by K. I. Lynn
“Hey, yourself.”
“How did your exams go?”
“Good. Over.” I couldn’t keep the smile from my face. I was done. Years of sacrifice and long nights, and it was on to the next chapter of my life.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Where did you go?” James asked.
I turned to look at him. “What?”
“What happened, Emma? What changed?”
My heart fell. “James . . .”
“Don’t feed me some bullshit, Em. You’re distant. It’s like you’re a whole other person.”
My stomach sunk. He was right. I’d avoided him ever since the first night with Gavin. We weren’t together, weren’t a couple, but in a way, I still felt like I’d cheated on him. Though at the same time, I contradicted myself, thinking there was no other man than Gavin. He’d completely taken me over.
Any thoughts of being with James were dead. It felt like another lifetime, and in a way, it was. My life before Gavin was another life, and as soon as I was out of the hotel, I would close the door on it.
“I don’t know what to say. All I know is we aren’t going to happen,” I said. The air around us was heavy, oppressive.
“What changed?” he asked, his arms crossed in front of him, his jaw clenched tight.
“Me.” It was the truth. I was changed. “It wasn’t you, it was all me.”
He shook his head, disbelieving. “Everything was fine, and then . . . you just pulled away.”
The weight on my chest got heavier. “Things have changed, and I wish I could tell you something to make you feel better, but I don’t think anything I say will make this better.”
He shook his head, his face scrunched up. “You could say there are fifteen days left, or you got a job and that you would see me on Saturday night for dinner.”
“I can’t say any of that.”
His eyes bored into mine, searching. “Three years of this, of flirting, of telling each other just about everything, of falling . . . all for nothing.”
“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” I said, trying to offer up some sort of explanation. “Two months ago, I was excited about us dating.”
“Two months . . .” He glanced over to me, our eyes locking. “Is there someone else?”
Why was it so difficult? Because I didn’t want to hurt him.
“Is there someone else?” he asked with more force, causing me to jump back.
“Yes,” I whispered.
His face screwed up while his hands combed through his hair. “So, I get screwed because we couldn’t be a couple? Because I’m your boss?”
I nodded. “I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t make it better, but I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“But you did, Emma. What I feel for you . . . you’ve fucking broken my heart.”
I knew James liked me, but more than that?
I stared after him as he stormed out of the office and left for the day. A hand landed on my shoulder as the echo of the slamming door still rang in my ear.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Emma. He’ll be okay,” Caleb said, having just entered from the lobby.
“Thanks, Caleb,” I said. “I’ve just never broken a heart before.”
“Does it make you feel better if I said I think the other one is the right one?”
I gave him a small smile. “I already figured that out.”
“How?”
“Because he was able to win me over so quickly. It just showed that I care for James, but I’m not sure it would have ever been love.”
“Still, that’s a tough realization.”
I nodded. “It really is.”
“Don’t dwell on it. You’ve got a hottie waiting to lavish you with lovin’.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at least a little at that. “Have a good night.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Ready for an evening of fun?” I asked Jaqueline as I stepped up to the counter.
“As long as I get to look at that new bellhop all night,” she replied while making an approving hum.
We both looked over to the new bellhop as he took some luggage from an incoming guest. He must have sensed it, because he looked up and shot a beaming smile at Jaqueline.
“I think you’ve got him hooked already.”
“Oh, I will.”
I laughed and shook my head as I ushered a guest forward.
I took Caleb’s advice. While I hated to hurt James, it wasn’t done intentionally. Gavin just wouldn’t be denied, and I’d fallen hard and fast for him.
Jaqueline and I stayed pretty busy until a lull around seven. Her new love interested clocked out at six, so there was no more distraction there.
We were just contemplating a coffee run when the phone rang, the number burned into my brain and my heart, which had sped up.
“Front desk,” I answered. The caller ID gave him away, and Jaqueline slinked back, not wanting to hear his voice.
“I need to see you,” he spoke. I could feel the shiver run down my veins, pooling between my thighs at the urgency in his voice.
“The maid didn’t leave you any fresh towels? Oh, I’m so sorry, Mr. Grayson. I’ll bring some up right away,” I lied into the phone.
I let Jaqueline know and set out to grab the standard set of towels from housekeeping. I could hear her mumbling something after I left. I laughed internally when I realized she was praying for my safe return and possibly adding a prayer that he would be swallowed up by the pits of hell.
The elevator pinged on the fourteenth floor, and I felt my panties already getting wet in anticipation of what was to come. As I approached, I took a deep breath before freeing one of my hands from the stack of towels, reaching out to knock.
The door flew open a short moment later; he stood before me with wet hair and nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.
I stepped through the door and as soon as I was inside he turned my body, pushing my chest into the wall. The stack of towels fell to the floor while his hands pushed the hem of my skirt up to my waist. His fingers dug into my hips, pulling my ass back to him before he yanked my panties down to my knees.
In one smooth motion he thrust his cock all the way inside.
