Ansley didn’t usually like to talk about her parents, mostly because she never knew them. Since Roan had introduced her to his family she figured she might as well tell him why he would never be in a position to meet hers. “I don’t have any family.”
“How old were you when you lost your parents?”
She took a deep breath. “As far as I know, both my parents are alive and well.”
Roan gave her a confused look. “I don’t understand.”
“Both my parents were teenagers when I was born. They both chose to give me up for adoption shortly after my birth. They also signed papers that they didn’t want me to have any contact with them once I reached my maturity.”
“What about adoptive parents?”
She shook her head. “I grew up in an orphanage.”
Roan’s hand shifted from her hair to the upper part of her arm. He rubbed it with comforting strokes. “So you basically have been alone all your life?”
“You could say that.”
He gathered her close and put her on his lap. “Well, you don’t have to be alone anymore.” Roan nuzzled the side of her neck.
Ansley shivered when he pressed feather light kisses against her skin. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “We talked about me, now it’s your turn. Are you finally going to tell me what you wanted to say, or do I have to force it out of you?” Roan pushed her off him so fast Ansley ended up on the couch in an undignified heap. “What did you do that for?”
He ignored her question, stood and turned to face her. “Why don’t you pack some more clothes, then I’ll take you out for some coffee or something before we head back to my place.”
Given Roan’s reaction, Ansley got the distinct impression he now wanted to avoid this talk he had wanted to have with her. She had no idea why, but she decided not to press the issue. She sat up on the couch and looked at Roan. “You want me to stay over at your place again?”
He gave her a sexy smile. “Of course I do. Actually why don’t you pack enough clothes for the week?”
“Are you sure, Roan? Not that I’m complaining, but don’t you think you’re taking things a little fast? The last boyfriend I had, we didn’t reach the stage of staying overnight at each other’s places until we had dated for a month.”
Roan picked her off the couch and kissed her until her toes curled. He pulled back and crushed her to him. “Let’s get one thing straight here. I’m not like your other boyfriend. I’m much more than just a boyfriend. Never forget that.” He kissed her breathless again. “Go pack your clothes. I’ll wait out here for you.”
He slowly let her slide down his body until she stood on her feet. Ansley tried to slow her rapidly beating heart as she went to her bedroom to pack. If Roan wanted her to stay at his place for the week, she would stay for the week. She just prayed to God that during that time she didn’t do or say something to screw it up.
Chapter Eight
The next morning, Ansley woke up at seven o’clock on the dot, a particular talent of hers. She never needed an alarm clock. Somehow, no matter the time, she managed to wake up when she needed to be awake. Quietly, not wanting to awaken Roan who snored softly as he slept next to her, Ansley slipped out of bed. She grabbed her suitcase and brought it with her as she softly closed the en suite bathroom door behind her. In a matter of minutes, she washed her face, brushed her teeth and hair, and got dressed. Normally she would have taken a shower before heading into work, but she really didn’t have time for it. She had a longer drive to get to work this morning than she normally would.
Slipping back out into the bedroom, she collected her purse and tiptoed across the room to the closed door. Roan slept on. Ansley smiled and blew him a silent kiss. She would let him sleep. He had earned it. They hadn’t really slept much during the night. At least one of them should be able to sleep in.
Ansley closed the bedroom door slowly behind her, then tiptoed down the stairs not wanting to wake the other occupants of the house. At the front door, she unlocked the deadbolt and the lock in the doorknob. After she opened the door, she turned the lock on the doorknob so it would lock behind her. The deadbolt she wouldn’t be able to lock again since she didn’t have the key, but figured the one lock would be good enough. Thankful her car hadn’t been parked in the large garage, she started her car and headed out to the street. Ansley had only been on the road for ten minutes when she started to feel as if she missed Roan. She ignored the feeling and turned on her car stereo. The music helped distract her, but the need to be with Roan seemed to persist. Ansley told herself that she was being ridiculous. She’d just left Roan. How could she be missing him already? And it wasn’t as if she wouldn’t see him again. She planned to do her shift at work and then head back to his place afterwards.
