Chapter 23
Everything changed in that moment.
Lorelei didn’t know the chains around her heart existed until they hit the floor.
She didn’t know the fear that held her hostage until she broke free.
And what a burden she’d carried. She’d thought the worst thing that had ever happened was her ex cheating on her with her best friend. Instead, it was her mom lying about her dad.
It was about growing up believing her dad didn’t want her.
Because that was the reason she’d stayed with a man who didn’t love her.
But this man? He looked at her with a desire so powerful she felt it coursing under his skin.
In that moment, everything became clear.
He’s mine.
And it was the greatest feeling of her life. Because Booker Hayes was magnificent. She’d caught a glimpse of it in the cabin, but she knew it without a doubt in that moment. And she’d be damned if she’d let him go.
And so, she bridged the gap. The moment her lips sealed over his, he took control. He licked into her mouth, his fingers flexing, tightening his hold. He kissed her tentatively at first, but when their tongues tangled, when her hands flattened on his back, he lost control.
God, she loved his hunger. It made her feel sexy and so very desirable. The kiss infused her worries and fears with lust, creating a volatile energy that had her body trembling and her fingers fisting his shirt.
His hands slid down her back, grabbing her ass and hauling her up against him. When she hitched a leg, he caught it under her knee, and they ground against each other.
Desperate to feel his warm skin, she yanked up his T-shirt and caressed her palm down his chest to his stomach. She reached under the waistband of his pajama bottoms for his hard, hot erection.
He shuddered, thrusting into her grasp.
She knew what he liked. She’d paid so much attention to the pleasure she’d brought him in the cabin that when she squeezed him, she knew exactly what he’d say.
“Fuck.” Never breaking the kiss, he bent his knees and carried her to the bed. He jerked down her shorts, taking her panties with them. “Take off your shirt. I need to see your tits bounce when I fuck you.”
His dirty mouth fired an electrical current through her. She pulled the T-shirt over her head, and when she reached behind to unclasp her bra, he lowered his mouth to her cleavage, pushing her breasts together.
As he nuzzled her, he licked a trail from one nipple to the other, his cock nudging at her opening. “I missed this. Never felt anything like it.” He slid a finger into her. “Yes. So wet for me.” He stroked slowly in and out, making her hips move restlessly, and when he found her sensitive nub, desire seared through her.
She clutched the duvet, and her head tilted back. She was drowning in lust. Her breasts ached, her nipples pebbled, and her hips chased his hand, needing more…deeper, faster, harder. The tension wound higher, reaching an unbearable pitch. She needed to come so badly.
But then, he dropped to his knees, dragged her to the edge of the mattress, and licked inside.
The moment she shielded her eyes with the back of a hand, intrusive thoughts cut through the pleasure. What if someone hears us?
What if my parents call?
And the worst: I will never recover if he breaks my heart.
But it all got swept away by sensations so delicious, so powerful, she slipped into a state of pure bliss.
It had been so long since she’d been touched, since she’d had relief from the unrelenting loneliness, that she let go of her control and allowed the flames of need to consume her.
Pleasure streamed through her, the tension so wild, so out of control, she nearly screamed for release.
And when his hand reached between his legs, when she saw the rhythmic jerk of his arm as he got himself off, her climax barreled through her. Untethered, she spun, spiraled, and soared. She rode one peak after another until she was left boneless and utterly spent.
He got up, turned around, and fell back onto the mattress. Once settled, he pulled off his clothes and palmed his erection.
But as her body cooled, anxiety crept in. “Did we just make a terrible mistake?”
“You’re asking me that now? While I can still taste you? While I’m still hard for you?”
“I just don’t want to complicate our situation with sex. And you know you have a way of bewitching me.”
“Oh, I’m the bewitcher? It’s not the way you laugh with total fucking abandon? It’s not your sassy mouth that always makes me laugh? It’s not the sunlight inside you that lights you up? If anyone’s to blame for this”—he wagged a finger between them—“it’s you, Hellcat. Trust me on that.”
A thrill shot through her. “Okay, I’ll take being so sexy, you go wild for me.” She reached for his hand. “I just want to make sure that no matter what happens between us, we’re good for Stevie.” She turned toward him. “You know?”
He turned, too, their gazes catching, locking. “I’ll do my part to make sure we are.”
“I should probably head back to my room.” Without even looking, she reached for her clothes.
