Mean Machine

by Joanna Blake

  Even she knew she was overdoing the worry. She was a serious person by nature, but not a pessimist.

  After her childhood, she was a perpetually disappointed optimist.

  Maybe mommy won’t get drunk tonight. Maybe there will be food to eat. Maybe the power would be on so she could do her homework, or laundry.

  Ugh, Jess, snap out of it! Just try to enjoy yourself for once!

  Jessica stared around the incredibly luxurious suite at the Milagro. It was insane. In fact, this whole night was insane. And it hadn't even started yet apparently.

  The rest of In Tempo had accepted her presence as no big deal, joking around with her as they piled into the small plane, then the limo, then the elevator. Then spilling out into the spacious two story suite. It took up what appeared to be two entire floors of the top of the hotel.

  Big time didn't even begin to cut it.

  The whole time, Kendall had been by her side, whispering funny things in her ears. Sweet things. Joking around. Getting to know her. Or trying to.

  As if she'd really let anyone get to know her.

  She didn’t like to share her baggage, generally speaking. Who needed to unpack all that? Especially not on a random, incredibly exciting hook up.

  But he was making an effort and she had to give him credit for that. It might open the door a crack, but there was no way he was getting past the front room. She was starting to hope that he kept trying though.

  Beyond that, she wasn't sure what she was going to do.

  The guys had a plan for the night. They were going to have cocktails in the hot tub. And then clubbing. And then- who knows?

  The other guys and their new manager were doing shots at the fully stocked bar in the suite. Even Davie the family man did a shot, though he only did one. Kendall was watching her as she walked around the living room of the suite, staring out the windows.

  There were plenty of bedrooms, something Kendall had been quick to point out to her. It was almost as if he were trying to convince himself that they shouldn't sleep together.

  She felt a blush spread over her body at the thought of him holding her, kissing her. Maybe even more. That was not going to happen though.

  Jessica was in no way that easy, whether Kendall knew that or not.

  Ultimate dream man on not, she was not going to lose her virginity tonight.

  But she was definitely interested in having a little bit of fun.

  She kind of hoped he'd make a pass either way. She'd enjoy all the preliminary stuff, even though she was not giving up her V card to a stranger. He’d said he wouldn’t pressure her.

  And she was supposed to stay up all night…

  It wasn't like they were dating. She didn’t have to watch every word out of her mouth. This was a one time deal obviously. She'd just have to be firm about the limits. That's if he even tried anything.

  It was weird but she sensed that he liked her. Maybe even a lot. He'd said she was cute more than once. That was good right? Not as good as 'gorgeous' or 'beautiful' but not terrible.

  She'd take it.

  She shook herself mentally. What did it matter what he thought? This was an adventure, not the beginning of a relationship. She didn't believe in love anyway, remember?

  Love wasn’t real. And she had no experience of a loving or supportive family. Only her friends had ever actually come through for her.

  Friendship was sacred to her. Above everything else.

  Don’t fall in love, Jess. You’ll only get hurt. And pretty sure you’ve had enough abandonment and neglect for several lifetimes.

  Kendall Jackson was a fling, nothing more.

  Funny how many times she was reminding herself of reality tonight. Everything felt so foreign and strange. But if she was honest with herself, it was all different in a good way.

  A very good way.

  She turned to see the guys piling into the hot tub out on the deck. Tom was running around in his underpants, pretending to be a monkey. That was a whole lot of spray tans and six packs.

  Not that she minded. She was a human female after all. No harm in looking.

  Speaking of which… the guy sitting next to her put them all to shame. If it was a competition in hotness, which it definitely was not.

  But still… he was ridiculously handsome. Excruciating really.

  Kendall laughed, shaking his head at their antics.

  "You want a drink?"

  She nodded and followed him over to the bar.

  "Beer? Mixed drink?"

  "Um… tequila and tonic."

  He squinted at her and shook his head.

  "Really?”

  "Yeah. Tequila is actually one of the only alcohols you can get in the United States thats not made out of corn or grain. Or hard apple cider, but that’s hard to come by.”

  “Seriously?”

  "It's easier to digest. Plus, I like it."

  He grinned.

  "Okay doc. Hey, are you really a doctor?"

  She nodded, watching his muscles flex while he made them drinks.

  "I'm a vet. Like I said."

  He flashed her a devastating grin.

  "So, you must be an animal lover."

  She nodded again.

  "Me too. I always wanted to have a ranch where I could bring animals that had escaped from the slaughter house. Maybe even do a raid and rescue a few.”

  He must have seen the look on her face because he stopped mixing.

  "What is it?”

  "Me too."

  “What do you mean?”

  He grinned and shook their drinks with ice, making a funny rattling sound. She exhaled deeply, feeling suddenly out of her depth.

  "That's what I've always wanted too."

  “No shit?”

  She nodded, almost afraid to look at him. But she did. And the look in his eyes took her breath away.

  “I wanted a place in the middle of nowhere where I could take care of animals who needed help. Maybe even a place where kids could come and learn about agriculture. Maybe then they’d know about the atrocities committed in the name of a fast food burger.”

  He stared at her, looking hypnotized. Then he grinned.

