––––––––

“Damn. This is what I worried about.” Sydney stared hard at her friend with a frown.

“Sydney? I thought you’d be happy for me. I finally had sex with a guy even you admitted you liked. What’s wrong with being happy at work?”

“Nothing, if that’s who you normally are. Don’t mistake a great lay for more, Hailey. Or you’ll end up getting hurt.” She sighed. “Oh, forget it. Just promise you’ll take things slow. Sex is all well and good, but when you develop into a relationship, men seem to forget all about decency.”

“Relax, Mom,” Hailey joked. “Gage is nice and sexy as all get-out. We had a nice weekend, and we’re having dinner here tomorrow night. No one’s said I do, and I’m on the Pill. No babies coming my way.”

“Good.” Sydney breathed a sigh of relief. “Just keep telling yourself that and you’re all set. Now, I have to know. Does he know what to do with his equipment?”

Hailey just looked at her friend and Sydney cursed.

“Dammit. You have all the luck. I have to go. There’s a triple-chocolate cheesecake out there just crying my name.”

Hailey laughed and hugged her friend, then watched as Sydney left her home. The quiet soon irritated her though, and all she could think about was Gage. What was he doing? Was he still working? No, the sun had set. Was he at home, doing a terrible job of cooking? When she’d seen the vast amount of frozen and pre-prepared dinners in his refrigerator, she’d been shocked. No wonder the man had no fat on him. He could barely boil water.

Maybe she shouldn’t have been so keen to give them space. She could have made time for him tonight. Take it slow, Sydney had said. Hailey sighed. She needed to stop obsessing over the man. Surely he had better things to do with his time than think about her every five seconds.

Suddenly depressed at the thought, she fixed herself a cup of tea and plunked down to finish her half-read romance. The hero had blond hair and green eyes, so maybe she would have a few minutes of her Monday without Gage’s face superimposed over everything.

––––––––

“Put the phone down, shit for brains.”

Gage glared at Derrick. “You know, if you’d get a woman of your own, you’d be much less of a pain in the ass. Do you want Sydney’s number or not?”

“Not if it’s an excuse for you to call your new girlfriend. Damn it, Gage. You agreed to meet her again Tuesday night—tomorrow night. You call her before that, you sound desperate.”

“I am desperate,” he growled. Desperate to be inside her again, desperate to talk to her, to look into her face when she laughed.

“No, you’re not. You, my little brother, hold the upper hand. You just spent the past weekend with your dream woman. You want to appear in control, or she’ll know she has you by the balls. You’ll note she hasn’t called you, has she?”

No, she hadn’t. And the fact bugged the hell out of Gage. Yes, they’d agreed to meet again tomorrow night. But for the life of him, Gage hadn’t been able to push Hailey out of his mind. The way she smelled, looked, tasted...

“Shit, Gage, get a grip,” Derrick muttered, glancing away. Gage flushed, realizing he had the mother of all hard-ons.

“Please. It’s a natural reaction when thinking about a beautiful woman. One you seem to have whenever you’re thinking of a certain redhead.”

Derrick stared. “You’re telling me you have her number.”

“Hailey has her number. Sydney’s her best friend.”

“Hell. Then you can’t screw this up. Not until I’ve at least talked the woman into a date. Look, Gage. Go easy. Meet with Hailey again tomorrow, and for God’s sake, don’t scare her off.”

“Thanks for the concern.”

“I am concerned. And not just for myself. You’re different about this one. Way too enamored.” Derrick frowned. “Maybe you should invite her for a Saturday breakfast, so the rest of us can have our say.”

“No way in hell.” Gage shook his head. “I’m trying to win her over. Sex will do it, a few hours with Mom and Dylan and she’ll run, not walk, away. And then there’s you.”

“What about me?” Derrick grinned. “Women love me.”

“Until you open your mouth,” Gage muttered.

“Fine. Do what you want. But hold out until tomorrow. And whatever you do, don’t bring her flowers or candy or some shit. You’ll look too eager, I’m telling you.”

