His for Now (His #2) Read online

  HIS FOR NOW

  Part 2 of the HIS Series

  Copyright © 2014

  Octavia Wildwood

  All Rights Reserved

  This publication is a work of fiction. All characters and events are solely products of the author’s imagination. The book’s cover is stock photography and is not endorsed by the photographer nor the model or models depicted therein. This publication contains explicit content that is intended for a mature audience and is written about characters who are consenting adults.

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  CONTENTS

  Chapter 01

  Chapter 02

  Chapter 03

  Chapter 04

  Chapter 05

  Chapter 06

  Chapter 07

  Chapter 08

  Chapter 09

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 01

  Last night had been so magical and as I’d drifted off my head had been filled with sweet – and sometimes steamy – thoughts of Hayden Slate. To think that the handsome, charismatic art connoisseur had chosen me, a small town, bookish sessional lecturer out of all the women he could have had – well, it was flattering, that was for sure. And his body felt so incredibly good pressed up against mine…

  When sunlight started streaming in the window, I didn’t dare open my eyes. What if it had all been a dream? I was afraid to find out. It was safer to straddle the blurred lines between consciousness and sleep where reality could easily blend into fantasy. So for a while, I did.

  But I couldn’t remain that way forever; it simply wasn’t possible. I wasn’t sure I was ready to face the day but slumber was slipping away from me like sand through my fingers. I tried to stay there in the land of dreams but it seemed I’d been exiled. Back to reality it was, then.

  I awoke in the morning sprawled out on the living room floor. There was a pillow under my head and a blanket carefully tucked around me. The scent of bacon sizzling in the kitchen immediately made me salivate and I followed my nose to find Hayden – and the elaborate breakfast feast he’d prepared – in the kitchen.

  He stood there at the stove wearing only his boxers, the muscles of his gorgeous body rippling in the sunlight that streamed in the window. There was something about seeing him in my kitchen that made the whole affair seem real. Before, we’d always met up at hotels, bars, parties or restaurants. He’d swept me off my feet, wining and dining me, introducing me to a world that wasn’t my own. It had been easy to get caught up in all that, but it hadn’t exactly been real.

  But now he was in my world – and in my kitchen. This wasn’t just some fantasy relationship that wouldn’t survive in the real world. Because this was the real world and he was standing in my kitchen. I could have watched him in there forever, just quietly making a gourmet breakfast like he wasn’t a rich heir who was used to being catered to.

  “Good morning gorgeous,” he said when he saw me standing there, my hair probably askew and last night’s makeup likely smeared all over my face. I was pretty sure I’d shed a few tears in the midst of a powerful orgasm the night before, so I could only imagine what my mascara was doing. Waterproof, my ass…

  “Ha, gorgeous,” I retorted, holding the bottom of the blanket I’d wrapped around myself up so I wouldn’t trip on it. “I’m sure I look like a mess.” The kitchen tiles felt cold under my bare feet but that was perfectly fine with me. They served as reassurance that I wasn’t merely dreaming.

  He set the bacon aside on an unused stove burner and walked over to me looking me up and down with a twinkle in those to-die-for blue-grey eyes. “You’re the prettiest mess I’ve ever seen,” he informed me before pressing his lips to mine in the most perfect good morning kiss imaginable. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Surprisingly, yes,” I laughed sheepishly. “I’m sorry…I don’t know what I was thinking last night when I said I wanted to sleep on the floor. It was just so comfortable and your arms felt so good that I didn’t want to move… We should have gone to my bedroom,” I said, reaching up to massage Hayden’s brawny shoulders. “You’re probably stiff.”

  “I am,” he agreed with a devious grin, “But you’re massaging the wrong part.”

  I looked down and saw the telltale bulge in his boxers. I immediately felt my own passions flare. “I think I can help you with that,” I murmured, suddenly feeling sexy and desirable despite my just-woke-up look.

  His grin broadened. “Are you gonna show me your bedroom?”

