Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
BLAKELY
I stare at the daylight starting to creep past the curtains.
I’m sore. Without even moving, I know I’m sore.
Between my legs.
Along my back.
My head.
My arms.
Everything.
Everything in my body is sore because I had the most out-of-body experience of my entire life.
It’s why I’m off to the side, not curled into Halsey, trying to figure out what the hell happened last night. I had sex with the man four different times, and every time, I came multiple times.
I . . . I had no clue sex could be like that, and it’s throwing me into a tailspin.
I had nice sex with Perry.
It was fun.
We had a good time.
But last night, that was . . . that was confusing. Gratifying. Beyond comprehension.
I have so many mixed feelings and thoughts that I actually feel sick to my stomach. What the hell did I do?
I glance over at Halsey whose hair is flopped over his forehead, his five o’clock shadow thicker, and his strong, muscular chest out in the open for me to stare at.
Touch.
Kiss if I want.
And that’s exactly what’s freaking me out. He gave himself over to me last night.
The man who would barely talk to me, who likes to have his nose stuck in a book, had the dirtiest mouth I’ve ever heard.
The things he said to me.
The things he did to me.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.
I glance back at him and know that I need a second to breathe after everything that happened last night, to let my brain process it.
I thought he was pretending . But the moment his lips touched mine in the apartment, I knew he wasn’t acting.
I could feel that kiss all the way down to my toes, and there was nothing fake about it. And man, can he kiss.
I slip out of the bed and tiptoe toward the door. Thankfully, he’s sound asleep, so I slip past the door and head to my room, picking up my dress in the entryway in the process. When I reach my room, I shut the door and lean against the wood as I stare up at the ceiling.
“Oh my God,” I whisper as I press my hands to my beating heart.
I need a warm shower to ease the pain in my body and then I need to get to work. I need . . . I need to talk to Penny.
I slip into the shower and let the warm water fall over me as I wash my body gently, making sure to focus between my legs where Halsey’s beard burn has rubbed me nearly raw.
My mind runs over the number of times that man licked me—sucked me down there—and did it with so much pleasure, like it was his own personal feast.
No one has ever feasted on me the way he did.
I move my soap over my breasts where he controlled me so effortlessly with a pinch to my nipple, a nibble, a bite.
And when I wash my chest and neck, I can feel certain sore spots I know I’ll have to cover up when I get a good look at them.
I wash my hair, my face, and let the warm water rinse over me for a few more minutes before I turn it off and step out of the shower. That’s when I look in the mirror for the first time and feel my jaw nearly drop to the floor.
Holy.
Shit.
I look like a leopard, spotted and marked all along my neck, my collarbone, my chest, my breasts. Deep purple bite marks. Hickeys scattered all over me.
I approach the mirror, towel in hand, and examine the markings. “Oh my God,” I say as my fingers pass over them, one by one, examining every single way he claimed me.
And I know he meant to claim me because he said it. He gave me the play-by-play of what he was doing, what he was feeling, what he wanted me to do.
His dirty voice still rings through my head, his words sending a chill down my spine.
I want my cum on your face.
This greedy cunt wants more, doesn’t it?
Use me as your fuck toy.
My cheeks flame, and I look away from the mirror, embarrassment and satisfaction hitting me at the same time.
Trying to block out the night, I dry myself off and make work of getting ready. Every once in a while, Halsey’s voice passes through my thoughts and makes me pause, but I keep moving forward.
I don’t bother drying my hair. I just put it in a low, tight bun, and because I’m so sore, I opt for business-casual joggers, a simple white shirt tucked in the front, and sandals. I dress up the outfit with a necklace, earrings, and some bracelets.
Given the tornado my body went through last night, I don’t have to worry about walking in heels or feeling uncomfortable.
I spritz some perfume on my neck, and then on a deep breath—and a hope and a prayer that Halsey’s still sleeping—I open the door to my bedroom and walk out . . . only to find Halsey leaning against the counter with a cup of coffee in hand.
Of course.
Dressed in a pair of athletic shorts and nothing else, he looks positively gorgeous with his messy hair, scratch marks across his chest— did I do that? —and a sleepy daze in his eyes.
“Morning,” he says as I steel myself and try not to be awkward.
I lift my hand in a short, concise wave and say, “Morning.”
Yup, not awkward at all.
His brow knits as he sets down his coffee. “Everything okay?” He starts to approach, but I move around the couch in the other direction so he can’t get too close.
