“I call this getting you to relax and maybe being a bit selfish in taking what I want, too.” He shrugged and clutched the towel together between her breasts. “I’m human.”
Her eyes darted down to just below his silver belt buckle. “I see that and you’re also miserable.”
“After what I just saw?” He smiled even wider and shook his head as he scooped her up and out of the tub. “I’m far from miserable. Turned on and aroused? Absolutely. But watching you like that is something I’ll never forget.”
Yeah, she wouldn’t forget it, either. Dane had a touch like none other...at least none she’d ever had. Those rough hands could certainly do more than run a ranch—or whatever it was he did.
Mercy’s sake. She’d just let a man she barely knew pleasure her in such an erotic way. When did she become that woman?
Stella rested her head against his shoulder. Perhaps she’d always been that woman—the type who deserved more than she allowed herself to have, the type who should take more of what she wanted out of life and not work herself to death, and the type who knew when a fling was too good to turn down.
“I really can’t sleep long,” she murmured.
As he carried her, a wave of dizziness overcame her. The hours on her feet, the warmth from the bath, the lethargy from the greatest orgasm she’d ever had...everything made her feel as if she was caught in that world between being asleep and awake.
“Stay.” The single word slipped from her mouth before she could stop herself. “I don’t want to be alone.”
She cringed at her own words. That sounded like begging and after coming undone all around him a moment ago, she’d better watch out or he’d think she was getting attached. There was no room in her life for attachments.
Honestly, she wouldn’t know how to do a relationship or commitment anyway. It wasn’t as if she’d grown up with a good example. Stella wasn’t sure she could ever have a normal or real relationship. Most little girls dreamed of their wedding day, but she’d only dreamed of the day her father wrapped his arms around her and told her how proud he was of her.
Tears pricked her eyes again as Dane settled her onto her bed. Before she rolled over, she thought she felt a dip on the mattress behind her.
He’d stayed. After giving so freely of his passion, expecting nothing in return, and after she’d accused him of horrible things earlier...he’d stayed. For her.
Eight
Dane stared out into the darkness. Swirling snowflakes fluttered through the soft beam of light coming off the patio. He did his best thinking in the middle of the night, in this stretch of time when the world seemed to be calm.
After his years in the military, sleeping never came easy. Nightmares plagued him night after night, but he figured that would forever be an issue. In truth, it didn’t seem to be as bad lately. He didn’t know if his memories were getting better or if he’d just grown accustomed to living with the horror that was his new normal.
Dane glanced over his shoulder toward the king-size bed. The navy sheets and duvet were all twisted on one side where he’d tried to rest, but perfectly placed on the other where Stella slept beneath them.
And that sight right there perfectly summed up their differences. He was restless and edgy, never quite feeling settled with anything in his life...not since his mother’s death. One would think after nearly twenty years he would find some calm center inside of himself, but one life event had rolled into another and Dane had never quite found his inner peace.
Now that Dane had a bit more insight to Stella, he had to assume she never had, either. Perhaps she didn’t even know she was chasing a dream that would leave her only broken and angry.
Dane hadn’t lied when he said he didn’t know her father, but he was well aware the type of man Ruiz was. It didn’t take much digging to find out the guy wasn’t the most honest and loyal to his associates or with business deals. He looked out only for one person...himself.
So where would that leave Stella? Her father treated her like nothing more than a piece on a chessboard...and then Dane came along and did the same thing.
Guilt clawed at him as he turned his attention back to the blizzard raging outside. He caught his reflection in the darkened part of the window and muttered a curse.
How the hell did he obtain his ultimate goal and not run over Stella in the process? That’s not what his mother would have wanted. She hadn’t raised
them to be selfish and scheming. Yet here he was, excelling at both.
He hadn’t expected to care about what was going on with Stella’s personal life. When he’d planned and plotted all of this to get Mirage back, he’d only had his family in mind. Somehow, he wanted to get back what he and his brother were supposed to have and if gaining back the two resorts pushed them closer together, then that was just another reason to keep moving forward.
No matter who stood in his way.
Rustling sheets had him glancing over his shoulder. Stella sat up, the duvet pooled at her waist, her breasts on display and her midnight-black hair all around her shoulders.
The crackling fire sent a glow throughout the open room, putting out a romantic ambience that shouldn’t affect him, but had his body stirring as he made his way toward the bed.
Stella raked her gaze over his bare chest. When he’d gotten up, he’d removed his shirt, but kept his jeans on. He’d like to blame his lack of sleep on the confining garment, but the truth was that PTSD and the guilt over his current situation were gnawing at him.
When she eased the covers aside and swung her legs over the bed, Dane stopped. She came to her feet and without a care to her nakedness, she crossed to him. That curvy body approached him and had his arousal pumping.