Tempting Sydney (24 page)

A muscle worked at his jaw. “I never said I didn’t like relationships. They just haven’t worked for me in the past.”

I stared at him, my heart beating faster as I got more upset. “You’re such a hypocrite! You just argued that I was wrong for not wanting to get married, but you feel the exact same way!”

He didn’t respond for several seconds. When he did, the eyes that met mine were intense, his voice even. “I said relationships haven’t worked for me in the past, Syd. I’m trying to change that with you.” He paused and then continued, “The difference between us is that you want to be alone because you’re scared of giving up control, and living your life putting someone else’s interests before your own.” He took a deep breath. “I want to be alone because I don’t like disappointing people.”

What the…? “What the hell does that mean?”

“Exactly what I said.” He stood, putting his water bottle back in his pack. “We should start back before it gets too late. We don’t want to be out here in the dark—bears and all.”

I would have rolled my eyes, but I was still too annoyed at our conversation, and frustrated he’d refused to go into detail and answer my questions…again.

We didn’t say much on the way back down the mountain, and back to camp. Jax cracked some jokes as we were making dinner, clearly trying to lighten the mood. I wasn’t ready for it to be lightened. I wanted to know what his comment about disappointing people had meant, and why he believed in marriage, but didn’t think it was for him. I needed him to explain why relationships were so hard for him, and why he’d decided to try with me. I knew being vulnerable was an issue for him, and I was willing to wait, but I needed him to give me
something
.

He must have picked up on my mood—which wouldn’t have taken Sherlock Holmes to figure out—because as we were lying in the tent on separate sides of the airbed that night, his deep voice startled me. “I believe in marriage, Syd. I just think it means being willing to give every single part of yourself…and that’s not easy to do. Love for each other needs to be cultivated every day, and it needs to come before everything else, even kids. It takes work and prioritizing, but that’s how relationships last. That’s the kind of relationship I’d settle down for. I’m holding out for something like that. And—” there was a long pause. So long, I thought he’d stopped talking and fallen asleep. But suddenly I heard his voice again in the darkness, “And I hope you’re the person I get to have that with.” He turned over and wrapped his arm around my stomach, pulling me close to him, spooning me.

I stared at the side of the tent, stunned. I had no idea what to say. I hadn’t seen this side of Jax often. He didn’t let people in easily, and we’d fought about it over and over. The fact that he’d just told me he wanted me to be the person he settled down with was a huge step. And the fact that I hadn’t run screaming from the tent surprised me. Jax wasn’t the only one benefiting from our time together. I was growing, too.

As I drifted off to sleep, I had the thought that maybe Jax was finally dismantling the wall that kept people out, and in the process, he was dismantling mine as well. Even if it was just a brick at a time, I’d take it.

I stretched as I got up the next morning and looked around the tent. Jax was already awake. I pulled some shorts and a tee on, and opened the tent. The sun was low on the horizon, the sky still streaked with pretty pastels from the sunrise. I found Jax loading the truck. I pinched my brows together, confused. We were supposed to be here for another day. Had I done something to make him mad and shorten the trip? “Hey…what are you doing?”

He smiled widely when he saw me. “Packing up. Get your stuff, we need to get on the road.”

“Where are we going?”

He came over and took my face in his hands, kissing me deeply. When he pulled back, he bit his bottom lip as he smiled. It was so sexy I wanted to kiss him again, and go back to bed—with him. “It’s a surprise,” he said, putting the cooler in the back of the truck. “Get your stuff so we can go.”

Another surprise? The first one had resulted in me going on a camping trip. I was worried what the next surprise would bring. I really didn’t like being kept out of the loop—which was probably the main reason Jax kept surprising me. He enjoyed making me step outside my comfort zone. I went to the tent and packed up my stuff, let the air out of the air mattress, and rolled up the sleeping bags. I put everything in the truck, and then helped Jax take the tent down. We were done and on the road within the hour.

Two hours later, we were pulling into a hotel overlooking Lake Powell. “Come on,” Jax said, getting out of the truck and opening my door for me.

I looked at the meticulously landscaped grounds and the beige stucco building done in a southwest style. It looked expensive...way more expensive than I was willing to spend on a night in a hotel. I’d have been ecstatic with Motel 6. I followed Jax inside and waited in line with him as he gave the front desk clerk his name. She was pretty, with dark hair and tan skin. She smiled widely at Jax as she handed him a key card and explained the location of the room. I got the distinct feeling she wanted to join him in it. That annoyed me. When she was done, I slid the key card off the desk and made a point to wrap my hand around Jax’s bicep. “Thanks,” I said, the woman’s eyes fluttering to me for the first time. “We’ve been on the road for a while and I just can’t wait to get him out of these clothes.” I winked at Jax and he laughed outright. He thanked the clerk and we made our way out of the lobby.

“You didn’t tell me you got a hotel.”

“Because I didn’t want you to know. I thought it would be a nice way to end the trip, especially since you were so averse to camping in the first place.”

I looked over at him, still holding his arm. “That was thoughtful of you.”

He grinned. “I know.”

We got to the room and he opened the door. It wasn’t even really a room, more like an entire wing. The suite was gigantic! The main area had light variegated hardwood floors, covered by a beautifully woven white rug. Modern black leather couches sat on top of the rug and a huge flat screen TV was across from them.

