now that he had the place to himself.

“This is such a nice suite,” I said, marveling at it again.

“It makes for a nice home,” he said, falling into the couch. He kept a safe distance from me. I couldn’t help but feel awkward at being there with him again. When I’d left the other night, I was certain I’d never even see him again.

“How long can you afford to stay in a place like this?” I asked. “You must have spent a fortune on it already.”

He shrugged. “It’s not as expensive as you’d think.”

The tone of his voice told me everything I needed to know. Haden had every intention of staying however long it took to get what he wanted.

I swallowed through a tiny lump in my throat.

“So what did you want to talk about?” he asked.

Heat rushed to my cheeks when I considered my drunken tirade at the bar—what I could remember of it, anyway. Haden’s look remained neutral. He didn’t look angry, or anything, after what had happened. But, it was still hard to own up to what I’d done.

“I acted like an idiot last night,” I said. “I just needed to come and apologize. I wasn’t myself.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” he said. He shook his head, giving me a long look. “Everything’s been so screwed up. I know it couldn’t have been easy to see me there with Zoe last night.”

I saw them, again, standing at the bar together. Her hand was running along his back while she gave him that seductive smile. My forehead bristled with heat just from the thought of it.

“I had no right,” I said. “With everything that’s happened, I just needed to relax. I thought that hanging out at the bar and drinking was exactly what I needed.”

He stared at me, not saying anything. There was no judgment in his eye. There never was when it came to me. There was just acceptance and understanding.

“It’s been a hard couple of days for you,” he said, finally. “I get that.”

“It’s still no excuse,” I said.”

He gave me a soft smile, and I could feel myself crumbling. Tears were welling in my eyes, and I didn’t know why. I didn’t know where they were coming from, only that he was pulling them out of me. His eyes narrowed slightly—it was such a small movement that I almost missed it. He wrapped his hand around my shoulder. His sent a buzz through me.

“It’s okay,” he said. “Everything’s going to be alright.”

He squeezed my shoulder, and that was when everything broke down. Tears started flooding down my cheeks. I wiped at them, furiously, but there was no catching them all. Haden leaned forward, his face concerned.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” I said, my voice on the point of hysteria. “Everything’s happening so fast. Everything with you. Everything with mom. I just can’t keep up.” I pinched my eyes closed, and thought about burying my face in my hands again. But that would only make things worse. “The doctors are saying that she may only have a month to live,” I continued. “That impossible, isn’t it? Mom’s not even forty yet. How is she going to die before she’s even forty?”

Haden’s face tightened as he looked at me, but his eyes were so soft.

“Things… happen,” he said, softly.

“I’m sorry I’m such a mess,” I said. “I drank all that last night, but it didn’t help. I don’t know what to do.”

He shook his head. “You don’t have anything to apologize for. I can’t imagine what you’re going through.” He squeezed my shoulder. “I wish I knew what to say.” His body was getting closer to mine. Neither of us had moved, but I could feel the intensity of his heat rising.

Our eyes connected, and neither of us looked away. I took another slow breath, wiping at my face one more time. Passion illuminated his bright green eyes. My body tensed, though I struggled against it.

“I hate that you make me feel so good,” I said, softly.

“I hate that you hate that,” he said.

Our faces were closer now, and the scent of him washed over me when he spoke.

“Maybe coming up here was a mistake,” I said.

He leaned in closer.

“Maybe it wasn’t.”

His head dipped and his lips pressed into mine. I didn’t struggle, or pull away. Instead, I sank toward him. A flood of emotions poured out of me, like they were trying to run away, and he was there to help. Everything that had built up over the last few days rushed to the surface at once—and then fizzled. Haden’s kiss washed it all away.

Heat rushed inside of me, filling the void left by everything else. It threatened to consume me entirely if I didn’t get some release.

Haden’s lips were soft and his tongue was delicious. It darted around my lips, and into my mouth. He was slow—gentle. His arms wrapped around me, cautiously at first, then wholly. I sank further into him. Why couldn’t things always be as easy as that was?

What are you doing? I thought you were done with him?

The little voice spoke to me in the back of my head. But I ignored it.

Haden pressed himself into me again, and I felt myself easing backward along the length of the couch. His body remained in line with mine. His arms were taut, holding him upright over me. He lowered himself, just a touch, and kissed along my cheek to my neck. Shivers ran through me.

