Six Naughty Nights: Love in Reverse, Book 2 (39 page)

He kissed her neck and up her throat, turning her face to his so he could plunge his tongue into her mouth briefly before releasing her. “I know what you mean. Modern women are supposed to be in control and independent, and men are supposed to be gentle and considerate.” He stroked her hip and bottom as he moved. “But sometimes, you just want to get rid of all that and fuck like rabbits.”

She exhaled and sent him a wry look. “That wasn’t what I meant at all.”

“Wasn’t it?” Desire and lust were overtaking his attempts to be gentle and considerate. He pushed himself up on his hands. “So you don’t want it rough, then?” He thrust hard inside her, pushing in deeply.

She groaned and lifted her hips. “Oh God…”

“Just say the word and I’ll stop.” He thrust again, his hips meeting hers with a sharp smack.

She spread her legs, burying her face in the pillow again. “Oh no…”

He couldn’t hold back any longer. “Grab onto something, honey, because this is going to be hard and fast.”

She exclaimed loudly as he began to pound into her, her hands reaching out to grasp the slats of the headboard. Encouraged by her lack of complaint, he gave into his urge to be forceful, thrusting hard until he could think of nothing else but the sensation of being inside her, of claiming her in the most basic way a man could claim a woman. It was aggressive and rough, and to his delight, he could tell she was loving every minute of it.

At one point he was vaguely aware of her climaxing beneath him with a squeal, but his body was on autopilot and he continued to thrust until the heat rushed up from his balls into his groin and he spilled inside her with a triumphant roar. He clutched hold of her, burying himself inside her, wishing he could hold onto the moment, both the exquisite physical ecstasy of coming, as well as the emotional satisfaction of a job well done.

But the seconds ticked by, and he came back to earth gradually. Esther lay limp beneath him, strands of hair sticking to her face with sweat. He rested his forehead on her shoulder for a moment until his breathing regulated, then gently slid out of her. She shuddered, but didn’t move, so he curled around her and pulled her back against his chest.

He kissed her cheek. “Are you okay?”

“Mmm.” She nestled back into him. “Exhausted. I think you finally wore me out.”

“Sorry about that.” He was already regretting being so rough. “Did I hurt you?”

“I may never be able to get my knees together again.” She glanced over her shoulder at him, and smiled. “But no. You didn’t hurt me.” She yawned. “Having to walk like John Wayne when he gets off his horse is a small price to pay for such a good time.”

He chuckled and kissed her ear. He was tired too, and he pulled a couple of pillows down to make himself more comfortable. She felt good in his arms. He didn’t want to let her go.

And maybe he didn’t have to. Hadn’t she told him she loved him?

Warmth spread through him at the memory. She loved him. She’d had his baby. Surely that must mean there was a future for the two of them? It was too late to talk about it now, but he’d raise the subject in the morning.

“Good night,” he whispered. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I enjoyed our Naughty Night.”

She giggled. “Yes. The cap was a very good idea!”

He laughed. “I thought so too.”

She snuggled in his arms. Warmth and contentment flooded him. He’d never felt like this before, never had this sense that everything was right in the world—that this was where he was supposed to be. He wanted to stay there forever.

Her body was warm, soft and silky. He nuzzled her neck. Tomorrow he’d talk to her about it. Now he just wanted to sleep.

Chapter Forty-Six

Toby stirred and opened his eyes. Light filtered through the curtains, which had been dark the last time he’d roused to visit the bathroom some time around three a.m.

Esther stood by the mirror, tying her hair into a ponytail. As he moved, she glanced over and smiled. “Morning, sleepy.”

He blinked, sat up and rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?”

“Nearly seven thirty. We’re supposed to be having breakfast at eight. I was about to wake you.”

His arms around his knees, he clasped his hands together loosely and sat watching her as she finished dressing. He’d slept soundly all night apart from the bathroom visit, no doubt due to the exercise he’d indulged in beforehand.
 

He noticed that her hair was damp around the nape of her neck. “Have you had a shower already?”

“I’ve been up for ages.”

He frowned. “I was hoping to share the shower with you.” He’d dreamed about soaping her slippery body.

She flashed him a smile. “Sorry.” The smile was a fraction too bright.

Hmm. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

She smiled wryly and stretched up her arms. “Achy and a bit sore.”

He winced. “Sorry.”

“It was worth it.” She began to pack her case. Her movements were brisk and efficient.

Puzzled, he got up, went over to her and put his arms around her from behind, still naked. “Hey, you.” He nuzzled her neck.

“Hey.” For a brief moment, she relaxed into his embrace. Then she cleared her throat and leaned forward to do up the zipper on the bag.

He caught her arm and turned her around. “Half an hour to go yet.” He cupped her face and moved closer. “I can think of a few things we can do in thirty minutes.”

“You need to get ready,” she scolded, taking his hands and moving them away from her face. She left him and walked over to where she’d put her makeup bag and brought it back to stuff it in the end compartment of her bag.

Something was definitely up. “We need to talk,” he said.
 

She glanced over her shoulder.

“Shower and dress first. Talk later,” she directed. “We don’t want to keep everyone waiting.

He frowned, but went into the bathroom and switched on the shower.

Part of him hoped she’d join him, but she didn’t.

Within five minutes he was out, and he dressed quickly in jeans and a T-shirt, same as her, and hung his suit up. His bag packed and zipped, he caught her hand. “Now,” he said. “We need to talk.”

She turned to face him. Her face was blank, cold even. “Do we have to do this now?”

“Yes.” He cupped her face. Where had the hot little sex kitten that had been in his bed disappeared to? “Yesterday you told me you loved me.”

Her lips curved a little. “You were torturing me at the time.”

“Even so,” he said, heart thumping, “does that make it untrue?” Was she going to deny it?

