Welcome to the Cameo Hotel

by K. I. Lynn

  I tried to push those thoughts out of my mind as I headed out of my apartment and to work.

  As soon as I clocked in, there was a note waiting for me to see Valeria.

  “Hi,” James said as I entered the office.

  I almost tripped when I saw him. Guilt crashed down on me. Years of pining for him, and it was all gone.

  “Hi.”

  “Are you okay?”

  I nodded, a little too vigorously. “Yeah, I just got this note to see Valeria and wanted to check in before I headed down.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you when you get back.”

  I headed down to Valeria’s office and as soon as I walked in, I knew what it was about. Or rather, who.

  “What is his problem?” she asked.

  “Valeria, don’t take his complaints seriously.”

  “Don’t? Emma, he’s making my staff look like incompetent morons. Each call and reason is logged and sent to me and corporate.

  I hated that she was right about that. It was not fair for her to be dinged each time Gavin threw a fit just so that he could see me, especially for the smallest of things. “They can see the list is trivial.”

  “Missing towels? No soap? Coffee not refilled?” Her hands flew up. “It adds up, and it makes Phillip wonder where else they are messing up, and assuming guests just aren’t mentioning it.”

  Phillip was the overall hotel manager and not someone anyone liked interacting with due to his short fuse. He was a pompous, self-righteous asshole that made Gavin look like a saint.

  “I’m not entirely sure those things are true,” I said.

  “What?”

  “I think he just likes to complain.”

  “So he’s one of those assholes who likes to ruin the lives of others for the fun of it?” she asked.

  My lips formed a thin line. “Possibly, I’m not sure.”

  “You seem to know him best.”

  I laughed at her statement. “Picking on me doesn’t qualify me as knowing him.” Even though I did have an intimate knowledge of him no one else did.

  “No, but maybe if you say he is bullying you they’ll kick him out?”

  I shook my head. “You know they’d just tell me to suck it up because he spends so much money here.”

  “There are things worth more than money.”

  “Like sanity,” I replied.

  “Exactly.”

  In truth, some of the things Gavin complained about would have been noticed by any of the hotel reviewers who came in. However, I also knew he was abusing his complaints just to get me up to his room.

  I wasn’t even sure if I minded that anymore.

  If he wanted me, he had me.

  The day had been long and hard. I got home after midnight, and I’d been up by six to get to my eight o’clock class. It was four in the afternoon, and I was having trouble keeping my eyes open while I climbed the stairs to my apartment. I just hoped to make it to the bed for a long nap before my third shift.

  I was putting my key in the lock when I looked down. There, on the floor next to my front door, was a huge bouquet of flowers. Not just flowers, but about four dozen large red roses. Sticking out of the top was an envelope with my name written on it.

  I managed to get the door open and walked inside, flowers in tow. After setting them on the counter, I opened the envelope. It was hand written, and not typed up by the florist.

  Emma,

  I didn’t have a dictionary to look up “wooing,” but I do have an iPhone and Wikipedia is a great resource. In the article it mentioned traditional exchanges; letters (see this), gifts (to come), flowers (see attached), and songs (I am not musical in any way, shape, or form so do not expect this, and no, I will not hold a boom box in the air outside of your window). I have watched many movies and often wondered what all the nonsense was about. Thank you for opening my eyes to this. Oh, I’ve also heard from my assistant that chocolates are an acceptable gift. Are you a fan of chocolates?

  Yours,

  Gavin

  I smiled down at the note, giddy. If he kept this up, I was going to fall head over heels for him in no time . . . if I hadn’t already. My fingers traced his elegant script, over the word “yours.” I wasn’t going to get my hopes up, but it was nice to dream.

  “I wonder how he got my address,” I said to the flowers as I leaned in. The smell was strong and succulent.

  Then again, I was talking about Gavin Grayson. He had his ways.

  After a couple-hour nap, I was back up and getting ready. My heart skipped when I saw the roses again. I gave them one last sniff before heading out.