“What are we doing?” I breathed, softly.

“What we’re supposed to be doing,” he said between kisses.

As his mouth traced along my neck, a low moan rumbled through my chest. It encouraged him to keep going.

“Should we stop?” I said. My body ached at the thought of it.

“Only long enough to make it to the bed,” he said.

Without any warning, Haden was on his feet. His arms wrapped around me, and he lifted me to his chest like I was the lightest thing in the world. He held me tight.

“What are you doing?” I said, a smile spreading across my face.

He didn’t say anything. Instead, he gave me a hungry smile, and carried me away.

Haden lowered me to the bed, that fierce gaze in his eyes ever present. The bed was soft-just like I remembered it.

I bit my lip. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“No,” he said. He leaned in and kissed my neck. I felt tingles throughout. “If you walk out of my life again, I don’t think I’ll be able to handle it. But, I can’t stop.” His tongue felt like heaven as it tickled the nape of my neck. “I need you.”

My body and my being reacted to his every movement. We were in sync on some primal level—there was no way I could make him stop.

“I’m not running, anywhere,” I said.

His lips dipped back to my neck, sending shivers of joy coursing through me. Tingles erupted down my body, and my legs vibrated as they opened for him. His lips worked even lower, until they came to the buttons on my pink blouse. One by one he popped them open, until he had worked down to my stomach. His hands glided along my breasts as he did so, sending shivers running through me.

When he saw the tank top under my blouse, he gave me a wry look.

“Why are you wearing so much clothing?” he said.

I grinned. “Because watching you take it off of me is fun.”

A little smile spread across his face. It was devastating.

“You wearing around me should be outlawed,” he said. “Punishable by…” His eyes flashed again as they fell along my body. “By whatever I want.”

My body ached.

It ached with his every touch. Watching him hover over me was torture.

“I don’t know what the people down at the Saloon would think about that,” I said.

He grinned, and slid his fingers along my side, up to my chest, and back down again. My back stiffened under his touch.

“They can think whatever they want so long as they don’t look at you,” he said. He lowered his lips to my stomach, and kissed through the white tank top. “You’re all mine.”

Heat swelled between my legs as his kisses got even lower. He finished unbuttoning the blouse, and when his lips had kissed all the way down to my shorts, he pulled the tank top up, exposing my bare stomach. He kissed it, gently, and dipped his tongue out to touch it. He flicked it up, toward my belly button, and a cold shiver ran down my back.

“Tease,” I said.

He grinned and kept kissing all along my waist, tracing a line where my shorts ran. “Just enjoying myself,” he said.

“When do
I
get to enjoy myself?” I whined.

“When I say you can,” he said.

My body quivered on an all new level as he squeezed my legs together and ripped my shorts from my hips. They were thrown somewhere in the corner of the room. My panties must have gone with them, because when he spread my legs again I could feel the cool air wash over me.

Haden’s eyes searched me, and he licked his lips. In a quick motion he ripped his shirt off and threw it somewhere. His chest was magnificent. I wanted it pressed up against me. But I was pinned on my back, unable to do anything but watch.

Ever so slowly, Haden slid a hand down between my legs. His fingers probed along the outer edges of my center. I moaned at him to keep going, but he teased me a while longer.

“Not yet,” he said.

Then, ever so slowly, he dipped a finger into me. He pressed it farther, agonizing inch by agonizing inch. My hands clenched on the sides of the bed, balling the sheets into my fists. A devious smile spread across Haden’s face when he was satisfied that he’d teased me enough.

His fingers disappeared, then, leaving an emptiness within me. My eyes drank the length of his body in as he reached for his jeans. He unclasped them with a single flick of his fingers. I could see his bulge already trying to break free of its constraints. I slid my feet up to his hips, and tugged at his pants, encouraging him to move faster.

“Someone’s impatient,” he said, his voice low.

“I need you,” I said, my eyes still locked between his legs.

He pulled at the corner of the jeans, and the zipper slid down. In a swift movement, he jerked the jeans downward, taking his boxers with them. His erection sprung out, and a rush of excitement flooded through me.

Haden took hold of himself and leaned forward. He swirled himself around my outer edges before lining himself up to thrust inward. I moaned in pleasure, and used my legs to pull him even closer. He was on the brink of entering me when I sudden warning flashed in my mind.

“Wait,” I said.

Haden froze in place, his eyes locked on me.