No promises of forever.
No thoughts of a white picket fence and 2.5 kids.
Only one thing was on this evening’s agenda. Hailey’s breasts began to tingle and an ache formed low in her belly.
When Bandit finally took care of business and headed up the steps, she was at his heels. In minutes, he was fed and watered and she was at Winn’s door.
It opened immediately after her light rap, as if he’d been standing on the other side waiting. His feet were bare but otherwise he looked the same. The same, yet somehow different. The hard shell he presented to the world was gone, replaced by a more vulnerable man.
“May I get you a glass of wine?” He gestured vaguely in the direction of the kitchen, his gaze never leaving her face. “Or a cup of coffee?”
She looped her arms around his neck, planting a kiss at the base of his throat, his skin salty beneath her lips. “I want you.”
Something flickered in the backs of his eyes. “You’re everything I want, Hailey.”
The intensity of his declaration disturbed her. Tonight was supposed to be a romp, light and fun.
“Why are we standing here talking?” Hailey cocked her head. “Shouldn’t we be getting naked?”
He grinned, the lines of his face easing, making him look more carefree. “I think you’ve been hanging around Cassidy Kaye just a little too long.”
“Just keeping it real.” Despite the bold words, Hailey found herself blushing.
“I like your reality.” Winn brushed a strand of hair back from her face with a gentle hand.
Hailey was startled when Winn grabbed her hand. Tugging her to the sofa, he sat and pulled her down beside him.
“You want to...talk?” Hailey couldn’t keep the disappointment from her voice.
A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he shook his head and pointed to the ceiling.
She tilted her head back. Directly over their heads, a tiny sprig of mistletoe hung from the ceiling fan. Hailey laughed aloud. “Where did you get that?”
“Swiped it from the party.” His tone was smug and unrepentant.
“I love bad boys.” Hailey gazed at him through lowered lashes. “It’d be almost criminal to go to all that trouble and not make use of it.”
“My thoughts exactly.” He’d barely finished speaking, when his lips closed over hers.
He kissed her with a slow thoroughness that left her weak, trembling and longing for more. When his tongue swept across her lips, she eagerly opened her mouth to him.
Skilled hands skimmed up her sides, one thumb brushed against the tip of her nipple as his mouth melded with hers.
Hailey had done her share of kissing in her twenty-seven years, starting when she was fourteen at a freshman dance. But never had she been kissed like this. Slow kisses that made her feel drunk with need. Deep kisses that made her body ache with fiery passion.
She pressed against him, wanting to get closer. His strong, clever hands answered her unspoken plea, sliding under her shirt to scorch her already burning flesh.
After he removed her shirt, the feel of his hands on her belly made her want to squirm. Up or down. She needed him to move those hands up or down. As if he’d heard her plea, his nimble fingers rose and unclasped her bra.
“You’re beautiful.” He lowered his head, his breath warm against her bare flesh.
His tongue circled the nipple, licking the sensitive skin until she felt she’d go mad if he didn’t take the aching bud into his mouth. She arched back.
“Please,” she whimpered.
His mouth closed over the peak, drawing it fully into his mouth. He suckled gently, then harder.
Tension filled her body. His fingers curled around the waistband of her pants and she eagerly lifted her hips so he could slip them off. The lacy thong she wore underneath brought a flash of heat to his eyes and a smile to his lips.
His hand slipped beneath the scrap of fabric, through the curls and between her legs. She parted for him, catching her breath as he rubbed against her slick center.
Hailey’s need for him was so strong that all it took was for him to slide one finger inside for the orgasm to hit.
She pushed against his hand and sobbed as his tongue plunged into her mouth.
He held her while the climax rippled through her, murmuring endearments. Then she felt herself being carried to the bedroom. The navy sheets had been pulled back. He deposited her on the bed and his clothes joined her thong on the floor.
Then he was kissing her all over. The raw need, her desire for him, returned full force.
“Tell me what you like,” she whispered, reaching for him.
“Tonight is about you,” he murmured. “Our first night, but it won’t be our last.”
The kisses began again and the touching, oh, the wonderful feel of his hands on her skin...
Scattering kisses down her neck and lower, he created a trail of heat. Hailey squirmed as the need inside her began to build once again.
His lips reached her belly and when he edged her knees apart, she realized what he meant to do. She pressed her legs together—or tried to—but his hands kept them spread and his mouth was suddenly where no mouth had gone before.
The sight of his dark head between her legs was incredibly erotic. She squirmed, but not to get away. The sensation of his hot breath against her core, the tongue dipping and swirling, had her arching back.
“I can’t take this,” she panted, digging her heels into the mattress and clutching the sheets with her hands. “I need you inside me.”
She felt him hesitate, heard the tear of a foil packet, then he was over her and with one hard plunge, inside her.
He was thick and hard and filled her completely. She wrapped her legs around him, taking in the whole length of him. Then they began to move in a rhythm as old as Time.
Desire and pleasure and raw need were so strong, Hailey felt as if she might explode.
Winn was patient, pushing her steadily toward that crest with long, deep kisses and clever hands that caressed.