  The sad part was, Gavin was probably already asleep and I didn’t know when I was going to be able to thank him. Though the flowers were an indication, at least to me, that maybe he wanted more from me.

  “What’s with the smile?” James asked as I walked into the office.

  My smile slowly fell as a heaviness rested on my chest. Gavin had taken over every aspect of my life in such a short time. I was ashamed to admit I’d completely written off James.

  “Just smiley tonight. We’ll see how long it lasts until the sleepiness takes over.”

  “Nothing wrong with that. I like seeing you smile.” He reached toward me, and I unconsciously backed up. His brow furrowed at my movement. “Emma?”

  I hooked my thumb over my shoulder as I walked to the lobby door. “I just need to get out there.”

  He nodded and cleared his throat, but I could see the disappointment. “Right.”

  “Good night.”

  “Night.”

  The awkwardness was heavy, but it was probably for the best. A way to distance myself.

  The plan we’d had just wasn’t going to happen.

  “Hi, Caleb. It’s you and me again.”

  He yawned and nodded. “The only reasons I pick up one of these a week is your smiling face and the extra money.”

  “Let’s be real about this—it’s the money.”

  He laughed, hard and loud. “Yes, the money, but you’re my favorite to share the evening with.”

  “Don’t let Dante hear that.”

  “Oh, that’s true. Eh, it’s not like he’s home right now either.”

  Caleb’s partner was the head waiter at an exclusive restaurant downtown, which was why he loved his normal second shift so much. That way, their schedules were fairly close.

  Hours later, our smiles were gone and Caleb was slapping his face once more.

  “What time does Starbucks open again?” I asked as I stared longingly across the open lobby to the gated, dark store.

  “Not soon enough.”

  With a sigh, I pushed off the counter. “I’m going to go work on the reporting.”

  “I’ll try not to fall asleep, but no guarantees.”

  “There’s always coffee in the break room,” I pointed out.

  He turned to me, his eyes in slits. “That is not the nectar of the gods. Don’t speak those blasphemous words to me!”

  We both broke out into laughter. Neither of us was a regular coffee drinker, and the coffee pot in back had become a reoccurring joke in the slap happy early hours of the morning. It really was tempting, a fresh pot, but a little cream and sugar didn’t make it a latte.

  About an hour later, I was almost done with the reports when Caleb opened the door.

  “Emma?”

  “Yes?” I replied, not even looking up.

  “I’ve got a problem. Mr. Grayson requested a wakeup call, but I think his phone is off the hook. I’ve been trying for the last half hour.”

  He did, did he? Sneaky bastard.

  “You want me to go wake him, don’t you?” I asked in a whine.

  “Please?” he begged, giving me his best puppy-dog impression.

  I rolled my eyes at him and sighed, making sure the information was saved before I stood. “Okay, but you owe me!”

  “Anything,” he promised as I exited into the lobby and headed to the elevator bay.

>   It was a trick, I just knew it. He was getting clever.

  When I made it to his room, I barely had to knock when the bastard flung the door open, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist and a smirk on his gorgeous face. Beads of water still trailed along his skin, dripping from his shower.

  “I can’t stay,” I said immediately as I crossed the threshold and closed the door. I didn’t hear him step up behind me, but I could feel him. The sparks that flew between us, even from a few feet away, were a palpable energy. So were the tingling sensations that coursed through my body and the wetness that settled in my panties.

  “Yes, you can. Just for a few minutes. I need you, baby,” he whispered in my ear. His hand had worked its way under my skirt, up to my panties, where he was massaging my clit, his fingers teasing my entrance.

  “Miguel is due in shortly, I have to report . . . oh, God!” my protests were drowned out by the cry that left my lips when he slid two fingers in.

  “Take your skirt off,” he commanded, the husk in his voice sending shivers down my body that concentrated between my thighs.

