by Tiffani Lynn
Hudson doesn’t bend. “Wade put me in charge of keeping her safe until he gets here. I don’t fu—screw around.”
“This is kind of inconvenient,” Maggie tells him, tapping her toe, perturbed.
Hudson’s head tilts to the side like he’s sizing her up. “I realize not being able to stand outside and sweat your ass off is inconvenient, but we’re talking the safety of your friend.”
“No one has ever even approached her,” she complains.
So glad my safety is a concern of hers.
“Not that you know of. I guarantee he’s had some kind of contact with her; she just didn’t realize who it was. Guys that do shit like this are usually smart enough not to break into a hotel room and leave a full DNA sample behind, but once they get sloppy like this you can be sure shit’s about to get ugly. So, if it’s too big of a bother,” the sarcasm is dripping from his voice, “to keep your friend safe, you can go out and wait for the car outside. Ms. Arden will remain with me inside until I can escort her straight to the vehicle.”
Maggie huffs and stomps outside without another word. Why is she so bent out of shape? It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to wait inside the doors until the car arrives.
“Your friend’s kind of a bitch, babe,” he remarks.
“She’s another actress. We haven’t spent much time together, she’s a new friend, maybe not even that, with her blatant disregard for my safety. Even if I think you’re going a little overboard.”
Hudson doesn’t say anything. His eyes scan the crowd in the lobby, the elevator area, the front desk and the people coming and going. I don’t think anything could make it into this area without him spotting it. With the number of people in this place, I’m thankful he’s here because for the first time since this started I’m feeling nervous and vulnerable. This whole thing seems surreal.
“Thank you for postponing your trip to be here. I appreciate it. I know you’re doing this for Mike, but I just wanted you to know I’m grateful.”
“No problem.” A man of few words. I smile to myself as we wait.
Chapter Three: Mike
The only time I’ve ever been this impatient is when my sister came home from deployment to find out her husband left her, also taking my niece with him. Because of a layover in Dallas, it took me eight hours to get to my distraught sister in Colorado. I was like a caged, agitated lion, and the feeling is just as strong now.
Hudson texted 20 minutes ago and said they were back at the hotel after filming. He was standing guard outside room 233—her new room—because she was showering and getting dressed. There were no incidents while she was on set and her room was fine when they returned, which could be because I had the hotel staff put her in a room under my name and credit card. I don’t want to make it too easy for anyone who’s targeting her.
Leaving the elevator, I turn left and spot Hudson leaning against the wall, eyes on me. His stance is casual, he’s in his cargo shorts and T-shirt like he’s waiting on a friend, not guarding her life.
“Hey, man. Thanks for helping me out. How is she?”
“She’s shaken up, but better since we came back to no issues with her room.”
“Do you have any thoughts on this? Did she say anything more that gave you any ideas of what this might be about?”
“No, she had no idea. But it’s not hard to understand why she’s a target. She’s smokin’ hot and sweet as pie. Past that, the reason is nothing other than there are sick fucks out there who get off on scaring people like her. Police collected the evidence and took her statement. Unless this dude is on one of the video cameras or his DNA is already in the system, they won’t be able to do much and she’s freaked.”
“That’s part of the reason I wanted you here, to let her know someone has her back. You can cut out now. I’ll knock and let her know I’m here.”
After we shake hands Hudson turns on his heel and saunters toward the elevator as I knock on the door. “M, it’s me, let me in.” After a couple of seconds, I can hear the locks flip and then the door is open and she’s in my arms. This is déjà vu, my sister did the same thing when I got to Colorado. Keeping my arms tight around her I back her into her room and lock the door behind us. Muffled sobs are absorbed by my chest as I continue to hold her. My heart aches at the sadness and fear I know she’s feeling and I’ll do anything to take that away.
“M, look at me, sweetheart.” Her sniffles are quieter when she leans back. The slightly upturned nose that I think is so damn cute is red, along with her eyes, setting off the sapphire color so it shines brighter.
