That made me laugh, my deep chuckle bringing a few heads around to stare. I knew I was a good-looking guy, with my athletic build and imposing height. To be honest, sometimes the way women trail me with their eyes is downright embarrassing, especially when it's at a professional function … when they should be acting professionally.
But I was getting ahead of myself. Abby had piqued my interest not just physically but with her sharp wit and hard work ethic. And there were other parts of me that were getting hard as well …
"Can I buy you another drink?" I asked smoothly. "I'd love to hear more about animation and what you have in store after graduation."
"Oh sure," the brunette laughed lightly, making my heart jump as her quivering flesh shook in the vee of her dress, the creaminess tantalizing and milky white. "I can talk about this for ages, how much time do you have?" she asked saucily.
And I settled in to listen to this amazing girl … before we conducted Valentine's upstairs as well.
CHAPTER THREE
Marie
We stumbled into the hotel room, our hands ripping at each other's clothes, our bodies grazing, seeking, searching until Jonah pushed me against the wall of the darkened room, assertively thrusting a thick thigh between my legs.
"Oh!" I exclaimed, startled at the intimacy. A big hand cupped my breast, his fingers warm and reassuring, lightly twisting my nipple through the thin fabric, squeezing, pinching, making me squirm with pleasure.
Of course, I've been manhandled by boys before, but it was always so lame, if you know what I mean. They were amateurs, dudes who fumbled in the dark, who couldn't even find my breast sometimes despite the fact that I have double D jugs.
But Jonah was totally different. He was a master at this and had no problem assessing my body, his feeling for a woman's curves innate, masterful, and persuasive.
"Ohhh!" I moaned into his mouth and the big man chuckled against my lips, squeezing my soft flesh again, rolling my nip with his forefinger and thumb.
"You like, little girl?" he growled. "How old are you exactly? And don't give me that bullshit about being twenty-five, you're not twenty-five, my ass."
I choked a bit. How had he figured me out so fast? But I decided to roll with it.
"You're right," I confided breathily in his mouth. "I'm nineteen, but I put that I was twenty-five on my profile because I like older guys. Real men, I mean the ones who aren't just horndogs, won't give you the time of day unless you're in your twenties … so I added a few years."
"Mmm," he groaned. "You're luscious and fresh, there's no way any guy would believe you were older. You barely knew how to order wine, little girl," he teased, trailing a big finger down the vee of my dress and into that tight space between my breasts, my jugs squeezing him tight.
I flushed, not only at the juicy contact but also at his words. I knew I'd been naive a couple times during the night, it'd been impossible to hide.
"A glass of merlotte, please," I'd said to the bartender. The serving man hadn't batted an eye, merely pouring me a glass of red wine, the mahogany color sophisticated and vibrant, making me feel like an adult.
But Jonah chuckled low in his chest, raising a finger to say, "And a glass of merlot for me as well."
The barkeep had nodded, smoothly pulling another full-bodied pour, the swirling fluid deep scarlet, matching the shade of my cheeks.
"No worries," said the big man, turning back to me. "It took me twenty years to learn about wine, a little mispronunciation happens sometimes."
And my embarrassment receded, I was so grateful Jonah was kind, showing no snobbery, touching my elbow at key points during our conversation to indicate that he understood me, that we were on the same wavelength.
So when he proposed going upstairs for a nightcap, I was more than ready.
"Sure," I'd said with a sweet smile. "But I didn't know you were staying at the Carlyle, I thought you had an apartment in the City."
"I do," he replied smoothly, "but our exchange made me think that a room might be nice, just in case we had a little too much to drink and wanted to relax."
"Oh I've had more than I usually do!" I laughed lightly. "Two glasses is my max, and I'm already on my third," I confided. Though not tipsy, I definitely felt happy … relaxed and aroused at once.
So we made our way up in the elevator, and I was so proud to be seen strolling through the hotel with this man. The moment the doors closed, I turned to him with wide eyes but no words, willing him to kiss me, leaning in slowly in that movie-like swoon.
And Jonah didn't disappoint. His lips were gentle on mine at first, sweetly trailing my mouth, his tongue tracing the seam between mine before questing for entry, nipping lightly as if asking permission.
With a slight groan, I gave in and opened fully, my mouth and body, embracing him, clinging to that hard length, letting myself feel the heat of his male form. And if I wasn't mistaken, there was a different type of snake rising between us, something hard taking shape against my belly, telling me that this man craved me, desired me, wanted to be inside my rising heat.
But Jonah was careful in the elevator, stroking my curves but also calming me.
"There are cameras in here, little girl," he murmured into my ear, "let's keep it PG, what do you think?"
"Ohhh," I whined, tossing a bit in his arms, hardly able to stand. And the big man just chuckled in response, shifting me closer so that he supported my weight, my head lolling back, delirious with pleasure already.
The door pinged. "Let's go girlie," he murmured, sweeping me up striding to the hotel room door. Our lips sealed in a deep kiss, he fumbled in his pocket for the key before letting us into the darkened room.
I was pressed against the wall, the big man ravishing me, when an odd scratching sound intruded. At first I ignored it, sure that it was my imagination, I was too heady with this man to be aware of anything else. But then the light flicked on and I screamed with terror. There was an intruder sitting in the loveseat, avidly watching us, and he looked exactly like Jonah.
I cowered behind my date, struggling to pull the bodice of my dress up as the second man chuckled, seated in a chair in the corner.
"Jonah, I see you've brought a live one back," he rumbled.
And my date, instead of jumping to action or defending us in some way, merely shielded me, giving me time to adjust.
"Yeah, she's gorgeous isn't she?" he asked. "Perfect for Valentine's."
At this point, I couldn't hold back any longer.
"Wait … you know him?" I cried from my huddled position in the corner. "You know this guy? Why does he look exactly like you? Is this an episode of Punk'd? If Abby put you up to this … " I said, before clamping a hand over my mouth. Oh shit, Jonah thought I was Abby. Oops.
But the big man just chuckled again.
"You're not Abby, sure you look like the girl in the pictures, but you're not her," he said with a grin. "I knew as soon as I walked into that hotel bar. Plus," he added, "you had no knowledge of any of our chat transcripts."
"What?" I asked dumbfounded. I'd read that transcript and all it talked about was Abby's last vacation in Peru, her experience climbing Macchu Picchu. I had definitely briefed myself before coming on this date.
"Well, whoever you are," said Jonah, "the real Abby must not have shown you the other transcripts from our chat sessions. We've been corresponding for three weeks, there's a lot of … uh, specifics that she didn't tell you."
I was going to throttle my roommate when I got back. This was beyond the pale, I couldn't believe that she'd held back because she wanted to spend Valentine's trying to get back with her boyfriend. Boy, was Abby in for a tongue-lashing the moment she got in the door.
But first, there was the situation at hand.
"Listen, I'm Marie, Abby's roommate. She wanted to come tonight, I swear, except her ex promised her jewelry and she couldn't resist. So she sent me instead because she didn't want to disappoint," I said plaintively. "But all she gave me was a chat transcript where you guys talked about hiking in Peru, there was nothing else. So who is this guy here?" I asked confusedly, nodding to the man in the corner. "Do I need to call the police?"
The big man chuckled. "No need to call the police. The real Abby was evidently a little … curious," he stated. "I'm Jonah and this is my twin John. We started chatting with Abby on-line because she was interested in dating twins," he said simply. "So we agreed to meet on Valentine's Day. I'm sorry her ex is back in the picture, she seemed like an interesting girl, sensitive and open-minded."