by Shady Grace
Her gaze locked on his. Nothing could make her look away. Good thing I shaved this morning. She wanted him. Wanted his hands on her. Craved his lips kissing her lonely flesh as his body connected to hers. But having sex with a stranger was scary, and a little embarrassing. Maybe she wouldn’t be good enough, or sexy enough, or maybe she was just unworthy for a one-night stand with a man who could give the most handsome actor in Hollywood a run for his millions.
This time when she waved the waiter over, she asked, “Tequila?” And bless his soul, the young man returned with two shots. Jamie tipped both back, ignoring Jack’s amused expression. As the second shot burned an intimate path down her throat and she cringed only slightly, Jack chuckled.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“Uh”—her cheeks flushed again—“No…I just, don’t know what to say.” Get a grip of yourself, woman! Grab him by the collar and yank him to your room. Rip his clothes off and fuck the last breath out of him! “I know we got a little carried away on that dock, and I apologize if I reacted like a slut.”
Jack sat back in his chair, his smile devilish. “If you were being a slut, then I guess I was being a whore.”
Warm in the stomach, and slightly less embarrassed by his odd compliment, Jamie raised her glass. “Then cheers to us nymphos.”
His crooked smile hit her right to the core as Jack polished off the rest of his cocktail. This is it. Keep it together, woman. You might just get laid tonight.
“I have an idea.” He waggled his eyebrows and Jamie had a sudden vision of that face between her legs. “Let’s go dancing.” His thumb brushed up and down the side of his empty glass. “I know a place where the dance floor is always packed, the tequila is top of the line, and the music makes you want to move.”
God, he made that sound so appealing. “You must be in sales, because you totally sold me on that.” Jamie tore her gaze away from the erotic motion of his thumb on that lucky glass and smiled at him. The wind seemed to have settled at just the right time as she took the last sip of her drink.
Jack stood and held out his hand. Before she changed her mind like she did that night on the dock, Jamie set her glass down and slipped her hand in his.
Chapter 5
Sam had to play his cards right, at the same time, he couldn’t help his desire for a bit of fun. He knew what he was doing. Nearly twenty years in the business taught him how to deal with a sticky situation. Sink her in deep and hook her hard. Make her feel as if she could trust him, open up to him, and then yank her out of the water.
He had to admit, when Jamie blew into the lobby holding that briefcase and looking frantic, he was disappointed. He wanted her to be one of the good ones. He knew better than to assume the worst right away, but he also knew how to be cautious. It wasn’t worth getting too excited over something without enough background information. The fact that she was here with a briefcase could very well be coincidental, but he doubted it. Not when she ran into that lobby as if a dragon blew fire all over the back of her legs. Housekeepers don’t travel with briefcases, and they sure as hell don’t act as if they’d just broken the law.
But he grinned nonetheless, because he liked her smile. It made the skin at the corner of those stunning green eyes crinkle. She must smile a lot, he imagined.
He kept his focus straight forward, as he vividly recalled staring up at her on those steps without a bra on. Not many men in this world could look away from a set of free-hanging tits. Might as well hang bacon over a dog’s mouth.
As he touched the small of her back while they descended the steps and exited the hotel, he wondered if he’d be considered an asshole for taking advantage of her like this. He wanted to fuck her, wanted to make love to her, but at the same time, he wanted to make her pay for trying to blackmail them. He wouldn’t let it happen, of course, but still, her plan was set into motion which was why he was here. His job was to get the briefcase and then kill her. Nothing would stop him from fulfilling his duty.
Why did it have to be her? What did they ever do to her? Before the lodge he’d never seen Jamie before, not even in passing. She had the kind of face that was unforgettable.
He thought hard about what he should do with her, as they strolled down the cobblestone streets toward his favorite nightclub. Despite the mini storm that blew in a short while ago, the streets of Havana were right back to their usual nighttime excitement.
