HAYDEN (Dragon Security Book 5) (4 page)

His hand discovered my bare knee just as a knock sounded on the door.

“Room service!” a disembodied voice called.

Hayden moaned, reluctantly pulling away from my lips. He rested his forehead against mine for a brief moment, and then turned toward the door.

“Coming.”

I stood as he opened the door, pulling the front of my robe tighter against me. The waiter walked in, carrying a tray that held a teapot and a selection of tea bags, along with two dainty cups. Again, the idea of Hayden sipping out of a cup that was more than a third smaller than his hand made me want to laugh. I turned away, moving to stand at the window. The world was still there—people rushing around on foot and in their cars, moving in and out of buildings like ants in one of those clear, plastic ant farms.

It seemed odd to me, somehow, that the world was still the same after everything that had been going on in my life these last few weeks. It felt like it should have stopped, or at least changed in some way.

But, just because my world was coming apart at the edges, didn’t mean everyone else’s was.

I heard the door close and felt Hayden’s footsteps as he came to me. I thought he would rest his hands on my shoulders; I even tensed a little there, preparing for the weight of his touch. I thought he’d want to talk—to explain why what had just happened hadn’t really been what I thought it was. I thought he would be filled with regret. Disgust even. He had been caught up in the moment, but this interruption had allowed him to come to his senses.

But that’s not what happened.

Without warning, he swept me up in his arms and carried me to the bed. He lay me gently, his mouth pressed to my throat as he balanced himself over me on his hands and knees. I didn’t know what to do, didn’t know how to respond. But my fingers somehow found themselves in his hair, tugging him closer to me. And then his mouth was on mine again and I was gone. There was so little thought, just need. Just want. Just this ache that had always been there inside of me, this ache that I’d assumed would never be satisfied.

This was my chance to experience things I’d heard about, listened to Megan whisper about, something I’d read about and dreamt about…but observers are very rarely participants.

He stretched out beside me, his hands so gentle as they touched me through the thick material of the robe. His lips slid over my chin, moving up along my jaw. Then he was kissing my throat, nibbling at my neck here and there as his fingers gently began to part the top of the robe. I closed my eyes, trying not to panic, trying not to realize that I was about to be naked in front of a man for the first time in my life.

His hand was warm, the skin surprisingly soft, as he brushed his fingers over my nipples, as he gripped one breast and squeezed it ever so gently. Every nerve in my body seemed to come alive with his touch and scream out for more. When his hot breath touched my breast, I thought I might jump out of my skin. And then he was drawing my nipple into his mouth, and that was even more intense, even better that just his touch.

I ran my fingers through his hair, needing to touch him, needing to know that this was real and not just some powerful dream—another fantasy. But he was so real, and he looked up at me, his eyes dark with need. No one had ever looked at me like that before.

I wanted this…
God, I wanted this!

And, right now, I didn’t care why it was happening. I just…I wanted it.

He spread the robe open as he slowly moved down the length of my body. He dragged his lips over my belly, pressing the tip of his tongue into my navel. And then he was peppering my hips with little kisses, nibbling here and there as he moved down to my thigh. He was careful to move the material of the robe in such a way that he only uncovered little bits of me here and there, clearly aware that I wasn’t quite ready to be completely exposed.

When he knelt beside me and began to unbutton his shirt, I was torn between being an observer and being a participant. I wanted to touch him—I wanted it so much that my fingers actually itched with anticipation—but I wanted to see him, too. He watched me, his eyes moving slowly over my face. There was something about the way he looked at me, the way his eyes stayed on my face and didn’t move down along the exposed places of my body that gave me courage. I pulled myself up to my knees and ran my hands slowly over his broad chest where he was slowly exposing himself with each button he released.

He was unmarked by tattoos. I knew most of the guys who worked at Dragon had tattoos—Megan once described Dante’s tattoos to me in detail—so I’d expected a few on Hayden. But when he slipped the shirt from his arms, there was nothing but the perfection of his deeply tanned skin.

We sat there for a few minutes, both of us on our knees on the edge of that big, soft bed, staring at each other. I touched him, my fingers sliding slowly over the lines of his pecs, the hills and valleys of his muscles. He seemed to suck them in as my fingers moved lower over him, tension defining his incredibly tone body. His hands hesitated as he lifted them, holding still inches from my skin. And then he was slipping them under the edges of my robe, pushing it off my shoulders, watching closely as he slowly removed the heavy material from my body.

