by Nicki Elson
Lyssa smiled and lifted the chick higher so she could turn and place it on top of Hayden’s thick waves. He raised his eyes, but the bird was too far back for him to see. “What’s it doing? Besides tickling me.”
“Just having a look around,” Lyssa answered. “Oh, and now she’s poking around at your head. Do you feel it?”
He winced. “Yeah.”
“Oh no.” Lyssa pushed up on her tiptoes as Hayden gingerly crouched so she could reach the chick and lift it away from his hair. “Uh, Hayden, are you trying out a new hair gel?”
“Nooo.”
“Feel a warm spot on the top of your head?”
Hayden groaned and reached a hand up toward his hair but paused before he touched anything gooey and lowered it.
Lyssa sniggered. “Sorry.” She meant it, but that didn’t stop her from continuing to giggle as she dropped the offending fowl in with its siblings.
“Well, ladies, it’s been a blast, but I’m going to go inside and boil my head now.” He held his arms out, bent at the elbow, with his hands clutching and unclutching the air as if torn between wiping the nasty stuff from his hair and keeping his hands clean. When Lyssa snorted, he cast a glare in her direction, but his expression melted into a smile. “If it was anyone but you, Bates…” As he made his way to the door, he said, “I’ve got a lot of e-mails to return from earlier in the day, so I’ll say goodnight now. See you in the morning.”
“Be up and ready to go by eight,” Lula called as he exited. When the coop door knocked shut, she turned to Lyssa, quirking her mouth in a knowing grin. “Something’s changed between you two.”
Lyssa held a steady gaze, giving away nothing. “Like what?”
“Like he’s in love with you.”
Lyssa’s jaw went slack. How could Lula have possibly gotten that from a baby chicken pooping on his head?
“I’m the expert in reading people, remember?” Lula said. “Are you going to give him a chance?”
Lyssa’s natural instinct was to deny the whole situation, but there didn’t seem to be any point in trying to fool the perceptive woman. “I haven’t decided, but he’s not in love with me. He can’t be yet. It’s just that we’ve been working closely together, and two of his girlfriends recently broke up with him. He’s lonely and projecting feelings onto me.”
“That could be all it is.” Lula shrugged. “Or it could be he’s finally found the right one.”
Lyssa shook her head. “I don’t buy into the cheesy chick flick formula—player changes his ways because, gosh darn it, he loves the girl so much. I mean, have you ever seen a situation like that work out in real life?”
“It’s rare, but yes. Don’t forget that you have to consider the person on each side of the relationship—the player and the one he wants to change for. If there’s a solid person on each side and they’re both willing to work through the bumps along the way, it can make a hell of a difference.”
Lyssa averted her gaze and stared at the chicks. She didn’t like weathering bumps. But for Hayden…
“Well, I suppose we should head out and latch these guys up for the night so no critters sneak in for chicken nuggets.” Lula pushed the door open.
“Lula?” Lyssa said as she remembered the question she’d wanted to ask all day. “Why did you request Hayden and me specifically for this meeting?”
Lula paused and turned toward her. “Rapport and respect mostly, and also—I was curious to see if something had changed between you two.” She winked and stepped outside.
Before following, Lyssa bent over the chicks and whispered, “You guys better watch your fuzzy backs around that one.”
Lyssa lay on the high, overstuffed bed with the blankets clutched to her chin, her heart thudding against her ribs. Pounding rain had started twenty minutes earlier, waking her from a light sleep. Every few minutes, an electric show of lights glittered through the thin openings on either side of the window shade. Each crack of thunder that followed was louder than the last.
When in her apartment, Lyssa enjoyed a good thunderstorm, but in this musty place where time stood still, it was pure Psycho. She shut out thoughts of shower stabbings and insane proprietors…only for abandoned hotels and Jack Nicholson axing down her door to take their place.
