by JM Stewart
Heart pounding in this throat, he flashed a polite smile and folded his arms. “Waiting for my wife.”
Her mouth opened in a silent “ah” and she nodded in return, moving around him down the hallway. When she disappeared into the dining area, he rapped twice on the woman’s restroom door. Two seconds later, it opened, and Hannah poked out her head. She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. The door barely closed behind him before she was pressing him back against it. She molded her mouth to his and reached behind him to turn the lock. She was panting, her mouth hard on his, her tongue restless in his mouth. Her hands trembled as she reached for his fly, fumbling with his belt buckle.
“I thought for sure someone would say something to me out there.” He reached for the button on her jeans in turn, popping it free. “We’ll have to be fast.”
Hannah murmured against his mouth, something incoherent he didn’t catch as she unzipped his slacks. In seconds she had his cock in her hand, stroking him in her warm palm, and whatever doubt he had was lost in the luscious stroke of her expert fingers and soft skin.
He swore under his breath and shackled her wrist. If she kept it up, the fireworks would come a lot sooner than he hoped. Right then, he needed to watch her come undone. He’d dreamed up this whole scenario for her. He’d become addicted to knowing he could undo her the way she did him.
“Mirror.” He turned her, steering her to the sink. The mirror filled the entire wall, tall and wide enough he could see everything. Her breasts heaved beneath her blouse, her nipples hard and poking against the fabric. She turned to the sink, shoved her jeans and panties down, widened her stance as much as possible, and wiggled her ass in impatience.
Desperate to know, he slid a hand down her round bottom and between her thighs. She moaned, pushing back into him. His fingers slipped in with ease, and her juices coated his hand. Christ. She really was aroused by this.
Shaking now, he shoved his pants to his knees. His trembling fingers fumbled over the condom, so that it took him two tries to get the damn thing on. With a needy groan, he grabbed her hips and pushed into her in one quick thrust. She let out a soft moan, her body already trembling in his arms, and met his gaze in the mirror. The heat in her eyes seared him from the inside out.
He leaned to his right, waved a hand beneath the automatic dryer for noise to stifle their moans, and leaned over her back. He nibbled her shoulder, her neck, her jaw, any part of her he could reach. God, his need for her…
“You’ll have to forgive me, baby. I don’t have it in me for finesse or tenderness right now. I need you. Badly. I have since I got up this morning. Jesus, Hannah, I’m so fucking hard. I want to watch you fall apart in my arms, feel your pussy clamping around my cock…”
She moaned. Biting her lip, she didn’t ask for any softness, either. Rather, she gave as good as she got. Her hips pushed into his, soft little purrs emanating from her throat. She reached back, sliding her hand over his hip to his ass, and pulled him harder against her. He increased his tempo, lost in the moment, in her. The sound of their need for each other filled his ears, fueling his own. Their bodies coming together hard. Their harsh breathing.
In what had to be record time, Hannah tossed her head back, her eyes closing. A mix between torment and bliss crossed her features. Her fingers curled into his ass, nails biting into his skin as she let out a soft moan. “Cade…I’m…Oh God…”
No sooner had the whispered words left her mouth than she shuddered in his arms, her convulsing body pulling his orgasm from him at blinding speed. Cade clamped his mouth on her shoulder to stifle the moan ripping from his chest.
By the time their orgasms subsided, both were left shaking and panting. Her body went limp. He didn’t know if he could move let alone stand upright.
“You are fucking incredible.” He hooked her chin with a finger and turned her head enough to brush a kiss across her mouth, then forced himself to straighten. They wouldn’t have long before someone noticed the door was locked.
Hannah drew a breath between her teeth and moaned as he pulled out of her. They spent the next minute yanking up clothing. As he buckled his belt, someone pounded on the restroom door.
They both jumped. Cade cursed under his breath. Hannah’s eyes widened, panic flashing across her face. Jesus. If they got caught, the place would throw them out and it would no doubt be all over the news. If he ended up on the five o’clock news, he could kiss his partnership goodbye.
Before he could make his brain work enough to think of what to do, Hannah grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him into a stall, closing the door behind her. She peeked through the slit in the door, a finger held to her lips, then moved away. The sound of water running filled the room, then the metal grinding of a key in a lock, followed by the creak of the door opening.
“Oh. I’m sorry, ma’am. I didn’t realize anyone was in here. Do you know why this door was locked?”
The unfamiliar male voice held distrust and suspicion. Heart hammering in his throat, Cade shifted in the stall, peeking through the slat where the door didn’t quite meet the frame. Every inch of him tensed and regret churned in his gut. He’d never run from anything in his life. He was being a damn coward, hiding in a stall and letting Hannah take the fall for what had been his stupid idea.
He reached for the door handle when Hannah’s gaze flicked to his. Her eyes widened, her jaw tightening, and she gave a barely there shake of her head. Then she pivoted and turned, moving out of his line of sight.
“You mean to tell me somebody locked me in here?” Hannah’s voice rose in indignation. “Who the hell would lock someone in a bathroom?”
“I’m very sorry, ma’am. I have no idea. We were alerted by a customer who couldn’t get inside.”
