CHAPTER TWELVE

W illow felt Brayden’s lips on her forehead moments before he climbed out of bed.

All night long, he’d held her tightly, possessively, after hours of pleasure. She hated to admit it, but it was exactly what she’d needed. Her nature was to pull away, so this was new for her.

It didn’t change anything. In a week their affair would be over, and she’d grieve the loss of their intimacy and the man himself. The more time she spent with him, the more her feelings grew.

How she’d last, she didn’t know. All she could do was take it day by day.

She’d expected his dominant nature to turn sexual as they hit the mattress last night, and he hadn’t disappointed her. Afterward, lying sated, she’d felt his hard cock up against her stomach as their legs entwined.

“It’s yours whenever you want, Willow,” he’d said against her hair.

She let out a sigh, remembering the feeling of his arms around her, feeling safe and cherished. It was somewhat confusing. Wasn’t a casual fling supposed to be less intimate?

“Go back to sleep, beautiful,” he said, snapping her back to the present moment. She rolled over and watched him dress. His strong back and shoulders slipped into his white shirt. Solid thighs disappeared into long black pants. The well-tailored suit looked as good in the early dawn as it had last night.

Leaving his shoes off, one knee on the bed, he leaned over her.

“Anyone ever tell you you’re terrible at following instructions?”

Willow grinned and ran her hand through his dark curly hair. “Anyone ever told you just how sexy you are?”

Of course, millions of women would have. How could they not?

His lips landed on hers as an arm slipped under her, arching her up. The weight of his body increased in a delicious way that made her wish the covers and his clothes would vanish. She groaned against his lips, and felt his body react.

“God, woman,” he moaned. “You are very goddamn hard to leave.”

She gazed at him hungrily. “So get back into bed and be late to work for once.”

Brayden glanced at the blinds, then shook his head. “I’ve got to go, beautiful.” He kissed her firmly before staring at her for a long moment. Finally, he said in a dark and husky voice, “I’ll talk to you in a few hours. Go back to damn sleep.”

She smiled.

When she woke up a few hours later, she dragged herself into the shower and out the door. She had an important meeting in the city with a potential new client. The lead had come via her best friend, Brianna, who worked at the software company.

“You’re here!” the redheaded beauty said, enveloping her in a hug. “Whoa, you look amazing. What are you doing? And how is your ankle now?”

Blinking for a moment, Willow had to stop herself from sharing her beauty secret: multiple daily orgasms. There wasn’t any shame in what she was doing, although Brianna had some strong morals. No, Willow wasn’t about to start talking about her sex life to her closest friend whose husband had been killed twelve months ago.

Stationed in Afghanistan, Christian had been just weeks from returning home to her when his unit had been hit by an IED. The bomb had been planted on the road they were traveling on, and detonated. It had completely devasted Bri and his family.

The shock had worn off and her friend had received therapy, but there were some things in life you never forgot or got over completely.

“Hmm, you know, supplements, lots of water, exercise. The usual.” Plus thirty-five orgasms in the past three days. No biggie. They sat down in the café downstairs from her offices.

“And my osteopath adjusted the treatment after seeing my ultrasound results, and it’s made a big difference already.” She wiggled her foot with a grin. “No stilettos for me for a while, though.”

“You never wore them anyway.” Brianna laughed. “So, are you all prepared for the presentation?”

“I think so. You said they wanted something disruptive to reach their younger target market, so that’s what I’m giving them.”

Brianna grinned and sipped her latte. “Awesome, you’re going to rock this!”

She wasn’t fooling anyone. Willow noticed the dark shadows under her eyes. She reached across the table and laid her hand over hers.

“Hey, how are you doing? Like, really.”

Her friend shrugged and looked away into a void. “You know, some days are easier than others. I have so much anger and sadness, I’m not sure what to do with it.”

She nodded and gave her friend space to keep talking.

“I just wish I’d had his baby and hadn’t agreed to wait until he returned stateside. He pushed, you know. I’m so angry at him. At myself for agreeing.”

More nodding.

Willow wished she could take the pain away, but grief was a solo journey, and everyone had to do it their own way. She could be there for her, though, and ensure she didn’t fade into a dark place. There came a point where it was unhealthy to keep being angry and not forgive life.

“I know, honey. Are you going to the therapist still?”

“Yes, but all he keeps saying is I should release my anger and start forgiving. How? How can I forgive?” Her eyes filled with tears. “I want to yell at someone, you know. But who?”

“At whoever you want. Me, God, Christian, the government, life. Have you tried?” The look in her friends’ eyes said she hadn’t considered it, followed by a confirming shake of her head.

“No.” Brianna squeezed her fingers. “I know you’ve been through this, and I appreciate your support.”

It wasn’t the same—grief never was. Willow had lost her parents in a car crash just weeks before her twenty-first birthday. The funny thing was, they’d been talking about getting a divorce, and now in a twist of fate, their souls were resting together, assuming what she knew about the afterlife was true.

She hadn’t been all that close to her parents, who had both been intellectuals. College professors, they were more interested in her school grades than her feelings. The problem was, Willow had a high emotional intelligence, and they had found her overly emotional, while she had found them cold.

She knew they had loved her, in their own way, but it hadn’t provided her with the love and sense of belonging she desperately wanted. What all children needed: emotional connection.

The pattern had inevitably repeated in her romantic relationships, and despite years of therapy, she wondered if she could have a loving connection with anyone.

They had left her financial security from two life insurance payouts, their LA home, a condo in Hawaii, and stocks. Willow was in a fortunate position for someone so young.

Still, despite all that, she’d choose to have her parents back in a flash. The pain never went away, but it dulled, and she had learned to forgive life for its unfair choices.

“Yeah, same but different. No pain is the same, Bri.” They had always supported each other, and never compared their pain. That wasn’t what friendship was about. She leaned back and finished her coffee. “Girl power forever, remember.”

The two of them had gone to high school together and to Stanford University, where they’d both studied communications. While Willow had ended up building her own freelancing agency, Brianna had stepped into the corporate world.

“Girl power forever.” Her friend smiled sadly before shaking herself. “Okay, show me what you have before we go up?”

Willow opened her laptop. “Oh God, yes. Feedback, please!”

Usually, she would have gone over it the night before with Bri, but Brayden was filling up her life right now.

When they weren’t having delicious sex where he completely dominated her, he was making her blush and laugh. It was unlike any other relationship she’d been in.

“Hello.” A finger tapped on her hand.

“Oh, sorry.”

“Alright, what’s going on?”

“Hmm?” She aimed for vague, but Brianna knew her too well.

“Oh my God, you have a man!” she said loudly before clapping a hand over her mouth. “Sorry, I’m just so excited for you.”

Willow looked around them and faux laughed at a few people. “Bri,” she chided. “No, I don’t. Stop. We are not talking about this.”

Her friend leaned forward. “Because my husband died? God, Willow, you don’t need to become a nun to protect my feelings.”

Well thank God, or she’d have been failing in the friendship department for the past few days.

“I don’t care. Still not talking about it. It’s nothing anyway,” she said, and pointed to the screen. “Now let’s go through this. We have ten more minutes.”

After a long stare, Brianna frowned, knowing she was right. Willow expected to be drilled afterward. As they headed upstairs to the meeting, Willow’s phone beeped.

Aside from me, what’s your favorite thing to eat? I’m bringing takeout tonight.

She let out a choking cough in the lift with her best friend and three strangers. Still coughing, she typed a reply and put her phone on silent.

Turkish. Also...I’m not wearing panties.

Payback. She grinned and stepped into the presentation, feeling fucking awesome.