I woke up in the morning, my breathing heavy and my body covered in sweat.

“Fuck!” I cursed as I got out of bed, grimacing when I had to pull the wet sheets off my skin. “What was that dream last night?”

This at all because of that dream? Actually, no, this was all because of the video chat I had with Lexi.

It had taken even longer than the call I’d had with my son, and a part of me had felt just a little bit ashamed of that. But I hadn't wanted to cut the call, and the only reason I even ended it when I did was because I didn’t want her to stay up too late because of me. Going through the rest of my day after seeing her had been difficult enough. And then there was that dream.

Dammit! When was the last time I had such a vivid dream? And one like that? I looked down at myself suspiciously, tugging on the shorts I’d gone to bed in, only to sigh in relief when I realized that the only wetness in my shorts was the sweat. So, at least I didn’t have a wet dream. That would have been embarrassing at my age.

“Ugh,” I groaned to myself, walking over to the bathroom, because I felt sticky all over from drying sweat.

I paused to take a look at myself in the mirror. I would have looked normal, like any other morning, only my eyes were unusually focused and bright when I hadn't been up five minutes yet, there was a slight flush to my cheeks.

Running a hand through my hair, I moved over to the shower to turn the water on, stepping in before it could start to warm up. My body jerked at the cold, but I held still until it wasn’t so freezing anymore, and I took my time washing myself up. I ended up thinking about the dream while in the shower and let out a growl as my cock hardened.

I’d gotten myself off a few times on the trip in the three weeks I’d been away from Lexi. After seeing her last night, there was no way I wasn’t going to want to get off. I’d done it last night, twice, before I fell asleep. I had a feeling it was getting out of hand, though.

I looked down at my cock, taking myself in hand and imagining it was Lexi doing it, imagining she was here with me in the shower. I took myself in hand, closing my eyes as I stroked up and down my hard length. I came pretty quickly.

Afterward, I left the bathroom with a towel around my waist, the other around my shoulders. I went to the room’s closet, where I’d put up the clothes I’d packed, I picked out a suit for the day. I set it down on the bed and finished drying myself up.

My phone was still on the nightstand where I’d left it last night, and I was tempted to pick it up and call home. I wanted to hear Lexi’s voice some more. Screw that, what I wanted was to see her again.

Like last night. Fuck, but I hadn't expected the sight that met me to be so sexy.

She’d asked to sleep in my bed the one night, and I’d given her permission to use it while I was away. And there was the added surprise of seeing her wearing my clothes. But really, I’d been so happy to see her that I didn’t even notice it right away.

I miss her.

It wasn’t exactly a big revelation, but I felt it even more now. Doing the video chat was a mistake, but I couldn’t find it in me to regret it either.

I dressed up quickly, then picked up my phone and put it in my pocket. The moment I was out of my hotel room, it rang. I was tempted just to ignore it, but I picked up the call.

“We’re all waiting for you in the lobby, sir,” Beth, my PA, told me.

“I’ll be right down,” I said brusquely.

I took the elevator to the first floor where I met my team. Besides my assistant, I’d brought employees from my team along with me to share some of the burdens.

“Morning, Beth,” I greeted as I neared them, exchanging nods with the others, and they fell into step with me as I walked past them. “Is there time for breakfast?”

“I’m afraid not, sir. We’ll have to pick up some coffee on the way.”

I’d expected it, but I still sighed in disappointment. It was pretty usual for me not to have much for breakfast, actually, but I’d gotten used to more since Lexi had moved in. And I couldn’t help thinking of being back home, having breakfast at my dining table with Lexi and my son both there. I was determined to make the dream a reality—once I was back home.

“What do we have on the schedule today?” I asked Beth.

“There are three different meetings between…”

We stepped out of the hotel where a couple of cars were waiting on us. We filed inside, Beth making sure to sit next to me. I only half listened as she went on to explain what we had to do for the day, who would be doing what, or going where, or meeting who. Though the rest of them were here to lighten my load, because I was still the boss, I had the most to do.

Fuck this, I thought mutinously. I want to go home.

We made a stop on the way to get coffee, and then the day got busy.

I barely had a moment to myself the whole time, with my PA following my every move, and meeting a bunch of bigwigs in meetings throughout the whole day. I only got a fifteen-minute break for lunch, and I couldn’t have the big spread I wanted because there wasn’t time to eat it in between the drive to and from the diner we went to eat at.

By the time everything was over and I could go back to my hotel room, I was feeling exhausted. I didn’t let it show to my subordinates, though. It wouldn’t paint the right picture for them.

Beth and I stopped at the hotel’s lounge where we both got some non-alcoholic drinks and talked about what had to be done tomorrow.

“Have you heard anything about the final decision?” I asked after we’d exhausted everything else.

She shook her head slowly like she was afraid to give me any bad news.

“I’m afraid not, sir. I’m not sure why there’s a delay, if another team is making them hesitate, or if they’re still just deliberating…”

I sighed. “I hate that uncertainty.”

“But we have more than a fifty percent chance of winning this,” she cut in to say. “At least one other company is close enough to be our competitor, and the margin between us is seven percent. I’ve included everything relevant to the conclusions and even compensated for any setbacks. So unless someone has a last trick up their sleeve, we won’t lose.”

There was still uncertainty, but more than a fifty percent chance was good. It would have been impossible had the figure gone higher, and I didn’t think there would be any last tricks because this was cutting it a bit close. I knew the numbers were right because Beth rarely ever made mistakes, and her accuracy was the reason I’d hired her when she came to me all fresh-faced out of college with low experience.

But then why are we still here?

I didn’t voice my displeasure, though, and not only because my PA didn’t deserve to deal with my bad mood just because I was horny.

“Thank you for your insight today, Beth,” I said as I stood up, and she followed suit. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With that, I turned my back and headed back to my room. I took my phone out of my pocket to call Edward. I was feeling a bit restless, so the call didn’t last that long, and I sent several apologies to my son, telling him all the great things we would be doing together the moment I got back.

I was about to put the phone down and go for a shower when I thought to call Lexi, too. I held back, but now that I was safe back in my room, thoughts of her were rushing through my head again. In my mind, I saw her lying on my bed with my oversized clothes on. Then in my dream, where she lay beneath me on a soft, white bed, just waiting for me to take her. Of course, it wasn’t a temptation I could ignore, and in the end, I’d woken up right as we both came in the dream.

Fuck!

Now all I could think off was all the times that I did have her like that. And after the long weeks, it felt like I could snap, finally.

“I stayed away too long,” I grumbled to myself, moving over to the couch and draping myself over it. “Shit, this is bad. I really can't. Especially not after last night.”

I knew better than to just give up on my work because of a woman. I’d done it for Kora when she was sick, but this was nowhere near the same thing. The company would survive even without me making this much effort… but it could be improved, and the one thing I hated was to stagnate, never move forward.

So, the decision was easy enough to make.

“Tomorrow,” I told myself decisively. “Tomorrow, I’m going to that damn office, and I am going to close this fucking long-ass deal.”

Her body was out there waiting for me. It couldn’t wait much longer, and neither could I.