She felt the orgasm building, tried to slow it down, wanting to savor the sensations a little while longer.
In and out. In and out.
She dropped her hands to his hips and pulled him closer. Deeper. The tension began to build again.
Her breath now coming in ragged puffs, Hailey strained toward him. Reaching, needing, wanting.
In and out. In and out. Until she felt her grip slip and she came apart in his arms, crying out as waves of pleasure engulfed her.
He kept up the rhythm until every last ounce of pleasure had been wrung from her body, then gave one final thrust and found his own release, calling out her name.
They lay there, ragged breaths mingling. She felt the rapid thump of his heart against hers.
“Wow,” Hailey finally managed to mumble. “If I’d known it’d be like this between us, I’d have jumped you the first night.”
Winn’s lips lifted in an easy, satisfied smile. “Ditto.”
Hailey giggled. The movement made her aware he was still inside her. She supposed she could have asked him to move, but she didn’t. She liked things just the way they were for the moment.
“I think I’m crushing you.”
He shifted, but she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Not yet.”
Something in her soft tone must have gotten through, because he stilled. Or perhaps it was the feel of her fingers combing through his hair.
“You always look so put together.” She smiled up at him. “I like seeing you this way.”
“Naked?”
“Disheveled. But naked is nice, too.” Her expression sobered. “It’s like I’m seeing a part of you that’s just for me.”
“Hailey. I—”
/> She placed her mouth to his lips in a gentle kiss before he could say more. “Enjoy the moment.”
“I think you’ll enjoy it more if you didn’t have a hundred and eighty pounds pressing you into the mattress.”
Ignoring her protests, he rolled off her. She thought he meant to get up, maybe send her on her way. Instead, he tugged her to him.
“There,” he said, warm and relaxed next to her. “This is better.”
“This is nice.” Her fingers toyed with the light dusting of hair on his chest. For a business executive who spent much of his day on the phone or in meetings, he was incredibly fit.
She’d thought things might be awkward between them...after...but he’d made everything so easy and right by pulling her close. When he held her like this, she felt as if she was exactly where she was meant to be.
But while she was sure there would be another night, Hailey knew there was no guarantee. She wouldn’t waste this opportunity.
Without warning, she flipped over on top of him, bracketing her arms on either side of his muscular torso. “Now that I have you just where I want you, I have some inventive ideas of what we could do next.”
“Inventive?” A devilish gleam filled his eyes as he rolled the word around on his tongue. “I have several crazy ideas of my own.”
“Do we have to pick?” Hailey leaned down and flicked her tongue against the tip of his nipple. “Can’t we be both inventive and a little crazy?”
She took his moan of pleasure to be an affirmative. As her hand lowered to stroke the silky length of him, the phone on the nightstand buzzed.
Hailey’s hand paused midstroke. She glanced at the bedside clock. “Who’d be calling you at 3:00 a.m.?”
Winn reached out and grabbed the phone. His gaze swept the readout. “This is Winn. What’s up, Meg?”
While he talked, Hailey rolled to the side. Immediately he hopped out of bed and began dressing with one hand.
Hailey slipped away to get her clothes. When she returned fully dressed, Winn was ready to leave.
“What happened?”
“Apparently, Cam woke up sobbing.” Winn raked a hand through his already mussed hair. “Meg spent the last half hour trying to calm him.”
“I’ll come with you.”
He hesitated, then gathered her close against him in a brief embrace. “Thank you.”
“We can take Bandit,” Hailey said. “The dog can sit next to him on the car ride home. You know what a comfort Bandit can be to him.”
To Winn’s credit, he didn’t even blanch at the suggestion of allowing the dog on his Mercedes’s cream-colored seats.
But, conscious of the buttery leather, Hailey grabbed a cotton throw for the dog to sit on.
There wasn’t much conversation during the twenty-minute drive to the Lassiter home.
“As the oldest girl in a family of eight, if anyone can give Cam motherly comfort, it’s Meg,” Hailey assured him, feeling the need to fill the void of worried silence.
“I knew she and Travis came from a large family.” Winn’s eyes remained firmly fixed on the dark and winding mountain road. “I didn’t realize there were that many kids. Wow.”
“Do you want children?”
“That’s an odd question.” He cast a quick sideways glance. “Considering we’re on the way to pick up my eight-year-old son.”
“Not so odd.” Hailey kept her voice calm. “You said Vanessa getting pregnant was a surprise. I just wondered if you want more children in the future.”
He slowed to turn onto a side road. “Sure,” he said. “I like kids. What about you?”
Hailey kept her voice equally offhand. “Maybe two or three. Someday.”
“Good numbers.” Winn turned into the driveway leading to the large mountain home.
“Better than seven or eight,” Hailey quipped, and he chuckled.
But his expression was grim as they reached the porch. Cole must have been waiting for them, because the door opened before they had a chance to knock. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Hailey.
“We hated to call—”
“How’s he doing?” Winn interrupted, his eyes dark with concern.
“He quit crying about five minutes ago.” Cole ushered them into an impressive foyer that went up at least twelve feet.
