by Tabatha Kiss
Kingston laughs. “You’re probably right.”
“But you would have done it anyway, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, I would.” His eyes drift to the corner table and his smirk remains. “So, what are you up to now? Things still bland and flavorless out in Denver?”
I hesitate. “Um...”
He chuckles. “Don’t sweat it. You were right. And honest. I admire that.”
I keep my breath held in. “Thank you…”
Kingston reaches into his jacket pocket and withdraws a business card. “You ever need anything, give me a call,” he says. “My office door is always open to you.”
I take the card with trembling fingers, my senses still wrecked equally from awe and adrenaline. “That’s very sweet of you, sir. Thank you. But I think I’m doing okay.”
“Well, if that changes...”
“You’ll be the first I call,” I say with a nod.
“Eh…” He squints. “Call your dad first. Then me.”
I laugh. “That goes without saying.”
His gaze travels across the bar again, purposefully landing on his eldest and he exhales slowly. “You take care, Jen,” he says.
“You, too, Kingston,” I say.
He bows his head and moves to pass, but quickly turns back. “Give your mother my best, would you?” he asks.
I nod slowly. “Sure.”
He heads toward the bar and slides into the empty stool beside a woman sitting alone. I can already tell who it is based on the tight, blonde bun and sharp cheekbones. The Botsford family lawyer herself, Stella Walsh.
I exhale the breath from my lungs and shift on my feet to stop the shaking in my knees before I glance toward that corner table again.
When I do, I catch Graham looking at me.
His eyes bounce from me to his father, so he must have seen a little of our conversation. Now that I have his attention…
I need to get him away from that table.
I walk along the bar until I reach an open stool. The same bartender from last night pauses in front of me and smiles.
“Welcome back,” he says. “What can I get you?”
“Club soda, please. Thanks,” I say.
He nods and reaches for an empty glass.
I pull a few dollars from my purse and set them on the bar while looking straight ahead. I search the mirrored wall behind the bar for Graham’s reflection in the crowd. I find him at that table, one mass of man amid a mountain range of testosterone. He suddenly breaks into a laugh along with the rest of them, prompted by something Hayden must have said, I assume.
Seconds pass. A minute passes.
And Graham never looks over here again.
That’s strange. He went full-on stalker status earlier and now... nothing? He saw his father chatting me up and now... nothing?
I notice the glass of club soda in front of me where my money was before. I take a sip, discreetly keeping one eye on that stupid, handsome reflection.
Come on, Graham...
Another minute passes.
Fucking nothing?
I fix my jaw in a line. What’s his fucking deal?
Is he pissed about earlier? I left him to get verbally bitch-slapped by my father but even I saw the amusement on his shell-shocked face. I expected him to try and one-up me at the earliest opportunity. Not roll over and give up.
Look at me, you beautiful bastard.
Graham laughs at whatever-the-fuck again and my eye twitches.
Did I break him?
I told him it was a one-time thing. Just a touch and that was it. No weekend. No repeats. But…
I guess I got what I said I wanted. He’s respecting my wishes like a straight-up gentleman and I’m...
I’m moving the goalposts.
I take another sip from my drink. Before I set it down, I stare at the ring forming on the golden paper napkin beneath it.
“Excuse me,” I say, getting the bartender’s attention. “It’s Doc, right?”
He nods. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Do you have a pen?” I ask.
His hand disappears below and reappears with a ballpoint pen.
I take it from him, offering a smile. “Thank you,” I say as I begin jotting down my note.
Just two words but two words I probably should have said ages ago.
I dig into my purse for a little more money. “Hey, Doc,” I say, getting his attention again. “Can you deliver a rum and Coke to Graham Botsford along with this napkin, please?”
Doc pauses, his eyes darting to the corner table and back again. “Sure,” he answers.
I leave the pen on the bar and stand up. “Thanks.”
