The Hookup Plan, page 24
London’s massage therapist did the same, and a minute later, both were gone from the room.
London released a long, contented sigh. “I will never question you again, Drew Sullivan.”
Her words were slurred, but he knew she wasn’t drunk. She hadn’t had any wine since lunch. That was total relaxation he heard in her voice.
“I take it you enjoyed your first massage?” Drew asked.
“I’m not sure I’m even awake. Am I awake?” she asked.
“Semi-awake,” he said. “You know, with the amount of stress you carry on your shoulders, a massage should be part of your weekly decompression routine.”
“I first have to create a decompression routine. When I do, a weekly massage will be at the top of the list,” she said. “They won’t allow us to sleep here, will they? Because I could totally fall asleep right now.”
“As nice as it is here, our hotel room is even better.” Drew pushed himself up from the massage table, with London reluctantly following. It took considerable effort to remain on his side of the room while they both dressed. Knowing he would be alone with her in their hotel room within the hour was the only thing that kept him away from her.
They were greeted on the other side of the door with fruit-infused water and bags filled with complimentary miniature bottles of the products that had been used during their massages. And now all he could think about was using these on London later.
The boutique hotel wasn’t the kind of place with online check-in service, so they had to go the old-school route and visit the front desk. They were handed yet another gift bag, this one with peach-and-lavender-scented soaps and candles, and other items representing the Texas Hill Country. The woman at the front desk started to tell them about things to do in the area, but Drew cut her off in the nicest way possible.
“We’re only here for the night,” he said. “Thanks for your help.” Then he took London by the hand and started for the hotel’s elevator.
By the time they arrived at their suite, the anticipation that had been building in Drew’s blood since the moment London undressed for her massage had reached cataclysmic levels. He dropped the two gift bags on the table next to the door and shoved his fingers in London’s curls. He backed up against the door and pulled her to him, shoving his tongue past her lips and drowning in how good she tasted.
They both worked in a hurry, stripping each other of their clothes while attempting to keep their mouths connected. They fell onto the bed with London ending up on top. Drew shut his eyes tight and hissed as her short nails dug into his chest.
Fuck. He loved it when she did that.
He willingly gave her free rein to do whatever she wanted to him, knowing it would be a thousand times better than anything his mind could conjure.
She straddled his lap and ran her hands along his torso.
“Shit,” she said, stopping mid-stroke.
Drew’s eyes popped open. “What’s wrong?”
“Condom.”
Holy shit. How had they forgotten that?
She climbed off him and got out of bed. She looked around. “Wait. Where are our bags?”
“Bell services still has them,” Drew said. He’d left the bags with the luggage service before their massages. “They were supposed to bring them up after we checked in.”
Had he replaced the condom he’d taken from his wallet the first time they were together? He hadn’t bothered to check because the only place they had sex was in his apartment, which was fully stocked.
As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. “Bell services.”
Thank God.
“One minute,” Drew called. In a lowered voice he told London to go into the bathroom.
He pulled the top sheet from the bed and wrapped it around his waist. Where was his jacket? He found it on the floor and pulled his wallet from the inside breast pocket. He got a twenty for the bellhop and opened the door just wide enough to poke his head through and slip the guy the cash.
“You can leave those outside the door,” Drew said.
The guy looked at him strangely, but then dropped the bags, took his money, and left. Drew peered up and down the hallway before opening the door wider and quickly pulling both duffel bags inside. When he turned around, London was standing near the bathroom door, a towel wrapped around her.
“This is like a scene out of a sappy rom-com,” London said.
Drew let go of the sheet he held around his waist. “I don’t watch many sappy rom-coms. How dirty do they get?”
“Ours will be very dirty,” she said, dropping her towel. She nodded at the duffel. “You can grab some condoms from the front zippered pocket of my bag.”
“I brought my own,” Drew said.
“Are they strawberry flavored?”
Drew unzipped the front compartment of her overnight bag and pulled out the red-and-black condom packets, then directed her to get on the bed. He climbed in beside her and indulged himself, delighting in every inch of her perfect body. He sucked her nipples between his lips before trailing his tongue down her torso, and along her right hip.
“Hey, where are you going?” She grabbed hold of his head and tried to direct him between her legs, but Drew resisted.
He looked up at her. “Stop being so bossy.”
“Don’t tease me, Drew.”
He nipped her thigh, and the mewl she released nearly did him in. Knowing he would make it worth her while was the only thing that kept him on the original path he’d chosen. He continued down her body, relishing the softness of her skin, the way it felt against his lips.
Drew made his way to her feet before starting the return journey. He kissed his way along her inner thighs, peppering her with whispery-soft pecks and gentle bites. A shudder rushed through him as he reached the apex of her legs. He splayed his fingers on her thighs and pushed her legs open before dipping his head low and flattening his tongue against her.
London lifted her hips up to meet him. She grabbed hold of either side of his head and ground herself against his face, releasing desperate, passion-filled cries that echoed around the room.