  “Fucking A.”

  She laughed and looked away, muttering to herself.

  “You are officially too good to be true…”

  She could tell he hadn't heard her soft reply. She hadn't wanted him too. The doorbell rang and she went to answer it. In front of her were at least six or seven uniformed hotel staff pushing rolling carts full of covered trays.

  "Room service, Miss.”

  She stepped back, waving her arm into the room.

  “Please, come in.”

  Chapter 13

  Kendall

  "I think I see blood…”

  “No you do not.”

  She reached up, her pretty little fingers sliding against his. He smirked, enjoying the sparks that flew every time he touched her.

  Every. Single. Time.

  And he was taking any excuse he could get.

  He’d know her for less than six hours and he was already hooked.

  “Hold still!”

  Kendall was inspecting Jessica's head, looking for bumps. He was enjoying having her in his grasp, wedged between his knees as he sat on the back of the huge sectional couch.

  He was sorry she’d been injured but he couldn’t complain about the results. He had the perfect excuse to touch her at will… and smell her.

  She smelled really good. Really, really good. Absurdly good, really.

  It wasn't creams or perfumes either. She was 100% natural, other than the tiniest bit of eye makeup and a sheer gloss.

  That delicious smell was all her.

  100% pure Jessica.

  He hoisted her up against him. Now he could hold her close on his lap while he pushed her hair around, inspecting her scalp. Her hair was soft. He sniffed it.

  “There, that’s better.”

  "Hey! I'm not a toy you know!"
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  He smiled to himself, sneaking a peak down the front of her shirt. He moaned, trying to keep his dick in check. It was not go time. Not yet anyway.

  "Are you sure? You are kind of doll sized…"

  "Shut up!"

  They'd had their drinks and eaten a boat load of food. Party stuff mostly but it was extremely well made. He'd watched as she popped veggie after veggie down her throat.

  The girl could eat.

  She didn't eat meat, but she wasn't picky beyond that. He'd refrained from eating the tiny bite sized kobe burgers out of respect for her. He realized he would go vegetarian if he had a girl like her as his girlfriend.

  She was right when she said that ‘anyone who said they were an animal lover couldn't in good conscience eat them.’

  She told him about how much she loved cows, and their placid personalities. She told him they were great mothers. She told him pigs sang to their babies and were smarter than some children. Smarter than some adults even.

  That had made him roll his eyes a little bit.

  He would have laughed but she'd been dead serious. She was very cute when she was fired up.

  Now he was debating about what to do next. They could go out. She'd probably want to. But he was having a great time right here. And if they stayed in, the bed was much easier to get to…

  He made a huge show of yawning and draping his arm over the back of her seat. She didn’t notice until his arm slid down over her shoulders. She had very nice shoulders. He gave her puppy dog eyes when she finally noticed he was sitting so close.

  She’d been too busy eating to pay attention.

  She wiggled out of his grasp and gave him her best stink eye. He laughed, giving in to the inevitable. There was no use for it. The girl was not going to just hop into bed with him, as much as he'd like that.

  And he would have liked it a lot.

  Hmmm… she was delicious. He was hard just from sitting this close to her. It would have been embarrassing but Kendall’s jeans kept him from pitching an actual tent.

  He did grab a pillow and lay it over his lap.

  Out of all the girls in the world, he'd met the only one that wouldn't just do whatever he told her to. Women literally came running when he snapped his fingers, even famous ones. Jessica wasn't like that at all.

  It was refreshing.

  Frustrating, but refreshing.

  Extremely frustrating.

  He ran his hand through his hair, trying not to get annoyed with her. He stared out into the Las Vegas night. Out on the deck the guys were finally getting out of the hot tub.

  Suddenly it seemed like a really good idea to get her into that hot tub. He was only human after all.

  "Do you want to go in?"

  "Uh, no thanks. I kind of forgot my suit. Or anything."

  "We can get you one."

  She looked at him doubtfully.

  "Trust me, in Vegas you can have literally anything sent to your room."

  She blushed.

  "Oh."

  "I didn't mean- never mind. But we can go shopping if you want. They gave us these cards with free points."

  "Points?"

  "Yeah, for high rollers and celebrities. It's like cash, but it only works in the hotel."

  "Wow. That's crazy. So they give money to people who don't need it?"

  He laughed. God, the girl had a funny way of looking at things. Even stranger, he was realizing that he kind of agreed with everything she was saying.

  "Yeah. Do you want a dress or something to go out in? I mean, I'm the one who dragged you all the way here."

  She looked doubtful. He really wanted to take her shopping for some reason. Watch her try on clothes. Maybe even pick things out to have her wear for him, like a little doll.

  He wanted to spoil her rotten. He never wanted to do that with girls.

  What was getting into him?

  "No, thanks. I mean, unless I'm going to be embarrassing to be seen with?"

  "You look great. But it could be fun. I'm not going to spend it."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yeah, lets go. We can meet them at the club."

  Chapter 14

  Jess

  Jess peered at a hot pink shirt, checking the label for her size.

  "Don't look at the price tag."

