Chapter 9
Hendrix
I’m exhausted. We both are. As the sun peeks through the blinds in my room, I find myself staring at the woman next to me. I’m in shock at how powerful our connection is.
Kelsey is asleep. Not surprising since I wore her out, claiming her body yet another time in the middle of the night. She’s so gorgeous with her lips parted and her soft breaths making her chest rise and fall.
When we went to sleep a few hours ago, I pulled the covers over both of us, but we must have been too hot. Her breasts are exposed now. One arm is above her head, the other is at her side, between us.
I could stare at her body for days. Her nipples are hard even while she’s at rest. I want to suckle them, but I won’t wake her.
My come has dried on her inner thighs because suddenly I’m a caveman.
After a moment, she slowly opens her eyes. The first words that come out of her mouth surprise me, though I’m not sure why anything about her would shock me.
“You didn’t ask me if I was on birth control,” she murmurs.
I’m propped on one elbow, staring down at her, and I shrug. “Didn’t care.”
She gasps and turns onto her side, facing me. “You can’t be serious.”
“Dead serious.” I’m pretty stunned by my admission, but it’s the truth.
“Hendrix…”
I trail a finger from her hip to her breast to her shoulder and, finally, her cheek. “You need to call your parents.”
Her eyes pop wider. “What the fuck for?”
“Because I can’t stand the thought of sneaking around without them knowing.
I punched Myles in the face when I found out he was sleeping with my daughter.
I wanted to clobber both of them for not telling me.
I won’t do that to your father or your mother, for that matter.
You need to call them. Should have done so before I took you to my bed. ”
She bolts to sitting, her face red and incredulous. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Nope.”
She shakes her head. “I’m not going to call my parents and tell them I had sex with my boss or with my friend’s dad. No fucking way.”
“Such a potty mouth. And, yes, you are. They deserve to hear it from you instead of finding out some other way.”
“Hear what, Hendrix?” She yanks the covers off her legs and jumps out of my bed. My girl doesn’t give a shit that she’s naked. She crosses her arms under her fantastic tits and glares at me. “They never need to know about this.”
I push to sitting. I didn’t think she would be super excited about my declaration, but she’s acting strangely. I’m not sure how to respond. Never? What the hell does that mean?
Kelsey cocks out a hip. “You planning to call Maddie this morning and tell her you slept with her friend?”
“Yes. Well, not this morning. She got married yesterday. I figured I’d give her a few hours to sleep in,” I joke.
Kelsey does not laugh. “You’re serious.”
“Yes, baby.”
She flinches. “We’re not doing this, Hendrix. We’re not telling anyone.” She grabs one of my T-shirts off the floor, and tugs it over her head.
Dammit.
“We had sex. Hot sex. But you’re my boss. I like my job. I’d rather not get fired and become your sidepiece. I worked too hard for my degree to become arm candy to some rich guy just because he knows how to make me scream in bed.”
I jump off the bed and follow her as she turns to head into my bathroom. “Kelsey…”
She shakes her head and spins around. “What? Please don’t try to insinuate that this thing between us is more than a one-night stand. I’m not stupid.”
I keep following her, but I stop when she enters the small, enclosed toilet room. She slams the door and locks it. I set my hands on the frame, blocking her from exiting.
After a few minutes, she emerges, crosses her arms again, and glares at me. “Move. I need to get home.” She’s so feisty.
Honestly, I’m nervous. All I can do is try to talk her off this weird ledge. “What we have was never a one-night stand, and you know it.”
She ducks under my arm and proceeds to wash her hands. When she’s done, she shuffles out of the bathroom and then the bedroom.
I snag my boxers from the floor, shrug into them, and follow her. What the fuck else am I supposed to do?
Seconds later, we’re entering Madison’s bedroom, the room where Kelsey left all her things yesterday. She tugs my T-shirt off and tosses it in my direction before pulling on her leggings and bra from yesterday afternoon.
The woman is sexy when she’s mad. She’s sexy all the time, though, and I adore the fact that she’s not modest. Even though she’s pissed at me for reasons I can’t comprehend, she’s not hiding her body from me.