The seductive beat of Cuban drums lilted in the air. A cool Caribbean breeze swept through the narrow streets. They passed a man and woman in a heated embrace against the stone façade of a nearby building. Sam’s blood raced as the woman’s excited sigh met his ears. He wondered if Jamie heard it too and how it made her feel.
His gaze wandered down to the opening of Jamie’s shirt at the bare expanse of her smooth shoulder. If he leaned down and kissed her there on that purple flower tattoo, would she sigh in rapture like that woman against the wall?
Jamie glanced up and caught him staring at her shoulder. “How often do you come here on business?”
Sam cleared his throat and looked at her face. There was something about her that made him want to tell her about his life, about his struggles, but he knew better. His solitary life was best kept that way. “Maybe a couple times a year, depending on who calls.”
“Must be nice to come here on business,” she said in a wistful tone.
Not even close, sweetheart. “It pays the bills.”
Around the next corner, the outdoor lights of the nightclub shone like a strobe light. Jamie’s surprised gasp and excited expression made him grin. Her honest—or what appeared to be honest—reaction to sights and sounds appealed to him. A thought struck his mind that only a person who’d never really traveled would react in such a way. Which made him wonder how worldly this woman really was. If her intention was to blackmail them for ten million, wouldn’t she be more sly and seductive—not sweet and chatty?
People were dancing in the street right outside of the club. Hips grinded, lips touched. Women danced together. Men danced together. This place was a whole world of its own. A man and a woman could be anybody here.
“Here we are.” He guided Jamie toward the wide-open doors and into the packed nightclub. “What do you think?” He shouted through the music.
Her smile was all the answer he needed, especially when he noticed her hips moving to the beat already. She closed her eyes and swayed to the tune, lifted her arms above her head and let the music take her away. Sam took the opportunity to admire her body, how her full breasts stretched the purple shirt to its max, how her curvy hips moved in sweet seduction.
Hypnotized, he stepped closer, into her body’s curve and began moving along with her to the bump and grind of the music, a sway that could only belong to the rhythmic heat that was Cuban. Everywhere he looked, women were half-dressed. Men drooled and ass grinded against any broad that would accept their attention. Sweat mingled and trickled with perfume and cologne, while eyes appreciated and bodies loved with abandon.
Sam slipped an arm around her waist and drew her closer. When she opened her eyes in that lazy, take me, I don’t mind, kind of way, he knew what was on the menu tonight. Jamie let her arms rest around his shoulders, and when he leaned down and put his mouth on hers, she responded exactly as he remembered from that night on the dock.
Passion. Electricity. Full-body heat.
As her sweet lips mingled with his and her hips pressed harder, more urgently against him, Sam didn’t want to be in this place anymore. He wanted to take her back to his room and show her how pleasing the Caribbean breeze felt against naked, sweaty flesh.
He leaned closer and murmured in her ear as they swayed smoothly to the music. “Can I tell you something?”
She looked up and gave a shy nod. His blood simmered by that sexy expression.
“I’ve thought about that kiss on the dock since I left Sharp Ridge.”
Her sweet lips tipped up in a half smile.
“Me too.”
He gave her a wolfish glance. “Whatever happens here is your decision to make. We can go to your room and find out just how hot this thing is between us, or we can get drunk on tequila and go our separate ways. Whatever you want.”
She was just about to answer but stopped short when a movement behind her caught Sam’s eye. Without expressing the sudden anger welling up, Sam nodded to the man whose face was well known to him. The fact that he was here could mean only one thing.
Without startling her, Sam leaned closer, his eyes still trained on the person standing twenty paces behind her back. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”
She nodded, oblivious to his sudden change in demeanor, or to the fact that the years of training and survival mode had rushed back to the surface, pushing away any and all thoughts of the previous hour spent with her.
He left her on the dancefloor and followed the man who had disappeared into the dark hallway leading to the washrooms. A thought crossed his mind that she had arranged this, but Jamie had no idea beforehand that Sam would take her to a nightclub. Unless Norman the Norwegian was paid to follow her and keep her safe at all costs. She could afford to pay him with the ten million McCoy was dishing out for her silence.
