He opened his chest of drawers and pulled out a cotton Hanes T–shirt. He returned to the bed and sat on the edge, gently lifting her off the pillow. He held up her arms, one at a time, to slip her dress over her head, and she kept snoring. Didn’t miss a grunt. He couldn’t stifle his laugh. It didn’t matter. It was clear, she wasn’t waking up for a long time.
It was impossible to do the gentlemanly thing and look away from her breasts, but he was relieved to see they were covered by a strapless, white bra. He was not about to take it off, either. He didn’t want to be accused of any wrongdoing. He did, however, take notice of the way the fullness of her breasts squeezed out of the top of the bra. He wondered what they would look like bare, but he would wait until she one day consented to find out. And no matter what it took, he was going to earn her consent.
To know her.
To touch her.
To make her his.
After his shower, he dressed in a pair of cotton, drawstring sleep pants, and a T–shirt. He turned on the television to catch the local news broadcast, and plopped down in the armchair beside the bed. He wasn’t lying when he said no one had stayed in his room except for him. That’s why he didn’t have a pull out sofa or an extra bed in his suite. As he drifted off, his head began bobbing like a newborn, and that armchair quickly became uncomfortable.
He was out options. If he wanted to rest tonight it was either the floor or share the bed with Lea. God, he wanted to share the bed with Lea. And he needed the rest. He had a meeting with some land developers at nine in the morning. He was thinking of expanding the hotel into a chain, and he’d put in a bid on a twenty thousand square foot lot in Buckhorn. Lea seemed level–headed enough; hopefully she’d understand his ‘predicament’ when he explained himself tomorrow.
He plopped down hard in the bed beside her, so she’d at least have a fair chance to awaken and kick him out. The Tempur–Ergo mattress didn’t budge. He left considerable space between them in the king–sized bed. Two or three people could fit in the gap.
On his back, he crossed his arms over his chest, and drifted off to sleep.
It’d been a while since Fox had dozed off. He wasn’t sure exactly how long until he looked at the bedside clock. It was after midnight. And God had he slept well, cozied up on his side next to Lea.
Wait—they were spooning?
How the hell did they get like that? Fox had no idea, but they were side by side, her back to his chest, his arm wrapped around her waist like newlyweds. He’d probably have still been asleep had she not started squirming, little sighs and purrs coming off her lips like she was dreaming something good. Another sigh. Yeah, it was definitely a happy dream. Another sigh. No—that time it was more like a moan.
A sexual dream.
Holy shit!
She readjusted her head on the pillow, and for a second he thought she’d drifted back off. Then she readjusted her butt against his cock, which was thickening by the nanosecond.
“Mmm,” she purred as she rubbed up against it.
Oh my God.
Fox felt a pre dribble of come seep out of the head. Then he poked his butt out away from her. He didn’t want to take advantage of Lea in her altered state, but she was going to make it damned hard if she kept at that. Besides, God only knows who she’s dreaming about. They’d just met, so there’s no way it’s could be Fox, could it?
Things settled down and Fox closed his eyes again. Then he felt Lea wriggle beneath his arm that was draped over her. She freed her arm and brought it up around the back of his head, lacing her fingers in his hair, and pulling it down into the dip of her neck. She backed up against his cock again.
Mother F.
Just the smell of her silky skin right next to his face made it near impossible not to nibble, kiss, and lick. He wanted to so badly. But this wasn’t how to start a new relationship. She’d be pissed off tomorrow if she found out he took advantage of this situation. Even though she was the one initiating it. But she may not remember anything tomorrow. How could he prove it?
Unless he recorded it.
He did have cameras in the room for security purposes. All it would take is a press on the remote control on the table beside the bed. It controlled every controllable thing in the room. Lights, A/C, TV, curtains, music. You name it.
His heart was racing with desire, his mind considering his options. He didn’t have much time to think before she leaned up on her arm and completely changed positions, rolling onto her other side. The side facing him. She laid her head on the pillow beside him and stilled.