“I’m so sc-sc-scared,” she sobs and drops her head to my chest again.
“I know, but you don’t have to be. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“I know you have to go back to work in a couple of days. What will I do then?”
“I don’t know, but I won’t leave you unprotected. Trust me, please.”
“Okay.” Her acceptance is quiet.
“For tonight we’re eating here in the room until I get more information and decide what to do. I don’t want any extra exposure for you.”
The rest of the evening is spent catching up. It’s only been a few weeks since we saw each other but there’s still plenty to talk about. When it’s time for bed I reach into the closet and grab a pillow and blanket with the intention of sleeping on the couch in the suite portion of the room. I don’t want to sleep that far from her, but we’ve been careful to keep our relationship “friends-only” since our sinful weekend.
“Put that away, Michael Wade, and get your butt in here,” Summer barks from the doorway to her room. When I turn to her, I scan her from head to toe. My midnight angel is wearing an oversized white T-shirt with the name of a Tampa brewery that looks oddly familiar stitched in blue. Her shiny blond hair hangs loose past her shoulders. Her tanned, toned arms and legs are visible and tempting me in a way I shouldn’t even be thinking about right now.
“Really?” I can’t help but smile at her. I wasn’t about to assume I was sleeping in the bed with her.
I shove the stuff back on the shelf in the closet and follow her retreating form into the dark room. I didn’t realize it was possible to be that gorgeous in a freaking T-shirt, but it obviously is.
I lie down on my back and pull the blanket up to my waist. I hear her gulp the water that was sitting on the nightstand and then I feel the bed depress as she climbs in. She doesn’t bother acting shy or unfamiliar, instead she slides all the way over with her back along my side. I learned when we were together the last time that she likes the spoon position to sleep in so I roll slightly and wrap an arm around her waist. The scent of her shampoo reminds me of the jasmine trellis in my parents’ backyard. I’m not much for floral scents, but that’s one I love.
I kiss the top of her hair and hold her tight against me. “You’re gonna be okay. I’d give my own life before I let something happen to yours.”
“Don’t say that. If something happens to you because of me, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“There are things you don’t know about me that I can’t tell you because they’re classified, but please know that some pansy-ass stalker won’t best me. You couldn’t have called a better person for this job.”
“I’ve always felt safe with you, even when we were kids. It’s why I called you first.” She rolls in my arms to face me and I curse myself for not leaving a light on so I could see her face better. The glow from the night light I left on for her isn’t enough. I can only see her outline and feel the heat from her breath because her lips are so close to mine right now. I have a hundred ideas of what I’d like to do to those lips, but I know this isn’t the time. I just need to remind my cock of that fact because it slowly stiffens as her hand moves along the bare skin of my chest and down my abs. Fuck! If she reaches the waistline of my boxer briefs she’s going to know I have zero control with her. Her simple touch has me so hard in seconds that the head of my dick is peeking out of the waistband.<
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She’s always done this to me though. When we were in high school, Summer stood at the forefront of all of my jacking-off fantasies. I should have asked her out then, but she only dated the scrawny, nerdy types or the theater guys. You’d think an absolute knockout like her would be dating the captain of the football or basketball team but she never did. I asked my sister about it once and she said, “I have no idea. She just likes guys with brains, I guess.”
I was second in my class in academics, captain of the football team and captain of the mathletes so I would’ve fit the bill, but she never looked at me that way. I always assumed it had to do with my football status. I just didn’t know why.
“Make love to me, Mike,” she quietly requests.
“Summer…” I’m not sure what to finish that with. Yes, please? Or No, because when you walk away again it will destroy me? There’s no good answer for that request.
“Please. I need you closer. I need the distraction and you’re the best kind.”
My heart squeezes a little. I don’t want to be her distraction. I don’t want to be her in-the-moment guy. I want to be her 24/7 partner and best friend. I want to marry this woman and have 10 kids. Okay, so maybe not 10, we are a little old for that dream, but at least 1. If she had any idea, though, what I feel for her she’d jump out of this bed and run like hell, so I keep quiet.