“Stevie’s with her grandparents. But if that’s what you want.” Hunger burned in his eyes.
How awful would it be if they had sex, she got attached, and then, he decided to visit his daughter once a year? She’d hate him. And she couldn’t hate the father of her child. For Stevie’s sake, they had to get along.
He rolled onto his side, dipping his face into her neck. “But I want you to stay.”
She couldn’t help herself. She just wanted him so much. Her arms wrapped around him, her knee rested on his thigh, and that beautiful, strong, confident man cradled her.
He always seemed to know just what she needed.
Her mouth found his, and they kissed until they were forced to come up for air. His mouth was indescribably soft and warm, minty and welcoming. Their tongues did a sensual dance, but not once did he grope her or make her aware of his own needs.
He kissed her like they had nothing but time and nothing but each other, stoking a slow churn of arousal that grew into a desire burning out of control.
The connection between them was explosive.
How amazing would it be if she listened to her heart and let him in?
When she pulled away, scraping the hair off his forehead, she found him watching her with that intensity she loved so much. Because it held confidence. This man knew what he wanted.
And he wants me.
“Honest to God, why am I even fighting?” She softened. “It’s too late. I’m already in too deep.”
His handsome face hardened with lust, as he reared up and pressed her down onto the mattress. He climbed over her, knees braced at her hips, hands planted on either side of her head. “Open the nightstand drawer.”
With an arch of her brow, she pulled out a travel-size bottle of lotion.
“Now, get my cock nice and slick.”
She was shaking, so it was hard to twist the lid, but once she spilled some into her hand, she glanced up at him for the next instruction.
“I’m going to fuck your tits.” Sitting back on his heels, he cupped her breasts, pressing them together, and giving them a shake. “They’re bigger.”
“I know. I gain weight in my boobs.”
“My cock’s going to look great between them.” His hot, slick mouth engulfed her nipple, and his tongue bypassed teasing and went right for licking her into a frenzy. He sat up again. “Go on. Get me ready.”
“Well, now that you got me all hot and bothered, I want you inside me.”
“Not going to happen. I don’t have condoms.”
“In your travel bag.” She rocked her hips to get his attention. “Like in the cabin.”
“Nope. This was meant to be a short trip.” He grew impatient with her, so he gripped his very hard cock and gave it a few pumps.
Good God, could anything be hotter? “Okay, but surely you keep some in your wallet?”
“I’m not in college, and I don’t know how you imagine my life, but I’m not banging flight attendants or women I pick up in airport bars. And if you really want to know, I haven’t been with anyone since you.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“Are you saying I ruined you for other women?”
He grinned. “I’m saying you’re the only woman I want to fuck, but since we tend to make babies, and we’re not ready for another one, we’re not going to do that. Which means I’m going to need you to push your tits together.”
“Hm.” She rubbed lotion all over her breasts.
“That’s not how it works.”
“I’ve got a better way to make you nice and slippery.”
“Damn, Hellcat. I’ve missed you.” He kissed her, his tongue sweeping into her mouth, his chest lowering until he rocked against her. “This.” His mouth savored her, his tongue licking as if she tasted as sweet as nectar. “Us.”
She was breathless, tense with expectation and soft with need, and she couldn’t believe he was telling her these things. His honesty was everything. “Come here.”
He reared over her, grasping the headboard with one hand and guiding his erection to her mouth. “Get it wet.”
His biceps popped, and the muscle in his jaw ticked with anticipation, but she was in no hurry. She wanted to drive him wild. She gripped him at the base and then licked him up and down, her tongue zigging and zagging. She held his gaze and loved that his arms were trembling.
“Quit playing, Hellcat.”
“I don’t do anything half-assed. You asked me to get you ready, and that’s what I’m doing.”
He thrust, but she closed her mouth. “Woman.”
“What exactly do you want me to do?” She loved hearing him talk dirty.
He slid a hand behind her head, grabbed a fistful of hair, and with a fiery gleam in his eyes, said, “Suck my cock.”
Since there was nothing more she wanted than to taste him, she complied. Her lips parted, she licked them, and then…she clutched his ass and drew him in.
“Yeah, like that.” His eyelids squeezed tightly. “I named you Hellcat before I got to know you. If I’d waited, you’d be Hoover.”
She wanted to laugh, but her mouth was stuffed with him. She sucked him even harder, letting her tongue draw shapes along his hard length. He was primed, she knew that. She could feel the swell of the vein underneath the head, so she wasn’t surprised when he pulled out.
