My plane landed in Vegas just after seven. With only an overnight bag I jumped straight into a cab out the front of the airport.
Earlier I had spoken to Piper and she’d told me where the guys were staying. As far as she knew, Heath was in his room, sleeping off a hangover that had kept him from some kind of publicity commitment. That explained why I hadn’t heard from him.
That, and he was probably still pissed at me.
It was getting dark when arrived at the hotel and the sky was a deep sapphire. The cab parked beside a row of palm trees and I was suddenly overcome with butterflies in my stomach, wondering if I had done the right thing in showing up unannounced.
I followed Piper’s instructions and took the elevator to Heath’s room and knocked on his door. When there was no answer I knocked again.
Again, there was no answer and I wondered if he had gone out, and what I was going to do until he came back.
Just as I was about to turn and walk away, the door cracked open and Heath’s rumpled face appeared in the doorway.
He didn’t say anything when he saw me but his brows pulled into a frown. I swallowed hard and my heart was stopped by the cold look on his face. He was still pissed at me.
“Hey … surprise,” I said quietly, instantly afraid I’d done the wrong thing in coming.
“Harlow.” His tone made my stomach churn.
Was he annoyed at me for turning up unannounced? Or was he still angry from our argument?
Oh God, did he have a girl in there with him?
“Are you okay?” I asked, suddenly feeling sick. “Do you want me to go?”
His sleepy eyes darkened. “Sorry, I just woke up.”
Pushing open the door he stepped aside for me to enter. The room was dark except for a light coming from the bathroom. Across the room the bed was made but I could see the dent from his body on top of the quilt.
Once he had closed the door behind us, I dropped my bag on the floor and put my arms around him. His familiar warmth was comforting and even though he hesitated when my lips found his, they soon parted and tangled with mine in a deep kiss. Strong arms came around me to pull me against him. He squeezed me tight and then let me go.
“I’m sorry about the argument,” I said. “I should’ve put you first and I’m sorry that I didn’t.”
“Harlow …” he went to say something, but stopped.
He moved away and sat on the bed, and I felt the cold trickle of foreboding in my veins.
Something was wrong.
Something big stood between us.
Something I couldn’t see but I could definitely feel.
“Heath?”
Unsure of what was going on I sat next to him. But the unseen presence between us was unnerving. I turned his head to look at me but he pulled away and abruptly stood up, walking towards the bathroom.
I felt the sting of his rejection but worse, I felt the rising anxiety that things were about to fall apart.
“What’s going on with you? Do you want me to leave?”
He stopped in the doorway to the bathroom, with his back to me. His head dropped as he gripped the doorframe. His strong back muscles rolled underneath tight skin.
“Don’t torture me Harlow. Get it over and done with.” He said quietly.
“What are you talking about?”
He swung around. “What are you doing here?”
Totally taken back by his words and his behavior towards me, I couldn’t hide my confusion. “I wanted to see you.”
“To break up with me?” he asked desperately.
His words were like ice water on the face.
“Break up with you?” It was the most absurd thing I’d ever heard. I shook my head. “Why would I want to break up with you? It was just some stupid argument.” None of this was making sense. I looked at his beautiful, sad face and felt a another surge of fear. “Heath, what’s going on?”
Now he looked confused.
“You’re not here to break up with me?”
I shook my head.
“Heath, you’re scaring me. Why would you think I was here to break up with you over some stupid fight we had?”
He walked towards me. But instead of sitting on the bed, he sat on the floor with his back to the mattress. Then, without a word he dropped his head to his hands.
Puzzled, I kneeled next to him and removed his hands from his face, holding them in mine. Tears welled in his eyes. But there was also something else there, something I didn’t recognize on him.
Fear.
“Baby … please tell me what is wrong with you,” I whispered.
He hesitated, struggling to find the words.
“I saw you.” His glittering eyes found mine. “Today. I saw you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Back in California.” He looked at me and the anger returned to his face. “With Colton.”
My brain rushed to process this muddled conversation. “Wait. You came home today?”
“I wanted to surprise you. To apologize for our fight. So I took an early flight. Then I saw you …” His eyes filled with sadness. “When were you going to tell me you were back with Colton?”
Whoa … what?
“Back with Colton…? Oh my God, this is crazy.”
It was almost as if I had stepped into this conversation mid-conversation. None of it made sense. Why would Heath think I was back with Colton? Unless … oh hell …
“You saw Colton kiss me,” I said.
His eyes flared across at me. “I saw you kiss each other.”
Mine flared back. “I didn’t kiss him. He kissed me.”
“I didn’t see you push him away. From where I was sitting it looked pretty mutual.”
His words made me frown. I sat back from him, startled by his lack of faith in me.
“I don’t know what you think you saw, but if you think I kissed him, you are wrong. Yes, Colton kissed me. But did I kiss him back? No. Did I get back with him? No. Do I want to? No.” I raised my chin, slightly. “I guess you didn’t stick around long enough to see me punch him in the jaw for it either.”
His eyes shot to mine. “You hit him?”
A small smile flickered at my lips. “Floored him. Then I told him I didn’t want to get back together. That I couldn’t.” I bit my bottom lip. “Because I’m crazy in love with someone else.”
“You’re still in love with me,” he whispered. More to himself than me.
“Crazy in love with you.”
To my surprise his face suddenly crumpled. He pressed his hands to his eyes and then ran them down his cheeks with a moan.
“You’re really not going back to Colton…?”
“Is that what all of this was about?” I asked, confused by the sadness still in his eyes. “You thought I had stopped loving you over a stupid argument and was getting back with Colton?”
When he nodded I straddled him and took his face in my hands, holding him close to my lips. “I’m sorry you thought that. But I love you Heath. I promise you. I’m all yours.” I kissed him but there was still a hesitation about him. I pulled back. “Are we okay?”
He kissed me, this time deeply. He reached up and cupped my face in his hands, his big fingers firm against my jaw. His moan ignited the usual response between my thighs and I pressed harder against his jeans. As our kiss grew in momentum he rolled us, planting my back to the floor as he slid between my legs. His kiss was magnificently tender and passionate, his mouth and tongue keeping perfect rhythm with mine.
I sighed and shifted beneath him, pressing myself against the places that mattered in an attempt to quench the need growing inside me. Pleasing moans rumbled from his throat, pushing me forward, urging me onwards. My body pulsed; my pelvic muscles throbbed, feeling empty and wanting to be filled.
But to my complete disappointment, Heath abruptly ended our kiss and dropped his head to my chest.
I thought I heard him murmur, “I can’t do this tonight.” But I wasn’t sure. Things were weird. Really weird.
The day had rattled him and I didn’t want to push him. We were in unfamiliar territory, especially Heath, and I didn’t want to pressure him with a hundred questions.