Suite 269 (12 page)

“Since a stunning woman sat down across from me in the hallway of a hotel and vomited her life at me while separating the colors of M&Ms.”

Both of us noticed Mandy making her way over toward us with a smile and two huge drinks, one in each hand. I got up and grabbed onto my purse like a life preserver. “I'm terrified, James.”

“Wait, Lex…”

I turned and plastered the best smile I could muster on my face for Mandy. She was pretty buzzed, so she didn’t notice her best friend freaking out on the inside right in front of her. “Hey, what are you guys up to? I thought you were leaving?”

I darted my eyes over to Holt, who was glaring at me with a tight-lipped expression.

Mandy’s eyes glanced at Jameson and she leaned back and laughed. “Whoa, are you two fighting? What’s with the mean grouchy face?” She looked back to me and narrowed her eyes. Shoot. She wasn’t as buzzed as she was acting. She knew something was going on. “Well, I’m glad I found you, because I need to use the restroom and I need your help with, uh, things.” She placed her drinks on the bar and practically yanked my arm straight out of my shoulder as she dragged me back to the bathrooms.

Once inside, she whirled around on me and planted her fists on her hips. “What the heck is going on?”

“Three weeks. Jameson wants three weeks with me in Jamaica. All my fantasies. Everything.” I couldn’t even get full sentences out. I couldn’t even think. My vagina was screaming and cursing at me so loudly for walking away that I couldn’t even think.

“You did say yes, right?”

I looked at her like she was crazy.

“Jameson Holt is the kind of guy you lose your inhibitions with. Not like Trager—who would let you know if your pants were getting too tight. Do it. Have a harmless fling.”

“There's nothing harmless about a man like Jameson Holt. He's going to end up hurting me.”

“Girl, then go enjoy the pain.” Then she shoved me out of the bathroom and pushed me all the way back to the bar stool I just left.

I said it before and I’ll say it again: Normally I'm not the type of person who gets into mischief. But Jameson was sitting in front of me, a little sinful sparkle in his eye, my girl parts tingling, and all of a sudden this sounded like the best idea in the world. So off the ledge I jumped (Okay Mandy pushed mostly).

"Yes," I whispered.

"Yes what?" His eyes went wide.

"Hell yes."

"
S
trange kind of wedding
, right? There's no groom?" the bartender asked, setting the beer I ordered on the bar. Icy vapors rose from its open top, causing my mouth to water.

"The groom was a douche. The bride caught him with someone else the night of her bachelorette party and she couldn't get her deposit back." I pulled the bottle to my lips and gulped the cold liquid. Alcohol immediately warmed my stomach and spread to my chest. "She even tried to donate the entire thing to some lucky couple, but no one wanted a jinxed wedding. So we're here celebrating her not making the biggest mistake of her life."

The beer hit my bloodstream and my muscles instantly loosened. I was wound up tight. Tighter than I’d ever been. I hadn’t had sex in weeks and my balls were killing me. I looked around the room and tried to think of anything else to get my mind off getting inside Lex. I looked down at the paper in my hand and smiled. My shy little fact checker finally emailed me her fantasy list. I promised myself to do everything on this list for her, even though I think she must have been rip-roaring drunk when she wrote it. But I was up for all of it. Every dirty little thing. Everything but number ten. Ten I didn’t think I could do. I didn’t think I had it in me. It was just too much. Too crazy. Too soon, anyway.

The reception hall was exactly what I'd expected: everything was snobby Trager-like and gaudy, right down to the flower arrangements. This wasn't any wedding for someone like Lexa.

I heard her voice before I saw her. "Just make sure I don't get plastered," her voiced echoed down the hallway.

"Well, why the hell not?" Mandy's voice questioned.

"Because then I can't be held responsible for anything I do, and..." I turned in her direction and my breathing stopped. I never gave thought to that old cliché; but she actually took my breath away. Christ was she beautiful. I still couldn’t believe Trager let her get away.

I didn't leave her side all night. If someone were to have walked past the doorway, give even half a peek inside, saw everyone dancing and then watched us, they'd think it. They would be one hundred percent sure that it was our wedding. Her in a tight, sexy little white dress and me in a suit, dancing and touching each other like it was the best day of our lives. The way she moved was intoxicating. It was so overwhelming that I had to walk outside and get air when Mandy and her started a conga line.

