We arrived and checked into our hotel suite without any problems. It was easy since we were already preregistered. The suite was bigger than two of my apartments put together. I stood there for a moment and admired its furnishings and the view from our top-floor window. The view was spectacular and should be captured on a postcard.
Jon came up behind me and encircled my thick waist. He nuzzled my neck with his lips and I leaned my neck down so that I could enjoy more of his trailing kisses on my neckline.
“You do know how much I love you, baby?” he asked.
I turned and looked into his serious, warm, light brown eyes flecked with gold. “I do,” I answered, not hesitating in giving my answer. “I love you more than I can ever say.”
His lips swooped down onto my waiting mouth. I opened for him to sip from my lips at his leisure. His hands slid down to grip my plump and plush ass cheeks before giving them a squeeze. I made a pleasurable noise in the back of my throat that sounded more like a purr.
I felt the lengthening of his hardening arousal behind his zippered pants. He pulled away from our kiss and looked into my dazed eyes.
“I want you so bad right now, but I need to run over to the gym for a couple of hours to make sure everything is just right. Do you want to come with me?”
I was disappointed that he had to leave so soon after our arrival, but I didn’t let on. He had business to tend to and I didn’t want to deter him in any way.
“I’ll stay here and unpack while you’re gone. I may even grab a little snack and explore this magnificent hotel for a bit.”
“I promise that I will make it back as quick as possible. I’ll make it up to you this evening. We can have dinner anywhere you want, baby.”
“Will we be dining alone?” I asked in hopes that we would.
“If you want it to be just the two of us then it will be,” he stated before pulling me in for another one of his exploring, sensuous kisses.
“Thank you, Jon,” I said after the kiss ended. “I want tonight just for us, because I will have to share you with everyone else on tomorrow night.”
“I better get going,” he released me from his embrace. “The sooner I get things done is the sooner I return to you.”
I walked hand in hand with him to the suite’s door. He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before opening the door and closing it behind him. I leaned against the door’s frame before exhaling.
I need several drinks to get me through this weekend, I thought to myself.
My cell phone began to ring, pulling me from my thoughts. I walked over to the small table where I had laid it earlier and looked at the caller’s I.D. before answering. “What do you want?”
“Are you alone? I know that my brother is going to take care of a few things at the new gym and I was wondering can we talk because I noticed how uncomfortable you were on the flight. I want things to be pleasant for all of us, Serenity. I don’t want us to be at odds with each other for the duration of this trip.”
“Jason, where is Emma-Jay?” I asked before answering his questions.
“I treated her to a spa treatment. I made her the appointment before we arrived.”
“Good for her,” I replied, a bit too snidely. “Why aren’t you helping your brother tie up loose ends instead of calling me? Maybe if you went to help him, he could wrap up what he’s doing a lot quicker and get back to me sooner.”
Jason was quiet for the longest minute before speaking. “Are you afraid to meet with me alone, Serenity? You can trust yourself around me, can’t you?” he asked tauntingly.
“I am not afraid of you,” I lied.
“Prove it and meet me in the downstairs lobby in fifteen minutes.”
“I will meet you but give me 30 minutes. And Jason, please don’t try any funny business or I will walk away.”
“I’ll see you in 30 minutes,” he said, ending the call without conceding to my wishes.
It didn’t matter whether he agreed or not because I trusted myself to handle him and to handle him well.
Besides, we will be around other people and there is always safety in numbers, right? I questioned myself.
---
Jason was the first person that I saw when I stepped off the elevators into the spacious lobby. He stood handsome and tall with his dreads hanging loose. I noticed they were growing really fast. He looked wild and untamed, in a sleek, lethal type of way. He was caught up in conversation with a blond-headed receptionist at the information desk. He had her undivided attention as the young woman looked adoringly up into his face, seeming to hang on to his every word.
I thought about turning around and returning to the elevator as the unwanted green-eyed monster entered my being. It was as if he felt me standing there watching him. He turned suddenly and bestowed his lethal feral glance in my direction. I stopped in mid-stride. My yellow short dress swished against my upper thighs. I froze like a deer in headlights.
His nostrils flared wide like he was inhaling my scent, even from a distance. A brilliant smile flashed across his too handsome face that was so much like his brother’s in every way. He turned and said something to the receptionist before stalking towards me.
“Hello, sunshine. You look like a breath of fresh air.”
“Thank you Jason,” I said trying to still my thunderous heartbeat. I was sure that even he could hear how loudly it was beating. “What do you want to talk about?”
“I don’t want to talk here. The receptionist recommended this quiet and cozy café that’s within walking distance from here, not too far up the strip. It’s called The Chocolate & Spice Café. Are you up for the walk? That is if you aren’t too tired from the flight.”
“I’m fine. I’m not the least bit tired and besides, the walk will do me good after sitting on the flight for so long. Remember, you promised no funny business,” I said looking up at him.
His eyebrows rose in a sexy arch. “I don’t remember making any such promise but if it will make you feel better, I won’t do anything that you don’t want me to do. Scout’s honor,” he added with a chuckle.
“Jason, were you ever a boy scout?” I asked doubtfully.
“Nope,” he laughed outright, “but you’ll have to take my word for it,” he replied, putting his hand to the small of my back and leading me out of the hotel into the brilliant Las Vegas sunshine.