The man sputtered an apology, and Cade wished like hell he could see. From the sound of things, Hannah put on the performance of a lifetime.
“Well, you should find out, because someone obviously did. If they want to lock the bathrooms, they should make sure nobody’s in here first!”
“I’m very sorry, ma’am. I’ll make sure I pass on the message. I assure you it won’t happen again.”
Cade shook his head. He felt sorry for the poor schmuck who’d found them. Hannah’s attack had clearly surprised him so much it hadn’t occurred to him the door locked from the inside.
“Thank you.” An indignant humph sounded in the room; then the bathroom door opened with a squeak. Two seconds later, Hannah ripped the stall door open, eyes wide and round. “Oh my God, that was close. I’ll go out first and knock on the wall when the coast is clear.”
She turned and left before he’d even managed to utter a thank you. The rap on the wall came a few seconds later, and he exited the bathroom with his heart in his throat. Hannah waited for him in the hallway. He claimed her hand, threading their fingers, needing the solid presence of her to keep him from coming apart. He led her back to their table still shaking. His heart continued to hammer a panicky rhythm, throbbing in his ears.
When he slid into his side of the booth, he released his held breath and finally allowed himself to relax. Looking around, nobody even seemed to notice their absence. Their lunch had arrived, neatly waiting for them. Every table was full, the diners all engrossed in their lunches and conversations. Waiters and waitresses carried trays of food and drinks. Not a single person glanced in their direction.
Cade opened his mouth, to apologize, to thank her, to…something. Regret and gratitude had caught in his chest and needed to find its way out. Never in his life had he done something so risky. His father would have a coronary.
Across the table, an insane little giggle erupted from Hannah. She clamped a hand over her mouth and giggled again behind her fingers. “Oh my God. I can’t believe we did that.”
Her expression had his mind twisting off in another direction. Regret forgotten, the knot in his stomach eased. He must have a stupid grin on his face. Her eyes glowed from within, and she continued to laugh.
She dropped her hands away from her face. Heat flashed like a solar flare in the depths of her golden eyes. “I enjoyed the hell out of myself, as if you didn’t know. I…”
She held up a finger and picked up her cell phone, her fingers flying over the keyboard. When she finished, she looked up and nodded in his direction.
Cade plucked his phone from the inside pocket of his suit jacket.
Hannah: To quote somebody I know, I think I saw stars I came so hard. We should do that again.
Cade glanced back up. Hannah grinned at him. She had a wide mouth and full lips and her bright smile became the focal point in her face. For a moment, he could only stare, stunned. Mission accomplished. They’d almost gotten caught, but she beamed at him.
God, he was in trouble. That look and the feeling eating up his insides meant one thing. Hannah Miller had gotten under his skin, but right then, he couldn’t be sorry for it. The light in her eyes had captured him. She radiated like the sun. He’d make a fool out of himself to put that joy back in her eyes.
* * *
He dropped her off in front of her store a half hour later. The moment caught him in the chest. The intimacy they’d developed had become painfully apparent. They’d walked the few blocks back to her store in companionable silence, her hand warm and right in his.
He liked the man he became with her by his side. She relaxed him, so much so he’d gone to the lengths he had to set up their tryst this afternoon. Something he never did. Hannah pulled him out of his rigid routines and made him do things he’d never have contemplated otherwise, just to see her smile.
She made him forget himself, his name, the obligations he’d worked so damned hard for. This made two times he’d lost his head around her, but he could only be sorry for one thing.
He caught her around the waist, holding her close. “I owe you an apology.”
Her brow furrowed. “What on earth for?”
He shook his head. “That didn’t go as planned. I was a coward to hide in the stall while you handled that guy.”
She stared at him for a moment, gaze working over his face.
“And what? Let you get caught so we can get kicked out of there? I haven’t had that much excitement in a while. I enjoyed the hell out of that. You getting caught wouldn’t have done anybody any good.” She lifted onto her toes, hands braced on his chest, and caught his bottom lip between her teeth. Her voice lowered to a husky murmur. “Next time, I’ll surprise you.”
She winked, then turned and moved into the shop, the electronic beep sounding as the door floated closed behind her. As she approached Maddie behind the counter, his earlier thought cemented. How the hell it was possible to feel as close to someone as he did to her in two days, he didn’t know, but Hannah Miller had become a part of him.
The problem was, he liked her there. He could easily get lost in everything about her that made her so damn addicting. The soft, guileless way she smiled at him. Her quiet, breathy laughter. With her, he had the sensation of being king of the world, like he could accomplish anything, so long as she kept smiling at him.
Being with her humbled him. She didn’t judge him, but accepted him, faults and all. Even online, for a few precious hours, he had no name, no obligations, and no pressure to be top dog. He could be himself. He didn’t have that particular luxury much, and he appreciated the hell out of it now. It made him long to confide in her, to share Ethan with her.
All of which meant he’d gone off the deep end. He needed to put some distance between them, make up an excuse to be busy tonight and concentrate on the business he’d come to Seattle for in the first place. The last pieces of the merger needed to be completed. He had enough paperwork to occupy his time. When the deal finished, he’d go home and this insanity with Hannah would end.
