Chapter 15 #3
“I think Mason trusts us to do the right thing, so the boss doesn’t give a crap. And we’re not exactly reporting to anybody, … particularly about those things. Plus, you and Andrea have a long history. If it’s time to do something about it, then maybe it’s time to do something about it now.”
And, with that, he disconnected, leaving Hayden staring down at the phone in amused disbelief. “Did you just try to give me permission?” he muttered out loud. He shook his head at that, knowing that they were watching from the living room cameras.
He settled into the living room for a little bit longer, waiting until she was hopefully sound asleep, before checking on her.
He returned to the living room and gave the cameras a thumbs-up to confirm she was out.
Then he headed to his bedroom, looking to grab a shower and hopefully some sleep himself.
When he came out of the shower, she stood right there, wrapped in a hotel robe, staring at him. He wrapped himself up in a towel and walked over. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I was, until I thought about the cameras,” she snapped.
He groaned. “I know they’re up there, but they’re not any place we have to worry about.”
“No, but it’s still eerie.”
“Unsettled much?”
“Yeah,” she snapped, “all of that.”
He nodded. “You want to sleep in here?”
“I absolutely want to sleep in here,” she agreed, with a smile. “Thanks for the invite.” Then she walked over and crawled into his bed.
Hayden asked, “Now, do you want me to leave so you can sleep alone, or do you want me to get in there with you?”
“I want you to get in here with me,” she stated. He looked at her, and she nodded. “Yeah, I know exactly what I’m asking. Besides, have you forgotten how good it was before?”
“No, I haven’t forgotten a thing,” he declared, staring at her closely, “but I also don’t want our next step to be driven just by wine.”
She burst out laughing. “That wine was a very long time ago. It was one glass, not even all of it.”
“Maybe, but I still don’t want that to be part of the decision in your world.”
“Nope, it won’t be,” she said, but he didn’t make a move, just staring at her. She added, “Honest, I mean that.”
“I know you mean it,” he replied, “but that doesn’t necessarily mean you understand the reason why.”
“Oh, for crying out loud,” she muttered.
She got up, walked over, and wrapped her arms around him.
She opened her robe and pressed herself against him from head to toe, plastering a kiss on his lips.
He couldn’t resist her anymore, wanting her for so very long, ever since he’d first seen her again.
It just brought back a flood of memories.
Because, if nothing else, their relationship had been heavy in passion, even if communication had been lacking.
He hoped they had corrected that issue for the most part. So the rest would take care of itself.
As he wrapped his arms around her, she murmured eagerly against his lips and whispered, “To bed … now.”
He groaned as she stepped back ever-so-slightly, whipped the towel off his hips, and grinning, tossed her robe onto the ground, then raced back to the big bed, where she flipped back the covers.
She faced him on the other side and noted, “This feels like old times.” Then she bounced onto the bed and opened her arms.
He lay down a whole lot slower. “I’m not sure I’m up for old times.”
“Of course not,” she said. “We’re making old times anew.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” And she faced him and added, “I’m sure. And you’re the one who made that announcement to my father.”
He nodded. “I just figured you might need a little more time.”
“No, I don’t need more time,” she snapped.
“If anything, I don’t want to waste any more time.
And, if I start working for my father, bucking him is just the bare minimum of what my life will be like,” she explained, with a chuckle.
“So I need us, you, in my corner.” She wrapped her arms around him, pulled him close, and whispered, “I’ve missed this. ”
He nudged her thighs wider, and she happily complied as he lowered himself ever-so-slightly to take a nipple into his mouth, where he suckled deep and hard.
She groaned as she arched beneath him, her hands tugging at his hair and then massaging him, now sliding her palms down his neck to his shoulders.
She whispered, “You always could send my temperature soaring with just a look. You devastated me when you left. I never did tell you that.”
He didn’t say anything, just moved into position to give her a kiss that was heartfelt and full of apologies, but he knew leaving her back then had been what he had to do.
He leaned over, pulled himself a bit higher, kissed her again, and asked, “But you also understand why I did what I did, right?”
“Yes, … now I do. At the time, I thought I was doing a great job of hiding everything, who I was, what I was—” He kept working her body over, but she was not letting up the talk. “I was really just this scared girl on the inside, trying to forge a path on my own.”
“And you did it. You absolutely did. That’s what we have to keep in mind. And we found each other again anyway, in the strangest of circumstances.”
She chuckled. “Yes, very. And it’s hard for me to be upset over the way it all ended up.”
“Except that it’s not over yet,” he reminded her.
“Will it ever be though? Or will this be a pall that we have over our lives for a very long time?”
“I don’t think so,” he shared. “I want to see this come to a conclusion very quickly, but we have to find anybody else involved. Remember that Mason and the rest of the team are working on it, even while we keep you safe.”
“I wish my father hadn’t come,” she shared.
“I do too. And I suspect his staying out of trouble won’t be anywhere near as easy as what he thought it would be.”
“No,” she grumbled, “it never is, but he always thinks he’s invincible.” She grew quiet.
He noted her mood shift. He leaned over, kissed her, and said, “So, we can either talk or—”
“No,” she snapped, wrapping her arms around him, “make me forget. Just make me put it all off and out of the way until tomorrow.”
He kissed her again, and this time slid both hands up to cup her breasts.
She twisted once again beneath him, gasping as he slowly but surely raised the desire between them, something twisting deep inside that neither one of them could fight.
When he finally entered her, she cried out in relief, her body writhing beneath him, holding his hips tight.
And when he didn’t move, she swore at him. “Damn it, move.”
He chuckled, pulled back ever-so-slightly, and slammed deep and hard, again and again. When she finally crested beneath him, he followed almost immediately, holding her close as he realized that they had somehow come full circle.
“I don’t want this to end,” she whispered.
“Nobody said it had to end,” he replied, “but I do need a minute.”
She burst out laughing. “Does that mean you’re that much older?”
“Are you trying to insult me?”
“You tell me? I don’t remember you ever needing a minute.”
He rolled over on top of her and then flipped, so suddenly that she was on top of him. She burst out in delighted laughter and whispered, “Right, I do remember this though.”
She rose up, sliding down his ready shaft, and sighed happily as she proceeded to take them both to the cliff’s edge and drove them over once again. Then he pulled her close and whispered, “Now, get some sleep.”