Page 13 of A Love So Sweet
“I’d love to hide something inyou, Max.” His voice was like liquid fire. “And I can assure you, getting rid of your bodyisn’ton my mind.”
Max. Couldn’t. Breathe.
Rivers of desire flooded her as he came around to help her out of the truck. She wasn’t a fall-into-bed type of girl and never had been. But when Treat opened her door, looking like a dream come true, it was too hard to wait for their first kiss after finally clearing the air and knowing he’d felt just as much for her that night at the resort as she had for him. Max turned and stepped onto the runner. He took her hands to help her down, and instead of stepping off, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. His hands moved to her waist as the kiss turned deep and sensual, and he drew her body against his. Max’s arms circled his neck as he lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He grasped her thighs, kicking the door closed as he intensified the kiss. One of his hands traveled up her back and into her hair, just like she remembered. His lips were soft yet firm, his hold confident and possessive. She wanted to kiss him all night, right there beneath the stars, with her legs around his middle and his phone ringing endlessly.
Phone?
Max pulled back, the ever-efficient side of her breaking through. “Your phone.”
With a hand on the nape of her neck, he drew her lips to his again and said, “Kiss me.”
“It might be important.”
“Nothing is more important than you.”
He pressed his lips to hers, and her heart soared. His phone stopped ringing, and she surrendered to their passion, giving herself over to kiss after toe-curling kiss.
Sometime later, five minutes, maybe an hour, she had no idea, lights broke through her reverie, and they drew apart again as a car climbed the dark road.
“Oh gosh,” she said breathlessly.
He set her gently on the ground, pressed his lips to hers again, and said, “Perhaps we should get away from the street.”
He took off his jacket and tie and laid them neatly across the seat of the truck. Max liked his careful nature. It mimicked hers so perfectly. He grabbed the bags, carrying both in one hand, and put his other arm around her waist. He must have sensed her nervousness as they walked down a dark path through the woods, because he leaned closer and said, “Don’t worry, sweetness. There will be no body hiding tonight. Promise.”
Moonlight rained down on them through the umbrella of trees, guiding their path up a hill to a clearing. At the edge of the woods, two trees with long branches arched over the grass like gates to a private oasis.
“This is where I used to come to think when I was a teenager,” he said as they walked into the clearing, presenting her with a breathtaking view of Weston.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” she said as he spread out a blanket.
A sea of sparkling lights lit up like diamonds against the landscape. Roads snaked through neighborhoods, partially hidden behind bands of trees. She could make out the vicinity of the fairgrounds and main streets through town. The mountains stood sentinel in the distance against the midnight-blue starry sky.
Treat wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her cheek, bringing his intoxicating scent with him. “It’s almost as gorgeous as you.”
She put her hands over his, weak-kneed by the rush of emotions coursing through her.
“How did you ever find this place?” she asked.
“I was knocking around with my cousin Pierce one afternoon. He lives in Reno now, but he grew up in Trusty.” Trusty, Colorado, was a small town located just to the east of Weston, while Allure, where Max lived, was on the west. “Pierce has a big family, like I do, and we were out one afternoon looking to get away from everything. We parked and just blew through the woods. We figured we’d find a boulder and sit for a while. Then we found this spot. I don’t know if Pierce ever came back, but I spent many hours here. Honestly, though, I haven’t even thought about this place in years.”
Treat turned her in his arms, and her heart skipped a beat. He’d hung lanterns from the branches of the trees. A bottle of wine and wineglasses sat upright in a small picnic basket beside a few throw pillows. He sat on the blanket and brought her down beside him.
“You had your brother do all of this for us?”
“I would have done it myself had I known I’d see you tonight.” Treat smiled, and it reached his eyes, making him even more devastatingly handsome. “Although I have to admit, Josh did a better job than I could have. He’s a fashion designer and has a knack for perfect presentations.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered if we were sitting on the grass with none of this. Just the idea that you thought to bring me here is romantic. Why did you decide to bring me here?”
He filled the wineglasses and handed her one. “Believe it or not, even though I have properties all over the world, I don’t own any in Weston. I prefer to stay with my father when I’m in town. I didn’t have a house to take you to, and I wanted to take you someplace special. This was the first place that came to mind.” He lifted his glass in a toast and said, “To new beginnings.”
She sipped the delicious wine, feeling his presence like a torch beside her.
“Tell me something about yourself that I don’t know,” he said.
She had no idea what to say and was too inexperienced to come up with a quick, sexy answer. Where were those CliffsNotes when she needed them?
“I’ll start,” he offered. “My favorite place in the world, besides right here next to you, is Wellfleet, Massachusetts.”
