Protecting Summer Read online

  Summer lay stiff in the bed, wondering what Mozart’s next move was going to be, but she didn’t have to wait very long. He rolled over and gathered her into his arms. He didn’t turn her so her back was to him, he just pulled her right into his embrace.

  Her arms were between them and she could feel he’d taken his shirt off. Summer flattened her hands on his chest and snuggled her head into the indentation between his neck and shoulder. She sucked in a breath, loving how he smelled. “You’re so warm.”

  Summer felt him nod and kiss her head before putting his head back on the pillow. “Shhhh, go to sleep, Sunshine.”

  “I have to get up by eight so I can get some breakfast,” Summer sleepily murmured.

  “I said, shush. Don’t worry about tomorrow. I’ll take care of it.”

  “Okay…Mozart?”

  He sighed a disgruntled sigh. “You aren’t sleeping.”

  “I just wanted to say…thank you for coming back. People usually don’t.”

  Mozart held Summer closer to him and couldn’t find the right words to say, so he stayed silent until Summer fell asleep in his arms. Only then did he whisper into the silent room, “I’m sorry it took me so long. I’ll always come for you, Sunshine.”

  Chapter Eight

  Summer woke up the next morning slowly. The room was lit up with the light of the sun. She immediately knew it was way later than it should’ve been. She was going to miss breakfast if she didn’t hurry. If she missed the food that Henry put out for the guests, she knew she wouldn’t get a chance to eat. She rolled over, remembering suddenly that she wasn’t in the little storage room.

  Summer felt better than she had in a long time. Her belly wasn’t trying to eat itself and she was warm. Not only that, but for the first time in months, her back didn’t hurt. The mattresses in the cabins might not be top-of-the-line, but they were damn sure better than the cot she usually slept on. Summer snuggled deeper into the covers, not even caring, for once, that she was probably going to miss breakfast.

  Mozart wasn’t in the room. Summer remembered waking up a few times in the night and rolling over, only to have him crowd her and wrap his arms around her again. She thought she even remembered him whispering soothing words to her, but she couldn’t remember anything he might have said. She rolled over and smelled the pillow where his head had been resting. God, she had it bad.

  Summer sat up and scooted so her butt rested up next to the headboard and looked around. The bags of food were sitting on the small dresser against the wall. The TV was old, but still worked just fine. She could see Mozart’s bag on the floor next to the dresser, the sight of it comforting her, because it meant he hadn’t left.

  She was surprised to see her own suitcase sitting next to his duffle though. Mozart had obviously gone out to the storage building and retrieved it for her. At least she could put on some of her own clothes now. As much as Summer wanted to continue to wear Mozart’s T-shirt, she knew she’d have to put her own clothes on sooner rather than later.

  She threw back the covers, for once not shivering in the cold morning air, and padded to the bathroom. It was amazing how nice it was not to have to go outside and into a different building just to pee.

  Summer had just exited the bathroom to go and grab her stuff out of her suitcase so she could get ready, when the door opened. She froze in place, then sighed in relief when she saw it was Mozart.

  “Hey,” she said and then took a step back as Mozart came toward her. He had a serious look on his face and he didn’t stop until she’d backed up into the wall.

  He came up against her and put his forearms on the wall on either side of her head. This brought his mouth so close to hers, if either of them moved an inch, they’d be touching. “Good morning, Sunshine. Sleep well?”

  Summer could only swallow hard and nod silently.

  “Good. You like this room?”

  Not knowing where he was going with his questions, she answered, “Uh, yeah, it’s fine.”

  Mozart smiled and took one arm off the wall and brushed her hair back from her face and smoothed it behind her ear. “Good. You’ll be staying here for the winter.”

  She tipped her head to the side. “What?”

  “You heard me, you’re staying in here instead of that damn shack.”

  “No, I’m not,” Summer argued, getting pissed.

  “Yeah, you are. I had a little talk with Henry this morning, we came to an agreement.”

