Shit. The woman even liked the way he decorated his place, not a hint or even a comment about how he might better it with flowers or artwork.
Gage remembered the moment he’d first thrust deep, the feeling of warm acceptance and utter lust that had shaken him to his foundation. And when he added all the other heartwarming bits about Hailey Jennison to the mix, he realized he’d fallen in love.
The water streamed over him as he wondered what to do about this mess, and why the thought of such deep feelings for a woman didn’t make him want to run the other way.
“Sydney, I’m sorry it took me so long to call.” Hailey held the phone out from her ear. “Yes, I know it’s nearly ten. Look, I just got home.” She cringed and waited several moments before continuing. “Ah, you might say dinner went well. We spent the weekend together. And yes, I promise to fill you in on the rest of it tomorrow night. Come on over after work. Now I’ve got to get some sleep so I can function tomorrow.”
After hanging up, Hailey dropped her clothes along her path to the bed and slid under the top sheet. She could still feel Gage’s mouth against her flesh, and she shivered with pleasure.
How any man could do what he’d done to her and still make her want him, even now, boggled the mind. Had she not known better, she’d swear she’d become addicted—to Gage. The blasted man still hadn’t told her his last name, and had dangled the knowledge like bait to make her agree to a next date. As if she’d refuse him after their time together.
The sex had been one thing. A huge thing, actually. Never before had Hailey been so in tune with another—physically at least. She hadn’t had to fantasize to make herself horny, hadn’t needed a picture of another, or to ward off her many worries about the daily grind to simply fall in the mood. Instead, she’d been doused with lust just looking at the man. And the feel of him…his penis fit inside her as if he’d been built just for her.
She worried that her immense attraction was making her feel so much more about him. With the way she still wanted to crawl over his body and lay with him, well, forever, she thought she might be mistaking lust for love. A concept she’d mistaken once before, with Jerry the Worm.
Much as she truly liked Gage, she didn’t know him half as well as she’d known Jerry, and look how that relationship had turned out.
But wait, one day and night of incredible sex didn’t mean happily-ever-after. So why couldn’t she stop thinking about him?
Infatuation, Sydney would tell her. Sex and love are not the same thing at all.
Repeating that to herself, Hailey tried to lull herself to sleep. Yet she continued to see how many things in common she and Gage held. How they liked the same television shows and books, how his crass comments amused her when, by rights, she should have felt offended. Anyone else telling her she had big bones would have made her want to cry. But Gage had said it like a compliment, and followed up his comment by sucking diligently on her breasts, those big tits that he loved so much.
She flushed with heat and tried to think peaceful thoughts, needing to calm her raging body. Who would have thought that while she’d been fantasizing about him, he’d been doing the same about her? She blushed, recalling the way he’d made her masturbate him, showing her the way he’d fallen asleep night after night, with her in his mind’s eye.
She hadn’t the courage to share her experiences, but planned to the next time they met.
And maybe, just maybe, she’d cater to that unspoken fantasy of his. The one that involved her mouth and his cock…
Six o’clock dawned bright and early, and she found herself immersed in work until the lunch hour. When she entered the small cafeteria downstairs, she bumped into Eddie the asshole. Remembering what he’d said about her on Friday, she smiled. Frigid bitch, hmm? Tell that to Gage.
Eddie stammered. “Hi, Hailey. Would you like to share a table?”
She shook her head. “Sorry, Eddie. I’m sitting with Amy and Beth. We frigid bitches have to stick together. Maybe some other time.”
Hailey reached her friends and saw them looking past her at Eddie.
“What did you say to him?” Amy asked. “He’s still standing there staring after you in shock.”
“Nothing.” Hailey took a few bites of her salad and smiled. “He’s probably surprised I called him on being a complete asshole for insulting me the other day. Though I guess he didn’t really know I was there.”
“Well, you aren’t known for friendliness around the men who work here,” Beth commented. “Not that I blame you,” she said hastily at Hailey’s questioning look. “But not all of them are out to seduce you, you know.”
“Trust me. I know. I’m just in the habit of letting people know I don’t screw around.” She frowned. “Maybe I’ve taken it too far?”
“Maybe,” Amy said, shrugging. “But who cares? Want to hear some real dirt?
Anthony Fletcher is going to propose to Meredith later today. Here at work.”
Glad to hear some good news, and for the change of subject, Hailey and Beth peppered Amy with questions, and lunch passed by in a blur. While Hailey worked the rest of the day, she wondered why she hadn’t confided in her friends about Gage. Only Sydney knew she’d gone to dinner with him. And even that knowledge bothered Hailey on a strange level.
Perhaps she didn’t want to share him, she thought, though he wasn’t exactly an item she could keep a secret indefinitely. There was no way in hell she wanted to see him naked again, with her friends in tow. Uh-uh. No way. She would have to make that clear tomorrow when they met again.
She paused. But would that seem pushy? Too girlfriend-ish? Much as she liked that title, she realized she was supposed to be a modern woman. And sex, even marathon sex, didn’t mean commitment in the eyes of the everyday male.
“But he’s not an average guy,” she muttered.
“What’s that?” Joy, her assistant, asked.
“Oh, nothing. Just mumbling to myself.”
Joy studied her, a small grin on her face. “You know, Hailey. I have to say, you look really good today. Like you’re glowing. And rumor has it you didn’t glare and ignore Eddie like you usually do. You gave it to him but good. I have to ask, what gives?”
Hailey blushed. “I’m not that mean, am I?”
“You’re not mean at all. Eddie Flynn’s a jerk. It’s just that you seem, well, really confident lately. And…happy.”
She frowned. “I’m not normally happy?”
“You’re good at your job. You’re nice to me and the women around here. But you don’t, ah, glow. It’s hard to explain.”
Hailey nodded absently and made up some nonsense about winning money on a bet from a friend. Gage, apparently, had had more of an impact on her than just on her rampant hormones. The man was making her happy. She chuckled to herself and continued typing, wondering what Sydney would make of this.
Chapter Seven
“Damn. This is what I worried about.” Sydney stared hard at her friend with a frown.
“Sydney? I thought you’d be happy for me. I finally had sex with a guy even you admitted you liked. What’s wrong with being happy at work?”
“Nothing, if that’s who you normally are. Don’t mistake a great lay for more, Hailey.
Or you’ll end up getting hurt.” She sighed. “Oh, forget it. Just promise you’ll take things slow. Sex is all well and good, but when you develop into a relationship, men seem to forget all about decency.”
“Relax, Mom, ” Hailey joked. “Gage is nice and sexy as all get-out. We had a nice weekend, and we’re having dinner here tomorrow night. No one’s said I do, and I’m on the Pill. No babies coming my way.”