Slope of Love (Love in Bloom: The Remingtons) (16 page)

JAYLA BURIED HER panties in the trash, then leaned against the bathroom wall and tried to catch her breath. Her heart was racing, but that didn’t compare to the aroused hum that vibrated through her entire body. She pressed her hand over her heart and closed her eyes, breathing deeply, trying to calm her racing heart.

“There you are.” Kia came through the bathroom door and went directly to the mirror to check her hair and makeup. “One minute you were dancing, and the next, you and Rush were gone.”

Oh shit
.

“I saw Rush out in the hall. He said you weren’t feeling very well.” She lifted her eyes to Jayla in the mirror. “Are you okay? Do you need some Midol or something?”

I need some Rush Remington
. “No, thanks. I think it was just the heat from dancing. Is Rush still out there?”

Kia shrugged and applied a fresh coat of lipstick. “But that singer came over and stole that hunky cowboy of yours away from the table.”

“Oh my God. Have I been gone that long?” She washed her hands in cold water and patted her face with a wet paper towel.

“Fifteen minutes, maybe. You okay? Should we leave?”

Yes! Yes! Yes!
“Actually, yeah, I think we should.” It was all she could do not to run out of the bathroom and to the parking lot.

JAYLA RODE HOME sitting on Rush’s lap in the passenger seat of the SUV. Within seconds of getting on the road, Rush slid his hand beneath her jacket, and in turn, beneath her clothes to her bare skin. The car was dark and the others were busy talking about the evening, which was a good thing, because Jayla could barely breathe, much less think as his thumb grazed the underside of her breast. By the time Kia pulled into the parking lot, he was rock hard, and she was damp again. She stepped from the SUV and Rush drew her against him in a blatantly possessive embrace.

And she loved it.

“I’m going to take Jayla home.” His voice was gruff, commanding.

“Feel better, Jay,” Kia called.

She’d almost forgotten that she’d feigned feeling sick. They walked quickly down the stone path toward the cabins, and as soon as they were out of eyeshot of the others, Rush pulled her behind a grouping of pine trees and took her in a kiss so deep and sensuous, her body went warm despite the cold night breeze. His hand slid down her hip, and her knees weakened.

“I’m sorry. You’re probably cold,” he said between heavy breaths.

She shook her head. “Hot.”

His eyes widened, then narrowed before he lowered his lips to hers again. He felt so good, so right. She wondered how she could have ever thought that competing was more important than him. Than this. Than them. She could feel his love in his strong and careful embrace. When they finally drew apart, his gaze was soft, assessing, and she loved that about him. He was always considerate of her.

“My place?”

She nodded, knowing her voice would never work.

Rush moved behind her as he unlocked the door, forming a protective shield from the wind as it whipped around the side of the cabin. He pushed the door open, pressing his hips into her from behind. She leaned her head back against his chest, loving and relishing in the electricity that hadn’t replaced, but added to, the quiet comfort of their friendship. He reached an arm around her waist from behind, then lowered his mouth to her neck as he guided her inside and kicked the door shut behind them. Jayla’s body was on fire. His stubble grated against her neck, and he ran his tongue along the tender scratches before gently turning her to face him and gazing lovingly into her eyes. He brushed her hair from her shoulder and held her cheeks between his large palms.

“Jayla.” His voice was thick with desire. “You’re sure?”

She nodded again. His glorious, masculine scent was everywhere, in the air, on his skin, in her lungs.

He lowered his hands to her hips. “One hundred percent? Because I can’t make love to you and then go back to just being friends. Hell, I’m not sure I can go back to just being friends now anyway. I damn near wanted to kill that cowboy for putting his hands on you.”

“Yes. One hundred percent. Yes.”
I have no idea what I was thinking before. You’re all I’ve ever wanted, and even if I lose focus, I want you. All of you
. “I love that you care enough to ask,” she managed.

“I care too damn much. Way too damn much.”

His lips were an inch from hers. One little movement and they’d meet again, but guilt stabbed at her and her shoulder ached. She couldn’t cross this line with Rush without being perfectly honest with him.

