“Sadie, why don’t you head home? I’m sure Alix can take care of the bar for the next eight minutes.”
I glance at Sadie who looks sideways at me. I give her a small nod of the head, and even manage to contain some of the sudden excitement that seems to be bubbling in the pit of my belly.
“Liar,” she whispers to me as she pulls her cloth from her belt and drops it on the bar. “Call me tomorrow.”
I fight a smile as she says goodnight to Jesse and heads out of the bar area. I grab Sadie’s cloth and turn around. I run it over the bar in small circles, mostly because I have no idea what to do with my hands.
“You’re not wearing a suit,” I point out, letting my stare flick over his torso.
“That’s because I don’t work here anymore.”
I freeze. “What do you mean?”
Jesse grins, but doesn’t say a word. I glance at the clock. Not long now until the other girl comes back from her break, and I’m done for the night.
“You didn’t respond to my text…” I mutter, choosing a different path and hoping to get an answer out of him.
I hate the thought of sounding so needy and I hate the pleasure it gives him knowing I’ve been waiting this whole time for a reply. “I know. It sucks, doesn’t it?”
“You did it on purpose?”
He tilts his head and chuckles. “Don’t look so hurt, Alix. At least you didn’t get drunk and sit outside my place of work.”
I tuck the cloth over the rack underneath the bar.
“It wouldn’t have mattered even if I had, you don’t have a job anymore.”
“I still have a job… it’s just not here.”
It’s not here? Dread tumbles through my stomach. Is he leaving? “Where are you going?”
He flicks his eyebrows at me just as Jane, the new girl, comes into the bar from the back.
“You’re finished,” Jesse announces. “Let’s go.”
Jane tightens her platinum blonde ponytail and chews her gum without a second glance in our direction. Jesse frowns at her, but she has no idea who he is, and as he said himself, he doesn’t work here anymore.
With new found pep, I snag my handbag and coat from under the bar and follow Jesse. I let my eyes wander over him as he saunters through the hotel. It occurs to me that he’s in his pajamas. A pair of black drawstring pants hang low on his glorious hips and a plain white tee covers his torso. Moving south, I glance at his feet and, holy fuck, he’s wearing nothing but a white pair of socks. I can’t help it. I start to giggle like an idiot.
He shoots me a smile. “You’d better not be laughing at my socks, Alix.”
“Why don’t you have shoes on?”
He shrugs his shoulders. “I didn’t feel like it, and besides, hardly anyone knows who I am. If I can get away with walking around drunk, I think I can get away with an outfit like this.”
I grin up at him. I like this Jesse. The one who’s clearly enjoying himself. And he’s right. No one looks twice at him—except for the occasional woman, of course. But I hold no grudges. The shirt looks great against his body, and there’s no way I’m leaving here tonight without ripping it off with my teeth.
***
His suite is somehow… different. It feels a little emptier than usual, and I’m not sure if it has anything to do with the open suitcase, filled with clothes, that’s sitting on the couch. I kick my heels off as Jesse closes the door behind me.
“Are you going somewhere?” I ask.
From behind, he snatches my coat and handbag and drops them on the floor. I barely manage to turn my head to look over my shoulder before his large hands cover my eyes and his torso presses firmly against my back.
“We can talk about it later. Walk.”
I walk forward using only the angle of his body to tell me where to go and how to turn. Eventually, the carpet stops and cold tiles meet the warm soles of my feet. As he pulls his hands away, it takes a second for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, or rather, semi-darkness. When it does, I can hardly believe my eyes. I gape at the pretty, white bathroom littered with tea light candles and bubbles.
“You’re not serious?” I whisper, clasping a hand over my mouth.
“There are thirty tiny fires in my bathroom. I’m absolutely serious.”
This is not what I was expecting. When I followed him into the elevator and he said we were going up to his suite, I honestly expected cold pizza, wine and sex on a kitchen bench—or somewhere equally as uncomfortable (yet convenient). I did not expect tea lights and a gigantic bubble bath. Jesse’s strong hands grip my shoulders and he turns me ever so slightly toward the mirror. I keep my eyes solely on his face as his long fingers reach for the top button of my white, pearl blouse. With a smirk, his sexy confident stare grows dark and seductive as he pops the buttons one by one. Heat builds inside me, smoldering relentlessly in the pit of my stomach as he opens my blouse and exposes my nude lace bra. I close my eyes as he reaches around me and trails the very tips of his fingers along the edge of my bra. His caress is soft… almost loving and it sends sensations sliding through my body—sensations I’ve never felt before. My breath hitches as the warmth of his lips travel over my shoulder and onto the nape of my neck. “I don’t think you’ve ever had it slow and sweet.”