Layers(65)

“Look at me, Hayley,” he asks in a deep, hoarse voice. I look into his hypnotic hazel eyes that turn my insides into boiling liquid. The deeper his gaze the deeper his thrusts are, rhythmic and dominant. His eyes and his fullness make me shiver as I build up to trembling combustion.

Every inch of my body is pulsing in sweet pain of blessed relief when he stiffens and then collapses over me. As I rest, slowly coming back to the present, I notice that the track playing had been on repeat the whole time. “I love the music,” I breathe in an exhausted yet fulfilled voice.

“Cafe del Mar,” he says in low tone next to my ear.

“Never heard of them before.”

“Well, now you have.” He raises his head, his body still covering mine. He looks at me with an unfathomable gaze and mutters, “‘I Love You,’ is the name of the track.” We trade tense, meaningful stares as his words hang thick between us.

~~~

“Check,” he draws with his finger what feels like a checkmark on my forearm.

“Christening mission accomplished beyond expectations,” I giggle, still in a serene mood.

“You never had someone in this bed?” I question, combing my fingers in his soft tousled hair.

“I’ve never had someone in this house, if you mean female company.”

Really? I’m surprised at how elated I am to hear this piece of information. “Why is that?”

“No one was significant enough to share my haven,” he says casually.

I sigh in sheer delight.

“You never had anyone you cared for?” I question, finding it unusual. Being, well, Daniel Stark, he must have had ladies constantly seeking his company. Yet, I am completely empathetic since I have never felt strong emotions toward anyone before either, not as an adult, anyway.

“Well, there was someone who I got close to, but I stopped it at a very early stage.”

“Why?” I ask, hating the fact that he’d had feelings toward someone else. Even if it was in the past it still makes me absurdly jealous.

“She broke my trust.” His expression is emotionless.

“How?” I continue. Am I crossing the fine line between welcomed curiosity and privacy invasion?

Daniel, seeming not to mind, runs his fingers across my collarbone as he responds, “She talked to some tabloid journalist.”

Musing the information he just shared with me, I mutter, “But there was nothing about you in terms of relationships in the media.” Oopsie.




He raises a questioning eyebrow and a small, crooked smile appears on his face that had been blank a moment ago. “You searched information about me, Hales?”

I blush. Why do I blush?

“You look super sweet when you blush, baby.” He grins and I wince, letting it go as soon as he brings his lips to mine.

“Well, you know, there were a lot of pictures of you and the flawless mannequins you used to appear with in public, but that’s it.”

“You can’t even imagine how quickly money can make unwanted information disappear,” he murmurs, then chuckles.

“That was a nice diplomatic way to describe call girls.” I giggle, though disturbed. The thought of him being with them in private crosses my mind and I need to fight to keep it out.

“Why did you do that?” I further inquire.

He observes me inquisitively.

“You could have dated anyone you wanted,” I add, clarifying my question.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” He kisses me. “As soon as the money and successes reared their ugly heads all sorts of parasites appeared, wearing seductive clothes and air in their heads and like I just told you, as soon as I thought I’d finally found someone worthy she went and sold information about our relationship to the press. So I gave up the relationship thing for a very long time.”

His mouth coils up as he continues, “Well, that is till you came along, bashing the hell out of me in the privacy of my kitchen at my own f**king building.” A low rough laugh rises from his throat; his face lights with amusement.

“Why me then?” I ask in a small voice.

“Because it’s you.” He smiles, his eyes narrowing tenderly as he kisses me again, more profoundly. “Because you’re simply you, and there’s no one else I want.”

Our breathing blends as he murmurs the words into my mouth.





Chapter 26: Tidal


“Hales, we need to get going if we want to catch some waves before it gets dark.” Daniel kisses me, cups my cheek and gently rubs it with his thumb. “There’s a wetsuit in the closet. You should get dressed while I get the gear.” He kisses me again and walks toward the door. I sigh in pleasure, following his tan, wide back with my gaze till he disappears in the corridor.

With my white bikini on I go to Daniel’s walkthrough wardrobe, searching through the casual menswear, which I am not at all convinced would be Daniel’s style or size. I wonder idly whose clothes they are if they aren’t Daniel’s. At the next set of hanged clothes I find a dark gray full-body Billabong wetsuit that fits me perfectly. I am engrossed with the thought of who actually bought this suit.

“Need some help?” I ask as I enter the mahogany and beige kitchen. Just like the exterior, the interior of the house is simply though tastefully furnished. Nothing too extravagant, yet everything seems high quality.