and live in the moment.
Alexa arched against him as his lips found her neck and traveled down to her chest. Thrusting her fingers through his hair, she ignored all the reasons why this was not a smart idea that were swirling around in her head.
They’d been dancing around the tension for hours. So what if she wanted him? She was human, she had needs, and damn it, she’d never needed like this before.
Hayes shoved a hand between them and slid it into the oversize waistband of her pants. With no panties on, the access was easy as his fingertips found her most sensitive area.
Crying out, Alexa clung to him even tighter. His hand moved over her, in her, and there was no way she could prevent the onslaught of ecstasy that overcame her. He muttered something in her ear a second before he nibbled on the sensitive spot on her neck.
Alexa’s entire body tightened as she bowed, closing her eyes and letting the wave of ecstasy consume her. Hayes moved right along with her, slowing as she began to still. He didn’t let up until the final tremor ceased. When he eased back, Alexa instantly felt cold and reality came crashing back. The rain, the storm...she was half naked on the back porch of a brooding billionaire’s house and she’d just had the orgasm of her life.
Hayes continued to stare at her as he eased away. That hard stare, the heavy breathing and his chest rising and falling all indicated he’d not been unaffected by her pleasure.
He took an uneven step back.
“We should get inside.”
From the tone and the slight gap between them, she knew he didn’t mean taking things inside to finish where he’d left off.
What had happened in the last few moments? Whatever battle he faced internally had settled itself right between them.
He’d come at her like a man on a mission and she’d been the only one satisfied. Was he just going to go on like he wasn’t miserable and aroused? Because she could see for herself he was both.
“That’s it?” she asked, bringing her arms up to shield her bare chest. “What was that?”
“If you have to ask, I did things wrong.”
Alexa continued to stare before she marched around him and grabbed their discarded shirts. She tossed his at his chest with a wet slap, cursing him in Spanish words her mother would’ve never allowed.
“Oh, you did things wrong,” she agreed as she went inside, still careful of the door. “You claimed you weren’t playing games, but you sure as hell just did.”
* * *
Hayes remained on the porch for a few minutes after Alexa had gone inside. Somewhere between seeing her with his shirt molded to every wet curve and having her come apart in his arms, he’d had realized he was going about this all wrong.
And he spoke fluent Spanish, so he knew exactly what she thought of him at the moment. He wasn’t too pleased with how he’d handled things either, but lust had overridden common sense and he’d been selfish. He’d needed to see her come apart; he’d wanted to be the one to make that happen.
From the moment he’d seen her in the stables, Hayes had imagined her writhing beneath him. He’d been set on seducing her. But the more time he spent with her, the more he learned about her, the more he wanted her and the more he knew he shouldn’t have her...which meant his thoughts became even more jumbled.
She was a single mother. He might not know Alexa well, but he already knew enough to realize she wasn’t the fling type. She had her life together and certainly hadn’t taken a getaway to have some heated affair with a broken cowboy.
Hayes had vowed to get his act together. Of course that mental declaration came just as he was giving an orgasm to his temporary roommate.
Just because he was a mess didn’t mean he had to make his unexpected guest miserable. It wasn’t Alexa’s fault he wanted her, but had issues of epic proportions. It wasn’t her fault the mere mention of kids put fear in him because he didn’t want to get involved on any level with a woman with a child. Hell, he shouldn’t be getting involved with a woman at all until he got his life together...if that ever happened.
The betrayal he’d experienced had scarred him, probably more than the hell he’d lived through during his tour of duty. Not that he was looking for a relationship or anything with Alexa. He had a need, a craving he hadn’t experienced in so long, so he thought he’d act on it.
But she was a mother. A single mother. She was worried about being away from her son and here Hayes was worried about his hormones. They couldn’t be more opposite. Sexual attraction was a fickle battle to fight.
And right now, he was a jerk. He’d nearly consumed her on the porch, taking what he wanted and leaving her little room to argue. Oh, he could tell she enjoyed his touch, but now what? He’d pushed her away because he had no clue what to do next, but she was stuck here, so he would have to face her at some point.
He was about as personable as that damn screen door he wanted to scrap.
Drawing in a deep breath, Hayes stepped inside the kitchen. Alexa wasn’t around, which wasn’t shocking. He’d be surprised if he saw her again while they were stuck here together. Most likely, she’d retreated to text her sitter or scroll through images of her son to keep her grounded and away from the big bad wolf.
Damn if he couldn’t still feel her against him, though. He wanted her more than ever, but there was a line he shouldn’t cross... Not until or unless he was certain she wanted...what?
There was a term for what he wanted and it was hot sex, no-strings, a one-night stand. But approaching Alexa with such crass words really didn’t fit. There was something special, innocent about her and he shouldn’t be trying to taint her.
Right now, the only thing he knew was that they were stranded together and the emotions were getting the best of them—or of him, at least.
He sure as hell had more than hormones to worry about. This water was rising. Their only saving grace, for now, was that the house and barn were up on a knoll that sloped down to the river and creek. But being surrounded on most sides was going to be a major problem if the rain didn’t stop soon.
Since Alexa was not in sight, he shoved on the old work boots by the back door and headed out, sans shirt. He marched straight to the barn to check on the horses. If anything happened to Doc, Nolan would never forgive him.
His doctor brother had recently found his high-school sweetheart and had reunited. She’d been expecting another man’s baby, which was a level of baggage Hayes never wanted to deal with. Between Nolan and Colt, both with their ready-made families, Hayes was starting to wonder what the hell was in the water around here.
The irony was not lost on him that he was now stranded with a single mom. Fate was tempting him or mocking, he wasn’t sure which. Either way, he was getting damn uncomfortable.
Hayes checked the feed, refilled the water and decided to refresh the hay. Maybe something normal, some sort of manual labor would keep his mind off the fact Alexa had been panting in his ear and shattering against him only moments ago. He wanted to go straight into the house and finish what they’d started. His ache hadn’t dissolved; if anything he wanted her even more than he had before he touched her. The way she’d come apart
