The Rivals - Dylan Allen Page 0,112

home, there will always be peace, You’ll always be safe,” he whispers and pulls me into his arms.

And then he rolls me over, slides back into me, and we make a storm of our own.

SURPRISE

CONFIDENCE

TWO WEEKS LATER

* * *

“Hey, I’m heading to Sweet and Lo’s after my appointment at Blush. Want to meet me for coffee?” I whisper in Hayes’s ear. His eyes are closed, but he’s been awake for at least five minutes. I heard the change in his breathing when I stepped out of my bathroom. I let him pretend, though, so he could watch me. I got dressed right in front of him. His broad, sun-darkened, muscular shoulders twitched when I slipped my panties on, but otherwise, he hasn’t moved.

I inhale the scent of his sleep and sweat and our sex, and I want to get back into bed with him. But I have an appointment at Blush where it’s very hard to get an appointment. It’s one of Houston’s premier hair salons. The hair stylist, Tanaka, is one of the most sought-after stylists and colorists in the country, and she had a cancellation four weeks ago that bumped me up on the wait list. And no way am I am missing it, not even for a morning ride on Hayes’s gloriously thick dick.

“Yeah, I’ll meet you.” His sleep-roughened voice is sexy, and the way his mouth moves as he forms his words is something I could sit and watch all day.

“What time?” he asks sleepily into his pillow.

I glance at my watch and do some quick math. “Maybe around eleven a.m.?” I say.

One of his eyes pops open and he peers at the alarm clock by my bed and flips over, wide-eyed to stare at me.

“Are you having a quadruple bypass? Why does it take four hours to get your hair done?” he asks. I smack his shoulders, and then my hand goes back for a more tender caress of the skin that’s wrapped around the love of my life.

“I don’t have time to explain. Go back to sleep. You put in some good work last night. You must be tired.” I stand to leave.

His long, sculpted arm darts out, and he wraps his fingers around my wrist. I lean in for a kiss and think if I skip my stop for coffee, I’ll have time for a quick little something—not that there’s ever been anything quick and little about sex with Hayes.

The thought of coffee turns my stomach so violently that I pull back right before our lips touch and sit back down.

“You okay?” he asks. His eyes are only half open, and those beautiful wild hazel eyes, are full of real concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I don’t know what the hell, I just felt a little sick when I thought about coffee, which is crazy cause I can’t imagine how I’d get through the day without it.”

“Get back into bed, and I’ll give you the other thing you can’t get through the day without.” He tugs me back to him.

“No. If I don’t get this appointment, I’ll be in a bad mood until I get my hair done by her, and that’s at least a month away, if I’m lucky,” I tell him grouchily, but only because his offer is so tempting.

“I think your hair looks amazing,” he says.

“Because you’re a man and you’re fucking me. You probably don’t remember what color the hair on my head is unless I’m standing in front of you,” I joke and stand up again.

“I’m insulted. You have no idea how much time I spend thinking about your hair. Wrapped around my fists when you’re on your knees in front of me. Draped around my hips when your lips are wrapped around my cock. Falling down around me when you’re riding me …”

“Not when it’s blowing in the wind while we stroll?” I ask and shake my head in feigned disappointment

“What fun would that be?” he asks. His grin is so wide and happy. I snap a picture of him with my phone and stare at it a beat before I look back at him. His eyes are sparkling, his morning stubble is dark and heavy, and his smile is full of contentment that I put there.

“No fun at all,” I agree before I turn to leave.

“Come back to bed,” he calls after.

“No way am I am going to be late for this. I’ll see you soon. Bye.” I chuck a peace sign at him and then walk happily