After We Fall(94)

 

My brother Buck raised an eyebrow at me when I introduced Jack as my date, maybe because I hadn’t brought a date to a function like this since Tripp. But ever the charmer, he gave Jack his hand and a slap on the back like he was an old prep school buddy. When my brother learned Jack lived near Lake Huron, they talked for a few minutes about fishing on the Great Lakes, something they both enjoyed. Never mind that as kids Jack had worked on the boats while Buck had chartered them—it was something they had in common, and I was glad for it. Flashing Buck a grateful smile, we moved on to my mother.

 

Muffy was still in the Rivera Court. Near the bar, of course. “Mother, this is my friend Jack Valentini. Jack this is my mother, Muffy Lewiston.”

 

“Nice to meet you.” Muffy extended a hand, and Jack took it as she scrutinized him. “Valentini, did you say? Good heavens, what a lot of syllables.”

 

I rolled my eyes. Muffy had a thing about syllables in a last name. One or two was ideal, three was fine as long as it didn’t end in a vowel, but four—plus the vowel at the end—was just too much.

 

“Uh, yes.” Jack looked at me for help.

 

“Jack owns and runs Valentini Brothers Farm in Lexington. That’s where I was earlier this month.”

 

Muffy reacted as if I’d said something absurd. “You were on a farm?”

 

“Yes. Doing some work for Shine. I told you that, Mother.”

 

She studied him again. “He doesn’t look like a farmer.”

 

“I thought the same thing when I met him.” I gave him a quick smile. “Would you excuse us? I think we’re going to head out.”

 

“Of course.” Muffy dismissed us with a nod.

 

“Nice to meet you,” offered Jack. “Wow,” he said when we’d left the room. “For a small woman, she looks like she’s got bones of steel.”

 

I laughed as we headed for the museum valet. “She might.”

 

“How’d I do?”

 

“Fantastic. Were you nervous?”

 

“I’m sweating bullets. I kept feeling like everyone was looking at me.”

 

“Aww.” Hooking my arm through his, I hugged it to me. “You have nothing to worry about. They were dazzled by your looks, and by the fact that there was a new face here. These things are always attended by the same people.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Yeah.” After we handed our tickets to the valet, we went outside to wait for them to pull our cars around. I turned to Jack and smoothed his lapels. “Thank you for coming tonight. I know it wasn’t easy in there.”

 

“It’s a different world for me, that’s for sure.”

 

“Like me in the chicken coop.”

 

He laughed and dropped a quick kiss on my lips. “Right. And you know what this means, don’t you?”

 

“What?”

 

“Camping.”

 

I wrinkled my nose. “Oh yeah. But not tonight, right?”

 

He laughed again, and I knew I’d never get tired of that sound as long as I lived. “Not tonight. Tonight I have a Luxury King room at the MGM Grand,” he teased. “Would you like to stay with me?”

 

“Did you say luxury? That’s like my favorite word.” I fanned myself and whispered, “I’m so turned on right now.”

 

“Good.” He pulled me close. “Because I’ve got plans for you.”

 

I shivered. “What kind of plans?”

 

“The kind where I make you come all night long, scream my name and beg for more.”

 

I swooned.

 

This time he caught me.

 

 

 

The elevator at the MGM was crowded, and Jack pulled me back against him. “So many people,” he said low in my ear. I thought he meant that there were too many people for him to be comfortable, but then he said, “Do you think they know what I’m going to do to you?”

 

I froze, my face growing hot.

 

“Do they know how soon I’m going to have my tongue between your legs?”

 

My mouth fell open.

 

“Do they know how loud I want to make you scream?”

 

I couldn’t breathe.

 

“Do they know how deep you’re going to take me?”

 

My legs started to shake.

 

“Do they know I’m getting hard right now, thinking about all the ways I want to fuck you tonight?”

 

Sweet Jesus. I spun around and whispered in his ear, “If I was wearing panties, they’d be soaked.”

 

He inhaled sharply.

 

Ten seconds later, the doors opened and he grabbed my arm roughly, yanking me out behind him. He moved down the hall so fast I could barely keep up in my heels, and the moment the hotel room door shut behind us, he pushed me back against it. My evening bag hit the floor.