“What is it?” I turned around and put my palms on his chest.
“I just got a call about a long-term contract job I applied for a couple of months ago. It’s in Taiwan and they need someone there as soon as possible.”
My heart stuttered, and I forced a smile. “That’s great. You can retire the Santa suit for a while, right?”
He brushed my hair away from my shoulder, his fingers grazing my neck. “If I take it, I need to be on a redeye flight tonight.”
“Tonight?” My hope of putting Gio in his place faded.
“Yeah.” Kellan tilted his head and studied me. “I’d need to go home and pack my stuff, then make it to the airport by eleven.”
I glanced over his shoulder to check the time on the microwave’s digital clock. “It’s after two already. That doesn’t give you much time.”
“I don’t want to let you down, Blakely.” He cupped my cheek, his eyes full of an unspoken apology.
“I’m a big girl. I can handle myself. This is a big opportunity for you. You’ve got to take it.” As much as I’d hoped to show up on his arm tonight, my selfish wish was nothing compared to a job offer.
“I wish there was another way, but if I want this job, I’ve got to be on that plane.”
“Of course you do. It’s okay, Kellan. We were going to break up tonight, anyway.” I’d been fooling myself to think there was hope for any kind of future for the two of us.
“I’ve got a little time if you want me to help you clean up.” He leaned over and kissed me.
Shivers raced up and down my limbs. The man’s mouth should have been on the list of top natural wonders. His lips were soft, but firm. Demanding, but yielding. His tongue flicked against the spot where my pulse beat. Desire swept through me. I tilted my head back to give him better access.
“Right now, all I want is you,” I mumbled.
He slid his arms around me and lifted me onto the kitchen island. My t-shirt rode up my hips so my bare ass sat directly on the cool granite. My nipples tightened into hard buds, already anticipating the feel of his mouth.
Before I had the chance to reach for him, he’d jerked down his sweats and unrolled our last condom onto his eager cock.
“I aim to please.” Then he pulled me to the edge of the countertop and drove into me.
I clung to his shoulders as he sent me soaring higher and higher. We’d known each other for less than forty-eight hours, and I already couldn’t imagine going back to a life without him. Letting him go might be one of the hardest things I’d ever have to do.
12
KELLAN
I’d stuffed the Santa suit into my bag, along with the few other items I’d brought with me, and tucked it into the compartment on the back of my bike.
“Are you sure you got everything?” Blakely asked.
“I think so.” I hated leaving her, especially without fulfilling my part of our agreement. But now, with my future unsure, there wasn’t another way. As much as I wanted to be a part of her life, I had to follow the job. My dream of putting down roots in Broken Bend wasn’t meant to be. It was probably time for me to make peace with the fact that I would never really fit in anywhere. “Come here.”
She stepped into my arms and nestled against my chest. My stomach growled against her belly. Her lips grazed my chin as she tilted her head and looked up at me. “We never did eat lunch, did we?”
I didn’t mind that we hadn’t eaten lunch. I’d been too busy eating her instead. Our countertop coupling used up the last condom, so we’d gotten creative with some powdered sugar and melted chocolate chips. Thinking about the way she’d bent over my lap and sucked my cock clean sent blood rushing to my crotch. I’d finally found a woman I could see a future with, and now I had to leave her behind. Damn, I was going to miss her.
“I’ll grab something quick when I get home.” I rubbed my palm over her back. The temptation to say fuck it and stay with Blakely was almost too strong to resist. She didn’t know it, but I’d already decided one weekend of fake dating wasn’t enough for me. I’d planned on letting her break up with me tonight so she could show off to her ex, then I was going to beg her to give me another chance when we got back to her place later. I was prepared to use any means necessary to get her to agree—was actually looking forward to trying to convince her. With my mouth, with my hands, with my cock… but now we’d be over before we ever had the chance to get started.
“Drive safe.” She put her palms on my chest and pushed back. When our eyes met, I had to look away. I couldn’t bear to see the sadness in my heart reflected in her beautiful eyes.
“I hope you have a good time tonight. Feel free to tell them I had a death in the family. Or that you dumped me on the way to the party.” I nudged her chin up and raised my gaze to meet hers again. “Tell them I proposed, and you turned me down.”
She shook her head. “A woman would have to be out of her mind to turn you down, Kellan.”
Fuck. Something inside my chest cracked. Like she’d just popped my heart into a damn nutcracker and split it wide open. Before I let myself do something stupid, I pressed a kiss to her temple and inhaled her scent one last time.