Chapter 29

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

Rhonda

Jordan opened the door to their suite. He wasn’t shirtless like he’d been the first time. She was only mildly disappointed.

“Hey.”

Jordan grinned. “Hey.” His eyes drank her in. “I have a bathroom if you need it.”

Rhonda stepped over the threshold and tipped her chin to look up at him. “Yes, please.” She wanted to jump into his arms, but nerves kept her arms clamped at her sides.

Jordan slapped her hip as she passed him, and she took in the room. It was a vision of modern elegance—clean lines, minimalistic decor, and a monochromatic palette of greys and whites, broken only by the occasional accents of brushed steel and gold.

Gorgeous. But ten grand gorgeous? “I’m so sorry.”

“About what?”

She turned to him. “You spent a small fortune on this.”

Jordan smirked. “I have savings.”

“But did you want to spend it on this?” On me? Her throat tightened. That was really what she was asking, but she’d never say it out loud.

The smile on his face shifted into something deep and intense. “Hell, yes.”

Jordan stood with his hands in his pockets, and the memory of seeing him for the first time hit her like a freight train. They were such different people in Medicine Hat. Each so sure they knew what they wanted.

Well, who she wanted then hadn’t changed. But how she wanted him . . . She didn’t understand then that she was only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

Which was why this felt a million times more terrifying.

Rhonda bit her lip. She knew him, now. Knew that he flipped his fork upside down when he ate. That he only checked his phone once an hour so he didn’t get distracted at work. That he kept a flosser in his pocket just in case.

Her heart felt like a pool pump. She took a step farther into the space, scanning the floor-to-ceiling windows that framed the Rocky Mountains against the darkening sky. But it was the details that made her breath catch. The low-profile coffee table had a bucket with champagne on ice sitting ready to be popped. She glanced around and noticed the fake, glowing candles scattered across the countertops and shelves.

“They wouldn’t let me use real ones.” Jordan’s voice was right behind her, a low rumble vibrating through her bones. His movements were fluid, like a shadow coming to life, wrapping over her so slowly, she was absorbed pixel by pixel.

His arms finally made contact and snaked around her middle. "I heard I'm your boyfriend."

Rhonda grinned, her breath hitching. "Oh? Who told you that?" She turned her head to the side, her hair sticking to his cheek like Velcro.

Jordan lowered his head, nudging her shirt to the side so his lips could find skin. "Your friends.”

“You’re a sneaky bastard.”

He chuckled. “You love it.” His hand traced over hers, and he took her bag from her hands, setting it on the floor.

She turned to face him, not able to slow the breaths filling and rushing from her lungs. She searched his face. “Didn’t you work a night shift?”

He nodded. “I slept a few hours this morning.”

Rhonda pressed a hand to his chest and heat flashing through her. “I swear, if you tell me you only want to cuddle tonight?—”

Jordan threw back his head and laughed. He pulled her flush against him, his hand cupping her jaw. “I want to wreck you tonight.”

Rhonda’s spirit left her body at the mental image of him taking her apart piece by piece, then putting her back together. “Mmm.”

“I think we’ve spent enough time taking it slow.” His eyes locked on hers.

She didn’t know if it was possible for a human to purr, but she was about to find out. “Agreed.”

Jordan’s face sobered. His grip tightened. “I want this with you. I’m choosing this with you.”

His words were intentional, and Rhonda swirled them around in her head. Choosing. Not reacting. Not just giving in.

That was the difference.

The first time she’d shown up at his door, she was scrabbling for control. For release. She held the paddle, but was trying to push against the current. Now she was learning to lift it and travel faster. To give in to the flow and only choose where she directed the boat.

Jordan’s thumb brushed over her jaw, his lips grazing her forehead, and her eyes fluttered closed. “Do I need to stop? Am I influencing your response?”

Rhonda gripped onto his hand. “Don’t you dare stop.” She blinked her eyes open and looked straight at him. “I chose you in the hall. At the Founder’s Event.”

That moment had been one of the scariest of her life. To admit she wanted more, but that she didn’t know how to get it.