I leaned into him, kissed his throat and tasted the light sheen of salt on his skin. He drew me close, his hands slipping over the length of my bare back. I closed my eyes, wanting nothing more than to be completely present in this moment. I’d never imagined being in this place, so I was pretty sure I would never have the chance to be here again. I wanted to experience everything he was willing to allow me.

Hayden’s arms came around me, his hands sliding under the pooled terrycloth to cup my bottom. He tugged me close to him even as my head moved lower down, brushing over his collarbone to tease his teeny, hard nipples. One hand brushed across the back of my head as the other slid over my bare bottom, his fingers brushing my most intimate parts. I moaned as he twisted his fingers in my hair and lifted my head up, pulling my lips back to his.

We fell backward somehow, back against the pillows. He was heavy, his weight threatening to crush me. But it didn’t feel the way I expected it to. My skin tingled everywhere he touched me, and my heart pounded as anticipation built in my nervous system. I didn’t know what to expect, but my body did. My body knew the pleasure it was capable of experiencing. And my body was more than ready to open to need, to desire, to pleasure.

He kissed me roughly as he pushed himself up on his hands, even as his hips moved forward, forcing my legs apart, forcing his hardness against me. I instinctively moved my body with him so that we touched in all the right places. My hands slid up over his hips, the thick material of his slacks the only thing between us now. I found the buckle of his belt, but his hand was there, pushing me away. He needed to do this part, maintaining as much control as he possibly could. I lay back and let him.

I felt the brush of his fingers as he worked his slacks open and the heave of his breathing when he freed himself. My eyes were closed, my mind threatening to take control over my body. I knew that would be a mistake, that this was not something that required a lot of thought. So I opened my eyes and looked up at him, and I saw the need and the desire in his eyes. I saw him look at me with a level of affection that made my head swim, pushing back all those reckless thoughts. He wanted me. Hayden Dubois wanted me. That was all I needed to know right in that moment.

Again, his fingers brushed me. And then he was pressing his cock against me, rubbing it against my clit, encouraging my cunt to open wide for him. I lifted my hips just slightly as he pushed forward, our bodies connecting at just the right spot. He entered me, and all these things went through my head all at the same time. Pleasure. Pain. Fear. Excitement. He tried to be gentle, filling me slowly as a hiss of pleasure slipped from between his teeth. He waited once he was buried deep inside of me, his breath washing over my cheek, his hand sliding carefully along my hip. Then he was pulling me against him, teaching me how to move as he thrust inside of me.

I clung to him, my hands sliding over his back. He whispered my name once, his lips close to my ear. And that…there couldn’t be anything better than your name on the lips of the man you desire more than any other.

We rocked together carefully, slowly, our fingers buried in each other’s flesh. I opened my eyes and watched the pleasure dance over his face. He touched me, his hand sliding over my face. But then his head reared back and he made sounds I’d never heard before, ecstasy bursting from his throat as he sailed into his orgasm. He filled me with life at a moment when I needed it more than he could ever imagine.

Life was precious, and this…I couldn’t possibly ask for more.

Hayden

My cellphone was ringing. Again.

I rolled over and reached for it, but it wasn’t on the nightstand. I opened a single eye and didn’t recognize anything around me. It took a second, but I finally remembered where I was.

Hotel.

Sam.

I sat up, looking for her in the dim light, but she was gone.

“Sam?”

I stumbled out of bed and went to the bathroom, but the door was open and she was nowhere to be found. Her clothes, abandoned on the floor last night, were gone, too.

Fuck! Where the hell had she gone?

The cellphone wasn’t going to leave me alone. I crossed the room again, fumbling through the pocket of my suit jacket for the device. The first thing that registered was that it was nine o’clock. I’d actually slept until nine o’clock in the morning. When was the last time that’d happened? I hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep since I was a small child.

The second thing that registered was that the number was routed from the Dragon Security offices, meaning it was Rita, the crooked loan officer.

“Hello?”

“Morning, Mr. Brown. I hope I’m not disturbing anything.”

“Not if you have good news.”

“Well, then,” she said, amusement oozing from her words, “I think I’m about to make your day. Your loan has been approved.”

“That’s great!”

“If I could run by your hotel room, we can get the papers signed and you’ll have your house before the end of the month.”

“Wonderful. I’ll be here all morning.”

“Great.”

The moment I disconnected the call, I put one through to Dominic.

“I thought we were done with this case.”

“Megan says that the president of the bank wants her red handed. He wants her to turn the paperwork over to you so that you can testify in court if it comes to that.”

