He didn’t want to look back. He couldn’t. “People are out of their cars?”
“Yes. The truck driver, too. There are at least…” She did a quick count. “Looks like six cars and the truck, all stopped, with the road blocked. Those poor people. They’ll be stuck for a while.”
Working his jaw, Jett took the exit, and right there, bludgeoned by the blizzard, a hotel came into view. “We’re going there.” Natalie didn’t reply, but that didn’t stop him from talking. “I’m getting us off the road, right now.”
In an attempt to calm him, she said, “Okay, Jett.”
He glanced at her with new awareness. Ah hell, now she wanted to placate him—because he was behaving like an ass.
New emotions rushed through him, all but obliterating his logic. He needed something to do so that he didn’t crush her close and declare himself.
“I’m calling my sister.” He used the speed dial in his car.
The second she answered, Jett gave her the name of the hotel and the location. “The roads are shit. We won’t make it to the cabin, so we’re staying here for the night. Got it?”
Heidi said, “Sure. But Jett? You okay?”
“Fine. Perfect, in fact. But I gotta go. The parking lot hasn’t been cleared yet, so I need to be alert. Bye.” He hung up on her.
Natalie watched him the same way she’d watch a lunatic. “Jett, it’s okay. We’re okay.”
“Not yet.” He wouldn’t be okay until he’d found a way to bind her to him. “But we will be just as soon as I set you straight on a few things.”
Disgruntlement laced her tone when she said, “Just what is that supposed to mean?”
“After I have you and Buddy settled.” His SUV pushed through the thick snow in the parking lot of the hotel. Luckily they had a covered entry and he pulled up there. “Stay put while I sign us in.” He looked at her and couldn’t believe he’d been so blind. She would have made this trip on her own. She could easily have been one of the people forced off the road, or worse.
Hating that thought, Jett caught the back of her neck to drag her close for a hot, hungry kiss. Gentler now, he said, “Okay?”
She looked dazed. “All right.”
Realizing that they were now stopped, Buddy got excited. He came over the seat in one bound and landed on Natalie. She laughed as she caught his collar so he couldn’t follow Jett out.
His heart in his throat, his libido raging, Jett jogged into the building. The hotel was nice enough to give them a room even though their usual policy denied pets. He paid a hefty extra fee for the privilege of bringing Buddy in, promised to clean up his messes and got room keys for their one and only suite.
Within twenty minutes he had them and their belongings inside. While Natalie ran a hot bath, Jett took Buddy out a side door to do his business. Not a single speck of ground could be seen through the thick snow, so Jett let the dog go where the opened door had cleared a spot. Buddy still got a little snow-covered, but he no longer seemed so panicked or afraid.
“We’ll be all right, Buddy. You’ll see.”
Buddy bounded around in agreement, burning off some energy before Jett took him back inside. To keep the dog occupied, Jet set up his doggy bed, his water and food dish and gave him a big juicy chew toy.
Buddy looked to be in doggy heaven.
With that done, Jett went into the bathroom and found Natalie resting in a steamy tub, her curly hair piled atop her head, her eyes closed and her luscious body lax. The water lapped at her chin and had already turned her toes pink.
She looked exhausted.
Jett stood there, no longer so stunned by his revelation. Of course he loved her. How could he not?
And it had nothing to do with her being elusive, as he’d first thought. Sure, that had first enhanced his interest, after her incredible body and sexual daring had caught his attention.
But it was Natalie herself who kept his thoughts in turmoil and made him feel those remarkable, unrecognizable, profound emotions. By being herself, a kind, intelligent and sexy woman, she had completely stolen his heart.
Life had taken her to hell and back, but she remained generous and open, honest and accepting. She used her childhood hardships as a learning tool to help other children now. He had no doubt she could be stern when necessary, but she would always be fair.
“Natalie?”
She looked up at him, her lashes spiked, her cheeks dewy. She sounded slumberous. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
She didn’t bother to cover herself or act shy about her body. From the beginning, she’d been an uninhibited lover. It was only in sharing her heart that she became shy.
But he’d get her over that. “Have you washed up?”
“Mmm.” She closed her eyes again. “I did that first, because I knew once I got warm, I’d get sleepy.”
“Not too sleepy, I hope.” As he scooped her out of the tub, her eyes flashed open again.
“Jett!”
Water sluiced down their bodies and onto the floor. He didn’t care.
“I need you, Natalie.” Such an understatement. Now that he knew he loved her, he wanted to hear a similar declaration from her. But he didn’t mind going first.
“I thought you’d be tired from all that tense driving.”
“Especially after that, I need you.” While carrying her to the bed, he kissed her nose, her forehead, her temple and ear. “I’ll always need you, you know.”
Her breath caught at the weighty meaning of those words. “What?”
Jett stood her beside the bed. He touched her cheek, brushed the corner of her mouth with his thumb. “Damn, but the things you make me feel are…powerful.”
“Powerful?”
He held out a hand, showing her. “You make me shake.”
“Oh, Jett.” She closed both her hands around his. “That’s just reaction from a near wreck.”
“No, honey. That’s reaction to knowing you could have been hurt. I wouldn’t be able to bear that.” Smiling was beyond him, so instead he kissed her. “Don’t move.”
He was back in seconds with a towel and he went about drying her. Going down to his knees in front of her, he took his time, being quite thorough. “God, Natalie, I love your body.”
She laughed nervously, her hand in his hair. “I don’t understand you tonight.”
Jett looked up at her. “I love your laugh, too.”
Her
