“You know, Jordan will be back in a sec.”
He straightened and walked closer to her until he stood directly in front of her across the desk, and she found herself unable to move.
“And this matters why?”
“W–well, I just meant that, I mean I know, well…”
He reached out and stroked one finger down her cheek and smiled at her tenderly. She couldn’t breathe. She felt dizzy.
“It’s okay. Jordan can come and go as she pleases. Does my presence here bother you?”
He was standing over her in such a way that she had to tilt her head back to be able to see anything other than the fly of his jeans peeking just above the top of the desk.
“No.”
She felt breathless. This is the dumbest thing.
“Good.”
She pushed loose strands of hair behind her ears and looked away. His stare was more intense than she was used to, and she still wasn’t exactly sure why he was staring. Looking away wasn’t helping either, because he didn’t move. She felt him staring at her. Though she didn’t feel unsafe, she definitely felt exposed.
“Can I help you with something else besides the coffee?” She braved looking at him for a second, but something in the depths of his green eyes caught her and refused to let her look away. She swallowed and held his stare. Her body was thrumming with what could only be described as sexual energy. She was getting wet, her nipples had hardened, and it was all she could do to keep from begging him to show her everything she knew he could.
He said nothing, but slowly, a smile spread across his lips, revealing his dimples and a glimpse of white, even teeth. Something in that smile felt a whole hell of a lot like approval, which made no sense but felt awfully good. He tugged on his earrings and looked away for a moment.
“Nothing really. My roommate is just driving me nuts.” He looked back to her. “Mind if I keep you company until Jordan comes back?”
“No.” She felt as if things had shifted between them a bit. For the time being at least, she wasn’t thinking of him as Hollywood heartthrob Grey Hendrix but as another guest in the hotel with whom she was being asked to share some companionship. That wasn’t out of the ordinary or unheard of. Although, to be fair, it was usually the older guests who had that request, occasionally a child. This was definitely the sexiest man she’d ever seen up close and personal, but she was a professional. She would get past that.
“But not if you’re going to stand there looming over me like some predatory barbarian.” She smiled sweetly and was extremely pleased when he laughed.
She finally breathed when he stepped back, although she wasn’t as relieved when he came around her side of the desk, grabbed the second chair, and positioned it so he faced her.
“You aren’t supposed to be back here.” She pointed to the other side of the desk. “However, feel free to take the chair over there.”
He stared down at her for what seemed like a full minute before she saw a hint of a smile, and he took the chair to the side of the desk perpendicular to where she was and sat.
“Happy now?”
She booted up the computer, hoping she could find some way to look terribly busy.
“For the moment.”
She wasn’t sure how long he sat there, quietly and slowly sipping coffee from his cup, while she pretended to check reservations in the system, but she was about to cry “uncle” because she couldn’t take it much longer. Between the aroma of the rich coffee beans and his woodsy cologne and the fact that, every once in a while, the way he’d blow across the top of his mug caused his breath to caress her cheek, she was losing it. She grunted and slammed a palm down on the desk before turning to eye him directly.
“Look! I have a job to do here, and I don’t know what you’re playing at, but I’d appreciate it if you found somewhere else to be all…all…” She had no word that would describe the combination of predator and sexiest-man-alive she was experiencing, but he cut her off anyway, so in the end it didn’t matter.
“Have breakfast with me when you get off work.”
Her mouth dropped open but only for a moment before she purposefully shut it. “Are you out of your mind?”
He barely moved, just simply responded, “No.”
She strangled a growl in her throat. She felt off balance, struggling to find footing. Of course, that she was able to even attempt that feat was actually pretty amazing. It gave her what was probably a false sense of confidence, but she’d take it!
Maybe it was the whole celebrity thing, but she really wanted to go out to breakfast with him—right after she texted everyone she knew and told them, of course. After all, it was Grey Hendrix!
“If I go out to breakfast with you, are you going to speak in more than one-word sentences?”
He smirked. “Yes.”
“Oh my God!” She stood up. “You are so damn frustrating!”
His smile grew. Apparently he found her frustration pleasing on some level, but he held his body perfectly still. There was an energy in him, it was pure power, and though it felt dangerous, she also found it nearly irresistible.
Moth to a flame—be careful.
He stood up and came to stand before her. He placed his hands on her arms, and she barely held back a shiver.
“Tell you what. Go out to breakfast with me, and I will let you ask me any four questions you want, and I’ll give you the book-length answer.”
He paused, but she could tell there was more, and the way his thumbs were running over her elbows…good lord, who knew they were erogenous zones?
“I’m waiting for the ‘but.’”
He shook his head. “No ‘but.’” He tilted his head to the side, looking at her as if he really saw her, unlike how most of the people in her life seemed to look through her. “There may be a however though.”
She laughed, surprising herself, but the sound dried in her throat when he smiled and his dimples showed, and all of a sudden, all she could think about was kissing him.
“So what’s your, ‘however,’ then?”
“If you’re still not into me after breakfast, let me take you to lunch.”
She giggled. He was definitely hitting on her. “Is this a joke?”
