Chapter 22

twenty-two

. . .

Henley

The sun was shining, and I was going to venture out today. It was Sunday, and I’d worked all day yesterday, so today, I was going to do something fun. I’d had a slow morning going over some of the transcripts from our interviews and trying to wrap my head around the fact that we might just be on the wrong side of this case.

The three women who had filed the lawsuit were most likely telling the truth.

I’d wanted to believe differently, but at this point, everything was pointing at Bruno King being a liar.

I sipped my coffee, trying to decide what I’d do for the day, when a knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts. I was still in my jammies, and I wasn’t expecting anyone. I padded over to the door and looked through the peephole to see Easton Chadwick standing on my doorstep.

I pulled the door open. “Well, this is unexpected. I thought we were taking the day off?”

“We are. Can I come in?”

“Sure.” I stepped back, taking in his dark hair effortlessly styled, his jaw peppered with day-old scruff. He wore a pair of black workout shorts and a gray tee. He looked like a professional athlete, and it immediately irritated me that I wanted him. Why did I have to be attracted to this man?

The most unattainable man on the planet.

“Let me guess, you need me to come play pickleball with you because you are desperate to brush up on your skills because you lost on Friday?”

My tone was light and filled with humor, but he paid me no attention as he walked toward the kitchen. It was the first I noticed the bag in his hand, and he sat down at my table and motioned for me to sit next to him.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing is wrong, Princess.” He cleared his throat and opened the bag.

He laid a napkin down in front of me and then pulled out a cake donut with pink icing and sprinkles before setting a little container of chocolate milk beside it.

A lump formed in my throat, and I felt my eyes well with emotion.

“What is this?”

“It’s your favorite Sunday tradition.”

“You brought me a donut and chocolate milk?” I said, my voice wobbling.

He sucked in a deep breath and his steel-gray eyes locked with mine. “I handled things poorly, and I’m sorry.”

“Do you bring donuts to all your one-night stands? You didn’t handle things poorly, Easton. You handled them exactly how you said you would. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m okay with it. Please don’t pity me.” Now I was irritated because I hated that he knew I was struggling. I’d tried really hard these past two weeks to act unaffected, yet here he was, bringing me a sympathy donut.

“I’m not pitying you, Henley.” He reached for my hand. “I can’t stop thinking about you. It’s been like that since the morning you left my hotel room. And it scares the shit out of me, more than I can even put into words. I don’t know how to do this.”

“How to do what?” I asked.

“Well, I brought this donut over to come up with a plan for today. It turns out one night is not enough for me. I would like to date you, Princess. It’s obviously been a long time since I’ve dated someone, so I don’t know how to go about it.” He shrugged, and he was so damn adorable I could barely breathe.

My teeth sank into my bottom lip, and I tried to get myself under control. “You’ve missed all the latest trends. Most people just swipe right and meet up somewhere.”

“Fine. This is me swiping right.”

I chuckled. “You want to date me? That’s a leap from wanting a one-and-done.”

“It is.”

“So, how do I know that you don’t just want to sleep with me again?” I quirked a brow.

“I definitely want to sleep with you again,” he said, the corners of his lips turning up. “But I would tell you if that was the reason I was here. It’s more than that, Henley. I think about you all the time. You’re actually making me physically sick.”

My eyes widened as I gaped at him. “Thanks a lot. What does that mean?”

“After Jilly’s accident, I started having panic attacks. I’d vomit and break out in a cold sweat. I’d get the spins, and I couldn’t speak. I’d end up on the floor, trying to work through it.”

“That’s awful,” I said, moving to my feet and climbing into his lap. He was opening up to me, and I wanted to be closer to him. “I’m so sorry. What did you do to stop them?”

“I saw a therapist. I worked through it, and they’ve been gone for years. But they’ve come back with a vengeance. I had two big ones this past week, and I saw my therapist yesterday. She’s convinced it’s because I knew that I was making a huge mistake by letting you go. Not telling you how I feel about you.”

