by J. S. Cooper
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a prude, but I wasn’t about to hook up with a guy my best friend had come to hook up with. My stomach churned as I realized that he really didn’t care which of us he slept with tonight.
“You’re still dressed.” He sat down next to me, and I felt his warm thigh press against mine. I tried not to shiver as a feeling of displeasure coursed through me.
“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” I mumbled out. Damn it, Lola, I thought to myself. He’s going to think I’m the bumbling idiot that I am. “Why don’t we chat while we wait for Anna to come out of the bathroom?”
“Chat?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “What would you like to chat about?”
“Well, you know. Things.” I smiled at him, and he sat back with a puzzled look on his face. He reached a hand over and I felt his fingers tracing my collarbone before brushing my light brown hair back away from my face.
“You’re very beautiful.”
“Thanks.” I smiled weakly and he laughed.
“You are American, yes?” He smiled to himself as I nodded. “Let me guess. You are from a Midwestern state. Yes, somewhere in the country. Maybe a farm?”
“No,” I shook my head and laughed. “I’ve never even been to the Midwest. I’m from Florida.”
“No!” He shook his head in surprise. “You do not seem like you are from Florida.”
“I am.” It was my turn to frown. “What do you mean I don’t seem like I’m from Florida?”
“Nothing, mon cher.” He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it softly. “Let us not talk of mundane things.”
“What do you want to do?” I asked stupidly and groaned inside, pulling my hand away quickly.
“What do you think?”
“I’m not really that sort of girl.” I swallowed as he leaned in towards me. His lips were mere inches from mine, and I froze in panic. I wanted to slap him and accuse him of being a dirty leech, but I was scared he would get mad and force me out of the room. There was no way I was going to leave without Anna.
BANG BANG BANG.
My eyes widened in shock at the loud banging, and I saw his eyes darken with anger before he jumped up and walked towards the door. I sat there, thanking God that we had been interrupted before he had made his first attempt to kiss me.
“Who is it?” he growled through the door.
“Maximillian, open up the door. It is Xavier.” The voice on the other side of the door sounded irritated and angry, and I sat up straight, my bones tingling.
The voice sounded vaguely familiar. I was hopeful that Max would let the other man into the room so that I could grab Anna and leave. I jumped up, about to walk to the bathroom, when Max looked back at me.
“Sorry.” Max shrugged as he looked at me, and he opened the door quickly. “I thought you were going to give your talk, sir.” He seemed to be apologizing to the man on the other side of the door, whom I couldn’t quite see.
“Don’t tell me you have another whore in here, Max.” The other guy cursed in another language. “I won’t accept this behavior. Not in my room.”
I stood still in shock as I realized that this Xavier guy thought I was the whore. I blushed, even though no one was looking, and grabbed my bag.
“I’m sorry, Xavier. I...” Max muttered, and I stuck my tongue out at his back. What a wimpy asshole he was turning out to be. I couldn’t believe he had no backbone after just trying to bed me and my best friend.
“No more excuses. Go to your room. I’ll deal with you in the morning.”
“Please, Xavier.” Max was practically begging now. He gave me a quick look and then ran out of the room.
I stopped still as I saw the man in front of me. It was the guy from the museum. Surprise and then anger flittered through his eyes as he stared at me with derision. He was glowering at me with a murderous look in his dark green eyes. He stood tall, muscular, and dark. He had an olive complexion and dark, almost-black hair, and he oozed power and sex appeal.
“Who are you?” His voice was as arrogant as the look on his face, and I felt an immediate dislike for this man who stared at me so disdainfully. He didn’t even look like he recognized me. There was no way he couldn’t recognize me, right?
“I’m Lola.” I attempted a smile even though my face was burning up in shame. “From the museum ...”
“Typical,” he sneered.
“Typical what?” I glared at him.
“Typical name for a girl like you.”
“Girl like me?”
