“Okay.” She laughed, using her hand to still mine. “Okay,” she breathed.
I lifted my hand to my lips, meeting her eyes as I sucked the finger I’d just fucked her with into my mouth. Her lips parted, her breasts rising and falling as she struggled to regain control.
“Be good,” I said, crouching down to scratch Riley behind the ears. “Both of you.”
“I’ll just finish getting ready and leave,” she said, returning to her makeup.
I pressed my lips to her temple. “No rush. You can stay here while I’m gone if you like.”
And I meant it. I trusted Lauren, and I wasn’t ready for her to leave. Not now, and not anytime soon. The problem was, she didn’t feel the same way. For her, this was just sex. But for me, it was so much more.
* * *
A few days later,I sat in my New York office, the city spread out before me. Snow was falling on the streets, large white flakes swirling in the air as people hurried inside for warmth. It was peaceful, beautiful. And I knew it was the calm before the storm—New Year’s Eve in New York City.
My phone chimed with an incoming text, and I glanced down to see a new message from Lauren. She’d been taunting me all week, sending me text messages that made my cock harden and my breath quicken. This latest one was no exception, and though I couldn’t see her face, I certainly got an eyeful.
Fuck me.
“We’re heading out,” Toby said, though I barely heard his words. “You sure you don’t want to go?”
“What?” I glanced up at him, though it took everything in me to tear my eyes away from the phone.
Right—Toby. Standing in the doorway to my office, and he’d asked me a question, judging from his expression.
He tilted his head to the side, his eyes assessing me as if for the first time. “Hunter…” He stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. “It’s okay if you want to go back to LA. We’ve got this.”
“Are you sure?” I started shoving things into my bag, though it didn’t take long.
“Yes. Go,” Toby said. “Be safe, and Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year.” I strode toward the door, patting him on the back with a big smile. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
“Anything or anyone? I’m not sure either list is very long.”
I continued down the hall without responding, apart from raising my hand over my head, middle finger in the air.
As I headed for the elevator, I opened another text message, this time to my pilot, Jim. It had been snowing all day, and it was New Year’s Eve, but surely… Surely with enough persuasion, he’d be able to fly me back to LA, even on such short notice.
I had to see Lauren. And it wasn’t just that I wanted to have sex with her; though, I did. God, I couldn’t wait to sink inside her, to feel her body beneath mine. But it was more than that. I couldn’t imagine ending this year or starting the next one without her. I couldn’t imagine spending a day without talking to her or seeing her, and I didn’t want to be away from her any longer.
I rushed back to my hotel, quickly throwing my stuff in my suitcase. I shrugged into my coat, wrapping my scarf around my neck. With one last glance around the hotel room, I opened the door and nearly collided with a woman. She was standing just outside, hand raised as if to knock when I’d burst from the room.
She swallowed, her eyes wide. She looked familiar, but I was so focused on getting to the airport, to Lauren, that I couldn’t concentrate on much else.
“Excuse me.” I smiled politely as I attempted to step around her.
But she didn’t move. She blocked my path, and I tried not to let my irritation show as the seconds ticked closer to midnight. If I made it to the airport soon, I could be home before the ball dropped. For once, I was grateful for the three-hour time difference. Even though it often made it difficult to find time to talk with Lauren, now it would be to my advantage.
“Hunter,” the woman said, snapping me back to the present.
Okay. So, she clearly knew who I was. Should I know who she was?
I’d slept with a lot of women in the past, and I had a flitting thought that maybe she was one of them. She fit the profile—tall, beautiful. Though she currently held no appeal to me. No woman did, save for one—Lauren.
Jim had already texted me that more snow was coming and flights were being canceled. If I didn’t leave soon, I risked losing my chance entirely.
I glanced toward the elevators, fighting the itch to run. “I really have to go. If there’s something you need to discuss, here’s my business card.”
