But most of all, he wanted a future with her. The thought of not having her in his life after he fulfilled his end of the bargain next weekend at the charity event was something he didn’t even want to consider, and he had that long to convince her that his feelings for her were the real deal. Not an easy feat when he knew how closely she guarded her heart and emotions because of her insecurities that went much deeper than just her body issues.
But right now, before they each went to work for the day, he intended to make sure there was no doubt in her mind just how much he desired her. If that’s what he had to build on to show her how much he cared, then that was where he’d start.
As quietly and easily as he could so he didn’t wake Hailey yet, he reached over to the nightstand, where there were a few foil packs left unused, and he rolled a condom down his thick shaft. She was lying on her side, the covers tucked beneath her arm, and he gently tugged the comforter and sheet down her body. He almost laughed when she didn’t so much as stir. Clearly, he’d exhausted her last night.
It was still fairly dark in his room, and even though his eyes had already adjusted, he knew she’d appreciate the obscurity, and in this instance, he was happy to provide it. Settling on his side behind her again, he trailed his fingers lightly along the indentation of her waist and up the slope of her hip, loving the silky feel of her skin. She sighed, and he continued his exploration. Her top leg was angled away from the bottom one, enabling him to easily glide his fingers through that warm junction between.
She was soft and dewy and inviting, and as he pushed two fingers through her flesh and circled her clit, her hips pushed back against his hand.
Grinning at her response, he buried his face against her neck and hair, inhaling the musky scent of himself on her, along with a touch of everything that made her feminine. It was a fucking heady combination and sent another surge of blood to his excruciatingly stiff cock.
“Hailey,” he murmured softly in her ear, gently coaxing her awake with an arousing stroke, not wanting to take her until she was completely aware of what was happening.
Her body stirred a little more, and when he eased two long fingers inside her and deliberately massaged that sensitive patch of flesh just inside her channel, her sensual gasp and the fluttering of her lashes as she opened her eyes told him she was definitely coming around.
“Morning, sweet girl,” he said huskily as he trailed kisses along her smooth shoulder while fucking her with his fingers and getting her ready to accept his aching cock.
“Ummm,” she hummed, trying to turn around until he stopped her. “I thought I was dreaming.”
He chuckled, the sound low and sexy in the dark. “You always have these kinds of erotic dreams?”
“Mostly since meeting you,” she admitted, and moaned when he pressed his fingers deeper before dragging them back out to play with her clit. “What time is it?”
He rubbed his stubbled cheek against hers, even knowing she’d most likely end up with beard burn. He liked the idea of marking her. “Almost five thirty, which means I have thirty minutes to introduce you to sleepy morning sex. The perfect way to start a day, in my opinion. And the best part? You get to relax and I’ll do all the work, and you’ll get an orgasm out of it, too.”
“How do you want me?”
“Every fucking way I can have you,” he answered automatically, and meant it in more ways that just this physical act. “But right now, I’ll take you just like this. Put your legs together and bend your knees forward so they’re slightly raised, then tilt your ass back toward me.”
She did as he asked, and as soon as she was in position, he aligned himself along her backside, pressing the head of his dick between her damp petals of flesh that parted as he eased into her from behind. He pushed into her slowly, languidly, filling her up until he was as deep as he could go.
He clasped her hip with one of his hands to keep her from moving. He brought the other around Hailey and gently circled his fingers around her throat right below her chin, then tipped her head back and held it in place so his mouth was at her ear and he was in control. Last night, during their first time together, he’d discovered that Hailey enjoyed when he was more aggressive, more dominant, and her soft moan of acquiescence and the sweet clenching of her pussy around his cock right now told him that she was totally turned on.
He kissed her jaw and rocked his hips against hers, his shaft gliding out to the tip, then all the way back inside the tight clasp of her body again. The slick heat surrounding him, hugging him, felt like motherfucking heaven. Slow and steady, he moved, gradually building momentum, and judging by her soft gasps and low, delirious moans, he knew she was getting close, too.
“Touch yourself,” he ordered gruffly, needing to feel her inner muscles squeezing his dick. “Make yourself come.”
His sweet, dirty girl obeyed, her hand delving between her thighs, her fingers touching, stroking, faster and faster, matching her rapidly increasing panting breaths. And every time she came into contact with his shaft, that fleeting touch made him a little hotter, a little wilder, a whole lot crazier.
“Max,” she groaned. The frantic sound of his name on her lips and the way she was pushing her ass back against his hips to take him harder, faster, let him know she was on the cusp, as he was.
Her mouth fell open on a soft cry of pleasure, and she began to shake with the intensity of her climax, while deep inside her body, that rippling sensation enveloped his cock, gripping the length like a tight fist, those internal spasms sending him over the edge with her. A growl tore from his throat as his orgasm blasted through him. He gripped her hip so hard to keep her steady while he drove into her, again and again, that he hoped to God his fingers didn’t leave bruises.
When they were both spent and finally coming down from the adrenaline rush, he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and reluctantly pulled out of her. He went into the bathroom, took care of the condom, and cleaned up, and when he returned, she had the sheet pulled up to her chest. After what she’d just given him, he didn’t say a word. It was enough, for now, that she wasn’t wearing anything at all.