His smile disappeared, and he released her from the gentle hold he had on her arms.
“No. Do I not seem serious?”
She chewed her lower lip and drew a breath, trying to still her nerves.
“You do, I guess, but…” She rolled her eyes and forced herself to voice her concern. “I just find myself wondering if this is some kind of challenge to you, like, let’s see how naked I can get the self-proclaimed prude.”
She saw something flare in his eyes right before his mouth closed tight enough to make his jaw tic. A moment later, he smiled and drew his hand over his lips all the while never taking his gaze off her.
“Wow. Seriously?”
She refused to feel guilty for asking it. It wouldn’t be the first time some guy had tried it. She folded her arms tight across her chest and raised her chin a notch. “Yes. Seriously.”
“Who fucked you over, baby?”
The question hit her hard, knocked the wind out of her, but she wasn’t offended that he asked. It was more the gentle look in his eyes that was her undoing. It was a look that almost made her think he was seriously concerned. Then she remembered his three Oscars and stiffened her spine.
“No one.” She laughed bitterly. “I know I’m not sexy. I’m not beautiful. I’m cute, maybe pretty on a good day, and at three in the morning after I’ve had a mental break isn’t a good day! You’re Grey Hendrix, for crying out loud. You’ve dated Britney Spears, Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson, Cameron Diaz—”
He put a finger over her lips, silencing her instantly.
“I don’t need a rundown on my social life. Did you have a point?” He gave her a perfectly innocent and utterly charming smile.
“Yes!” She pulled her face away from him. “Why
on Earth would you want to take me to breakfast? For all I know there could be three women in your room right now just waiting for your sexy ass to come back to them. So, as tempting an offer as you’ve made—the questions, by the way, not the breakfast—I’m going to have to decline.” She felt a surge of power and threw out at him, “I’m just not that into you.”
She’d never felt so much adrenaline in her life. She wanted to gloat, to jump up and down, to say Did you see that? But there was no one around, so she’d just have to revel in her joy all by herself. Once the actor left, anyway.
Before her surge of empowerment had the chance to entirely settle on her, however, he took two steps forward, forcing her back until she hit the wall. With the large custom-built bookcases to her right and the desk to her left, unless she wanted to physically push past him, she was pinned. He wasn’t touching her, but there was only the tiniest sliver of space between them. As he placed his hands very carefully on either side of her head, she glanced briefly at each, gulped, then turned her gaze back to his, where it stayed riveted.
“First, I don’t play that way. I don’t find the humiliation of people at all amusing. Second, the only woman in my room at the moment is Jordan, and she’s there with Vaughn, not waiting on me to come back. Third, if you only hit pretty on a good day, then this must be a damned spectacular day, because I find you to be stunning. The lines of your body are soft and arousing. I want to run my hands along your ass. It’s all I can do to stop myself. Your eyes are the deepest shade of brown I’ve ever seen, the kind of eyes a person could literally drown in. Your lips are the perfect shade of dusty-rose, and the way you keep sinking your teeth into them makes me wonder what color your nipples are and how it would feel to sink my teeth into them. Do you like to have your nipples bitten, Anne? Your hair is the perfect shade of straw with spun gold threaded through it, and the scent of you made me hard the first time I inhaled you. Fuck, I’m still hard.”
She gasped. Her breathing knocked completely off-kilter as she drew in his spicy scent and wondered herself about his teeth and just where on her body she’d like to feel them. Despite how attracted she was to him, her fear was engaged. Her deeply ingrained need to push away any man who showed interest in her was rising in strength and speed until, finally, she opened her mouth to argue everything he said, but nothing came out.
He put his finger over her lips again, and she nearly passed out from the oxygen draining from her body.
“Not yet. Shhhh.”
She blinked but complied.
“I want to take you to breakfast, Anne. Get to know you. Maybe we hit it off, maybe we don’t, but I think it’s worth finding out. Do you want to know why?”
She fought with her brain cells to find something to say—anything. She did not want to give up this much of her power to him.
“Jordan’s in your room?”
Well, it was a string of words, but they came out in an unsteady squeak that betrayed how badly he was getting to her.
He pushed his finger harder against her lips, and she fought the urge to lick it.
“You don’t care.”
She opened her mouth to argue, and he slid his finger right on inside. His smile turned positively wicked, and his eyes grew dark. “Suck me.”
His words set a bolt of liquid heat through her entire body, and her pussy clenched in response. Her stomach flipped, her breath deserted her, her intellect shut down entirely, and then—she did exactly what he told her to.
Maybe it was the tone of his voice. Maybe it was how close he was standing or the look in his eyes, or maybe it was that he simply gave her the permission to do exactly what she already wanted, but whatever the reason, she stared into his eyes, sucking on his finger, taking his salty essence into her mouth and loving what it made her feel. Her brain seemed to empty out all the woes, concerns, and overthinking it usually preoccupied itself with. A lovely warmth washed over her body, and in that very moment, she wasn’t sure she’d say no to anything he asked of her. This level of arousal, this feeling of wild abandon, were the exact emotions she’d been searching for, only she had never thought to find them with a complete stranger.
