Page 70 of Business or Pleasure

“Aye, about that.” Baylen looked amused…with a hint of irritation. “Your father seemed to think that you and Alec were…involved.”

My jaw dropped. “What?! Why would he…” Suddenly, I remembered the questions Franklin asked me on our way to see his loan shark buddy. “Motherfucker.”

“Harlee?”

“He was asking me all these questions about people in my life, including whether or not I had a boyfriend. I said I had been involved with someone at work and that he was going back to Scotland.” I rubbed my temples. “He assumed I meant Alec.”

“Well, it’s a good thing he did,” Baylen pointed out. “Because that’s how I knew where you were and what to do.”

Right. Back to what was actually important. Where things went from here. “He had a plan of what to do after we got the money. We need a new plan.”

“We have one,” Baylen said. He cleared the last of his food from his plate. “And the first step is the same.”

“Hiding?”

“Aye.” He took out his wallet and tossed a few bills on the table. “We should probably go. I have the names of a few decent hotels where we can pay cash and lay low for a few days.”

A thrill ran down my spine as I realized what that meant. Baylen and I were going to spend at least a couple days holed up in a hotel room with not really much of anything to do. Maybe that shouldn’t have been the first thing in my mind, but there it was. Still, I tried to refocus.

“After that?”

Baylen stood and held out a hand. “Let’s get to that room.” After a brief pause, he added, “Unless you want two rooms.”

I slid my hand into his. “No. One room. One bed.”

The smile that broke across his face took my breath away. As we walked to the closest bus stop, Baylen quickly filled me in on the plan Alec, Franklin, and he had come up with for getting the money where it needed to be. It sounded like a good plan to me, but I was still more interested in what would happen when we reached our hotel.

The bus wasn’t full, but there were enough people that neither Baylen nor I did much talking. Less than twenty minutes later, Baylen was handing over several bills and getting a key in return. Then we were outside our room, and I felt a burst of nerves as I wondered what would happen next. The minute I stepped inside, however, I decided that I didn’t need to wonder.

I was completely capable of taking the initiative myself, after all, and as the door clicked closed behind me, I did just that.

I felt his surprise as my mouth crashed into his, but then his arms went around me, and relief flooded me. His skin was hot and his lips fierce as they moved with mine. He may have still been worried about where we stood, but with this, he knew what he wanted. Fortunately, it was the same thing I wanted right now.

I tugged at his shirt, and he caught my bottom lip between his teeth. I groaned and fisted the soft material, desperate to just tear it off. We had been together only last night, but I wanted him again. Now. Not in ten minutes. Not after a half hour of amazing and torturous foreplay. Now.

His tongue stroked mine, his hands greedy as they slid under the back of my shirt and then around to the front to push up my bra and palm my breasts. My own hands were busy between us, yanking at the button and zipper to his jeans.

“Condom?” I pulled my mouth away long enough to ask.

He blinked at me for a moment before my question registered. “Aye.” While he dug in his back pocket, I pulled off my shorts and underwear. By the time he had the wrapper in hand, I was pushing him back onto the closest piece of furniture: a chair that looked like it’d seen better days. Not that I really cared about anything other than getting him inside me.

My hands shook as I rolled the latex on, my stomach fluttering with anticipation. He cursed, his hips jerking under my hand. His cock was thick and hot. I could almost feel his pulse against my palm as I held him in place and climbed onto his lap. Straddling him, I put my free hand on his shoulder to steady myself.

“I don’t want to go slow,” I warned him.

“We’ll have time later to go slow?”

The vulnerability on his face as he asked the question nearly did me in. I brushed my lips across his. “Many. Many. Many. Times.”

And then I sank down, my eyes closing with the intensity of sensations that ran through my body as he stretched me inch by inch. As I took all of him, a shudder went through me.

“Look at me.”

My eyes flew open at the command. Baylen grasped my hips, his gaze burning into me. I rocked back and forth, my nails digging into his shoulders even though I’d meant to avoid hurting him like that right now. Except the way he filled me was nearly overwhelming, and I needed a way to release at least a little of that energy, or I was afraid I’d fly apart.

Then his thumb pressed against my clit, and I cried out, a jolt going through me. His other hand moved to the small of my back, guiding me as we began to move together. Short, jerky movements designed to push us toward climax as fast as possible. And we didn’t last long, our mouths fusing together as we gasped out our pleasure only seconds apart.

My body went limp, collapsing onto his like all the bones had gone out of me. His hands slid up and down my spine, and I pressed my face against the side of his neck. Damn, he smelled good. Unable to resist, I darted out my tongue, tasting the salt on his skin. He chuckled and then groaned as the vibration reminded us that we were still joined.

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