As her hands went to her breasts, plumping them, his hips reared back. He watched as his dick slid between the tight cleft of her cleavage. His gaze flicked to her, and when she licked her bottom lip, he let out a shaky sigh.
Sitting back on his heels, he squeezed some lotion onto his hand and slathered his dick until it was shiny. And then, he eased back in, pumping slowly and deliberately through the tight channel. “Show me your nipples.”
She spread her fingers just enough to let them poke through, and then, she squeezed, arching her back, desperate to have him inside her. “Tomorrow, I’m going on the pill.”
“Good idea.” He worked himself into a sweat, his gaze fixed on his cock, and she couldn’t help flicking her tongue at the head every time he grazed her mouth.
“I’m gonna come. I’m gonna fucking come all over you.” He pulled out, fisted himself, and pumped furiously. With a feral look in his eyes, he painted her breasts with his ecstasy. When he finished, he caressed her with one hand, while the other slid between her legs. A few strokes around her clit were enough to light her fuse.
Her back arched off the mattress, and her hips pumped against his hand as her orgasm burst from deep within, rocking her body, and making her writhe.
Once her ass hit the mattress, she stared up at the ceiling as her body pulsed. When he got up, she felt the loss of him. She felt vulnerable and raw. Totally exposed.
She wanted him back.
She wanted him to hold her.
She wanted to sleep in the same bed and cuddle up to him.
But he doesn’t like that.
A memory hit her. In the cabin, he said he didn’t snuggle, and yet, she’d awakened to him wrapped around her.
He didn’t snuggle to protect himself from getting attached. If he fucked a woman and walked out the door, there’d be no disappointment. No misreading the signs.
He came back with a warm, wet washcloth and cleaned her. Then, he pulled back the covers and got in the bed.
Should she leave? They hadn’t talked about spending the night.
He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I can hear you.”
“I’m not saying anything.”
“In your head, you are.” He turned onto his side. “I’m not the most romantic guy, but maybe I took it too far.”
“Oh, come on.” She laughed. “You know I love it. All of it. I want you to be honest. I need your honesty.”
“Yeah, I get that. I figure it’s the only way to earn your trust.”
“Exactly. It’s the shadows in people’s eyes, the shuttered expressions, that make me uncomfortable. Your transparency makes me feel safe.”
“And that’s what I want. The safer you feel with me, the more depraved ways I can fuck you.”
“Has anyone ever told you your post-sex game is fire?”
He burst out laughing. “I can’t say I’ve had any complaints.”
“But then, aren’t you usually gone by now?”
“Excellent point.”
Ah, there was her cue. She started to get up. “Well, we’ve got a big day tomorrow, and I need to sleep?—”
Quick as a snake, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down to the mattress. “Don’t go.” All the humor had left his voice, and she could see him trying very hard not to plead. He swallowed. “You can sleep here if you want.” She could see the effort he made to lighten his tone. “I don’t snore. And I don’t hog the blankets.”
“Slick, I want to sleep with you. I just know you need your space.”
“I don’t want space. I’ve had a lifetime of space, and now I want you to crowd me. I want you to sit on my lap and leave your makeup all over my counter. I want your yogurt in my fridge and your underwear in my dryer.”
“But you don’t snuggle.”
“Apparently, I do with you. Now, can we go to sleep? We have a big day tomorrow.” They settled under the covers, and she curled up next to him, her arm across his chest.
“Slick?” She played with the silky hairs on his chest. “What happens if your partners won’t change the contract?” What happens to us then?
“I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it.”
“You don’t seem worried.”
“That’s because right now, there’s nothing to be concerned about. They haven’t said no. One thing my dad always used to say is that we think we’re choosing between two options. In reality, there are a dozen other options we don’t see. We just have to leave ourselves open to them.”
“Okay. Then, I’ll try not to worry.”
“I’ve got George on my side, so at the very worst, it’ll be two against two.”
“Is that because George needs to change the contract, too?” she asked.
“No, it’s because George and I have each other’s backs. We met freshman year at Yale, went to law school together, worked at Elite?—”
“So, good friends.”
“Colleagues. Great colleagues.”
“You’re so weird. Ginty’s a client, George is a colleague… and what am I?”
“Mine.” His eyelids drifted shut and he wrapped an arm around her, tugging her close. “You’re mine.”