A choking sensation came over me at the image of sitting in a courtroom, answering questions from some lawyer who thought his client shat roses every morning.

“I don’t testify. You know that.”

“It’s just a formality, Hayden. You know these things rarely come to that.”

“But I have to stick around and let this woman fawn all over me?”

“It’ll take twenty minutes.”

“And how do I explain Sam’s absence?”

“I don’t know. Come up with something. And make sure you wear the wireless video camera. We don’t want to miss anything.”

I grumbled a minute longer, but agreed. I jumped into the shower, my thoughts going back to last night. Sam, so soft and warm, writhing beneath me…my cock hardened at the memory. I didn’t understand why she left without waking me. But when I was out of the shower, dressed and trying to clean up what little mess we’d made of the place, I found her note.

Thank you, Hayden. But this can only be a one-time thing.

What the hell did that mean?

Before I had a chance to contemplate it, there was a knock on the door. I quickly grabbed the video camera and stuck it in the lapel of my shirt and shoved the note in my pocket.

“Mr. Brown,” Rita said softly, shaking her ass for all it was worth as she moved past me into the room. “I’m so happy my bank was able to help you out.”

“So am I. If I didn’t get this loan, I think my wife was on the verge of leaving me.”

“Speaking of which, where is Lucy?”

“Gone to complain about me to her mother. I’m afraid it’ll only be you and me this morning. I hope that won’t be a problem.”

She sat on the edge of the bed, a smile that said too many things on her lips. “Of course not.”

I grabbed the chair pushed under the desk and turned it around, straddling it as I studied Rita’s face.

“So, now what?”

“You sign these papers and I file them with the bank.”

“What about Lucy? Do we need her signature?”

“Yes. But she’s welcome to come down to the bank later to do that.”

I inclined my head. “Okay.”

She pulled a pile of papers out of her narrow attaché case, setting them out across her lap so that I was forced to look at her wide hips as she explained them to me. We went through the papers quickly, her hand brushing mine each time she handed me a paper or a pen. She made sure that she had to hand me something often.

Rita was the kind of woman I could have easily. No work to get this one into bed. But she was also the kind of woman who didn’t respect herself, making it hard for me to respect her.

I didn’t want that kind of thing anymore.

I walked her to the door and she pressed her hand to the center of my chest, moving close, pushing out her full lips so that I couldn’t miss how sexy they were.

“You and Lucy ever decide to call it quits…you should give me a call.”

I tilted my head just slightly, my most charming smile shining down on her.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

She reached up and touched my bottom lip. It took everything I had not to recoil.

“You do that.”

She walked out, her hips again doing that seductive little wiggle that made it pretty clear what she was hoping to happen if I ever called her.

Not going to happen.

I gathered up my things as my cellphone rang again. I assumed it was Dominic, but a glance at the screen told me it wasn’t. Department of Corrections. I groaned, adding that call to the list of things I simply didn’t want to deal with today.

I rushed out of there with only one thing on my mind. Finding Sam.

The small office was crowded with Dominic, Megan, and me inside. Megan was beaming, clearly pleased with the phone call she was currently taking.

“Yes, sir,” she said firmly. “I’m glad we could come through for you.”

A minute later, she set the phone back in its cradle.

“Well, Rita O’Neal no longer works for that particular bank. And they plan to take our evidence to the DA to see if they can prosecute her for falsifying financial information.”

“Awesome,” Dominic said, knocking me in the arm with his shoulder.

“Yeah, that’s great.”

Megan’s eyebrows rose as she studied me. “What’s up, Hayden? This is one for the victory column. Not only did you get the perp, but the president of the bank has asked that we come down and take a look at their security set up. This could potentially be a big deal for us.”

“Always glad to be of use to you, Megan.”

She smiled. “That’s the Hayden I know.” She reached behind her and grabbed a bottle of sparkling cider. “Not as good as the real thing, but since we’ve got a full day ahead of us, I thought this would have to do for now.”

“Shouldn’t Sam be here for this?” I asked. “She was an important part of the sting.”

Megan tensed a little, nearly spilling some of the cider. “She had a meeting this morning.”

“What kind of meeting?”

She looked up. “The personal kind.”

Obviously, I wasn’t supposed to ask anything more, so I didn’t. We shared the bottle, toasting to our success, then Megan kicked us out, demanding that we get to work on our reports.

“What do you think is going on with Sam and Megan?” Dominic asked.

“What do you mean?”

