Chapter 17. Haley
Haley
“This is amazing.” I walked around Ace’s lavish hotel suite at the Four Seasons, taking in the vast, elegant room decorated in soothing shades of beige and gray, while trying to ignore the simmering tension between us.
Ace had insisted on driving his SUV with Maverick beside me in the back, and by the time we got to the hotel, my imagination had gone wild.
I was all ready for a little spicy action in the elevator, but Ace had other ideas.
He ordered room service at the front desk when we checked in and then we had to ride the elevator to the fifteenth floor with Maverick like two civilized adults who didn’t want to tear off each other’s clothes.
“Look at the view,” I said, trying to hide my frustration.
I’d imagined spending the night with Ace for years and in detail, and now that it was finally happening, I didn’t want to waste any time.
I was so wound up, I didn’t care if he slept with me and disappeared the next day, breaking my heart into smithereens.
I was living in the moment and this moment was supposed to be all about sex.
“I am.”
I turned to see Ace leaning against the minibar, arms folded, watching me like a predator about to feast. I wasn’t sure what was happening between us.
All I knew was that Ace had been there when I needed him, the chemistry between us was insane, he wanted to do everything with me, and now we were alone in a fancy hotel room that was dominated by the biggest bed I’d ever seen, and we weren’t in it.
Before I could suggest a little appetizer before the meal, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He checked the screen, then motioned for me to be quiet while he took the call.
“Tony.” He pulled out the desk chair and took a seat. “Yeah, I’m at the hotel. Any info from the FBI?” He mouthed the words “I’m sorry” and shrugged.
I smiled, partially relieved for a moment to catch my breath. “It’s okay,” I mouthed back.
I took a last look out the window at the twinkling skyline and then vaulted onto the bed, landing on the pillowy duvet with a loud flop. I heard a snort behind me and looked over my shoulder to see Ace’s amused smile.
“It’s all good,” he said into the phone. “Haley was fine with Mav. I told her it was just the weekend…”
Trapped on the phone. Such a perfect time to tease. I sat up and waved my hand in front of my face. “Hot,” I mouthed.
Ace gestured to a control panel by the door. I shook my head and slowly slid my hoodie up and over my head.
“A weekend is all I need, Tony…”
I reached for my T-shirt. Ace’s eyes widened, and he shook his head.
Maybe I was moving too fast, and I shouldn’t have been reading anything into Ace telling me he wanted to do “everything” to me.
What did “everything” mean exactly? I had a vivid imagination and over three hundred romance books on my Kindle in various shades of spice.
I was pretty much up for anything. Not one of my high school flings or my limited hookups had had more than two chili peppers’ worth of moves, but from the way Ace was watching me, I had a feeling he was a five-chili-pepper kind of guy. Maybe six.
Bad imagination . I could feel the heat building down below. I hoped “everything” didn’t mean he wanted to take me for a stroll by the lake after dinner with Maverick following behind us. I still couldn’t believe I was alone in a hotel room with Ace and my teen fantasy was about to come true.
In an attempt to distract myself, I scooted up the bed and leaned against the headboard.
How long did we have before room service arrived?
I’d told Ace when we checked in that I wasn’t hungry, but he had insisted that I needed food.
I’d agreed only because I wanted to have enough energy to do all the things I’d ever imagined doing… and more.
“Tell her I don’t do repeat assignments,” he said into his phone, turning in his chair so he could watch me. I took that to mean he didn’t really want me to stop taking off my clothes, so I pulled my T-shirt over my head and tossed it on the floor.
“Tony, I…” A scowl creased his brow and he pointed at the shirt and motioned for me to put it back on.
Instead, I undid the button on my jeans and pulled down the zipper.
I imagined him telling me to spread my legs and touch myself while he watched.
I imagined him fucking me while he talked to Tony.
My nipples tightened under my bra. There was no way he couldn’t notice.
“Sorry. The phone cut out.” He drew a line across his throat. I laughed and I pushed my jeans down over my hips and threw them across the room.
His gaze swept over my body. Carnal. Intent. Something changed in that moment and the air between us crackled with electricity. He beckoned me forward with his free hand. Two fingers. A brusque motion that I felt deep in my core.
“I don’t know why she would say that.” He leaned back in his chair and patted his lap. Motioned me over again.
