Justin
Six Months Earlier
I pulled at the black bow tie, which was currently trying to strangle me. I had to wear a tie to work, but this was a whole different monster. There wasn’t enough air getting to my brain and that, coupled with the loss of blood due to the erection I sported every time Hadley came around, was making me angry. I was agitated. Irritated. Grumpy as fuck.
She’d waltzed into the gala, dress tight in all the best places, found my gaze, fucking winked at me, then proceeded to ignore me.
Not that I’d made my way over to her, either.
Hadley has always made it very clear that she wasn’t going to be the one to fall all over me, that if I wanted her I was going to have to chase her, take her. It was almost like she wanted me to know she didn’t need me, and it worked; I was very aware of the fact that she could take me or leave me at any moment. But with every passive look or infuriating wink, daring me to change her mind, I grew closer and closer to just grabbing her and kissing the hell out of her. The only thing stopping me was that I also knew that was exactly what she wanted—for me to break. She got off on waiting for me to snap. I was like a toy to her. At first that was a little off-putting, but the longer we did the same dance, the more I was willing to admit I could forgive her if she just let me in.
I sipped my scotch, my gaze drifting through the room until it landed on her. I nearly growled at the sight of some other man’s hand on her hip as he leaned in close to allow her to whisper in his ear.
Fuck. This.
I downed the rest of my scotch and placed the empty glass on a waitress’s tray as I passed by her on my way to Hadley. I’d never felt as determined as I did marching toward her. I didn’t know if she felt it, if she could feel my intention as I crossed the room, but she turned and looked at me. Her eyes locked on mine and she was still as stone until I was within arm’s reach of her.
Without an ounce of hesitation, I reached for her hand and pulled her firmly away from the douche she was talking to, not even offering an apology or explanation, just taking what was mine.
I did notice, with great pleasure, she didn’t object. She linked her fingers with mine and went with me willingly. I also noticed her hand in mine felt like the most natural thing in the world, as if it belonged there.
I led her straight to the dance floor and pulled her to me once we’d reached the middle, keeping her hand in mine and placing the other on the curve of her waist. Luckily a slow song was playing, so my excuse to hold her against me was legit.
“Hello, Justin,” she said, her smile wicked.
“I’m not most men,” I replied, my voice raspier than I expected.
“No, I don’t suppose you are.” She tilted her head just slightly and the smile fell from her lips.
We danced silently for a few minutes and as time passed she slowly relaxed, letting her body press against mine more and more with each passing moment. I took advantage, wrapping my arm around her waist, holding her to me, breathing her in.
“Hadley, this dress is incredible,” I finally said, my mouth close enough to her ear that I didn’t have to speak above the music. “You look phenomenal.”
A shiver raced down my spine as she lifted her mouth to my ear, her cheek brushing against mine
“Thank you,” she whispered. “You look pretty sexy in this tux.”
“Oh, you noticed? It looked like you were trying your hardest to ignore me.”
She pulled back and gave me another wicked grin. “It worked, didn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“Although, for future reference, you can’t just drag me away from someone I’m having a conversation with.”
I pulled her even closer, making sure she could feel me against her. “It worked, didn’t it?”
She didn’t reply, but I held her close anyway, enjoying the dance.
The songs continued, but we never broke apart. I wanted to let my hands roam, to feel her, to memorize her curves—and she had phenomenal curves—but I kept myself in check, hoping for more opportunities later. The only thing that finally forced us apart was the music fading away to a man’s voice who was standing on the stage.
The whole room shifted, moving toward the stage for the auction portion of the evening. I’d seen Riley running around, looking frazzled, but I knew Camden had gone after her. They both seemed occupied, as did everyone else in the room.
“Are you planning on bidding on anything?” I asked Hadley, still holding her close to me, unwilling to let her break away.
“No,” she said on a shaky breath.
I unwrapped my arm from her waist but kept her hand in mine and pulled her through the room, against the sea of people moving toward the stage. She followed without question or argument. I didn’t know exactly where I was headed, just hoping to find a room where I could get her alone. I led the way down a hallway where I saw doors to restrooms and one more door with a sign that read Employees Only.
Perfect.
I opened the door and pulled her inside, never so glad to see a custodial closet in my life. I knew she was on the same page as me for after I shut the door and turned back around, it was her hands that pulled my face to hers.
Our lips met, for the first time, and a tidal wave would have been less force, less moving. Everything paled in comparison to the shock sent through my system at the touch of her lips against mine. It had been weeks and weeks of teasing, innuendo, playfulness, but nothing was playful about the way her supple body pressed against mine, or how her hands moved back into my hair.
