Chapter Thirteen
With her eyes closed, Sailor felt the sunlight streaming into her bedroom. Her body was wrapped in strong, warm arms.
Wait, what?
Her eyes shot open. Not her bedroom. She stared at the broad, naked chest before her. Glancing down, she saw the sexiest abdomen on the planet. Her fingers moved of their own accord. She lightly ran the tips up and down the ridges of muscle. When she got to the V’s and Saxton’s hips, she grazed over them then ran one fingertip along the waistband of his sweatpants, trying not to notice the obvious bulge.
A groan came from above her head, followed by a sexy, sleepy-sounding voice. “Why Ms. Sailor, are you molesting me in my sleep?”
She snatched her hand back and balled it into a fist, placing it beneath her chin. She buried her burning face into his chest. Saxton’s whole body shook with laughter as he kissed the top of her head.
“I was just teasing you, beautiful. I give you full permission to explore any part of me you’re interested in.”
Feeling completely mortified and like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar, she tried to pull away, but his arms tightened around her. With one swift movement, he rolled them over. He lay above her, propped up on his elbows, his pelvis holding her in place and making her completely unable to ignore his large bulge.
He gazed down at her, and her heart fluttered at the look in his eyes. The turquoise darkened as he studied her face. Of their own accord, her legs parted, and he pressed into her ever so slightly. Heat built in her most intimate of places, and she couldn’t suppress the groan that escaped her lips. His eyes blazed.
Without a word, he leaned down and started placing soft kisses just behind her ear, moving lower down her neck until he reached her collarbone. His large hand snaked under her shirt, and he gently ran his fingertips from her hipbone to just below her breast.
She let out a giggle as he caressed her hip, and he stopped, looking up at her, his lips deliciously pink from the kisses. He cocked one eyebrow, and through panting breaths, another giggle escaped her. Every inch of her seemed on fire from his touch.
He grinned mischievously and tickled her there again. She let out a laugh, and he did it once more. She tried to grab his hand, but he rolled her on top of him.
Still smiling, he said, “Aw, my baby is ticklish, and just when I thought you couldn’t get any more adorable.”
They both froze at his statement. When had she become his baby?
Sailor looked into his face and saw only tenderness and sincerity there. A moment of something she couldn’t describe passed between them. He leaned in to kiss her, but a loud banging on the door interrupted them. She jumped off of him and scrambled from the bed. Saxton let out a groan and cursed as he rose from the bed, too. They both headed to the door as the banging continued, this time followed by a voice Sailor recognized.
“Saxton Fucking Crawford, if Sailor is in there, you better give her back right now.” Harley sounded slightly pissed and amused.
Sailor shielded her blush with her hands and peeked through her fingers as Saxton threw open the door and leaned against the frame. Harley stood there, her pretty blonde hair sticking out in all directions, clad in pajamas with her arms crossed over her chest and tapping one foot impatiently.
She looked past Saxton and smirked at Sailor. Then her eyes went back to the sexy specimen of male crowding the doorway. Her gaze started at his feet and making her way up to his face she gave Saxton a knowing grin.
“I get it now.”
Sailor had moved up behind Saxton, and he turned to her, his expression a mixture of amusement and frustration. Pointing to her friend he said, “And which one is this?”
Sailor still felt the blush on her cheeks and muttered, “Harley.”
Saxton turned back to her friend. “Well, I would say nice to meet you, Harley, but considering you have the worst timing on the planet, I’m just going to shut the door and pretend this never happened.”
He began shutting the door, but Harley placed one hand on it stopping him.
“Not so fast, quarterback.” She reached past him and grabbed Sailor’s arm, pulling her past him and into the hallway. Sailor looked over her shoulder and gave him an apologetic look. He was back to leaning against his doorway, an obviously irritated look on his face. Harley had her by the hand, leading her to their loft. Sailor planted her feet making Harley abruptly stop. “I need my keys.” Harley gave her a stay there motion and marched back toward Saxton who had apparently grabbed her keys and was now holding them out. Harley grabbed them without a word and returned to ushering Sailor down the hallway.
When they reached their doorway, Saxton yelled down the hallway at them. “Last I checked, Sailor’s a grown woman who can make her own decisions.”
Harley gently pushed Sailor through the doorway, and Sailor turned to her friend, who still stood in the hallway. Harley grinned at Saxton.
“Oh, I’m well aware, sweet buns.” Then she looked him up and down again and made a circling motion with her finger. “But there ain’t a grown woman on the planet who could resist all of that. Nice to meet you, quarterback.”
Then Harley entered the loft and closed the door. She leveled Sailor with a pointed glare, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Care to explain?”
Sailor studied her feet. “No.”
Harley placed an arm around her, and walked her toward her bedroom. “Uh-huh. So, it’s going to be like that?”
“Yeah, Harley, it’s like that. I’d need to know what’s going on to be able to explain. But I don’t. It just kind of happened. And before you ask… No, I didn’t sleep with him.”
Harley squeezed Sailor a little tighter and rested her head on the top of Sailor’s. “Okay, honey, I’ll take that for now. But you’re gonna have to tread lightly with
that one. If you’re not careful, he’ll do more than get into your pants. He’ll get into your heart. I saw the way he looks at you, and the way you look at him. I don’t want to see you get your heart broken. You know how I feel about that four-letter word, L-O-V-E. That’s why boys get one night and one night only with me.”
Sailor laughed a little. “I gotta get ready for work. You do the same, and I’ll meet you in the kitchen for coffee.”
Harley let her go. “No work for me.”
Sailor faced her friend. “Oh no, what happened?”
Harley let out a sigh and shrugged. “After two years of putting up with that handsy old bastard’s shit, I quit. I can be an assistant anywhere. Just because the pay was good, it doesn’t mean I should have to deal with that. I’ll start looking for another job today.”
Sailor was hit with a stroke of genius. “No, you don’t have to. Go get dressed.
You’re coming to work with me.”
At Harley’s quizzical look, Sailor gave her a quick rundown of what had happened with Dalton’s assistant.
When she finished, Harley hugged her. “You’re the best, ya know that.”
Sailor hugged her back. “This is actually perfect. Dalton needs someone he can trust, who will take no shit. So, you’re perfect for the job.”
Harley laughed as she stepped back. “And there’s the added benefit of me being there to keep the sexy quarterback in check so you don’t lose your mind.”
Sailor laughed out loud and pointed to her friend. “Yes, there is that. Seriously though, you need to cool it with the cock-blocking. I was having a very interesting morning before you showed up. I need to figure out what is going on with me and Saxton on my own. Yes, I get a little rattled around him, and I know you worry but I am a grown woman and you can’t always be there to fix everything for me. Especially not this.” Sailor sighed and gave Harley an earnest look. “I think I can handle this situation on my own. You’re a good friend and I love you, but you can be a little scary and super intense.”
Harley gave Sailor a mischievous grin. When she spoke her voice sounded playful. “Oh honey, you really are clueless with that man if you think that anything I say or do is going to deter him. But I promise I will try my best not to cock-block either of you. I just want you to be happy with no drama or bullshit. And, you know my bullshit tolerance meter got broken a long time ago. So, if he pulls anything, I will be the first one to call him on it.”
Sailor wrapped an arm around Harley’s waist and groaned loudly. “I would expect nothing less tough guy. Now, go get dressed.”