Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
AARON
I f Ollie knew what was up with me and Harrison, he didn’t say. Instead, he ignored my obvious discomfort at being caught and went right into business talk, and I was grateful. I needed distraction. And I didn’t need to ponder the strange flutter in my belly that seemed to grow stronger with every passing minute and anytime Harrison so much as glanced my way. Just being in the same vicinity as the outspoken and relentless man had my senses on high alert.
Harrison didn’t seem bothered at all, which made my fraught mood even more anxious. He sat beside me in the restaurant, his knee brushing mine, casually making conversation. He had his laptop opened and was reviewing the offer details with Ollie and Rian. I tried to focus on the words coming out of everyone’s mouth, but all I could think about was last night.
The way Harrison and I had come together was, without a doubt, the most intense sex of my life. I’d never met someone who got to me like that, who made me want to claw and scratch and mewl like some kind of wild animal. That wasn’t fucking. It was a battle where, thankfully, both of us won. Not that I should be thinking about sex while a crucial deal hung in the balance.
“—what do you think, Aaron?” Ollie remarked.
The mention of my name knocked me out of my lust-fuelled trance. I reached for my cup of coffee, desperate for caffeine and the ability to make cohesive conversation.
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” I replied with a grin.
Harrison reached under the table and squeezed my thigh, and that didn’t help matters at all.
Ollie smiled. “I said I’m giving a tentative yes to your offer. It will, of course, depend on my lawyer’s review and final adjustments, and that marketing position you promised. But I’m ready to move forward to the next stage if you are.”
I nearly dropped my cup. When I finally set it down, carefully, I offered my hand to Ollie.
“I think that’s amazing! This is the start of great things, for both of us.” I smiled back. “Welcome to Taylor-Ladner.”
Ollie refused my hand. Instead, he stood up and motioned for me to do the same. Then he reached over and hugged me. Harrison and Rian did the same, then Rian reached for me. Finally, I was face to face with Harrison again. I couldn’t just stand there and not hug him. He was after all, instrumental in making this happen. We came together tentatively at first, awkwardly. It was funny as hell considering the way we’d attacked each other last night. Then he clutched me tight and suddenly, I was ready to fly. Must be all the excitement from the deal.
Ignoring my racing heart, I pulled away from him.
Rian reached for his cup and raised it. “Kippis! Cheers!”
“This calls for more than coffee,” Harrison stated. “We need champagne.”
“How about we celebrate the Banff way?” Ollie offered. “Let’s go skiing.”
“I’m up for it.” Harrison grinned.
“Let’s see if you can beat me down the hill this time,” I teased.
“You had a head start.”
“Did not,” I quipped. Then I noticed Ollie and Rian watching me and Harrison with interest. “We hit the Delirium run yesterday. Harrison can’t keep up with me.”
“I proved the opposite,” Harrison returned, his eyes catching mine. “I have just as much, if not more, stamina than you.”
“I was referring to speed, not endurance.”
Harrison gave me a grin that was way too dirty for a morning business meeting. “One is far more important than the other, don’t you think?”
Were we still talking about skiing?
“No one’s as good as Rian,” Ollie declared. “He almost went pro.”
“Really?”
Rian shrugged and ran a hand through his dirty blond hair. “It was so long ago. I got as far as the Olympics when I was twenty, but I didn’t medal. After a bad tumble, and nearly busting my knee, I was done. Instead, I followed my other passion.”
“Product development.”
“That too,” Rian commented.
Wait, what?
“Okay, let’s hit the slopes,” Ollie declared, clapping his hands together.
Unfortunately, by the time we made it outside, the winds were so fierce that we could barely stand up. With gusts clocking more than seventy miles per hour, the resort had taken emergency measures and closed down all the lifts.
“No way should you guys get on the road right now,” I stated.
Ollie waved me off. “I’ve driven in much worse.”
“Aaron’s right,” Harrison added. “Stay for a while. We can play pool in the lounge.”
Ollie looked questioningly at Rian, and Rian nodded.
We spent the rest of the day doing just that, playing pool and hanging out. Stargaze was open, so we had lunch, and chatted in front of the fireplace. It was rare for me to make any kind of instant connection with people, but with Ollie and Rian, it felt like I was hanging out with old friends.
Five o’clock rolled around and since the storm still hadn’t let up, we had dinner together. Dinner turned to drinks and drinks turned to dancing.