By the time Ansley reached the salon, she felt as if a whole year had passed since she had last been with Roan. It just didn’t make any sense. The real need to be with him, to touch him, to kiss him, threatened to override everything else. Her body ached for his. Turning off the car, Ansley gave herself a shake. “Get over it.” Had she become so obsessed with Roan that he had become the center of her universe? She hoped the hell not. If she didn’t stop it, she would end up more than devastated if he were to change his mind about how he felt about her and left. She would probably end up turning into his stalker, begging him to take her back. Not something Ansley ever wanted to see herself doing. She walked into the salon and hoped the inner turmoil she felt didn’t show on the outside.
Sherry was the first person to see Ansley. She followed her back to her chair. “So? How was Mr. Tall and Muscular?”
Ansley put her purse away then turned to Sherry. “Who?”
“Oh, come on, Ansley. You know exactly who I meant. So how was he in bed?”
“Who says we slept together?”
Sherry gave her a stare that silently asked Ansley, What do you take me for? “Sure you didn’t sleep together,” she said sarcastically. “Give me a break. That hunk of a man did not come in here, kiss you senseless, then carry you away over his shoulder just to say hello. I bet he screwed your brains out.”
Ansley’s lips twitched. “You do have a way with words, Sherry.”
“That’s why we get along so well.”
“So true,” she said with a laugh.
“Well? I’m waiting.”
“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“Nope. I want all the juicy details.”
“I don’t know about juicy details, but I will say Roan has the stamina of three men and knows how to use it.” Boy, did he know how to use it. Ansley didn’t think she could orgasm so many times until she slept with Roan. Thinking of how he had used his hard cock along with his mouth to make her come over and over again intensified the need to be with him. Ansley roughly pushed those thoughts aside before she completely lost it. Sherry groaned. “It figures he would be a god in bed. I have only one piece of advice for you—don’t let him go. Men like that, they are damn hard to come by.”
Ansley smiled. “Oh, believe me I have no plans to let Roan go any time soon.”
“Good.” Sherry looked over at the front desk where a client stood waiting. “I’d better get back to the front. We’ll have to continue our talk about your new boyfriend later. I’ll have to see if I can get more details out of you.” She gave Ansley a wink before she left her.
The client turned out to be Ansley’s first client of the day. As she washed the woman’s hair, her thoughts wandered to Roan once again. Her need for him seemed to get stronger as time went by. Ansley didn’t know how much more of this she could take. Determined not to let it get the better of her, she clamped down on it and tried to ignore it the best she could.
* * *
Roan came awake with a start. Something wasn’t right. All his senses went on alert. He quickly scanned the room. Nothing seemed to be amiss that he could see. What had caused him to wake up? He reached for Ansley and found the spot next to him empty. He s
at up. The sheets felt cool to the touch.
Throwing back the covers, Roan’s eyes fell on Ansley’s suitcase that sat on the floor close to the bathroom door. He relaxed slightly when he saw it, but the feeling of wrongness didn’t go away. He stood up with his hands on his hips and tried to sort out what exactly he felt. It then hit him like a ton of bricks. He quickly pulled on a pair of jeans while he swore up a storm. He hoped Ansley hadn’t done what he thought she had, but what he felt inside said she had done exactly that. Roan pounded down the stairs and headed for the kitchen just on the off chance Ansley would be there. Instead, he found Eli and Saskia sitting at the table sipping on coffee. It was still early enough that the others hadn’t gotten their asses out of bed yet.
“Did you see her?”
Saskia answered without having to be told who he referred to. “No, we haven’t seen anyone this morning but you.”
“Damn it.”
Roan ran his hand agitatedly through his hair. Now that he had claimed Ansley as his mate, being separated from each other were going to play hell with them. Roan had known it would be bad, but he hadn’t known it would cause this driving need to be with his mate.
