24. Bedroom. Right Now
Bailey
“Are you alright?” Sacha asks once the world has settled. He’s maneuvered us on the couch so that he is lying on his back with me resting against his chest. I’d briefly tried to leave the room, but easily gave in when his hands pulled me close.
“I’m fine,” I say. It’s almost a lie. I feel like my entire world has been shattered. I was planning to walk away from this male. I told him this was our only weekend together, but I can already feel that I’ve changed everything with a little bit of sex. I focus on the rise of his breathing as it lifts me, and the sinking when he breathes back out, like his body is catching me as I fall. His hand strokes gently along my spine, comforting and warm.
“You know, those other women you saw photos of—” he begins.
“Do we really need to talk about them right now?” I ask with a long sigh.
“They never came here. With me. I’ve never invited anyone to my family’s cabin before.” He pauses while the words soak in, extra weight in the heavy silence. “You are special, Bailey Thorn.”
“You keep saying that.” I thread my hands through his chest hair, enjoying the hard muscle of his chest.
“Because I mean it,” he says, “I have cherished every moment we’ve spent together.”
My chest tightens when he talks like this. I want to believe him, to accept what he’s offering me, but I might be too damaged to have everything I want. My hands find the side of his face, and I tilt his head, moving it so I can reach his mouth for a kiss. He makes a noise almost like a purr and tugs me up his body so he can press his lips more firmly to mine.
“Even though I’ve only had you for a little while,” he says, “our time together has been perfect..”
“Only the weekend.” I repeat the statement mostly to myself. I’m starting to feel like this relationship could be more than I originally thought, that maybe he actually means it when he said he wanted more than sex.
He kisses me again with that gentle heat that makes it easy to melt into him while his hands trace idle patterns up my back, gentle and slow. It makes me want to curl into him forever. He toys with the straps of my dress tugging, them to the sides until more of me is exposed, and then pulls me further up his body so that he can press his face into my bare breasts.
I laugh in protest, but it becomes a gasp as his warm mouth finds my nipple.
“Bailey, I need to tell you something, something about me—about us—” His speech is nervous and broken as his hand traces up my thigh, sneaking up to tease across the underwear I am still wearing.
“Now?” I ask.
“It has to be now, if you are only going to give me the weekend.” His hands don’t stop moving, his fingers find the curve of my ass and dig into my flesh just enough to spark a little pain to compliment the pleasure.
I moan, and his whole body stiffens.
“Did you hear that?” he whispers.
I shake my head but go still, listening. I’m beginning to realize most of my senses don’t compare to his.
“Shit.” He sits up suddenly, dislodging me from my wonderful resting spot.
Sacha maneuvers me easily, setting me on the couch beside him before leaping to his feet and, still fully nude, hurrying from the cabin.
I only have a moment to wonder where he’s gone before he reappears in the doorway with a wide, terrified look in his eyes, his gaze sweeps over my frame.
“Is something wrong?” I ask.
“Bailey, go to the bedroom. Right now.” Sacha’s voice is quiet but urgent.
“What’s happening?” I don’t bother to correct the straps of my dress he dislodged earlier. He doesn’t wait another second. He crosses the small room in one stride, scoops me into his arms, and carries me to my bedroom.
“Sacha!” I protest, but only verbally. I guess we are moving this to the bedroom, I guess I’m okay with a scenery change if he uses that talented tongue again.
“Bailey.” He sets me down in front of him and grasps my shoulders. His face might be more serious than I’ve ever seen him before. “Beast, I am so sorry for this. I had no idea this would happen.”
“What’s going on?” I ask.
I hear the front door of the cabin open. Sacha slams the bedroom door closed, blocking us from anyone’s vision, and preventing me from seeing who is walking into the cabin. I finally take the time to pull my dress back over my breasts.
“I didn’t know they were coming this weekend, I promise you,” he says.
“Who is out there?” I ask.
“Hello!” A peppy female voice coos from the next room. “Sacha! Come out and say hello! You can’t hide from us.”
“Son?” A gruffer masculine voice calls.
“Is that?” My throat goes dry.
“Bay, it’s my parents.”
“Your parents?” I squeak, shrinking back from him. “What should I do? Hide?” I ask. The room is small. There’s not even a closet or wardrobe to hide in. My suitcase takes up most of the empty floorspace.
“Hide?” His brows furrow.
“I could leave through the window? Find somewhere to stay in the woods until they are gone?” I suggest. “Or you could create a distraction?”
“Goodness woman, no,” he reaches for my hands, physically stopping me from crawling under the bed, “what has you thinking you need to hide?” He pulls me close, tucking an arm around my waist.
“Because we aren’t really—because the contract—I thought you didn’t want people to know—” My words get very quiet. Being in his arms, the panic in my chest is starting to subside. I let myself lean against him a little harder.
“They already know.” He speaks very low in my ear.
“What?” I whisper, the fear squeezing my stomach again. How could he tell people when I don’t even know yet what I want him to tell? “You told them?”
“No, Bailey, they can scent it.” He sighs. “Bigfoots have a much better sense of smell than humans.”
“What exactly are they going to know?”
“They will already know I’m here with a woman, and the minute that you meet them, they’ll know that we—were intimate.”
My stomach turns. Fuck. “They can smell—that?”
“Yes,” he says, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know they would be here.”
“It’s okay, it’s alright,” I say, trying to convince myself more than I am trying to convince him. “So, I walk out there and meet your parents. That’s not too hard.”
I have never met a boyfriend’s parents before. Not since high school at least. I don’t usually let relationships get that serious. Breakups are easy compared to awkwardly meeting someone’s whole family over Christmas. Spending holidays alone means I don’t have to worry about buying anyone else presents.
“I know this is a big step for human relationships. I didn’t expect to take it today.”
“Okay, sure, right, of course,” I repeat, but I don’t think he believes me.
“I’m sorry, Bailey. They will love you.”
“They are going to love that their rich son is fucking his assistant?” I mutter.
“They will love you.” He wraps his thumb and forefinger around my chin, pulling back far enough to look me in the eye. “They can be really intense. If you want to stay in here for a while, collect your thoughts. Whatever you need. I am on your timeline.”
Dammit. It’s hard to be mad at him when he talks like that.
“Can I have a few minutes? By myself? Before I go out there?”
“Of course you can. As much as you need. I’ll go out there and explain.” His eyes soften, and he flashes that beautiful, confident grin that seems to pop up just to throw my balance off kilter. Things were going so well, so easily, I don’t know if I’m ready to add his parents to this equation.