“I need to get up,” she said, her warm, dark eyes all over his body, which he didn’t mind a bit. “And you’re going to have to drive me back home.”
“I will. But first I need a few minutes to recover, and then I’m making you breakfast before I take you back,” he said as he slid into bed beside her again.
She ran a self-conscious hand through her tousled hair. “You don’t have to do that.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, I know that. I want to, so let me, because it will make me very happy to feed you and know that you’re going to work with a full stomach.”
He pulled her into his arms and was grateful when she didn’t resist and snuggled into his side, her soft, warm body pressing against his. They had a few minutes yet before they really needed to be up and moving, and he wasn’t sure when he was going to see her next.
“What’s your week like?” he asked, thinking and planning ahead.
She lifted her head from his shoulder, her complexion a rosy pink from her most recent orgasm. “It’s pretty busy. I have a few matchmaking receptions this week in the evenings, four client interviews, and a whole lot of packing to do for the move, both at the office and at home. And you and I have the charity carnival this coming weekend on Saturday.”
“I’m looking forward to it. In fact, I meant to tell you that I had Olivia look up Maureen to make a donation to the Mercy Home for Boys & Girls on behalf of Premier Realty.”
She smiled at him, her fingers absently sliding down to his abdomen, then back up to his chest, as if she enjoyed just touching him. “Thank you. I’m sure she appreciated that.”
She had, and he’d been happy to contribute to a worthy cause. “I was also able to get the guys at the office, and Natalie, to donate their time to help out at the carnival on Saturday. Maureen was thrilled to have the extra help.”
Hailey laughed
, her blue eyes sparkling. “More like she saw the opportunity to have some hot guys without shirts to sit in the dunking booth so the wealthy ladies will open up their wallets to buy some balls.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, my God, that totally sounded dirty.”
He chuckled as he pushed his fingers into her hair and gently massaged her scalp. “Yeah, it did. But just for the record, if I’m sitting up on that dunk tank bench, my balls will remain intact, thank you very much.”
They both had a busy week, but after last night with Hailey and this morning’s revelation, he was determined to make the most of any time he could get with her.
Chapter Eleven
Hailey shamelessly watched as Max stripped off his T-shirt, the sun gleaming off of his smooth skin as he revealed his toned chest and the muscled abs that were going to have the women at the carnival raking over cash for a chance to ogle his hot, sexy body before trying to dunk him. Wes, Kyle, and Connor followed suit, until all four of them were standing next to each other in just their jeans, looking like a lineup of gorgeous Chippendale dancers.
“Oh, my God,” Brielle muttered beneath her breath so only Hailey could hear. “If I make a donation, can I touch? Maybe lick a little?”
Hailey laughed, though she completely understood her friend’s lustful fascination with the men, because all four of them were prime male specimens with amazingly fit bodies. “You can look all you want for free, but no touching, and definitely no licking.”
Brielle folded her arms over her chest and feigned a pout. “Killjoy.”
While Natalie collected all of their T-shirts, Connor shifted uncomfortably on his feet and glared at Max. “When I agreed to help out today at this carnival, this is not what I had in mind, bro. So not cool.”
“Suck it up, Connor,” Natalie said to her brother, grinning. “Women are objectified all the time.”
Hailey glanced at Max, who had his arms crossed over his chest, which only served to accentuate his broad shoulders and firm biceps. “I did warn you that Maureen was going to put you guys on rotation over at the dunking booth.” Maureen had taken one look at them and her eyes had lit up. She’d immediately pointed them in the direction of the tanks and dubbed the game “Dunk a Hunk.”
“The things we do in the name of charity,” Kyle said with a grin that told her he didn’t mind being half-naked in the least. Not if it got him extra female attention. Not only was he good-looking but the fact that he had a sleeve of tattoos on his muscled arm would definitely attract women, too.
Maureen came by at that moment with a clipboard in hand, the lanyard around her neck letting everyone know that she was the coordinator for today’s charity carnival. She was about the same age as Max’s mother, but that didn’t stop the other woman from blatantly staring at their chests.
“My goodness,” she said, fanning herself with her clipboard. “I know it’s a beautiful spring day, but you four are definitely turning up the heat today.”
“We’re happy to be here and help raise money for the charity any way we can,” Max said, charming the pants off Maureen with his comment and his mega-watt smile.
Maureen leaned toward Hailey and said in a low voice, “That man of yours is absolutely swoon-worthy.”
Hailey silently agreed, and for the next few days, he was hers.
This past week they’d only seen each other sporadically because of their schedules, and the two times they’d had dinner together at his place, she’d tried to bring up the conversation of how this fake engagement was going to end and when. Both times he’d managed to distract her with a kiss that led to the most amazing sex she’d ever had. God, the things that man could do with his hands and mouth were sinful, and he always left her in an orgasm-induced coma for hours afterward . . . with no time to have a serious discussion between them.
But the truth was, as much they were both enjoying this engagement with benefits, from the very beginning, there had been an unspoken end date. The charade couldn’t go on forever. And really, after the confrontation with Addison at his parents’ house that made it clear Hailey wasn’t Max’s usual type, she’d known the end was coming.