He turned and hurried to the front door. Not surprisingly, he found the deadbolt unlocked. He stepped out only far enough to see Ansley’s car no longer sat parked in front of the garage. Roan stormed back inside and almost collided with Saskia and Eli. Saskia crossed her arms over her chest and stood to block his path. “You didn’t tell her she was your mate, did you?”
“No, I didn’t.” Saskia arched a brow at him. “I chickened out. Okay? I was waiting for the right time to tell Ansley everything.” He barely managed to bite back a growl.
“Fuck. How did you and Eli survive this? And why the hell did you run from him in the first place if this was what you would have to go through? I either want to climb the walls or punch something.”
“Don’t bring me into this. This is all your doing. You could have avoided this if you had told Ansley right from the start. I’m sure she is suffering just like you. But unlike you, she has no idea why. Do you know where she would have gone?”
This time Roan didn’t hold back the growl that built inside his chest. It wasn’t directed at his sister though. He totally directed it at himself. Saskia was right. Ansley had to be suffering, and probably wondered what was wrong with her. “She mentioned yesterday that she had to work today. We got involved doing other things and it slipped my mind.”
Eli laughed. “I’m sure it did. I know how self-involved Saskia and I were in the beginning.” He then grunted when Saskia’s elbow connected with his ribs. “Hey, it’s true.”
“Don’t encourage him,” she chastised her mate. “Well, Roan. You’d better go and fix this before it gets much worse. And for God’s sake tell Ansley the truth. She deserves that much from you.”
Moving faster than any mortal could, Roan ran up to his bedroom and finished getting dressed. A few minutes later, he was out the door and raced to his car. The drive back to San Francisco seemed to stretch his nerves to almost breaking point. Once he crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, he knew he was in trouble. The closer he got to Ansley the harder his cock became. He knew what would happen when he saw her again. He would be inside her in a matter of minutes, and Ansley would be just as needy as he. Roan just hoped he could get them somewhere private before he tried to rip her clothes off.
At first glance, the parking lot behind the hair salon seemed full, but Roan managed to slip into the last empty space when he found it. This did not bode well for privacy. He gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white and took some deep breaths. It helped a little, but not by much. He finally got out of the car and made his way to the salon.
Roan yanked open the door and headed straight for Ansley. She looked to be in just as bad shape. Her hair looked mussed as if she had run her hands through it repeatedly. He spared only a glance at her chair to see no one sat there. He didn’t stop until he stood in front of her. Roan could smell her arousal with each breath he took, which caused his to ratchet even higher. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Washroom. Now.”
Ansley quickly spun on her heel and headed to the very back of the salon. Roan followed her into the small washroom, shut the door and locked it behind them. She threw herself into his arms a second later, her lips seeking his. She pulled up his shirt and undid his jeans. He groaned when her hand wrapped around his aching cock. Knowing he would have to make this quick, and quiet if at all possible, he undid her jeans and shoved them roughly down her hips, taking her panties with them. Roan lifted her off her feet once her jeans cleared her legs. Ansley wrapped her legs around his waist as he pressed her back against one of the walls. Pushing his jeans down only far enough to free his cock, he positioned himself between her legs and sank into her wet pussy with one thrust. Ansley moaned into his mouth.
The feel of her warm wetness closing around his shaft made Roan want to growl, but he kept his mouth sealed to hers. He reared back then slammed into her. Ansley tried to pull her mouth away. Roan didn’t let her, knowing full well any sounds they made would alert everyone out in the salon to what was happening inside the washroom. Cupping her bottom in his hands, he raised and lowered her on his cock. He plunged in and out of her body at a fast pace. Ansley dug her fingernails into the tops of his shoulders and squeezed his shaft with her strong inner muscles. Roan pumped his hips once, twice, and then they both came at the same time. Moaning into each others’
mouths, Ansley’s pussy milked his cock in a tight fist as he came deep inside her. Once they could breathe normally again, Roan pulled his still hard cock out of Ansley and let her stand on her feet. She leaned against him for a few seconds before she bent down to retrieve her panties and jeans.