  His hand gripped my arm above my elbow as he led me over to the bed. I slipped my skirt off, followed by my jacket and blouse until all I was left in was my stockings with garter, panties, bra, and my heels.

  “Fucking beautiful. I think you may be the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” he said before laying me back on the bed and slipping my panties off. At least they’d been spared this time. He leaned down until I could feel his breath against my folds. I felt his tongue on me and nearly jumped from the bed as he began eagerly licking and sucking.

  “Gavin!” I cried out. My eyes were wide, mouth parted from the overwhelming electric charge that swept across each nerve ending.

  A groan vibrated against my clit before he straightened back up and licked his lips. He was just teasing me. Reaching over to the nightstand, he picked up a condom and rolled it down his length. My hips rocked toward him, calling to him. There was something fascinating about watching him, his fingers gliding up and down his hard shaft.

  He climbed back onto the bed and pushed my knees down, spreading me open. His hips rocked, and he slid his hard length against my wet entrance and clit before lining up and pressing in all the way. My eyes fluttered shut, rolling back; my head fell down onto the bed as he entered. I would never get used to how good he felt.

  “Damn, baby, you are so fucking tight,” he moaned, and leaned down over me.

  His hands ran up the length of my arms, pulling them above my head, pinning them there. He smirked down at me momentarily before adjusting his position slightly.

  “Hold on,” he whispered.

  His hips moved back before returning, slamming against mine. My back arched off of the bed, and a strangled cry escaping my lips as his relentless pounding took hold of my body. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe. I could only feel.

  His lips found mine, a moan slipping from his mouth to mine. I tried to take charge of the kiss, to have control of something, but he wasn’t having any of that. He wanted complete control, and he was going to have it.

  My body was shaking, my legs quivering. He sped up, thrusting harder and faster. I couldn’t take any more.

  “Gavin!” I cried out, clenching around him, my back arching against the bed.

  Seconds later he followed, my name slipping past his lips.

  He collapsed on top of me. “Mmm, just what I needed for a morning wake-up call.”

  “Are you awake now, Mr. Grayson?”

  “Definitely. You?”

  “Surprisingly, yes. You’re as good as a cup of coffee.”

  He laughed and kissed me full and hard.

  “Thank you for the flowers,” I said.

  His lips pulled up into a smile. “You’re more than welcome.”

  We rose a moment later, and I dressed quickly before running out.

  “Wait! Have a good day, Emma,” he said, kissing my forehead before kissing my lips. I was stunned by the gesture, but greedily accepted it.

  “You, too.”

  As I exited his room, I glanced down at my watch to see only fifteen minutes had passed, though it felt like so much longer.

  “Was he there?” Caleb asked when I returned to the lobby.

  “Yes. He’s awake now.”

  “Did he complain about the phone?”

  The phone? I scrambled for a moment to understand, then it clicked. “It wasn’t settled right on the receiver.”

  Miguel arrived a few minutes later, and I went over the evening reports and filled him in on the news before returning to my apartment and crashing for six hours until my afternoon class.

  After a week, it was official—I was addicted to sex with Gavin Grayson.

  The college boyfriends I’d had couldn’t compete with his skills as a lover or with the raw passion I felt with him. They had been all about themselves, but Gavin wanted me to come before him. The more times, the better.

  I was breathing hard, lying flat on my back on Gavin’s bed after a thorough fucking.

  “You’re going to get me fired,” I said from beneath him, his cum cooling off on my skin. He lost control and was inside me before he put a condom on, but by the look in his eyes as he watched his pearly drops land on my skin, he didn’t care.

  “What a way to go down.”

  I quirked a brow at him. “You think your cock is worth my job?”

  He fell beside me on the bed, his breath labored. “Maybe not my cock, but I am.”

  “Jury is still out,” I teased, but wasn’t entirely sure he was wrong. As much as I liked him, we hardly knew each other and I wasn’t sure where we were going, if anywhere.

  “No hung juries, Miss Addison, just hung me.”

