“Please. I don’t want to leave things like we did.”
April took a deep inhale and released it. “Um, give me a second.”
She ran to the tiny vanity area in the bathroom to take her first glance at what was sure to be her disaster of a face. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad. The eye makeup was smudged, but because it was a smoky eye to begin with, now it was just a bit smokier. Satisfied that she didn’t look like a zombie, she dashed into the main area of the hotel room to kick her shoes and the overnight bag to the side.
Satisfied with her ten-second clean up, she slid the lock loose and opened the door. Sam immediately frowned as his eyes shot down to her legs.
She followed his gaze and her jaw dropped open. “Oh my God,” she muttered as she turned away from the door. Where the hell were her pants? Her oversized sleeping shirt covered all the important bits, but it still fell shorter than all of Jessica’s mini dresses.
“Are you okay, April?” asked Sam.
She stared down wistfully at her bag. If she bent over to pull out her pajama pants, she’d reveal far more than she already was. So she did the mature thing and covered her face with her hands and hung her head in embarrassment. “No,” she said, the sound muffled from her hands. “I’m really not okay.”
She heard his footsteps on the carpet and the door click shut. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone to die of shame? A warm touch wrapped around her wrists, pulled her arms down so she had no choice but to look right into the deep blue depths of Sam’s eyes.
“After last night, I think I’m the only one here who has to be embarrassed,” he said softly.
“I had so many plans to yell at you and now…Why do you have to be all understanding about it?”
His throat worked as he took a deep swallow. “April. I want you to know that everything I am is because of you. Five years ago, I was destructive, dangerous, and completely self-absorbed.”
“I don’t think—”
“Do you really think I would’ve taken care of Annabelle if you hadn’t been there to push me? I would’ve tried to pretend it never happened and swept the whole thing under the rug. You’re the one who pulled me out of that mindset. The one who made me confront the drinking head on, and pulled me out of my spiral.”
“You would’ve figured it out eventually. You’re too smart to allow weaknesses like that,” she said with a weak smile. Her embarrassment slowly melted away under his gentle words and soft touch.
“No.. Don’t defend me when I don’t deserve it. You made me better. And the things I said to you last night were inexcusable.”
“You were upset,” she whispered.
“Even if you were here on an honest-to-God date with Donald, I’d have no right to lash out at you.”
She snorted. “For the last time, it wasn’t a date. Why can’t that sink into your thick skull? He’s not the Hunt I want.”
The words hung between them, and April was afraid to breathe as she waited for his next move. His fingers relaxed, and her heart sank. He was going to leave her. Wasn’t that what she wanted, though? To get back to a simple, uncomplicated life?
But he didn’t leave. His fingertips skimmed down her forearms and left a tingling sizzle in their wake.
“Can I ask you a question?” He moved from brushing her elbows to letting his big hands rest on the curve of her hips.
She caught her breath at the intimate contact. “Yes,” she breathed.
“Where are your pants?”
“Oh, God. I had a stressful night and I normally only sleep in a t-shirt and you knocked on the door so suddenly, and I wasn’t thinking, and—”
His mouth covered hers. His kiss warm, deep, and thorough. This wasn’t like their anger-fueled kiss in the elevator that intense night months ago. This was slow, deliberate. For a split second, she thought about pushing him away, but the thought didn’t last. At that moment, with his lips moving over hers, his hands pulling her closer, she couldn’t think of any reason in the world she wouldn’t want him right where he was.
He took his time as he explored her. One hand curled around her neck, tilted her head back to allow him better access, while his other hand roamed lower and grazed her bare thigh. She moaned at the feel of his fingers on her delicate skin and he responded by moving his hand back up, palming her rear and giving a light squeeze.
She let out a soft laugh, only barely removing her mouth from his, but he chased her down and angled his mouth against hers again. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him as close as possible as she stood up on tiptoe to meet his kiss with her own. But she wasn’t slow and delicate. She’d wanted him for years, and she wasn’t going to deny herself any longer. After all the fights and jealousy and drama, nothing stood between them anymore. All the cards were on the table, and he wanted her.
And Lord knew she’d never stopped wanting him. No matter how many times she tried or how many ways Jessica told her what a bad idea this would be. Sam was her crush that wouldn’t leave her be, and now she could finally have him all to herself.
Her tongue teased his lips as her fingers tangled in his hair. Encouraged by her ferocity, his hands became bolder, slipped under her shirt and ran up and down her back. One moved to her front, cupped the weight of a breast, and stroked the nipple with the quick flick of a thumb to send a bolt of electricity straight to her core.
He groaned into her. “God, April.”
“Don’t stop,” she breathed as she pulled him back into the kiss. She never wanted this moment to end. The real world would have to wait for them.
In one quick motion, he pulled at her shirt, lifted it over her head and tossed it on the floor. Before she had a chance to think about her suddenly bared body, his hands were back on her waist, lifting her against him as he twirled around and tumbled with her onto the bed. The force of the fall caused a small bounce and she laughed at the unexpected motion.