“Bimbo,” he spat out, his eyes looking over my body in a way that caused me to shiver with excitement and annoyance.
“Excuse me?”
“Bimbo. B-I-M-B-O” he spelled out. “You are a bimbo.”
“You’re a jackass. Capital A-S-S.” I tried to push past him, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him, his eyes glittering.
“How dare you talk to me like that? Do you know who I am?”
“More like, do I care?” I pulled away from him. “Excuse me. I’m leaving.”
“Where are you going?”
“To my home.” I bit my lip as I realized I didn’t know the address by heart and that Anna was still in the bathroom.
“I don’t think so.” He closed the door and grabbed my hand.
“What are you doing?” I stared at him with wide eyes and shivered as I watched his chest rise and fall angrily.
“I will not let you leave this hotel room at this hour.” He shook his head in disgust. “In my country, it is not becoming for a woman to walk around the streets by herself at night.”
“We’re not in your country.” I pulled my hand away from him, wanting to ask what country he was from but not wanting to be nosy and give him the satisfaction of knowing that I was interested.
“It’s a pity.” He laughed sardonically. “And lucky for you. If you were in my country right now, I’d ...” He paused and leaned towards me. I could feel his breath on my lips as he stared deep into my eyes.
I froze as I stared back at him in anticipation. Was he about to kiss me? I swallowed hard. This was the moment I’d been waiting for all night but not in these circumstances. At the museum, he’d seemed sexy and naughty. Now he just seemed like an arrogant prick. I knew I should slap him or something, but instead I closed my eyes and waited to feel his lips crush down on mine.
“Open your eyes.” His voice sounded like a growl, and I opened them reluctantly. His face was mere inches from mine, and his eyes sparkled into mine. I could feel his breath on my lips, and I swallowed nervously. “If I were to kiss you, your eyes would remain open because I would want to watch the pleasure dilating your pupils as my tongue sought out the secret spots in your mouth.” His voice was low and seductive as he spoke, and I trembled at his words. I had completely forgotten Max and Anna at this point. My mind went back to the museum and what he’d whispered in my ear then. My body felt hot and achy as I waited to see what he was going to do.
“I don’t want you to kiss me.” I pulled away from him sharply and lied. “I don’t date cocky bastards.”
“But I don’t think you came here for a date, mon cher,” he laughed sardonically. “Unless you considered a rendezvous in a hotel room a date?”
“I’m leaving.” I tried to push past him again to walk to the bathroom, and he grabbed my wrists and pushed me against the wall.
“You are not going anywhere right now.” All humor and light was gone from his dark eyes, and his features looked dark and controlled. “You will stay here tonight, and in the morning, you may leave.”
“You can’t tell me what to do.” I tried to push against his chest, but he was immobile. My strength did not compare to his, and I realized that there was nothing I could do to get away. “I’ll scream, you know. If you don’t let me leave, I’ll scream.”
“You won’t be the first bimbo who screams in the throes of passion.”
“But we’re not in the throes of passion.”
“And that disappoints you, does it not?” He cocked his head to the side and surveyed my heaving breasts. “I think right now you are disappointed that I don’t have you in my bed, caressing your—”
“Stop it.” I blushed at his words and looked away. There was no way I wanted him to know how very right he was. I was intensely attracted to him. My brain was fighting my body and just barely winning.
“Come now.” He stepped away from me. “Please spend the night and relax. I feel like we got off on the wrong foot. I wish you no harm, beautiful Lola.”
I blushed as he complimented me. “I’m not beautiful.”
“Do not tell me you’re modest as well?”
“Well, you know. Some of us bimbos can be modest.” I winked at him and watched as his face transformed in laughter.
He stared at me for a moment and sighed as he stepped away from me. “You’re not English?”
“Disappointed?” I raised an eyebrow at him, not caring what he thought of me at this point. It was unlikely I’d ever see him again.
“No.” He shook his head. “English girls are polite. I like a girl with some bite in her.”
