CHAPTER TEN
GAVIN
I can’t hear you very well, but I still think you’re shouting at me.
Those words alone proved something was wrong with her, and it wasn’t just because she was drunk. I’d seen her drunk before, and the drunk Honey was sweet and chatty and not looking as miserable as she looked now. Her words registered about being drugged, and the next words shifted in my mind right before she swayed in her spot.
Then she began to fall.
My reflexes were quick. I caught her before she could reach the floor, alarm ringing through me at her current state. Her body felt heavier than usual, she couldn’t support her weight even if she tried. Her arms reached out to me, and she tried to steady herself as her head lolled to my shoulder.
I leaned down, about to grab her knees and carry her bridal style. But her hands tightened on my shoulders, and she vehemently shook her head.
“I’ll die of embarrassment if you do that,” she muttered, her cheeks turning pink. The head-shaking made her eyes blur even more, but she held on. “Just support…me…to my room?”
I gritted my teeth and nodded, then did as she asked. My hand settled on her waist, wrapping around it to support. At the back of my mind, I could still acknowledge her warmth and softness. Then her stumble had me focusing on her as I lifted her weight so she could walk lighter.
“Where’s your room?”
“First door. You’re really, really hot.”
The words made me want to look at her, but I kept my gaze on the door she indicated. She reached out and opened it, and I took in the sight of a clean area with gray and black undertones. I expected her taste to be more feminine but realized this made much more sense.
“Do you acknowledge that you’re hot?”
“Hmm,” I responded.
“You’re also an asshole.”
My mouth quirked. “Says you.”
“Well, maybe not completely,” she slurred. She let go of me and almost stumbled face-first into her bed, but she managed to push her palms out first. The action caused her butt to rise in the air, and I tried not to look as her dress hiked up. Surprisingly, she managed to climb on it without so much as a hitch, lying flat on her back and staring up at me expectantly.
Her eyes were still blurred, but the way they stared at me had my nerves unsettling. I sat on the edge of the bed and eyed her back, my hand near her head. She moved her head to touch it, almost like a cat snuggling. Her head rubbed, and her eyes grew sleepy.
“Were you worried about me?” she asked softly. She struggled to sit up, still facing me, and my hand dropped to my side. She frowned as she concentrated on gathering the blankets around her waist, then turned to beam at me when she managed it successfully.
“Sara said you didn’t do parties, so I didn’t bother searching there,” I said. “That was a lapse on my part.”
“I didn’t have fun,” she admitted. “I mean, I had, but…it wasn’t as fun as I liked. Too many people.”
I frowned. “Did they do something to you?”
She shook her head, then blinked a couple of times and groaned. I reached out. At the same time, her hand grabbed mine, and she placed it beside her again, snuggling her head on my palm. She sighed.
“Someone almost did. I’m sorry for running away and worrying you…”
“Just don’t do it again,” I said gruffly.
Honey closed her eyes, seemingly sleeping. I allowed myself a full minute to just study her face, watching her long lashes settle near her cheeks and the soft, full lips that were entirely too kissable for her own good. I forced myself not to look down because my body was already reacting even just at the sight of that face.
Her red hair fell in a mess around her shoulders, and my fingers itched to lock onto the strands. I fought it.
After a while, Honey yawned, then lay back down and took the blankets with her. I was about to stand up and leave when she took hold of my arm and tugged.
“Don’t leave me,” she whispered. “I’m feeling messed up.”
My lips tightened. I acted right away, checking her pulse, her temperature and everything else. They were all normal, even her heartbeat, and she didn’t seem to be in any danger. But I knew I couldn’t leave her alone and needed to monitor her throughout the night if there were any changes, and that meant she could be in danger.
I was going to have to stay here with her.
By the time I was done making sure she was fine and comfortable, she was already sleeping soundly. I watched the steady rise and fall of her breathing for a while, telling myself repeatedly that I wasn’t soft for her. She was just my client, which was why I was worried earlier. But I can’t deny how worried I was as I looked for her all over town, as I imagined all the things that could have happened to her. The protective instinct was strong—and because I had always younger clients this has never been an issue. The attraction.
I sighed.
Then I took off my shoes and climbed onto the bed’s other side, staying out of the blanket and then staring at the ceiling. Realizing I was already a bit sleepy, I closed my eyes and decided to just think properly in the morning.
A few minutes later, I was already asleep.
*****
The sound of Honey’s voice calling out my name had me sitting straight up, particularly when I heard the tone in her call.
Panic.
I was alert instantly, and my gaze zoned in on her, who was thrashing against the blankets. Her eyes were still closed, but her mouth was open as she moaned out in complaint. My ears cocked to hear what she was saying, and it was only when she started repeating it in murmurs that I got it.