“How do you feel about me?”

He tucked my long hair behind my ear. “I don’t know how to put it into words, but I think about you when I’m not with you. I miss your laugh and your smile and your snarky comments. I look forward to you coming to my office, and I’m pissed when I see Joey Barker hanging all over you.”

“So you’re jealous?” I smirked.

“Fuck yeah. But not because I think you like him. I’m jealous because I want to be hanging all over you. I want to hear what you’re saying, and I want to show you around Rosewood River, and I want to be the guy you kiss at the end of the day.”

The breath caught in my throat, and I placed a hand on his cheek. “You don’t have to wait until the end of the day to kiss me.”

“It was a metaphor. I was trying to be romantic and deep.”

“And I’m trying to tell you that I want you to kiss me right now,” I said with a chuckle.

His fingers tangled in my hair, and he tugged me down. His mouth crashed into mine, and I finally felt like I could breathe again.

My lips parted in invitation, and his tongue slipped inside.

I’d missed him.

How do you miss someone who was never yours?

I didn’t know how, but I knew that I did.

Because Easton Chadwick felt like mine.

When he pulled back, his gaze locked with mine. “Princess. You need to get dressed. I’m taking you out before I take you to bed again.”

“Wow. You’re obsessed with me, aren’t you?” I teased, as I pushed to my feet.

“Don’t get a big head.” He smacked me on the ass. “Get dressed.”

“Come with me. We can chat while I get dressed. It’s not like you haven’t seen the goods.” I waggled my brows.

He chuckled and took my hand as I led him down the hall.

“So, you’re agreeing to date me,” he said, as he dropped to sit on the edge of the bathtub, and I sat down at the vanity and brushed my hair, pulling it into a long side braid.

“That depends. What do you have in mind today?” I applied some tinted moisturizer, a little blush, and some mascara before dabbing some pink gloss on my lips. I moved to the closet off the bathroom and pulled my little black T-shirt dress off the hanger and slipped on some cowboy boots, as the dress ended mid-thigh.

“I’m going to take you downtown and show you all the best places.”

“Am I dressed okay for what we’re doing?” I asked, as I came out of the closet and moved in front of him.

His hands wrapped around me, gripping the backs of my thighs as they slipped beneath my dress. “You look fucking gorgeous.”

He turned his cheek so it rested against my stomach, and his hands moved up further, until his thumbs teased the lace of my panties.

“Easton,” I whispered.

I was already breathing heavily, just from the way this man touched me. His thumb slipped beneath the edge of my panties.

“Damn, Princess. You’re so wet.”

I leaned forward and kissed him as he continued stroking me, before his finger slipped inside. I tugged at his hair as his tongue explored my mouth, and I ground against his hand. He continued to pump his finger in and out as his thumb found my clit, and my entire body started to shake.

My legs were barely stable as I groaned into his mouth and shattered with a gasp.

He stayed right there, waiting for me to ride out my orgasm.

And when I pulled my mouth away from his, he freed his hand and tugged me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around me.

“Great date so far,” I said as I looked up at him, and he laughed hard.

“Same.” He kissed the tip of my nose and then my cheeks and my forehead. “I think you missed me as much as I missed you.”

I nodded. I wanted to give him more, but I was hesitant. Easton had been so hot and cold with me so many times. How did I know that he wouldn’t wake up tomorrow and change his mind?

I moved to my feet and walked over to the sink to fix my hair and adjust my dress.

He moved beside me, placing his finger between his lips and sucking before turning on the water and washing his hands.

“So, how will we handle this with work?” I asked, suddenly realizing we were going out in public, and this was a small town.

“I was thinking I would call your father on Monday morning and let him know that I want to date you.” He placed his hands on his hips and faced me.

“What is this? The 1800s? You don’t need to call my father.”

“Henley, I work for your father. He’s also been my mentor, and he asked me to mentor you. I think he should be the first call,” he said.