Dominic shrugged. “They took a week off together last week and they’re headed to New York next week. And there’s all this whispering…do you think they’re working on Peter’s case without us?”

“I doubt it. It’s probably just about the holidays.”

“True. I keep forgetting they’re coming up, but then I go home and it looks like a Christmas elf exploded all over my little apartment. Christmas is a thing for Amy.”

“Yeah? Are you going up to Denton to spend the holiday with her parents?”

“Probably. What about you? Going home, too?”

If I had a home to go to.

“Probably.”

I sat at one of the desks in the bullpen—the wide, open room where the girls who monitored the security systems we installed worked at their computers—and pulled up a blank document to write out my report on last night’s sting. I found myself having trouble concentrating, though, because I was sitting in clear view of Sam’s desk and Sam wasn’t there. I could count on one hand how many times she wasn’t there.

Where had she gone? And what did that damn note mean?

I was halfway through the report when she finally breezed in, dressed as usual in a long, black skirt, a white blouse, and a delicate pink sweater. She blew right past me, as if I weren’t there, marching to Megan’s office. I sat back, straining to hear what they were saying, but all I caught was Sam saying she was back and Megan asking how it’d gone. Then Sam went into Megan’s office and closed the door.

“Better finish that report, brother,” Dominic said, throwing a balled up piece of paper at the back of my head.

“Knock it off,” I said, tossing it back at him. “We’re not in preschool.”

I got up and strode off down the long hall past Sam’s desk, slipping into the small room we used as a break room. I poured myself a cup of strong coffee, taking my time stirring a little cream and sugar into it.

“I thought manly men took their coffee black.”

Sam moved up beside me, pushing against me as she reached for the coffee pot.

“Where were you this morning?”

She shrugged. “I had a meeting.”

“I thought you’d be there when I woke.”

Her blush was deep enough that I could almost feel heat coming off of it. “Did you find my note?”

“Yeah. But I have no idea what it means.”

She glanced up at me. “Last night was—”

“Fantastic.”

She nodded, her eyes bright before they fell to the floor. “But it can’t happen again.”

“Why not?”

“Because…”

She picked up her mug and started to walk around me. I stepped back into her path, blocking her way to the door.

“That’s not a good enough answer.”

“We work together, Hayden.”

“So?”

“And I…I just, I can’t.”

“Why?”

She looked up at me and I swear there were tears in her eyes before she blinked. She stepped back a little, putting more space between us.

“Dragon Security is important to me, Hayden. I can’t screw it up.”

She walked a wide circle around me so that I couldn’t touch her before she left the room. I just watched her go, a ball of emotion growing in my chest until I had to let it out somehow. I slammed my fist on the corner of the counter, watching my coffee cup jump and spill half its contents.

What was it about that woman that I never knew what to say or do when I was around her?

“You look like you need a drink,” Vincent said, shoving a beer across the bar at me.

“Thanks.”

“I thought you guys had a successful sting yesterday.”

“We did,” Dominic helpfully announced. “But he’s been going around like he got his pecker caught in his zipper all day.”

Vincent paled a little at that image.

I shook my head. “I think I’ve been in a great mood.”

“Yeah, if moping around and nursing bruised knuckles is a great mood.” Dominic gestured toward my hands. “How’d that happen, anyway?”

I looked down at my hands. “That Rita chick got a little too frisky. Had to put her in her place.”

“Sure.” Dominic laughed. “I saw that footage already. She was pretty ripe, but looked like she left fairly easily.”

“Have you gone over yesterday’s footage?”

“Most of it.”

I lifted the beer and took a healthy gulp. I could feel Dominic watching me.

“Anything on it I won’t want to see?”

I shrugged. “You turned them off after you left the van, right?”

“No. Not till I got back to the office.”

I glanced at him. He frowned, but he didn’t say anything.

“Are we here to drink, or what?” Vincent suddenly asked. “I could be home with Quinn and Olivia right now.”

“What is it about women?” I suddenly asked. “The two of you have someone waiting for you at home. Did they ever play games with you?”

“What do you mean?” Vincent asked.

“I mean, did Quinn ever push you away? Did she ever try to pretend that what was happening between you wasn’t happening?”

Dominic leaned over the bar toward me. “Are you and Sam…?”

I looked up at him and he started to laugh.

“Man, you’re walking into trouble. Anyone who comes between Sam and Megan better look out.”

“I’m not trying to come between them.”

“Yeah, well—”

“What about Dante?” Vincent asked. “He and Megan are together, aren’t they?”