Mission Happy (A Texas Desires Novel Book 3) (7 page)

Maybe he wanted her to leave. Oh man, she didn’t want to go.

“Sure,” he said, his head popping around the corner. The seriousness still lurked, but he did grin, even if it didn’t quite reach his eyes. When he ducked out of sight, he called out, “Are you hungry? I can order something. What would you like?”

Rolling to her back, she stared up at the ceiling, listening to the faucet in the bathroom. Why was she so relieved that he didn’t want her to leave? In the matter of just a few minutes, she’d been so blissed out she never wanted to leave his arms. Seconds later, he had her heart plummeting with worry. Now she wanted to give herself a high five because he wanted her to stick around.

Honestly, for her, this had never been merely a one-night stand. She’d had the hots for that man for years, but he didn’t know that and clearly hadn’t felt the same way. Pushing to her side of the bed, she rose, going toward the bathroom, whispering to herself, “Maybe I shouldn’t have given it up so quickly.”

“What would you like?” he asked, startling her. Connor had his shorts in his hand, shoving one foot through. She lost herself, staring at him. He was literally the hottest guy she’d ever seen. She was in so much trouble. At the bathroom door, she dropped her head back between her shoulders and looked at the ceiling as she answered.

“Anything really. No sour cream or tomatoes.”

She needed to find perspective in a major way. He totally knocked her off balance anytime he was around.

“Want margaritas?” She could tell by his voice that he’d turned toward her. He had to be looking at her naked bottom. That got her moving. Once around the corner of the bathroom, she saw the tangled mess of her hair and groaned as she began finger-combing the strands.

“Probably shouldn’t. I have an early call tomorrow,” she called out, reaching to shut the door.

“Okay.” His voice was close, and he appeared in the doorframe, holding her purse. This felt very similar to him opening the bathroom stall door on her. He clearly had no space boundaries.

He came in, placed her purse on the counter, and stood behind her while circling a hand around her waist. She gave her hair one last hurried run through with her fingers before looking up at him. She stared at him in the mirror as he pressed his body against her back. His face was serious and their gazes connected as he leaned forward to place a kiss on her jaw, right below her ear. “You’re beautiful.”

“You’re the beautiful one,” she said, lifting a hand up to reach his buzz cut when he nuzzled her neck. “You’re a very handsome man and this body… Do you work out all the time?”

“I work out a lot. It’s a good stress reliever.”

“Where does relentless come from?” she asked about the tattoo on his arm.

“I’ve been called that my whole life. I finally decided it was probably true, so I inked it.”

Connor leaned back, the quietness returning as they continued to stare at one another. She assessed his mood to be different yet again—somewhere between happy and serious. Somehow working out fell in the same off-limits category as discussing his work in the military. Mental note made.

“It’s surprising you aren’t in a relationship,” he said, changing that subject on his own.

“Nope, no relationship,” she said and turned, wrapping both her arms around his waist.

“Good, I don’t want to have to kick some guy’s ass,” he said after a second of silence, the humor back in his voice.

“So these muscles can back up what they represent?” Her hand circled one of his biceps, squeezing the hard muscle. He surprised her when he hooked a knuckle under her chin and lifted, her face. His lips right there, waiting for a soft kiss. Mental note on that too. He liked being affectionate.

“I’d rather be a lover than a fighter.”

It took a second with his serious expression firmly in place before she barked out a laugh.

“Well, if you’re half as good at fighting as you are a lover, you got yourself a winner there too.” That earned her another kiss and those knuckles sliding across her cheek before he turned, leaving her standing there.

“Let me know if you need anything. I’m ordering room service.” He closed the door on his way out.

She’d always been a very private person. She didn’t do these things—sharing bathroom space, being randomly naked with anyone—yet now she missed his presence. Connor was just so easy to be with. She stared at the door, hoping he’d come back inside. When he didn’t, she turned to the shower, this time registering the slight ache between her legs. Her body was well used. She bent, reaching for the faucet when Connor opened the door a crack and popped his head through.

“Chicken, fish, steak?”

She grinned, turning on the water before looking back at him. She was all ass in the air while staring at him from over her shoulder. Of course, he’d seen it all, but still, not her finest moment.

“I don’t care. Whatever you decide,” she said, lifting, carefully placing a foot inside the tub, thankful the warmth of the water was perfect because she hadn’t checked it before stepping inside. She absently reached for the curtain, closing it behind her.

Dang, she hadn’t grabbed the soap.

“Are you staying through the night?” His hand extended inside the shower, holding the courtesy bottles of shampoo and conditioner. How could she even pretend to be annoyed with that offering? He had a natural consideration and never missed a beat. She reached out to take both.

“I can if you want,” she answered when the bar of soap came in next.

“How about some ice cream sundaes?” he asked, sticking his head inside the shower this time. With that infectious crooked grin, he gave her a wink before letting his eyes trail down the length of her body in obvious appreciation.

“I could be into that,” she answered when his gaze traveled back up to her face.

“Me too.”

“Okay, now leave me alone so I can shower,” she said when his gaze lingered, turned darker, and it looked like he might try to join her.

