Chapter 28 Vanilla
Tegan
I sat on there still clutching the duvet to my chest. Yes I wrapped it around myself and came downstairs. I didn't have time to get anything to wear from Hayes closet and he destroyed my dress last night.
Sophie sat opposite me, glaring daggers at me. As if she would kill me if this goons weren't standing near by.
Hayes stands in the center of the room, shirtless, his sweatpants hanging low on his hips. The morning light catches the rigid lines of his abs and the sharp definition of his obliques. He runs a hand through his white hair, jaw set so hard I can see the muscle twitching. He looks dangerous. He looks in control.
"Resolve this without shouting," he snaps at the retreating backs of his men, his tone brokering no argument.
"I don’t need a fucking circus in my house."
God, it’s hot.
I know I should be mortified. I know I should be thinking about Sophie, about the ruin of my friendship, about the absolute disaster of the morning.
But as I watch Hayes take command of the chaos, a fresh wave of arousal slicks my thighs. The way he stands there, unbothered by the whole chaos, just radiating power... it makes my knees weak. I squeeze the duvet tighter, imagining that strict voice directed entirely at me, ordering me to my knees, telling me exactly how to be a good girl. Shit, I should write myself an apology letter. And maybe one to my future child while I’m at it.
His head snaps toward me, his dark eyes pinning me in place. He saw it. He saw the shift in my stance, the flush rising on my neck. He knows exactly where my mind went.
He cocks an eyebrow at me and gives me the look that says ‘Behave yourself’, the warning low and rough. His gaze drags down my body, lingering where the duvet is crushed against my breasts.
The way he looks at me,as if stripping me bare with his eyes causes my pussy to clench hard, a desperate, aching throb. I can feel the wetness gathering between my legs, coating my thighs, betraying me completely. I bite my lip, tasting copper, and force myself to look away, but the image of him standing there is burned into my retinas.
A scoff from the other side of the room brings me back to reality. Sophie is just seated there watching the whole scene unfold. She looks from Hayes’s bare chest, and finally lands on me. Her expression isn't just hurt anymore; it’s morphed into something harder, colder.
"Unbelievable," she says, her voice shaking not with tears, but with rage.
"And here I thought he has something on you, turns out you're a bigger freak than he is"
"Sophie, wait—" I start, stepping forward, the duvet dragging on the floor.
She holds up a hand, stopping me.
"Don't. Just... don't. You hate him, Tegan. Or at least, you did. You’ve spent years telling me what a monster he is, how I should stay away from him. And now?" She stands in the harsh sunlight, her perfect sundress glowing, looking like a saint compared to the sinner I am.
"Now you’re wrapped in a blanket, soaking wet, getting off whatever sick fantasy is playing through your head."
"You don't understand," I whisper, but the words sound hollow even to me.
"I understand everything perfectly now," she snaps.
"You’re a hypocrite. You lecture me about standards, about self-respect, and then you spread your legs for the one man you swore to destroy." She says and head for the door.
I gather the duvet that pools below my feet like some wedding dress and chase after her. Almost tripping.
“Fucking lunatics” I heard Hayes mutter under his breath.
I followed Sophie to the beach, feeling ridiculous moving around completely naked, wrapped in that duvet that can come off any moment.
“Sophie wait…. please” I beg.
She has already reached the beach, but stops walking, staring ahead at the ocean.
“I would have told you about it sooner but I didn't know how to” I say softly.
She still doesn't answer
“Well it happened on my birthday night,we were both drunk and high, next thing I'm pregnant” I whisper the last part.
Sophie finally turns,the expression on her face no longer anger or pain. It was pity? And I hated that, I hate when people look at me that way.
“It must've been hard for you” she says softly.
“I don't blame you for not telling me, you were dealing with a lot” she adds, moving closer.
“Thank you Sophie” I breathe.
“What I still don't understand is why you're fucking Hayes after everything, aren't you supposed to be far from him?” she asks, genuinely confused.
I mean I am also confused.
“It's complicated” I manage to say.
I can't tell her about the stupid deals we have and how I actually love being in bed with him. Not that I'll ever admit that.
“I understand” she says surprisingly.
“Though I'll need time to get over everything” she says.
Causing my heart to squeeze painfully in my chest. I comforted myself with the hope. Our friendship is not completely shattered. She just needs space.
“Yeah… that's actually cool” I say shakily.
“Now will you go and put on some clothes and stop walking around like some ghost” she laughs.
I join her,but it's a weak laugh.
“Yeah I should do that” I say weakly.
“Should I wait for you or you still have some lovers stuff to do” she jokes
“Absolutely not, I'll grab my cloth and be out immediately” I say as I grab the duvet and hurry off.
Standing in Hayes walk-in closet, confused of what to wear after having the quickest bubble bath.
I finally settled for some casual baggy jean with a white tank top,that was the closest thing to bright color that existed in that place. I grabbed a bunch of the fabric fitting it to hold firmly at my waist,tying the bunch of fabric to a knot. Everything fit perfectly. The perfect crop top.
I left my hair free because I couldn't find my hair tie after the crazy undressing series yesterday.
Perfect
Now I just need cologne, The perfumes on the top shelf were all wrong, too bold, too dark, too… him.
My fingers slid down to a lower drawer.
It opened smoothly.
Inside: rows of colognes, watches, cufflinks. Everything arranged like someone who liked control. My lips twitched slightly.
“Of course you’d organize even your scents like a military operation,” I whispered to no one exactly.
I shifted bottles aside, searching.
Vanilla.
That was what I wanted. That one scent I'd caught once, soft, warm, almost sweet… but with something underneath it. Something dark. Something that made me think of him more than anything else ever did.
My fingers paused.
“No way…”
I spotted it tucked behind a row of identical dark bottles.
A small smile crept onto my face.
“There you are.”
I reached for it, already thinking about how it would smell later on my skin. How he would probably notice immediately. How he would pretend he didn’t. The thought made my smile a little wider.
My phone buzzed somewhere behind me, but I ignored it. I can't have a single break without them disturbing me.
Instead, my attention drifted to another section of the drawer.
A slim black device sat half-hidden beneath a folded sports hoodie.
A portable screen.
My brow furrowed. “What is this…?”