Any amount of money was worth keeping Hadley safe. But now it appeared as if things had gotten more complicated. He needed to get her somewhere more secure and he needed to tell her what was going on. Hell, he needed to tell her brother too. But…one more day with her. That was all he wanted. Maybe keeping her safe would balance his karma scale. Nah. He doubted it. He’d still protect her though.
As if she knew he was thinking about her, Hadley’s eyes opened and she gave him a soft smile. Confusion flickered across her features as she sat up and looked around. Her dark hair was a little mussed and her dark eyes were sleepy. Yawning, she pushed the blanket down. “Did I miss the end of the movie?” Her voice was slightly raspy and sexy as hell.
“Yeah, it ended a few hours ago.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s no worries. Since it’s late do you just want to stay in the guest room? It’s nice.” The whole place was, in fact. It was secure enough and had a state-of-the-art security system. He lifted a shoulder as if it didn’t matter to him when he really wanted her to stay put.
“Are you sure?” She seemed to hesitate.
“Yeah, I’d rather you stay here than get on the road this late. But whatever you want to do.” Please stay.
“Do you have something I can wear?”
“Yeah. Everything I own will be too big but fine for sleeping in. Do you have plans tomorrow? I’ll make sure you get home as early as you need.” But he’d have to tell her the truth before he did that. There was no way around it. Because she needed to know, to be able to watch out for herself. Just…a few more hours with her. She could rest easy at least one night without the knowledge that someone wanted to kidnap her. Use her as leverage.
“I’d just planned to head out to my family’s ranch and go horseback riding. With school being on break I’m taking advantage of the downtime.”
Good. That should give him some time to contact Brooks and hopefully hunt down another one of the men sent after her once Axel knew she was safe with her brother.
“Do you want to come with me?” she asked, surprising him.
Or…he could do that. “I’d love to,” he found himself saying. He would stay with her at the ranch, just to keep her safe. And then he’d tell her the truth.
He was so full of it he couldn’t buy his own bullshit. Yeah, he’d be keeping her safe, but he was a selfish bastard for not telling her the truth right now. If he thought there was a chance she’d be harmed here or at her family’s ranch then he’d tell her but…
He rolled his shoulders once and closed his laptop. “Let me grab you something.”
Digging around in his suitcase he pulled out a plain T-shirt that would come at least to her mid-thigh and a pair of sweats she would have to roll over at the waist to keep up. He preferred to sleep naked at home but when he was on a job he wore clothes in case he was woken up by a threat.
God, his life was lonely. And she was this bright spot he was soon going to lose. Because in the reality he lived in, no way did they end up together.
When he returned to the living room, he found her folding the blanket and setting it neatly on the back of the couch. “I really don’t mind going home. I feel as if I’m imposing.”
“Trust me, you’re not imposing.” He just wished she’d be sleeping in his bed. But if that was going to happen, she needed to know who he was first.
Although then everything would be a moot point because he was certain she’d want nothing to do with him.
Her smile was soft and sweet. “Okay, then. Is that for me?” She nodded at the bundle of clothes.
“Yeah.” He handed it to her as he showed her to the short hallway. The place was spacious but not so big she could get lost. “This is the extra bedroom.” It had clearly been professionally decorated in a coastal theme. The kind of place that people traveling on business or for vacation would love to stay at. Not that any of that stuff mattered to him. But he was glad she seemed to like it.
“I’ll just be a couple minutes.” She looked indecisive, as if she wanted to say something more but changed her mind at the last second because she ducked into the room and shut the door behind her.
For a moment, he leaned his forehead against the door and tried not to fantasize about her undressing inside, putting on his clothes. Tried and failed. Because he really liked the thought of her wearing his stuff, being covered in his scent. Which was beyond primitive but…he didn’t care.
Sighing, he stepped back and leaned against the wall in the hallway. He’d just tell her goodnight then put some distance between them. Yep, that was the plan.
Because he needed distance if he wanted to stay sane. Especially after that kiss they’d shared. She’d been so sweet and teasing and all he’d wanted to do was roll the two of them to the floor and thrust inside her until they were both sated.
Less than a minute later she opened the door wearing his much too big shirt and… No. Pants. She looked surprised to see him waiting. Shit, maybe he shouldn’t have? Damn it, he was in new territory here. This wasn’t a typical first date, he knew that much.
“Hey, I just wanted to see if you had face wash or something? If you don’t, it’s not a big deal.”
Axel forced himself not to look any lower, not to get a peek of her legs and all that bare skin. That was made easier when she stepped forward before he could even answer, raw lust in her gaze.
Swallowing hard, he shuddered as she pressed up against him, her hands settling on his shoulders. Before he realized it he’d moved, backing her up against the closest wall without actually touching her. His palms were flat against the wall as he looked down at her, caging her in even as he tried to order his feet to back up, to give her space.
Just walk away. And get her face wash or whatever she’d wanted.
But when she slid her hands over his chest, his entire body froze. He still didn’t touch her though. Just curled his fingers against the wall. He could only watch as she slowly slid a hand down his covered chest, lower, lower…oh fuck. What was she doing? He hadn’t remotely expected this.
Her dark eyes went heavy-lidded as she rubbed a hand over his erection. His cock ached, and he was desperate to feel her touching him, stroking him skin to skin.
“Can I?” she whispered, her own breathing harsh and out of control as she teased her fingers over him.
He let out a strangled sound that was supposed to be a yes. Thankfully she understood because, grinning wickedly, she unfastened his pants, shoved them down and…fuuuuuuck.
Feeling like an inexperienced teenager, he felt his balls pull up tight as she fisted his cock with her smooth palm. Yep, this was heaven. And he was about to die. What a way to go.
She wrapped her fingers around him and began stroking, slowly at first. All he could do was stare at her, his heart nearly seizing in his chest as she stroked up and down, over and over.
He hadn’t remotely expected this. Fantasized about it? Yeah.
Her own breathing was harsh as she looked up at him. He arched slightly off the wall as she continued torturing him. He wanted to touch her everywhere and went to move but she just grinned, showing off that adorable dimple.
“No touching me,” she whispered, her grip tightening.
That was…insanely hot. “Gotta kiss you.”
“Okay.” She’d barely got the word out when he crushed his mouth over hers, his need to taste her overwhelming.
He might not be able to touch her everywhere he wanted but this he could do. Her taste was sweet as he dominated her mouth, hungry to consume all of her. This sexy, surprising woman who’d taken him off guard tonight.
He hadn’t expected this boldness from her and he really, really liked it.