by M. Malone
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Priya was looking at him like she wouldn’t mind Tyse bothering her. Not at all.
Oh boy. I knew my best friend and when she got that look in her eye, any red-blooded man didn’t stand a chance. I hoped Tyse was as aggressive as he appeared. He’d need to be or Priya would chew him up and spit him out before her visit was over.
Oskar leaned into my side. I ignored the familiar zing of arousal I got whenever he was near.
“Are you ready to talk now? Or are you going to invent another excuse to avoid me?”
I sighed. Priya was clearly capable of holding her own, and we really did need to talk things through. Like it or not, we were married, and ignoring it wouldn’t make it go away.
“No, we can talk now. Might as well get it over with.”
Oskar
I followed the sway of Hailey’s hips as she walked back down the hallway to my room.
Might as well get it over with.
That didn’t bode well for the fate of this conversation. The muted laughter of the others behind us was a stark contrast to the tense set of her shoulders.
“So, are you still mad at me?”
She rolled her eyes. “I never said I was mad at you. This is not the kind of situation where I can really blame you for it. We both signed the marriage license so if I’m angry, it’s with both of us.”
I leaned back against the door, watching her as she paced across the carpet. “I have to say, it seemed like you were mad at me yesterday.”
She crossed her arms. “I wasn’t mad. Just disappointed. You just showed me how differently we think about marriage. This is a big deal to me.”
Suddenly she stopped pacing. “Oh man, I was almost a polygamist!”
It took a second for the meaning to hit me. “You were going to marry someone? Who?”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s what you’re worried about right now? My last boyfriend?”
I sauntered closer. When I pulled her into my arms, she struggled slightly. But in the end, she let out a little huff and buried her head in my chest.
“Yeah, I’m worried about it. The thought that someone else had the right to touch you drives me crazy,” I muttered, fully aware that I was making no sense.
Hailey’s fist landed in my gut, and I chuckled.
“It’s not funny, Oskar. You left me. And Steven was there for me. You weren’t.”
Her angry eyes made me feel like I was being punched all over again. The worst part was that she was right. I was the dipshit who’d left, and this other guy had been there to take care of her when I wasn’t.
“He’s not here now. I’m here, and I’m not going to let anyone else near you again.” My control finally ran out and I had to taste her again.
She moaned when our lips connected. The fingers that had been pushing at my chest clenched and clung, tugging my shirt as she held on. Together we moved backward until we bumped up against the bed, but our mouths stayed fused together, tasting all the regret we shared between us. But it was more than just old feelings that kept my lips traveling over her cheek then down to her neck. It was more than just jealousy that made me pick her up and squeeze the luscious little ass that she loved to wiggle and tempt me with.
It was the knowledge that we were now tied together. Despite my best efforts to push her away all those years ago, fate had thrown us back together anyway. All the emotion I’d tried to avoid had boomeranged back and clocked me right upside the head.
Buoyed by her hot eyes on my body, I yanked my shirt over my head and threw it to the ground.
The look of lust on her face was going to be my favorite fantasy for years to come. How she could amp me up with one look, I would never understand, but that was my Hailey.
And she was mine.
“You belong to me. Every inch of you.” I mumbled the words as my lips crushed against hers and tasted. I was being too rough, but any thoughts of slowing down flew away when Hailey leaned up and sucked my lower lip between her teeth.
“Does that mean this is mine, too?” she asked wistfully, running her hands all over my chest.
“Hell yeah, it does. It always has been.”
“Always? You have some fucking nerve to say that to me when I didn’t even know where you were until a few weeks ago!”
Her anger was justified, but her assumption that I was off living some carefree life rankled.
“Do you really think that’s what I wanted? That if I’d had a choice, I would have left you behind in that hotel room instead of crawling back into bed next to you?”
“If you wanted that, then why didn’t you at least try to stick it out?”
With a groan, I hung my head. Even now, I couldn’t be fully honest with her, and it sucked. “I wanted to. I still want that.”
My words brought her eyes up, and something passed between us in that moment, something too big and too complicated to examine just yet, so I stepped back and unzipped my jeans. Hailey’s eyes fell to my waist. Her lids lowered as she examined the bulge in the front of my jeans and then she smiled, that wicked grin that always preceded trouble.
“Why do I feel this way when I know you’re just going to hurt me again?”
I thought she was going to get up right then and leave me behind. She was probably better off if she did. But instead, she leaned forward and kissed the skin right above my waistband. The wet heat of her lips against my skin was the last straw.
“Fuck, Hailey. If you don’t want this, tell me now.”
Her fingers grasped the sides of my jeans and tugged them down. “I want this. And this time you’re going to be the one left begging for more.”
Anything I was going to say was cut off when she pulled my boxers down next. I would have expected her to be gentle and dainty. The Hailey I’d known before, while a firecracker, had also been reserved and unsure in bed at first. But this Hailey was not waiting around for direction. She dipped her head and her lips closed around my cock, making me cry out. Then she hummed like she’d finally gotten a treat she’d been waiting for. That hum was the sexiest thing.