♥

Tuesday night, at ten to six, Gage stood at Hailey’s door with a bouquet of flowers in hand.

When she opened the door and blinked at him in surprise, he wondered if his brother was maybe right. But as her gaze fell on the flowers, her eyes misted and she had to clear her throat to speak.

“Follow me.”

He grinned. Derrick, you’re the dumbass. He took a few steps inside after closing the door and found he approved of her place. Like his apartment, she had ivory-colored walls and dark brown furniture. A denim couch and loveseat sat around a scarred, knotty coffee table. She had several framed pictures on her walls, of places, actual photographs.

Noting his attention, she blushed, a becoming rose that made him want to bend her over the nearest table and ride her hard. God, the woman had only to breathe and he wanted her.

“Those are places I’ve wanted to visit. And I’ve actually traveled to London, been inside Harrods even.”

“Harrods?” He felt stupid for asking, more so when she shook her head and mumbled it wasn’t important.

“Would you like something to drink?”

“What I’d like is for you to look at me,” he said gruffly. “What’s Harrods?”

“It’s a high-scale department store.”

“In London, a place you’ve always wanted to go and finally went.”

She smiled at his understanding. “Well, yes.”

“See, that wasn’t so hard.”

Hailey chuckled. “Why is it I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you?” As soon as she said it, she turned scarlet.

He grinned. “Good. I thought it was just me.” He felt harder than a pike, and brought her closer to him. “I would have called you last night, but was told it would make me look stupid.” He kissed her, and all the blood left in his body raced to his cock.

“Hmm.” She nuzzled his cheek with her face, and his heart dipped, fell, and broke at her feet. “Funny. I was told to take it easy. To go slow.”

“So let’s.” He unfastened his jeans and withdrew his cock. “Why don’t you show me how slow you can go?”

She licked her lips and stared down at him, and met the challenge in his gaze with one of her own. “Ten bucks I can get you off in under a minute.”

“Shit. I’d like to take that bet, but...”

She grinned and went down on her knees, like his deepest, darkest fantasy come to life.

“No, Hailey. You have to be naked, so I can watch your tits, see you touch yourself and come when I shoot down your throat.”

“Next time,” she whispered and took him deep.

He groaned and couldn’t help shoving himself deeper, rocking at the surprising expertise of her tongue, of her lips. She fondled his balls, her hands whisper-light, and he felt his climax rushing at an incredible, embarrassingly fast pace. Gage closed his eyes and let out a breath when she cradled him in her hands, and when she increased the pressure on his balls, he hissed his pleasure.

Hailey closed her eyes and began teasing him, sucking on the crown of his penis, licking beneath the head and moaning, as if she gloried in his shudder. She took him deeper and deeper, fitting her mouth to his thickening length.

“Fuck, Hailey,” he rasped. “I’m not going to last long at all, baby.”

She sucked harder, and his subtle thrusts increased as she caressed him. The little witch ran her fingers under his sack, and he felt his balls grow harder. He groaned, and she intensified the frequency of her strokes and licks.

His shaft slid through her lips like butter, the moisture and warmth of her mouth incredibly erotic.

Gage fisted his hands in her hair and began thrusting deeper. “Oh, Hailey, baby,” he gasped. “That’s so good, baby. Oh, yeah.”

She dragged her nails up and down his inner thighs, then circled his muscular thighs to grip his ass, pulling him into her as he thrust.

She was so sexy, so hot, and so his. He pumped and began shortening his thrusts, his ass incredibly taut, his balls impossibly hard.

“Hailey,” he cried, readying to jet.

“I told you I’d win the bet.” She resumed deep-throating him, and her blissful expression and skilled mouth had him shooting his load like a teenaged boy jacking off for the first time.

“Hailey,” he groaned and shuddered, still coming. “Baby, I wanted you to wait.”

“I waited long enough. I’ve been wanting to do that to you since I first saw you waving it around your place.”

