“No. Just a model from one of her photography classes.”
“Oh.” Relief flooded through me. I didn’t want Hayden staring at photographs of a woman he’d once been with as he was drifting off to sleep, or doing anything else in that bed.
“No one’s ever been in here before.”
“Did you just move in recently?” The room defied the typical bachelor pad; no piles of clothes draped over chairs or discarded on the floor.
“I’ve lived here since we opened Inked Armor.”
It took a few seconds for the message to sink in. “You’ve never brought a woman home?”
“Well yeah, but never in here. Not in my room or my bed. Except for you. I want you in here. With me. Jesus. I sound like a douche.” He gulped down the rest of his scotch. “I don’t even know what I’m saying.”
“Hey.” I tugged on his wrist, pulling him farther into the room, toward that massive bed. He came willingly. My wineglass found a home on the nightstand. I stepped away, turning to face him.
“Only me?”
“Yes.”
Territorial pride gave me courage. “Why?” I asked and lowered the hidden zipper on my dress. It loosened and fell away, pooling at my feet. Hayden’s eyes stayed on me as the rest of my clothing dropped to the floor.
“Because I—” He looked so vulnerable. “I want to— Being with you is different.”
I sat on the edge of the mattress, tucked my knees under me, and crooked a finger. His empty glass kissed mine, the muted clink the only sound other than our breathing. When he was right in front of me, I started to undress him.
“It’s the same for me,” I admitted, pushing his shirt over his shoulders and down his arms. I unbuckled his belt, popped the button on his pants, and pushed them over his hips. “I’ve never had this kind of connection with anyone but you.” I lifted my eyes. “It scares me that I feel this way. The thought of losing you—” The prospect was too disconcerting, especially considering how close we’d been to that potential reality so recently.
He cupped my face in his hands and dipped his head down to kiss me. “I don’t want to be without you again,” he murmured.
I moved back as Hayden climbed up on the bed and prowled over me. When my head hit the pillows, I parted my legs and he settled between them.
“I should have brought you here sooner,” he said against my mouth.
“I’m here now.” I wrapped myself around him, drawing him close.
Everything was slow, careful. It was such a relief when he finally eased inside me. He moved over me with that same unhurried passion, like the end was something he was trying to stay away from, not get to.
“I can’t get close enough,” he whispered, stealing my breath when he kissed me.
My hands moved down, resting on the dip in his spine. I lifted my hips, urging him deeper. His eyes closed briefly, his smile wry. When they opened, the way he looked at me made my heart ache. His emotions bared in that moment as his fingers skimmed my throat down to my collarbone and his palm stopped over my heart. “I want to be in here.” There was such quiet yearning in his eyes as he gazed down at me.
I touched his perfect face, wishing I could give him more of me. “You already are.”
When I came, it felt like I was breaking apart and being put back together at the same time.
It was a long time before either one of us moved. Hayden blanketed my body, his weight deliciously heavy. His head rested on my chest, his colorful arm cutting a line across the pale, unmarked skin on my stomach.
Eventually I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was getting late. “TK’s been home alone all afternoon.”
He threw one leg over mine. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“She hasn’t been fed.” I traced the outline of the fish swimming up his biceps.
“What if we brought her back here? Then you could both stay the night.”
“Really? You’d be okay with TK at your place?” I asked, surprised he would even suggest it.
“Yeah, of course.”
I tried to wiggle out from under him, but he wouldn’t budge. “The sooner we go, the sooner we can get back into bed.”