Their Sweet Haven (The Men of Evergreen Mountain #6)

3. Hannah

THREE

hannah

Elias kept telling me it was okay. That I shouldn’t be fretting over this.

It’s kind of hard not to.

Every guy in this place is wearing some form of three-piece suit. The women are in shimmering evening gowns or at least fancy blouses and skirts.

All of those scream class, importance, and money.

Meanwhile, I’m wandering in in a pair of blue jeans and ratty yet comfortable sneakers, and a sweatshirt advertising my bakery. I’m dressed to run between ovens and the cash register, do business, and not feel too bad if I get completely covered in flour.

“Reservation for three,” Elias says as we meander to one of the hosts. “It is under Lawson.”

“Right away, sir, follow me,” the other man says with a respectful half-bow.

Elias and I follow. “Three? We’re not three.”

“It was supposed to be my father, the governor, and myself tonight. They spared me the pain of that get-together, thankfully.”

“Hate your Dad that much, huh?”

“Hate’s a strong word to describe our relationship. But it certainly isn’t feeling like a loving relationship right now.”

We come to our table, which is at a booth. I always liked sitting at those a bit more. We have plenty of room, but I couldn’t help but scooting toward Elias a bit anyway.

“And the governor? Why on Earth are you meeting with the governor?”

Elias sits back. Our waiter comes, we order our drinks. Just some wine and water for now, nothing too excessive.

“You say you own the bakery, right?” Elias says, seemingly dodging my question.

“Yes. The Sweet Stoppe has been handed down by three generations of my family. From my grandmother to my aunt, to me.”

“Yet you do want to keep it open, right? You seem passionate. Like this wasn’t just dumped on you due to familial obligation?”

What a weird way to take the conversation. “I do quite enjoy my job, yes. I get all the pastries I could ever want, I get to make people happy, I get to bring cake to all of the town’s big events. It’s pretty fulfilling on top of paying my bills.”

“Sounds nice. You actually get to know the people you work with,” Elias says, sipping his wine.

“And you don’t?”

“Not particularly. I know the people around my office. But for the people I actually help with my work? There’s so many layers between us it doesn’t even feel like I’m doing anything.”

“Then why’d you become a commissioner for the public health department? It doesn’t sound like it’s your passion.”

He shrugs. “Maybe because I didn’t choose this job.”

“You accidentally became a health commissioner?’

Elias shakes his head. “I didn’t bumble into it like you’re making it sound.”

“How on earth do you get a job without seeking it? Wanting something is, like, step one.”

“My father got someone to appoint me. I had some business degrees from esteemed colleges, so no one really looked too closely at it. Dad thought it was important that I start building up my public service record, and make it look like I’m a dutiful bureaucrat who would be a shoe-in for higher offices.”

Dots start to connect in my head. Someone in his position comes from money. “So... your Dad wants you to be a politician? And I’m guessing you’re not thrilled about that?”

He smirks. “What makes you think that? How I completely lack any enthusiasm in my voice when talking about it? How I keep dodging questions?”

“Dodging questions is a very politician thing to do, you know.”

“Well I’m not going to dodge them with you, Hannah. I don’t want it. I don’t want any of it.”

I have to say Elias does have the looks for it. He’s handsome as all hell, has nicely parted brown hair, and walks with utmost confidence. He wears that suit well, and I have to say I’m very much interested in seeing more of him. Everything so far has told me I would not be disappointed by it.

“Not wanting to deal with that sort of thing is something I can understand. It’s all complicated. Backstabby. Being on edge about everything you do.”

He nods. “My Dad wants to live vicariously through me. Do everything, he couldn’t. I’ve told him I dislike it, but it doesn't seem to dissuade him.”

“You’re an adult, aren’t you?” I say, leaning into him. “Don’t tell me I’m on a date with the most mature looking seventeen-year-old boy on the planet.”

He sips his wine. “If I was, I think I’d have to write this place up for serving alcohol to underage kids.”

“Then you’re an adult. Do what you want. Take control of your own life, or someone will take control of it for you.”

Usually, indecisiveness in a guy isn’t exactly something that attracts me. But there’s a genuineness to Elias that sticks with me. I can understand the pressures of family.

“The question I face is what do I want to do instead?”

“Well, what did you want to do growing up? Beyond, I don’t know, being an astronaut.”

“The stars weren’t what I dreamed about, thankfully. I’m not too sure, honestly. Something simpler. Something away from the loudness and chaos of the city.”

