I drew her into my body with my arm around her, listening as she gasped.
“Follow me,” I said.
Then, with one arm, I picked her up off her feet and carried her into the bathroom.
10
Layla
He ran his hands all over my naked body. It took him no time to strip me of my bra, panties, and heels. I slipped him out of his clothes, and he kissed me as we made our way into the tub. The bubbles felt soothing against my skin. Not even the water heated me as much as Daniel’s kisses did. He settled us into the tub. He put me between his legs before locking his ankles around mine. He spread me, my soft lips bared for the hot tub.
And as he nibbled on my ear, his fingertips found my clit.
“Danny. Oh.”
He groaned. “I’ve waited for this all day.”
“It won’t take you long. It won’t—shit—Danny!”
“That’s it. You don’t have to hold back here.”
“Danny. Danny. Danny! Please! Yes!”
He rubbed my clit perfectly. He knew every cue, every sensitive point, and every stroke to make. He flicked its tip. Swirled off to the side. Tucked his fingers away in my crevices as I ground against his hand. My toes curled within seconds. My legs locked out within minutes. As the jets bombarded our bodies and the water rumbled around us, I tossed my leg over the edge and pressed into his chest.
“That’s it, Layla. Lose control,” he coaxed.
“I’m coming. Danny! I’m coming!”
He growled. “Oh, yes you are.”
He nibbled on my neck as my body seized. My sweet flower fluttered, pushing juices into the tub as I bucked against his fingers. I gasped for air. I dropped back into the water as the bubbles overcame us. Daniel kissed my cheek, my head, the shell of my ear. He calmed me down from my high before reaching for a washcloth and running it over my body.
Washing me down. Like I was precious to him.
When I got my strength back, I turned around and sat on my knees. I washed him down like he did me, feeling his eyes on me. My hands rumbled over his chiseled muscles. My eyes took in the divots of his strength. I saw his thick shaft, hardened underneath the water as the bubbles slowly cleared.
Then, the two of us got out and dried off.
I made my way for the bed, but his hands were on my hips in an instant. He spun me around and picked me up, then settled my ass onto the dresser. He knelt down in front of me, his face between my legs. He wasted no time in diving his tongue against my oversensitive clit. An action that caused my head to fall back and my hand to fist his hair.
“Danny! Fuck!”
He grabbed my hips, drawing me closer to his lips.
“Lick it. Do it. Lick it all up, Danny. Holy fuck. Just like that. You dirty boy. Oh, holy shit.”
He moaned between my legs, his tongue flattening against my swollen nub. I ground against him, losing my mind and all sense of direction as stars burst in my vision. I was so close. I tossed my legs over his shoulders and pulled him even closer. I dug my heels into his back as I raked against his tongue, and then his arms wrapped around me.
“So close. So close. So… Danny!”
I cried out as he lifted me off the dresser. My slit fell into his face as his hands cupped my ass. He suspended me against his face with my legs over his shoulders, and I clung to his hair to hang on. He dropped me back to the bed. My juices poured down the crack of my ass while he shifted me around. He grabbed one wrist and tied it to the bed, then the other, one with his tie, another with his belt.
Then, he crawled between my legs and sat back on his haunches.
He slowly pushed the head of his dick into me, spinning the room around my head. It didn’t take long for me to come again. For my inner walls to squeeze his entire length as my body rushed with ecstasy. He knew how to stroke me, when to pound and when to go slow. He hovered over me, my legs locked around him as I tugged at my wrists to free them. I wanted to hold him, to touch him, to explore him with my nails while he fucked me. He pounded into my body so hard the bed rocked on its frame.
“Fucking hell, Layla.”
I moaned. “Danny.”
“Layla. Shit!”
“Danny! Please!”
“So tight for me. Holy fuck.”
“Make me come again. Make me come on your dick, Danny.”
He bent both of my legs up toward my chest, holding them up in the air. His thick shaft slid against every part of my walls, throbbing against me, ready to burst. Colors sizzled in my vision. It tunneled as he filled me to the brim until my eyes rolled so far into the back of my head it gave me a headache.
“Oh, Danny,” I droned.
He growled. “Layla.”
We came together. I clamped down onto him, and I felt him burst within me, coating my walls with his come while my I milked him for all he had. We gasped. We groaned. I moaned while he grunted. His hips stuttered against me before he dropped my legs, his hands landing to the mattress on either side of my head. Our lips locked, and his tongue raked across the roof of my mouth. I shivered against him, wanting so badly to touch him.
Then, he released my wrists and let me wrap my arms around his neck.
We lay like that until we could both breathe, his dick sheathed within me and my lips kissing his shoulder. Silently, he reached for the hotel room phone beside the bed and ordered us dinner: steaks with baked potatoes and a fruit salad. We ate together in bed, feeding each other food and filling our empty stomachs. It felt intimate between us. Not like the hookups we’d had in the past.
Then, with our empty plates on the floor, we fell asleep naked, wrapped up in one another.
