They’d started with a fling and ended up with so much more. Even when their sex was frantic and hard-edged, they had a connection he couldn’t deny, wouldn’t deny. He wasn’t prepared to let her go. Not now, not ever. When this weekend was over he’d either get everything he never knew he wanted or he’d be left with a bleeding heart and broken soul.
Sunlight streamed into the room. Even this late in the day its rays were bright and filled the room with the gaiety of a summer day at the beach. But this was no sunny afternoon. This was mere hours away from the end. Their overnight flight to Sydney left in six hours and he hadn’t dared to mention where they would go from here. The last two days had overflowed with sex. They hadn’t left the suite again after Friday night. Hadn’t left the bed except to shower or get the food delivered to the dining area. Neither of them had been able to last long away from the other.
While his body may be sated and all the physical activity had drained his energy, he couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t stop thinking about the woman lying beside him or about what would happen when she woke up and they packed to go home. He’d made some plans for the morning a little while ago, plans that would hopefully get him what he wanted but fear still gripped his heart and churned in his belly.
Setting up his company hadn’t given him this much anxiety. That alone told him how much Carly meant to him. How far she’d gotten inside him. His future lay in her hands. When she found out would she open her hands and let him fall, or would she cup them tighter and cherish the gift he offered? This weekend with her had changed so much.
Saxon never would have entertained thoughts like these before. He’d never been a fanciful man. Facts and figures were his world. But now, with Carly, he noticed so much more, thought so much deeper and if he was honest he’d admit his life until now had been black and white. With Carly he saw things in Technicolor for the first time and he’d be fucked if he wanted to go back to black and white without a fight.
At six am on a Monday morning, Sydney international airport was a welcome sight. They made their way off the plane and through the terminal toward baggage claim. The number of people this early in the day surprised him. Stepping around the dawdlers, he strode with purpose and determination. He had a plan and he couldn’t put it into action quick enough.
Saxon pulled his bag from the carousel and waited for Carly’s to come around. His driver should be waiting on the other side of customs ready to take them home. His home. It wasn’t clear if it would be Carly’s anytime soon. She’d been quiet since waking yesterday. Her one-word answers to any question he’d asked had worried him at first. He thought she was no longer even speaking to him but when everyone else they encountered on their trip home received the same treatment he realized she’d withdrawn inside herself.
Whether she pulled away because she considered them over or in an effort to protect herself he couldn’t say. He did know he hoped for the latter. He could live with the latter because it would mean she felt something. More than just a physical attraction, and that gave him a foundation to work from—something more than his own emotions and commanding nature. Her brown bag came around and he grabbed the handle and lifted; the weight surprised him, he’d expected it to be much heavier.
He wheeled the two bags to where Carly waited. She’d dressed for comfort. The eight hour flight, even in business class, wasn’t exactly the best way to spend a night. Her sweat pants hung low on her hips, and the T-shirt she had on stopped three or four inches above the band, giving him a glimpse of the smooth expanse of her belly. His fingers had itched to reach out and touch her silky flesh so many times over the last twelve hours it had just about driven him insane.
They needed to be alone. Soon. If not, he’d forget about her standoffish attitude and anyone that might see him run his hands all over that supple skin and he wouldn’t be stopping there.
“Come on. The car will be waiting.” He walked straight past her, didn’t wait to hear a protest about her finding her own way home. She wasn’t going to her home.
“Saxon.”
Her voice came from behind him. He kept going.
“Saxon, wait.”
She sounded winded, her voice bringing vivid images of other times she’d been breathless. He lengthened his stride. If he kept ahead of her she’d be forced to follow and even though he didn’t want to bully her into a relationship, he knew he wanted to get her alone somewhere to plead his case. Their case. This was about both of them.
They sailed through customs. Neither had anything to declare and no red flags were raised, so they quickly found themselves being ushered to the vehicle waiting for them. Saxon got Carly and their luggage in the car without too much difficulty and before she could voice another protest they were on their way. Leaning back against the leather seat, she drew in a breath, expelled the air on a sigh, and shut her eyes.
Fifteen minutes into the drive her eyes popped open and she turned to look out the window. The second she noticed where they were she jerked forward.