  “I think that can be arranged. Give me five minutes, okay?”

  “Five whole minutes?” he complained good-naturedly. “I’m not sure I can wait that long. How about three minutes?” He popped an orange slice in his mouth and gave me a spirited look that said he wasn’t backing down.

  “I can see how you negotiate art deals for a living,” I shot back as he sensually pressed an orange slice past my slightly parted lips. The blend of citrus and natural sweetness was delicious, and I was secretly delighted that he couldn’t even wait five minutes to have his way with me. “Okay fine, I’ll meet you in my bedroom in three minutes.”

  “I look forward to it,” he called after me as I rushed off to the bathroom to wash up.

  I flipped on the light and grabbed my toothbrush out of its holder. Dirty thoughts flooded my mind as I squirted white toothpaste out of the tube. Oh jeez, now I was getting turned on by a tube of toothpaste…Hayden sure had a way of getting me all hot and bothered.

  The grin on my face was ear-to-ear. Even as I brushed my teeth in front of the mirror and saw that my hair was sticking up in the most unattractive of ways, I couldn’t stop smiling. In fact, I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d been so happy.

  I did my best to hurry, the insistent tingling between my legs urging me along. I didn’t even bother to put the cap back on my toothpaste or put the toothbrush back in its holder. Leaving it all balanced precariously on the side of the sink, I rushed back to my small, tidy bedroom to find it…empty.

  Puzzled, I headed back to the cozy yellow and white kitchen. “Are you still in here?” I called. “You’d better not have gotten started – or finished – without me!” Even though we both liked it when he dominated me, I was in a playful, joking mood that morning and there was something a little fun about being bossy with him.

  He wasn’t in the kitchen, either.

  It was when I walked back into the living room that I heard his voice, a furious, low growl. I couldn’t make out what he was saying. I flung the door open and saw him standing there with his cell phone at his ear looking like he wanted to rip someone’s head off. I saw he’d put his pants back on and the vein on his forehead was bulging.

  When he saw me, he immediately clamped his hand over the phone. “Go back inside!” he hissed, pretty much just mouthing the words, I guessed so the person on the other end wouldn’t hear. Even though his voice was no more than a whisper, I could tell he was absolutely livid.

  It was clear he was unhappy with whoever was on the phone, but I was still a bit taken aback by the tone he’d used with me. After all, I hadn’t done anything.

  Shrugging I went back inside and waited, peeking out the window every so often to see what was going on. Hayden was out there pacing, reminding me of a rabid animal that’s about to go on a killing spree. When I saw his black stretch limo pull up outside a few minutes later, I instantly knew that something was amiss.

  Just then the door flew open and Hayden came storming back in.

  “What’s going on?” I demanded, startled by the look on his handsome face. “Why is your driver here? You’re not leaving, are you?”
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  “What does it look like? I’m leaving,” he replied tersely, his jaw set in anger. He didn’t look at me when he spoke instead staring straight ahead as he quickly pulled his shirt on. Last night we’d had raw, passionate sex right in this very entryway. Last night he’d told me he loved me. This morning the tone was completely different. I didn’t understand what had changed.

  “Where are you going?” I asked, clutching the blanket around my body tightly like it was some sort of shield. Until now, I’d never felt like I needed a shield to protect me from Hayden. “At least have breakfast with me first… Hayden, talk to me!”

  He looked at me then, and the gleam in his eye was so intense that for a moment I forgot to breathe. “I was stupid and reckless and…God, I can’t believe I was so stupid!” he raged, looking as though he wanted to punch a hole through the same wall where, the night before, he’d had me pinned in frenzied, sexual passion.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I can’t do this, Daniella,” he said with a pained expression on his face. “It was a mistake. All of this…you…it was a huge mistake. I should have known it could never work.”

  Outside, the limo’s horn honked.

  Turning his back on me, Hayden opened the door.