  A laugh sprung from me as I shook my head. “That was bad.”

  He shrugged. “I tried.”

  “It wasn’t wrong, either.”

  “One thing is for certain.” His fingers danced around my skin, spreading his cum all around, making sure it dried and stayed on my skin.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “You’re not leaving this room until I have your number.”

  “Asking for my digits?”

  “I’ve been trying to ask for weeks now, but you keep distracting me.”

  I turned to look at him in disbelief. “I’m distracting you? You do know you are the definition of a distraction, right?”

  “What do I distract you from?” he asked.

  “Work, mostly,” I replied. “School. Sleep. Life.”

  “Life? Really?”

  “Yeah. You are very demanding that I pay attention to you even when I’m miles away.”

  He trailed his fingers up my stomach, between my breasts, all the way to my lips. The heavy look in his eyes as I licked his fingers, moaning at the taste of him, was intoxicating.

  “You do the same,” he admitted. “You’ve invaded my work life. It makes it very hard to concentrate when all I can think about is being between your legs, hearing you moan.”

  My heart sank a little bit. “So, the physical stuff?”

  “Try and tell me it’s different for you.”

  I did think about the physical stuff. A lot. But his room wasn’t the only place where I dealt with him.

  “It is. You know you have a reputation, one you’ve worked hard to cultivate. I have to deal with that version of your persona more than this one.”

  “I should rectify that.”

  “More sex?”

  His thumb caressed my cheek as his eyes locked on mine. “More me.”

  My lips drew up into a smile. “I’d like that.”

  The last few weeks had been interesting. Gavin and I had entered into a sordid relationship of sorts. Always in his hotel room, always when I was on duty. He would pitch an ungodly fit about anything and everything to get me up there. The managers were happy that I seemed to have a calming touch, even though it never lasted long. That, and they had no idea what kind o
f touch I used.

  Gavin Grayson was a force to be reckoned with.

  Not just as an asshole. He was also quite a lover and, as I was beginning to see, so much more.

  Behind his cool, abrasive exterior laid an extraordinary and affectionate man . . . one with an incredible intellect.

  However, he did have a very demanding side—Mr. Grayson.

  GG: I want to see you

  I looked down at the screen and blinked, smiling. He was contacting me outside of my working hours. When he had asked for my number, I didn’t think he would really contact me. I was in complete shock. He actually did it. I mean, wasn’t I just a fling for him? Was this more than just great sex to him?

  Emma: I don’t work tonight.

  If I had thought my reply was the end of the conversation, I was greatly mistaken. Gavin Grayson was used to getting what he wanted, and that night he wanted me.

  GG: Come over

  I sighed. Did he really want me to lose my job? It was bad enough I’d been having sex with him in his hotel room during work hours. I was already sick about what would happen when or if it was found out just what went on in his room.

  Emma: You know I can’t

  GG: Fine. Let’s go to dinner then

  A date? Was he serious? My pulsed raced. I wanted a date with him, badly, but I couldn’t go out even if I wanted to. So instead, I offered another alternative, one I could live with.

  Emma: I have homework. 415 Cherry St Apt 2C

  I shot him my address, unsure if he’d kept it after he’d sent me the flowers. The ball was in his court. I didn’t have time to entertain him, or fall to his whim. If he wanted me, he had to come and get me.

  I didn’t hold much stock in him actually coming, but I desperately wished he would. Just to show me I was more than just convenience. That I meant more than what we had at the hotel.

  A few hours later I was on my couch in lounge pants and a tank top, my hair thrown back into a loose bun, papers surrounding me. I was so thoroughly engrossed in my project I almost didn’t hear the knock on my door. Granted, the TV was on and drowned out the sound.

  I was a little peeved when I stood up from my lake of papers and made my way to the door. To say I was surprised to see Gavin standing there was a great understatement. It was after nine in the evening. He hadn’t replied, so I never expected him to actually show.