“Yes” —I say slowly—“Hope has been wonderful and more than enough to fit my needs.” My words come with a meaning that only Hope and I will understand, and it makes her lips curl up, despite being in the gloomiest of circumstances. “I’m not sure what you intend for Mallory to do for me, but her presence won’t be needed.”
There’s a cold pause for a beat before Dexter’s obnoxious chuckle kicks in. “I assure you that you’ll be more than happy with Mallory taking the lead on your account. Hope will still be there to assist—”
“Excuse me for cutting in, Dexter, but I think I’ve made it perfectly clear that I’m happy with the way this project is being run. There’s no need to invite anyone here without my consent, especially considering Hope is only to be on site for another four days. Mallory’s services will not be needed. If there’s a problem with that, then we can terminate our business relationship now.”
Hope’s eyes go wide, and she shakes her head. Maybe I was a little too firm. The last thing Hope needs is for her boss to find out that she ended their fling because of me.
“I certainly wouldn’t want to do that. I was only trying to bring in some seasoned blood to enhance the outcome of your success. When I took you on as a client, I saw a long-term future for us. After visiting, my thought was that Mallory was the better project manager for that bigger picture outcome.”
“And my thought is that you’re trying to fix something that isn’t broken. I’m happy with the project the way it is.” I frown at the window where the fading sunlight is darkening the woods at a fairly quick rate. “Mallory can stay the night if she’d like, but I’m afraid I can’t accommodate a second staff member of yours.”
Dexter clears his throat, my insistence clearly throwing him off. “Of course. I’ll talk to her now. Thank you for your time, Anderson.”
“One second, Dexter. Now that I have you, there is one project change you could make for me that I would greatly appreciate.”
“Of course. What’s that?”
“I’d love to extend Hope’s stay here another couple of weeks at least so that she can be here leading up until the event. I’ll continue paying for all her accommodations, and she’s free to tend to other client needs if required.”
Dexter clears his throat. “I’m afraid that would require a revision to the contract budget.”
“Fine,” I snap, my impatience for the man already at an all-time high. “Send it over. I’ll sign today.”
Another beat of silence passes then another. At this point, I’m certain Dexter is onto my relationship with Hope, but I don’t give a fuck at this point. If he’s truly a smart man, then he won’t say anything about it.
“I’m sure that can be arranged. Is Hope with you now? Would you like to tell her, or should I give her a quick buzz?”
I smile at Hope. “I’m sure I’ll see her around camp soon. I can let her know.”
“Wonderful,” Dexter says, his tone dryer than when we began.
“Thanks for the call, Dex.” I click the phone off just as Hope rushes to me and throws her arms around my neck.
“Thank you.” Her whisper is so soft and heartfelt that it makes my chest squeeze.
“You don’t need to thank me. I would do anything for you, and I admit, that felt pretty damn good.”
She laughs and touches her lips to mine. “That was kind of you to offer Mallory a place to stay tonight. Guess we need to be on our best behavior until she’s gone.”
I smile and shake my head. “Nope. It means we need to be worse. Looks like I’ll be sneaking into your cabin tonight.”
She presses her lips to mine before whispering across them, “I’ll make sure to keep my door unlocked.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
HOPE
The sound of the doorknob turning makes my heart race. It feels like I’ve been waiting for Anderson for hours. After a very uncomfortable dinner with Mallory, Anderson escorted her to her cabin for the night—clear on the other side of camp.
He must have wanted to give it a healthy amount of time before making good on his promise and heading over to my cabin. The thought of us sneaking around like this makes me giggle as he shuts the door before him.
“What are you laughing about?” he teases while stripping off his jacket.
“Just the fact that we’re two grown adults tiptoeing around your camp like a couple of teenagers.”
He smiles and takes off his shoes next. “I think I’m the one sneaking around, not you. And I definitely didn’t tiptoe here.”
I roll my eyes. “What’d you do? Run?”
Anderson pulls his shirt over his head. “It was more like a jog. I didn’t want to jump into your bed all sweaty.”
“Smart move,” I purr, watching his pants drop to the floor until all that’s standing there is a handsome man in black briefs that hug him in all the right places.
“What can I say? I’m a smart guy.” He grins and then slips beneath the covers. He hugs me to him, humming the moment he touches bare skin. “Are you naked?” I bite down on my lip and refrain from saying a word as he explores my body, answering his own question as he goes. “Well, fuck me.”
“That’s definitely the plan.” I spread my legs right as his palm sinks lower. He doesn’t waste a single second pushing a thick digit inside me.
“And here I was, thinking we were going to talk and cuddle all night.”
He adds another finger. “Lucky for you, I can multitask.”
My eyes slam shut as pleasure rockets through me. All it takes is his touch, and I feel it everywhere. My body feels more alive than ever before. The thrill of today certainly adds to my eagerness, I know that much. I reach for his length, which is already fully hard. My hand doesn’t fit around it completely, but I do my best, gripping it firmly and stroking him until he groans.
“You’re a very talented woman, Hope Davies.” He pumps his fingers into me faster, hitting me deeper than before.
“You’re quite the talent yourself,” I echo, wanting nothing more than to live in this moment forever. It’s like he was made for me, molded by my dreams themselves. And here we are, two tangled souls, hearts colliding, breaths synching. For the first time in a long time, it feels like all my dreams are coming true. Everything is going to be okay.
He presses his lips to my neck while he picks up the rhythm. I do the same with his cock in my grip.
“You feel so fucking good. So wet and tight. And it’s all for me.” He finds my mouth and kisses me deeply, while pleasuring my clit with a rub of his thumb.
“I feel like I’m going to explode.”
“Do it. Come for me. You’ll feel so good sliding on my cock next. I can’t wait.”
There’s a hitch in my throat. My heart is racing as my first orgasm crashes through me in waves.
I’m still coming hard when he slips his fingers out of me, sits me up, and pulls my legs around his waist. With a quick alignment, he’s spearing me with his dick and pulling me down around him so fast and hard that I scream out.