"I didn't mean to hurt her," a voice called from behind me.

I spun around to find Kevin standing at the window, teary eyed, watching what was supposed to be his wedding too.

"But you did. And now you don't deserve her anymore," I said, shrugging.

"She wasn't like that when we were together; she was so straight and ambitious. Headstrong. Everything was work and being the best at what she wanted."

"Yeah. Poor you," I laughed. "I'd rather have a driven woman than a leech like Sophia, who is only looking for the next guy who could get her somewhere." I turned my back on him then stopped and whirled back around. "And you know what? Marriage is about growing with someone. Accepting them for who they are and loving them and all their flaws. If you ask me, you and Sophia deserve each other."

"Fuck off, Holt. What? Are you going to make it all better for her now? Just wait until shit hits the fan with you too. Wait until you're waiting at a restaurant alone because she's still working. Wait until she can't be bothered to cook dinner, have sex, or even take the time to brush her hair and get dressed because she's on her computer working."

"So why are you here then? Why are you standing by that window like a pussy, tears in your eyes, thinking about what you could have had?"

"Because other than that she was perfect."

"Ever think that it was your issue and not hers? Ever try to offer her a drink, a back massage, anything while she was working? Surprise her with something? Support her and encourage her to be the best she could be? Listen to what she's doing? Hell no, right? It was all about you, the fucking mailroom guy." And please, the woman was a fact checker; it's not as if my father had her running the magazine. She had plenty of time to work and play with Nerf guns in her office. He's talking shit. "Get lost. She doesn't need to see you today."

“You’re going to hurt her just as much as I did. Difference is that I really did love her. I just needed to see what the other half of the world fucked like. You’ll see. She’s terrified of sex. Her body. Everything.” I watched him walk away, hands shoved deep into his pockets. “Just wait until you find how she really is. You won’t want her when you really know her. Trust me.”

Jackass.

I leaned heavily onto the wall for a few moments to try to dowse my anger. I was fuming inside thinking Lexa could ever have been with such an asshole. Was she really as bad as he thought? I didn’t see it at all.

"Hey. Who were you sneaking out to talk to, huh?" Mandy’s voice called from behind me.

I shook my head and laughed. “What are you doing out here. What happened to the conga line?”

“Over. Now they are playing
Mony-Mony
and throwing dollar bills at her.” She stepped closer to me and crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes narrowed into tiny slits so I knew she was about to be all whiny with me. “Please don’t mess with her head. Just show her a good time, make her forget about him. Don’t let her fall for you.”

“That’s the plan,” I deadpanned.

“I’m serious. She’s been hurt enough. No sweet, charming guy act. Just screwing.”

“Mandy, it’s only three weeks. Don’t be stupid.” What the hell did she think could possibly happen between us in three weeks?

She nodded slowly and we walked back inside. The fast song had slowed and mixed into a slow ballad, and that stunning woman stood in the middle of the dance floor glaring at the DJ like he was next on her personal hit list.

I jogged across the dance floor and slid in front of her. “May I have this dance?”

She stood there watching me, blinked a few times, then draped her hands around my neck and smiled. “Everyone was just throwing money at me, you missed it.”

"Kevin was out front," I grumbled, tilting my head down to watch her expression.

Her face blanched. Then my face must have blanched. I didn’t want him to be a thought in her mind. All I wanted her thinking about was me and how hard I was going to make her come. I started to say something, but she cut me right off, "Please don't tell me it's time to get over it."

"I won't. I'm not here to help you get over it either, but I will help you get through it," I said.

As soon as we get the hell out of here, I'm going to make you forget he ever existed.

W
e boarded
a plane right after the party and slept the entire flight. I woke to her curled into me—her mass of inky dark hair across my chest and shoulders. She was beautiful. So beautiful—and I only had three weeks. Three weeks to make her forget about that idiot and make her realize what a beautiful woman she really was and what being with a real man was all about.

