Unbreak My Heart (42 page)

Boone said, “Safe travels,” and shut the door. Then he faced me. “Better get your dress on for that walk of shame, baby.”

Sightseeing with Boone
ruined me for sightseeing with anyone else.

We spent the entire day exploring one part of the Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness. He convinced me that instead of doing a drive through and trying to see all of the famous rock formations in one day, we should concentrate on a specific section. Setting a limit also provided us with an excuse to return because we’d barely scratched the surface of all the places to see.

He fell in love with the area, just as I suspected he would. Although the topography, rock coloration and vegetation was nothing like east central Wyoming, I knew it reminded him of Sundance and Devil’s Tower.

We hiked the eight-mile Secret Canyon trail to Maroon Mountain. The gorgeous vistas included a dazzling display of scarlet and gold foliage from the maple and oak trees that grew in the upper section of the canyon where there was water year round.

I snapped tons of pictures with my phone and ended up with several great shots of us on our first day-trip adventure.

By the time we were back in the city of Sedona, we were both tired. Boone booked our reservation for the night and I didn’t have any expectations—I just wanted a room with a shower and bed and him in it. So the luxury of L’Auberge de Sedona stunned me. We had a corner room with a four-poster canopy bed, a fireplace, a sitting area and a balcony overlooking Oak Creek.

After I showered, I slipped on the complimentary spa robe and wandered onto the balcony. I rested against the railing, watching the setting sun throwing light over the cathedral spires in the distance, when Boone came up behind me.

He latched onto my hips and placed a kiss on the side of my neck. “So? What do you think?”

His scent enveloped me and I closed my eyes. “I think everything about it is beautiful. You have excellent taste, West.”

“Yes, I do.” He swept my hair aside, using his teeth on my neck in that skillful and maddening way that weakened my knees. “I know what I need to taste right now,” he growled against my skin.

“Right here?” I breathed.

“No. I want you naked and no one gets to see you like that but me.” Boone steered me into the room, his mouth never leaving my skin.

Immediately I noticed a warm, woodsy scent filling the space. I twisted away from his marauding mouth for a moment so I could pinpoint the source of that scent.

Candles.

Boone had lit the candles scattered throughout the room. Every surfaced glowed from the flickering flames—reflected in the mirrors, the glass coffee table, the polished wooden side tables and glinted in the steel behind the mantel. The open balcony doors sent the sheer white canopy on the bed fluttering in the breeze. This fairytale setting disproved his claim about not being romantic.

My throat went tight. “Boone. What…is all this?”

“Me, taking care of you.” He untied the sash on my robe, purposely dragging the fluffy, nubby fabric across my skin as he peeled it off my body. Then he murmured, “Sit in the chair by the fireplace.”

Four fast heartbeats after my ass landed in the chair, Boone was on his knees, his hands spreading my thighs, his mouth on me. I let my head fall back and surrendered to his hot, wet erotic kiss that broadcast his hunger.

The first time I came it was fireworks and flames, colors exploding behind my lids in time to the pulsating in my clit.

The second time I came was even better.

Right after orgasm number two, while my breathing remained ragged and my entire body quivered, Boone had me on my hands and knees on the rug in front of the fireplace. His legs shook as he caged me beneath him. He kept one hand between us, his fingers teasing my drenched sex as he guided himself inside me. He paused, his hardness buried to the hilt as he fought for control.

Or else he was waiting to see how long I could hold out before I begged him to fuck me.

He nuzzled the side of my head, his lips traveling from my temple to the edge of my jaw. I lost my mind when he did that sucking-the-air-out-of-my-ear-rather-than-blowing-it-in thing as he began to stroke in and out of me. Each one a little faster, a little harder. Then he sank his teeth into the ball of my shoulder and surged into me.

His pelvis slapped my ass with every deep stroke. He placed his palm between my shoulder blades and pushed; a wordless lover’s command to lower my chest.

I groaned as the rug abraded my nipples, shooting a zip line of tingles from those tight tips straight down my belly to my wet, desire-inflamed core.

Boone’s sexy grunts as his flesh slammed against mine were almost enough to tip me over the edge. Almost. So when his clever fingers started a soft pinch and release on my slippery clit…that sent me bucking and arching as orgasm number three steamrolled me.

My head was still spinning; my sex was still spasming when Boone stretched over me completely, threading his fingers through mine and pressing his face into the nape of my neck. He pumped his hips in an erotic cadence, not fast, not slow, just mind-blowingly perfect.

When he started to come, in that dreamy, unhurried pace, I felt every hard jerk of his cock, every hot burst of his seed bathing my swollen tissues, every short exhale from his lungs as he poured every bit of his passion for me, into me.

Spent and sated, and unwilling to lose the connection, we stayed like that until not even the heat from the fireplace could warm the chill from our bodies.

Boone retreated, planting kisses down my spine as he moved out of me. He lifted me into his arms and carried me to bed.

We woke up two hours later, completely famished.

Rather than leave our romantic love nest, Boone ordered room service. But in a place this classy it wasn’t food brought up on a tray. We had balcony service—a waiter arrived and set up the table with linens, a small bouquet of flowers and gleaming tableware. After popping the cork on the bottle of champagne, he left us to enjoy our romantic dinner in our robes.