“Good girl.” His words seemed choked. He slowly pulled his finger out, but she remained silent, desperate to know what he would say next.
“For the…” She watched him swallow. “Anne, I think the only reason you’ve never found satisfaction in the arms of a man is because you’ve never met a man who could give you what you really need. I think I can, and furthermore, I think you know that’s true. So I’ll ask one more time.” He slowed his speech, punctuating each of the next three words with a deep gavel tone that had her knees wobbling. “Come. To. Breakfast.”
Chapter Three
“Good evening, ladies.”
Anne turned, and her breath caught. Aiden Grand, new owner of the hotel. He’d been making his presence felt over the past week and now stood in the foyer. Married he might be, the man was hot to the extreme. What was with this night of hot men and nonstop sexual thoughts? It was as if Grey had flipped some switch that had been stuck and now she was suddenly in horny-chick mode worse than Jordan!
“Hi.” She smiled but couldn’t think of another thing to say. She blamed Grey. The man was still messing with her head, and she hadn’t seen him for nearly two hours.
Even Jordan was quiet, though she also had guilt written all over her face as she tried to quietly slide her magazines back into the desk drawer, but the smile on Aiden’s face said she’d been caught.
He laughed, and Anne noticed something tender enter his expression.
“Miss Jaxx, I completely understand the boredom that sets in on the overnight shift. So long as you aren’t neglecting our guests, I have no issue with you doing a little light reading to pass the time.”
He smiled again, a light in his eyes that Anne liked and thought made the otherwise godlike man seem human.
“I apologize, Mr. Grand.” Jordan stood now behind the desk, looking genuinely remorseful.
“I’ll let you ladies in on a secret. I met my wife while she was working the overnight at one of my other hotels, and she was doing exactly as you were. So honestly, Miss Jaxx, you aren’t in trouble. If anything, you reminded me of a very pleasant memory, and I’m grateful. We have a two-month-old at home, and there are moments where it’s hard to remember you were ever human, let alone young and in love once. Not that I’m not still deeply in love with my wife, though. It’s more that with 3:00 a.m. feedings and diapers and breast pumps and colic and…” He trailed off and brought his focus back to them. “Are either of you mothers?”
“Good God no!” Jordan practically shrieked.
Anne laughed and moved closer to join the group.
Aiden made an attempt to cover his smile at Jordan’s impassioned declaration, but didn’t quite make it.
“Well, let’s just say there’s a reason I’m here so much in the middle of the night lately. A reminder of the night I met Cassidy was greatly appreciated, so thank you, Miss Jaxx.”
He bowed his head slightly in Jordan’s direction. Anne heard talk in the lunch room about the great romance between Mr. Grand and one of his employees. It apparently had been somewhat scandalous, even bordering on soap-opera territory when his family had forbidden him to marry her! She was too sensible to believe all the rumors she’d heard though. Still, her romantic heart swelled at the romance, and now he was standing right there in front of her, and it was all she could do to keep from asking him if it were all true or not.
“However, I didn’t come up here to bore you with stories of diapers and sleepless nights.” He winked at Anne. “I do have pictures though. Did you want to see?”
“Oh yes!” Anne moved closer, and Aiden reached into the breast pocket of his jacket.
Jordan’s lack of enthusiasm was plain to see, but she made an effort and leaned across the desk to view the three photos he pulled out. One was of the baby herself, asleep in her crib. The second was of
a beautiful woman, who must have been his wife, holding the baby while a small white dog sniffed at it. The third was Anne’s favorite, showing the woman as she looked down at the baby with all the love in the world shining brightly on her face, while Mr. Grand held his wife, placing a kiss to the top of her head. It spoke to Anne of real and lasting love, and the entire image sent a warmth through to her soul.
“They’re beautiful.” She heard the awe in her tone, but she didn’t know how she would have hidden it.
Aiden beamed in response and held the pictures for his own view for a moment.
“They are. I didn’t think I could ever be more blessed than I was when Cassidy agreed to marry me, but with the arrival of our precious Bella—” He became quiet, and Anne watched him openly attempt to control his emotion. “I’m incredibly blessed.”
Anne knew in that second he meant that. Whatever he had found with the lovely Mrs. Grand was real, more real than anything she’d ever experienced. What she had felt earlier with Grey had been more potent than her previous experiences, but until this moment, she still hadn’t been convinced that what her soul sought after actually existed outside of a romance novel. Now here was living, breathing proof. She felt tears springing to the surface. Feeling utterly foolish, she stepped away.
“I’m sorry, Miss Ruby, I’m gushing. Very unprofessional.” He slipped the photos back into his breast pocket and turned to look at them both again. “As you know, my family has just taken over this hotel, and I’m here trying to get a feel for areas we can improve. This new acquisition to the family chain is very prestigious, and I intend to make her even better. I have a personal belief that the employees are the real treasure in any property, and I like to make certain to inspire loyalty and dedication. I make myself available, and I always want to hear ideas, concerns, even complaints.”
Lucas, Samantha - The Seduction of Anne Ruby [The Seduction 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 4