“I’m hot. It’s too hot. Help. Gavin.”
It had to be the drugs taking effect because I didn’t think being drunk would get her complaining like this. I removed her blankets off her and eyed her as her hands tugged and pulled at her dress.
“You’ll tear it,” I warned.
“I don’t care,” she whined, her eyes blazing open and locking with mine. “Get it off me. It’s too hot.”
She looked like she was about to cry, and her panic was getting worse. I sat her up, trying to locate an opening. I found it at her side and slid the zipper down, then slid her dress down with it. Her hands wrapped around me and her head settled on my shoulder, and the feel of her body so close as I slowly undressed her had me gritting my teeth.
It wasn’t supposed to be erotic, but it was. My hand ended up brushing her skin from time to time, and my blood started simmering. Her scent, which was a mix of alcohol and jasmine, was intoxicating at this close proximity, and it was a struggle trying to remove her dress and keep my hands off her at the same time.
When the dress was down her knees, she kicked it off and uttered a sigh of relief. I looked up.
“Are you wearing underwear?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
She sighed again, then snuggled even closer. “Did you want me to remove them, too?”
To my horror, her hands began to move, and I realized they were moving towards her bra strap and lowering it down. My blood rushed from my roaring head down to my belly, and I took her wrists and stopped them from their actions. A strangled sound came out of my throat.
“I didn’t say—”
“Because I can,” she blurted out, her head lifting and her mouth touching my ear. “Or you can.”
The words had me losing my breath. Because I was too focused on it, I was startled by her sudden movement as she displayed a show of strength and pushed me back until my back was on the mattress.
Then she was straddling me.
Stunned, I could only lie back as her mouth settled near my ear again, teeth lightly grazing my earlobe. Heat shot up in my body, and my hand automatically went to her waist to stop her. But that was all my hands got to, because they remained frozen in place as my body absorbed her heat and something in me stirred in response.
My cock, for one.
I tried a last second resort by calling out her name in a desperate attempt to put an end to this.
“Honey…”
Her head shot up, and her eyes met mine as I struggled to sit up. I was pinned in place by her arresting gaze, those honey brown eyes turning darker and darker by the second.
“I’m sorry, Gavin,” she murmured.
And then she launched herself at me and began to crash her mouth against mine.
My mind went blank. That was the first thing that registered, and then nothing registered at all as everything became senses. She kissed like she meant every single stroke, and my heartbeat tripped as she eagerly pressed her body against mine and closed whatever distance was between us. Yes, she was wearing underwear—something lacy that scratched my skin lightly.
No, it wasn’t helping at all.
I could feel the hunger in her kiss, and I was responding.
It made all the difference in the world, particularly when I caught her gasp of surprise before she all but melted against me. I deepened the kiss and reveled in how her mouth opened for me. She pushed me again, then resumed straddling me, her hips fitting snugly against my waist.
My tongue slid in and tasted her, and whatever intoxication I felt earlier grew twofold and took complete control. In this angle, I could see her bra now—lace indeed, tan and tiny and making her cleavage pop out. Beneath it, I could see the makings of her pink nipples, which were pebbled in arousal. It set my body on fire, and my hand moved up to thumb one until she moaned against my mouth and had me almost exploding then and there.
Then she ground her hips against mine, and the ridge in my jeans slid in between her panties, where her opening lay. Her moan turned into a cry of lust, and I responded automatically and drove my hips up in an attempt to alleviate my own desperate ache.
Her body shook against me, and she leaned forward and bit my bottom lip. Then, to my amazement, she stilled, and I felt something wet against my pants as her body slumped against mine.
Realization set in. I stayed still even as she kept kissing, even while my head moved to the side to break the connection between us. Her hand slipped inside my pants, and fingers wrapped around my cock and had my eyes crossing. Damn. So good. I breathed harshly as the most intense pleasure hit me, but I gritted my teeth against it and firmly took her hand off.
Not like this. I wasn’t a monster.
She whined. Eventually, she stopped moving altogether and sighed one last time.
Then she was fast asleep.
Because I didn’t want to disturb her, it took a while for me to move, and I ended up just lying there with her lying on top of me. I shifted her to the side until she was cradled in my left arm, and I tried my best to control my burning body and the need that was slowly taking over. When it was clear that she wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon, I checked everything again—her pulse, her breathing, avoiding the sight of her body laid out on the bed and looking delectable as hell. I covered her in blankets again, the process painstakingly slow so as to make sure I didn’t ever touch her skin again.
Then I got out of there and closed the bedroom door behind me.