I cried out as he began a relentless pace. It was delicious and torturous at the same time, the force of his thrusts pushing me into the wall.
It was obvious he’d had a bad day at work, or maybe he felt the same as way I did and had missed me as much as I missed him.
“Baby, oh, fuck, baby,” he grunted.
My legs were trembling, my insides tensing as he drove me to the edge. His need was a palpable force and just as much of a turn-on as the force of his thrusts.
I needed it just as much as he did. It was a way to wash away the tension, and he pushed me straight to the cliff as each press of his hips drove me higher and higher. My body was on fire, and it didn’t take long before I tensed around his.
“Gavin!”
“That’s it, baby. Shit!” he cried out, his fingers digging into my hips.
I almost came again from his grunts and groans; the sound of him coming made my whole body tingle.
He paused for a minute, calming down before he pulled out. He stepped away and in my periphery, I watched him remove a condom and toss it in the trash.
“Damn, baby, I’m sorry,” he apologized. Dipping down, he picked me up by my thighs and walked us over to the couch to sit. “I hate not seeing you for so long.”
We sat there for a moment, soaking each other in. Skin to skin, breath to breath—a connection I so desperately missed. I hadn’t noticed how bad it was until his forehead touched mine, his arms tight around my waist.
His phone buzzed, and right away his gaze hardened and his jaw clenched. He leaned forward and picked it up from the coffee table, looked at the screen, then threw it back down.
“Fucking incompetent idiots,” he grumbled. It was the first time I’d
heard him use words like that to refer to someone besides the hotel staff.
“Bad day?” I asked, my fingers running through his hair. I found it was soothing to him and could calm him down.
“Shittastic,” he growled. “One of those that make me question my decisions. Especially the agreement to take over Cates and to move to Boston.”
My heart fell at his words, and I tried not to let my disappointment show. His fingers traced my cheek before moving under my chin, raising my eyes to meet his.
“But, then I remember that if I hadn’t made those life-altering decisions, then I wouldn’t have you, so all the shit I have to put up with is completely worth it.”
My heart sped up, and I could feel tears welling. With school finally over, I realized just how much I wanted him. Every fiber of me begged for him. The desire to take his hand and never let go was overwhelming.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“I missed you,” I said, a tear falling free.
His thumb lightly brushed it away. “I had this fantastic date with a woman, then suddenly no calls, and only one-word texts. I was beginning to think I screwed up, but then I remembered I wasn’t the center of her world, even though I want to be.”
“Is that your way of saying you missed me, too?”
He nuzzled my nose. “I missed you an insane amount.”
“Insane amount? That’s a lot.”
“It is.”
As much as I hated to, I climbed off him.
“Don’t go,” he begged.
A groan slipped from my lips. “I have to.”
“Quit and just stay with me.”
I shook my head. “You’re a bad influence.”
“But I tempted you, didn’t I?”
With a reluctant nod, I agreed. “A tiny bit.” I straightened out my thong and skirt, then double-checked the rest of me.
“Before you go, happy graduation,” he said as he pulled a small, robin’s egg blue bag from the side table.
It was one of the most iconic, recognizable colors.
Tiffany and Co. He’d gone to Tiffany.
I stared at it, slack-jawed. “Gavin . . .” Inside there wasn’t one box, but two. I pulled out the first box and opened it. Nestled in the matching blue was a gorgeous silver bangle. There were five interlocking bands that slid around each other and one of them was a string of what looked like diamonds. I slipped it over my hand, loving the way it changed as it slid down my wrist.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
“There’s another.”
My heart slammed in my chest as I reached for the other box. The experience was surreal. Once, a boyfriend had given me a little silver necklace, but that was in high school. Gavin’s gifts were beyond anything I’d ever even dreamed of receiving. Especially for something like a graduation.
The second box was a flat, rectangular shape, the hinge tight as I peeled it open. I drew in a sharp breath at the delicate, diamond-crested key pendant on a silver chain.
“Gavin, they’re beautiful,” I whispered in a reverent tone. “I . . . thank you. Thank you so much. You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“I did.” He took the box with the necklace and slipped it out. “Lift up your hair.” I slipped my hair up into a ponytail with my hand as he unclasped the necklace and laced it around my neck. “There,” he said when he was done. “That’s the key to my heart, Emma. Keep it safe.”
My mouth dropped open. The key to his heart. He was showing me that he was mine.
Tears began to well in my eyes. My heart was so full. The wave building in my chest was overwhelming. I jumped up and wrapped my arms around his shoulders as I slammed my lips to his. Gavin might have moved me from my path, but I seemed to be forging a new one with him by my side.
“Thank you. I can’t say it enough. This means so much to me, you have no idea.”
He leaned down, his forehead resting against mine as his hands rested on my lower back, holding me close. “Tell me you’re mine.”
“I’m very much all yours.”
“Why don’t you come over to my place tonight?”
He grimaced.
“Gavin?”
“I have to get up very early.”
“And? How is that different than any other day?”