I run my finger around the edge of the wine glass. “If only there were a small town nearby. Where people lived simpler lives.”

He laughs. “That is something I’ll check out for sure. What about you, Hannah? Are you happy with where you are?”

I sink into the softness of the booth seat. “I mean, mostly? Yes?”

“Why the uncertainty?”

“Running the business is a whole lot of work. I barely have time to get out too often. And that runs into another dream of mine.”

He nods. “Your work-life balance is too heavy on the work.”

“Really hard to get out and date when you gotta be up at five in the morning, then stay at work til nine, an hour past closing, to make sure you’re prepared for the next day.”

“Do you do it all yourself? No employees?”

“I have a few but you can only delegate so much. And one of them is about to take off on maternity leave, which is more work for me, on top of making me so, so jealous.”

“Jealous of maternity leave?”

“Hey, it’s time off. Plus, you know, the whole starting a family thing. That’s pretty big.”

It felt weird to confess my familial desires to someone who I had only met a few hours ago.

“Like, I’m in my late twenties,” I tell him. “I’m not exactly short on time, but seeing everyone around me so happy and in love, it really digs at you. Makes you think, why can’t it happen to me?”

Elias looks at me. Sometime during our conversation, his arm drifted over my shoulder. His touch was the right amount of firm yet gentle, and I looked back at him. Part of me wanted to believe he’s just another pretty boy. But another feels that he is real. He is genuine.

Then, yet another part reminded me that it has been a long time since I’ve put myself out there. It's been a long time since I’ve felt a man’s touch. Running the bakery is more than a full-time job for me.

As our eyes met, and our gazes linger, and we kiss. Right in the middle of that restaurant far fancier than someone like me should be in, we embrace, not caring who sees.

When it ends, I’m grinning like a madwoman. This feels real.

The waiter comes again. We place our order. We talk for a long time—about trivial things like TV shows and movies and more about our hopes and dreams. I compare my bread to the baskets that come out.

“I can do better than this,” I say. “This is good though.”

“You think you can beat this bread? Warm, soft, fluffy, with the right amount of butter?”

I nod, chewing through another bite of it. It feels weird to be trumpeting myself while devouring what I’m trying to put down, but I guess this bread had the huge advantage of being there at that moment versus two hours of driving away back at the Sweet Stoppe.

The food comes and meets every bit of my expectations for such a highly vaunted restaurant. Perhaps not worth the prices I saw they were charging, but excellent nonetheless. The sauce on the Chicken Alfredo id just mind-bogglingly good.

Well-fed and having enjoyed one another’s company for two hours, we recline and polish off another glass of wine. Neither of us is tipsy, but the energy is light, electric.

“I guess this is where we part,” I say. “Don’t think they’ll let us be here all night.”

“They won’t. It’s assumed you won’t stay more than three hours. But it doesn’t have to be where we call it a night.”

“What, are you going to invite me to some fancy world-class bar that I’ve only heard about from social media?”

“Not so much no. But I do have a reservation for one of the finest hotels in the city. They tend to have quite nice liquor stocked if you’re into that sort of thing.”

I cock a glance at him. “You were going to take the governor back to a private room with your Dad?”

Elias stares at me as he connects the dot. “I never thought it was weird until you said it like that. No. We weren’t planning on, uh, getting to know the governor better. It was just a place for us to keep talking privately and make use of that stocked bar I just mentioned. Public figures typically want to avoid drinking where people can see them.”

“Slightest stumble and you are front page news the next morning. I get it.”

“Exactly. So, would you like to join me? It’s another reservation I would hate to go to waste.”

This guy is so forward. So honest.

I kind of like it. I was never super-old fashioned where I required four months of courtship before I’d even consider a first date. It’s all a bit sudden, though. Especially with how we met.

If this was some scheme to prevent me from sueing the county for this, it all seemed a bit overboard.

“Fine. Sure. It’s not like I gotta open the bakery first thing tomorrow morning now that you’ve shut it down.”

He smiles, and waves down a waiter for the check.

I’m so nervous as I follow him out of the restaurant, still feeling like quite the fish out of water. There’s a brief feeling of normalcy as we ride a taxi to our next stop, then it’s right back to sticking out like a sore thumb. The doorman is dressed better than I am, and we go into the elevator to ride it up, standing alongside three men in matching tan suits.

Elias’s hand meets mine, and he pulls me closer. Despite me not looking like the type of girl you’d see with guys like this? He didn’t care. He saw something in me that he really liked.