A gigantic flower arrangement in various shades of blue and white was on the dining table. “Jax, it’s amazing!”

“That’s not the most amazing part.” He took my hand and led me down a hall. Hardwood floors continued into the bedroom, where another white woven rug lay under a sleigh bed with a soft, white blanket on top of it. He led me into the bathroom with modern brushed steel fixtures and a large open shower. A soaker tub sat in the middle of the room.

I was taking it all in as Jax gently pulled me toward the far side of the room, and opened the curtains and a sliding glass door that was flush with the wall when opened. I gasped at the stunning view. A jacuzzi sat outside the door, surrounded by hedges on both sides for privacy. And the jacuzzi overlooked the beautiful lake, the pretty red and orange rock clear from where we stood.

I’d been too stunned to speak as we moved from space to space. Now, looking over the calm water and incredible canyon, I found my voice. “Jax…this is…I mean, I don’t even know what to say. This is absolutely beautiful. It’s the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me!” I reached up, wrapping my arms around his neck.

His eyes were soft as he leaned down and put one arm around my waist, and the other hand on my cheek. “I wanted you to know how much you mean to me.” He paused, like he was choosing his words carefully. “I haven’t let myself feel this way for a very long time.” He leaned down and kissed me, his lips pressing into mine, his tongue tracing my lips. I was completely lost in the moment, in him. I knew he was trying, and that meant the world to me. I wanted him to know exactly how much it meant. My hands moved from his neck, traveling down to his ass. I slowly moved them around to his belt buckle and started to undo it. He smiled against my lips, and said, “Nuh uh.”

I stopped kissing him and pulled back. “Nuh uh?” I lifted my brows. “Why nun uh? Because I’d
really
like to let you know how much I appreciate your thoughtful planning and this beautiful hotel. And I
really
don’t think you want to miss out on that.”

He ran his tongue over his lips like he was seriously considering the offer. “And I’d
really
like to let you show me, but we’re going to be late if I do.”

I stared at him. “Late for what?”

He smiled slowly. “You can shower before me if you want. Wear something you can layer.” He pulled away from me. “I’ll be back. Oh, and the flowers on the table are for you.”

I stared, dumbstruck, at the door as it shut. I had a thousand questions running through my head, and no one here to answer them. If he’d wanted to take me out of my comfort zone, he’d definitely accomplished the task.

I walked over to the table and admired the beautiful blue and white flowers. A card was sticking out of the arrangement. I opened the envelope and read the note:
For the woman who surprised me, in every way.

My lips curved in a smile and I took the card into the bedroom, tucking it into my luggage. The flowers might not last, but his card would, and I wanted a token to remember this weekend.

I went into the bathroom and peeled off my dirty clothes, enjoying my first warm shower in three days. I was just finishing my hair and makeup when Jax came back. He stopped, his eyes darkening and traveling over my tight jeans and low cut dark purple top like a predator. My body immediately reacted to his expression and my heart started to race. If this kept up, we wouldn’t be going anywhere except straight to the bed. I was absolutely fine with that. I took a deep breath and managed words, “Where did you go?”

He didn’t answer for a full thirty seconds. Finally his eyes flitted to meet mine. “To take care of something.” He stripped off his shirt and my breath staggered. His tattoo flexed with his arms as he threw his shirt to the side of the room. I wondered if I’d ever get used to how perfect he was, and how much I wanted him. I had a feeling the answer was no.

He moved into the bathroom and before long, I heard water running. It took him less than ten minutes to walk out of the bathroom looking like a model. It took me at least an hour to be acceptable for public viewing. I was a little bitter. He grabbed my hand and we walked out of the hotel, down a long dirt path.

When we got to the bottom, there was a huge, white boat. It looked like a pretty fancy boat…maybe a yacht. We stepped on board and met the captain and a few other staff members before Jax guided me toward the back. There was a long bench with a chocolate brown leather seat cushion under an awning. We sat, and a server came over to take our drink orders. Since I wasn’t driving, and I was in the mood to let go of my inhibitions a bit, I got a mai tai, and Jax ordered a beer. It wasn’t long before the boat shifted and we started to move. I looked around, confused. “Aren’t other people boarding?”

“Nope. This is just for us.”

The nicest suite in the hotel and a private yacht? What had he done, robbed a bank? “How did you manage a private yacht?”

He smiled behind his glass. “I know people.”

I took a sip of my drink. “I’m sure of it. I don’t want to know what you did to make this happen.”

He cocked a brow. “I told them I’d offer a detailed account of what I’m going to do to you later.”

My heart sped up again, and I suddenly wished we were off the boat and back in the hotel room right now. I spent the next few minutes daydreaming about all the things I wanted him to do to me. But as we turned a corner on the lake, we were suddenly surrounded by high canyons on both sides of us; colors in orange, red, pink and even some black were woven together in stunning patterns. I’d heard of Lake Powell before—I’d even seen it in movies—but being there in person was a stunning sight. We spent the next few hours drifting through the canyons, passing by other boats, some docked, some floating around the lake like us. I laughed at a few kids jumping off one of the rocks into the water. “That looks pretty terrifying,” I said.