She swallowed past the urge to remain silent and kiss him and forced herself to speak. “I…I have to tell you something.”

He leaned his forehead on hers, his chest rising and falling with each heated breath.

“Okay, but if you’re going to tell me that you just want to be friends, shoot me instead.”

“No. I want this. I want us. I just need you to know something before we do this.” She grabbed hold of his coat collar and held on tight.

“Afraid I’ll run away?”

“No,” she whispered. “I’m afraid I will.”

“Oh, babe. Really?” He took her in his arms and held her close. “Is it that bad?”

“My injury might be,” she said against his shoulder.

He drew back and searched her eyes. She saw him measuring the truth of her words.

He narrowed his gaze. “You’re serious. Oh, Jayla. I’m so sorry.” His eyes danced over her shoulder.

She shrugged.

“No, this isn’t a shrug. Did I hurt you when I touched you? Kissed you? Oh God, when you were against the wall?”

“No, no.”

“Have you talked to all the team docs?”

She shook her head.

“Specialists?”

She shook her head again. “Remember when I tore the lining of my shoulder socket? This feels worse, and they told me last time that another tear would probably stop me from competing.”

Rush tossed his baseball hat on the floor and ran his hand through his hair. He gently rubbed her shoulder. “How much pain are you in?”

She swallowed hard.

He shook his head. “Jayla, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I thought I could build up the muscles and still compete. Some people can. I read about it online, and it depends on the tear—where it is, the size, circumstances.”

“Jayla, that’s what these docs do for a living. They can figure all that out.”

She hooked her finger into the waist of his jeans. “Can we talk about it tomorrow? Right now I’ve got advertising contracts and sponsors, and…I’ve got you. Tonight. Now. I just want to enjoy it, because if I have this surgery, that all may go away, and that’s too much for me to think about right now.”

He kissed her forehead. “You know I’m not going anywhere, right? Whether you’re a competitive skier or not makes no difference. I love you for you, Jayla. Whatever needs to be done for your shoulder, or anything else, we’ll get through it together.” He lowered his lips to hers, and relief swept through her.

Her breath caught in her throat. “L-love?”

He gazed into her eyes. “Yes. Love. Without an ounce of doubt, Jayla, I love you.”

“Rush, I…”
Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
She’d held the words in for so many years that she had trouble setting them free. “I…Oh God, Rush. I love you, too.”

“Even with my past? You aren’t going to regret those words tomorrow?”

She shook her head. “I haven’t regretted saying them in my head forever, so I can’t imagine ever regretting saying them aloud to you.”

He kissed her softly “Why did you decide to tell me about your shoulder now?”

“So that if you wanted to change your mind, you could do it before I knew what it was like to be close to you. To be loved by you.”

“You can’t get rid of me that easily.” Rush helped her off with her coat before removing his own and tossing them both on a chair.

Jayla glanced nervously around his dark, tidy cabin. Canisters of protein powder sat atop the kitchen counter along with a crumpled paper, a handful of change, and a few skiing magazines. She eyed the open bedroom door and her pulse kicked up a notch. Butterflies swarmed in her stomach. She closed her eyes at the feel of Rush’s hands on her bare legs as he slowly unzipped her boots. When he slid the warm leather from her legs, it was the most erotic thing she’d ever felt. His hands traveled up her legs, hesitating at the edge of her skirt. When he touched the bare skin of her hips, Jayla sucked in a breath and opened her eyes.

His eyes went dark. “You weren’t lying about your panties.”

She bit her lower lip and he smiled, then pressed soft kisses along her chin, pulling a sigh of pleasure from her. He kissed her softly as his hands found her waist; then he deepened the kiss. Every stroke of his tongue stole a little more of her breath. He rocked into her, and she clutched at his chest, feeling his muscles jump beneath her fingertips. Lord, did he feel good. When he slid his lips to her neck again, she shivered and snuck her hands beneath his shirt, grasping handfuls of muscle and skin on his strong back, grabbing for any piece of him she could hold on to. His hands roved over her breasts, bringing every nerve to the surface, heightening every sensation.

Her knees weakened, and she couldn’t hold back her desire. “Rush,” she whispered.