A few hours later, the storm calmed, and Rian and Ollie said their goodbyes, leaving me and Harrison at the resort’s nightclub. It was packed with frustrated skiers who needed to let off steam. While Harrison hit the dance floor, I sat and downed shots of vodka. Alone.
“Care to dance?”
I turned to find Sam staring at me expectantly.
“Oh, hey,” I replied. “Where’s your husband?”
Sam sat down beside me. “Riley’s at the bar, getting our drinks.”
“Harrison’s out there dancing, you should join him.”
“What about you?”
“No way. I’m not a good dancer.”
“Come on. One dance,” Sam encouraged and stood up, holding out his hand.
“No, really.”
Sam placed a hand on my shoulder and leaned in close.
“Come on, handsome.”
Suddenly, Harrison was in front of me. “Sam’s right. Let’s dance.”
“No.”
Sam winked at me and mouthed ‘ you’re welcome’ and slipped away into the crowd. Jesus.
I shook my head at Harrison. “No.”
“Move your tight ass. Now.”
“Harry,” I grumbled and slammed my shot glass on the table in front of me.
“Come on. We got the deal. Let’s celebrate!”
“I don’t have to dance with you to do that.”
“I’m sure your father paid for fancy-ass dance classes. I can see you now, dressed in a tux, poised for all those billionaire debutante balls.”
I offered up my finger in response to that. Not that he was wrong, but still. Smug bastard.
“We shouldn’t.”
“It’s our last night here,” Harrison urged. “No one knows who we are. Live a little.”
There was no one to see us except dozens of strangers, and they wouldn’t care. Well, Sam and Riley knew. Of course they did. We weren’t fooling them. I stood up and before I could say anything else, Harrison took my hand, interlocking our fingers. I liked it too damn much but instead of pulling away, I let him lead me through the crowd. As soon as he pulled me into his arms, no space between us, I knew I was fucked.
Why couldn’t I just say no to him? And why wouldn’t he just leave me be?
The boom of the house music drowned out the warnings in my head. I held on to Harry, letting him lead. Strong arms wrapped around my waist, his hands cupping my ass. With one knee between mine, he rocked us side to side, in perfect rhythm to the beat. Heat pooled in my groin and my pits, my pulse throbbing, my dick filling. Crimson lights flashed around us like a fevered dream. Nothing seemed real. Nothing except the man holding on to me. Everyone in the room could’ve been staring at us but I didn’t care. He pulled me in closer, his nose brushing my cheek, his lips teasing my jaw.
“Sexy bastard.”
Me? I fought back a laugh. He had that all wrong. It was him. And I couldn’t help myself.
“Harry,” I moaned his name.
I turned my face, and our lips met. It was the barest of touches and I was shivering and sweating all at once. Cupping his face, I gave in to temptation and took Harrison’s lips. But this kiss was different. It was languid and dirty. I gave into it, and him, forgetting where I was, who I was, and why this was asking for trouble.
“Let’s go back to our room,” I urged. “And this time, I want to fuck you.”
Harrison stared at me with a hypnotic intensity that had me wondering if I’d said something wrong. Maybe he preferred to top? I should’ve kept my mouth shut. I was so bad at this shit. I started to pull away, but Harrison’s hold didn’t let up.
“I thought the last time, was the last time?” he asked.
I didn’t know what the hell this was, but it wasn’t over. Not yet.
“Does this feel like the last time?” I countered.
Instead of replying, he shook his head.
Biting my bottom lip to keep from smiling, I reached down and squeezed his butt. “Then move your sexy ass.”
Harrison’s husky laugh echoed over the din. No lie, it had me totally captivated. I didn’t want to be charmed by him, but it was getting harder and harder to fight. The anger that simmered between us was shifting and I didn’t know how to feel about it. It was only then that I noticed the interested stares of people around us. Harrison ignored them and pulled me through the crowded room.
We couldn’t keep our hands—or mouths—off each other. In the elevator, in the hallway, against the door of our room. It took me four tries to get the damn key card to work. To be fair, it was Harrison’s fault for sliding his hands down over my crotch and making me forget how to do anything but moan.
“It smells nice in here,” Harrison quipped when we finally made it inside.
I shook my head. “I liked it better this morning.”
“I’m ready to get it dirty if you are.”