  “Wait!” I cried out, reaching for him. I was barely even awake yet and my mind couldn’t process what was happening. It was like a switch had flipped and Hayden had done a complete about face. It made absolutely no sense. Something had to be terribly wrong…didn’t it? “Did something happen?”

  He pushed my hand away. “Listen to me,” he growled, stepping so close to me that I could smell the oranges on his breath. “I don’t love you, okay? I’m good at telling you what you want to hear. That’s it. You were right last night at the restaurant when you said I should just let you go. I should have let you walk out but you looked hot and I wanted to fuck you, so I said what would get me laid. That’s all it was: sex. That’s all it ever was.”

  It was as though he’d slapped me across the face. No, actually I felt like he’d reached into my chest and ripped my heart right out. I felt sick to my stomach, like I was about to keel over. “You don’t mean that,” I protested, his words cutting into me like a knife, vicious and destructive. It felt like the room was closing in on me.

  “Don’t try to contact me, do you understand?” he growled menacingly. “I won’t take your calls. I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to ever see you again. Just go back to your life and I’ll go back to mine. Pretend that none of this ever happened.”

  I was choking back tears now. “Hayden…”

  He gave me one last look and the sorrow in his eyes was immense. “Goodbye, Daniella.”

  Just as quickly as his sadness had made its appearance it disappeared, replaced with fury. He slammed the door behind him so hard that the entire house rattled. Frozen in shock, I watched at the window as he got into the limo and drove away from my house and out of my life. I watched until the limo became nothing more than a tiny black speck at the end of the street. Then it disappeared completely, taking Hayden with it.

  What had just happened?

  Clearly something had upset him, but that wasn’t the only issue. The way he’d spoken to me and the hurtful things he’d said were crushing. I could understand him being upset if he’d, say, gotten bad news…but to completely flip out on me with no provocation? He’d said things that he had to have known would tear me apart inside.

  Maybe his father was getting under his skin again or maybe Hayden had simply gotten cold feet after we’d discussed our future and the reality of committing to me sunk in. Whatever the reason, it didn’t really matter. What mattered was he’d hurt me. There was no excuse for that and, as far as I was concerned, no justification.

  A man who truly loved me would always consider my feelings and sacrifice everything to protect me. So I could deduce at least one thing from Hayden’s cruel rant: he didn’t give a shit about me. How could he, when he’d broken my heart and then stormed out of my house without a moment’s hesitation?

  I tried to be irate, indignant that Hayden had the nerve to treat me so badly.

  But all the anger in the world couldn’t mask the hurt.

  I shouldn’t have let my guard down with him so quickly. I shouldn’t have let things move so fast. I’d spent most of my life being cautious. So what if being cautious wasn’t thrilling or passion-filled? At least it wasn’t painful.

  That’s when the tears came. They came hard and fast, spilling down my cheeks as my shoulders heaved. I could taste the salt on my tongue. It only reminded me of the salty taste of Hayden’s skin. I could still feel his hands on my body and hear his impassioned groans of pleasure as he ravaged me.

  I wasn’t about to blame myself for taking a risk. I’d just wanted to live a little, and for a few precious weeks, I had. But I wasn’t stupid enough to blame myself when it was obviously Hayden who was the fucked up one. The only problem was that knowing it and feeling it were two different things.

  I’d wallow in self-pity today, I decided, but then tomorrow…tomorrow it would be back to business as usual. I’d force myself, through sheer willpower if necessary, to redirect my attention to salvaging my career. Oh God, it felt like everything was falling apart.

  I didn’t know if I’d be able to forget about Hayden. He wasn’t exactly the forgettable type with his charm, good looks and mystery. But after he’d wormed his way into my heart only to unexpectedly spew vitriol at me in my own home, I’d be damned if I was going to let him take anything else from me.

  Not when he didn’t even care about me.