Add in the fact that Max’s mother and sister, and Max himself, had claimed he was a confirmed bachelor, and that merely supported he wasn’t looking for anything serious or long term. Once he was put on display today for Maureen’s benefit, and after he kept Hailey’s credibility intact, the agreement would have served its purpose for both of them.
They could announce a mutual and amicable breakup as soon as next week. She needed to let him know and stick to that decision, because she was beginning to realize that she couldn’t keep seeing Max and sleeping with him and pretending all those wonderful feelings were for real. Because for her, their make-believe feelings were no longer an act, something she’d come to acknowledge over the past few days. She’d always been attracted to Max and had spent the past three and a half months getting to know him and the past few weeks falling in love with him.
For the first time in her life, she was in love with a man, and while she wished she could celebrate the emotion and embrace it, she was instead bracing herself for heartache, because their time had, indeed, come to an end. No matter how painful it was going to be to let Max go and revert to being just friends, she knew it was for the best.
She managed to put on a smile for Maureen’s benefit. “So, where do you need us girls?”
“I’m going to put you over there in that booth,” Maureen said, indicating a covered area with sweets already on display. “You’ll be selling the homemade caramel apples, cotton candy, kettle corn, and wine coolers for adults wearing a red wristband. And you’ll also have a great view of your men in the dunk tank,” she added with a wink.
Yes, at least they’d have fun watching the guys get soaked. Their section of the carnival was catered more toward the twenty-one-and-older crowd, with adult Twister, wine tasting for a fee, a beer garden, and an area that was roped off for those who wanted to play black jack, poker, or roulette. There were also various vendors selling their wares and food trucks offering different fare.
Maureen checked off a few things on the list attached to her clipboard. “You all have the ten-to-two shift, then I have another group coming in to take over, and you’re free to enjoy the carnival yourselves for the rest of the afternoon. I’ll check in with you a little while later,” she said, then moved on to talk to the volunteers running the casino games.
“I guess I’ll see you in a little bit,” Max said as he came up to Hailey and kissed her softly on the lips, for Maureen’s benefit, no doubt. But when he lifted his head, his gaze was warm and smiling. “By the way, have I told you how pretty you look today?”
She’d dressed comfortably in a white eyelet blouse and jean capris and flats—nothing that truly warranted that heart-stopping look in his eyes, yet she did feel breathless. God, she was going to miss this, how he made her feel so beautiful and happy just to be with him.
“Yes,” she managed to say. “When you picked me up earlier.”
“Well, it bears repeating, sweet girl,” he murmured, for her ears only as he tugged playfully on the tail end of the thick side braid that came over her shoulder and rested right above her breast. “I like what you did with your hair, too. It’s kinda fun to pull on the end,” he teased huskily.
“What are you, in second grade?” Wes joked, coming up beside Max. “Gotta tug the pretty girl’s braid to let her know you like her?”
Max chuckled and let go of her hair. “Yeah, something like that.”
“Well, save the hair pulling for later, kids.” Wes hooked his finger toward the tanks. “We’ve got work to do and money to make for charity.”
Everyone went to their designated posts, and as soon as Hailey and the two other women arrived at their booth, Natalie claimed the cotton candy machine and Brielle went for the kettle corn, which left Hailey with the caramel apples.
Within the next half an hour, the area was teeming with people, and t
he three of them were so busy they were only able to watch the guys in the dunk tank at occasional lulls. But there always seemed to be a continuous line, mostly young women wanting to claim bragging rights for dunking a hunk, which wasn’t easy to do, Hailey realized as she watched many of the softballs soar right over the bull’s-eye arm. At a dollar a throw, the guys were making bank for the charity.
A while later, Max’s mom and dad came up to the booth, a pleasant surprise for Hailey since she genuinely liked them both. After issuing the invitation last week at the barbeque to Grace and Kristen, she hadn’t been sure if they really would come by, but she was glad they did. Hailey was currently the only one without customers—it seemed that the kettle corn and cotton candy were more popular than the caramel apples—but that enabled Grace and her husband to walk right up to her counter.
Grace greeted her with a warm smile. “It’s so good to see you again, Hailey,” she said, leaning over the table to give her a hug. “I see that Max and the boys are making excellent use of their good looks and charm over at the dunk tanks.”
Hailey laughed. “Yes, they are. The line has been nonstop over there, though they haven’t been dunked a whole lot of times. But the women are certainly trying their best.”
Douglas glanced across the way to where the boys were, then back again. “It’s getting a little warm out. I think I’ll go over there and make sure they cool off while Grace gets us each a wine cooler.” He winked at Hailey, then sauntered off in their direction.
Hailey withdrew two chilled bottles from the tub of ice behind her, then set them on the counter in front of Grace as she withdrew the money from her wallet to pay. “Thank you so much for coming today,” she said, appreciating their support for the charity.
“Of course, dear,” Max’s mom said, the affection in her voice evident. “You’re part of the family, and anything that’s important to you is important to us.”
The Book Boyfriend Series Box Set Page 31
