His thumb paused, and he pulled her tight against him. “I don’t like imagining you with another man.”
“At least they’re not all on my Instagram feed,” she countered sassily. The years they’d been apart couldn’t be wished away. How they dealt with them was just another part they would have to figure out.
“Touché,” he said and kissed her again. A slow, lusty smile spread across his face. “Come back to my place, and I’ll see if you learned as much as you think you did.”
“What time is it?” She stepped back, pulled the hem of her dress down, and bent to retrieve her bra from the floor of the simulator.
He picked up his jacket and took out his phone. Hailey paused to watch the rippling muscles of his back as he did. There was humor in his eyes when they met hers, as if he knew exactly what watching him was doing to her. He glanced down at his phone and swore. “Time for you to get back unless you want to call your babysitter and ask her to stay over.”
“I can’t,” she said as she fastened her bra and pulled the top of her dress back into place. She turned her back to him as she’d done many times before. “Zip, please.”
He did, then retrieved her panties from the floor and held them out to her. “You don’t want to leave these here.” She stepped into them as he finished zipping himself.
“You might want to get that as well.” She nodded toward the condom he’d dropped to the floor.
He opened the door of the simulator and disposed of it in the trash near his secretary’s desk. Before walking away, he frowned, took a blank piece of paper off her desk, crumpled it up, and tossed it in the trash on top of the condom.
When their eyes met, Hailey felt like they truly were back in college disposing of the evidence of their wild encounters. “Do you remember when Ralph went on vacation and left you the keys to the restaurant?”
He laughed. “How could I forget? It really was our booth after that week.”
She laughed along with him. “It sure was. I couldn’t look him in the eye for weeks.”
Spencer closed the simulator door and put an arm around Hailey as they walked through the office toward the elevator. “I couldn’t sit there without a hard-on for about as long.”
They both glanced back at the simulator at the same time, then met each other’s eyes again, and the air sizzled with sexual energy. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Hailey asked.
The flush that spread up his neck hinted he might be. “It wouldn’t take me long to write that program. All we would need is enough footage of the booth.” He shook his head and chuckled. “Now I want a private simulator. How am I going to explain that to Jordan?”
They walked toward the elevator together. “It was just a thought.”
“A fucking amazing thought,” he said before pulling her into the elevator and kissing her deeply as the doors closed. They hit the ground all too soon.
Conversation was comfortable and easy as they left the building and climbed into his car. They had just pulled into traffic when he glanced at her quickly and asked, “Any regrets?”
“About tonight?” she asked.
“About any of this.”
“No, but I need—” Time to think. This is what I want, but is it what’s best for Skye? Is it selfish to even consider something like this when she’s finally doing better? I need to take the job at SmartKart. It’ll free me to tell him everything. If I do it right, Delinda will see she doesn’t have to pay for companions. We’ll stay in the guesthouse, and Skye and I won’t lose either one of them.
Spencer placed a hand on one of her thighs. “What do you need?”
“Patience,” she said automatically. “We need to move forward slowly.”
“Because of Skye,” he said, rather than asked.
“She’s a big part of it.” She turned his hand over and linked her fingers with his. “I’ll introduce you, but not yet.”
“In case we don’t make it.”
Hailey’s heart clenched in her chest. She didn’t want to lie to him. “She’s lost so much. I won’t be the reason for more loss in her life, not if I can help it.” She stared down at their linked hands for a few moments before saying, “I’ve decided to take the job with SmartKart.”
“Fantastic. It sounds like a good move for you.”
“I hope so. I have to admit I’m a little nervous about telling my present employer, but mostly because she has been so good to us.”
“You’re doing it because it’s what’s best for you and your family. She’ll have to understand that.”
“I think she will.”
Before long they pulled up beside Hailey’s parked car. Spencer undid his seat belt and leaned toward Hailey. She met the kiss halfway. The passion that flared between them was intense and instant. He raised his head, his breath as ragged as hers. “Tonight shouldn’t end this way. You should fall asleep in my arms.”
She traced the line of his strong jaw. “We’ll get there.” I hope.
His eyes darkened. “You are incredible.” He kissed her briefly.
“I don’t know about that, but it’s nice to hear.” Leaving wasn’t as easy as Hailey made it sound, but she knew she had to. “I should go.”
“How does your week look?”
Hailey gathered up her purse. “Before I make any plans, I want to talk to SmartKart. They may need me to do something. I also don’t want to stay out very late. It’s summer, but Skye still takes lessons every day.”
He shot her a crooked smile. “So I should plan on Saturday.”
“Probably,” she said with a nod. “And I’ll meet you somewhere.”
“You sure know how to keep me humble,” he joked.
“That’s not my intention—”
“I know,” he said, cutting her off with a quick kiss before leaning across her to open her door. “Fuck, this isn’t easy.”
His face was mere inches from hers. She wanted one more kiss yet felt dangerously close to giving in to the part of her that wanted to stay. “Spencer—”
“Go,” he said as he straightened away from her.
Hailey stepped out of his car and walked over to hers. She looked back at him as she opened her door. He’s as scared as I am.
Is that better or worse than our first time around?
Spencer watched Hailey drive off and folded his arms across his chest. Being with her had him all tied up in knots emotionally. The sex had been phenomenal, better than he’d expected, and he’d gone in with some pretty fucking good memories of being with her.
Strong and loyal.
Funny, intelligent, and sexy as hell.
She deserves better than the man I am today. He didn’t normally turn to others for advice, but he almost lost her this night. He needed to figure some shit out, and evidently that wasn’t something he was succeeding at alone. He called someone he knew would give it to him straight. “Jordan, I need your advice on something.”