“All clear, Miss Hart.”
I open my eyes to find Ford at the far end of the hallway by the arch that leads to the living area. Pushing off the wall, I nod my acknowledgment, making to follow, but stopping when he speaks again.
“I need to shower before we run those lines, if that’s alright?”
I wave him away with a tired smile. “How do you feel about postponing until tomorrow? I’m beat, and perhaps Hayles will be better so you can avoid it altogether.”
A girl can hope.
Ford nods his assent, his eyes giving me the once-over as though to assess for damages before he gives me his back. His bedroom door closes softly, leaving me in silence, and I quickly beeline for my own room, desperately in need of some solitude.
I make short work of showering and changing into a fresh pair of my favorite pajamas before ducking out into the kitchen to grab a glass of cherry juice.
My chest feels tight when I spot a glass on the counter alongside a fresh carton and a note that simply reads:
Sweet dreams.
Swallowing past the sudden lump in my throat, I bypass the counter, intent on thanking Ford directly, and hopefully negating any lingering awkwardness following the fitting earlier, but when I knock on his door, there’s no answer.
Knowing that Ineedto do this, I hesitantly poke my head around the door, calling out his name, but I find his room to be empty. The ajar door of his ensuite, along with the sound of running water, remind me that he’d said he needed a shower before retiring for the night.
My cheeks color when a mental image flashes through my head of Ford’s tanned, muscular body, rivulets of water trailing along his bare skin, and desire lances through me like a lightning bolt.
I’m about to make my leave, when an unmistakable groan roots me to the floor.
Is he…jerking off?
My heart rate kicks up to a million, even as I can’t help but wonder if he’s thinking of his interactions with Ava earlier. The thought makes my stomach lurch.
Just then, as my brain wills my feet to move, a deep moan echoes through the ensuite, followed by a singular word that turns the blood in my veins to molten lava.
“Emmy!”
There’s a buzzing in my ears, and I’m entirely sure I misheard him. As I step inside his bedroom door, he growls low in his throat. “Fuck,yes. So fucking beautiful, Tink.”
My stomach dips, and my eyes blow wide at my old nickname, and as the realization sets in that he’s thinking ofme, I subconsciously clench my thighs together, suddenly turned on beyond all reason.
I nibble my bottom lip while lust fuels my thoughts, my eyes fixated on the bathroom door, when the sound of the shower switching off reaches my ears. With a start, I jump into action, marching straight back to the living space without a backward glance.
Once I’ve grabbed the cherry juice, I don’t hang about for fear of seeing Ford, my thoughts are a goddamn mess. And I waste no time inhaling the entire carton, willing an elusive sleep that doesn’t come.
CHAPTER 9
FORD
“I love you, too—”
My heart sings as I take Emmy’s mouth with mine, owning her with a soul-defining kiss that I know will change me forever.
She presses closer against me, whimpering into my mouth and driving me even higher. Our kiss becomes frenzied, a messy clashing of tongues and teeth—a rough, raw, real claiming of one another.
Emmy reaches between us to unfasten the buttons of my shirt in record time, pushing it back off my shoulders before she flattens her palms on my chest.
I break the kiss and roughly tug her t-shirt over her head, tossing it to one side along with my discarded shirt. Our eyes meet and hold as Emmy tugs her bottom lip between her teeth.
She’s the damn picture of sinful innocence, and the sight is a line directly to my rock-hard cock that strains against my jeans, desperately needingmore.
As though she’s heard my thoughts, Emmy unbuttons her jeans and shimmies out of them, kicking them, along with her boots to one side, until she’s standing before me in a simple pastel blue bra and matching panties.