  “That’s just it. You came to an agreement. I didn’t. I can’t afford to stay here.” Summer didn’t like that Mozart was in her space now. At first she’d loved how protective he seemed to be, but she was seeing the drawbacks of that now.

  “I know you think I’m being controlling, but listen to me for a second. Please?”

  Jesus, if Mozart had demanded and yelled she could’ve resisted him. But pleading with her to listen? Shit. “Go on.”

  Summer watched as Mozart suppressed a smile, but before she could blast him for it, he continued. “I talked with Henry about the unsanitary conditions you’ve been living in. I don’t think he was surprised by anything I told him, but I did get his attention when I said I’d already talked to the Better Business Bureau.”

  Summer gasped. “You didn’t!”

  “Of course I didn’t, but he didn’t know that. All I told him was that because all the rooms weren’t being rented out every night in the winter, it was the least he could do to allow you to stay in one of them. You’ll be responsible for cleaning it, of course, and he still isn’t budging on the meal thing, but at least you’ll have a warm and safe place to sleep.” Mozart stopped. He’d wanted to wring the old man’s neck. He hadn’t given a shit that Summer was freezing to death and practically starving. If Mozart had his way, he’d take Summer back down to Riverton tonight, but he knew in his gut she wouldn’t agree. She was prickly and independent.

  “I can sleep here?”

  The incredulous way she’d asked made Mozart’s blood boil. No one should ever think that living in a crappy motel like this one was an answer to their prayers. “Yeah, Sunshine. You can sleep here. And you can put your stuff here. You’ll be living here until the spring, or until you find something else.” He had to tack that that part on, because he hoped against all hope she’d want to find something else…down the mountain in Riverton.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  Mozart leaned in close to her again. “Say, ‘Thank you, Mozart,’ then kiss me to thank me properly.”

  Summer grinned. “Thank you, Mozart.” She leaned toward him and at the last minute shifted until her lips met his scarred cheek.

  Mozart laughed and grabbed her around the waist and took two steps backward and fell on the bed on his back, still clutching Summer in his arms. She shrieked and laughed as they fell. He bounced once and clasped her hips to his.

  Summer sat up and gazed down at the man beneath her. She could feel Mozart’s muscles tense under her. He’d manhandled her as if she were a child, and a part of her loved it. She could tell he’d moved so he didn’t hurt her, but he was definitely in control. Even now as he was holding her to him. She couldn’t move if he didn’t let her, but she wasn’t worried. Summer knew if she made the slightest move or in any way gave him an indication she didn’t want to be right where she was, he’d let her go.

  The T-shirt she was wearing had ridden up her thighs as she straddled him. She was still decent, barely. Mozart’s hands spanned her waist and his thumbs were rubbing back and forth on her stomach. She shifted and felt him grow hard under her. The only thing keeping them separate were his jeans, whatever he was wearing under them and the small piece of cotton covering her womanly parts.

  “I promised myself I’d take things slow with you, Sunshine, but you’re making it hard.”

  “I can tell.” Summer grinned and shifted in his lap again, feeling how “hard” she was making it.

  Mozart’s head went back and thunked on the bed. “I knew you’d be a wi
ldcat in bed. I didn’t mean to bring us here yet, but I’m not sorry we’re here.” He lifted his head back up and looked at her. “You have no idea how difficult it was for me to leave you in bed this morning. You were lying next to me, curled into my arms. One leg thrown over mine and I could feel your heat against my leg, just as I can now. If I hadn’t promised both of us that we’d take it slow, I’d be buried so deeply inside you, you wouldn’t know where you ended and I began.”

  “Mozart,” Summer whispered, more turned on than she’d ever been in her life. She ran her hands over his chest, rubbing against him as he continued to speak.

  “I’m not proud of my history, Summer. You’ll hear about it sooner or later, and I’d rather you heard it from me. I’ve slept with way more than my share of women, but none of them meant anything. I’ve never thought twice about sleeping with them and leaving in the morning. I’ve never looked back. Not once. Until you. I’m sure when you meet my friends they’ll delight in letting you know what a man-whore I’ve been, and they won’t be lying. But I swear to you, right here, right now, that’s all behind me. I haven’t been with anyone since I met you two months ago. Since losing my virginity, I’ve never gone for two months without sex. I know how that makes me sound, but please believe me. You’ve crawled inside me and won’t leave. I don’t want you to leave.”