She held her breath as he gently removed her sweater without lifting her sore shoulder too high. He tossed it onto the counter and stepped closer. His breath became hers, and the heat of his body enveloped her.

“I dreamed about you in this sexy little camisole,” he whispered against her neck.

She shuddered. “And?”

“And I might not have been sleeping.” He drew her camisole over her head, exposing her bare breasts. “Good Christ, you’re beautiful.”

He lowered his mouth to her breast, hungrily devouring every inch of skin and driving her out of her ever-loving mind. He moved his attention to the other breast, pulling a gasp from her lips. She clawed at his back, craving skin-to-skin contact and spurring him on to lavish her nipple with slow strokes of his hot tongue.

She tugged at his shirt. “Off,” she managed.

He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it away, then took her in another kiss, pinning her against the door. His hard length pressed against her, pulling a moan of need from her lungs. She lifted her knee along his outer leg, and he gripped it with his hand and held on tight, grinding against her.

“Rush,” she said against his lips.

His hand found her center with a moan of his own. He captured her mouth in his again, and his fingers teased her until her body felt ridden with pins and needles. She reached for the button on his jeans and he shook his head.

“Not yet.”

She whimpered a plea, and he slid his fingers inside of her. She sucked in another breath. His thumb moved expertly, caressing the sensitive nub that drove her hands to clutch the waist of his pants as he kissed her harder, thrusting his tongue in rhythm to his fingers. Her thighs tensed, and she gasped for air as he brought her up to the edge and held her there. She could feel the pull of an orgasm, taunting her, driving her up on her toes, pulling whimpers from her mouth to his, until she thought she might go crazy, and finally, he softened the kiss and quickened his tease, sending her over the edge. She drew back from the kiss with the need to breathe, crying out against the explosion of sensations that coursed through her. She felt her muscles pulsating around his fingers. His tongue on her neck, his teeth grazed her skin as she came down from the peak. And he took her in another hard kiss, still holding her leg by his hip, teasing and taunting her again until she was right back at the precipice of another orgasm, begging, pleading for more. He took her over the edge again, and she threw her head back and clawed at his skin.

“Oh God. Oh God.”

Her legs trembled as he lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. She slid down his body until her feet hit the floor. She clung to him, unsure whether her legs still worked. He must have sensed her unsteadiness, because he held her against him with one arm and used the other to unbutton his jeans and step from them. She couldn’t shimmy out of her skirt fast enough. She’d seen Rush in his boxer briefs a million times, but she never could have imagined how his lean, hard frame could arouse her as he stood naked before her. She tried to look away but was held captive by the look of love in his eyes.

He reached for her hand, then for his wallet.

She grabbed his wrist and shook her head. “I’m on the pill.”

He hesitated, and she knew what he was thinking. He’d told her straight up about his past, but he’d never asked about hers.

“Three men, and never without a condom.” She saw the question in the narrowing of his eyes, the parting of his lips.

“Because it’s you, Rush. I want all of you. I’ve always wanted all of you.”

He kissed her then, and they came down on the bed together, his strong body perched above her, the tip of his arousal against her center, and his eyes—those sensuous blue eyes—reached right inside her and touched her soul.

“I love you, Jayla. I think I always have.”

As he slid inside her, she closed her eyes. She’d dreamed of this moment forever, and she never wanted to forget the feel of his chest against hers, the scratch of his stubble as he kissed her, his hard length buried deep and moving inside her like she was all he ever wanted, too.

RUSH LAY ON his back beside Jayla with one arm arced over his head, his other hand interlaced with hers, and his heart beating faster than during a downhill race. Their naked bodies touched from shoulder to ankle, and he felt full. Satiated. Happy. He never realized that sex could make him feel so fulfilled. Then again, he knew that this wasn’t just sex.

He pushed up on one elbow, and Jayla shifted her eyes away from him. He assumed she was embarrassed and pulled the sheet from the bottom of the bed up and covered her.

“Better?”

She closed her eyes, and Rush sank back down to the mattress with a sigh.

“That’s not the reaction I was expecting, but…”

She smiled, opened one eye, then closed it again.