She sits on the bed and pulls a foot up to put her tennis shoe on. “Hendrix, I’m half your age. You can’t honestly expect me to believe you have feelings that extend past this morning.”
“I do expect you to believe that, Kels. It’s the truth.” She’s scared. I can see that now. She doesn’t trust me to be all in. Understandable. I just need to convince her otherwise.
When she starts looking around, I spot her tank top, lift it from the corner of the bed, and hold it out for her.
She purses her lips as she puts it on. With her arms raised, she gathers her hair into a messy bun and secures it with one of the many hairbands on the nightstand.
“Please don’t leave, Kels.” I’m not the sort who’s ever begged a woman before, but I will with her. “Let’s talk about this.”
She finds her purse and pulls it over her shoulder before taking a breath and meeting my gaze.
“Listen, I have a busy day. I can’t deal with anything this heavy this morning.
And there’s not a chance in hell I’m going to call my parents and tell them I slept with you.
It even sounds ludicrous saying it out loud. ”
I take a step closer to her, my pulse racing. Fuck. When she backs up, I stop. I won’t force her. I won’t so much as touch her. She deserves to have this freakout. I need to let her go. Not forever. For today.
I follow her down the front stairs.
When she reaches for the doorknob, I speak again, “Kelsey, give me two seconds.”
She doesn’t turn around, but she doesn’t run from the house either.
“I understand you’re panicking. I get it.
Why should you trust me? But please think about this today.
That’s all I’m asking. What we have happened fast, but it’s no less real because of it.
We have chemistry. We both knew it when we met at your graduation party.
It sizzles between us. You’ll never be a sidepiece, baby.
Never. You’re smart, funny, sassy, confident, hardworking, sexy, and about ten other things.
I want you in my life. I want you in every aspect of my life.
Home, work, Edge, and my bedroom. Give yourself today to think about it. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Yes, Sir,” she murmurs before yanking the door open and disappearing from the house.
Jesus…shit. What the fuck just happened?
I’m left staring at the empty doorway. Finally, I approach and stare out in nothing but my boxers, watching the first woman I’ve ever truly given a damn about climb into her car and drive away.
How did I botch this up so badly? I wonder if she would have run from me no matter what I’d said this morning.
If I truly freaked her out by telling her she needed to call her parents, too bad.
And I mean that. I won’t sneak around, lying to them.
If it’s going to be a problem, we need to know that now. Not later.
They live halfway across the country. It’s not like we’re going to run into them at the local coffee shop, and neither of us has a strong social media presence.
We’re not going to start posting pictures of us making out in the park.
But I won’t hide my feelings. Not from her.
Not from her parents. Not from Myles and Madison. Not from the office.
Boy, she’s going to lose her mind when I tell her we need to talk to HR and nip any gossip in the bud.
Beckett and I own the company. We have never instated any rules that suggest people cannot date within our ranks.
I’m not breaking any code of ethics by entering into a relationship with Kelsey.
Being open about it is the best way to quell any potential for whispering. But I won’t do it behind her back.
I close the door and turn to face the pile of clothes we tore off last night in our haste to have sex on the stairs. Ignoring my own clothes, I pick up her dress, bring it to my nose, and inhale her scent. I’m really whipped. What a sap.
Slowly, I make my way back up to my bedroom. This entire situation is a mess. She can’t stay gone forever. She left a lot of things here. Makeup bag. This dress. Heels… Who am I kidding? She could abandon all of them if she really doesn’t want to see me again.
I head for the shower and turn it on. I’m numb.
My house is suddenly too quiet. When steam begins to rise out of the enclosure, I enter and stand with my hands against the tile, letting the hot water run down my back.
It won’t loosen my tight muscles, but at least it’ll take the edge off my frustration.
Kelsey is mine. I know it deep in my soul. She’s scared. I get that. But I won’t sit back and let her sabotage what we have. I’ll give her today. That’s it. When she comes to work tomorrow, I’ll be laying everything on the table.