Page 48 of GAF Factor

She meowed as if she understood.

An ache was building in the center of my chest, and as I looked down at his name on my phone, I tried to work up the courage to dial his number. “Just do it,” I whispered.

Without another moment’s hesitation, I pressed IKE’s number and waited as it rang. He answered on the second ring. “Isla.”

My name slid off his lips so easily, sending chills skating down my spine. I closed my eyes as I remembered his touch, the way his fingers brushed across my skin.

I won’t make you any promises until you come to me—clear-headed and thinking about what you really want.

“IKE,” I finally said, my breath coming out in a rush.

“Is everything okay?”

“Um…yeah.”

“Nightmares?”

God, every night. There were nights I woke up and I was in that shipping container, but I was all alone. Other times, I woke up and he was dead beside me. But not tonight.

“No.” I realized he was waiting for me to explain. “It’s Christmas.”

“It is,” he said after a moment.

“And…I was thinking about…” I huffed out a laugh. “You know what I was thinking about.”

“Yeah, I do.”

Just having him on the phone with me eased the tension in my body. I had missed him so much. I hated being away from him this last month, but I didn’t want to send him mixed signals. Sasha jumped off my lap, leaving me even more cold and alone than I already felt.

“Isla, do you want me to come over?”

“I—” I swallowed hard.

“Just say the word.” His voice was rough, like a cool breeze on my skin.

“Come over.”

“I’m here, gorgeous.”

I gasped, spinning around at the sound of his voice in the same room as me. He was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, looking just as handsome as ever in his charcoal suit and grey vest. I didn’t think twice as I leapt from my chair and rushed across the room, throwing myself into his arms.

His lips instantly fused with mine as his hand slid up my spine and cupped the back of my neck, his fingers tangling in the hair still pulled up. He spun me and pressed me up against the wall, shoving his knee between my legs as he devoured my lips.His hand slid from my neck, trailing across my collarbone and down over my side.

Cool air brushed my legs as he started yanking up my dress, trying desperately to touch me. “There is entirely too much fabric here,” he muttered as he tore his lips from mine and craned his neck to look at the dress.

He suddenly stepped back, his eyes trailing over every inch of me and lighting with desire. I blushed under his gaze as nerves raced through me. I was about to start questioning whether this was the right thing to do when his eyes locked with mine.

“Turn around.”

I immediately followed the rough command, turning to face the wall, my hands pressing against the cool interior. Though, I peeked over my shoulder as he stalked toward me. Then I felt his hands on my skin just above the zipper, brushing along the fabric.

“I would tear this off you if I didn’t like it so much.”

I shivered in response to his words. Then I quivered for an entirely different reason. My dress loosened as he dragged the zipper down my back, taking his sweet little time and enjoying every second of it. Meanwhile, I was shivering from the idea of his touch, knowing that when the dress came off, I would heat up instantly.

I swallowed hard as his fingers left the zipper and rested at the base of my spine, just above the black lace panties I wore. Inch by excruciating inch, he trailed his fingers over my spine, up to the base of my neck. I felt his hot breath tickle my ear and did my best not to quiver in response.

“I’ve waited forever for this, gorgeous.”

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