Tempting Love - Haley & Eddie (16 page)

“Hey,” he said, doing a double take, confused for a moment at what they were doing there. He was about to ask that very question when he saw the look on Haley’s face. “What’s wrong?” his voice thundered in the vacant space.

“What?” Haley asked, her brow furrowed, seeming to be just as confused as he just felt.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Amber looking slowly between the two of them before she said, “Everything’s fine. I just made a stupid joke.”

Haley blinked in understanding and shook her head slightly, a sheepish grin appearing on her gorgeous face. “Oh yeah, I just was freaked out for a sec. It was nothing.”

Amber and Haley exchanged glances, and although he didn’t speak woman code, he felt like they were communicating and he was being left out of the conversation.
Okay,
he thought.
I might as well get to work.

“I am supposed to be meeting a Mr. Jones here.”

“Actually, that is our landlord. I already loved him, but now that he’s hired Sloan Construction, I love him even more,” Amber explained.

Looking around, Eddie quickly put the pieces together. His eyes landing on Haley, he asked, “So this is yours? This is Tempting?”

Haley smiled from ear to ear and nodded. “We just signed the lease.”

“Wow.” Eddie was seriously impressed. He hadn’t spent much time on Riverwalk East since they’d begun gentrification. He’d always loved this part of town, and he was happy to see the older rundown buildings having new life breathed into them. “This space is perfect.”

“I know.” Haley looked around. He saw the awe in her face.

Damn
, he was so happy for her.

“Okay, well, I need to head back to Bella.” Amber grabbed her purse and phone, which were sitting on a stool—the lone piece of furniture in the place. “Haley will fill you in on all the details.” Turning, she pulled Haley into her arms. “Call me if you need anything.”

Haley nodded against her shoulder. He got the sense that she might be a little overwhelmed, which was totally understandable. This was a
big
deal, but he knew she was going to be amazing.

“All right. See you both later.” Amber pulled away and gave Eddie a quick hug before heading out.

Eddie heard the swooshing sound of the glass door shutting behind him, and the energy in the brick-walled space instantly changed, becoming electrified. He hadn’t spoken to Haley or seen her face to face since they’d had their talk a week ago. His eyes, of their own accord, narrowed in on her pink pouty lips like a heat-seeking missile.

His predatory gaze continued farther south. Haley was wearing a fitted white button-up shirt, black slacks, and red high heels. She looked like a walking fantasy come to life. He gripped his iPad tighter to stop himself from dropping it and reaching out to unbutton the delicate buttons on her cotton shirt, slowly revealing whatever lacy or silky lingerie she was wearing beneath it.

Eddie didn’t just want to strip Haley naked. He wanted to take his time doing it, layer by layer. Not just exploring her body, but memorizing every line, every inch.

Through his lust-riddled brain he heard Haley clear her throat and he lifted his eyes to hers. He noticed a faint pink flush on her cheeks as she asked, “So you finished the Martin project?”

Shit
. What the hell was wrong with him? He had to stop mentally undressing her.

“Yeah. Finished it last week.”

“That’s great.” A genuine smile covered her face, and like the sun shining in through the large glass windows located on the far wall, it lit up the entire room. Then understanding dawned on her face as she asked, “So then you talked to Jason? You’ll be working closer to home for a while? Emily is going to love that.”

“Actually, for more than a little while. As of about thirty minutes ago, I am officially the new vice president of Sloan Construction.” It hadn’t really sunk until this very moment. Somehow saying the words to Haley made it real.

Haley’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened in excitement. “Oh my gosh! Congratulations!” she exclaimed as she threw her arms around his neck.

His arm automatically encircled her. He tried to keep his body in check as her luscious curves pressed hard against him. Where he was firm and muscular, she was soft, and she molded to him perfectly. His large hand covered the width of the small frame of her back and it rubbed up and down as she continued to hold him tightly. He kept his electronic device secure in the other. It was the only thing grounding him to any kind of reality.

He heard her speaking but her words were muffled against his chest and he couldn’t make out what she was saying. “What?”

Her body shook from her chuckle beneath his touch, and she raised her head, looking up at him with joy glowing from her beautiful smiling face. “I said, I’m so happy for you.”

Usually when Haley smiled, it put a smile on his face as well. But he wasn’t smiling. His jaw was locked as he breathed through his nose.

“Thanks.” He heard the need filling his voice.

He was holding on by a very thin thread of control. His body felt strung tight like a rubber band and he was terrified that at any moment it would snap. He felt his jaw tense as he stared into the sexy blue pools of her rounded eyes.

As she sucked in a breath of awareness, the smile faded from her mouth as her chest rose and fell in rapid succession. Her only movement was her labored breathing; otherwise, she was perfectly still. Her blond hair was falling down over her shoulders and halfway down her back. Eddie loved the way the silky strands brushed the back of his hand as he moved it slowly up and down.

Her lips were just a few inches away. All he would have to do was lower his head and he could claim her with a kiss. He couldn’t remember ever wanting anything more in his life.

The Nike slogan,
Just do it
, was playing on repeat in his head like a record skipping. It was just a kiss. What could one kiss really hurt? Without giving it another thought, he leaned down. At his movement, Haley closed her heavy-lidded eyes in anticipation of what was to come, causing his hard length to twitch against the zipper of his jeans.

“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” he growled as he covered her mouth with his.

A soft sigh of need escaped her mouth as her lips parted. Slipping his tongue past her soft lips, he explored her mouth slowly, thoroughly, in long, languorous strokes. She met him lick for lick as their tongues entwined in a sensual dance.

