Page 28 of Never Going to Care

My voice is high and tight, “They’re probably going to figure this out when we’re both not there anymore.”

“Good,” Hale intones with an edge of steely seriousness. “I don’t give a fuck if people know we’re together.”

He doesn’t elaborate and I’m not sure what to do with his words. Could he mean it in a playboy kind of way? That he doesn’t care if people know what we’re doing because I’m a conquest?

My heart lurches with the thought. I don’t like it at all. I hate it, in fact.

Does that mean I’m not going to do this? Hell fucking no. I might be worried about tomorrow a little bit, but it’s not every day a tall as hell, more handsome than his own good, former military man wants to use his body to give me pleasure.

I have zero doubt that it will be a lot of pleasure too.

How can anyone who looks like him not give pleasure to whoever he’s with? The thought of him with any other woman sours my stomach, but I push the reaction down because I have no right to it.

I’m going to take this for what it is. We need to get each other out of our systems and then we can move on. He’s never going to care about me, not the way my poor, weak little heart really wants.

It’s okay. I’m not going to dwell on it. I’m going to take this as what it is, soak up the pleasure, and then walk away. It might be tonight, or it might be tomorrow, but I’m not expecting breakfast or anything.

It’s a blur as Hale drives us to Queens and the more I think about this, the more I start to have doubts. Not about how good it will be, but about what happens after. Can I shut off all thewish you were mineflutters in my chest? Fuck, I hope so because if I can’t, this is going to sting.

A lot.

When we’re parked, Hale comes around to my side to open my door and his hand is there, waiting for me to slip mine in. Surprisingly, the doubts and the worries seem to evaporate. I can’t tear my eyes away from his calloused palms while thinking about the way I want them on my skin.

What harm could it do to indulge? Just a little bit? Well, I have a feeling it won’t be little, little…more like for one night.

I can do one night.

I can shut down my emotions and just let the carnal feeling envelope me. I need it.

As I look up into his eyes, they are embers in the night as he stares down at me. I slip my hand into his on instinct. He pulls me up against his chest and I fucking melt against him.

He’s warm in the cool fall air and my nipples pebble against his chest. He’s like safety and home and comfort. I won’t be able to relish it for long, but I can for this moment. Just this moment.

Hale twines our fingers together and then he’s leading me up the steps to his place. It’s a gorgeous townhouse which makes me want to sit by the window and watch the day and the neighborhood go by. I push the thought away; it’s too damn comfortable for what this is.

He doesn’t speak as we make our way inside and I’m okay with it. The silence between us is nice instead of awkward. I don’t feel the need to fill it with mindless chatter. I don’t feel the need to tell him anything about me or my life or what I want tomorrow to bring.

It allows me to focus on just the here and now.

Just how I want it to be.

Just how I need it to be.

The moment the door closes behind me, Hale lifts me by my hips and I wrap my legs around his hips, my dress bunching up around my waist. He doesn’t strain as he supports me and it’s sexy as fuck. My heels clatter to the ground behind us, but I’m too busy feeling the way the muscles of his shoulders bunch under my hands to give it much thought.

Before awkward words can fill the space between us, his lips are covering mine, claiming them, taking in a way which has me moaning into his mouth. He tastes just as good as he smells, like smokey dominance and controlled fire.

His large hands grip my ass and pull me tighter against his frame. It’s a good thing he’s lifted me, not just because of our ridiculous size difference, but because the way he kisses me makes my legs shaky and unreliable.

“Starlight,” he groans with a fierceness which has my panties practically melting off my damn body. How does he do that? I kind of want to ask him why he calls me ‘Starlight’, but I’m a little afraid to find out the reason. “You’re so fucking sexy. Can’t wait to bury myself balls deep inside of you.”

I gasp at his words as my hands slide under the edge of his suit jacket and he takes my lips again in a fierce kiss. I get so lost in the kiss I don’t realize we’re moving until a door slams behind us. I pull away from his lips and glance around to find us in a masculine, utilitarian bedroom. It’s sparse, but it’s exactly what I would have expected from Hale.

The walls are white and clean and everything else is dark wood with black accents. There’s not much warmth, but I see a few pictures on the dresser telling me there are some things Hale holds sacred. Has he been living in this world of black and white for his whole life? Is it a product of his time in the military?

I don’t get to contemplate the room anymore when Hale’s lips press to my exposed shoulder and his hand wraps around my waist to pull the zipper of my dress down slowly. It feels like he’s everywhere around me, but it’s not suffocating, and I don’t feel trapped. I feel, surprisingly, free.

“I couldn’t keep my eyes off you,” he whispers against my skin before his hands glide up my arms and he pulls the thin straps of my dress back down. “I can’t wait to see what you’re wearing under your dress.”

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