Since they’d fallen with their legs hanging off the bed, Sam shifted his weight off her as she shimmied back on the cool, down blankets. His eyes roamed over her as she moved, and she felt the blood rush to her face.
This was Sam Hunt. His list of exes was made up almost exclusively of models and actresses, and April was far from a size two.
“You’re blushing?” he whispered as he made his way up her body.
“I’m nervous,” she whispered as his body settled over hers. One leg parted to allow him to rest between her thighs. “It’s not fair. You’re still in all your clothes.”
He grinned down at her before he looked down at his body in mock shock. “Shit. I guess you’ll have to do something about that.”
She bit her lip as she thought about the possibilities. He wore the same thing he’d been in last night, though it definitely looked in need of a good pressing. She worked at the buttons, but stumbled a bit with the first two. Darn it! She didn’t exactly undress men on a regular basis. Sam’s grin widened at her clumsy efforts.
“Are you laughing at me?” She finally finished the last one and pushed the shirt over his shoulders to reveal the toned physique of a man who actually used the gym in his office instead of having it installed for show. “Never mind. Laugh all you want as long as you never wear a shirt around me again.”
He shifted his weight and tossed the shirt over the side of the bed before he leaned down to kiss her lightly. “I’d never laugh at you,” he said against her lips. He trailed kisses down her jaw, and his chest fell against hers. The raspy sensation of his light chest hair against her nipples combined with the tiny bite he laid on her earlobe caused tremors to course through her.
She let her head fall back as he moved down her neck, paying extra special attention to the delicate nerves between her collarbones. Pushing himself up enough to allow his fingers to run up her stomach, he laid an intricate, invisible trail along her skin. The patterns moved higher until he squeezed the rosy tip of her breast; at the same time, he took the opposite peak between his teeth.
&n
bsp; More electricity sparked its way through her; heat pooled in the juncture of her thighs. “Sam,” she moaned. She pressed her hips against his, needing to be as close as possible. Needing him inside her.
“April,” he said into her breast. “Do you have any idea how much I want you?” He punctuated the words by moving his palm over her ribcage and to her womanhood. Her eyes snapped open and met his as he pressed two fingers deeply into her heat.
“Ahhh,” she gasped as he filled her, the pressing sensation exactly what she wanted and not enough at the same time. “More,” she greedily commanded.
He climbed up and she met him, her lips and tongue expressing what she wanted, because apparently complete sentences were beyond her at this point.
He seemed to understand her; he gripped her thighs and spread her legs wider. The cool air against her sensitive skin was at war with the fire that burned within her. The fire that demanded more and more.
Even as he deftly undid the button of his pants, he never stopped kissing her, stoking the flames higher and higher. As soon as she thought she couldn’t take anymore, his length was free and pressed against her. Unable to wait any longer, she thrust her hips toward him, taking the first inch on her own, but it didn’t satisfy the endless craving.
The tip of him at her entrance was merely a tease, and it drove her crazy.
“God, April,” moaned Sam as he pushed fully into her.
She let her head fall onto the cool sheets as he finally gave her what she’d needed so much. He filled and stretched her to the brink, exactly as her body had craved. But it wasn’t enough. “More,” she demanded.
He bit out a laugh above her, but she could feel the muscles of his back tense beneath her hands. He wanted to move as much as she needed him to.
“I’m never going to get enough of you,” he whispered above her. And then he thrust.
He set the exact frantic rhythm that she craved, moving in and out of her. Each thrust ran through her like a lightning bolt of sensation.
The thrusts came faster and faster. She gripped him as tightly as her arms would allow, as though the magic would end if she let go. But she needed to hang on. She was so close, and as his rhythm pounded faster and harder, she forgot everything but the pleasure of his body within hers.
As she came, she felt the world fall away, as though there were no bed or hotel or Donald or HuntCorp. Just her and Sam.
The sensations still rippled through her as he tensed above her and gripped her waist tightly as he moaned his release. She stared, transfixed, at the bulging cords in his neck, his eyes squeezed shut, amazed that she’d done this. That he’d lost control for her.
She worked on catching her breath and Sam pushed himself to the side, pulling her back firmly against his front. They lay like that for a while, April dozing in and out of consciousness. After a while, she shifted and rubbed her back up against him. His arm tightened around her waist in response as he buried his face in her hair.
“Are you ready to go again?” His deep voice rumbled next to her ear, and she couldn’t hold back her grin.
“I’m just getting more comfortable.” She wiggled a bit more against his now straining erection. “You’re the one who seems to be gearing up for round two.”
He took the sensitive flesh of her earlobe between his teeth and gave enough pressure on it to make her gasp. “Be careful what you wish for,” he whispered against her.
April let out a laugh that turned into a moan as his hand moved over her stomach, settled between her thighs and touched her in the exact spot that made her lose her mind. “I, uh, don’t think we have time.”
He paused his delicious torture. “You have somewhere to be?”
“The hotel’s checkout is in an hour.”
“Those times aren’t rules. They’re guidelines.” He pushed two fingers deep in her wet heat.
“Sam,” she breathed. For a split second, she came back to her senses and twisted away from him.