Grabbing the flashlight from the side table, she shot its beam around the room, hoping to amuse herself with its dancing pillar until the storm calmed. The light caught on the filaments of a web above the closed door. She hadn’t noticed it earlier. Focusing the beam there, she admired the glossy weave and thought about how charming it was to be sharing the room with a tiny spider. A shadow at one edge of the web intrigued her. Sitting up and leaning forward revealed that it was the webmaster. And it wasn’t little—it was huge and hairy…probably hairy, though she couldn’t make out that kind of detail.
She snapped off the flashlight, cutting the vision of the monster, but that only made it grow bigger in her imagination. She flicked the light back on to find that spidey was on the move. Still spinning? Yes, of course. That made perfect sense. It wasn’t a coincidence that the arachnid had set up camp above the door, and the reason she hadn’t noticed the web earlier was because it hadn’t been there. The creature had been lying in wait, biding its time until she was asleep so it could spin its trap over the door.
Good God. If this investment career doesn’t work out, I should try writing B horror flicks. What was wrong with her? She wasn’t even afraid of spiders. And it wasn’t as if she didn’t spend almost every other night of the year sleeping in a dark room alone. But this was different. In her city apartment, she had neighbors across the hall and directly above and below her—people who would hear her screams. Here, she was isolated, separated from civilization by acres of pastures and fields. Even Lula wouldn’t sleep in the house—she’d left for her own place. It was only Lyssa and Hayden against whatever chose to attack them.
Hayden. He wasn’t far away, and she didn’t want to be alone anymore. If she stayed in that room, she knew she wouldn’t sleep. According to the glowing clock on the side table, it was only three-fourteen in the morning—she couldn’t take four more hours of this. Another clap of thunder banged and she was up and off the bed. To reach her goal, she had to cross under the spider. Training her eyes on the beast, she inched forward. Then, taking a deep breath for courage, she rushed to the door, yanked it open, and skittered across its threshold through the short hall and into the main room. She dashed to the stairs and up, up, up.
Upon reaching the top step, she felt silly. What would she even say to Hayden? She considered turning back, but the uncovered window next to her lit up before a boom shook the floor. In her frantic state, she rushed forward and pushed on the first door she came to. Happily, it opened to Hayden’s room—as revealed by the pillar of light she cast onto his form on the bed.
He flipped around and shielded his eyes with both arms. “What the hell?”
“Sorry, it’s me.” She tilted the flashlight to hold it under her chin and illuminate her face.
“The ghost of Lizzie Borden?”
“Sorry.” She shifted the light to a neutral wall. “I got freaked by the storm.”
“Storm?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have woken you. Go back to sleep.” She wanted to slink her way back to her room, but she couldn’t make her feet move.
“Bates, come here.” He pulled back the blankets and held a shadowy arm out to her.
Everything in her urged her forward, but first: “You know this doesn’t mean anything, right? I’m just scared—”
“And in need of my big, strong arms. Got it. Now please climb in so I can get back to sleep.”
The fluttering of light from behind the curtain told her what was next, so she jumped to the bed, snuggling against her partner before the next boom sounded. Too late, she realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt. As soon as she felt his firm, naked flesh against her palms, she twisted around so her back was to him. He put his arm arou
nd her and held her close.
“Is that a flashlight or are you just happy to see me?” he mumbled.
Lyssa noticed the hard object pressed between them. “Sorry.” She reached to pull it out and settled back onto her side.
“Stop saying sorry.” His voice was thick and sleepy. Giving a gentle squeeze, he plastered her to his bare chest. “This is like Christmas, my birthday, and winning the lottery all mashed together.”
She smiled and sank into his warmth, resting her head on the inside of his shoulder and letting her pulse calm until it matched the rhythmic cadence of his heartbeat against her spine. Before long, his breath grew deeper, tickling her hair on his exhale, and she knew he was sleeping. As soon as her adrenaline cooled, she was able to join him.
When her eyes opened, the room was still dark. During her sleep, she’d shifted onto her back, and Hayden now curled against her. As her mind came into focus, she realized what had woken her—soft tickling on her bare shoulder.
“Hayden,” she whispered, tilting her head toward him.
“Hmm?”
“You’re kissing me.”