“Meg brought him down to the living room.” Cole’s gray eyes were filled with sympathy. “He was very upset.”
“I shouldn’t have let him spend the night.” Winn’s expression turned tortured. “It was too soon.”
“It’s okay,” Hailey crooned, and gave his hand a supportive squeeze.
“Don’t beat yourself up about it. Charlie had lots of highs and lows when he first came to live with me and Meg. He’d seem fine, then he’d cry for his mother. Seeing Dr. Peter Allman helped. I hear a child psychologist recently joined Pete’s practice.”
“I’ll check that out,” Winn murmured as his steps quickened.
They’d reached the doorway to the living room when Hailey touched Winn’s arm. “I can hang back here and wait if you think that’d be better.”
Surprise flickered across his face. He took her hand. “No. I’m sure he’ll want to see you.”
Cole said nothing, though Hailey knew those assessing gray eyes missed nothing.
Cam sat on the sofa next to Meg, both still in their nightclothes. Meg had on a silky yellow robe cinched around her waist, while Cam wore a pair of Spider-Man pj’s he must have borrowed from Charlie. The boy’s face was tear-streaked and he glanced down when he saw Winn.
“Hey, sport.” Winn stepped forward and took a seat beside him. “I hear you’ve had a rough night.”
“I had a d-dream. I—I saw Mommy.” The boy looked up at Winn with reddened eyes and a lip that trembled. “But when I w-woke up she wasn’t there.”
Two plump tears spilled down his cheeks.
Winn seemed at a loss for words.
Hailey had a feeling he’d be making an appointment with the psychologist first thing on Monday. “Hailey and I came to take you home.”
“Hailey?” Cam looked up, appearing to notice her for the first time.
“Hi, sweetie,” she said softly. “Bandit insisted on coming, too. He’s out in the car waiting for you.”
The child’s eyes brightened. He turned to Meg. “B-Bandit is a dog. H-he’s Hailey’s dog, b-but he likes me, too.”
“He loves to play fetch,” Hailey told Meg. “Perhaps Charlie can come over sometime this week and the boys can give Bandit some exercise.”
“Would you like that, Cam?” Meg asked.
Cam hesitated. “Charlie might n-not want to come. Because I—I was a big baby.”
“Charlie used to have nightmares, too,” Meg said gently.
A young child’s cry broke the momentary silence.
“Looks like Evie is up.” Cole gave his wife’s shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll take care of her. You stay—”
“Tend to your daughter. We’re heading out, anyway.” Winn rose and extended a hand to Cole. “Thanks for everything.”
Their palms connected in a brief shake. Cole’s eyes met Winn’s. “Like my wife said, we’ve been down this road. If you ever want to talk—”
The baby’s cry rent the air once again and, after giving Cam a quick hug, Meg hurried from the room.
For the first time since they’d arrived, Cole’s gaze lingered on Hailey. “Seeing you tonight was an unexpected pleasure.”
There was something in those cool gray eyes that made Hailey wonder if her name—and late-night visit—might come up in a future conversation with her brother.
She lifted her chin and smiled at Cole, reminding herself only one thing mattered right now...the child with the tear-streaked face and haunted e
yes sitting on the sofa.
Chapter Thirteen
In a matter of minutes, Hailey, Winn and Cam were in the car and headed down the mountain. Cam sat in the backseat, Bandit sprawled protectively across his lap.
He was so small to be dealing with so much. But Cam was resilient, she reminded herself. For a second she’d wondered if she should have remained at home, but seeing Cam’s response to her and Bandit had told her coming with Winn had been the right move.
They hadn’t even turned onto the main highway into Jackson and the boy was already asleep. “Looks like he’s down for the count.”
Winn’s finger visibly tightened on the steering wheel. “He’s too young to have to deal with all this.”
“Sometimes life doesn’t give us a choice.”
Other than the glow from the state-of-the-art instrument panel, darkness permeated the silent Mercedes. While it might be the perfect place for confidences, it wasn’t a perfect time. Hailey wasn’t in the mood to talk about herself or her relationship with Winn.
What they’d shared earlier had shaken her to the core. Right now she didn’t want to think what the feelings he’d stirred in her might mean, much less chat about them.
Besides, knowing how worried he must be about Cam, Winn needed a distraction, not more drama.
“Have you always liked to golf?” she asked, settling on a topic guaranteed to get good conversational mileage.
He cast a quizzical glance in her direction. “Where did that come from?”
“We’re getting to know each other.” Hailey kept her tone light. “Talking about things that are important is essential to a budding friendship.”
“After what happened earlier, I believe it’s safe to say we’re well past the budding stage.”
“Point taken.” Hailey snorted back a laugh. “But I’d still like you to answer my question.”
“I loved the game from my first day on the links.” Winn’s shoulders, which had been military straight, relaxed. “Though how much of that enjoyment was simply spending time with my granddad and away from my father, I couldn’t say.”
“Your father didn’t golf with you?”
Ready, Set, I Do! (Rx for Love) Page 13