Yet another thing we had never done before.
11
Daniel
I sighed as my eyes pulled open. Sunlight greeted my eyes, but something warm pressed back into me. Something soft pressed into my aching groin, and I grunted out. I felt something soft shift against my chest. My arm tightened around something thick. I looked around, seeing Layla slowly shifting in my arms, molding herself tighter to me as her leg wrapped around mine.
Fell in between mine.
This was the first time we had fallen asleep together, and it made me smile. I was okay with it. I kind of liked it, honestly. It brought me a sense of peace. I began mindlessly running my fingers through her hair, working out the few knots I came across. I reached over for the phone, not wanting to disturb her as I picked it up. I pressed my finger down onto the zero that dialed the kitchen, then softly put in our breakfast order.
I wanted a spread to greet us in about an hour.
Layla stirred and looked up at me with those big green eyes of hers. Sleep filled them, but she still looked as beautiful as always. I smiled and kissed her forehead, then helped her slowly wake up.
By sliding between her legs and lapping at her clit until she writhed and moaned my name.
I kissed her lips with her still on me, and she licked herself off my lips—a motion I couldn’t simply ignore. I slipped my hard shaft into her body and rocked softly against her, pulling her from her sleep as our eyes connected. We breathed each other’s air. She cupped my cheeks and threaded her fingers through my hair. Our eyes never left the others. She rose her hips to meet my thrusts. And softly, the two of us met our end.
Not a moment too soon, either.
“Is that the elevator?” Layla asked.
“I ordered breakfast about an hour ago,” I said.
“Should someone be there to receive it?”
I slowly pulled out from between her legs, grinning as she shivered.
“You take your time. I’ve got it,” I said.
I wrapped a robe around me, feeling her juices coat my balls. I thanked the man for our food and tipped him well, then rolled it into the kitchen. I set everything up while Layla got cleaned up. The eggs. The meats. The fruits. The toast and the jams. I set the two mugs on the table along with the carafe of fresh coffee, the creamers and cubed sugars, and the fresh
orange juice as well.
“I’m starving,” Layla said.
“Then come and eat. We could use a good refuel,” I said.
“Before we work it off again?”
“Aren’t you a little late for work to be thinking about that kind of stuff?”
She came over and swatted at my ass.
“I think my boss’ll understand today,” she said, winking.
I enjoyed her playful nature, and I relished it all through breakfast. We laughed and joked around. Played footsies under the table while we ate. I talked with her about how my brother was a slob, and I couldn’t stand it, and she talked with me about how she couldn’t stand messes, either—how it bothered her that we left the plates on the floor from dinner last night.
I never thought I could bond with someone over washing some damn dishes.
But, I did.
“I’m going to take a shower really quickly,” Layla said.
“Care for some company?” I asked, grinning.
“Didn’t realize you still had to ask for something like that, hoss.”
“Hoss?”
But all she did was look over her shoulder and wink at me.
I really did enjoy that woman.
She disappeared into the bathroom, and I slipped my robe off my shoulders. But as I made my way for the bathroom, my cell phone rang. I heard the muffled ringer coming from my pants that were still bunched up at the doorway of the bathroom. I walked over and dug it out before answering it without looking.
I really needed to break that habit.
“Daniel Levingston.”
“It’s really interesting how you choose to spend your time instead of coughing up your brother.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I walked away from the bathroom door.
“Who is this?” I asked.
“Don’t you recognize power when you hear it?” the man asked.
“What do you want?”
“It’s simple. The money and your brother. By the end of this week. Which means I wouldn’t be wasting any more time with that cute little brunette you’re always sneaking away with. You wouldn’t want her dragged into all this, would you?”
I felt sick to my stomach. My eyes settled on the bathroom door, listening as Layla hummed while she showered. She always did that. Hummed in the shower. It was the most soothing sound to me sometimes. But at that point, it only made me sick. It made me want to preserve her healthy ignorance.
Because these assholes had been spying on me.
“You won’t lay a finger on her,” I growled.
“Then, it’s simple. Your brother and the money. The end of this week. We know you have both. We aren’t sure why you aren’t working with us, but maybe this will be the push you need,” the man said.
“What? The fact that you’re watching me?”
“And the fact that we know a great deal about that young woman. I wonder, would she enjoy being handed over as well? Because interest on a person racks up very quickly.”
“You will never—”
“Tick tock, Mr. Levingston. You’re wasting precious time.”
Then, the phone call shut off.
I hung up the phone and felt the need to throw it against the wall. I wanted to roar. Cry out. Scream. But, I settled for bypassing the shower. I turned my back to the bathroom door and slipped into my clothes, ignoring Layla’s offer. Ignoring her calling out for me. Ignoring her questioning as to what had happened, as to whether or not I was okay.
I made myself cold toward her, even though it made me ache. But I couldn’t let anything happen to her.
I refused to let my brother take her down, too.