“I was dreaming.” He slowly lifted his eyelids and nuzzled his nose against her before touching another kiss. “Looks like I still am.”
“Remember the part of the dream where I said this doesn’t mean anything?”
He reclosed his eyes and groaned, letting his head settle onto the pillow a few inches away from her. She turned her face to stare at the ceiling and pulled the quilt up over her shoulders, snuggling in. “Hayden?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you really think we’d work out—as a couple?”
“I wouldn’t have suggested we try if I didn’t think chances were good.”
“But you’re not one hundred percent sure of it.”
“I’m not a hundred percent sure of anything.”
She smiled. It was a good answer. Honest. If he’d guaranteed sunshine and rainbows, she’d have known he was full of crap. She slid the blankets off her shoulders and pushed up onto her elbows to peer past him at the clock. It was six forty-three. Plenty of time to start talking things through before she’d have to get up and shower. She didn’t want to wait any longer.
Her movement had roused him, and his muted blue eyes were wide open, steady on her. Pale light leaked in through the gauzy curtain and gently illuminated the elegant contours of his face. Tousled by sleep, his thick hair jutted out at odd angles, but it didn’t matter—the longing in his gaze was all she saw.
Reaching across him, she touched his side and raked her fingers upward, combing through his chest hair, something she now realized she’d wanted to do ever since she’d seen him emerge dripping wet from the pool in Baltimore. He didn’t move, just watched her, but she felt the increased pace of his heartbeat through her palm.
Talking was way overrated.
She’d barely inclined her head toward him when he reached up and wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, lifting his face to meet hers. Their mouths melted together, opening and surging against each other as she maneuvered over him until her thighs hugged his waist. Her movements were steady and controlled—she wanted to savor him, not devour him. But Hayden was too delicious, and eventually, she couldn’t resist digging in further.
He responded to her aggression with a low growl, circling his arms around her and holding her to him as he flipped them to their sides. She clutched at his hair while he slid a hand along her body, dipping into the curve of her waist, then slipping inside her pajama pants and up onto her hip. He took charge now, with his face bent over hers, his tongue demanding, his rough whiskers burning against her skin.
Lyssa lost track of space and time and didn’t notice the next change in position until his weight pressed into her from on top. Her hands moved instinctively to his back, digging her fingers into the taut flesh on either side of his spine. Vibrizzio couldn’t do this, couldn’t surround her and command her. Real-life Hayden was the very best fantasy that ever existed. His hips pushed into hers. If not for the thin layers of fabric between them, he most certainly would’ve taken her to never-never land in an instant.
His mouth left hers to suckle and bite at the base of her throat. Leaning the side of her face into the pillow, she sighed with pleasure. He stimulated all the right nerves. Languidly, she opened her eyes, noticing the increased brightness of the room. After a moment, the significance registered, and she looked at the clock.
“Hayden! The cock’s crowing.”
“Weird way to put it,” he breathed, “but yes, yes it is.” He sank his hips more deeply into her, leaving no doubt of his aroused state, and resumed nibbling.
“No, the time!” She worked her hands under his chest and pushed. “Lula said to be ready by eight.”
He looked at the clock. My alarm doesn’t go off for five more minutes.”
“Mine went off ten minutes ago.”
He exhaled a huff of hot air and let his head drop so that his forehead rested on her chest. “Oh man,” he groaned, touching a tickling kiss to the exposed top of each of her breasts, “this is the wrong place to put my mouth when I need to cool off.”
“Let me help.” She rolled out from under him and stood next to the bed, attempting to regulate her heaving breaths. Hayden reached out to grasp her waist, but she wriggled away and then grabbed his hands, clamping them safely together before she ventured a step closer to bend over him and plant a kiss on his stubbly cheek, whispering, “To be continued.”
Chapter 20
LYSSA RUSHED THROUGH buttoning her blouse and sliding in a pair of earrings when she heard voices in the kitchen. She left the bedroom at the back of the house. When she opened the swinging door to the kitchen, she found that Hayden and Lula were joined by a young man and woman. Lyssa guessed the pair to be in their mid-twenties.