He let her go, but then he pounced, landing exactly where he wanted to be, his erection firmly pressed between her thighs. “Going somewhere?”
“We’re going to get kicked out.” She half-heartedly pushed at his bare chest.
He adjusted his hips; the tip of his erection just entered her. “Tell me to stop and I will.” He leaned down to lay a gentle kiss against her lips.
She groaned and thrust her hips up, trying to get as much of him inside her as possible. “Damn it, Hunt. You don’t play fair.”
“You don’t get a goddess in bed by playing fair.” He trailed kisses down her neck.
She thrashed underneath him; her arms wrapped around him and her fingertips bit into his back. “This isn’t a game, Sam. Please.”
“If you insist,” he murmured against the curve of her breast as he pushed fully into her. They both moaned together as her tight heat clenched his length. She held him closer as he started to thrust in and out, their bodies aligning in a primal rhythm.
His thrusts came faster and faster, and April bit into his shoulder. Pulses of pleasure shot through her, until she had to close her eyes and hold onto him as her entire world seemed to shatter and fracture into a million shining lights.
They collapsed in a breathless heap together, though Sam was careful not to crush her with his weight.
“We’re never leaving this room, are we?” She stared up at the ceiling.
“Screw the real world. I’m happy right here.” He sat up and rolled onto his back.
“I’m going to call the front desk and see if we can get the checkout time extended. Think they’ll let me change your room’s checkout too?” April pushed off the bed and was immediately conscious of her naked body. It was one thing to be naked with Sam in bed and another to stand up and have a rational conversation. She snatched her shirt off the floor and pulled it over her head.
“If they give you trouble, I’ll hop on the line and sort things out.” He leaned across the bed to grab the remote off the nightstand.
She took a quick moment to appreciate the sight of his bare derriere before she picked up the phone and dialed the operator.
Sam flipped through stations as she spoke to the front desk. He eventually settled on the local news station, but April couldn’t pay attention to the topic as she tried to charm her way out of a fee being added to the bill that Donald Hunt was footing.
“Mother fucker!”
April jumped at the shout; the phone clattered to the desktop. Sam was up and already pulling up his pants.
“Sam, what…” She drifted off as she looked to the television. The headline under the pretty reporter read All In The Family and a split screen behind the reporter showed Sam and Donald, both with serious and somber expressions. The photos looked like paparazzi shots, based on the surly faces. But it was what the reporter was saying that was riling up Sam.
“Last night, the Hunt empire got a bit bigger as father and son seemed to reconcile after a decade-long estrangement. Donald Hunt took over controlling interest in HuntCorp, the conglomerate of manufacturers owned by Samuel Hunt. They—”
April slammed her finger into the power button until the infuriating woman finally shut up. “This must be some mistake.” By now Sam had his unbuttoned shirt on and slid on his shoes.
“No. This makes perfect sense. You warned me Donald was going to make a move, but I didn’t listen. Fuck!” He shoved his foot into the last shoe and shot off the bed.
“Wait.” April ran after him, grabbed his arm and turned him to face her. “I know you have to go, but I need you to know that I’m here, okay?”
Sam took a deep breath as he looked down at her, his jaw clenched so tightly April was convinced he was about to crack a tooth.
But he exhaled and leaned down to press a quick kiss against her lips. “This isn’t how I wanted our night together to end,” he said as he straightened.
She laid a comforting squeeze on his bicep. “I know. You know how to get a hold of me if you need anything.�
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He nodded before he turned to dash out the door.
April sighed as she fell back onto the bed, still warm from the heat of their passionate morning. Why did she finally get her chance with Sam only to have it shattered to pieces so quickly?
Guilt washed over her. How selfish could she be? His entire world was crumbling to pieces and she was more concerned about how it would affect her? She was no better than Oksana. Looking out for herself first and foremost.
But this was massive! Her and Sam! Together! Not only did she get him in bed, but he was everything she could’ve imagined. He was thoughtful when she wanted sweet, and fierce when all she could think about was having his body inside hers.
Weren’t beautiful men supposed to suck in bed? Spoiled by women who said they came, no matter how bad the sex was?
Not that she should be surprised. When Sam put his mind to something, he got it done. Only now, for the first time, he’d put his mind on her and the results had been….out of this world.
The corners of her mouth tipped up. Their morning had been magical. She only hoped Sam remembered that through his rage at his father.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“I was expecting you sooner.” Donald poured himself a glass of brandy out of an ornate glass decanter.
Sam knew for a fact that Donald didn’t like brandy, and he really didn’t like drinking in the morning. It was another power play to remind Samuel of a weakness. If he wasn’t tempted to punch the smug look off Donald’s face before, he sure as hell was now.
But emotions were another soft spot to Donald. If Sam gave even an inkling of how pissed he was, it would just make Donald more smug.
But that didn’t mean he had to play nice. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
Donald turned to face him, not seeming to be cowed by the harsh language. “Would you care for some?” He tilted his glass toward Sam.
He scowled at the foul liquid. He was still furious with himself for the night before, and Donald had probably heard about that little indiscretion already.
Teaching The Boss Page 10