To Whom it May Concern (The Hart Duet Book 1)

by J. S. Cooper

  “No.” He shook his head. “But I used to watch the British Poirot show with David Suchet. And know generally about her writing.”

  “Oh, I love her books.” I grinned. “I’m an Agatha Christie addict. I have read all the books, listened to the audiobooks, and watched every movie made from the books.”

  “Wow, you really love her.”

  “I do.” I handed him his cup and he took it from me with a small thank you. “Do you like reading?”

  “I do.” He nodded. “Do you want to sit down and chat for a little bit?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” I bit down on my lower lip. “I’m still in my towel.”

  “You can change.” He smiled. “We can go into the living room, relax on the couch, maybe you won’t think of me as an ogre.”

  “I don’t think of you as an ogre.”

  “You might if you could read my mind.”

  “Maybe I can read your mind,” I teased him.

  “Then what am I thinking?” He smiled and his eyes fell to the top of my towel.

  “You’re thinking you want to give me a raise.” I laughed as my face grew red. I know what you’re thinking, I thought. You want to see me without my towel on. And I knew that if he walked over to me and tugged on my towel, I would let it drop. And then I would wrap my arms around him, press my body into him and kiss him hard.

  “Yeah, right.” He laughed and shook his head. “Don’t quit the day job to become a psychic.”

  “I’ll try not to.”

  “Though I think I could be a psychic if I wanted to.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah.” He smirked. “I know what you’re thinking.”

  “You do, do you?”

  “Yup.”

  “What am I thinking?”

  “You’re thinking that if you weren’t in a relationship, you’d be in my bed right now, with my head between your legs, and—” He started laughing as my face went beet red. “I’ll stop there. I don’t want to get you too hot and bothered.”

  “You’re not getting me hot and bothered.”

  “Liar.” He sipped on his tea. “You want me so badly right now that I bet the valley between your legs is wet, and not with water.”

  “Nope.” I lifted my head high and ignored the sensitive feeling between my legs.

  “Savannah, don’t lie.” He laughed. “If I were to touch you right now, you couldn’t resist me. You’d be like putty in my hands. You’re lucky I’m a gentleman because I really want to touch you.”

  “Yeah, you’re the one with the issue.” I sipped on my hot chocolate. “I couldn’t be less bothered by your presence or touch. I could spend the night in bed with you and not feel a thing.”

  “Oh, yeah?” He cocked his head to the side. “Is that true?”

  “Yup.” I tried to keep my voice light, though my hands were shaking slightly.

  “Okay, then—show me.”

  “Show you what?”

  “Spend the night in my bed, and let’s see if you can keep your hands off of me.”

  “What are you talking about?” My heart was thudding. “I’m not sleeping with you.”

  “Why? Because you’re scared you’ll beg me to take you?”

  “Ha, yeah, right. Not scared at all.”

  “Then let’s do it.” He took a step toward me. “If you’re not bothered by me.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Sleep with me.” He licked his lips. “Naked.”

  “No way.” I shook my head vehemently. “Not going to happen.”

  “Fine, wear what you normally wear to bed. I’ll keep my boxers on. If you’re so sure you can resist me.”

  “Oh, I know I can resist you.” I rolled my eyes. “That won’t be a problem.”

  “Fine. Go and change.” He reached for my cup. “I’ll take your drink to my room.”

  “Fine. What do I get when I prove to you that I can resist you?”

  “A five-grand bonus.”

  “Fine, that works for me.” I feigned nonchalance. “This’ll be the easiest five grand ever.”

  “That’s what I thought.” He stepped back. “Well, go and change and meet me in my room.”

  “Fine.” I shrugged. “See you in a few minutes.”