Instead of saying anything that might end what’s about to happen, selfishly I grab her hand and move it over the bulge in my boxers. She squeezes and strokes me over the fabric and I stifle a moan.
I’m unable to hold back so I slip my hand under her T-shirt and when my fingers connect with her smooth, cool skin I can’t remain quiet any longer. I could spend hours touching her skin and stroking the contours of her body. I grip her hair with my other hand and hold her in place so I can plunder her mouth. When I finally end the kiss it’s with a slight nip to her lower lip. I’m careful not to leave a mark that would cause issues with her filming tomorrow though. Quickly, I shift her to her back and trail soft kisses with little tongue strokes down the column of her throat as her body squirms beneath me. I continue down over her chest to tease the hardened peaks of her breasts through the fabric of her T-shirt, loving her reaction.
“Mike,” she pants and I can’t help but smile. I push her shirt up to expose the tanned bronze section of her stomach and press kisses down the length and over her belly button. Hooking my fingers in the side of her tiny panties I tug them down her legs. With a gentle grip on her knees I lift and open, spreading her legs wide and moving my face in close. Summer has the most beautiful natural musk. It’s light and sweet, like her, and I’ve dreamt of it since the last time my face was buried here.
I open her up with my fingers and inhale, groaning as I immerse myself in her. Then I take my time exploring each fold with my tongue, lapping at her with patience I don’t feel. Summer enjoys the slow build so I’m making sure she gets that. Her body squirms and bucks as she gets closer to explosion. Slipping two fingers inside her tight, hot channel I know she’s ready for me to take her over the edge. I concentrate on the little pleasure bud at her center, sucking and stroking, simultaneously working her fast and hard with my fingers until her knees close around my head and she bucks her hips upward, screaming out my name. I can’t help my smug smile. That was the exact reaction I was working for. As she comes down I slip my fingers out of her and into my mouth for one last taste. I groan and crawl so we are face to face. When I press my lips to hers I feel her grin.
“Did you go to school for that? I don’t think anyone knows how to go down on a woman as well as you do.”
I crawl up her body, hiking her leg up higher so she’s open as my cock rests against the wet heat between her legs.
“I haven’t been with anyone since you, M,” I tell her, waiting for her reaction, praying for the same response. I hold my breath as she tortures me by making me wait.
“After a year? You haven’t? You’ve always been very active. I find it hard to believe.” Her eyes never leave mine.
“After you…” I pause, trying to find a way to tell her without spooking her. “No one fits me like you do. We make sense in so many ways and after I had the real thing, hooking up for the hell of it lost its appeal. I swear I haven’t been with anyone else.”
“You really feel that way?” she asks, so hesitant and unsure it hurts my heart a little.
“God, M, you have no clue, do you? You aren’t the mistress or the one-night stand. You aren’t the sometimes girl or the as-needed lay. If you’d let me, I’d marry you tomorrow. I’ve been half in love with you since we were kids and I think I fell the rest of the way when we spent that weekend together. We fit Summer, and once you’ve had that, no one else comes close.”
“Mike…” she whispers as tears pool in her eyes and a small smile forms on her lips. “I’ve never had that.”
“You’ve always had that, with me. You just didn’t want to face it. Have you been with anyone else?” I keep pushing because I want to bypass the condoms. We did last time, but I won’t unless she hasn’t been with anyone else.
“No, and I’m still on birth control. Make love to me, Mike.”
I don’t wait another second as I shift my hips and nudge her opening. Her pussy fits me like a glove and my muscles quiver with restraint. My instinct is animalistic, pushing me to pound into her until she screams my name and I own her. I want it loud enough that any other man who’s been sniffing around her can hear and know. That any other man who has even been considering approaching her hears it and runs. She’s mine and I’m ready to prove it to the world. But I fight my sexual beast, wanting her to feel the tenderness I have for her. It’s important that she knows what’s in my heart. I need her to know I’ve wanted this, wanted her, all of her, for as long as I can remember.