What that is is a complete mystery to me, but hey, I’m not going to complain.

We head to the room. We enter, and I’m immediately taken aback by how classy it is.

“Take off your shoes. Take off everything else, too, if that makes you feel comfortable.”

I shoot him a playful glare. He counters with one of his own.

“Just make yourself at home.”

I slide off my worn sneakers, not exactly the type of shoe that normally walks across this carpet. It’s plush and lush, and I’m feeling a bit spoiled. I didn’t think you could have rugs this soft.

There is a large, wide window. The entire city of Smithport is below, its lights a beautiful pattern beneath a gorgeous purple sky. I’ve never seen a view like this, and I savor it. Who knows if I’d ever get another chance.

“Would you like a glass of champagne?” he asks, as I turn back to him. He had taken off his jacket and undid a few of the buttons of his shirt. Just enough to tempt me to want to see more of him.

I still had a slight buzz from the wine at the restaurant. Not enough to be anywhere near drunk, but enough to take the edge off, and maybe to make certain bad decisions a bit more palatable to me. “Sure. I’ll try some more of your fancy booze.”

It’s all a bit of a dream. Like some sort of weird fairy tale, except usually the rich guy in those stories are CEOs or something similar, not health inspectors, which ranks pretty low on the ‘sexy job’ charts.

Elias makes it work for him, though.

We both know where this is going. What we both want. We’re grown adults with desires and basic pattern recognition.

Especially as we sit down on the edge of the king-sized master bed.

I glance around the room. It’s pretty typical once I get used to the luxury. The ludicrously sized television, the antique-looking dressers, the curtains that are probably made of a nicer material than anything in my wardrobe. “As fancy as this place is, I can’t help but think so much dirty stuff has gone on in these rooms.”

“Well yes, this is popular with politicians. No shortage of nasty stuff there.”

I look into his eyes. He looks at mine. I’d never thought I’d be the type to fall for a rich boy’s charms. I guess there are exceptions for everything.

We lean into one another. We both take another sip of our drinks, before setting them down. Then, we grow closer. Our faces meet, his head tilts, he goes for it. We kiss.

The second time, but this time with no audience, it gets a whole lot hotter than the first.

His hands wrap around me, pulling me closer, his embrace firm yet tender. I finally get to feel those muscles of his, how toned he is. I unbutton his shirt, letting it slide off him, and we soon tumble onto the bed.

It’s a rush of heat as we move more quickly. My sweatshirt goes over my head, then the camisole I wore beneath it. My breasts fall free, and his smile grows only wider when he lays eyes on them. His kisses leave my mouth to go down to lick them, his tongue as gentle yet forceful as the rest of him, the tingling sensations of it all building slowly yet steadily.

His hands slide over my curves, his touch warm and enticing as he moves to my jeans, and I help him work them down my legs. Elias’s touch is exploratory, and he seems to appreciate every curve of my body and my skin. He enjoys it all despite any imperfections I may see in myself.

I see no imperfections in him. When I brush against his slacks, I feel his hardness through the layers of clothing, and my curiosity only grows. It’s gradually sated as those slacks slide down his legs, revealing more and more of a delectable, sexy man.

His fingers slide down my skin, and encircle my panties, rubbing me through the fabric with the same skillful touch he’s been giving me all this time. I shudder with his brief touch, my anticipation growing, my heat roaring for this man who came out of nowhere. Elias slides off the bed, letting my legs drape spread across the edge, only bringing them together to slide my panties down.

I lay before him,and he looks up at me from over my pussy. There is a deviously playful look on his face as he runs his palms over my thighs and urges my knees over his shoulders. He gives my center a deliberate, powerful kiss and I gasp in delight. This man knows how to make my body hum with pleasure.

He seizes my clit gently within his lips, stroking and caressing me with them, his tongue joining in not long after. He runs his fingers over my folds, building the heat and wetness I have for him. I coo and moan for him as he massages my pussy lips.

My body tenses as he lays those licks into me, my hands shooting down, running my fingers through that thick head of hair of his, trying not to be too reckless as to ruin it by pulling some of it out. I instead caress him, encouraging him to keep doing what he’s doing with actions, not words.

The fire inside me grows more intense by the moment, and I’m struggling to hold on. My body tenses up, and I arch up in front of him as the bliss ravages me more and more completely.

