“Cassie gave them to me a couple of years ago for my birthday,” he said, taking them from me to roll between his fingers.

My heart stuttered. “I don’t even know when that is.”

“You didn’t miss it while you were gone. It’s not until the end of May.”

“That’s good,” I said softly, pushing his shirt over his shoulders.

How we could be so close to each other but not know something so essential was beyond me. That was a question one usually asked on a first date. When he was fully undressed, I reached behind me and tugged down the zipper of my dress. Letting it fall to the floor, I stepped out of the puddle of fabric.

He exhaled and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me between his legs. He turned his face to the side, resting his cheek against my stomach, and hugged me tightly. “I wish we’d waited until I got you home.”

“We’re home now. You can have me if you want me.”

I could feel his hardness against my thigh but Hayden shook his head. “I just need to be close to you right now.”

“I need that, too, Hayden.”

I ran my hands across his shoulders in soothing, rhythmic circles. He looked up at me, his longing no longer reflective of desire but something deeper.

“This is so pretty,” he said, undoing my garter and rolling down the stocking. He kissed my hip and moved to the opposite side, repeating the action.

Undressing each other was inherently sensual. I wanted so much to lose myself in him after this long, difficult day. But Hayden needed more than that from me right now. I sensed it in the reverent way he touched me, in the unhurried way he removed each article of clothing.

“I like you in this. Better than I like you in black.”

“Why is that?”

He pulled at the loose garter, a half smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Because it reflects how I see you—feminine and delicate and pretty.”

I wanted to ask what else he saw in me, but became distracted when he reached behind me and freed the clasp of my bra. His eyes moved over my body in a way that felt more like worship than sex, and his fingers trailed between my breasts. His hand came to rest on my hips, his eyes shifting down from my face. His Adam’s apple bobbed with a heavy swallow and his tongue swept out, wetting his lip.

“You prefer me like this?” I glanced at the pile of pale discarded lace and satin, so different from some of the other lingerie I had.

“Naked? Always.”

He flashed a mischievous grin and threw one leg over the side of the tub, reaching over to turn off the tap. He lowered himself into the water and made room for me between his legs. I sat on the edge and dipped a toe in, testing the temperature. My feet were still half-frozen from having been shoeless for the past hour, and the heat was a relief.

Hayden’s arms came around my waist and he leaned back, taking me with him. I settled against his chest, submerged to my shoulders. The water level rose until it was perilously close to the rim of the tub, but Hayden didn’t seem to care.

My hair fanned out on the surface, darkening as it sank. Hayden gathered it up and pulled it over my shoulder. His lips met my skin, moving from my collarbone to my neck, pausing when he reached the spot just under my ear.

“I left a mark,” he whispered, his lips brushing over the sensitive skin.

“It’s okay. It’ll fade in a few days,” I said, worried about the remorse in his tone.

“I left a lot of them.” His chin came to rest on my shoulder.

“I don’t mind. None of them are permanent.”

“Not on the outside, anyway.” His hand drifted down my arm. “I wish things had gone differently tonight.”

“I’m sorry I lost it at Cassie’s.”

“You don’t have to be sorry, kitten. And I’m not talking about that. I just don’t want you to feel like you have to do things you’re not comfortable with.”

“Are you talking about the sex tonight?” I turned my head so I could see his face. “I made the suggestion.”

“Only because I’ve mentioned it before.”

“I wouldn’t have said anything if I hadn’t wanted it. I needed to be with you. I was the one who started it.”

“I don’t know if I agree with that. You have a history of caving, especially for me.”

“You think so? Who let who into their apartment that first time?”

“I kissed you, though. I made the first move,” he argued.

The flirting had driven me almost insane during the tattoo session. The buzz of attraction had been an aphrodisiac. “I couldn’t have given you any more of an invitation if I tried. Shall I remind you that I’m the one who provided a loophole for your ridiculous rule? I knew exactly what I was doing when I lured you into my bedroom. I wanted you. It’s always been me pushing you, not the other way around.”

He smiled slightly, maybe caught up in the memories, then his expression grew serious as he traced the outline of the wing curling around my shoulder. “I’m not just talking about sex, Tenley. I’m speaking in general terms.”

Water splashed and trickled over the side of the tub as I turned to see him better. “You’re not referring to the tattoo, are you? Because I specifically recall coming to you with it. Not the other way around.”

“No. That’s not what I meant. Although, I’d like to remind you, I asked you to come by the shop more than once, and I’m the one who convinced you to get the cupcake first.” His hand smoothed over my hip, close to the tattoo in question.

“I would have brought the design to you eventually, even without the persuasion. And the cupcake tattoo was a means to an end. The payoff was worth it.”

Hayden laced his fingers through mine. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” I said, concerned by the serious slant of his brow.

“What would happen if Trey came back again?”

The odd question threw me. “He won’t.”

“How do you know that?”

“I don’t have anything he wants anymore.”

“What if he did, though? How do I know you won’t leave again? That wasn’t something you wanted to do, but you went anyway.”

So this was the topic he’d been circling. I thought we’d already dealt with these fears, but in the wake of so much stress, they’d been unearthed again. What he didn’t understand was that Connor had been the expectation for my future. Being with Hayden was a choice.

“I wouldn’t make the same decision this time. I was in a different headspace then. I didn’t know how to deal with how I felt about you. There was so much guilt, and I didn’t know what to do with it.”

Hayden’s arms tightened around me. “I just don’t want you to leave me again. I can’t do this without you anymore.”

His expression made my heart hurt. “Hayden, you are everything I could ever want. You are the place I want to be.”

25

HAYDEN

It was noon before I opened my eyes the next day. Tenley was slow to wake up and even slower to get moving. As she tried to sit up, she cringed and moaned, then flopped back down. She rolled over on her stomach, her face mashed into the pillow.

“What hurts?” The hood of my car was no soft place to get it on.

“My lower back,” she mumbled from under her veil of hair.

I threw the covers off and leaned over. I checked for bruising, then ran my thumbs down her spine. When I reached her tailbone, Tenley made a sound of displeasure.

“Right here?” I asked, putting a little pressure on the spot.

“Mm, and my hips are stiff.” She blew her hair out of her face.

“Let me make it better.” I started rubbing, and little sounds of approval escaped her when I hit a particularly sore spot. TK jumped up on the bed and started sniffing around, her nose bumping up against my leg. Sometimes we had to lock her out of the room when we were having sex because TK sat at the end of the bed and meowed at us otherwise. It was creepy and distracting as hell. Especially when Tenley started laughing.