“Morning,” Lula said.
“Good morning.” Lyssa smiled and shook her hand, then turned to the younger woman. “I’m Lyssa Bates. I take it you met my partner, Hayden King.”
“Yes,” the girl said, and Lyssa wondered if she imagined the accompanying blush. “I’m Gina West.”
“And I’m Mark Naylor.”
As Lyssa pumped hands with Mark, Lula said, “These are my analysts. I brought muffins and coffee. Why don’t you grab something before we go up to the office?”
“Thanks.” Lyssa went to the table, pouring her coffee and inspecting the bakery choices while the others continued chatting. As she picked off the first chunk of a zucchini muffin and stuck it in her mouth, her eyes lifted and landed on Hayden for the first time since she’d left his bedroom. She caught him looking at her, sporting a sly smirk.
“You can bring your breakfast with you,” Lula said, gesturing toward the next room.
Hayden was closest to the swinging door, so he turned to push it open. This time Lyssa knew it wasn’t just in her imagination that Gina’s gaze went straight to his exquisite bum as he passed through. Team Lula filed past him as he held the door open, and Lyssa trailed behind them, coffee and muffin in hand.
She shot Hayden a quizzical glance when she saw the investment team heading up the stairs toward the bedrooms. He gave a small shrug, indicating he had no idea what was going on either and gestured her to follow, but she shook her head, letting him go first—so her eyes could lay their rightful claim upon his butt as he ascended.
Was this what dating an ultra-attractive man would be like? Constantly catching girls leering at him? It wasn’t as if Keith and her other boyfriends weren’t attractive; they were, but they weren’t Hayden-level attractive. They were closer to intramural badminton, like her. The happy feeling that had danced inside her while she’d showered and as she’d gotten dressed deflated around the edges. The other women wouldn’t just be looking at him—they’d be eyeballing her, too, wondering why he was with someone like that. Lyssa normally had a healthy confidence in her physical appearance, but could her ego withstand constant assaults?
Lula led them past Hayden’s guest room to the other end of the hallway and opened a door that revealed a narrow, wooden staircase to the attic. When she reached the top, she turned and stepped backward, her arms spreading out to present an amazing array of electronics and sleek, funky-modern desks, shelving, and chairs.
“I thought that wireless signal was too strong for a simple, remote farmhouse,” Hayden said, moving into the room while Mark and Gina walked around, flipping switches and firing up the computers.
“We can do a lot of the basic research offsite,” Lula explained. “At home, libraries, Starbucks, wherever, but this is where we come to load the data and run stats and simulations. When we’ve sifted the data as far as we can by other means, we run our models. At that point, we no longer look at the stocks individually—we see how they play off one another.”
She invited Lyssa and Hayden to each take a seat at a different computer where one of the analysts would walk them through various simulations. Gina naturally went straight to Hayden. The models were fascinating, and Lyssa had no trouble zoning in on Mark’s instruction until Hayden busted out a big laugh. She shifted her eyes in time to see Gina playfully slap him on the shoulder. Those two certainly played well off one another.
Returning her attention to Mark, Lyssa asked, “What are some of the red flags you look for that won’t show up on these screens?”
He listed a few different concerns, but the one that particularly caught Lyssa’s attention was the last: “We appreciate innovation and prefer companies that can adjust to changing circumstances, but it’s almost always when a company makes a full one-eighty shift to ‘reinvent’ itself that things go bad. When management strays from its core practices, we abandon ship.”
Lyssa nodded, wishing she could pretend his logic only applied to publicly traded corporations. Wasn’t changing his core practices exactly what Hayden intended to do by committing to a monogamous relationship with her? She did her best to keep her mind on business for the rest of the visit, but as they passed Hayden’s room on their way out and she glanced at the rumpled sheets, she ached for the clarity she’d felt while in that blissful bubble with him. Too bad they couldn’t stay in a magical fairyland forever. Once outside in the real world, everything would be thrown into question.