“Oh shit. Baby, wait.”
Now I sounded like the innocent, trying to slow things down. But Hailey was lost in her own world, teasing and tempting as her soft lips roamed over my skin while her hands did the same. I was lost in her and didn’t want to be found. Taking her hand, I tugged her to the bed and tumbled down pulling her to me. I pulled her up for a kiss and when she straddled me, I almost saw stars.
“How did I survive without this for so long?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. Only you know that. I just hope one day you trust me enough to tell me.”
The guilt swamped me again but then all thought was lost as she sank down, taking all of me into her warmth. Her eyes were still angry, but she leaned down to kiss me, a harsh, punishing kiss that told me she was going to take her anger out on my body. Everything was all fucked up, but the one thing that had always been perfect was our connection. Nothing could ever take away the perfection we found when we touched.
Her head fell back as she moved her hips, and in that moment, I knew that I was a goner. I had never felt like this with any other woman and I never would again.
I was in love with Hailey Livingston.
18
Hailey
I watched Priya watching Tyse watch her. The two of them were seriously eye fucking. And neither one of them was trying to hide it. When my best friend stood up from the game of Rummy 500, and very casually and slowly walked by Tyse, the poor guy couldn’t help but track her every move. Full-on intensity, like he wanted to rip her clothes off and tear her to pieces. Or, well, tear all her clothes off and lick her to pieces, whichever.
Either way, she’d be naked. I grabbed Oskar’s empty beer and headed toward the kitchen with her.
He looked up from his cards and he winked at me. Silly or not, I flushed. A simple little thing and just like that, he could make me warm and soft and need him. Pri
ya was right. He had the key to orgasms. Specifically, my orgasms. I didn’t even know how he knew what to do, but I was blissfully chilled out. Well, as chilled out as I could be.
“You know what you’re doing, right?”
Priya dragged her head out of the refrigerator and smiled. “What do you mean?”
“With Tyse? You know what you’re doing.”
She giggled. “Oh, you mean the foreplay?”
“Are you sure that’s what that is? Because the guy looks like he’s ready to pounce on you.”
“Good. That’s exactly how I want him to look. “
“Okay, fine. I get it. But you know, just be careful. These guys are… intense? That’s not even the right word because they’re so much more than intense.”
“Seriously, you need to stop worrying.” Priya stood, marched over to me, and clasped her hands on my shoulders. “I don’t even live here. This thing with Tyse is just fun. It’s a game. None of this is real. But even if it were real, that’s what I want, someone intense. Sexy.”
“Okay, if you say so.”
After all, I wasn’t her mother. I checked my phone again. Waiting, checking for the email I’d been waiting on for the last three hours.
“If you check your phone one more time, I swear to God I’m going to open my mouth and scream out, ‘Intruder’. Then we’ll have a half-dozen men up here in two seconds.”
I put down my phone. “Happy?”
Priya shrugged. “Marginally.”
“Sorry, I’m just thinking about the gala. I want everything to be perfect.”
“It will be perfect for your mom. She’ll know the meaning behind it, and that’s all that matters.” She shook out her hair. “Now that we’ve got all that deep emotional shit out of the way, please tell me you’ve been with Captain Viking and that it was amazing. I’m sure you have, because you’re not walking right, but I need you to give me details because his hands…”
Priya mimicked what she assumed would be the gargantuan size of Oskar’s dick with her hands. Truth be told, she wasn’t that far off.
I giggled. “I can’t believe you.”
“I mean, come on. Tell me something. This is like hot-guy central, and they could use some more estrogen up in here. You should totally keep boning the Viking and let him give you little brown Viking babies, but if you’re not up for it, I will fall on that sword. You know, not his sword because you’re my girl, but any other sword in here. I volunteer as tribute.”
I laughed so hard I snorted. It really was a sword if I was being honest. I grabbed Oskar a beer and looped my arm through hers. She was exactly what I needed at that crazy time. She was completely insane, of course, but I loved her, and she was mine. I couldn’t believe that I got to spend the next few days with her.
It felt good having someone to talk to about all the Oskar stuff. I needed someone to give it to me straight tell me like it was.
Without her, I might have still been playing it safe.
Oskar
I should have been paying attention at the status meeting, and I was… half paying attention. My laptop was open. I was scowling at the spreadsheets, as I was known to do. I looked like I was paying attention. That must count for something.
Instead, I was staring at Hailey.
At just the thought of her, my dick was ready for action, as if she’d physically touched me. How the hell was that possible?
Matthias was saying something. “With the bad news… debt…”
I dragged my attention back to what was happening.
“What was that?”
Matthias frowned at me. “Evan is in debt up to his eyeballs.” He pushed a written report across the table to me.
I whistled low as I read it. Holy shit. The majority of shares were held by Hailey’s father, while her mother had only a small percentage. The rest had been split between Hailey and her brother. But Evan, the dumb prick, had apparently gambled away the majority of his shares.
Noah sighed. “Okay, let’s not disclose this to Hailey yet. Even if he’s in debt, we don’t have any proof that Evan is behind anything. Let’s keep this quiet until we can prove whether he has anything to do with her case.”