“Listen. It’ll be a whole thing. He’ll want to talk it out. Everyone in the office will find out. That’s a lot of pressure when we haven’t even been on a date yet.”

“I don’t do things casually, Princess. I know I’ve confused you in the past, but I have not said that I want to date a woman in many years. I know what I want, and I’m not ashamed to say it.”

I moved closer, taking his hand in mine. “Nor should you be. But, in all fairness, this could be a disaster. It’s new for you, and if the whole office finds out and then you decide it’s too much, everyone will know that you dumped me. That would make for a very uncomfortable office experience.”

“You clearly don’t trust my intentions.”

“I want to. And I will after some time. But this came out of left field, sort of like everything that you do.” I shrugged. “And I’m okay with it. With seeing where this goes, because I’m really happy that you showed up this morning and that you want to give this a try. Because I feel things when I’m with you, Easton. But I am already Charles Holloway’s daughter. I do not need to be Easton Chadwick’s girlfriend until I know that we are going to go the distance, you know?”

He huffed and ran a hand over the back of his neck.

“You feel things, huh?” He smirked.

I couldn’t hide the smile on my face. “I do. But I don’t want to get hurt either. So how about we keep this a secret for now until we know that you aren’t going to bolt the minute you feel like it’s too much?”

He nodded. “Fine. We’ll go downtown as friends, and I won’t be inappropriate until we’re behind closed doors.”

“How very mature of you.” I pushed up on my tiptoes and kissed him.

“I’m going to surprise you, Henley. I’m not fucking around with this. I’m all in.” He held my chin between his thumb and pointer finger before placing one more chaste kiss on my lips.

“Promises, promises. Now, show me your favorite places in town, and then bring me home and have your way with me.”

“I think I might up the stakes.” He took my hand and led me out of the bedroom and down the hallway.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“It means no sex until you agree to date me and make it public.”

My mouth fell open. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope. I kid you not, Princess. This dick is off limits.”

“I already agreed to date you, you stubborn ass.” I marched out the door and down the driveway because he hadn’t driven here, so apparently, we were walking.

“I don’t want to be your dirty little secret.” His voice was all tease.

I whipped around, and my chest slammed into his. “You’re the king of no-strings-attached relationships, and now you’re refusing to have sex with me until we tell everyone we’re dating?”

His lips turned up in the corners. “Yes. It sounds crazy, but that’s the plan. That way, you’ll know I’m not just in it for the sex.”

“What if I’m in it for the sex?” I quirked a brow and tried hard not to laugh.

“Then you’re shit out of luck. Me and my dick want to date you.”

“You’re so infuriating,” I said, as we started walking. “Is this negotiable?”

“Wow. You really like my dick, don’t you?” He chuckled. “Sure, it’s negotiable. Let me hear your argument, counselor.”

“Well, there are other things we can do without having sex, right?”

“Correct. What did you have in mind?” His finger wrapped around mine as we walked side by side, and then he dropped it when we turned down Main Street with all the shops.

“Baths and showers,” I said. “I want to take them together.”

“I can agree to those terms. I love being anywhere near you naked.”

I laughed and feigned irritation. “How about orgasms brought on by other things besides your penis?”

“Don’t ever call it a penis again, Princess. It offends him, and it offends me.”

“What would you like me to call it?”

“Dick. Cock. Rocket. Schlong. Big Daddy.”

“Wow. You’ve really thought about it. So, orgasms that don’t involve any of those bad boys,” I said over my laughter.

“Sure. Fingers. Lips. I’ll even allow you to dry-hump me again. I know how much you like that.”

“I think you’ll crack, Chadwick. The minute we’re naked in the shower, you’re going to break this ridiculous rule.”

We approached Honey Biscuit Café, and he pulled the door open and motioned for me to step inside. But he leaned down, his lips grazing the edge of my ear as he spoke.

“You might be right. Burying myself in all that sweetness is all I can think about.”

I shivered, and he chuckled.

This man was determined to do things his way.

But I had some plans of my own.