12
Layla
“Okay, we need to talk.”
I don’t know what possessed me to march into Daniel’s office, but I did. I don’t know what possessed me to corner him, but I did. However, when he didn’t look up from his desk to watch me enter, it fueled my anger.
I slammed his office door closed, and he sighed.
“Please, try not to make a scene, Miss Hale,” he said.
“Miss Hale. Since when the hell have you ever called me that?” I asked.
“I’m sure it’s happened at some point in time.”
“Yes, when we first met, Daniel. But not now.”
He ignored my statement, and it made me even more frustrated with him.
“I want to know what’s going on, and I want to know now. Why have you been ignoring me since yesterday?” I asked.
“I’m not ignoring you, Miss Hale. I’m simply working. Which is something I’m sure you should be doing since my company pays you a great deal of money to do so,” Daniel said.
I scoffed. “Seriously? The cold and distant routine? You can’t even grow a big enough pair to tell me why you suddenly shut me out?”
“It isn’t something you should worry about.”
“Why are you treating me like this?”
I took a step toward his desk, but he still didn’t look up.
“You usually tell me everything, Daniel. That’s how this works,” I said.
“Things change,” Daniel said flatly.
“Why the hell are you acting this way all of a sudden? Huh? What the hell happened between the shower and when I got out yesterday morning?”
“I really wouldn’t say that any louder than you need to.”
I was angry. And rightfully so.
“Tell me what’s going on right now, or we’re done,” I said.
That got his attention. Enough for him to slowly raise his eyes to me—his empty, deadpan stare.
Like the one he had on his face when I got out of the shower yesterday morning.
“It’s a family matter, and it is none of your business… Miss Hale,” he said.
I stared at him in disbelief. Just like that. After everything we had shared for the past six months or so, gone in the blink of an eye. I shook my head and broke our trance. I turned on my feet and stormed out of his office. I was angry. I felt betrayed. But more than that, I was hurt.
Waking up in his arms had felt so perfect. So right.
Apparently, I had been very wrong feeling that way.
I went into my office and gathered up my things. It was already four o’clock. I could use my business as an excuse to leave early. I locked up my office and held my things close to my chest, making my way for the elevator. I brushed by his office. I made my way to my small business. I checked in on everyone after sending Tasha a text message that I really needed to get a drink with her.
At five thirty, after settling some issues with my small-time accounting business, Tasha and I sat down for dinner.
“You don’t look so good,” she said.
“I don’t feel so good,” I said.
“Something happen with Daniel?”
And it only took that one question for me to launch into what happened earlier that afternoon.
“I hate to say it because I know you care about the man, but do you think it’s possible that he’s over your little fling?” Tasha asked.
It was like a knife to my heart, that word.
Fling.
Because after waking up in his arms, it felt nothing like a fling any longer.
“I don’t know,” I said breathlessly.
“You fell for him, didn’t you?” Tasha asked.
I shrugged. “Does it really matter anymore?”
“Oh, Layla.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” she asked.
“That pity voice every time a guy who’s fucking me tosses me to the curb. You know I’m not the kind of woman men want for relationships. That’s your role,” I said.
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing,” I murmured.
“No, it’s something. What is it?”
“I don’t want to talk about it tonight. Okay?”
Tasha took my hand. “Here’s my advice to you. If you’re getting atta
ched to a man who isn’t attached to you, then ditch him. He isn’t worth your time if he doesn’t see your worth like you see his. Though right now, he doesn’t have much of it, in my eyes.”
“The last thing I need to do is get attached to my boss anyway,” I said.
“Exactly. Not a good situation.”
Our foods and drinks we ordered were set on the table, and Tasha pulled back. She was right, too. I was well on my way to getting attached to my boss, of all people. Which wasn’t a good choice. For some women, that broke their careers. Forced them to choose between their work and their love life. And my career was far too important for me for a removed man like Daniel Levingston to ruin it.
So, it was settled.
It was time to end things with Danny.
13
Daniel
I had the funds together and set up for a wire transfer at the end of the day. But I still didn’t know what the hell I was going to do with my brother. I took Friday off to handle everything, to make sure those funds were going to the right place after having a nice little letter dropped for me in my mailbox down at the front desk. It was a series of numbers, and I knew exactly what those numbers were supposed to be. They were numbers that linked to a bank account.
The bank account they expected 1.3 million dollars to be in by the end of the day.
But figuring all this shit out wasn’t the only reason I took a day off going into the weekend. Putting some distance between myself and Layla was a good thing, too. After barging into my office yesterday with her anger and her beautiful eyes filled with such hurt, I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up the ruse if I went back into the office. If I had to face her. If I had to keep the stone-cold outer layer I had carved out just to protect her.
“I set up the wire transfer, and it’s good to go for three this afternoon,” I said.
“I owe you big-time, Dan,” Drew said.
“Don’t thank me just yet. I still don’t know what the hell we’re going to do about you.”
Professionals with Benefits Page 4