She lifts her glass and takes a drink, keeping her eyes glued to mine over the rim. There’s a steeliness to the blue irises that feels like a challenge. But as they stay trained on mine, I see a softness, too, that feels like an invitation.
“As you should,” I say, my voice lowering. Breathing in the warm notes from her perfume, I watch her chest rise and fall at a quickened pace. “I have no doubts you are as capable and intelligent as any man I know. But I also know something else.”
She sets the glass down. Her finger runs around the bottom, her chin lowered as she looks at me through her lashes. “What’s that?”
I lean forward and run my teeth over my bottom lip. The movement catches her attention. Her gaze drops to my mouth as her own lips part.
The air between us warms, the connection between us cackles with energy. Her brows arch as if she knows the answer and is waiting on me to deliver.
So deliver I will.
“I have no doubts that if I bent you over a chair and buried myself in you, there wouldn’t be any complaints.”
Her eyes widen as she shifts in her seat.
She wants it as badly as I do, but there’s no way I’d do that. Not here. Maybe with another woman—one who would orgasm all over my balls in the middle of this dining area and not regret it. But Blaire? She’s cut from another cloth, albeit one I’d like to mark.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I silently curse whoever it is. She hears it and motions for me to take it. While I type a quick response back to Rosie, I glance up. She’s watching me carefully.
“Like what you see?” I tease, slipping the device back into my pocket.
Her mouth opens as if she’s going to say something but snaps it shut again before she does. Her brows tug into one long line as she mulls over a thought.
Giving her space to work whatever it is out, I sit back in my chair. She starts to speak again yet stops herself.
“Blaire?”
She looks up through her lashes again, her eyes wide.
“Say it,” I demand.
“Say what?”
“Whatever it is you keep stopping yourself from saying.”
She makes no movement to do anything of the like, but I see exactly what she wants.
As soon as our eyes meet, really meet, the desire burning in the blues is undeniable. Her lids hood, her tongue swiping along her bottom lip as she watches me very slowly push away from the table.
My cock is pressed so tightly against my pants that I think it may burst through the seams. It’s all I can do to ignore it for the time being and, instead, sidle up behind Blaire’s chair.
She doesn’t turn to face me. She doesn’t flinch as I brush all the hair off her shoulders so it lays down the middle of her back.
“I’m going to touch you,” I say just loud enough for her to hear.
Pausing to give her just enough time to object, I lay my hands on her shoulders. A slight gasp escapes her lips as I knead my palms against her skin.
She’s warm and smooth and supple, and I want to bury myself in her body on this damn table.
Her head bends to the side, almost laying her cheek on my hand. I continue to work it back and forth, listening to her soft moans as I go. Finally, she sits up again and clears her throat. My hands drop to my side.
She doesn’t turn around to face me. She doesn’t move at all. The only thing that changes is her voice when she says, “Do you think it’s possible to rent a room here tonight?”
“I’ll be right back.”
Five
Holt
The key card takes forever to activate the lock on the suite.
The elevator ride was quiet, yet every time our eyes met, I swore I could hear the air vibrating between us. Despite the dilated pupils and labored breathing— something I notice but don’t think the other guests in the hallway do—she appears calm. Confident. Controlled.
She’s a damn conundrum, a puzzle with equal pieces sexy and soft. If there’s one thing I won’t do tonight, it’s fuck this up. Fuck her up. In order to do that, I need to clear my head.
When I glance over my shoulder, it’s clear she needs a second as well. Her blue eyes war, a storm crashing wave over wave as she waits for the chirp of the lock.
The door snaps, freeing itself, and although I’ve been anticipating the sound, I still jump. Blaire wastes no time taking the power in the situation. She moseys by me, pressing her palm flat against my chest as she enters the suite with the naughtiest grin.
Working the knot in my tie loose, sure as hell I’m going to choke, I step inside and let the door slam shut behind me. It’s her turn to flinch.
As she spins around, I step toward her in one deft movement. Her back hits the wall, a soft intake of breath parting her lips just before mine land against them.
Her back arches and her chin tilts back as my hands frame her in along the gold-painted wall. Warm and soft, her lips move against mine but not like I predict. She’s slow, methodical, each kiss a decided choice in an easy, calculated flow.
One hand cradles her cheek, her face a perfect mixture of hollowed and round. I brush my thumb against her jaw and am rewarded with a soft, feminine moan.
The sounds of our connection whisper through the room, echoing in the grand entryway. Years before I’m ready to break the kiss, she does just that.
Breathless, she pants as she pulls away, leaving me dragging air into my lungs. Dropping my hand, I let it skim her arm as it falls to her hand. Placing it in mine, I lead her onto the patio. She doesn’t object, just follows me as though it’s our nightly ritual.
Large plants in beautiful clay pots line the sides of the balcony, giving the feeling of seclusion. The sky is clear with a host of silver stars dotting the darkness.
The taste of her mouth is still fresh on my tongue as I sit on a chair with a soft crimson pillow. She slips her hand from mine and chooses a chair a few feet away.
A sliver of thigh is unveiled as she gets settled. My cock, already rock-fucking-hard, throbs so much it physically aches. I try not to wince as I will it to ease, sure I already have pre-cum in my boxers.
The breeze catches her hair, making it dance in a cloud around her. She pulls it into a knot on top of her head, and I’m surprised at how much it changes her appearance. Her cheekbones are sky-high, nearly touching the bottom of her lashes. The corners of her eyes are almost an almond shape, something I never noticed before. Everything about her looks more sophisticated, more regal, and I’m left no choice but to adjust my cock before it explodes.
“I’m going to admit something,” she says. “This is a little too easy for me.”
“What’s too easy? I’m fucking hard as hell.” Wincing, I openly cup myself and try to find some relief.
She grins. “That’s exactly why I sat over here.”
“Isn’t that a good thing? For you, I mean. That you make me this turned on?”
“Of course,” she breathes. “I just … um … I feel like we got here in two seconds.”
“I’ll tell you what, gorgeous. You sit over there until you’re completely and utterly sure this is what you want. And if you decide it’s not, you can walk out, and I’ll take a cab home.”
She cocks her head to the side as though she’s not sure what to say. She searches my face before smiling. “There has to be a bad side to you.”