Drew was torn between keeping his head right where it was and lifting it so that he could look at her. He’d never understood the appeal of making a sex tape until this very moment. He would give anything to see the expression on her face as he sucked on her clit.
He tucked his hands underneath her, clutching her ass and holding her steady as he worked his tongue inside, licking and nipping and sucking until her entire body shook and a scream tore from deep in her throat. Her response was like a drug, addicting and enticing him to seek more and more and more. He could spend the rest of his life right here and never want for anything else.
Once the shudders from the first of many orgasms he planned to give her tonight had subsided, Drew grabbed a condom and quickly rolled it on. He gently turned London onto her stomach and wrapped one arm around her waist. He lifted her lower half until she was facedown and ass up, and then he wedged himself between her thighs. With his free hand he grabbed hold of his dick and guided it inside her.
London’s hands gripped the sheets on either side of her head. She pushed her ass back hard against his pelvis, meeting him thrust for thrust.
“Harder,” she said, the word coming out on a soft cry.
Drew enthusiastically obliged, grasping her hips and driving into her with so much force that he was already preparing to cover the cost of the bed they were bound to break.
Why in the fuck weren’t they recording this?
But as he flattened his palm against the small of her back, Drew knew that a recording wasn’t necessary. Every delicious moment of this would be seared into his brain. Tipping his head back, he pounded into London over and over again, until they both erupted in twin cries of pleasure that ricocheted off the walls.
She collapsed onto the bed, and he quickly followed. He rolled off her, not wanting to crowd her. He trailed his fingertips along her bare shoulder, still marveling at its softness. She smelled like the mint-and-lavender-scented oil the massage therapist had rubbed into her skin. But she smelled like something else. Like him.
Smelling himself on her sent a powerful surge of lust rushing through his veins, but Drew managed to tamp it down. His days with London no longer had a limit. He could slow things down, take his time. They would figure out the logistics later. Right now, he just wanted to exist in this place where everything was perfect.
He moved her thick curls out of the way and buried his face against the curve of her neck. She purred, the low moan sending a signal straight to his dick. He’d likened her to a drug, but it was more than just the way she responded to him that was addicting. Everything about their time together was habit-forming. He wanted more of her. He wanted it all.
“I’m usually one to let bygones be bygones, but it’s hard not to be at least a little upset that you kept us both from experiencing this for fifteen years,” Drew said.
“We’re more than making up for lost time,” she returned with a laugh.
“You think so? I say we’re just getting started.” He kissed her neck and brought his hand up to cup her breast, moving his palm in slow circles against her nipple until it pebbled against his skin.
Her body’s reaction elicited a matching response from him, making for an enthralling cycle of erotic sensations that Drew never wanted to end.
She gasped, then said, “I’ll never forgive myself for hating you so much in high school.”
“You know,” he said as he pressed a kiss against her shoulder blade. “You never told me exactly why you hated me so much.”
“Yes, I did. It told you it’s because you invaded my territory.”
“That can’t be the only reason, London.”
“Why not?”
“Because some perceived threat to your designation as the smartest kid in class wasn’t enough to bring about the kind of vitriol you used to hurl my way.”
“Shows how much you know,” she said with a snort. “It was imperative that I remain the number one student in class, and you messed it all up.”
“If you’d told me that back then, I would have gladly flunked all my finals for you,” Drew said.
She looked at him over her shoulder, a huge smile spread across her face. “You’re lying.”
“Not at all,” he said. “Especially if I could have gotten something in return for my sacrifice.”
She smacked his arm. “I would not have given you that.” She paused. “Okay, so it’s possible I would have.”
Drew burst out laughing. “Being valedictorian was not that serious, London.”
“Actually, it was,” she said. Her voice no longer held any of the previous amusement.
Drew gently nudged her, encouraging her to turn around. She did, flipping onto her back and staring up at him.
“Why?” he asked.
“I told you that too. Because it was the only way to get my dad to acknowledge I even existed.” Her sad smile broke his heart. “I’ve spent way too much of my life desperately seeking my dad’s approval. I’ve come to the realization that I’ll never get it, and, even better, that I don’t need it. But back then?” She huffed out a laugh that didn’t hold an ounce of humor. “Pleasing my dad meant everything. It makes me physically ill to think of how much I clamored for any little drop of attention I could get from him, any indication that he was proud of me.”
“London, you were an A student. How could your dad not be proud of you?”
She turned over fully and brought her elbow up so that she could rest her head in her upturned palm. Drew tried not to notice what that did to her breasts.
“I’ll give you an example of what it was like to grow up as Kenneth Kelley’s daughter,” she said. “When you graduate from medical school and start your first year of residency, there’s a ceremony that takes place called the White Coat Ceremony. It’s exactly what it sounds like, an event where med students are officially given their white coats, signifying that they’ve completed the required coursework to become medical professionals. It’s not as big a deal as graduation, of course, but it’s still pretty special.