So I nearly fell off the chair when Boone lifted the silver dome on the butler’s cart to reveal…pizza. Gourmet pizza, to be sure, but it was still pizza.

I had to hide my watery eyes when he said he’d chosen pizza because it’d become a Sunday night tradition with us.

Later when we were curled up in bed, he sighed. “Back to the real world tomorrow.”

“Today was perfect, Boone. Thank you.”

“Thank you for…being there for me last night.” He tightened his hold on me. “Did it bug you that I didn’t introduce you to my dad this morning?”

“No. And not just because you didn’t introduce yourself to my mom. Why? Are you wishing you had?”

“Fuck that. I knew he’d turn into an asshole when he found out your last name is McKay. But there was a nasty part of me that would like to see him squirm about that.” He sighed again. “That nasty streak I inherited from my mom rarely wins.”

I smiled.

“The reason I didn’t introduce you is because he doesn’t deserve to know you, Sierra. You are the best part of my life and something I never thought I’d have because of my fucked-up childhood. Since he was a good part of that misery, he doesn’t deserve to see me happy. He hasn’t earned that right. I suspect he never will. It’s not me being petty. It’s not me retreating because of what he told me about his abusive past. It’s about me not letting my crappy past have any hold on my future.” He pressed a warm kiss to the top of my head. “I love you. I know how to love
because
of you.”

That was the first time I’d ever cried myself to sleep with happy tears.

I
t’d been a
long day, sitting in on conference calls, then writing up reports summarizing the calls. I’d scrambled to get everything finalized for our departure in the morning.

Sierra wasn’t home from her PCE meeting. She warned me she might not be back until late. The clock inched toward twenty-two hundred and I hadn’t heard from her.

After being inside all day, I opted to wait for her by the pool. I stretched out in a chaise, can of Coors on the table, earbuds in, but on low. I could sit out here for hours, watching the play of light, shadows and movement across the pool’s surface. I figured this was as close as I’d get to a Zen experience.

I heard the garage door go up. It amused me that as soon as Sierra didn’t have to present a business image, she dressed down—not that I’d ever complain about that ass of hers in yoga pants.

As I waited, I wondered if she’d eaten dinner—she forgot half the time. Especially on nights when she went directly from DPM to her meeting at PCE. She’d been on edge the past week, which meant she’d been on a baking spree. Anytime I asked if she wanted to talk, she claimed everything was fine. So tonight she deserved to unwind. From the small cooler, I pulled out a plastic cup and poured a can of pre-mixed margarita over the ice. I even popped in an umbrella next to the straw.

The patio door opened and there she was. Her beautiful brown hair secured into a messy bun on top of her head, a loose cotton tunic that hit her mid-thigh and her feet bare. I got that one-two punch in the heart and the gut. My love for her just grew every damn day.

“I’m so glad you’re out here. I’m sick of breathing recycled air in stuffy offices.” Sierra smiled at me; the smile that was mine alone. Soft, sweet, sexy. Then she leaned over me. “Hi.” She kissed me, starting out a tease, then she pushed her tongue past my lips and poured her passion into me, filling that empty space that used to be inside me, with…this. With everything. She took the kiss back down to sweet, gliding her damp lips across mine, and murmured, “I love coming home to you every night.”

“I love this domestic stuff, baby. I love that I have it with you.”

She sighed dreamily and stood.

I reached down and snagged her drink, holding it up. “For my hardworking corporate executive.”

“God, I love you, West.”

“Back atcha times a million, McKay. Have a seat.”

Sierra lowered herself in the chaise next to me on her front side, her head by my feet. She sipped her drink and the dimple in her cheek popped out when she noticed the umbrella. “Nice touch.”

“Only the best for you.”

“Thanks for the blanket too.”

The first week we lived together, I learned that the fuzzy blue and white blanket belonged to Sierra and she didn’t share it. Ever. And the girl turned pissy if she suspected someone had been using it. I did not get her attachment to it, but I did respect it. I’d taken a chance bringing it poolside, and I breathed easier that I hadn’t fucked up. “You’re welcome.” I ran my hand up the back of her thigh. “Take a moment to clear your head.”

“Okay. But please keep doing that.”

I brought my hand back down to her knee and let my palm slowly journey upward again. Over and over.

Only the right side of her face was visible, but I knew when she dozed off. I’d miss this in the next two weeks. After a lifetime of feeling adrift, this connection to her and proof of the life we were building together filled me with pride. I’d do everything in my power to keep this.

Sierra stirred after half an hour. The first thing she did in that groggy state was reach for me.

Fuck. I was just bursting with happiness over that one small thing.

She lifted her head and smiled at me. “Power nap accomplished.” She readjusted herself so we were side by side and she sucked down half of her drink. “Guess I was thirsty.”

“You wanna talk about your day, your meeting tonight? Or would you rather just chill?”

“Just chill. Except I will say the PCE meeting was the most productive we’ve had in months.”

“Awesome.”

“What crazy things did Sergeant West get up to today?”

“Phone conferences with the brass all morning and half the afternoon. Paperwork fun after that.”

“I didn’t know you had conference calls scheduled today.”

“That’s the thing; we didn’t.”

She looked at me. “Tell me.”

“I have to go back to base tomorrow. Raj too.”

Her face fell. “Really?”

“Yeah. It’s just for two weeks.”

“Two weeks!”

I raised a brow at her. “That’s better than a month.”