We step onto the elevator with a handful of other people, and I move us to the back corner and drag her in front of me with her back only centimeters from my chest. Not touching. Not in an elevator full of people. Not with the paparazzi staked out all over the hotel.
We both watch the numbers tick by at a rate a fucking snail could outpace.
She steps back and links a single finger with one of mine, and for such a small movement, it’s one of the hottest experiences of my life.
Because it’s her.
Because I want her more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my life.
More than my own life.
Just her.
One of my teammates gets on at the thirty-fifth floor and spots me. “Hey, man.”
I lift my chin and nod at Donnelly.
He looks from me to Lindy, then down at our hands, and the doors to the elevator close again. “A few of us are hanging in Malcom’s room. He always brings his gaming setup with him for the long stretches. You want in?”
“Not tonight, man. But thanks,” I tell him, my voice sounding strained to my own ears, like I swallowed broken fucking glass.
His eyes drop down to our linked fingers, and Lindy drops my hand. I’m about to protest when she reaches out for him. “Hi, I’m Lindy, Easton’s wife. It’s nice to meet you.”
He shakes her hand, then looks at me, surprised. “Damn, Hayes.” I get ready for him to give me shit, but the asshole laughs instead. “You out-kicked your coverage, man.”
I grab her hip just before the doors finally fucking open on our floor. “You have no idea. See you tomorrow.”
I guide Lindy out of the elevator and hear Donnelly’s low whistle as the doors close.
Lindy pulls her keycard out of her purse with shaky hands and struggles to unlock the door. So I take the card from her and hold it against the sensor until it blinks green and push us inside.
Once it closes behind us, I spin us around and cage her in, leaning a hand against the door and towering over this beautiful woman.
Her breath shakes as she leans her back against the door and grips the collar of my coat. “Easton . . .”
“Your speed, baby.” I pull the white hat off her head and tug on a lock of her long hair. “You’re in control, Lindy. This is your choice.” I run my hand along her throat and cup her chin. “You decide how tonight goes.”
She shrugs off her own coat and lets it fall to the floor, then pushes my coat off my shoulders and wraps her arms around my neck. “I choose you, Easton.” She licks her lips and smiles. “I choose us.”
And that’s it.
The strings holding me back—the ones that have been slowly fraying—snap.
I lift Lindy from her feet and crash my mouth over hers as she molds her body to mine. Her arms and legs wrap around me, begging to be held. Like I’d ever let her go.
I take two steps toward the king bed in the center of the room and lay her down in front of me. The moonlight filtering in from the hotel window illuminates her creamy skin. “You are so fucking pretty, princess.”
Her fingers move to the buttons on her silky shirt, and she slowly pops each one open until she sits up on her knees and shrugs her shirt off. A lacy white bra cups her perfect fucking tits, and my mouth waters as she reaches for me.
“I trust you, Easton.” Her cold hands reach under my shirt and press flat against my skin. “Like I’ve never trusted anyone else in my life. Make me yours.”
I swallow the emotion clogging my throat and rip my shirt over my head, then shove out of my jeans and yank hers down her legs. I need to see her. To feel her skin against mine. I drop a knee on the bed and wrap a hand around her throat. “You’ve been mine since the day I chose your life over mine, baby. All mine. Always mine. Even if you didn’t know it yet.”
Lindy
His words are like a balm to all the tattered edges of my soul.
He kisses away the tear I hadn’t realized had fallen from my eye. “You are the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen, Lindy.” His tongue invades my mouth as his hands skim over my skin. A callused palm cups my breast, and my nipple aches from the feel of his thumb brushing over it.
“Easton . . .” I plead and wrap my legs around his hips, dying to feel him against me. Inside me. Only his boxers and my panties separate us, but it’s too much. My fingers reach for his boxers. “Please . . .”
“I know what you need, baby,” he teases and bites down on my bottom lip, sending a shockwave straight to my core.
I lift my hips and grind against him, desperate for relief, and his hands quickly grip my hips and press them to the bed.