“You think that’s a good idea?” she laughed, rising from the floor where she’d been kneeling. Little red marks bloomed on her knees and he very much liked the sight of it. She was such a good girl.
“I just came so hard I couldn’t breathe, Hope. I need at least ten minutes to recover,” he laughed and bent down to pick up the shirt he’d tossed to the floor earlier. He used it to clean up the mess he’d made across her skin, though he very much liked the way it looked. Van fought the urge to beat his chest with his fists. Caveman mode: Activated. “Besides, you’re a mess.”
“And who’s fault is that,” she teased, rolling her eyes at him. He swatted her on the ass as she turned to pick up her coffee. She gasped, turning to look at him over her shoulder, her lower lip caught between her teeth.
His dick responded, despite having just come so hard he’d seen stars. “Quit doing that or I won’t be able to stop what happens next, Hope.”
She laughed, shaking her head as she padded on bare feet ahead of him. Her wide hips and full bottom were too much temptation and he moved so that he could walk directly behind her, his hands settling on the curves of her waist and hips, bumping her ass with his front.
“Van…” she warned as they hurried toward his bedroom, hands fumbling as they walked.
“I won’t apologize for what your body does to me,” he murmured, grinning as he ducked his head, planting a kiss to the curve where her shoulder and neck met. He was already half hard again. Maybe a shower together was in fact a bad idea… But he’d never been one to have good ideas, anyway. Fuck it. Sliding his palm over one round, heavy ass cheek, he groaned, “I’ll jerk off on your tits again. Or on this ass…”
She danced away into the bathroom, her throaty laughter making his heart do flipflops in his chest.
Chapter Fourteen
Grant groaned when he woke, the crick in his neck from sleeping in his office chair all night threatening to be the end of him.Fuck I’m too old for this shit, he thought with a grimace as he rolled his shoulders and neck, bracing his elbows on his spread knees and stretching his spine outward. He stood, groaning again, his hips screaming in agony, too.Way too old for this shit.
He hadn’t dared go home. The knowledge that she was there, in his house, probably in Van’s bed… it was too much. He was still too damn angry.
And irrationally, gut-gnawingly jealous.
He retrieved his gym bag from the corner of the room, thankful he always had an extra set of clothes. He peeled off the button-down shirt, then stripped out of the slacks and his underwear. Pulling on a clean pair of boxer-briefs, he slid into a pair gray sweatpants before pulling a navy-blue t-shirt over his head. He rolled his neck again. The light filtering in through the window that faced the bay was weak, the sun rising on the opposite side of the building. It was early, he realized, as he checked the watch on his wrist. He found a pullover sweater in the bottom of the bag and pulled it on over his head, then pushedthe sleeves up his forearms. He sighed, then repacked his gym bag with the clothes he’d worn the day before. Stuffing the black oxford shoes into the bag, he pulled out his sneakers and sat down to lace them on.
He exited his office, used the restroom, and then let himself out of the back entrance of the restaurant. They wouldn’t reopen for lunch for several hours, and he was grateful that it was so early. He didn’t need any employees seeing him sleeping in his office.
He tossed the gym bag into the backseat of his Audi Q8, then set out to walk the several downtown blocks to his favorite coffee shop. The mid-October morning was crisp, just chilly enough to make him glad he’d pulled the sweater on before deciding to make the walk. The leaves on the towering maples that rose above the brick buildings from the park in the middle of the downtown district were a myriad of yellows, oranges, and reds; the fall colors brilliant in the early morning sunlight that filtered over the tops of them. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he breathed in the crisp fall air, trying to alleviate some of the tension and continually roiling fury that battled inside him.
The downtown district was already bustling with the preparation of the other shops opening, and when he reached his favorite coffee shop, he pushed inside the glass door and breathed in the familiar smells of freshly brewed coffee, baked muffins, and house made soups simmering in the back. The smooth, concrete floor, red brick walls, and black ceiling, along with the heavy wood topped, black metal tables and black leather booths made the coffee shop feel homey.
He stepped forward toward the counter, where a tall, dark haired man with silver streaked throughout his hair and thick beard stood. He wore a flannel shirt left open over a black t-shirt, the sleeves of the flannel pushed up his arms, tattoos on display on his arms.
“Morning, Grant,” Beau Collins called as he stepped forward. “The usual?”
“Just mine, thanks,” he said, not bothering to fish his wallet out of his back pocket. One of the perks of being friends with the owner… and having done him a solid, back on Valentine’s Day. Beau stepped away and poured a large cup of black coffee, bringing it back to him a moment later. “Thanks, man.”
“You uh, you okay?” Beau asked, his dark brows drawing into a V. Damn man had a superpower when it came to noticing things, even the smallest details. He cleared his throat and said quietly, “It’s not—”
Grant shook his head, lifting the steaming cup of coffee to his lips. He took a tentative sip. “No, it’s not uh… not that. Thank you for checking in though.”
Beau nodded, dropping his dark gaze to the counter where he was wiping up a spill. “That’s good.”
Grant nodded in return. He lifted the coffee and said a gruff, “Thanks again.”
He pushed his way out the glass door back onto the sidewalk. The sun felt good as he started his way back toward the restaurant. He scrubbed a hand over his face then around to the back of his neck. He’d have to go to the condo eventually… He needed to shower, change, maybe get a power nap in before the start of another busy Saturday.
But the thought of running into Hope… no. He wasn’t ready. She had been a fantasy for so long, some wild ‘what if’ in his mind, and now that she was here, that he was forced to realize that she was in fact real…
Waking and finding her gone that morning in Chicago had shattered a part of him that he hadn’t even realized was there to break. He’d closed himself off from everyone and everything for so long… he hadn’t even realized she’d slipped right underhis defenses and wound her way around his damaged and steel fortressed heart.
No, if he got her alone… he would want to hurt her as deeply as she’d hurt him.
Chapter Fifteen
“This is you?” Van asked, pulling into the small driveway in front of her sister’s apartment. She nodded.
“I just moved in with my sister a few days ago… I’m still looking for an apartment, but she was kind enough to let me encroach on her space until I do find something,” she said. Their hands were clasped in her lap. She didn’t want to let go. They’d spent the morning together, but he’d had to leave for work. He had offered to let her stay at the condo, but she’d declined, too nervous to run into Grant alone. Besides, her sister would be losing her mind, ready for details. She couldn’t very well leave her to suffer.