“Roan, what was wrong with me? Whatever it was, it’s gone now. You had to have felt it too, because you were desperate for me as I was for you.”
He shoved his cock back inside his jeans and zipped them up while Ansley dressed.
“Not here. Do you think they’ll let you leave?”
“I don’t know. Gail, the owner, is already in. She’s probably not impressed that I’m in here with you. She’s kind of a hard woman to get along with.”
“Tell her you have to leave, that an emergency came up. All I know is I can’t stay here all day with you.”
“Then go back home and I’ll meet you there when my shift is over.”
Roan ran his hand through his hair. “And go through what we just went through again? No fucking way.”
Ansley’s brows drew together. “Being apart is what caused this? Whatever it is?”
He placed his hand over her left breast. “We’re a part of each other now, babe. Neither one of us will be able to stand being separated for long periods of time. The longer the time apart the worse it will get. Now, go talk to your boss so we can get the hell out of here.”
* * *
More confused than anything, Ansley left the washroom with Roan at her heels. All heads in the salon seemed to turn their way. She ignored the stares. She made her way over to the front counter where Gail stood. The older lady watched her with a scowl on her face. Ansley could tell Gail was already pissed off with her, and figured her boss wouldn’t be inclined to let her go early.
Ansley took a deep breath. Roan came to stand at her back. “Gail, I need to leave. A bit of an emergency came up.”
Her boss looked from Ansley then to Roan, and back to Ansley again. “An emergency, huh? I think the emergency is standing behind you. You left early the other day because of him.”
“I really do need to take the rest of the day off.”
Gail sneered. “I don’t pay my employees to take time off whenever they want. You leave now, don’t bother coming back. There are plenty of other hair stylists that would be more than happy to take your chair.”
Before Ansley could say anything else, Roan said from behind her, “Then Ansley quits. She doesn’t need this job a
nymore. We’ll be by tomorrow to pick up her final paycheck.”
Roan would have led her away then, but Ansley refused to budge. “I can’t quit, Roan. I need this job to pay my rent and bills.”
He brushed a quick kiss against her lips. “No, you don’t. I have more than enough money to look after the both of us.”
Shocked speechless, Ansley let him walk her away a few steps before she found her voice again. “Wait, Roan. My stuff. I’m not leaving it behind, or my purse.”
Roan changed direction and headed for her chair. Ansley collected her purse then looked around for something to put her hairdryer, curling iron and the rest of the tools of her trade that she owned in. She turned to find Sherry standing beside her with an empty box in her hands. “Thanks.”
Sherry smiled. “No problem. Just make sure you call me.”
Ansley didn’t have many friends, but she considered Sherry one of her closest. “I’ll do that.”
Roan took the box out of her hands and started shoving her things into it. In a matter of seconds they had put all her belongings in the box and were walking out the door. Ansley looked back one final time and met Sherry’s gaze. Her friend waved then silently mouthed for her to call her. Ansley only had enough time to wave back before Roan pulled her out the door.
Chapter Nine
Ansley sat in Roan’s Lexus as she watched the large privacy gates swing open. Roan had only let her take her car back to her apartment before he ushered her into his. When she asked where they were going, he had only told her he was taking her to see Roxie. Ansley had no idea what the connection between what had happened between Roan and she had to do with Roxie, but she decided to wait and see what Roan had planned. Once the gates opened all the way, Roan drove past them and up the long drive to the large mansion. She hadn’t known where Roxie lived. Even though Roxie had been coming to her for the last couple of years, Ansley really didn’t know much about her. So it came as a bit of a surprise to learn Roxie lived in a large house the same as Roan and his family did. It also made Ansley feel like the odd man out. Roan parked the car at the top of the drive and got out. Ansley got out on her side and came around the front of the car to meet him. He took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze before he led her up to the front door. He rang the doorbell, then stepped back to wait for someone to answer it.
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