And it would end. She was only a warm body. Granted, a sweet, alluring body he craved and a mind he ached with every fiber of his being to know, but their relationship consisted of sex, no more, no less. He’d do well to remember that.
Chapter Six
Hannah closed her eyes with a sigh. The darkness of the bedroom and the quietness of the night provided a lull, but sleep wouldn’t come. She’d hoped to see Cade tonight. He’d sent her a text two days before telling her he’d be busy for a few days, but otherwise, she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since their afternoon tryst the other day. It shouldn’t bother her. After all, she had no hold on him, save their agreement not to sleep with anyone else for these two weeks. She couldn’t even call herself his girlfriend.
Yet no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, she couldn’t stop the disappointment from surging through her. She’d been put off enough to know he was avoiding her. Standing with him in front of the store the other day, something intense blazed at the back of his eyes. The hamster wheel had been turning. She had a feeling the hamster was always running in his mind, because his eyes seemed to take in everything around him. Cade McKenzie was a watcher, like her. Something in the depths of his eyes had nagged at her.
She hadn’t meant to invite herself to initiate their next tryst. She ought to be putting distance between them. Except their encounter in the bathroom had blown her mind. Being with Cade had become so easy and so addicting. In person, the chemistry between them intensified. Her body responded to his.
His impulsive idea had been naughty and exquisite. The risk of getting caught had been a thrill zinging through her veins, which only heightened the intensity. Getting to watch his lids droop and the heat and hunger rise in his eyes as he pounded into her from behind. The memory filled her head all over again and her insides clenched with need.
His regret afterward, though, had been palpable and it had rendered her defenseless. She’d been the one to talk their way out of getting caught and it clearly bothered him. Cade had always been an alpha, an in-control kind of man and obviously used to playing the role, but his concern melted her knees. It had been a long time since anyone wanted to stand up for her.
His chivalry made her yearn to melt into him, which meant she’d caught sight of his human side. She had no desire to see faults and human frailties. Those parts of him would only make her fall in love with him. Cade McKenzie was so far out of her league as to be humorous. They shared a fling, nothing more, nothing less, and something to be tossed aside when it ended.
Which was why she’d decided to stay home tonight instead of surprising him, as she’d said she would. He hadn’t called her. She wouldn’t go traipsing after him like a lovesick puppy.
The buzz of her phone as it vibrated on her nightstand jerked her out of her heavy musings. She turned her head, following the sound. The red numbers on her digital clock read 11:57 p.m. Despite every previous thought, her heart thumped in anticipation as she sat up, leaning on an elbow to grab her phone. A text blinked across her screen in neon green.
CMcKenzie: Hey, baby. Any chance you’re still awake?
Her heart skipped a full giddy beat. His text meant one thing: he was awake at midnight thinking about her, too.
She sucked the corner of her lower lip into her mouth and bit down. She shouldn’t want to talk to him tonight. He hadn’t so much as called, and it bothered her. It meant he’d become too important. She’d started to do stupid things like hope, things that would get her heart broken again. She needed to start dating again, see other men so she’d stop pinning her heart’s hopes on this one impossible dream. Cade was a billionaire’s son, heir to more money than she could ever fathom. She was that child nobody wanted.
Except she’d promised him that for these two weeks, she’d be his and his alone. She liked the thought more than a little. She liked Cade. She enjoyed him. Being with him physically seemed a natural next step to their relationsh
ip.
Thoughts whirled in confusing circles in her mind. Her fingers brought up the text and punched in a reply before she could talk herself out of it.
Hannah: it’s late.
His reply popped up seconds later. That fact did nothing for the giddy butterflies in her stomach.
CMcKenzie: Sorry. Did I wake you?
Should she tell him the truth?
Hannah: Would you feel bad if I said yes?
CMcKenzie: No. ;)
Hannah couldn’t help her grin or the hitch to her heartbeat. He could be a cocky son of a bitch sometimes. She’d always found this aspect of him sexy.
Hannah: Well, then you’re in luck. I was awake.
CMcKenzie: Can’t sleep?
Her fingers paused over the keypad. Don’t do it. Don’t tell him. Lie. Tell him you were reading.
Once again, her fingers didn’t obey.
Hannah: No. Didn’t think I’d talk to you tonight.
Okay, so she’d been hoping. She couldn’t resist the luscious pull of Cade’s presence in the city. After all, she’d only have him for two weeks. Two weeks, then he’d go home, never to be seen again, back to being a name on her computer screen, if she ever heard from him again at all. She’d go back to the loneliness and emptiness her life had become. The thought of going through the dating process again brought a deep, abiding sense of dread. She didn’t look forward to the stares, to the excuses, to the creeps who’d use her up and spit her out.
Her phone dinged, Cade’s reply almost immediate. The thought did nothing for the tangle of emotion caught in her chest.
CMcKenzie: Sorry. Work’s crazy. My days are booked solid and my nights are for preparing for the next day. Lots I need to get done.
Something akin to envy surged in her chest, but she squashed it. She couldn’t stake a claim on him. They didn’t belong to each other. This is a fling. Remember?