  “I…”

  “No, let me finish.” Mozart moved one hand from her waist up to the back of her neck. It seemed to be his favorite place to grab hold of her. “I want to have sex with you more than I want anything in my life. But, it’s not happening this weekend. I have to leave on Sunday. I have to go back to work. I want to prove to you, and to myself, that I’m a different man. That you’ve made me a different man. I want to be with you because of who you are, not to use you for sexual release. Don’t get me wrong, I want that too, but I want to get to know you more.”

  Mozart brought Summer’s head down close to his face using his grip on the back of her neck. She braced herself on his chest. “I want you, Summer. I want all of you. I want you in my bed. I want you in my house. I want you to get to know my friends until they’re your friends too. I want to wake up to you hogging the covers every morning. No matter what it takes to get there, I’m willing to do it. If I thought you’d do it, I’d haul your ass down to Riverton before you knew what was going on. But I think I know you enough to know you don’t want that. What I’m not willing to do is rush this, to make you think I’m here for a quick fuck and that’s it. I’m not willing to leave you up here in some damn run-down fire-trap of a shack knowing you’re shivering and hungry every night. I need you to let me help you. Please, God, let me do this so I can sleep at night knowing you’re all right up here.”

  Summer melted against Mozart’s chest. Breaking eye contact, she rested her forehead against his chest and took a deep breath. Mozart didn’t move his hand from her neck and his other hand was now sweeping up and down her spine in a soothing motion.

  “Thank you, Mozart,” Summer said, repeating her thanks from earlier. “I don’t doubt you’re popular with the ladies. I have no idea what you see in me and why I’m any different from any of them.” When she felt him take a breath as if to answer her unasked question, she brought her head up and put one finger over his lips to shush him. “Will you do me a favor?” At Mozart’s immediate nod, Summer continued, “I’m willing to try this, whatever this is, but if at any time you find someone else who you want to hook up with, please let me go. I won’t be able to stand it if you change your mind and don’t tell me. I’m a big girl. Just tell me and I’ll leave you alone.”

  “I’m not going to change my mind, but if for some reason we aren’t working out, I’ll tell you.” They looked at each other for a long moment. “But this is exclusive. You’re mine for as long as this lasts, Sunshine. It goes both ways.”

  Summer could only nod. She felt as if she were in an alternate world. A world where she was a femme fatale and men threw themselves at her feet begging her to choose them. It was ridiculous; no one had ever been passionate about her, until now. “If I’m yours, then you’re mine too.”

  “Damn straight,” Mozart answered. “Now, thank me properly, woman.” Loving the smile that crept across Summer’s face at his words, he brought her lips to his. Mozart devoured her. He kissed her as he’d never kissed a woman before. In the past, he’d only tolerated kissing as a stepping stone to getting to the good stuff. Now, with Summer, kissing was the good stuff. He tasted her, loving it when her tongue came out to play with his. He nipped and licked and ultimately controlled the kiss. He was playful one moment, and forceful and demanding the next. Finally, he pulled back a fraction. “Jesus, Sunshine, I could eat you alive. You’re my match in every way.”

  He felt Summer smile and he turned them over until she was under him. Seeing her hair spread out on the mussed covers turned Mozart on even more. He was so hard, he literally hurt. He couldn’t remember ever being this turned on, and it’d happened with just a kiss. Mozart felt Summer’s hands running over and squeezing his ass. He clenched his teeth and warned, “Watch it, Sunshine, you’re playing with fire.”

  “I haven’t been burned yet,” she cheekily shot back.

  Mozart took one hand and shoved it under her, and taking a risk, under her panties as well. Her skin was warm and smooth as he smoothed his thumb over her cheek. Mozart wanted to do so much more, wanted to delve his hand lower between her thighs and see for himself if she was as turned on as he was, but he behaved himself…barely. “We need to get out of this room before I do something I swore I wouldn’t.”