He takes the napkin and I turn away before I can see him sneak a peek at it. I want to look back at Graham one last time before leaving but I don’t. I just walk, slinking around the men in suits engaged in idle chatter on my way back to the golden lobby.
Just a touch and that was it.
And what a touch it was.
Fourteen
Graham
Don’t look at her.
Don’t look at her.
Don’t look at her.
I focus on Hayden instead. His lips are clearly moving but I don’t think I’ve heard the last thirty words or so. My attention is locked in a fierce tug of war, wanting so badly to give into my Jen temptation and feast on her with my eyeballs. Maybe more.
Something taps my ankle beneath the table. I look up to find Jonah staring at me. He shakes his head in disapproval, knowing exactly why I’m glaring off into a deep, black space.
Let her come to you.
“Hey, guys.”
Doc appears over our table with a drink in hand. The four of us smile with welcome at our favorite physician.
“Hey, Doc!” Hayden says, raising his glass. “Settle a bet for us.”
“Jonah’s the pretty one,” he says without skipping a beat.
Jonah leans back, smug and happy. “Told ya,” he says.
Hayden frowns. “That’s so—”
Doc sets the drink down in front of me, along with what appears to be a used napkin. “A woman bought this for you,” he tells me.
The others go silent.
My eyes jut toward the bar on their own but Jen’s stool is empty. “What’d she say?” I ask.
Doc shrugs. “Just wanted me to deliver it,” he says. “The napkin, too.”
I pick up the napkin and notice the words printed on the center in black ink. “Thanks, Doc,” I say.
He salutes and carries on back to the bar.
Hayden scoops up the drink and brings it to his nose. “Ugh,” he groans. “Figures. You drink nothing else...”
“Well,” Ira says, “if we can say anything about Graham, he’s consistent. Booze, women named Jennifer...”
“That haircut.”
I stare at the napkin, ignoring their playful jabs and reading the two words over and over again. Just two words. Two words and my legs twitch beneath me to run out of here and find her.
I’m sorry.
Why is Jen apologizing to me? I’m the one pushing her for more, crashing her family events, and getting jealous over harmless valley boys.
“Graham?”
What’s she got to feel sorry for? I’m the asshole ignoring her and playing hard to get like a damn high schooler.
I can’t do this.
Not to Jen.
“Hey, Graham.”
I look up. My brothers stare at me, each leaning forward in suspense.
I pocket the napkin. “I gotta go do something—”
“No,” Jonah says, pointing at me. “Graham. Resist.”
I stand up. “Thanks for the advice, Jo, but... I don’t think it’s working for me.”
“Of course, it doesn’t,” he says. “That advice works for nobody. But you gotta stick it out. Don’t give in first. You give in first, she owns you.”
I snatch the rum and Coke off the table and swallow a large portion. “There are worse things,�
�� I say, abandoning the half-empty glass.
I hear their collected sighs as I walk away but I send all my sensual focus to my eyes. I scan the room, bouncing from face-to-face all the way to the exit looking for her.
Jen. My Jen.
I’m the one who’s sorry.
I reach the lobby, gritting my teeth at the large group exiting the dining room. I spot Clara and her fiance and their wedding party and Jensen and a whole lot of others I don’t know.
But no Jen.
She may have gone upstairs.
I bolt toward the elevators across the lobby, groaning with impatience at other large group waiting to get on, too.
Fuck this.
I head for the stairwell instead and shove the door open. I race upward two stairs at a time, purposefully trying not to focus on the fact that I just committed to running up twenty-five fucking flights.
Not my smartest decision.
Quickly, at first, the numbers grow higher on the walls. My pulse pounds and a layer of sweat breaks out pretty much everywhere but I keep going until my knees ache and my lungs feel like they’re about to explode.
25. Finally.
I throw the door open and stumble out into the hallway. My body forces me to slow down, so I put one hand on the wall while I navigate down the corridor, forcing one foot in front of the other all the way down to 2505. Jen’s room.