“All English girls aren’t polite. You shouldn’t make generalizations.”
He nodded his head. “You’re right, of course.”
“Where are you from?” I peered up at him curiously. I figured that he was Italian or something. His skin was too olive for him to be for him to not be from one of the Romance language countries.
“You will not know it.” He smiled and walked into the bedroom. “Would you like a drink?” He called back to me. He walked back to the door with a decanter of whiskey.
“No thanks.” I shook my head and then yawned.
“I bore you?”
“I’m just tired.”
“Five minutes ago, you were ready to make passionate love in my hotel room with my assistant. Now you want to go to sleep. I think I’m losing my touch.”
I shrugged my shoulders and looked away, not wanting him to see how every fiber of my being was hoping for him to touch me. I wanted to feel his warm, strong hands on my body, trailing a line of fire across my skin.
“I wasn’t about to make love to—”
“I know you want me, Lolita.” He cut me off as he sipped from his glass of whiskey and loosened his tie. “But I’m not a man that—”
“What’s your name?” I interrupted him.
“I’m Xavier.”
“Xavier?” I looked at him in surprise. It wasn’t a name I was familiar with.
“It means I last all night.” He paused, and my heart stopped beating as we stared at each other in silence.
“In what language?” I whispered, unable to stop myself from playing his game.
“In the language of love.” He moved towards me smoothly and before I knew it, his lips were crashing down on mine, softly and firmly. I melted against him, and my eyes widened as I felt his tongue doing things to mine that sent a sharp thrill down my body. His eyes twinkled as I gasped against him, and he pulled away from me and whispered in my ear.
“I told you my kiss alone could make you wet.”
I looked up at him with an incredulous expression, but he didn’t wait for me to respond. Instead, his lips came crashing down on mine again, and his hands found the crook of my back and pulled me in towards him hard. I reached my hands up and placed them around his neck, needing the support of his body to remain on my own two feet.
This time, his kiss wasn’t soft and sweet. It was hard and searching. His tongue explored my mouth while his teeth nibbled on my lip. But then he stopped, took my tongue in his mouth, and sucked, and it was all I could do to not cry out in surprise and pleasure. I had thought that he looked like a sex god, but this man—this Xavier—was sex himself.
“Shall we?” He took my hand and led me to the bedroom, pausing at the door with a question in his eyes.
I nodded mutely, not trusting myself to say anything as I stared at the handsome man in front of me. All reason had left my mind, and all I could think about was being taken by this man, roughly and gently, all night long.
It was at that moment that Anna finally emerged from the bathroom. “I’m feeling better now, Max.” She twirled into the room and I tried not to groan.
“Who are you?” Xavier looked at her in shock.
“I’m Anna. Where is Max?” She looked at me in confusion.
“He left.” I shrugged.
“Oh, no?” She made a face. “Was I in the bathroom too long?”
“What’s going on here?” Xavier pulled away from me and eyed us both. “Don’t tell me you’re a pair of working girls?”
“No, we’re in grad school,” Anna responded, not really understanding his comment.
“You’re a jackass. We are not prostitutes.”
“Prostitutes?” Anna’s eyes widened. “What?”
“So you weren’t about to have a threesome with Max?”
“Hell no,” Anna responded. “I didn’t even want Lola to come back with me, but she said she wouldn’t let me leave with him unless she came.”
“Oh, she’s your watcher?” He gave me an assessing look as he spoke to Anna.
“No, I’m her friend.” I glared at him. I didn’t care how good looking he was. I wasn’t going to put up with his rudeness. “We were at the museum earlier,” I stated, trying to see if he remembered me. I knew he had to remember me. I just wanted him to acknowledge it. I wanted him to say that he’d thought I was hot from the first moment he’d seen me in the museum.
“I see.” His eyes darkened and he walked to the side of the room. “I will get you girls a room. You’ll stay here tonight. You’re too drunk to go anywhere now.”