But not for long.
She scooted closer. A millimeter away from his face she stopped. He could smell her breath. Vodka–tainted, sweet womanly breath. He closed his eyes tight and prayed for her not to move any closer, because he was afraid there would be no turning back.
Then she tipped her forehead against his and put her lips on his. She kissed him. Top lip to bottom lip. Again and again.
Oh, sweet mother of…
When her tongue went inside his mouth, he stopped resisting. He opened his mouth and his tongue slid along hers. Slowly at first and then passionately. When her hands came up into his hair and pulled his face even harder against hers, he realized one of two things: either he was the star of one hell of a dirty dream she was having, or she knew exactly what she was doing—awake as he was.
Either way was fine with him. It was game–on now.
She let go of his hair and slid her hand down his arm, across his backside, then around to the front. She firmly clasped his bulging hard–on and moved her hand up and down through his pants. Meanwhile, he felt for the remote on the nightstand and grabbed it. He could see through the light coming in from the blinds that her eyes were still closed. When he pushed the power button on the remote, he saw a tiny blue light come on simultaneously in the cameras mounted in every corner of the room.
He dropped the remote on the floor beside the bed, and with his hand finally free, he rubbed it along her belly on top of the soft cotton T–shirt. He kissed her again, and she wasted no time moving her tongue past his lips. This woman can kiss. Even if she has no idea what she’s doing, she can kiss. With a hard tug over the top of her shirt, he pulled the bra down just enough to expose her breasts. He cupped her breast over her shirt and rolled her nipple between his fingers. At that, her tongue went still inside his mouth, and she moaned against his lips. He wanted to rip the shirt up over her head, and suck on the pebble that formed beneath his fingers, but he didn’t. If he made any harsh movements, he was afraid she would wake up. That is, if she was sleeping.
Instead, he slowly lowered his hand down her soft belly. Her kiss deepened giving him the green light. Lower. Now over the cotton of her panties. He rubbed her through the top of her panties and felt the moisture beneath. He felt the tiny bud at the top of her mound and made circles around it. She responded to his touch by moving her hips in the same motion.
“Yes,” she whispered. The first word she’d actually spoken, and she couldn’t have picked a better one in the English language. He slipped her panties to the side and easily slipped a finger inside. He rubbed her clit in circles with varying intensity until he got her close to the edge. But he wasn’t about to let this end so fast.
She was warm and tight and he could only imagine what his dick would feel like inside. The constraint of his pants was becoming a problem. Pretty soon he was going to need some room to breathe.
His slipped another finger in and turned his palm up rubbing the rigged cushion of her G–spot. “Fuck, yeah,” she muttered, and he couldn’t believe his ears. Was this sweet, unassuming girl really talking like a porn star?
My God.
His dick was having a hard time staying confined in his shrinking pants. He looked up to see her expression. Her eyes were still closed, but she had her bottom lip tucked up tight beneath her teeth.
If she was talking like that, he wasn’t worried anymore whether she was asleep or not. He wanted to give her exactly what she
wanted, and if she thought that was good…
He scooted down the bed, got up on his knees, and pulled her panties down. Away they went over his shoulder. Oral sex, he didn’t think she’d mind. But that was all he was going to do. He wouldn’t fuck her. Not without her consent.
He lowered his shoulders between her legs. With one hand, he pushed her thighs apart and with the other, he cupped her soft, sexy ass. With his tongue, he worked circles around her clit, and then up and down. Lea’s hands made their way into the back of his hair, pushing him harder against her. He dipped his tongue inside her.
“Oh, yes, baby,” Lea said. Moaning, she pushed hard against him “Oh my God, that feels so good.”
“And you taste so good, baby.” He couldn’t help himself. He had to vocalize what he was feeling, too. If she woke up from her dream, good.
He’d never in all his life been so turned on. He’d slept with a lot of uppity women, but the fact was, the more high falutin they were, the more they just seemed to lie there, afraid to get a hair out of place. It was never an interactive experience like the one he was having right now.
