The Deal (London Suits 0.50)

I awoke with Avery wrapped in my arms, still fast asleep, her naked body severely testing my “one night only” promise. When was the last time I’d slept all night with a woman? It had been a long time, that was for sure. She felt so good wrapped in my arms that I had to remind myself why this was a bad idea. I gathered every shred of self-restraint that I possessed and gently slid my arm out from under her and slipped out of the bed.

In the shower, away from the temptation of her body, I managed to compose myself. We’d crossed a line, but I was confident that things could return to normal now our one-night deal was over. Last night had been…intense. Unbelievable.

Fuck.

My cock hardened as I remembered the feel of being buried inside Avery. Gripping it, I gave it a tug, precum already beading on the tip, as thoughts of Avery consumed my mind.

Stop. What was I doing? I needed to get Avery out of my head, and fast.

I turned the shower onto cold and jumped as the icy blast hit me straight in the chest.

That did the trick. Shivering, I stepped out of the shower.

As I walked out of the bathroom, fully dressed, I almost walked straight into Avery.

“Whoops,” she laughed, as I steadied her, gripping her shoulders. She was covered in one of the huge hotel robes, thank goodness. Our eyes met, hers half-lidded and sleepy, and she reached up to press a light kiss on my jaw.

I shuddered.

“Avery. No.” I kept my voice as gentle as I could, knowing that I was liable to put my foot in it if I made one wrong move. “We had our night together. As much as I enjoyed it, we need to keep the displays of affection for when we have witnesses. Let’s save it for the brunch, okay? We don’t want to confuse things between us any further.”

“Enjoyed it? Enjoyed it?” Her voice rose, and she took a step back from me, then another. Her eyes darkened, anger and hurt replacing the softness that had been there moments before. “I had probably the best night of sex I’ve ever had in my life—scratch that—definitely the best night of sex, and you only ‘enjoyed’ it?”

She sunk down onto the chair behind her, putting her head in her hands.

“Avery.” I crossed over to her and sank down into a crouch, laying a tentative hand on her arm. “Listen to me, please.”

“What?” Her soft, muffled voice came from behind her hands.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to play down what happened last night. I just…” I blew out a heavy breath, scrubbing my hand across my face. “I didn’t want to lead you on. We had a deal that it would be one night only.” Lowering my hand from my face, I placed it on her thigh, the soft fabric of the hotel robe a welcome barrier between her skin and my hand. “I’ll be honest with you and say that what happened was far beyond enjoyable. It was extraordinary.”

“Extraordinary?” She gave a small laugh, lowering her hands and peeking up at me from beneath her lashes. “Interesting choice of word, but I’ll take that over enjoyable, any day.” She shifted in the chair, her robe gaping open slightly, and my helpless gaze was drawn to the curve of her breast. Memories of the previous night assaulted me—teasing her nipples, caressing her breasts, taking them into my mouth…

I groaned.

She leaned forwards, pulling my head towards hers, and our lips met, hers so soft against mine. I deepened the kiss, sliding my hands into her hair, and she responded by pulling my head even closer, letting out a soft moan that made me want to untie her robe and bury myself inside her.

The sudden, shrill sound of the hotel phone had us jumping apart, Avery screeching in shock, then scrambling to pick up the phone while I collapsed back onto the floor, trying to get my head together.

The wake-up call. Right. Checkout and brunch.

What was this woman doing to me? Ordinarily I wouldn’t even need a wake-up call—I’d booked one with the front desk as a precaution, but I was never late. I glanced around me, at the clothes strewn all over the floor, wincing as I noticed that some of those were my own. Shaking my head, I rose to my feet. Time to focus.

“We have—” I looked at my watch. “—thirty minutes to get everything packed, and get downstairs to the brunch. We need to check out at the same time, so when I say we have thirty minutes to get everything packed, I mean everything.” My words came out more harshly than I’d intended, and Avery’s face fell.

“I’ll be ready,” she said quietly. She rushed into the bathroom, and I heard the shower go on. Sighing, I began to gather my things. That call had come at the right time—what was I thinking, kissing Avery after I’d explicitly told her we needed to keep our displays of affection for a time when we had witnesses? As she exited the bathroom, I called to her before she could head into her room.

“I’m sorry. That kiss shouldn’t have happened. I got carried away, but I can assure you it won’t happen again.”

She stared at me blankly, then simply nodded. She started walking into her room, deceptively calm, then stopped dead just inside the doorway, her back to me. I flinched as she threw out her hand and slammed the door violently behind her, leaving it rattling on its hinges.

Avery was quiet, subdued, at the brunch. She picked at her food and only spoke when someone directly asked her a question. As we got up to leave, Victoria stood, rounding the table to us, and spoke to Avery, her tone low.

“Mind if I borrow my brother for a moment?”

Avery gave her a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Of course. I’ll go and wait in the lobby.”

Victoria touched her arm before she could walk away. “It was lovely to meet you, Avery. I hope we see more of each other in the future.”