I was acutely aware of how he tracked my movements, the lazy way his eyes slid over me, the hitch in his breath when I straddled his lap. I wouldn’t have been as bold with anyone else, but this was Ace, and I’d wanted him forever. My body was safe with him, but maybe not my heart.
“She’ll be fine with someone else,” he said into the phone, his voice thickening. “Tell her we don’t know how long this…” His breath hitched when I took off my bra and his gaze went feral. “… assignment will last.”
I rocked against his hard length, threaded my fingers through his soft hair. He hadn’t touched me and I was already so wet my panties were soaked.
He closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. “Tony…” His Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed. “Listen. I’ve got to go. I’ve got another call.”
I licked my lips and then leaned forward to pepper tiny kisses along his jaw. His muscles went rock hard and he grabbed my hair, yanking my head back.
“Be still,” he mouthed.
By way of response, I cupped my breasts, squeezing and rubbing my thumbs over my nipples until a soft growl ripped from his throat.
“Bye, Tony.” He tossed the phone on the bed.
“Haley.” His voice was rough and husky with desire as he brushed his lips against the hollow at the base of my throat.
“Yes?” I was breathless, my heart thudding in my chest, my body caught in a cyclone of need.
“I want you like this. I have fucking dreamed of having you like this.” His hand tightened in my hair and I could feel the press of his erection against my core.
“I want you to have me like this,” I said. “But you’re wearing too many clothes.”
“We need to talk first,” he gritted out, releasing me. “I can’t…” His voice caught, broke. “I want to do this right.”
I wiggled against him and let out a groan. “This feels pretty right to me.”
“If you keep moving like that,” he warned, “I won’t be slow or gentle.”
“I don’t want slow or gentle,” I said when I took a moment to catch my breath. “I don’t want to make love. I don’t need you to whisper sweet nothings in my ear. I want you to fuck me, Ace. Hard. I want you to steal my breath away.”
It was like a dam broke.
His tongue slid into my mouth, touching, tasting, exploring every inch until my thighs trembled and I collapsed against his chest. I tasted whiskey and fresh mint, drew in his familiar scent of pine and crisp autumn air.
I felt nothing but his strong arms. I heard nothing but his groan.
My mind stopped whirling and focused only on the rush of sensation and the fact that Ace—my Ace—wanted me in his bed.
His eyes blazed liquid heat. “You’re a bad girl.”
“You have no idea how bad I can be.” I trailed my fingers over the stubble on his jaw, rough with a five-o’clock shadow. “I’m not the Haley you left back home.”
“Haley is the last girl I would ever want to be with. She’s just a kid playing dress-up.”
I pushed away the memory of Ace’s words from a night when I was sixteen and crushing on him so hard I didn’t care if Matt found out.
It was a long time ago, and there was no point dredging up the past humiliation of learning what he really thought of me.
That Ace didn’t want that Haley. But the hard ridge beneath Ace’s fly told me that things had changed.
Could I have him for just one night and put everything else behind me?
I appreciated his heartfelt apology, but they were just words, and the pain of the broken trust between us was still there, although maybe not quite as sharp.
He groaned and buried his face in my neck, making me even hotter. “Be my bad girl, Haley.”
Answer: yes.
“I’m already your bad girl.” I slid my hands under his shirt and peeled it off his body. His skin was warm and slightly tanned, ridged with muscle and a six-pack that just begged to be licked. “I jumped out the window, remember? I would have escaped from Maverick to come to your hotel with you.”
His hands tightened around me. “That kind of behavior needs to be addressed. It can’t happen again.”
I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to be climbing out my bedroom window again.
Aside from the fact that it wasn’t as easy as it had been when I was fifteen, I wasn’t oblivious to the danger and had been careful to stay in the bushes near the window where I’d be able to get Ace’s attention if anyone came by.
This was a one-time thing. Ace was an itch I wanted to scratch. I didn’t need anything more.
“What are you going to do?” I asked, breathless.
“First, I’m going to fuck you the way I always imagined.
” He stood, lifting me against him, and walked us over to the desk.
He settled me on the cold, hard surface, and stood between my spread legs.
“And then I’m going to punish you for putting yourself at risk, and then I’ll fuck you again but I’ll take my time.
Are you good with that? I need to hear you say it. ”
I couldn’t answer fast enough. “Yes. I’m good with that.”