I roll a fist and knock twice. “Jenny,” I say. “Open up.” I place my hands on my knees, bending forward a bit to catch my breath. “Jenny!”
The door swings open and there she is.
“Graham?” Her face shifts from confusion to concern as she looks me up and down. “What the fuck happened to you?” she asks.
I don’t answer. I stand straight up, step forward, and I pull her against me.
“Graham, wait—”
I crush my mouth on hers, instantly silencing her. Her body stiffens but only for a second before I start to feel her melt against me. Her arms curl around my waist. Her lips blend with mine. She accepts my embrace, my tongue. My endless passion for her.
“Fuck,” she breathes. “I guess a weekend might not be so bad.”
I smile and pick her up, ignoring the exhaustion in my limbs, as she nudges the door closed behind us.
* * *
I run my fingertips down Jen’s shoulder, grazing her bare skin on the way down to her elbow. Then, I jump to her waist. Her hip. I end at the crest of her curve and then I glide all the way up to her shoulder to start the journey all over again.
She doesn’t seem to mind. Jen teeters on the edge of sleep, her lips softly twitching with a hidden smile every time I touch the ticklish part of her lower back.
I’ve lost all sense of time. Is it even after midnight yet? Have we somehow drifted into the wee hours of the night without knowing it? I refuse to even check. I don’t want to risk knowing how much longer this might last.
Jen’s eyes flutter open and her smile finally emerges as she sees me watching over her. “Graham...”
“Yes, Jenny?”
“That’s kinda creepy.”
I laugh, leaning over to kiss her bare shoulder. “Sorry. Can’t help it.”
She raises her head, propping it up on her elbow to look at me in the dark. Her eyes drift along my chest, checking me out and making my blood rush into the far corners of my groin. Christ, just a simple look from her turns me on. If she were to reach out and touch me right now—
Jen places her hand on my hip and I stiffen. Everywhere.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
I snort. “You know, honestly, Jen... I’ve had better nights.”
She laughs, taking the joke. “You know what I mean.”
“I’m fucking great,” I answer truthfully. “In fact, I’m ready to go again when you are.”
“I still need a few minutes,” she says, a light, pleasant hum in her voice.
“I’ll wait.” I shift a little closer, pressing my lips along her soft skin. “It’ll be worth it.”
Jen closes her eyes and relaxes into the pillow again while I kiss her neck. Tiny moans tease her throat with every peck I give her and her smile grows. “That feels nice,” she says.
“Feels amazing on my end.” I inhale her sweet perfume, burying my nose in her jet-black hair while I kiss her earlobe. “Very amazing…”
Jen turns slightly, lying onto her back as I ease a little further over her. Her hands whisper up my arms, just barely pulling me closer as I kiss along her cheek toward her mouth.
“Kiss me,” I say.
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
She hesitates, raising a brow. “Why?”
“Because if you don’t, I will.”
She bites her lip, tilting her face away to tempt me further. “Why were you really at the chapel today?” she asks.
“I wanted to see you,” I answer. “I upset you this morning and I wanted to see you again because I don’t want to leave things the way we did before.” I swallow. “If this is really over, then it’s over, Jen. I’ll accept it. I just... don’t want there to be bad blood between us anymore. You mean too much to me for that.”
“I do?”
“You’re my first love,” I say, my mouth inching toward hers. “My only love.”
Our lips lock, perfectly blending together as she raises one leg and rests it around my waist. I sink between her thighs and my shaft nestles within her folds, drawing a quivering moan from deep in her throat.
“Whatever happened to I’ll wait?” she teases. “It’ll be worth it.”
“It will be,” I whisper as I gently grind.
She smiles. “I guess this means you accept my apology.”
I lean back an inch to get a better look at her eyes. “You never had to apologize, Jenny.”
“Yes, I did.”
She kisses me, breathing fast as her hips rise to caress mine.
