“Oh, Cliff. You both were so young,” she cried as they reentered the cabin through the back door. He didn’t want to hear her pity; he’d heard enough of it since Stacy’s death, which was why only a few in Carson knew that he was previously married at all. The blame and guilt of her death still weighed heavily on his shoulders. “I’m so sorry for what you’ve gone through.”
I
n the bedroom, Cliff settled her back on the mattress, but as he began to pull away, she settled her good hand on the side of his face. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”
Cliff reached up and clapped her wrist in his hold, letting it linger, unsure if he wanted to keep her hand on his face or pull it away. The strength in her touch was addictive, his own personal drug. He wondered if this was what Stacy had been fixated on. His gaze swept across her face, cataloging her features to memory.
Their bodies were so close, too close. If Cliff moved just a few inches, he could bring their lips together, taking the taste he’d been dreaming of for years. But as he contemplated his next move, Alexis made it for him. She leaned forward and in one swift motion, sealed their lips together. His spark of awareness ignited immediately and he had to mentally refrain himself from gripping her in his arms and tossing her across the bed to have his nefarious way with her. Instead, he rooted himself to the floor allowing Alexis the chance to explore his mouth. He opened up to her willingly as her tongue licked at his lips. She tasted like heaven and mint and Cliff realized she found the spare toothbrush he had left her in the bathroom this morning.
A knock on his front door sounded causing them to pull apart at the interruption, Alexis groaned at their loss of contact.
“I’ll go let them in. You can take your time joining us.”
Rose painted her cheeks and Cliff grinned at her reaction to their kiss, something he wanted to repeat soon.
Lifting her chin with his finger, he waited for her eyes to meet his. “We’ll do that again once everyone leaves.”
Playfully Alexis replied, “Promise?”
“The entire town couldn’t keep me away.”
Hating every step as he moved away, Cliff reached into his dresser, pulled out a T-shirt and quickly covered his chest. He did the same with a pair of camouflage shorts, removing his gym shorts in the process.
“I’ll bring back Cassidy’s clothes when she arrives.”
“Oh, that would be great. I can’t believe I get to wear one of her designs,” Alexis said with elation. If she were able, Cliff guessed that she would clap her hands together while bouncing up and down on the bed. Her excitement was palpable. He may be a military man, but even he knew that Cassidy was the world’s most sought after designer.
As he stepped toward the door at the sound of another knock, Alexis reached her hand out and clutched his arm, wanting his attention.
“Cliff. Thank you. . .for sharing that with me.”
He knew that she referred to the story about his wife, but he didn’t want to let the feelings of hurt and betrayal ruin their intimate moment.
Gazing down at her Cliff said, “Don’t worry, we’ll share some more kisses later.” He winked as she released her hold on him and headed out of the bedroom hoping that his visitors were enough of a distraction to keep his thoughts far away from their kiss. Otherwise, he’d be too busy counting down the seconds until he can do it again.
***
Voices filtered into the room and Alexis tried to count them. Four at first, but continuously growing. She couldn’t pinpoint which one belonged to whom and that left her nerves in shambles.
After her night of sleep, Alexis felt considerably better. The ache in her shoulder remained, but it was not as sharp as before. Now, it was more of a dull ache, the same with her leg. Even as a kid Alexis had been a quick healer. She remembered Logan advised her to keep weight off of her left for a few days, but he should know that she was not one to follow directions.
As she waited for a set of clean clothes to dress in, Alexis thought back to what she just learned about Cliff. A widower wasn’t the first thing that would have come to her mind when describing him, but now that she knew, she could see that it made up a big part of who he was. She couldn’t imagine losing someone you loved when you were thousands of miles away. It was no wonder he kept himself closed off from others. But why had he agreed to help protect her? That was another point she needed to bring up with him. Alexis was afraid that the longer she spent in this town with him, the stronger her feelings for him may become, and that could only put them both in danger. And if her father got wind of Cliff in her life, a bullseye would be painted in bright red on his back.
But her father and his group were coming for her anyway. When? She had zero doubts that he was biding his time. Someone that was able to take himself off the map and radar of the FBI, DEA, and probably every other government agency in existence was used to taking his time to get what he wanted. What Alexis couldn’t figure out was what her role was in all of this. Maybe the conversation today could help answer that.
Feeling like a lifetime has passed, Cliff strolled back into the room, bags upon bags of clothes dangling from his arms. God, he was gorgeous. Even dressed down he had a powerful air about him. And that damn T-shirt looked like it wanted to rip itself in half just to give the world another glimpse of his perfect chest. She was one lucky girl.
“I think she brought you her entire store,” he joked as he sets the bags on the bed.
Alexis leaned over and started rummaging through the contents. A red dress caught her eye and she held it up, eyebrow cocked in question.
“How long does she think I’m staying? A year?”
“It’s hard to say. Maybe Cassidy just wanted to make sure that you had options.”
Giggling, Alexis pointed out, “Where in Carson would I ever need to wear a dress like this?”
She watched in awe as he delicately slipped the material from her hands and glided his thumb back and forth across the dress. “Maybe not in Carson, but there are some beautiful restaurants and wineries close by.”