Tell Me You Want Me (Search and Seduce 2)

“Great,” she said.

“Glad to hear,” he said. “Would you like some breakfast?”

She shook her head. Shouldn’t she be leaving soon? This was how the whole hookup thing went, right? Meet up. Have sex. Leave the next morning. Preferably before the guy woke up. But she was new at this, so two out of three wasn’t bad.

“I’m okay.”

He gave a half shrug. “Suit yourself.”

He kissed along her lower stomach and spread her legs.

His tongue hit her sweet spot, and she jerked. “W-what are you doing?”

He glanced up at her with a frown. “I’m eating breakfast. And I’m starving.”

The only thing that could have made his words hit home more was a “duh.” He settled between her thighs again and began devouring her.

Surrounded by a hot man between her thighs and sprawled out in his bed was definitely the best way to greet the day. But it wasn’t just any hot man. It was Dex. And while the light of day was still threatening to remind her of reality, she just wanted to stay in that moment a bit longer and forget the rest of the details of life.

Her blood heated and tingles surged up her spine just as—

Ring! Ring!

Dex’s cell went off on the bedside table. He growled but kept licking.

Ring! Ring!

“You should get that,” she breathed.

He shook his head. “I’m busy.”

Oh, and she wanted him to stay busy, but his phone rang again.

“What if it’s an emergency?”

Now he really growled as he slowly kissed up her stomach and reached over her to get his phone. She liked that he seemed so interested in her. Liked he couldn’t get enough. She and Dex might not be much more than odd friends with a trainer/trainee understanding, but he was an amazing lover.

Hell, he was just plain amazing. Other men would have answered the phone because they wanted an excuse to get away from her. He was answering because he cared whether it was an emergency. Just like he cared about people around him. It was clear in how he spent his time and how he worked hard to keep people safe. He’d even hesitated to answer it, like he didn’t want to give her the wrong impression.

When he read the caller ID, he got off the bed and answered, “Hey, Mama.”

He gestured at Michelle to give him a minute, and she nodded.

It was sweet the way he answered his mother’s calls. The last time her mother had called was to tell her about her ex getting engaged. And just as Michelle had wondered if her mother could be any crueler, she’d tossed in some underhanded insults about Michelle’s “lifestyle.” A woman on her own. A woman without a country club. A woman without a husband to take care of her and tell her what to do.

God forbid there was a world beyond the Four Seasons. The sad part was that Michelle hadn’t figured out how to stand up to either of her parents. Not really, at least. They had a special power for making her feel small. Her best shot at being free was to get as far away from them as possible.

Which was why she liked Beaufort and her boutique so much. She could take pride in the life she’d built without worrying that her parents would show up on her doorstep to point out her many faults.

She watched Dex pace and say, “Yes, ma’am,” into his phone, and Michelle’s heart melted a little bit. He was a good boy. Kind and sweet and loyal. All traits that were becoming clear the more time she spent with him.

“See you soon, Mama,” he said and hung up. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at Michelle. She had a hard time meeting his eyes, because he was naked. In the morning light, he was all hard, tan muscles.

“Sorry to have to cut the morning short, but I’ve got to pick up some stuff for my mom. I can take you home if you’d like.”

Michelle swallowed hard, not sure how to handle this feeling. She wasn’t ready to say good-bye to him. Not yet. But that wasn’t part of this deal. And it was probably better that she back off when he had something so personal going on.

“Okay, no problem.”