  Summer just smiled up at him. “I have to work, Mozart,” she reminded him gently.

  Mozart didn’t frown or act disappointed in any way. “I know, Sunshine. I’ll help you get the rooms clean, then we can play.” When she froze under him Mozart cocked his head and queried, “What?”

  “You’re going to help me? I thought you might go and do…something. Hike, something, while I worked.”

  Mozart shook his head. “Nope, I came up here for you. You’re stuck with me until Sunday night.”

  “Seriously?”

  Not understanding why she was so surprised, Mozart answered gruffly, “Yes, Summer. Is it so hard to believe that I’d want to help you clean the rooms?”

  “Actually, yeah. It’s just…I thought you came up here to do…whatever…and you were glad to see me while you were here.”

  Mozart clenched her ass harder and shoved her into his erection. “No, I’m here for you. No other reason. There’ll come a time when you won’t doubt my feelings for you. I see you and get hard. I smell you and get hard. Hell, I think about you and get hard. No, I’m here for you, Sunshine. And the sooner we stop talking about it and get our butts out of bed and clean the damn rooms, we can get to know each other better and I can get you back in bed and not let you up for air until we’re both so exhausted we don’t know our own names.”

  Giggling, Summer told him, “That was a long, run-on sentence, Mozart.”

  Mozart rolled his eyes and murmured, “That’s what I get for having the hots for a smart woman.” Then louder, he told her as he slowly got to his feet, “Get up. Shower. We have time to run and grab some breakfast at this kick ass little hole-in-the-wall café I found before we have to start cleaning.”

  He pulled Summer to her feet and playfully shoved her toward the bathroom. “Go on, I’ll wait outside for you. If I stay in here while you’re naked in the shower, I’ll definitely break my promise.” Mozart kissed Summer once more hard, then headed for the door. As he opened it, he looked back and said, “You’ve got fifteen minutes, Sunshine. Better hurry.” He winked at her once more before shutting the door behind him softly.

  Summer collapsed against the wall. She had no idea what Mozart saw in her or why he’d decided he wanted her, but she’d ride the ride for as long as she could. She’d be crazy not to. Shaking her head, she hurried to her suitcase on the floor and pulled out a pair of jeans, a lo
ng sleeved henley and undies, and headed back to the bathroom. Summer had no doubt that if she took longer than Mozart’s allotted fifteen minutes he’d be back in the room just as he’d warned.

  She smiled. Keeping him on his toes would be fun.

  Chapter Nine

  Summer sat back in the booth and sighed. She’d just stuffed herself with the best omelet she’d ever eaten. Cheese, green peppers, bacon, fajita chicken, onions, tomatoes, and sausage, all smothered in more cheese, sour cream, and salsa. Mozart had ordered the special, which came with two eggs, bacon, sausage, and a small stack of pancakes.

  “I don’t think I can move.”

  “You can move. We’ve got rooms to clean, then shopping.”

  “Shopping? For what?”

  Mozart looked at Summer, knowing what he was going to say would piss her off, so he kept it as vague as he could. “Stuff you need.”

  Summer crossed her arms over her chest, not buying his vague response. “Stuff I need? What kind of stuff?”

  “Give me your hand.” Mozart put his hand on the table palm up.

  “What?”

  “Give me your hand, Sunshine.”

  Without thinking, Summer took one hand and reached across the table toward Mozart. When his voice got low like that and he ordered her around, something inside made her cave every time.

  Mozart grabbed her hand tightly and put his other over hers. He learned forward as he spoke. “Stuff you need. A microwave. A hot plate, food. A warm jacket. Stuff. You. Need.” When Summer tried to pull her hand out of his, Mozart tightened his hold. “I know you don’t want to accept it. I know you feel bad and are embarrassed. But that’s not going to stop me. If I’m going to leave you up here, I have to know you’re eating. That you’re warm. That you’re okay.”