He savored the feel of her tongue against his and the wet warmth of her mouth. Kissing her. Licking her. Tasting her. She was sweeter than anything he’d ever tasted before.

Their lips matched perfectly, fitting together like puzzle pieces. Her fingers threaded in the hair at the nape of his neck and he felt the pinch of her fingernails in his skin, the stinging sensation shooting straight to his groin. His rock-hard member strained against the layers of cotton and denim material that were covering it, demanding release.

Desire ripped through him with hurricane-like forces. The arousal he felt was more powerful, more raw, more primal than anything else he’d ever experienced in his life. Every cell of his body was alive and pulsing with need.

Somehow, in the back of his mind, Eddie knew that he had to stop this now or things would get to the point where they would be out of his control. Reaching deep into his soul, he somehow found the strength and willpower, he didn’t even know he possessed, to break the sensual kiss.

The moment their lips parted, he heard a soft sigh of disappointment or desperation leave Haley’s mouth. As much as he wanted to answer it by once again covering her mouth with his, he knew he couldn’t.

Apparently though, all of his willpower and strength must have been depleted because he couldn’t force himself to let go of her yet. Holding her with his arm firmly against her, he rested his forehead on hers as they both struggled to regulate their breathing.

He waited for the regret to crash into him, for the guilt of crossing the line with Haley to take over. But neither of those things occurred. He didn’t feel the slightest bit of guilt or even a hint of regret.

A disarming smile spread across her face, and when her eyes met his, he felt as if he could see all the way down to her soul. His forehead was still resting against her soft skin as she simply said, “Wow.”

She didn’t ask what that kiss was about, question him about why he’d abruptly ended the kiss, or even make a move to continue it.

Instead, she took a step back and moved out of his arms. “Okay.” Smoothing her trembling hands down her blouse, she said with a professional tone, “Well, I guess I should show you what we’ll need done.”

Eddie nodded and listened as she went over the basics of the dressing rooms, front counter, and shelving he would be installing. He tried to concentrate on what she was saying as he typed in notes on his iPad, but he was having a much more difficult time than Haley seemed to be as she animatedly talked about the plans for the shop.

He shouldn’t be surprised. Her kiss, just like her response and reaction to it, had been an exact reflection of who she was. Real. Honest. Perfect.

H
aley pulled out several more heavy photo albums from the plastic tub she’d stored them in. Her hunt to find the
Grease
pictures with Chase in them to show Em was not only taking her on quite the little trip down memory lane, but it was also making her realize that she hadn’t taken a photo and had it developed in
years
.

Sure, she had a ton of pictures on her laptop, dozens of albums on Facebook, and hundreds of shots on Instagram, but those were all digital images. Haley had forgotten how much she enjoyed holding and looking through physical pictures. It was just different. Somehow flipping the page of the album or feeling the smoothness and weight of a photograph in her hand connected her more to that memory.

She opened her yellow and white polka-dotted album and hit the jackpot. The first picture she saw was of a ten-year-old her and an eleven-year-old Chase Malone. She wore a pale yellow poodle skirt with a matching cardigan, a white collared shirt, ankle socks, and saddle oxfords. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she had a scarf around her neck. Chase wore jeans, a white t-shirt, and a leather jacket with his hair up and greased back. Em was going to love this.

Haley heard her door opening and looked up just as Krista was walking in.
Uh oh
. She quickly shut the book.

“Hey, I just got off the phone with—” Her sister stopped mid-sentence and looked at the mess of photo albums that was strewn across Haley’s white and blue down comforter. “What’s this?”

Trying desperately to keep her face as neutral as possible, Haley answered honestly. “Just looking for some pictures I promised Emily I’d show her.”

Krista’s green eyes narrowed into an assessing gaze. Haley was waiting for a follow-up but was spared when her sister thankfully dropped it and continued on with her original thought. “Oh. Anyways, I just got off the phone with Jessie and she’s coming home for the summer instead of taking that internship. So she
and
Becca will both be home in time for your birthday and the grand opening.”

“Seriously?!”

“Yep,” Krista confirmed happily, plopping down on the bed and picking up one of the albums Haley had already gone through, so thankfully she knew it was safe and Chase-free.

“Why isn’t Jessie taking the internship?” Haley asked.

It seemed like a very un-Jessie-like thing to do. She was all business all the time. After graduating with honors from Boston University, Jessie decided to stay in Massachusetts to work on her MBA. Her reasoning was that she was more focused in that environment than she was when she was home in Illinois. Hometown equaled too many distractions—her words.

“She didn’t say. You know how she is.” Krista shook her head as she flipped through the book.

That didn’t surprise Haley. Of all of her sisters, Jessie was by far the most private. She had been born with the belief that everyone was on a need-to-know basis, and in her opinion, most people didn’t need to know anything. In fact, before she started kindergarten, their mom had been worried that Jessie didn’t know her ABCs because she would never repeat them when asked. But after Jessie had been in Mrs. Garcia’s kindergarten class for only a week, the teacher had called their mom and said that Jessie not only knew her alphabet, but she was reading at a fourth grade level and could not only add and subtract but could also do multiplication and division.

Haley remembered sitting at the kitchen table when her mom had asked Jessie about why she hadn’t told her the alphabet if she knew it. Her sister had looked her mom right in the eye and simply said without any hint of backtalk in her tone, “I didn’t know why you were asking.”

That was really all there was to it. Even at the tender age of five, if Jessie hadn’t known why you wanted information, she felt no obligation to tell you.

A few years later, it came out that the only reason Jessie had answered all of the questions Mrs. Garcia had asked was because she’d thought it was an interview to see if you could pass kindergarten and get into first grade.