He wanted her to keep talking. Keep saying dirty things that sounded like sweet sin coming from her lips. But the feminine moans of delight were about to send him over the edge.
He kissed trails up her stomach, came up on his knees, and pushed her T–shirt up, exposing her breasts. They were beautiful, just like he knew they would be. Natural, moveable beneath his hands. He kept his hand on one breast, gently pinching her rosy nipple while he tended to the other one with his mouth. He kissed just below her breast, then up the sides, finally over the nipple. Her breathing escalated as he flicked and sucked. Then he switched to the other one.
It felt so good to pleasure her like this. If she had to be slightly incapacitated, at least she could have some fun at the same time. By the sounds coming from her, he knew he was giving her just what she wanted. But he was almost to the point of no return, and he knew he’d have to wait for another time for his. Even if she told him to do her tonight, he couldn’t. He’d ruin this thing with her before it even started. And he wanted to share his bed with her for a long time coming.
He came to his knees and situated his cock in his pants. It’d tried to get away from him. He was about to go splash some water on his face, but when he put his palm down on the bed to scoot across her, she grabbed his wrist.
“Please,” she whispered. “Make love to me.”
Fox leaned down, positioned himself on his elbow beside her. Her eyes were open now.
Oh, shit. She is awake.
He pushed her hair away from her face. “I can’t baby. I want to, but I can’t.” Fox kissed her check, down her neck while his hand went between her legs again. He put two fingers inside her, turned his palm up again and pressed hard against her rigged spot. Once he got a good rhythm going, he found her clit with his thumb and rubbed her there at the same time.
She bucked against him. “Yes, yes, right there. Don’t stop.”
“That’s right, baby. Come for me. Let me hear you,” Fox whispered into her ear.
He felt of gush of liquid moisten his fingertips at the same time she screamed his name. “Oh, Fox!”
—Lea
Lea was awake. She just hadn’t opened her eyes yet. She’d had the most bizarre, erotic dream. A man with strong arms was snuggled up behind her. One thing led to another, and they did a whole lot more than snuggle.
She didn’t want to open her eyes. If she laid there long enough, hopefully she’d fall back asleep and dream it again. His touch felt so real. Like it was more than a dream. And his face was familiar. It wasn’t Brandon. It was someone who she’d met recently.
OMG!
She remembered now. It was Fox, the man she’d met the day before at…
She opened her eyes slowly. Came to a sitting position in a strange bed with plush white comforter and quilted bamboo sheets.
Where the hell am I?
Her lavender sundress that she’d worn the day before was neatly folded over the back of a nearby armchair. She gasped and looked down to see what she was wearing now.
A large white T–shirt. She gave it a sniff. It smelled like a man. Like musk and cedar.
Like Fox.
She rubbed her temples, closed her eyes trying to remember how she ended up in… presumably his bed. She recalled him offering his room to her but she’d turned it down. The day’s events played in her mind.
The two and a half hour drive from Augusta. Check.
Dinner at Remedy. Check.
Drinks at Dilemma Bar with Karrigan… and Fox. Right.
A little blurry…
Cupcake sandwich.
Nothing.
OMG!
What had she done? Had they slept together? She pulled back the sheets to look down below. She was still wearing her cotton bikinis.
COTTON!
How freakin’ embarrassing! Could she be more plain Jane? Granted, they did have the Victoria Secret logo on the waistband, but that didn’t make her Adriana Lima. It could have been worse. At least she hadn’t worn her tan Fruit of the Loom boy shorts. She almost had because they don’t show panty lines and blend in with her skin tone if her dress blew up.
And her legs! She ran her hand up one leg from ankle to knee.
Cheese graters!
This was up there in her top ten mortifying moments.
She looked around the gorgeous, contemporary room with furniture upholstered in purple velvet. The soaring ceiling was painted in shiny gold, and a spiral staircase led to a second tier with who–knows–what up there.
