Page 33 of Restrained

Others have asked about it.

I've never talked about it until tonight.

We go into the crowded barbecue restaurant, and although it’s nothing like the Kansas City barbecue I’m used to, it’s damn close.

We eat dinner in silence, a quiet I fucking hate. But if I tell her who I really am and all of my reasons for tracking down her business, she’ll no doubt hate me.

And rightfully so.

When we go back out to the parking lot and reach my car, neither of us move to open her door. “I understand you not wanting to talk...”

She’s so fucking beautiful and curious. I can see her interest. I know she wants to know more about me, and it alarms me, something I’m not used to feeling. My left hand sweeps into her soft blond waves as my other hand rests on her hip, pulling her body to mine as my lips fuse with hers. For a moment Idon’t think. For a brief moment, I'm lost in her full lips pressed against mine as they part, allowing my tongue to dart in and explore her mouth.

I’ve wanted to kiss her since the day she walked into that crowded coffee shop, but none of my fantasies were even close to the actual experience. Her small body presses against mine with feral hunger as my erection presses against her hip and she leans back against my car door.

Her fingers slide through my hair, and her nails scrape my scalp. I'm vaguely aware of other people around us in the crowded parking lot, but it doesn’t stop me from pressing my hard dick between her legs, wishing there were no clothes between our bodies.

“Hayden...” Her sweet moan against my lips snaps me back to reality, and I know we need to stop.

She doesn’t know who I am.

We have a professional relationship.

I nip her bottom lip gently before pulling away from the kiss and begging my body to calm the fuck down. She’s panting as she stares into my eyes.

“I’ll take you to your car.”

She looks hurt by my gruff tone, but I can’t think about it. I grab the handle to the door as she moves out of the way, and I tug it open for her. Rounding the car, I take several deep breaths before climbing behind the wheel.

What the hell is wrong with me? I’ve always been in control.

We don’t speak on the way back to the hotel, and when I park my car in front, only her car and mine remain. Everyone else has gone home for the day.

We stay in the car for a moment before she huffs angrily and opens the door and climbs out.

Fuck!

I’ve never chased anyone in my life, but that’s exactly what I do as I quickly jump out of my car and reach her just as she’s about to open her own door. “Lola, wait.”

“Why?” She spins around, her eyes darting to mine. “We work together. Tonight was a mistake just like with Gretchen. I get it.”

“You don’t.”

She’s nothing like Gretchen, and I’m surprised she could even compare whatever this is to that. “So then, explain it to me, Hayden. Who are you? Really. What are you hiding from me?”

“I’m nobody, Lola. Literally nobody.”

“Were you a foster kid?”

“No.”

Her eyebrow raises, and I know she thinks I'm lying, backtracking from what I told her earlier.

She rolls her eyes and goes for the door handle, but I block it with my body. “I was never in foster care. I was taken from my parents, but my father’s mother took me in. She didn’t have to, but she did. She hated her son, but somehow she loved me.”

“So, someone was good to you?” Her concern is so genuine it nearly crushes me.

I nod my head and sweep her hair out of her eyes as she looks up at me. “Yes. She was.”

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