“Your crone of a neighbor downstairs yells at me for making a ‘ruckus.’ It’s like she sleeps by the door, ready to strike.”
I let out a laugh. “I think the ‘ruckus’ is the bed slamming against the wall. You know, when you’re fucking me so hard I can hardly walk the next day.”
He smirked up at me. “Those are my favorite nights.”
“How’s the house hunting going?” I asked, my hands absently running across his chest and arms. “That good, huh?”
All of his movements stopped, and I was about to ask if he was okay when he spoke, “Do you work this Saturday?”
“Overnight.”
“Will you come with me?” he asked, his head tilting up so his gaze met mine. “To see some places.”
How could I say no? It was time with him outside the hotel, outside of my apartment. “Of course.”
I gave him one last kiss and headed back to my post, excited for our upcoming outing.
Jaqueline’s eyes were wide, expecting to hear the tales of my trial. I shook my head, rolled my eyes, and attempted to put a seething look on my face as I approached.
“He is such a demanding ass!” I hissed in a low tone when I got to the counter.
“It sucks that he’s always picking on you,” Jaqueline said with a shake of her head.
“Unfortunately, there seems to be something about me. Is there a sign on my forehead that says ‘yell at me, I can make it all better’?”
“I gotta say, he must be one hell of a lover to some unlucky bitch, otherwise there is absolutely nothing redeeming about that bastard.”
I felt my face heat at the remembrance of how good a lover he was. If only Jaqueline knew it was one of his many redeeming qualities. Then again, Gavin didn’t open up to a lot of people. I was one of the lucky few who knew just what an extraordinary man he was underneath his gruff exterior.
Gavin stayed at my place Friday night, meeting me after my shift. It was an excuse so that he didn’t have to get up extra early on Saturday. Really, it was an excuse for sex and cuddles, and I was not opposed to either.
“Why are we meeting your realtor at stupid o’clock?”
He chuckled, his hand reaching out to rest on my thigh. “Emma, it’s almost ten.”
“Yes, well, I worked second shift, then was kept awake by someone for another two hours.” I turned and narrowed my eyes on him. “Why are you so chipper?”
“I’m used to five or six hours of sleep. Starbucks?”
“If you want me not grumpy, I need a venti quad vanilla latte stat.”
“Who is the demanding one today?”
“Hey, about time you got a taste of your own medicine. Waking a woman up from a perfectly good sleep.”
His hand disappeared from my leg. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”
I reached out and pulled his hand back to my leg. “Yes, I do.”
“Why is that?”
“Because, the one thing I’ve been wanting for weeks is time with you outside the hotel. I’m just bitchy without my caffeine fix.”
“I will buy you a Starbucks if it makes you happy.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that. “That would make me very happy.”
“Good, because that’s all I want.”
“What?”
“You happy.”
I stared at his profile in shock. “Really?”
“You make me happy. Why do you think I put this off for so long? Finding a house meant not seeing you almost every day.”
“You stayed at the hotel for me?”
He nodded. “I told you. From the moment I walked through that door, it was always you.”
&n
bsp; “But you were always yelling at me. Talk about the wrong signal.”
“It was the only way I could think of to see you and not seem like some sleazy hotel guest.”
“So you made my work life a living hell?”
He nodded. “I do whatever it takes to get what I want.”
“That was underhanded and a huge headache.”
“But it worked, because now I have what I want.”
We were heading back into downtown, which surprised me a bit. Though, once he stopped and got me my coffee, I didn’t care about where we were going anymore.
The first building we pulled up to I thought had to be a joke. It had to be. The high-rise condos in the building were known for starting in the millions.
“What is your budget?” I asked Gavin in a whisper as we walked through the parking garage and into the building.
“For Boston? Four million.”
He pulled on my arm, but my feet were stuck as I stared at him.
“What? I spend eight hundred a night at the Cameo, Emma. The mortgage is actually quite a bit less.”
“I just, I mean, I knew you had money . . .” I glanced down and stopped again in my tracks. “Are you wearing jeans?”
A chuckle slipped from a half smile while he shook his head. “You really do need coffee in the morning.”
I was stuck staring at him. I’d never seen Gavin in jeans. Ever. And it was even better than my fantasies, but also freaky. He looked so laid back, but he also looked like he’d stepped out of a fashion magazine. I’d noticed the fitted sweater and the way it hugged him perfectly, but adding in the jeans should have been illegal.
“Damn, you’re hot.” I peeked around the back and about died. “Your ass looks so biteable.”
He chuckled and we continued on our way in.
The one problem with being out with Gavin was the minute possibility of running into someone from the hotel. And even though the man behind the security desk didn’t know Gavin, he did know me.
I’d met Shannon’s boyfriend on multiple occasions, including bumping into him on campus a few times. I prayed he didn’t recognize me, but I didn’t have such good fortune.
His face lit up when he saw me, and I knew there was no getting out of it. “Hi, Emma! What are you doing here?”
“Hi, Brandon.” I gave him a wave. “Just helping a friend look for an apartment.”