I nodded. “Clients usually don’t react well when you accuse family members, so we need some evidence.”
Noah slanted me a glance. “You know I’m saying this for you, right?”
I scowled. “What do you mean?”
Noah just rolled his eyes. “No pillow talk. This is confidential.”
I ground my teeth. Then my attention was caught by the sight of Hailey walking by the door again. And there went my dick one more time. I was happy she had Priya here.
Watching her with Priya, I could see her friend dragged her out of her shell the same way I did. Priya was completely outrageous. Even more so than JJ, and that was saying something.
JJ was one of my favorite people on the planet. Mostly because she said all the inappropriate things I couldn’t get away with.
Noah snapped his fingers. “Hey, are you listening?”
“Yeah, I heard you. No pillow talk, confidential, don’t tell Hailey anything about her idiot brother. I got it.”
The guys all traded glances. I just pretended like I couldn’t see them.
Jonas cleared his throat. “Yeah, so glad we covered that because the next order of business is security for the gala.”
I scowled at him. Jonas held his hands up. “Don’t look at me, man. It’s on the agenda.”
“She’s not going.”
Rafe coughed a laugh. “Did you tell her that yet?”
I ground my teeth. “There’s nothing to tell. She’s just not going.”
Jonas snickered. “Oh, Rafe, do you want to tell him?”
Rafe laughed. “No, I’m not going to tell him. The kid should tell him.”
Matthias just blinked and stared wide-eyed at everyone. “Oi, why do I have to tell him?”
Noah sighed. “Ugh, pussies. I’ll tell him.”
I scowled at the lot of them, wishing they didn’t know I was generally good-natured. The Viking scowl usually worked on everybody.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Noah sighed. “Remember that time before Lucia and I got together? How I used to tell her what to do, and that never ended well for me?”
“Yeah? You were a dick.”
Noah coughed as he laughed. “Much like you are now. Remember how I ran around here making decisions without talking to her? Do you remember what happened to me then?”
I thought back. Oh yeah, Lucia had been pissed. “Hailey is different. She’s even-tempered. Rational.”
Everyone at the table laughed then. Even Tyse.
I scowled at the kid. “What the fuck are you laughing at?”
“Hey, I may be a cold-blooded former assassin, but even I know you are an idiot.”
“What? She’s going to understand the rationale behind it. It’s too dangerous.”
Rafe clapped me on the back as he stood. “It’s been nice knowing you.” Then he glanced around the room. “Bet you all a C-note that she cuts off his left nut first.”
Jonas shook his head. “Nah, I reckon she’ll wax his balls first, then slit his throat.”
Matthias just shook his head. “Neither of you are right, mates. She’s going to go all cold and calculating and then plot his demise. She’s going to get the girls in on it, and then JJ is going to start ordering lye online. It’s going to get ugly from there.”
Everyone turned to him and stared.
He shrugged. “What? Too dark?”
Rafe shook his head. “No bio-disposal talk in the conference room, man. It makes some of us nervous.”
Sure enough, me, Jonas, Ryan and Dylan all looked a little queasy at the mention of lye. Ryan and Dylan didn’t know all the down and dirty, but they knew that Noah, Rafe, Tyse, and Matthias had been into some bad shit. And the more that leaked out, the clearer the picture became.
Matthias g
roaned. “All I’m saying is Hailey will make you hurt. Then she’s going to get her mates in on it. And then none of us are going to get any.”
Everyone groaned around the table. “Dude, don’t fuck with my good thing,” Rafe muttered.
Jonas just shrugged. “I’m still in my honeymoon phase. She’ll be mad, but she won’t cut me off.”
Noah groaned. “Lucia won’t cut me off, but it might take some convincing depending on how mad she is.” He slid me a glance and sighed. “Whatever this is, talk to her before you go deciding things. If my wife goes on strike because of you being a dumbass, I’ll kill you.”
I snarled at him. “You’re welcome to try.”
Most people would have been terrified by that. But not Noah. No. That motherfucker just grinned. I had a feeling he welcomed that dare. Maybe it was a good idea to talk to her. She would, of course, see it as rational. These guys were wrong. She would absolutely listen to me. After all, I was right.
19
Hailey
“What the hell did you just say?”
Oskar rolled his shoulders. My body went soft and giddy and wet, just with a small movement. I knew what those shoulders could do. He’d surprised me at work just yesterday and shown me quite a few things that muscular body could do, even in the cramped space of a supply closet.
Do not get distracted. He just said you can’t go to the gala.
He put his hands up. “Listen, butterfly, it’s just—”
“Do not call me butterfly. I’ve been working my whole career for this. This is a huge deal. This perfume will change everything.” Way to put a lot of pressure on yourself. “And you just stand there and tell me I can’t go?”
He winced. “Okay, that was a misuse of words. I’m saying it’s a bad idea for you to go.”
“So, I can go then?”
His lips pressed into a firm line. “No. If I had to choose, I’d choose you not going because I’m trying to keep you alive.”
I resisted the urge to throw my letter opener at him.