He shook his head while looking out the window. “I need to think.”
She blinked at the response feeling rebuffed and … hurt. “All right.” She went into the bathroom and removed her wig and contact lenses. The color pallet for her foundation, blush, and eyeshadow looked garish against her nearly white hair and blue eyes. She stepped into the shower and let the warm water surround her. After her shower, she became herself—well, as close to herself as she’d ever been—and dressed. When she emerged from the bedroom, Smith was standing in front of the window, the glass of scotch still in his hand. She flicked her gaze to the scotch bottle. The contents hadn’t diminished. She walked up behind him and placed her hand on his back. “Is everything all right?”
He blinked and looked down at her. “Perfect.” She watched him glance at the clock. “I’ll get my jacket. Call for an attendant for the bags?”
Worry crept through her. She’d known him long enough to know that was not the norm. “No. You need to tell me what’s changed tonight. What happened?”
He turned and looked at her and repeated the words she’d said to Smoke, “He’s fine. He processes everything in minute detail, and you know he isn’t the most talkative man in the world.” He paused and quoted her again. “So, you really want to go there? That’s what you said. What don’t I know, Val? What won’t you tell me? Why am I not ready? What’s going to take time? Guardian using me? Guardian using my parents? I asked you if this was all a game to you. You denied it, and I believed you. I. Believed. You.”
“What?” She turned toward the bedroom and then the bathroom. “You heard?”
He sneered at her. “I heard.”
She moved forward and placed her hand on Smithson. “Not all of it.”
He whipped her hand off by flinging his arm out. “Enough.”
“Oh,hellno.” Val moved and grabbed his hand, spinning and bringing it up in leveraged hold behind his back.
Smith had skills and strength. He broke the hold and walked into the bedroom.All right, you asked for it,mister. Val slipped out of her heels and sprinted toward him. He heard her coming and turned, which was just what she wanted. She launched and wrapped around him, scissoring her legs around his neck and pulling him back onto the bed. Val scrambled, using his momentary shock to lock her arm and put him in a chokehold.
Shit! What?Val hung on tight. The man had a strength she’d never experienced and stood with her still locked around his neck and spun, trying to grab her. “Stop it, damn it! You’re not ready to hear that I care about you. I don’t want to scare you off, and Smoke didn’t have any right to go there!”
Smith grabbed her leg and jerked her. He lifted her foot as she fell from his back, giving her an angle. She reached between his legs, grabbed his quad, and kicked free of his grip on her leg. Landing on her knees, she pushed up, lifted his leg, then lunged to her feet, sending him sprawling to the floor. The thud of his weight hitting the floor reverberated in the room. Val hustled. She moved on top of him, panting for breath, her knees pinning his shoulders and her hands holding his up over his head. She stared down at him. “I care about you, you asshole! That was what we were fucking talking about. That’s the whole damn secret. If this trip didn’t work out and you don’t care for me after we’re done, then that was why the whole trip would be for naught. Damn it, you don’t believe anyone can care about you, and I want to prove I do.”
Smith stared up at her breathing just as heavily as she was. He moved so quickly that Val didn’t see it coming. They rolled, and he was on top of her. She went limp. “You’re a big, muscled hunk of nothing but heart, and you’ve been hurt so many times by so many people. You don’t trust me.”
He stared at her. “You don’t trust me.”
“I do. I think I have since I saw how you cared for Mrs. Henshaw. I’m telling you the truth. There’s no game. The only thing I want is you.” She stared up at him. Those dark eyes bored into her, and she gazed up at him, letting him see the absolute truth.
A loud pounding on the door turned both of their heads. “Hotel security!”
“Kiss me, now,” Val said to him.
Smith dropped his weight between her legs as she wrapped her arms around his neck. When security opened the door, they broke the kiss. Smithson’s brow lowered. “Can I help you?”
“Ah, ma’am, is everything okay? We got a complaint from the people below you saying they heard shouting and things falling?”
Val laughed. “The suitcase fell off the bed, and I was shouting with delight because my husband was taking me on a surprise trip.” She lifted a finger and turned Smith’s face, so he was looking at her. She sighed. “Close the door on your way out, please.”
The side of Smith’s lip ticked up, and he dropped for another kiss. Val heard the man leave the room but didn’t break the kiss. When Smith finally lifted, he stared at her. “I don’t understand how you could care for me.”
“And that is why I didn’t tell you. I wanted to share experiences to show you that I did. I know how badly you’ve been treated. I don’t play games, Smith. I don’t tell people I care for them if I don’t.”
He stared at her for a moment. “You hit me with a flying leg scissor.”
“Well, you deserved it.” She scrunched her nose. “You’re stronger than I thought. Use that the next time we’re in bed together.”
He rolled his hips, and she felt the ridge of his cock against her. “Oh, so now we know a bit of sparring is foreplay.” She laughed as his face turned red. “That’s okay. It got my engine revved, too.”
He laughed and looked up, his face immediately falling. “We need to go. We’ll be late for the airport.”
Val tipped her head back and looked at the digital clock. She groaned. “To be continued.” She lifted and kissed him. “You call for the car and the attendant. I need to fix my hair.
Smith stood and offered her a hand up. When she was on her feet, he cocked his head. “Smoke was right.”
She smoothed out her clothes and adjusted her belt. “About what?”