Page 67 of High Country Escape

“No. But it is odd that he had Alice—Brianna—change her name to Betty. I’m sure the name was his idea. I got the impression Kara didn’t do anything he didn’t tell her. She told me he even paid for her to have a nose job.” She leaned against him. “I don’t want to talk about her anymore. I just want to go home.”

Dalton started toward the Ameses’ house, but when he signaled for the turn, Roxanne put a hand on his arm. “Can we go to your place instead?” she asked. “I’m not really ready to see a bunch of people yet.”

“Sure.” He drove on, to his apartment, and led the way up the steps to the front door.

The air smelled musty, like a place that hadn’t been open for several days. “I’ve been staying with my folks,” Dalton said. He moved ahead of her, picking up dropped socks and an empty soda can along the way. “Do you want something to eat or drink?” he asked.

“I want a shower and a nap.” She yawned. “I’m exhausted.”

Fatigue dragged at Dalton, too. “The bathroom is here,” he said, and led her down the short hall. “The bedroom is across from there.”

“Maybe you have some clothes I could borrow,” she said.

“Sure.”

He came up with a T-shirt and a pair of athletic shorts. He handed her these, along with a pair of socks. “They’ll be too big for you,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter.” She took the clothing and shut the door gently. He hurried away to change the sheets on the bed, glad for once of his mother’s insistence that he needed two sets of sheets at all times, a belief he had considered overkill until now.

When Roxanne emerged from the shower she was pink-cheeked and smelling of his shower gel. Her wet hair curled around her face and her nipples tented the front of the T-shirt. His response was immediate and he turned away, hoping she didn’t notice his erection. “You can sleep in here,” he said, pointing out the freshly made bed. “I’ll sleep in Carter’s old room.”

Roxanne took his hand. “I’d rather if you slept with me. I’d feel safer.”

He waited until she had crawled under the covers and switched out the light before he joined her. He wore a T-shirt and boxers, and the sheets were cool against his bare legs. Roxanne curled on her side, her back to him. He lay on his back, a few inches separating them. “Good night,” she said, her voice already blurred with the beginnings of sleep.

“Good night.” He closed his eyes, sure he would never go to sleep with Roxanne so close, but the events of the past few days had drained him, and slumber soon pulled him under.

Roxanne woke tosoft warmth. She sighed and settled more firmly under the covers, pressed against something warm and firm. She opened her eyes, shocked awake by the realization that she wasn’t alone in this bed. Someone—a man—was with her. Someone who had one arm firmly around her waist, pulling her tight up against his erection.

“Dalton?” she whispered. She had a vague memory of them crawling into bed together before sleep engulfed her.

“Hmm.” He nuzzled against her. It wasn’t an unpleasant sensation. In fact, she liked it a lot. She put her hand over his at her waist and adjusted it to rest on her breast. Automatically, his fingers shaped themselves to her, and squeezed her gently. She let out a breathy sigh and squirmed against him.

His hand stilled. “Roxanne?” he asked.

“Good morning.”

He took his arm away and tried to scramble back. “Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean. I mean...”

She rolled over to face him and grabbed his hand before he could exit the bed altogether. “It’s okay,” she said. “Don’t leave. I was enjoying myself.”

To his credit, he didn’t hesitate, but slid over to pull her close once more. “You feel amazing,” he said.

“All I wanted while I was trapped in that trailer was to get back to you. To show you how much I love you.” She kissed the side of his neck, and slid her hands over his abs and up his chest, pushing his T-shirt out of the way.

He sat up and pulled off the T-shirt, then reached for hers. “Not that you don’t look sexy in it, but right now it’s in my way.”

She laughed, and stripped off the shirt, then pulled him to her. They knelt facing each other, and she cradled his head in her hands as he lavished attention on each breast in turn. She threaded her fingers through his hair and arched her back, sensation vibrating through her with every stroke of his tongue. She moaned and he looked up at her. “Tell me if I’m doing something you don’t like,” he said.

“You’re doing great.” She pushed his head back down. “Keep going.”

He slid down, trailing kisses to her belly button, then lower still. He helped her out of the shorts and made a pleased sound when he saw she wasn’t wearing any underwear. Soon his mouth covered her center, the area becoming the focus of all his attention. She eased down onto her back and he shifted with her. She had a glimpse of his erection tenting the front of his boxers, a teaser of things to come.

And then she stopped thinking about anything as his mouth went to work on her in earnest. He was nothing if not attentive. And thorough. While his mouth worked, his fingers weren’t idle, stroking in and out of her, until the building tension had hervibrating beneath him. She brought her hands to her breasts, touching herself, swamped by sensation.

Her climax surprised her with its intensity, wave upon wave of sensation rocketing through her. Tears stung her eyes and she blinked them away, but a sound like a sob still escaped her.

Dalton was at her side almost instantly, looking at her with alarm. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “What did I do?”