He panted and clutched her shoulders, steadying himself. She tucked him neatly back into his undershorts and jeans and buttoned him up. Staring down into her eyes, he thought her the most giving, most wonderful woman he’d ever met.

“I love you,” slipped out before he could stop himself, and he wanted to kick his own ass at the sudden shock and wariness that crept into her gaze.

“Now how about dinner?” he said with a smile, pretending he hadn’t blurted out a potentially fatal truth.

Hailey nodded, saying nothing, and moved into the kitchen. Rolling his eyes at his stupidity and praying he hadn’t ruined a good thing by moving too fast, Gage described his day, ending with a funny story about Dylan and Derrick fighting.

Before long, he had Hailey laughing as she shoved a plate in front of him. And he felt so relieved to have things back to normal that he wanted to stand up and shout his thanks to the heavens. Instead, he gave them to Hailey.

“Oh, baby, you don’t know how nice it is to have a home-cooked meal. I don’t know if you noticed, but the kitchen is not my thing.”

“Unless you’re making sundaes,” she said dryly and joined him at the table.

“Damn. What is this? I love it.”

“Chicken enchiladas, the easy way.” She nodded at a can of sauce on the counter. “Sorry, but I had such a long day at work I didn’t get time to prepare my famous spaghetti.”

He perked up. “So I’m being shortchanged, eh? I guess we’ll have to save the spaghetti for later this week?”

At his hopeful look, she smiled. “Well, I’m not that busy Thurs—”

“Tomorrow?”

She looked at him, saw him clearing his plate and sighed. “Tomorrow. But dinner’s on you Thursday.”

Outstanding. She planned on seeing him through the end of the week. Dare he push it? “Sounds good. And if you’re not busy this weekend, I know a great little getaway in Atlanta with a fondue place and a piano bar around the corner.”

She bit her lower lip. “You said fondue?”

“I did. And did I mention a large, king-sized bed, an A/C unit that makes you think of Siberia, and a down comforter?”

“You’re making it impossible for me to say no.”

“Then say yes.”

“That’s not taking things slow.”

“Sure it is. I could have asked you to go with me to Atlanta tomorrow. But I’m taking my time.”

She laughed and shook her head. “You must have the lion’s share of charm in your family. Sure, why not? I deserve a little fun, don’t I?”

“You sure do, Hailey. And I’m just the man to give it to you.”

After dinner ended, Gage made sure he did the dishes, hustling Hailey into her living room. After a few moments of silence, Pink Floyd’s “Time” came through the speakers.

“Damn, Hailey. How did you know that Dark Side of the Moon’s my favorite album?” he called to her from the kitchen.

“I didn’t. I happen to like it as well.”

“Favorite group?”

“That’s a toss-up between Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac.”

“Ah, a woman after my own heart. One who appreciates Classic Rock.”

He glanced at her to see her sitting on her couch, her head tilted back and her hair falling over the back of the couch like a golden waterfall. Once he finished the dishes, he joined her in the living room.

“Hmm. Sorry. I’m sleepy. It was a long day.”

“I had the same.” Mostly because it dragged on forever before he could see her. “You know, I never said thank you for what you did for me when I arrived.”

She blinked into his gaze and blushed, like he knew she would. He loved when she turned all prim and proper after acting like a sexual dynamo.

“A real man would return the favor, wouldn’t he?”

She swallowed, and he saw the pulse at the base of her neck throb. “And you’re nothing if not a real man, hmm?”

Gage grinned. He knelt between her thighs and reached slowly for the fastening of her slacks. When she made no move to protest, instead watched him under sleepy eyes, he stripped her pants and panties from her slowly, sensually. His hands slid over her skin, feeling the satiny flesh glide under his palms. Her breathing quickened, as did his, but this time would be purely for her.

“You don’t have to do this, you know.”

“I want to. Tasting you is as good as it gets, baby. You’re so incredibly sweet.”