  Chapter 02

  “Daniella James, you are better than this,” I whispered to myself furiously. It was three weeks since I’d last seen Hayden Slate…three weeks since he’d stunned me with his cruelty before walking out on me. I wasn’t going to be one of those girls who fell to pieces over a guy. I refused, plain and simple.

  The only problem was my brain didn’t seem to be communicating well with the rest of me. Though I tried to tell myself to forget about Hayden, I wasn’t exactly successful. As time went on I was thinking about him less, but I still thought of him often…too often. When I did, I waffled somewhere between rage and humiliation. I was furious with him for treating me like his own personal doormat and even angrier at myself for falling for his charm.

  Caught up in a whirlwind of passion, I’d given him my virginity. At the time it had seemed like a good idea and not just because he was mind-numbingly sexy and right there in front of me, eager and willing. I’d also thought I’d sensed something in him…a kindness that made me feel safe with him. I’d thought that as far as my first time went, he was as good a guy as any to lose it to. Correction: he was the best choice I could imagine…certainly better than Mark, my video game obsessed, nerdy slacker of an ex.

  So there I was, due on campus to teach a class but instead sitting at home on the floor with my phone in my hand. I was all ready to go, dressed in my standard uniform of a sensible, structured blouse and modest knee-length skirt. I looked like the put-together professional I so desperately wanted to be – fake it until you make it, right?

  For the past twelve minutes and forty-three seconds, I’d been staring at my phone and thinking about calling in sick. It would be a shitty thing to do, especially since 1) it was a lie and 2) it was too late to arrange for a substitute to teach my class. But staying home was sure a tempting thought; almost as tempting as Hayden’s lips had been before he’d inexplicably morphed into the world’s biggest asshole.

  With a groan, I hoisted myself up off the floor, grabbed my oversized handbag that doubled as a briefcase and dutifully trudged out the front door of my modest one bedroom house.

  Today, I decided, was a day for anger rather than humiliation. That was good. I could work with anger. Actually, spending my time spitting fire over Hayden was pretty productive. It gave me a much-needed burst of energy and these days I needed all the energy I could
get. My job was on the line.

  Mark, my spiteful ex, had gone out of his way to sabotage me after I’d broken up with him. He wanted the same promotion I was after and everyone in the department knew I was the hardest worker around. So he’d lied to our bosses, telling them I was an ineffective, unorganized instructor who lacked knowledge of the basic concepts I was expected to teach in my introductory first year Sociology classes. It was bullshit.

  I’d found the email he’d sent to our boss in Mark’s email. When I’d seen it, I’d been blind with rage. I’d been prepared to march right into Clancy Thomas’s office to plead my case. He was the head of the department so he was supposed to care about things like this…but as I stood outside his door, I realized something: he didn’t give a shit about me.

  Mark and Clancy were poker buddies. I had a feeling Clancy would turn a blind eye to Mark’s transgressions. It didn’t help that the head of the department wasn’t my biggest fan. I’d never been able to figure out why. Maybe it was because all those extra hours I put in made all the other faculty members – including him – look bad. Whatever, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was he was a self-serving, hateful little man I didn’t trust.

  No wonder he and Mark were buddies.

  I knew if I wanted to save my job, I’d have to make a compelling case for myself. So I’d decided to bide my time and try to dig up some dirt on Mark. Blackmail wasn’t high on my list of favorite pastimes, but I wasn’t about to go down without a fight. I’d worked too hard for too long to let that happen.

  “Shit!” I muttered as I climbed into my car and immediately noticed a run in my pantyhose. I had no idea how that always managed to happen at the most inopportune times, but it did. I glanced at the clock on the dashboard and it confirmed what I’d feared: I had no time whatsoever to go inside to change.

  One of these days I’d learn to keep a spare pair of pantyhose in my glove compartment. Maybe… For a smart woman, I could be awfully dumb when it came to fashion. I preferred to think it was because I had more important things to concentrate on rather than just accepting that keeping up with manicures and makeup trends wasn’t exactly my strong point.