“Sure.” Marise reaches for the phone, but Jesse yanks his hand back and spins around.
“Don’t call security. I’m not drink at all,” he says while swaying and convincing nobody. “I just want to talk to Alix and then I’ll be on my way.”
I shake my head and take his wrist in my hand again. “I’ll take Mr. O’Ryan back to his room. Do you think you can look after the bar by yourself for a little while longer?”
“I think I can manage.”
Without hesitation, I pull Jesse along behind me. His steps are heavy and loud, and draw the attention of everyone we walk past. Thankfully, none of them seem to take a second look.
“You didn’t text me back.” He announces—rather loudly—as we approach the elevator.
“Shut up,” I snap over my shoulder and slap the ‘up’ arrow.
As the light goes green and a ding sounds off, the doors open and I shove Jesse inside. I hold my breath until the doors close and the elevator begins to rise. I watch the lights as the floors fall away from us one by one. I need to stash Jesse in his room until the alcohol wears off. I can’t risk having him walking around demanding to know why I didn’t text him back. Unexpectedly, the elevator stops halfway and as the doors open, I grab Jesse by the jacket and pull him against me so the newcomer doesn’t see his face—or mine—as I hide myself with his body. Hopefully, we look like a man and a woman too involved in each other to notice anyone else. As I hold him against me, he finds it funny to toy with the strands of my brown hair and hold it over my top lip. He smiles widely at my ‘moustache’.
“It suits you,” he states, and I swat him away.
“Ha. Ha. You’re hilarious,” I deadpan.
“You need to lighten up.” Two index fingers find their way to my face and he pokes them into my flesh, forcing me to smile.
I need to lighten up? That’s extremely rich coming from him.
“I’m trying to save your ass,” I hiss in a whisper. “You’re too paranoid to fuck on a beach, but you’ll gladly get wasted in front of your employees, and not-so-subtly demand to know why I didn’t text you back.”
He sobers briefly and the elevator stops to let the passenger out. When the doors close again, it’s just us. We’re alone.
“So,” he sighs, ignoring my previous rant. “Are you staying with me tonight?”
A question I would have answered yes to on the way to work this morning is now a solid no. “No. I’m not.”
A frown—a sexy frown—falls over his features and he takes a step back. “You know, I’d have been a lot less anxious and a lot less inclined to drink the early hours of this morning away if you’d just responded to my text.”
“My answer would’ve been yes if you weren’t sitting at the bar drunk when I arrived. No offense, but I’m not a fan of whiskey dick. It’s awkward.”
Blank features stare back at me. “Whiskey dick?”
“It’s when you drink so much you can’t get hard. It’s common, sadly, and not something women find appealing.”
A new confidence returns to his features. His brow pulls closer, his eyes darken and his teeth grit together. “I don’t have that.”
“You won’t really know until—”
Jesse snatches my hand and presses it against his slacks… right against his hard cock.
Holy fuck.
“Told you,” he smirks, and ever so slightly, closes the distance between us.
My mouth is open and I know I intend to say something… but I don’t. Hot waves pulse between my thighs and I squeeze them together.
“Now, answer me again.” His voice is rough and husky. It glides over my skin and vibrates each and every one of my pores. “Are you staying with me tonight?”
My heart begins to pound against my ribcage, but it’s not the result of the coffee this time. I like this. I like his confidence… but I’m not staying with him tonight. When I stay with him, I want to be refreshed. I want to be alert and running on a full night’s sleep. Then it hits me… a plan to rival all plans. If my parents thought Scott Paul, an established mechanic at a well known car dealer was impressive, wait until they meet Jesse O’Ryan, the VP of a million dollar company. I smile at Jesse and he, so very obviously, becomes suspicious.
“I’ll spend tomorrow night with you, but only if you come with me to my parents house for dinner.”
It’s a fair deal and if he really wants me to stay with him then it shouldn’t be a problem.
“No way.” He steps back and my hand slips from his slacks. “That’s not a fair deal.”