Page 9 of Bad Boy Bakers, Vol. 2

Chapter Five

Torn between going after Hadley to see what was wrong, and sticking around to deal with this once and for all without her, Cash elected to stay.

She needed this resolved. So did he. So he was the one still in the kitchen wiping down counters after everyone else had left and Cayla had hustled Maddie into the bath.

Holt strode in. “You didn’t have to do that, man.”

“It was nothing. The least I could do for being included.”

“Of course you were included. You’re family.” He clapped Cash on the back as he had so many times before. “That said, I hope you’ll understand when I say you’ve got to go.”

“Sorry?”

That hand clamped on his shoulder and began to steer him toward the door. “It’s not that I don’t want to see you, man. But all the excitement means that Maddie’s going to be out like a light. That’s a rare enough occurrence that we have to take advantage, if you know what I mean.”

He was being given the bum’s rush so Holt could go work on turning that negative pregnancy test into a positive. Being a cock blocker was hardly going to help his case, so he conceded defeat yet again.

“Uh… Right. You two have fun with that.”

His buddy grinned. “So much fun. God, I love being married. See you tomorrow!”

“Sure. Tomorrow.” Cash stepped out onto the stoop and found the door shut smartly behind him.

Well, okay then.

Nothing about this trip was going the way he’d planned.

And why should it? It really hadn’t been planned at all, which was entirely unlike him.

He was a man who valued routine and schedules.

One who took weeks or months to plan an op.

That attention to detail meant he had one of the most successful mission records in the past several decades.

But regardless of his personal inclinations, he’d been trained by both life and Uncle Sam how to pivot when necessary.

This was just another of those moments. And it meant he had the rest of the night to figure out what was going on with Hadley.

He managed to avoid any of the inn’s staff as he made his way upstairs to the third-floor turret room.

Not hard this time of night. They’d be getting their own kids down for bed and likely heading that way themselves soon.

At the top of the stairs, he paused, listening for signs of anyone else on this level.

It seemed no other guests had been added since they’d left for dinner.

Cash unlocked the room and stepped inside.

Hadley wasn’t in view, but a trail of her clothes started at the foot of the bed and led toward the partially cracked door of the bathroom.

Interest piquing, he followed the trail, compulsively scooping up the sweater, jeans, and the lacy red bra that was one of his favorites.

The tiny bikini cut briefs that matched were just at the threshold.

Oh, she wasn’t playing fair.

Curling his fingers into the fabric, Cash nudged open the door. “Hadley?”

And there she was, hair twisted into a knot, head tipped back as she lounged in the clawfoot tub.

There were no bubbles, nothing to hide the body he’d learned so well over these past months.

Her skin was flushed pink and rosy from the heat, a contrast to the ink swirling down her arms and around her torso.

The sight of the water lapping just above her taut nipples had his cock stirring and all his good intentions wavering, as she’d no doubt intended.

He managed some inarticulate noise, unable to stop his gaze from traveling lower, to the dark juncture between her thighs.

She opened those sharp gray eyes and smiled in invitation. “There’s room for two.”

Only if those two were tightly entwined.

Images of him taking her place lounging as she straddled his lap and rode him to both their pleasure had his nostrils flaring. He took a step forward before he stopped himself.

“We talked about this.” He’d put the kibosh on any more intimate activities until he could sort things with her brother.

“I thought that was only because we weren’t on the same page about telling Holt. I agree with you about the necessity of it now. But clearly that’s going to take a while. Are you really going to deny us what we both want in the meantime?”

He swallowed. “This wasn’t why I came in here.”

“No?” She glanced pointedly down at the clothes in his hands.

Cash realized he was stroking his fingers over the lace of the underwear as if it were the skin he craved. He fisted his hands. “I wanted to ask if you were okay. You seemed off at dinner.”

Something flickered in her eyes before she turned her lips down in a pout. “I hated dinner. Hated that everyone there was free to be open and affectionate, and we weren’t. So I stayed away to avoid temptation.”

It was a rational explanation, one that echoed his own feelings on the subject. “So you’re okay?”

“I will be as soon as you’re over here and inside me. Don’t make me wait, Cash.” She crooked a finger, and he was toast, all his noble intentions washed away under a tsunami of lust.

Fuck it.

He dropped her clothes and began stripping his own.

The water was still only a few shades from scalding when he stepped into it.

He lowered himself down on the opposite end of the tub, grateful the faucet apparatus had been mounted to the side instead of the end.

Hadley’s legs brushed his as she levered herself up and began knee-walking up the length of his body.

She was his every fantasy come to life as she braced her hands on his shoulders and positioned herself over his erection, those gloriously tempting breasts right on level with his mouth.

Banding one arm behind her back to draw her close, he curled his tongue around one tight peak.

She arched into him on a groan of pleasure, sinking down, down, taking him in with aching slowness, until he was seated as deep as he could go.

It was his turn to groan, gripping her hips as he thrust his own, trying for just a little more.

She moaned his name, took his mouth in a slow, searing kiss as she began to move, a slow, lazy ride that let him feel every quiver and pulse of her perfect, wet heat.

She so often raced for the finish line, eager to leap off the cliff.

But this was different. Tender. Deliberate.

As if she wanted to commit every languid second to memory.

And it was so damned good. The trust. The intimacy of having nothing between them.

Thank God for pharmaceutical birth control.

Feeling her rhythm hitch, her pace quicken, he moved his hands to her breasts, kneading them exactly as he knew she liked.

Her breath caught, her movements edging closer to frantic as she chased her release.

He watched her ride him, felt her fingers clench his shoulders for purchase.

She was a goddess like this, with her skin flushed and her lips swollen, eyes blurred with pleasure. Absolutely breathtaking.

A buzz gathered at the base of his spine.

He wouldn’t last much longer. Reaching between them, he gently circled her clit, stroking and pressing until she cried out, her body spasming around him hard enough to spark his own release.

His arms tightened around her as she fisted around him, and they both came in what felt like an endless wave.

Later, a long time later, she lay slumped against him, limp and sated, her face pressed against his throat.

The water was cool, bordering on outright cold.

He should get them out and dried off. Bundle her into bed.

But he was still buried inside her heat, and he found himself reluctant to move and interrupt this moment of perfect post-coital bliss.

Turning his head, he kissed her shoulder.

Hadley hummed a sleepy note of acknowledgment.

“Feel better?”

She hummed again, burrowing closer.

Smiling to himself, he accepted the need for self sacrifice and maneuvered her off his lap until he could haul them both out of the tub.

This was one of those times he was grateful she was such a little thing.

He managed to step out without maiming himself and got them both more or less wrapped in towels.

The rest of the bathroom cleanup could wait until morning. He needed to get his woman to bed.

Slipping out while Cash was on a conference call was dirty.

Maybe not quite as dirty as distracting him with sex last night, so he’d forget to ask any questions.

Hadley figured those would be the least of the things she’d need to apologize for before all this was over.

And anyway, she’d left him a note instead of straight up disappearing.

That ought to count for something. She’d even told him where she was going, if not why.

She’d woken to a text from Cayla saying she’d be at her office all morning if Hadley wanted to come by.

There was no intimation that she’d be spilling secrets if Hadley chose otherwise, but Hadley was too afraid not to go.

Besides, the nausea was back, and she wouldn’t be able to push Cash off again without giving him the truth.

She couldn’t yet call it what it was. That would make this whole terrible situation that much more real.

She wanted a little while longer before she was forced to face the music.