The one you’re going to be in. “It doesn’t matter to me,” he answered. Setting their luggage on the floor in the bedroom, he hung his chaps on the valet stand, then turned to watch her walk around the room. She stopped at the balcony doors to look out at the brightly lit Amarillo skyline. “This room has a great view.”
“It’s a nice city,” Nate agreed, continuing to watch her. He could tell she was a little nervous about the arrangement and trying to put her at ease, he pointed to the minibar. “Would you like something to eat or drink?”
“We just had dinner with your brothers and their wives.”
“I heard you tell Bria and Summer that you’re always hungry,” he said, grinning. “I just thought you might need a snack before we turn in.”
“I think I’m going to shower, then go on to sleep,” she said, unzipping one of her two bags.
He picked up the huge television’s remote control. “I think I’ll watch a little TV. Will that bother you?”
As she dug through the bag to find whatever she was looking for, she shook her head. “No, but go ahead and watch whatever you like. It won’t disturb me.” She laughed as she straightened with a hot-pink nightshirt in one hand and a zebra-striped toiletry bag in the other. “I think I proved the other night when we were watching the movie that I can sleep through whatever is on the TV, even if it’s something I want to see.”
He barely managed a smile as she turned to go into the bathroom. All he could think about was her taking off her clothes to get into the shower and him joining her. His body tightened to an almost painful state when he remembered the times they had showered together over the past couple of years.
Clenching his jaw so tight it would take a crowbar to pry it open, he sat down on the end of one of the beds and took off his boots. How the hell was he going to get through one night of being in the same room and not being able to make love to her, let alone three?
“Nate, could you please check to see if there are extra pillows on the closet shelf?” Jessie asked as she came out of the bathroom several minutes later.
He did his best not to stare as she walked over to the bed to put the clothes she’d been wearing before her shower into her suitcase. The hot-pink nightshirt she wore wasn’t even remotely sexy under normal circumstances. It hung all the way to her knees, was completely opaque and couldn’t have been more shapeless. But that didn’t seem to matter. Just knowing that she probably didn’t have anything on under it besides her panties had him feeling like a range-raised stud seeing his first filly.
“Are you all right?” she asked when he continued to stare.
“Just peachy,” he muttered, swallowing back a groan.
“Could you check the closet?” she asked again.
“Uh, right. Pillows.” Focusing on her request, he looked inside the closet and shook his head. “No extras. Why do you need them?”
“I forgot to bring the wedge pillow,” she said, frowning. “I always put that under the side of my stomach and another pillow against my back.”
“You can use one of mine,” he offered, knowing it wouldn’t matter how many he had. He wasn’t going to get any sleep anyway.
“Or you could call the front desk and have one sent up to the room,” she suggested.
He shook his head. “I only need one anyway.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” She continued to rearrange her clothes in the suitcase. “You need your rest if you’re going to compete tomorrow.”
If he hadn’t found the situation so dismal, he might have laughed at her erroneous assumption that he’d be able to relax enough to sleep. But there wasn’t anything funny about being aroused for a week. He had finally broken down and found his own relief, but that was always hollow and only relieved his physical discomfort. It did absolutely nothing to alleviate the emptiness he felt not having Jessie in his arms.
“I think I’m going to take a shower now,” he said, unsure of how many more cold showers his traumatized body could endure. Grabbing a change of underwear from his duffel bag, he motioned toward the bed he knew for certain he would lie awake in for the entire night. “Go ahead and take both pillows if you need to.”
He hoped by the time he got out of the shower, Jessie was in bed, covered up to her ears and sound asleep. When he came back into the room ten minutes later with his teeth chattering like a set of fake choppers from a novelty shop, he shoved his clothes into his duffel bag and turned to find her snuggled up in a nest of bed pillows. Unfortunately, she was still wide awake.