She deserved to be with someone who would worship every inch of her body and every minute of her time. That was sure as hell going to be me, even if it was only for a short time. I didn’t think about consequences. I didn’t think about what ifs. All I thought about was showing her that all men weren’t little boys.

After landing, I had a car pick us up and drive us to the dump of a hotel Trager had reserved a room in. As soon as we stepped out of the car, the look on her face had me furious. “Get back in the car,” I said.

“What? Why? This is the place,” she whispered.

“Yeah, well I’m not Trager the Mailroom guy. This isn’t good enough for you. Let’s go,” I said, gently shoving her ass back into the car.

I hit the back of the driver’s seat and handed him two crisp hundred-dollar bills. “Take us to the best place to stay here. And drive
slowly
.”

She leaned her head on the back of the seat and watched me. “Spread your legs,” I whispered, “then cross number five off your list.”

She was scared. Her hands grasped at the edge of her skirt and she tugged it down, her eyebrows arched up high, questioning me. “There’s no holding back now, Lex. Let go. Everything you want I’m going to give you. Open your legs for me,” I whispered into her hair. I watched the driver make eye contact with her in the rearview mirror. He knew what I was doing, shit he was probably just as hard as I was listening to her shaky breathing. Watching her chest heave, her thighs opened wide. Her scent filled up the back seat.

I slid my fingers up her smooth thigh. The muscles beneath her skin trembled—with fright or anticipation I didn’t know. The higher my fingers edged the warmer her skin felt, until my fingertips met with the edge of her panties. That’s where it was hot. I skimmed a knuckle over the material. It was soaking wet. I wanted to see it. “Lift it up. You’re so wet, I need to see it.”

She gasped. Her muscles tightened. I could feel her entire body freeze up with fear as her quick glances ran back and forth between me and the cab driver, whose eyes were glued to the rearview mirror. “Here? Now? It’s day time,” she whispered.

“Lift up, Lex. I want to see how sexy you are.”

“What if I’m not?”

I slid my fingers under the lip of the material and slipped my fingers against her wet flesh. “You’re dripping all over my fingers, Lex. There’s nothing sexier than that for a man. Nothing.” I circled my finger around and around her small bundle of nerves. I could feel it swell under my touch. Her head fell back against the window and her body melted back into the seat.

“I…I’m…James, it’s been so long. I’m going to…” her words were panted, broken—begging.

“Lift up your skirt, Lex. I want to watch my fingers dip inside you.”

“Holy cow,” she breathed as she brought her trembling hands to the hem of her skirt and slowly raised the material.

“That’s it, Lex. That’s so incredibly sexy,” I rumbled, watching my fingers move in circles under the wet material. “Now pull the material away and hold it against your thigh. Show me what’s making those panties so wet,” I urged, licking my bottom lip. Damn, I wanted my mouth on her.

Taking a deep inhale, she hooked two fingers around the middle of her underwear, pulled them to the side, and showed me the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. “Fuck, Lex. Don’t you ever hide that from me. Ever,” I said, dipping the tips of two of my fingers into the silken wetness. She was bare. She was pink and perfect and I wanted to sink my cock inside her so hard. I curled my fingers and continued rubbing her clit. “Move, baby. Enjoy yourself. I want to feel you come on my fingers.”

Her one hand fisted the panties and the other grabbed onto my arm and dug her nails into my skin. “James, I’m…” she moaned. Yes, she was going to come. I could feel her swell and thicken around my fingers as I moved them in and out of her. Her low moans and sounds were driving me crazy. I felt the cab slow. I glanced quickly at the driver, who pulled over and adjusted the mirror to watch the beautiful creature who was about to come all over my fingers.

Her body moved with the strokes of my hands—lifting herself to get me deeper. So, deeper I went, until her insides were tightening and pulsing and her low cries were saying my name over and over. She rode it out. Her body relaxing and softening, melting into my hand like she was made of warm honey.

She covered her mouth with her hands when she was done and her cheeks reddened to a bright glow.

I brought my fingers to my lips and slipped them in my mouth. “You’re delicious.”

Her eyes widened and her hands slowly slid off her face.

“Next time, your going to do that on my mouth so I get an even better taste.”