  Jessica squeaked and jumped at the husky sound of Kendall’s voice. She hadn't realized he was so close behind her. He was practically breathing down her neck.

  In fact, he was breathing down her neck. It gave her goosebumps. And she was pretty sure her nipples were poking through her t-shirt.

  It was too late though. She'd seen the tag.

  $2,000.

  For a top.

  It was essentially a tank top, even if it did have crystals scattered all over it.

  Jeez, maybe they are freaking diamonds or something.

  They were in a fancy boutique in the lobby of the Milagro. It was almost 1 AM but the store was still open. The shop girls weren’t even trying to rush them out so they could close up.

  Apparently, it was early for Vegas. The night was just getting started.

  "I, um, jeez this stuff is expensive."

  “It’s free, remember?”

  “Yeah, but still.”

  “It’s not like I can donate the hotel points to starving children Jess.”

  “Ha ha.”

  “Would it make a difference if I told you I did donate money to feed the starving children?

  She rolled her eyes at him. He held up in his hands in defeat.

  “It might. Do you?”

  “Yes.”

  She smiled a little. She didn’t have a doubt he actually did a lot of charity donations. He really was sweet.

  “Then yes. It does make a difference.”

  “Good.”

  He quirked his eyebrow at her and then pointed to a chair by the dressing rooms.

  “Now sit."

  “Am I about to have a pretty woman moment?”

  “Yes, you are.”

  “I might as well enjoy it.”

  Dutifully she sat and watched as he conferred with the sales woman, Sandra. Sandra was drooling all over him but he didn’t seem to notice. The sales girl was ridiculously stunning with long legs and long silky blond hair.

  But Kendall was a gentleman. He seemed to only have eyes for Jess. In fact, he had tilted his head to the side and was inspecting her. She crossed her arms over her chest.

  "What size are you?"

  "What? Oh. Extra small."

  He rolled his eyes.

  "Dress size."

  "Oh. Zero? Or two. It depends."

  "Shoes?"

  "Five."

  He nodded and started picking things out. Dresses. Lots of them. He piled them onto the sales girls arms and turned to wink at Jess. She couldn't help but laugh as he pushed her into the dressing room and shut the door.

  Chapter 15

  Kendall

  Sweet Jesus.

  What had he gotten himself into?

  Kendall was sitting in the boutique, watching Jessica try on clothes. It had been his idea. Now he was paying the price.

  His pants felt tight all the sudden.

  Very tight.

  He pretty much felt like his jeans were a sausage casing and he’d been overstuffed.

  Jessica was standing awkwardly in another dress he'd picked out for her. She looked gorgeous but extremely aware of how exposed she was. This one was, um, very revealing.

  She didn't look trashy though.

  She looked fucking beautiful.

  And very, very self conscious.

  She was trying in vain to pull the bottom of the mini skirt down to cover her thighs. Her sweet, firm, silky looking thighs. He wanted to tell her that she shouldn’t hide. She should show herself off.

  But he didn’t want her to do that exactly either.

  Not unless they were alone.

  And naked. Very, very naked.

  God, she had great legs. Stro
ng and shapely but utterly feminine. The dress fluttered around her hips and hugged her tiny waist, all the way up to the plunging neckline. She was trying to pull that up too. She looked ridiculous, trying to make the fabric do things it didn't want to do.

  And he was grateful to the fabric, even if it was creating a situation in his pants.

  His mouth dried up when he looked at that neckline. It was - oh god - her glorious breasts were finally on display. They were perfectly round and looked delightfully bouncy.

  Jessica kept saying she wasn't a toy, but she looked like endless hours of fun to him.

  He groaned, crossing his legs. He was getting a hard on in the lobby of the hotel! He was going to have to stop playing around and get this girl into bed, no matter what it took. The sooner the better.

  Otherwise he was going to go insane.

  Blue balls level insane.

  She wobbled a bit in the heels he'd picked out for her.

  She stared at him, pulling a face. He couldn't help but laugh. He'd never laughed so much in his life as he had in the past few hours with her.

  It was a strange sensation, laughing while his dick tried to tear its way out of his pants. It had a mind of its own. And it was hungry.

  "Another no?"

  She shook her head miserably.

  "Go and pick something out then. Just-"

  "I know, I know. Don't look at the price tag."

  He smirked as she kicked off her heels and disappeared into the racks. In a few minutes she was back, holding up a simple dress and a pair of high heeled ankle boots. She slipped into the dressing room and he closed his eyes, focusing on calming down his raging hard on.

  Think about nuns.

  Kittens.

  Puppies.

  Nuns holding kittens and puppies.

  A fireman rescuing the Nun while she clutched the kittens and puppies.

  The fireman was kissing the Nun and lifting up her skirt. The Nun looked like Jessica. He was the fireman.

  The fireman disappeared under the shapeless black habit as he knelt in front of her and dove between her thighs.

  "Getting sleepy?"

  He snapped his eyes open.

  "No- not at all, I'm just- oh wow."

  She spun for him, wearing a more modest, but equally stunning, above the knee length dress. It was black silk with a sweetheart neckline. It swirled out gracefully when she spun. The booties she’d picked out were about 4 inches high with a little platform built in.