She pulled back the white covers and padded across the plush carpet to the bathroom. When she flipped the switch on the wall, overhead recessed lighting flickered on, not to mention LED lights above the mirror. The entire bathroom was clad in custom slabs of onyx. There was an infinity soaking tub, a walk–in two–person rain shower with body jets. Not to mention a bidet. She took a closer look at the controls on the wall. A heated bidet.
She used the restroom, splashed some water on her face, and borrowed some of Fox’s toothpaste to do a finger brush. She pulled open a side drawer and found a hairbrush in the second one down. After a quick once over, she ran back out and dressed in her sundress in record time. She wanted to appear somewhat presentable when Fox did return. It was early, so he probably had just stepped out for coffee and would be right back.
Then she looked at the baby grandfather clock standing in one corner. It was after noon and the first meeting of her conference started at 1:00.
Holy hell.
She snatched her purse off the chair, grabbed her sandals, and as she tried to slide her foot inside on the move, she fell face first. Did a carpet plant.
At the same time, the door swung open.
In a flash, Fox had latched onto her arms and helped her to her feet.
“You all right?” he asked.
He looked even better today than yesterday. The black suit was slimmer fitting than the one he had on yesterday. Crisp, formal.
She put her hands on his arms and steadied herself. Laughed nervously. “Yeah, yeah, fine.” Standing this close to him, she noticed for the first time just how tall he was. He had a good eight inches on her 5’6” frame.
“Listen, about last night,” Fox said.
Lea was steady now. She released her grip. “Yeah, about that. I’d love to know what happened, but I’m going to be late to the conference. Can we talk later?”
Thank goodness she had an excuse to leave. She needed to clear her mind. Wanted a chance to remember for herself what had happened. Exactly how embarrassed she should be. Besides, she didn’t want him seeing her like this. Same clothes from yesterday, messed up hair. And God forbid she raise an arm. One day’s underarm growth equaled a hairy situation.
“Okay. Can I call you later?”
She’d already walked past him on the way to the door. “Can you give me your business card or something? I’
ll call you.”
Fox met her at the door, handed her the card. “Don’t forget. We really need to talk about last night, okay?”
“Okay,” she said, without making eye contact. “See ya.”
As she walked off, a tall redhead with caked–on makeup and soccer ball cleavage passed her wearing a skin–tight pencil skirt. She was headed in Fox’s direction.
Lea pressed the button on the elevator and waited. She couldn’t resist peeking back to see what was going on.
Fox had one foot outside his door, holding it open. He didn’t look impressed by the woman whose mouth was going a mile a minute. That was a good thing. He actually looked annoyed. But the buxom red didn’t appear to mind. She was standing all up in his personal space, mere inches away from his face.
Jealously burned to her core, but Lea had no other option but to step inside the open doors of the elevator.
She was late.
And Fox wasn’t hers to burn for.
CHAPTER FIVE
—Fox
Although he wished Lea wouldn’t have left like she did, Fox had no choice but to go about his work day as usual. Halfway through the day, Bianca, the salon stylist, be bopped into his office with a “great idea.” This coming from Karrigan’s friend…Fox wasn’t so sure about that. “All right,” Fox said, pushing away the budget he’d been working on. “Go ahead, I’m listening.”
“I don’t know if Karrigan told you, but in addition to cosmetology, I’m also a trained masseuse. I’ve had many customers inquire about salon services, and I thought a massage room would be good for business. I could work massage appointments in between hair appointments.”
Fox’s mind had been bogged down with the idea that his accounts were mucked up as Jill had alleged. He still didn’t believe it; he’d checked the books another two times today and could not find any discrepancies. Still, the idea of more income for the hotel was appealing. It had never crossed his mind to hire a masseuse, because couples who visited the hotel rarely left their rooms. But if there was a demand, he should supply the service. “I like the idea,” Fox said. “It may take some time though; I’ll need to order a couple of tables.”
The Opium Room Page 4