“I left a clean T-shirt on the counter,” he said, pulling the curtain closed. Her hands were full of soap, and she smiled a silly little goofy grin. He pulled at her heartstrings in a major way. She was in trouble with that one.              

~~~

Funny how sex and good company had her throwing caution to the wind. She’d eaten about as bad as she could, almost a full steak, all of a loaded baked potato with the full calories of real butter and cheddar cheese while having bites of every other plate of food Connor had ordered. God, the food was delicious.

She collapsed on her back, sprawled across the length of the bed, freshly showered, hair blown dry, no makeup, and wearing Connor’s T-shirt. He sat against the headboard on the opposite side of the bed with some pillows tucked behind his back. His hot, muscled chest was bare, showing his few tattoos, and she pretty much decided he should stay just like that all of the time. There was no denying his high sexy factor, and after a little bit, when all this food digested, she planned to show him exactly how hot she thought he was.

“I think you ordered too much,” she said, looking over all the plates between them. As much as they’d eaten, there was double that amount still left over.

“I didn’t know what you liked. I just kept ordering. I think I ended up getting everything on the menu.”

“I’ll be working this off for hours tomorrow.” She tucked one arm under her head, while patting her belly. Connor gave a small chuckle and shook his head, causing her to turn his way.

“We still have dessert coming,” he said.

“Oh lord.” She gave a small groan and lifted her head to see her normally flat tummy extended, pooching out.

He rose, reaching for the remote, turning on the television before tossing the control her way. “Pay-per-view looks good. I think Ty’s new movie was on there. That’s what they said downstairs.”

Connor shoved himself off the bed and began moving the plates to the tray on the dresser. She reached across the bed for the remote. With a solid hefty push, she rolled to Connor’s spot, reaching for his pillow to tuck under her head as she looked at the television.

When he got the last of the dishes off the bed, there was a knock on the door. Connor headed that direction, and to her surprise, the room service waiter’s voice got closer. She reached for the bedspread, quickly tugging it across the lower half of her body before he came into the room.

She hadn’t anticipated this. Julia quickly lowered her head, letting her hair fall in her face. It had been a so uplifting to share real time with Connor. Him allowing her to just be a normal person.

In her need to hide, she’d missed the beginning of her latest movie trailer now playing on the television. It was the romantic comedy,
Pink Slip
, where she had the lead. When she heard her voice, her gaze lifted to the television. Oh lord, no! Forgetting anyone else was in the room, she executed a body dive for the remote that lay mere inches away. Julia fumbled with the buttons, flipping channels, turning the volume up, all while trying to turn the dumb thing off.

She finally managed the off button, but the fiasco ended with all eyes in the room focused on her as she tried to keep herself reasonably covered. She never acknowledged either man, instead, kept her head bent, picking at her fingernail like nothing had happened. Any other time, she might have even seen the humor in this situation. Not tonight. The comfortable silence they shared turned awkward until she heard the door shut again, and Connor came back to the room, still just staring at her.

Finally, she pushed the hair from her face and lamely said, “Ignore me. I can’t stand those kinds of movies…”

Connor sat on the side of the bed, his big body turned toward her. There was a concerned questioning to his look.

“I don’t really watch movies. Lots of ugliness,” she tried to explain, knowing, without question, she still wasn’t making much sense.

“We don’t have to watch TV. You just need to tell me when I do something you don’t like. I wouldn’t have turned it on. No big deal. I’m not really a movie kind of guy either,” he offered in the kind patient way he had about himself. Since, in her mind, this felt very much like lying, she lifted, scooting closer to him, letting the sheet fall away, intending to change the subject.

“What kind of guy are you?” she asked, grasping on to anything to help divert his attention.

“Just a normal guy,” he said, looking a little confused by the question.

“You get real quiet. If I’m doing something you don’t like, you tell me,” she said, using his own words back at him. Technically, either of them saying those type things might indicate more than one night, and the thought made her unreasonably hopeful as she stared into his kind eyes.

“You’re perfect just the way you are. Actually better than perfect. I’ve always been quiet; it has nothing to do with you. Keeping everything bottled up’s kind of a problem for me, but I’ve talked more while I’m with you than I normally do.” As Connor spoke, he cupped his hand around her thigh. The hold was comforting, especially when his thumb swept across her skin. Julia reached out, linking her hand with his. She liked the easy acceptance of his wrist turning to better fit with her hold and his fingers entwining with hers.

“Why’s it a problem?” she asked, not even sure why that part stuck in her head.

Almost immediately, he responded the same way he had when she’d broached the other off-limits subjects. Connor broke eye contact, staring down at the bedspread. Maybe as much as a minute passed before he let go of her hand and rose from the mattress, heading toward the tray the waiter had left behind.

“It’s not just work. You don’t like to talk about you,” she said when he didn’t answer.

“It’s not that. I can’t talk about so many parts of my life it’s just easier not to speak,” he said, picking up the lids covering the dishes, placing them to the side.

“So you do that secret stuff for the military. I bet that’s hard. I’ve been a part of some USO events. It’s amazing what you guys deal with every single day,” she said, trying to offer comfort over something she had no understanding of.

He fell silent again. She watched him a little closer and sensed he might be hurting. The realization caused an unexpected slice of pain to cross her own heart. Connor was such a good man—salt of the earth kind of good—and she had nothing to offer to help ease his burden. She wondered if Ty had any idea what was going on with Connor.

“What you got there?” she asked, moving her legs out from underneath her until she got to her feet. “I think it’s possible that I might could make room for some of that.”

She came up behind him, her palms resting on his hips as she lifted on her tiptoes to look over his shoulder at all the fixings for a hot fudge sundae.

“Yeah. I thought we could…well, you know, make them off each other,” he suggested, and if it were possible, his cheeks held a hint of a blush.

“You’re naughty. Are you always this naughty?” she asked, ducking under his arm until she was between him and the tray, his arms easily circling her waist.

“Nope. All this is way outside my comfort zone.”

“Good. Me too,” Julia said, then reached down to pull the T-shirt over her head. She wadded it up and tossed it over his shoulder. He seemed to have a thing for her breasts; she watched his palms rise instinctively to her exposed chest. Quite honestly, that was a perfect move for her. She reached down to push his athletic shorts and underwear to his thighs until they dropped to the floor on their own. She lost interest in everything else when his dick sprang free, thumping against her belly.