He watches me, so very pleased with everything going on, how he’s pleasing me so much. I nibble on my lip, the intensity of it all too much for me to handle. I’m on the edge of release, hanging on, if only barely as it hits me again and again. It keeps going until there’s no way I can hold off anymore, until it finally hits me, takes me, and fills me with such intense ecstasy.

God, it hits me so hard. So good. Elias found just the way to please me. I had to beg my last boyfriend for it. And Elias? He just does it.

I’m already a delightful sweaty mess before him.

Elias crawls up onto the bed beside me. “I bet nothing you bake tastes as sweet as you do.”

I let out a laugh. “How long were you thinking that one up?”

“Been workshopping it in my head ever since I’ve laid eyes on you and learned that I had to have some of your pie.”

I kiss his bare shoulder. “You’re so romantic. You just know what to say, right?”

“And despite the awfulness of those lines, you still want more, don’t you?”

“You’re lucky you’re handsome. And sexy. And made me cum so fucking hard.”

He smiles, laying a kiss on my lips again, the ones on my face this time. His hand runs down my naked form, every little hair on my body spiking up in anticipation for his touch. I caress his boxer briefs, growing more wet as I feel his hardness. Then he pushes them down and lets his cock be as free as my own. He throbs hard and at attention for me, ready to give me another wonderful experience.

Elias’s body is on top of mine, and the heat of our skin is driving us wild. I take hold of his cock, feeling how hot he is for me, how hard he is, and so damn ready to take him inside of me. I guide him toward my pussy, rubbing my clit with him, and his eyes meet mine.

He grins, fully comitted to this moment. He runs his hand over my ass, as I ease his length into me, my body so eager to part for him. I shudder with anticipation as he enters me, every inch of him leaving me gasping, aching, wanting more of him.

He’s a perfect fit, as if God himself had crafted him for me.

Another kiss, and our bodies entwine in an electric embrace. He holds me steady as he fucks me nice and slow. I shiver in delight as the friction of our lust intensifies. I ease into our rhythm, finding harmony swiftly.

I grind into him, and he thrusts into me. Toned muscles everywhere, a strength that makes me feel safe. “I can tell you’re a bit of a gym rat,” I murmur, the pleasure building, but not yet to the point I’m incoherent.

“You like that?”

“Oh yes. I love a man who can take care of himself. Plus, it lets you indulge in my other offerings much more guilt-free.”

“I like the offering I have here right now, but I’m sure the others are wonderful, too.“ He whispers, the heat of his breath delightfully tickling my ear. “I’ll keep at it, though. For me. And for you, Hannah.”

He punctuates his words with a strong thrust, which makes me cry out in wonder. He rocks against me again and again, every movement building on the last. Our bodies massage one another, chest against breast, thigh against thigh. My arms wrap around his shoulders, embracing him but also holding on for dear life.

It’s so strong. So powerful. My legs wrap around him, something I didn’t consciously think to do, but instinct winning out, something primal inside of me wanting him on top of all the other ways I wanted him. I cry out in lust for him, my nails clawing down his back, something that seems only to excite him more.

Our pace has increased to something so fast. The fire inside me that once only sparked is now a raging wildfire that only wants to grow out of control. I’m panting, struggling, crying out, mumbling something incoherent, possibly about how I love him.

Which I hope he didn’t hear. It feels a bit too soon.

It is inevitable, though. He’s too good. He sought out to make me cum for him, and I’m helpless to stop him. I release blissfully around him, trembling through my whole form, down into my core. I yearn for him, demanding that he give everything he has.

I moan my heart out. It must be music to his ears because he does not stop.

No.

Not until he’s right there with me. His body trembling with mine around him, his own climax coming right with mine, his cock throbbing deep within me, my sex massaging his and aching for everything he has.

Thankfully, he gives it to me. I feel his cum inside me, all of his heat erupting deep into me, burst after burst. God, it feels good to be filled up by him.

We settle down, breathing heavily, holding one another closely. We shift in the bed, finding the plush pillows of this luxury mattress, and come to rest with me in his arms, his fading yet still throbbing cock pushed against my ass.

“You’re something amazing,” he whispers to me. “I knew you’d be ever since you stormed into my office.”

“You’re not bad yourself,” I say, rolling over to look into his eyes, running my fingers over the curvature of his pecs. “Although this doesn’t mean I’m going to forget that you’re, however, indirectly, the reason for my bakery being closed.”

“I assure you, we’ll check it out first thing in the morning.”

“I’m holding you to it.” I’m exhausted and am drifting away in his arms. I’m in no rush for the morning to come. The longer this moment lasts, the better.