  “See you in a few minutes, then.” He grinned and we both headed back down the hallway. He stopped by his bedroom door, and I kept going. I could feel the nerves in my stomach as I made it into my bedroom.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I cursed under my breath as I closed the door behind me. Why had I agreed to his idea? Why, oh, why hadn’t I shot him down? I knew that he’d goaded me into his plan. But I’d show him. I would fall asleep and not even realize he was in the bed next to me. I quickly grabbed a pair of panties and my bra. Then I looked for some pajama pants and a T-shirt. I normally slept in a top and panties, with no bra, but there was no way I was going to sleep with Wade like that. That was just asking for trouble. I grabbed my hairbrush, combed it through my hair, and put some lotion on my face, then I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed a deep pink, and I looked as plain as could be. I quickly hurried into the bathroom and added a light touch of mascara and some lip gloss. I tried not to think about the fact that I wanted to look pretty for Wade.

  “At least you’re not sexing yourself up, Savannah.” Lecturing myself was an old habit. It came with the territory of being an only child. I looked pretty but covered up. No way he would look at me in my light gray T-shirt that I’d gotten at Yosemite National park and navy flannel bottoms and think I was interested in him in any way, which was just as I wanted it. I headed toward the door, turned the light off, and made my way back to Wade’s room.

  “Hello?” I poked my head into the room and saw that he was sitting atop the bed, his back leaning into his giant headboard. Wade had a king-size bed and I smiled to myself. This was going to be easy. His bed was so big that I could pretend that I was sleeping alone.

  “Come on in.” He waved me in. “You can close the door.”

  “Okay.” I closed it and then walked over to him. Despite my bravado, I was starting to feel a little nervous. I made my way to the right side of the mattress and sat on it gingerly. “Shall I set my alarm and turn the lights off?”

  “If you want.” He shifted closer to me. “I can wake you up if you want. I wake up naturally.”

  “Oh, no, that’s okay.”

  “Do you want to swim with me tomorrow morning?”

  “I can’t. I have to make breakfast.”

  “You can make it after your swim.”

  “But then your breakfast will be late.”

  “I can make allowances.”

  “No need, but thanks.” I shifted my whole body onto the bed and ran my fingers through my hair. “I’ll skip the pool for now.”

  “Fine.” He said as he rolled onto his side. “Do I intimidate you?”

  “No, why?”

  “Because you’re in bed wearing a bra and pajama pants, and I distinctly remember that this morning you had on no bra and no pants.”

  “I was under the covers.” I frowned. “How would you know if I had pants on or not.”

  “Trust me, I always know.”

  “Well, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” I licked my lips. “Frankly, I don’t really care how I sleep.”

  “Then go ahead. It won’t bother me.” He smiled as he moved to get off of the bed. “Unless it makes you nervous.”

  “Not at all.” I jumped off of the bed as well and unclasped my bra and pulled it out through the armhole of my top. I quickly pulled my bottoms off and dropped both items onto the floor. “See?” I stood there, holding my arms against my sides so that my top didn’t ride up and show off my distinctly unsexy underwear.

  “You can get back on the bed.” Wade moved to the side of the room and switched a light switch before heading back to the bed. “Do you want to get under the sheet or lie on top of it for now?”

  “I don’t m
ind.” I got onto the bed, my T-shirt riding up over my ass as I lay back. Wade’s eyes fell to my legs and I could feel a heat rising through me.

  “Okay.” He got back onto the bed and moved over to me. “So, we were talking about books earlier. What’s your favorite book?” He leaned onto his elbow and stared at me, and I almost felt like he really cared about my answer.

  “Isn’t it late? Shouldn’t we go to sleep?”

  “I’m not particularly tired yet, are you?”

  “Well, not really,” I admitted. “I guess we can talk for a few minutes.”

  “Good.” He shifted closer to me, and I swallowed hard. What the hell had I agreed to? “So, what’s your favorite book?”

  “Of all time?” I asked him, trying to concentrate as I felt his leg touch mine briefly.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, I really love this book called Homecoming by Cynthia Voight. I read it as a kid, and it has always stuck with me. It’s about this mom that leaves her kids in a car in a grocery store parking lot and disappears, and they have to make it across the country by themselves to their grandma’s house.” I paused as I realized he was staring at me with an intensity on his face that surprised me. “It was really heartfelt and good.”