It took a second for my mind to catch up with my body, but I finally registered it was Hadley I was kissing in a closet, after so much time, so much longing, and I nearly lost control. I growled as one hand slid down her waist to grip her ass, finding it just as round and plump as I’d always imagined. My other hand slid up her front, grazing over her breast and reaching the base of her throat. I gripped her gently there, holding her where I wanted her, using my hands to make sure she knew in that moment she was mine.
She didn’t seem to mind the way I claimed her, whimpering as she tangled her tongue with mine, her hands moving to touch me wherever she could find purchase.
I walked her backward, pressing her against the door, practically ripping the dress from her body when she lifted one leg and hitched it up on my hip, making it so easy for my erection to press against her center. I’d never hated clothing more than I did in that moment. I wanted her naked and open for me, spread out on my big bed, waiting for me to memorize her entire body.
I slid my hand behind the knee of her raised leg and used it as leverage to grind my dick against her and I couldn’t hide the grin when she moaned into my mouth at the contact.
Fuck. Yes.
She wanted this just as badly as I did.
The slit up the side of her dress left it wide open and even though it was dark, I could imagine the way she looked propped open, dress falling away.
I wanted Hadley more than I could remember ever wanting another woman, but I did not want to fuck her in a broom closet. I didn’t want a rushed encounter and I didn’t want to give her a reason to fuck me and walk away, thinking that was all I wanted, all I needed. No, I wanted more than just a quick dip.
All those thoughts evaporated when her hand closed over the bulge in my pants, gripping me through the fabric like it didn’t exist. I broke the kiss, my breath hissing out of me while she continued to run her hand up and down my cock.
“Fuck,” I said on a breath, my forehead resting against hers.
She must have taken the word as a cue because she stopped her assault and moved her hand to the closure of my pants, opening and unzipping them in record time. I almost didn’t have enough time to stop her before her hand slid between my skin and the elastic of my underwear.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I gripped both her wrists in my hands, stilling her, trying to find her gaze in the darkened room. For a moment all I could hear was our breaths, both of us panting through our arousal.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, her hands still held captive in mine. “I thought this is what you wanted.”
“I did. I do,” I managed, even though it sounded as though I’d just run a marathon. “But not like this. Not in a closet next to a tower of toilet paper.” I released her wrists and moved my hands up her arms until I met her rounded shoulders, then continued until my hands were resting on either side of her neck. “Come have dinner with me. Or a drink. Take a walk with me or something. Let’s get out of here.”
She was quiet for more than a few seconds, but finally responded.
“You want to leave?”
She sounded hurt, which wasn’t what I’d intended, so I let out a frustrated breath and moved my hands from her neck to her cheeks and kissed her again. Slower, but still with intent. I didn’t want her thinking I was rejecting her. I wanted her, but not that way.
“I want to spend time with you, Hadley. Talk to you. Get to know you.”
“We’ve talked enough,” she whispered, moving her hands back to the front of my pants. And, damn it, I let her. I held my breath as she reached in and locked her hand around me, gripping me and moving her hand from the base to the head.
“Fuck, Hadley,” I groaned, lost in the sensation, drowning in how good it felt to have her touch me.
“Yes,” she said, as though she were leading me along. “That’s exactly what I want.”
Shit.
“Hadley, I can’t,” I said quickly, taking a step back and forcing her hand to release me. In the back of my mind I was grateful for the dark so she didn’t see me fumbling to put myself back together, but the darkness also meant I couldn’t see her face. “Trust me,” I said, fighting the urge to press myself against her again, from taking her mouth one more time. “I want you, in every way, but I don’t want to fuck you in a broom closet. You deserve more than this. I want to give you more.”
I hadn’t realized I’d felt that way until I said the words aloud. For the first time in my whole life, I didn’t want the quick, meaningless hook-up. I didn’t have time to analyze the new and strange emotion because Hadley was moving.
I only saw her through the sliver of light that came when she opened the door and then walked through it.
I panicked, thinking she was possibly walking away from me forever. That was enough to send me after her.
“Hadley, where are you going?”
“Back to the party,” she practically yelled over her shoulder, not even bothering to look back at me.
“Wait, can we talk about what just happened?”
With that, she did turn around.
“Nothing happened,” she said with absolutely no emotion. “I want to fuck, you want to talk.” She shrugged. “I thought after all the chasing you’ve been doing for the past few weeks this was going to be the easiest lay ever. But, no hard feelings.” Her gaze dropped for a second to my crotch. “No pun intended.” She turned away from me again and continued on her way.
“So, wait, because I wouldn’t fuck you in the closet you’re just going to walk away? That’s how it’s going to be?”
“See you later, Justin. But remember, I don’t allow second chances.”
And that was when I decided I was going to do anything I could to change her mind. She was going to let me in, and not just into her body, but into her heart. I believed her when she said she didn’t give men more than one shot to make it with her, but I also knew she’d never walked away from anyone who wanted her like I did.