pleasure behind me, thrusting madly in search of his own release. Then it happens, that last exhale of air on a long moan, and true to his word, he slips out and rests his cock in the crease of my arse, slowly thrusting, his fingers flexing on my hips.
‘Oh God, help me,’ he breathes, twitching and jerking behind me. His release hits my bare back, coating me wide and high, the warmth symbolic of how I’m feeling inside.
He slows his thrusts until he comes to a stop and collapses against me, but I can’t stay upright any more. My legs are boneless. I fold to the floor, taking Becker with me, and he shifts just in time to cushion my landing, rolling to his back and pulling me on to his chest.
‘Naked cuddles,’ he murmurs. ‘I need a naked cuddle.’
Of course. He may never love me, but he needs me.
My eyes close and I drift off, exhausted, sated . . . and helplessly in love.
Chapter 29
I’m woken by a gentle nudge to my ribs, and I come to, spread over Becker’s chest, his wet skin still slipping with mine. ‘Your phone, princess,’ he mumbles sleepily. ‘Make it stop.’
I scramble from his body and crawl up the corridor a little, finding my phone where I dropped it earlier. I brush my wild hair out of my face, all fingers and thumbs, trying to turn it up the right way to see who’s calling me. ‘Oh shit.’ Lucy’s name glows on the screen, almost menacingly. I look at the time in the corner, seeing it’s nearly nine. I should have been at the King’s Head over half an hour ago. Shit, shit, shit. ‘Hello.’ My shoulders skim my earlobes as I answer, my face screwing up.
‘Are you okay?’ she blurts.
‘Yes,’ I squeak.
‘You sure? You sound . . . breathless.’
I actually am, an hour after being pummelled like a rag doll by Becker. And my heart’s still going like the clappers. I shuffle to my arse and sit up against the wall, stark naked . . . in the corridor of The Haven. ‘I’m fine.’ I drop my voice. ‘I need to talk to you.’
‘Well, yeah. Weren’t you on your way over an hour ago?’
‘Something came up.’
She coughs and splutters. ‘Something came up, or something went up?’
‘Lucy,’ I gasp, looking over to Becker’s naked body sprawled across the corridor. He’s on his back, arms spread wide, eyes lightly closed in a peaceful slumber. He looks like a fucking angel – a delicious, tempting, dangerous angel.
‘Still wanna talk?’
‘Yes,’ I croak, my throat closing up on me once again. I need a friend to help me unravel my tangled mind, to understand and tell me it’s going to be okay, to listen and not judge me.
‘I’ll meet you at my apartment,’ Lucy sighs. ‘I’ve been sitting in the pub on my own for half an hour. I’m sure everyone here thinks I’ve been stood up by a date.’
‘Okay. See you there.’
We hang up, and my phone slides from my hand, thudding on the floor by my side. I sit for a few minutes, chewing my lip as I study my naked boss. ‘Bastard,’ I mumble, dragging myself to my feet. My muscles scream in protest as I straighten up, every part of me stiff and tight. I feel like I’ve run a marathon with no training. And my arse. That’s still sore too. ‘Why do I let you do it to me?’ I ask his sleeping form. This feeling – emotionally and physically, because I’m hurting everywhere – is like I have the hangover from hell and I’m not sure whether the sensational night that’s responsible for it was worth the agonising aftermath.
Becker stirs on a cute moan, his eyes fluttering open. He frowns at me standing above him, then looks around. ‘This isn’t my bed.’
I gather up my knickers and slip them on. ‘I’m going out.’
The top half of his body is up and propped on his elbows in a second, his face anxious. ‘Where?’
‘I was supposed to meet Lucy at the pub half an hour ago.’
‘Oh.’ He deflates before my eyes with disappointment. ‘I thought, well, I thought . . .’
‘I’ll be back,’ I assure him, because I know I will. Despite everything I’ve heard and the constant sway from elated to sad, I’ll be back. My reason for this is simple: hope. Hope amid my chaos. Hope that Becker Hunt lets himself go, lets himself fall in love with me.
I hesitate when