Whatever the case, the blond monster would be hard to take down, having at least a hundred pounds over Sam, and all of it muscle.
Prepared to fight, he slipped the small but deadly titanium knife from the pocket of his slacks and held it hidden in the palm of one hand, as he pushed the bathroom door open with the other. The door swung shut behind him, muffling the music. An old florescent light flickered above the sinks, making the funky bright orange and blue walls hard to decipher where the walls started or ended. He jerked, surprised and a little disoriented from the lighting as two men exited the same stall.
The second the main door swung shut behind them, the stall door beside him burst open smashing against the frame. Before Sam could react, he was hit from the side and violently shoved into the counter against the opposite wall. He grunted at the biting pain as his hip collided hard against the cement vanity. Sam sucked in a sharp breath and squinted hard, trying to block out the throbbing ache. Norman came at him again and again, bruising his ribs with his deadly knuckles.
Sam grit his teeth and flipped the knife in his hand, swinging it out with all of his strength, slicing through the air but missing his target. Norman released a deep guttural laugh as his massive fist pounded into Sam’s ribs, making him stumble back a few feet. He struggled to breathe, fought to maintain his footing as a wave of heat threatened to take him down. He managed to block a hit to the face, but couldn’t catch his breath fast enough to give one of his own. Maybe this was it. Maybe his days were finally over, Sam thought, as the brawny Norwegian rushed him again.
But he couldn’t die now. He was too stubborn for that, and his brothers were counting on him to see this job through—no matter the cost.
As Norman came at him full force, Sam used the advantage of his smaller size and speed to squat down at the last second, as Norman swung at his head with all of his weight. Sam curved the knife up, jabbing the blade deep into his opponent’s stomach He pushed against Norman’s shoulder, shoving him down to twist the knife up to his heart with all of the strength and force he had left.
Norman’s groan echoed through the washroom as he sunk to his knees then fell forward. Dark blood oozed onto the tiled floor as Sam pulled his knife out of Norman’s flesh. He moved to the sink and stared at his reflection for a long while, even knowing he could be seen, as he absently rinsed the blood from the blade. His face appeared gaunt and tired. His eyes held no emotion other than acceptance of his life and his path. Sam Hayes, you might as well be a fucking doll. A powerful surge of bile rushed up his throat from what he’d just done, and what he’d become after all these years. He shook it off, and cursed himself for letting his emotions nearly make him puke. Shrug it off. It’s just another hit.
He walked away from the mirror, and the man staring back at him. Sometimes he didn’t care if he got caught, but for his brothers and their families, he couldn’t stay there and risk being seen.
As the last breath gurgled out of Norman the Norwegian’s mouth, Sam slipped the knife back into his pocket and exited the washroom. He swept through the crowd, thankful that nobody had seen him and returned to Jamie who was now standing at a high table chatting with a man. Sam gave him a sharp glare and the guy disappeared into the crowd. Jamie seemed shocked by the guy’s sudden departure, but Sam didn’t care. She seemed to shy away as he walked up, but said nothing.
His side ached so bad he was certain he’d cracked something, but he couldn’t let her see his pain. She needed to believe that he was just some random businessman here on a boring job, whether he looked like hell or not.
With the vivid image of Norman lying in the bathroom, and the beautiful face of Jamie in front of him, Sam decided that he needed something soft, something to take the pain away of what he’d just done. He took her hand and led her back to the dancefloor.
As everyone else swung about, gyrating against each other to the fast, hip-swinging music, Sam held Jamie close and guided her in a slow rhythm with him. He breathed in the flowery scent of her hair as she put her cheek to his chest and followed his lead. The lights and chaos and laughter in the club didn’t exist as he swept his hand around the curve of her hip and up her back to the nape of her neck.