  “It sounds sad.”

  “The premise was sad, but it actually turned out to be a really uplifting book. What’s your favorite book?”

  “I don’t really do favorites.”

  “You must have one that’s really stuck with you.”

  “I guess Beloved by Toni Morrison.” He laughed. “I had to read it for a college English class. It surprised me.”

  “I’ve heard of that book. I haven’t read it, though. It sounds good.”

  “It was really good. It felt almost gothic, in a way. It was a sad, creepy, deeply personal read.” He shrugged. “Not personal for me, you understand, but personal for the protagonist. It really made me realize what different experiences we all go through. We all have different hardships and obstacles to face.”

  “Yeah, that’s true. We really do.” I nodded, though I thought to myself. How hard could he have had it? He was a rich, hot, white male. If anyone had it made, it would be him.

  “I know what you’re thinking.” He chuckled.

  “Oh?”

  “You’re thinking how hard could I have had it as an upper-class white male?” He smiled and nodded as he spoke. “And you’re right, of course, there are many struggles I haven’t had to face, but there are other challenges I have faced that have shaped me, that have hurt me, that have made me who I am. Though I don’t know if that’s PC of me to say.”

  “I prefer honesty to political correctness.” I scratched an itch on my leg and thought for a few moments. “We’re in an odd time right now,” I spoke slowly, pondering my words. “I’m a firm believer in everyone being compassionate and caring to others. And I do believe that certain groups of people have had it a lot harder. That doesn’t dismiss the pain or struggles anyone else has faced, though. We’re all in this together at the end of the day.”

  “I try to treat everyone as I would want to be treated.” He smiled. “You’re a wise woman for someone so young.”

  “I’m not so young. I guess my generation is at the forefront of change, that’s all.”

  “Our conversation got deep quickly, didn’t it?” He ran his hand through his hair and blinked. I could see that he was thinking about something, but I couldn’t tell what. This man puzzled and intrigued me. “Did you know that when I was young, I used to think I wanted to be a writer?”

  “Oh, really?” I looked at him in surprise. “What did you want to write?”

  “Fantasy books, like Lord of the Rings.” He laughed. “I was terrible, though. I used to fall asleep rereading my own chapters. They were dreadfully boring.”

  “Dreadfully boring?” I laughed. “You have these little English sayings sometimes, it’s funny.”

  “I think I told you we went to boarding school in England?” He tapped the end of my nose. “I guess I picked up a lot of sayings there.”

  “Oh yes, you did tell me that.” I was feeling almost breathless now. “How was it?”

  “It was lonely at first.” He shrugged. “No one I grew up with went to boarding school.” His fingers now touched the side of my face. “But I grew to love it. I had a close-knit group of friends, and we spent a lot of time together. They became like second brothers.”

  “Was Henry there as well?”

  “Yes,” He nodded. “He was there and made it easier. We’re only two years apart, so we’re very close. He’s my best friend.”

  “He’s very handsome.”

  “Thank you.” He grinned.

  “Why are you thanking me?”

  “If you think he’s handsome, then you must think I’m absolutely gorgeous.”

  I laughed. “But you both look quite similar.”

  “So you do think that I’m handsome.”

  “You tricked me.”

  “Not really.” His hand rested on my shoulder. “You’re different than I thought you would be.”

  “Oh? What did you think I’d be like?”

  “I don’t know exactly. Maybe not so open, and not so sweet.” He stroked my shoulder and groaned slightly. “This is highly inappropriate, isn’t it?” He grimaced. “I shouldn’t have bet you.”

  “It’s fine.” I yawned. “Oops, sorry. I’m more tired than I thought.”

  “Then you should get some sleep.” He pulled the sheet down, and I scrambled under the covers and lay on my back. After a few seconds, I turned on my side, my back to him. Within a minute, I felt him sliding up next to me, his arm around my waist.

  “What … what are you doing?” I mumbled as he spooned me.

  “I’m getting comfy.”

  “But you just said this was inappropriate.”