She flushed again and closed her eyes, and he spread her thighs wide. She’d trimmed her curls, and he smiled, pleased to see more of her. With warm hands, he rubbed her inner thighs gently, bringing his hands closer and closer to her sex without touching her there just yet.

Hailey squirmed and moaned, reaching for him. But he kept her firmly in place and continued to tease her. By the time his mouth reached her clit, she was panting and begging him to touch her. With a swipe of his tongue, he licked her and she cried his name, like heaven to his ears.

“You taste so good, Hailey. So damned good,” he crooned and began eating her in earnest. His cock pushed painfully against his jeans, but he wanted her to explode, to feel her lose control as he loved her with his mouth, with his mind. Never good with words, he showed her how much she meant to him as he brought her to bliss.

She tensed, her clit near to bursting. He stroked, teased, and pressed with his tongue and lips. And when he added his teeth, nipping lightly at the engorged bud, she shuddered and climaxed.

“Oh, God, Gage, oh my God.”

He continued to suck her as she crested, shoving two fingers inside her and sighing with pleasure as she squeezed her walls around him. It was with much regret that he finally let her go.

When she finally calmed enough to breathe normally, she leaned close, cupping the back of his head. “That was the most unselfish thing a man’s ever done for me.”

Her eyes glittered with feeling and he quickly scooped her into his arms, leaning them both back against the couch.

“Hailey, if that’s all it takes to please you,” he said lightly, kissing the top of her head, “we may never leave your living room again.”

She laughed softly, resting her head on his chest. She placed her palm over his heart. “I can feel your arousal,” she murmured, shifting over his tenting lap.

“I’m always hard around you. You haven’t learned that yet?”

“It’s not too late to fix that.”

“No.” He kissed her again and moved her off of him. Uncomfortable but still in control enough to leave her be, he walked to the door. “That, Hailey, was just for you. I’ll see you tomorrow, babe.”

“Good night,” she said quietly, her eyes soft as she watched him leave.

––––––––

Hailey watched him leave with stars in her eyes. Her limbs felt like jelly, and she didn’t think she had enough energy to move from the couch to her bedroom. Good lord, Gage had completely worn her out.

Doing her dishes, giving her the best oral sex she’d ever received in her life, for no reason other than to express his gratitude? His love, her memory urged. She stilled as she remembered what he’d said earlier. At the time she’d thought it a fervent declaration after a great blow job. But now, she wasn’t so sure.

They’d only been together a few days, but she’d fantasized about him for much longer. And, according to Gage, he’d been wanting to ask her out for as long. Could he have more feelings for her than she thought? Could he, in fact, be feeling much like she did?

Instead of feeling glad, she worried. What if Gage was caught, not in an emotional bond, but in a sexual one? If he’d indeed had a dry spell—and he had from the few months she’d witnessed—he might be mistaking his sexual release for something more and not even know it.

Damn it. She sucked in a breath and stumbled to her feet. Half-naked, she threw off the rest of her clothes and took a long, warm shower, unable to rinse the dread from her mind.

Hadn’t Sydney warned her to go slowly? But not Hailey. Oh no. Instead, she’d admitted to thinking about Gage constantly, and then had another round of mind-blowing sex with the man. Hell, their relationship seemed based on sex. From watching him naked, to watching him perform.

She flushed, feeling aroused at the memory. Could she help liking the way he looked? He was hot, no doubt about it. And he had moves to back up his killer looks and body. The only other times Hailey had experienced intense orgasms had been with a vibrator. None of her other boyfriends had cared enough to turn her on, or to make sure she came when they didn’t.

She and Gage definitely shared some natural chemistry. Perhaps that’s what soothed a lot of her awkwardness, an inherent need to cling to someone who turned her on? But he’d been so generous. She could almost imagine a lifetime of great sex, of coming home to a man who would do the dishes and give her bliss without asking for anything in return. But what would happen when the sex faded?

She stopped the shower and stood, dripping wet, afraid of the answer.