Jamie pulled back and looked up at him with awareness, her seductive eyes pulling him in like a fish in a net. He leaned down as she pushed up, and when their lips met on that crowded dance floor, he knew he would have her tonight.
His heart pounded with excitement, and his cock ached to be inside her as their lips mingled and their tongues tasted. He wanted to own her and punish her at the same time.
Without a word, he took her hand and led her out the door. As they headed back to the hotel along the narrow street, he found a secluded spot and pressed her against the stone wall. She didn’t say a word, didn’t pull away from him as he braced his hands on each side of her head and leaned down to capture her lips for another kiss. Her whimper of pleasure made his blood dance like that packed nightclub.
The sensual beat of the Cuban drums in the background matched the pounding of his heart as he moved his hands away from the wall to cup her breasts. They were full and heavy, as he imagined they would be when he saw her without a bra. God, that was such a turn on. He’d wanted to ravage her right there on those stairs in her flustered and nervous state. He could’ve taken the briefcase then and there as well, but he didn’t. He wanted to know about her. Needed to know what she was all about.
“I want you,” he murmured.
Jamie’s back hugged the wall as her arms snaked around his neck. “Yes.”
He moved down and kissed her breasts through her shirt and bra, instigating a throaty moan from her perfect lips. Then he trailed his hand down and cupped the apex of her trembling thighs, feeling the hot wetness there right through her pants. That was all the encouragement he needed.
He took her hand again and led her back to the hotel, his steps quick and sure. As he led her up the stairs into the hotel and to his room, he knew what he needed.
Sam wanted to forget what just happened in that bathroom. What he needed was her softness, her smile, and her body beneath his. Right now he didn’t care who she was or what she was about. He’d cross that path when it came.
He shut the door to his suite and switched on a lamp as she walked ahead of him, taking in the details of the space, her sandals clicking softly on the wooden floor. A large, queen-sized bed dominated the cozy room flanked by two small bedside tables. Being a man, he didn’t much care about the décor—everything was a different shade of brown—but she seemed impressed. None of that mattered when all he wanted was to toss her onto that bed and have his way with her.
Jamie moved to the narrow double doors leading to his balcony. �
�Can I open them?”
When she glanced over her shoulder, he nodded. “Whatever you want.”
She smiled and turned around, opened the old wooden doors. Havana Port twinkled a short distance away. A sliver of a moon highlighted rooftop terraces. A gust of wind billowed the curtains, but his gaze was caught in the sway of her golden hair.
“It’s beautiful.”
As if in a trance, he walked up behind her, slid her hair to the side and kissed the back of her neck. Jamie released a deep sigh and turned around to face him. The knowing look in her eyes was the key to his fulfillment.
With the balcony doors to his room wide open, he slid her shirt up and over her body, his rapt gaze followed her golden hair as it fell back over her shoulders. He swept her hair to the side again, leaned down and kissed her tattooed shoulder as he wanted to an hour before. Her head fell back as he kissed and licked her soft flesh, working his way down to her breasts. Jamie let her head fall back and expelled a throaty moan as she reached back and unhooked her bra, pulling away the offending garment and tossing it on the floor. He sucked her nipples hard, desperate with anger and resentment at his life, yet thrilled to be here, in his room, with her. She moaned soft and deep, more seductive than the woman shrouded by darkness in the street.
They didn’t say a word. Only touched. Breathed in the scent of their arousal. Listened to the hushed moans and sighs of pleasure.
Jamie unbuttoned his shirt as Sam hooked his fingers in her leggings and rolled them down the exquisite length of her shapely legs. He took his time, showing her how much she turned him on. He knelt down with the descent of her leggings, kissing and licking her tender flesh. As she stepped out of them, he kissed her hot pussy through the soaked material of her panties. But as Sam tongued her panties and lifted his hands to remove them, Jamie stepped back and shook her head, eyes dark with desire and mystery. With a coy smile she retreated to his bed and sat on the edge, clad in nothing but tanned skin and lacy black panties.