“We don’t—” I started as Anna nodded eagerly.
“Thanks.” She held her stomach. “I’m still feeling a bit sick.”
I gave her a look. “I told you not to drink so much.”
“Oh, not now, Lola.” She made a face. “Save the lecturing for tomorrow.”
“I need a suite,” Xavier spoke into the phone. “Is the junior penthouse available? Good. Send someone up with the keys.” He hung up and walked back over to us. “You’ll have your room soon.”
“Thanks.” I sighed and stared at his lips.
“Next time, you girls need to be more careful. You never know who you’re going to end up with.”
“I was only coming to make sure she was okay.” My eyes narrowed at him as he lectured us.
“But it seemed to me that you were mere minutes away from joining me in bed.”
“What?” Anna looked at me. “No way.”
“You know that’s not true.” I looked at Anna.
“Oh, Lola.” She giggled and then looked back at Xavier. “He is hot. Wait a second.” Her eyes widened and she looked at me. “Isn’t he the—”
“Anna.” I grabbed her arm and walked to the door. “Let’s get ready to leave.”
“I’m interested in hearing what your friend was about to say.” Xavier’s eyes lit up, and he took a step in front of me.
“She’s drunk. She needs to rest.” I looked into his eyes. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Oh?” He smiled down at me and whispered into my ear, “You’ve been playing games with me all night, Lola. First the museum and now here. Next time, you will not be able to just disappear.”
“Next time, you’ll remember to be a lot nicer or you’ll find my hand across your cheek.” I smiled at him innocently and opened the door. “Goodnight, Xavier.”
“Goodnight, sugarlips,” he spoke softly as we walked out. “Don’t get too wet thinking about me tonight.”
I gasped at his words and looked back at him. He had a smug look on his face as he closed the door, and all I could think about was what would have happened if Anna hadn’t come out of the room at that precise moment.
***
His View
I watched the cab pull away and I felt angry. I was angry at the two girls for j
ust going with Max. Didn’t they value their safety? They had no idea who he was or where he was taking them. I strode back into the museum and made my apologies for leaving early. There was no way that I was going to give Max enough time to try and convince either of them to stay the night. My blood boiled over at the thought of him trying to be with her. If anyone was going to have her, it was going to be me.
***
It took longer than I had hoped to get to the hotel and my nerves were shot as I got to the room. I tried to use my key to get into the door, but I couldn’t get it open.
BANG BANG BANG. I knocked on the door hard.
“Who is it?” Max’s voice was surly and I knew in that moment that I was going to have to send him back to Romerius.
“Maximillian, open up the door. It is Xavier.” I spoke in my authoritative tone. I knew that would freak him out. He opened the door quickly and I could see from his face that he was worried about his job. Good! I looked around the room and I said a little prayer when I saw the girl standing there, fully clothed.
“Go to your room.” I commanded Max without looking at him. He was of no importance to me right now. I needed to speak to this girl. I needed to tell her off for being stupid. I needed to get her out of my system. I frowned to myself at my thoughts. I didn’t even know her. I didn’t know why I cared. I didn’t even know her name.
I walked over to her and looked her up and down. “Who are you?” My voice sounded hoarse as I tried not to pull her into my arms.
“I’m Lola.” Her voice was light. Too light for the situation. Didn’t she understand how serious a position she was in? And what sort of name was Lola? Lola wasn’t a name for a nice girl. Lola was the name of a nymph. Lola was the name of someone who wanted to make love all night with reckless abandon. She didn’t look like the sort of girl who would make love with reckless abandon. I continued talking to her, but all I could think about was her body. What would she look like with her clothes off? What would she do if I reached over and lifted her skirt up? Or if I reached over and grazed her breasts? How wide would her eyes open if I did that? Would she gasp? Would her mouth make a circular shape? Would she slap me? I smiled to myself. I’d quite like to feel her hands on me again.