Jordan dropped his forehead to hers. “I know.”

“But I’m glad we took our time. I didn’t know if I could be that person.” With that, every nerve in her body came to life in a rush.

“Now you know?”

Rhonda laughed. “Hell, no.”

Jordan brushed her lips to his. “Good. I think that’s good.”

“How is that good?”

“Because I want to figure that out together.”

The flickering light of the candles threw golden ovals the walls as her breath fanned out over his collarbone. She wanted to devour him. To tear of his shirt and bite into him. “I’m so turned on, my thoughts are turning vampiric.”

Jordan grinned against her cheek. “I’m excited to see where that leads.”

Her hands slipped under his shirt, pressing against his chest. “It’s going to lead somewhere real weird if you don’t start touching me.”

Jordan laughed, then pulled at her shirt. Rhonda lifted her arms so he could pull it over her head, and before she could drop them, Jordan’s mouth was on her. She gasped, her elbows on his shoulders, her fingers tightening in his hair.

Jordan's lips moved over her bra, her ribs, her collarbone, her neck. Rhonda's knees went weak as his he murmured her name, his breath hot against her ear.

He knew it.

And that was why this felt nothing like before. She'd never been this close to someone, never let herself be this vulnerable. She was standing on the edge of a cliff, her toes curling, her mind spinning as she readied herself to leap.

Rhonda pulled back, her breath coming fast as she looked up at him. "What do you think about getting into the hot tub?"

Jordan exhaled, his hands still crimping her waist. "Yes. Sure."

Her eyes flicked down to her bag. No tits, Rhonda. She grinned to herself. Tonight there would be all the tits.

Rhonda followed Jordan into the bedroom and gasped. The bed. It sat under a full glass roof, illuminated by the deep pinks and purples of sunset. She unclasped her bra and dropped it on the chair, then pulled off her pants and underwear.

It wasn’t anything Jordan hadn’t seen before, but his eyes still darkened darkened as he scanned her body. Twice.

He ran a hand through his hair, then stalked into the bathroom and grabbed two towels. He set them on the bed and pulled off his clothes. Rhonda watched every second of it, grinning as he freed himself from his boxer briefs.

He picked up the towels, and she walked to the sliding glass doors. She slid them open and stepped out onto the patio, the cool night air instantly making her skin pebble.

Rhonda wrapped her arms around herself, and they walked over to the steaming hot tub. Jordan reached down and hit the button to start the jets, then held out a hand to help her in.

She climbed the two steps then dropped her foot into the water and sucked in a breath. She set her other foot on the second step, then slipped down into the water to her shoulders.

"Shit, that's good." Jordan followed her in and settled on the same side of the tub.

Rhonda leaned back, her eyes fixed on the water, on the bubbles swirling around her hands as she moved them back and forth. The stars started to peek through the twilight sky, and the sun was setting behind the mountains in a wash of purples and pinks.

Jordan found her under the water and pulled her against his side.

"I got a call earlier today." Rhonda looked up at him.

"Yeah?" Jordan raised an eyebrow.

"It was Dr. Mallory. He told me that they were going to add Reviact to the formulary on a trial basis." Somehow this felt like foreplay.

A slow smile spread across his face. "I’m not surprised.”

She dropped her chin and kissed his cool shoulder. ”Thank you.”

“For what? You did all the work.”

She smoothed her hand over his stomach. “For helping me. For taking care of me.” She dropped her hand lower.

Jordan exhaled in a rush, dropping his head back. His hand slid up her arm, eager to stroke. To hold.

The water rolled against their bodies as they touched. Explored. Jordan’s hands grew more frantic, and energy flared through her. She loved making him feel this way. Making him desperate.

Rhonda twisted and climbed onto the seat, throwing her leg over his and straddling him.

“Rhonda—”

“Shh.” She pressed her finger to his lips. “Let me take care of you for once.”

She discovered him. Loved him. The best way she knew how.

And suddenly everything she’d learned, every choice she’d made along the way, didn’t feel stuck or wasted. They’d all been leading her to this moment. This person.

This man who knew her name.