She watches me roll it on, and a surge of masculine pride jolts through me at the combination of satisfaction and anticipation on her face. She keeps her eyes on me as I climb over her, and doesn’t break my gaze as I slowly slide inside.
“You feel . . .” I swallow hard and squeeze my eyes shut. I don’t want to come yet, but I feel my release threatening to surge down my spine. “So good,” I murmur. I move deeper and deeper with each pass, until her body adjusts to me and I thrust in fully.
“Brayden,” she whispers in my ear. “Brayden, how can . . .? How can this feel . . .?”
I nuzzle her neck. “So good. Me too.”
We find our rhythm easily, and I get lost in her. She smells like strawberries and something intoxicating. Her nails dig into my shoulders, and she squeezes around me, orgasm building again.
“Come for me.” I thrust deeper, clinging to the scraps of self-control even as my own release threatens. “I want to feel you come like this.”
The words push her over the edge, and she does, arching her neck and crying out. When her release locks her body tight around me, I follow right behind.
As we come down from our pleasure, I run kisses along her neck, her jaw, her lips.
I take care of the condom, and when I come back to bed, she’s half-asleep. I pull her into my arms, loving the way our bodies fit together.
Next time, I want her in my bed, not in a sterile hotel made for strangers and secret lovers. Next time, I’ll take it slow and show her just how much I’ve thought about this. Next time, and the time after that. “When can I see you again?” I whisper against her ear.
She hums, nestles into me, and falls asleep.
Molly
Present Day . . .
The tables are set. The water glasses are iced and ready. The kitchen is prepared to plate meals in twenty minutes. The staff members are dressed and know their stations, and I’m eighty percent confident that they’re capable of doing their assigned tasks today—only eighty, because this is our first event and half my staff has never served before.
I scan the room one last time and cringe when the light catches on a handprint on the far bank of windows. I’m pretty sure that one was compliments of my son. Shit.
“Austin, run to the janitorial closet and grab the window cleaner.” I point to the handprint. “I think our cleaning staff missed a spot.”
“Sure thing, Miss Molly.”
I cringe at the nickname but don’t correct him. I think he’s just trying to be polite. Austin’s a cute kid, eighteen, and a senior at Jackson Harbor High School—the same school where I graduated with his older brother, Gabe. I did a lot more than graduate with his older brother, most of which I’d turn back time to erase if I had the choice. But it turns out Austin’s much less lazy and more respectful than Gabe, and since he has serving experience, I’m thrilled to have him on my staff.
He heads toward the exit, but then stops and snaps a picture of the empty room with his phone.
I frown. “What’s that for?”
He grins, his thumbs flying over his screen. “It looks awesome with the tables set and the linens and stuff. Schmancy. What’s the social media hashtag campaign for Jackson Brews? I’m posting this sucker on Insta.”
Oh, hell, that’s kind of sweet. “The hashtag is happeningatJacksonBrews,” I say. I should have thought of posting myself, but with everything else going on, it slipped my mind. “Thanks, Austin.”
He winks at me. “No problem, Miss Molly. Done.” He tucks his phone into the pocket of his black dress pants and disappears toward the janitorial closet.
I left my to-do list on my desk, and I’m feeling a little twitchy without it, so I head to my office even though I’m almost positive every item’s been crossed off.
When I confirm there’s nothing left to do, I plop down into my chair and realize immediately that it was a mistake. What a day. God, I’d give about anything to turn off the lights and close my eyes for twenty minutes.
“Are you okay?”
I lift my head and spot Brayden leaning in the doorway. “Everything’s fine. Great, really. I think we’re ahead of schedule.”
He cocks his head to the side. “You look tired.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Thanks.”
He shakes his head. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just worried. You have a lot on your plate right now.”
It’s been a long day. After staying up packing until midnight, I woke up at four thirty and arrived onsite at six to make sure our new janitorial staff had the banquet center polished to my standards, but somehow I missed the windows. I’ll have to chat with them about that.