“Oh, yup, everything is great. Just . . . have to get into work.”
“It’s six fifteen,” he says.
“Yeah, early day. Lots of emails and stuff like that. You know how those VIPs are. Oh God, did I say VIPs? I mean V-I-Ps. I don’t want to refer to them as VIPs, as that seems douchey.
Anyway, early morning so I better get started.
” I move toward the door, where I find my clutch from the night before.
That will do. I tuck it under my arm and grab my keys from the side table.
“Blakely, wait,” he says, trying to close the gap between us.
“Those emails won’t answer themselves,” I say as I tug on the door.
But it doesn’t open. He comes closer. Dear God, if I smell him, I might not leave this apartment.
My legs are already trembling from the way he’s approaching me.
..with determination in his eyes. I tug on the door again, but it’s not budging.
“What is this, some sort of trick door?” I ask with a nervous laugh.
“Does it need a command?” I use my index finger as a wand and say, “Blakely says open now.”
Halsey walks up right behind me, reaches around me, and unlocks the door.
I can feel the heat of his chest at my back.
The feel of his breath on my neck.
The slide of his hand over my hip.
“There, you can escape now,” he says, knowing exactly what I’m doing.
I glance over my shoulder and say, “Not escaping, just, work, you know?”
“Yeah, I get it,” he says, rocking back on his heels with a hurt look in his expression.
Dammit.
I don’t want to hurt him. But I also . . . fuck, I don’t know what’s going on.
Sex isn’t supposed to be like that!
I want to scream it at him.
Pound him on the chest.
Tell him that it was the best and worst night of my life.
But instead, I slide the door open and say, “Well, have a good day. See you at the arena.”
“Yeah, see you there.”
And then I’m out of the apartment and regretting everything I just did.
HALSEY
“I fucked up,” I say as I take a seat in the locker room after spending an hour in treatment early this morning. Luckily Grace was in there early, ready for me.
She didn’t entirely clear me for the game, but I’m going to at least suit up and warm up with the boys.
“Please,” Posey says as he presses his fingers into his brow. “That’s not what I wanted to fucking hear from your mouth. How the hell did you mess up this time?”
“He messed up?” Silas asks as he walks into the locker room, a towel over his shoulder. “Jesus Christ. How?”
“What’s happening?” Eli says, joining us as well.
“Halsey fucked up.” Posey gestures his hand in my direction.
“Does this have to do with Blakely?” he asks.
“Yes,” Posey says, stepping in with all the information.
“Blakely had to go to a wedding last night, and her ex was going to be there, so Halsey told her to take him as her date and pretend to be her boyfriend. She agreed, they went, and apparently, he blew the one chance he had of escaping the friend zone he put himself in.”
Eli winces. “Sounds brutal. What did you do that fucked everything up?”
“I slept with her last night.”
The boys stop everything they’re doing and slowly turn toward me.
A naked man could come flying in here, do the helicopter with his wiener, and they wouldn’t even blink an eye as silence falls around us.
And from their expressions, I can tell that’s not what they were expecting to hear.
Silas has a giant smirk.
Eli looks shocked.
And Posey . . . well, his jaw drags across the floor.
“You . . . you slept with her?” Posey asks.
I nod. “Yeah, and not only did we sleep together, but we fucked.” I lean my head against the wood of the locker. “Several times.”
So many fucking times.
And every time felt like the goddamn first.
Mind-blowing.
Earth-shattering.
Nearly blacked out every goddamn time.
“Uh, explain to me how that’s fucking up because, in my book, that’s success,” Silas says.
You would think.
“Because this morning, she couldn’t get away from me fast enough. She snuck out of bed and said she had to get to work. It was just past six in the morning. She’s avoiding me.” I can still feel how uncomfortable and awkward she was. Hell, she could barely look me in the eyes.
“Huh.” Posey rubs his jaw. “That seems like an unusual response. Let me ask you this . . . did she find completion?”
“Christ, why did you have to say it like that?” I ask as I rub my hand over my face.
“I’m trying to be polite,” Posey answers. “So did she?”
“Yes. Multiple times and I’m leaving it at that.”
“Are you sure?” Silas asks.
I look him dead in the eyes and say, “I can still taste her on my tongue.”
Silas smirks and then leans back, happy with my answer.
“Okay, so she found completion,” Eli says. “So maybe she just doesn’t know how to react the next day.” He shrugs. “Simple as that.”