“My rules. My way,” I grated as I tried to cool down the heat coursing through me.
Her chest rose and fell with her heavy breathing as she sat up, forcing me back to my knees with a gentle push of her hand. With her eyes locked on mine, her hands coasted up the top of her thighs, lifting the hem of her dress as they went and pulling it over her head. She tossed it to the floor before attentively unclasping her bra and discarding it also.
Leaning back onto the palms of her hands, she put herself on display for me, her lips parted, her tongue swiping over them. “Then quit torturing me, cowboy, and get on with it.”
Whatever restraint I was fighting to hold onto was gone as fast as her clothes. I shed my own like a man starved, a man desperate for this woman’s touch, her warmth. Sheathing myself in a condom, I moved back between her wide-open legs. Taking her tiny foot in my hand, I kissed at the inside of her ankle, working my way up her inner leg to the warm apex that was already wet and ready.
Her body shivered as she released a greedy whimper. I smiled, my heart pounding like a beating drum, feeling like the man for making this headstrong woman fall apart with just my touch.
“Billy, please…” With the upward thrust of her hips, I slipped my fingers into the sides of her panties, sliding them down her silky-smooth legs.
I licked between her legs. Another plea ripped from her lips, her nails digging into my hair. Refusing to torture either of us any more, I moved to hover over her, fisting my cock as I lined myself up with her body. Her eyes fell closed, her breathing harsh and rapid as she anticipated my first thrust.
Holding my weight on one arm, I pushed aside the hair from her cheek. “Look at me, Han,” I demanded, needing to see the light in her eyes, needing her to see how this was more to me than just the physical.
Her eyes fluttered open and as they connected with mine I pushed into her warm folds, a hiss on my lips as I felt that sensation of finally being inside her. Tight and perfect.
“Fuck,” I growled as I stilled so we could both adjust, reminding myself not to take her the way my body was begging me to right then. She deserved more than a hard, emotionless fuck.
Her legs wrapped around my hips as she kissed along my throat, urging me to move.
I towered over her, my muscles flexing with the strain, so I could watch her come undone beneath me. I began to thrust slow and steady. I kissed her lips, her neck, her tits, giving every section of her beautiful body the attention it deserved. As I felt her body build to its climax, I picked up my pace, driving harder and deeper, helping us both over that edge.
Our bodies tensed and convulsed with the sounds of grunts and moans echoing in the room, accompanied by our heavy breathing. I rolled from her body to my back, pulling her with me.
Sprawled out on top of me, she dotted my sticky hot skin with her soft lips. “That was so not worth the wait,” she lied through her grin.
I tickled her side and she squirmed with a light laugh. My eyes fell closed, a giant smile on my face as I glided my hand across the backs of her shoulders.
She sighed, content and relaxed, as she started to drift off to sleep. I pressed a kiss to her head before slipping out from under her to dispose of the condom. Climbing back into bed, I tugged her lifeless body to me, that crazy feeling from our first time together working its way back in, the one that wanted to make her mine for forever. The one I knew was nothing but fucking madness.
Chapter 12
HANNAH
Friday morning, I rolled over to my back, my hand blindly searching the bed for Billy, even though I knew he’d be long gone. He rose before the sun, and the sun was already filtering through the blinds, casting light across the room.
I gave my aching limbs a good stretch before sitting up onto my elbows to look around. The sheets smelled of his minty eucalyptus soap, and I sort of wished I could just stay wrapped up in them all day until he came home to me.
He’d spent every evening with me after work, focusing his full attention on me, making what felt like love to me, holding me tight afterwards until we both fell asleep. I’d felt like I’d been wandering around aimlessly lately, with my career up in the air, but for some reason, when I was with Billy I felt anything but lost.
Another piece of folded paper sat on the nightstand with my name written across the front of it. A giddy grin pulled at my mouth as I picked it up, the butterflies already swarming my stomach before I’d even read his words. I flipped it open, settling my head back on the pillow.
Morning blondie,
Sorry I can’t be here when you wake up. Leaving your side every morning is the worst part of my day. But on the plus side, knowing I get to come home to you at night is the best part and gives me something to look forward to. See you tonight, sweetheart.
P.S. Don’t worry about dinner tonight. I think it’s in everyone’s best interest you leave that to me.
I laughed, holding the note at my belly as I did. My heart ached a little when I realized the number of future nights with him were dwindling. Lottie and Tucker would return home this evening, and there’d be no reason for me to extend my stay any longer.
Technically, I had nowhere to be, but I wasn’t sure how he’d feel about me staying with him for no other reason than just to be with him. And what would that do to us in the end, when I finally had to return home? It seemed like a longer stay with Billy would end up a blessing and a curse, only making things harder when it was over.
I sighed, turning onto my side, my thoughts quickly spiraling. I was in deep shit. I was more than just wrapped up in his sheets. I was wrapped up in Billy Miller entirely. I’d claim ignorance if I could, saying I hadn’t expected him to steal my heart the way he had. But I couldn’t. I did this to myself—to the both of us—knowing the ending before it even started.
I pulled myself out of bed to get ready for my last day of work, tucking the note into my suitcase with the others he’d left me over the last few mornings before heading to the bathroom for a shower. Though I’d prefer to be waking up to the man, the notes had become my favorite part of starting the day. They were like little souvenirs. A small piece of Billy I could take back with me to Seattle.
My phone rang in the distance as I stepped out of the steamy shower. I quickly grabbed a towel, sprinting back to the bedroom, barely missing it as it switched over to my voicemail. I scrolled through the missed-call log, noting it was a Seattle number. As soon as I received the notification, I listened to the voicemail.
I jumped up and down with a little squeal, spinning in a circle.
An interview. I have an interview!
The prospect sent a thrill through my entire body. It was the one company I’d been really hoping to get a call from. A buyer position, instead of the assistant position I’d previously been in.
I flopped backwards onto the bed, catching my breath as my heart calmed after my little one-person dance party.
Oh. Oh, god.
My excitement slowly faded as it hit me.
That meant I’d for sure be leaving Sunday.
“How did dinner go the other night?” my mom asked.
I tucked the phone between my shoulder and ear as I went through the process of locking the storefront door and shutting down most of the lights in the store. The day had flown by and now I was closing up shop for the last time. It was almost bittersweet.