  “Yeah, so?” he whispered in my ear. “I said I shouldn’t have bet you, but I did.” He blew into my ear lightly. “Try not to get too wet.”

  I gasped at his comment, but he just chuckled as he pulled me closer and began to stroke my shoulder, back, and waist. I shivered a little as I felt something hard pressing against my ass and held my breath for what felt like hours as he caressed me, never moving away from the fabric of my T-shirt until I was aching to feel his fingers on my bare skin. I would never have admitted it to him, but I was starting to feel very turned on. I turned around to face him.

  “Wrong move, Carter,” he teased me. He pushed one of his legs through mine so that our legs were crisscrossed over each other and his thigh was close to my increasingly wet panties. I shifted my position so that he would have less access but in doing so found my face closer to his. His arm nestled on my hip bone and his lips came dangerously close to mine.

  “You’re beautiful.”

  He kissed me lightly on the lips. I didn’t want to kiss him back but as he pulled me closer to him, I couldn’t stop myself. His hand moved to my neck and his fingers tugged on the slightly damp threads of hair as he deepened the kiss. Unable to resist any longer, I kissed him back, parting my lips to allow his tongue entry. He groaned as his tongue entered, and I kissed him back passionately, pushing my breasts against his chest as his fingers ran up and down my back.

  I moaned in response as he nudged my legs open, and he slid his thigh all the way up so that it was pressed against my panties. I reached my fingers up to this hair, loving the silky feel of it against my fingers. I didn’t care that he was my boss. I didn’t care that we’d only recently met. I didn’t care that he’d bet me I couldn’t resist him. All my good intentions had gone out of the window. And I didn’t even blame myself. Wade Hart was gorgeous and sexy and captivating, and it would take a stronger woman than me to resist him. And why should I resist him? I was ready to have some fun, and so much the better if it was with a man as hot as Wade.

  “You’re so sexy,” he groaned against my lips as his fingers slid up the back of my T-shirt and touched the skin at
my waist. I arched my back at his touch, my heart thudding as his fingers moved to the front and lightly stroked my breasts. I shifted once more as I felt his fingers on my nipples and couldn’t suppress a gasp of longing as he squeezed them. I pulled on his hair as he kissed down my neck and I didn’t resist when he pulled my top off and threw it onto the floor.

  “Now we’re both topless,” he whispered with a chuckle. He rolled me onto my back and moved on top of me. His mouth fell to my breasts, and I cried out as he took one of my nipples between his lips and suckled it. I closed my eyes, reveling in the sensation, and rubbed his back. His left hand ran up and down my stomach, his fingers inching their way to my panties as he kissed back up my neck to my lips. He shifted his position so that I could feel his erection on my stomach. He rubbed it back and forth against me. Half-consciously, I parted my legs as his tongue once again entered my mouth, and I reached down to touch the front of his cock. I giggled slightly as it twitched against my hand, and Wade groaned as I slipped a finger into his boxers to touch him, skin to skin. He kissed the side of my neck, and I felt his fingers moving further downward, slipping into my panties where they paused for a moment. Blood roared in my ears as he sucked on my skin, and just as I was on the verge of begging, his fingers slipped down further and rubbed against me gently. Trembling with desire, I opened my legs a bit more so that I could feel more of him against me. Two fingers rubbed me more urgently and a deep feeling of want for more spread through me. I was about to pull down his boxers when he chuckled slightly.

  “What’s so funny?” I said, my eyes fluttering open to look at him as he gazed at me. He pulled his fingers out of my panties and rubbed them against my stomach.

  “Just how wet you are.” He winked at me as he reached his fingers up to his mouth and sucked on them. “I can taste your juices, Savannah, so sweet and horny, just like you.” He kissed my lips, and I pushed him off of me.

  “You’re an asshole.” I glared at him, my body trying to keep up with my brain.

  “No, I’m just a sexy piece of meat.” He laughed as he rolled over onto his side. His fingers idly played with my breasts and he pulled me close. “I guess you already know that you lost the bet.”

  “Whatever.”