My hips start slow, pumping in and out of her as my mouth takes hers in a slow sensual kiss. When I break the kiss, I prop up on my elbows so I can watch as her body accepts mine with each stroke. The vision is erotic as hell and the thought of videotaping it so I can replay it for personal use when we’re apart is strong.
As her breathing increases and her eyes roll back in her head I thrust harder, forcing sweat to slide down between my shoulder blades. Her pussy flutters and grips me tighter and I work harder, taking her all the way. For the first time in my life I come at the same time as my partner and my brain scrambles on overload. I drop my head into the pillow and kiss her exposed shoulder and neck.
“I love you, M. Always have.” I hold my breath, thinking maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. Panic sets in so I kiss her, taking away the chance for her to reject me or say something I don’t want to hear.
When I pull away I climb out of bed. “Come on, let’s get cleaned up so we can get some sleep. I want to be alert tomorrow so I don’t miss anything.” I can’t see her face but I can tell she’s watching me carefully. Then she finally nods. I’m just praying she doesn’t say something that will break my heart tonight.
Chapter Four: Summer
What do I do? Mike Wade just told me he loves me. My whole life I’ve avoided men like him. Sexy, beautiful, popular, intelligent, athletic…everything. I learned from my mom never to fall in love with a man as amazing as Mike. My father was one of those guys. My parents met in high school and supposedly fell in love. He found out Mom was pregnant and then proceeded to sleep with everyone but her for the next year. Then he finally left and I only saw him once.
I didn’t believe my mom when she said he didn’t want me, so I tracked him down when I got my driver’s license at 16. He was an even bigger bastard than she’d said. He’s the best-looking man his age I’ve ever seen. Blond hair, blue eyes and tan skin. I was his female spitting image, he couldn’t deny I was his if he tried.
When I introduced myself, he asked, “What are you doing here?” He didn’t want to know anything about me, wasn’t even curious about me in the slightest.
“I wanted to meet you,”
I answered, obviously intimidated.
“Your mother sent you for more child support. I told her the last time, that’s all I’m giving.”
“You send child support?” I asked, shocked. I didn’t know there was any contact at all, much less money coming in for me. Mom always complained that she didn’t have enough money and it was always my fault.
“Of course I sent child support. I may not have wanted you, but I hold up to my responsibilities.”
That one sentence was like a dagger to my heart. I was destroyed. I didn’t say another word. I turned and marched back down the driveway of his super-expensive home in the elite neighborhood in south Tampa to my piece-of-crap car and drove away. I never looked back. I also never dated another jock. All the guys I dated from that point on were scrawny nerds or theater types. If no one else would date them, I would, simply because I knew they were safe. I’ve never been conceited, but I knew that I was prettier than a lot of girls our age. The popular boys always asked me out and I always turned them down. I didn’t plan to live the same life as my mom so I was going to stay away from any man that even resembled a younger version of my father.
Now I have the ultimate popular boy—turned man—in front of me. Captain of the football team in high school, graduated second in his class he was so smart, and student body president. Now as an adult it’s worse. He was Army Special Forces and now works for one of the hottest security teams in the country. The man looks like he could be on the cover of GQ Magazine he’s so good-looking, and I know he’s dated some pretty impressive women since he’s been an adult. One of whom is an actress I admire. There’s no way he’ll want me long-term. I don’t have anything that would keep him with me once he gets bored with the sex. If we remain only friends then I always get to keep him in my life, even if it’s not in the way I really want.
The truth is I’ve had a quiet crush on Mike for almost as long as I’ve known him. But trying to have a relationship with a man as amazing as he is and having it fall apart would not only kill me, it would end my friendship with his family. That’s too much to lose. I have to find a way to avoid the subject of love until this mess is over and he’s gone back to his life. He’ll remember then why us dating is a bad idea.