She looked up, her green eyes large and filled with uncertainty. “No,” she whispered. “I do love you.”

Pleasure flooded him, and he smiled with relief. “Then I think it’s time to talk about our future.”

She cleared her throat and moved away. “We
don’t have a future, Toby. Not in the way you mean.”

What the fuck? He gripped her upper arm firmly and forced her to face him. “I don’t get it. We’re meant to be together. I’ve never felt like this with anyone else. I’ve never said this to anyone else.”

“That’s only because…” she gulped, “…you don’t know everything.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t…” She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it now.” Her chin lifted stubbornly.

He was too angry to let it go, though. “What’s going on? What do you mean, I don’t know everything?” He glared at her. “I’m not letting you out of this room until you tell me what you meant.”
 

“We’ll be late for breakfast.”

“Fuck breakfast. I’m not hungry. Talk to me.”

Her chest heaved. She stepped back and massaged her arm where he must have gripped her too tight, but she didn’t turn away.

“Okay.” Her eyes sparked as if she’d accepted a challenge. “You know you left messages for me at the university after Fiji?”

He frowned, surprised at her choice of topic. “Yes.”

“I told you I never got them.”

“Yes…” He didn’t like the sound of where this was going.

“Well, I did.” She met his gaze, her eyes cool. “I threw them away.”

He stared at her. His heart pounded in his ears. “I don’t understand.”

“I knew where you were, Toby. I knew you wanted to contact me. But I chose not to let you know where I was. I chose to keep Charlie a secret from you.” She didn’t look regretful or guilty. Her expression said
Fuck you. What are you going to do about it?

Disbelief made him dizzy. She’d refused to tell him about Charlie on purpose? Not because she couldn’t find him, but because she didn’t want him involved in Charlie’s life?

“Now do you see why we’re not going to work?” she said flatly.

“Why?” An incredible wave of hurt washed over him. “Why would you do a thing like that?”

“Because you abandoned me.” Her eyes blazed. “I begged you to stay in touch with me—I gave you everything during our time in Fiji. I opened up to you like I’d never opened up to anyone before. And what did you do with my heart? You crushed it! Like a fucking snail beneath your foot.”

Guilt rose in his throat like bile. “I know. But Christ, did that justify being cut out of my son’s life?”

“You didn’t deserve him,” she snapped. “Why should I have come to find you when you’d already turned me down? How did I know you wouldn’t do it again?”

“This was different. This was about denying a child his father.” He stomped on the guilt and let his anger override it. “Esther, I haven’t said anything to you about the fact that you kept me out of your life, mainly because I didn’t realise it was by choice. But knowing that you did it on purpose… It was an incredibly cruel thing to do, both to me and to Charlie.”

“Don’t you dare start telling me what’s best for my son!”

“He’s my son too,” he pointed out.

“You left me,” she whispered. “And now you’re going to university. There’ll be thousands of young women there. Do you really think you’d be able to stay faithful?”

Coldness settled in his stomach. What a pathetic excuse for not wanting a relationship. Because he
might
cheat on her. “I’ve never cheated on any girl I’ve been with.”

“That’s because you’ve never dated anyone longer than about two weeks.”

“You don’t know a thing about me.” He glared at her. “You have no idea what relationships I’ve had—we’ve never talked about it. You’ve never asked, and I’ve never told you. You’re just striking out because you’re afraid, and I understand that, but it’s not pleasant being your punching bag, Esther.”

There was a knock at the door, and they both jumped. Toby opened his mouth to tell her to leave it, but before he could say anything she marched over and opened it.

Rusty and Faith stood there, smiling. “Coming down?” Rusty asked.

“Sure,” Esther said, grabbing her purse. She walked out past them without another look at Toby.

He followed her out and along the corridor to the elevators, gritting his teeth. He couldn’t believe her revelation. Had she really not told him about Charlie on purpose? Anger and resentment entwined with hurt and sickness inside him. The last thing he wanted was breakfast.

“Sleep well?” Rusty asked.

“Fine,” Toby said. He glanced at Faith, who was as white as if she’d been drained by a vampire. “Are you okay? Morning sickness striking again?”

“Particularly virulently.” She smiled weakly. “I just hope they don’t shove eggs and bacon under my nose. I won’t be held responsible for my actions.”

The elevator pinged and they went inside. Toby pressed the button for the ground floor.

They stood silently. Rusty and Faith glanced at Esther, who stood looking at her fingernails sullenly. Rusty met Toby’s gaze and raised his eyebrows. Toby gave a slight shake of his head and glared back. He didn’t want to talk about it.

“I wonder how Charlie slept with his grandparents,” Faith said lightly.

Esther gave a shadow of a smile. “I hope they don’t mind playing trucks at five a.m.”

“See what we have to look forward to?” Faith said jovially. Rusty smiled, but they fell silent again, and Toby cursed Esther for spoiling the moment. Why couldn’t she have awoken in his bed with him? They could have made love, showered together, made love again. Then he could have brought up the fact that he’d asked her to marry him by text. And the fact that she’d told him she loved him. They would have laughed about it, told each other how they felt, and decided to sail off into the sunset with Charlie close behind.

Instead, they had this awkward, painful silence that was tying his stomach in knots, and the memory of her words,
I chose to keep Charlie a secret from you
, bouncing around inside his head like a ball in a squash court. His head ached. That could be a hangover though. He desperately needed a coffee.
 

The elevator pinged again and the doors opened. They walked out together and crossed the foyer to the restaurant. A couple of long tables had been set up for the guests who had stayed the night. Dan and Eve were already seated, sipping orange juice and coffee, talking to Felix, Carla and some of the others who’d managed to make it down. Toby’s parents were there with Charlie, who ran up to them as he saw them.