“A number of my fellow med school classmates were from out of state, and their families made the trip to Austin to attend the ceremony, some coming from as far as Seattle and even British Columbia.” She looked at him. “Want to know where my dad was the day of my White Coat Ceremony?”
Drew nodded, but part of him really didn’t want to know.
“My little brother’s baseball game,” she said.
He frowned. “Your little brother had to be pretty young, right?
“Miles was four years old. This was Tee Ball, just a regular game.”
“Damn, London.”
“Before Miles was born, Kenneth was just your typical uninvolved parent. He figured that as long as he provided financially, his obligations were covered. However, once he finally got the son he’d always wanted…” She shook her head. “The only thing I regret is trying as hard as I did for as long as I did to have some kind of relationship with him.
“The only reason I have one now is because my mom encouraged it, and because of my younger siblings. Still, it’s superficial, at best. My days of trying to be anything to him are long over.”
“And he’s the reason you hated me?” Drew asked. “Meaning, if you’d come to this conclusion back when we were in high school, there’s a possibility you wouldn’t have treated me like a pariah?”
“Sorry.” She shrugged. “Kenneth really does ruin everything.”
“He doesn’t deserve you as a daughter,” Drew said. He leaned over and captured her mouth in a deep kiss. “What’s his dream car?” he asked.
London pulled back. “What?”
“Your dad? What’s his dream car?”
“I have absolutely no idea. Why does that matter?”
“Because I want to buy one for you just to fuck with him. Can you imagine how jealous he would be to see you riding around in a Bentley or a Maybach?”
She burst out laughing. “No, thanks. Throwing money around to show off is exactly the kind of thing my dad does,” she said. “That being said, your idea is next-level petty and I love it.”
You. I love you.
So, so close.
But he didn’t want to hear those words from London unless she really meant them. Whether or not that would ever happen was something he refused to dwell on, especially when they had only one night in this hotel and he had such a tough job ahead of him tomorrow.
Instead of sharing words of love, he’d show her what their world could be like if only she gave them a shot at forever.
28
Drew’s anxiety began to ramp up the moment they drove past the old post office with the WELCOME TO HISTORIC HYE sign painted on the brick facade. It had been a year since he’d come here. If not for Elias running the biggest guilt trip on him, Drew would have gone the rest of his life avoiding this picture-perfect town that had captured his mother’s heart.
It’s not that he had anything against Hye. In truth, he was grateful to this tiny town and the tiny number of people who lived here. It was quaint and safe and had provided his mother with the kind of peaceful existence she’d dreamed of after years of running from one place to the next. The residents had embraced her as one of their own, and Drew had reciprocated in kind, becoming a silent benefactor to Hye and several of the small towns that dotted this stretch of highway 290.
He’d anonymously funded the science lab at the high school, bought new computers for the local library, provided a new roof for the veterans’ home, and paid off the mortgages of more than a dozen struggling families. He’d given to just about everything in this area.
Except the local hospital.
Drew tightened his hands on the steering wheel. His biggest regret would forever be the lack of attention he’d paid to the local hospital, naively believing that it was adequately managed.
Because of that hospital, just saying the word Hye left a bad taste in his mouth. It was difficult for him to disassociate the town from the place where his mother had first sought treatment for the cancer that she’d kept from him. It was hard for him not to blame their lack of resources for being a contributing cause to her dying at fifty-three years old. After everything she’d endured because of his father, she had deserved to live a long and happy life.
As he turned onto the road that would take him to his mother’s house, the turmoil in his gut had Drew on the verge of losing the light breakfast he’d shared with London before leaving the hotel this morning. If it had been at all possible, he would have gladly paid Larissa to come to Texas and take care of this for him. But Elias was right; this was a task that only Drew could perform. How could he allow someone else to decide which of his mother’s possessions he wanted to keep?
There had been countless times over the past few months that Drew had picked up the phone to call the Realtor and tell her to just box everything up and put it in storage. Maybe if he gave himself another year or two, he could eventually bring himself to go through her things. But it would be pushing off the inevitable, and in his heart, Drew knew that a thousand years wouldn’t be enough time to heal the wounds he suffered. Or to assuage the guilt he felt when he thought about his mother’s final months.
He pulled the Cayenne up to the yellow house with moss-green shutters and felt his heart lurch.
“How adorable,” London said. “I love a carriage-style house.”
She was out before Drew had the chance to open his door. He took his time leaving the safety of the car. London met him at the front bumper and grabbed hold of his hand.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He nodded. “I’m good.”
“It’s okay for you not to be okay,” she said. “In fact, I would expect you to not be okay.”
“I’ll never be one hundred percent okay when it comes to facing the fact that she’s gone,” Drew said honestly. “But I need to do this.” He squeezed her hand.
“Is this your first time returning to her home since she passed?”