“Why?” I ask.
“Because…” Her body trembles with pleasure. “Everything.”
I reach toward the pile of condoms on the bedside table, snatching the nearest one and tearing the wrapper free. “Be more specific,” I say as I quickly roll the rubber down my throbbing crown.
Jen closes her eyes as I align our bodies again. “I did exactly the thing I told you to stop doing,” she says, her voice breathy with desire.
“Which is…?”
“Moving the goalposts.”
I smile wider. “You want me,” I say, guiding my tip toward her entrance. “You don’t want to say it or even admit it… but you do.”
I thrust forward, plunging deep inside and Jen gasps as her thighs pinch my waist.
“Yes,” she breathes.
“Yes, you want me?” I ask. “Or yes, you love the feel of my cock inside of you?”
Her eyes flutter open as she laughs. “Why not both?”
I chuckle. “Good answer.”
I kiss her hard, tasting her sweet tongue while I slowly take her. I hold back my desires, suppressing the urge to pin her face down and fuck her, but I relish in the tenderness of it all. This is my Jen beneath me. There will be plenty of time to go wild on her but tonight…
Love.
That’s what I want.
“Jenny,” I whisper, the tension building in me. “You feel fucking amazing.”
Her breath quickens as she takes hold of my arms. “Don’t stop. That’s so good.” She gasps. “Shit, shit…”
Our lips lock again, tongues probing.
I smirk, feeling her body submit. “Do you like it when I fuck you like this?” I ask.
She nods quickly. “Oh, God…”
“I can’t get enough,” I take a breath, “of your warm… tight…”
Her nails dig in. “Graham, you’re gonna make me—”
“Pussy.”
Jen stiffens, her mouth sagging in a silent moan as she comes. I keep thrusting, feeling her warmth pulsate around my cock and edging me closer to climax.
&nb
sp; But that’s not what I want yet.
I ease upward but I keep my hands on her shaking body. “Turn around,” I say.
Jen obeys, slowly shifting around onto her hands and knees. I plant myself behind her, taking hold of her curves and pulling her closer to align my cock with her entrance again. My hands roam, sliding up her spine and down again to that magnificent ass.
So fucking beautiful.
And all mine.
For another night, anyway. Assuming...
I guide my cock inside and Jen lets out an aching, quivering moan. She reaches forward and braces herself against the headboard as I fill her over and over again.
Assuming I can’t convince her to extend this tryst longer than a weekend.
Shameless. That’s the word.
But I can’t go back to normal. Not after this.
“Fuck, Jenny...” I groan as I watch my dick sliding in and out of her. “I’m gonna come so hard.”
Jen moans as she starts gently nudging her ass backward, taking me in a little deeper and I tighten my grip on her hips. “Harder, Graham,” she mewls.
I bite my lip. Fuck, I love it when she says my name like that...
“Say that again,” I say, laying an open palm on her ass.
Jen whips her head back and smiles. “Harder, Graham.”
I spank her once and she laughs, her body softly jolting in pleasure. “Are you my bad girl?” I tease.
“If you want me to be,” she says.
Fuck, I love this woman.
My balls tighten. Heat fires through me and I brace myself deep inside of her. “Are you my good girl?” I ask.
Again, she smiles. “Get down here and kiss me and I’ll be whatever you want.”
I lean forward, aiming for her lips. The second I feel her tongue touch mine, the fire breaks in me. I wrap my arms around her, holding her close as I come. She purposefully tightens around my cock, coaxing every drop into our latex barrier as she sucks on my bottom lip.
Fuuuck.
I bury my nose in her neck, taking a deep breath of her as I come down off my climax. My legs start to give and I slowly guide her down to the bed with me. She settles on her back with a warm smile plastered on her face as she curls up in the comforter.
“That was nice,” she says, cooing slightly.
I chuckle as I lie down beside her. “More than a little nice, in my humble opinion.”