I craned my neck to look up at him and gave him a doubtful look, as we milled through the crowded sidewalks. He took my hand into his. It felt like my hand was enclosed in hot iron becoming branded by his sizzling touch. I tugged my hand trying to free it from his grip, to no avail—he wouldn’t release it.
“Relax, I just don’t want us to become separated in this crowd. I’m only holding your hand… not trying to jump your bones. At least not out here on the strip,” he teased.
He peered down at me with teasing brown eyes. I tripped over a loose stone getting lost in his gaze. He pulled me closer and held me upright. If it would not have been for his quick reaction, I would have been sprawled flat on my face in the middle of the street.
“Thank you for breaking my fall. You saved me from what could have been an embarrassing moment,” I muttered, somewhat breathless.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
My hands were now clutched to his chest. I could feel his heart beating strongly and rapidly against my fingertips. The crowd vanished and went unnoticed around us for a few moments.
I finally found the strength and tore my gaze from his. I had to clear the frog from my throat before answering him. “I’m fine. I just need to pay better attention to where I’m walking.”
We resumed our short walk to the Chocolate & Spice Café without exchanging any more words. The sweet smells overwhelmed us when we entered the Café. The cozy building, to my pleasant surprise, wasn’t overcrowded and had plenty of tables available.
We were quickly greeted by the friendly waitress and seated in an alcove that gave us plenty of privacy from any prying eyes. She promptly took our orders. Jason wanted to wait until after eating our meal before we talked about anything of consequence. The waitress wasn’t long in returning with our light lunch of turkey, lettuce and tomato sandwiches on crusty bread along with sweet apple slices drizzled in caramel sauce and an array of sliced cheeses to accompany the fruity glasses of house wine we sipped on.
I had my fill of the scrumptious meal before once again broaching the subject of our meeting. Jason was taking his sweet time as he looked over the rim of his wine glass at me with an attentive, glazed look in his eyes.
“I’m ready to listen, Jason. What do you want to talk to me about?” I prompted him to begin talking.
“I won’t beat around the bush,” he said setting his wine glass aside. “I want to talk about my attraction to you. I know my attraction isn’t one-sided, either. Don’t think I don’t see how your body reacts every time I come near you. I can even smell your arousal for me,” his nostrils flared wide open and he animalistically made a sniffing sound.
My breath caught up in my chest, rolled around like a tumulus storm before I was able to release it in a rush. “Can we just let what happened in the past stay in the past? For God’s sake, it didn’t happen but once and it was a mistake. Bringing up that mistaken night will only serve to hurt the people we both love.”
“Who do you think I love Serenity?” he asked with hooded eyes.
“I’m speaking of my love for your brother and your love for Emma,” I stated bluntly.
“Speak for yourself, Serenity. I don’t love Emma in the same way you love my brother. God help me, I’ve tried, but you won’t release the hold you have over my heart,” he admitted with pain-filled eyes.
“But you do love your brother, right Jason,” I implored of him.
“There isn’t a doubt that I love my brother. I will give my life up for him, but I can’t get you out of my heart…I can’t burn you from my memory. I can’t forget the way you smelled or you tasted on my tongue. I don’t want to forget. Ever!”
I put my hands to my ears like a small child to block out what he just admitted. He moved around the table with the lithe of a tiger ready to pounce on its prey as he sat beside me in the booth.
“Covering your ears won’t solve anything. Everything that I have spoken is the truth and there is no denying it.”
“Stop it right now, Jason! There is no need to speak of this nonsense. The only truth that you need to be concerned with is that I truly love your brother and I will never hurt him.”
“That’s what makes this situation so damn hard, Serenity. I love my brother, too. This fire inside that burns for you burns with an unquenchable thirst consumes me in a way that pushes all reasonable things from my mind. You even invade my thoughts when Emma-Jay and I are intimate. I am not proud to admit that,” he regretfully replied.
His muscular, strong thigh rested hotly against my leg. It felt as if walls were enclosing around me, holding me prisoner in a vortex that included just the two of us. His presence strongly took precedence over my senses. His Dolce & Gabbana cologne seduced my nostrils. As I inhaled more of his scent, it caused havoc on every nerve in my body.
I didn’t know how to respond to his latest confession. I felt lost like a lone ship lost at sea, getting clashed upon by the turbulent waves of the sea.
“Will you please back up and give me some space?” I finally found my voice. “Better yet, move back over there,” I pointed to the seat he recently vacated across the table.
His intense stare held mine captive. I tried my best to avert my eyes away from his stare, but I didn’t succeed. It was as if he had some sort of spell on me that held me unwillingly captive. Just before his lips descended onto mine, my eyes fluttered closed to blot out my weakness and shame.
His lips softly brushed up against my closed mouth. I held my plump lips tight so that his tongue could not enter. His teeth nipped tenderly at my lips until I gasped and opened for him. His tongue wasted no time thrusting into my mouth and claiming my tongue as its playmate. He tasted of the fruity wine and sweet apples. I moaned deeply, forgetting that I was in a public place for a moment.
His hand dropped from my face and brushed across my breasts which caused my nipples to harden and strain against my dress. I trembled as his padded thumb began to flick back and forth against my beaded nipple. My thighs squeezed together as throbbing began to pulsate between them. Moistness pooled between my thighs and salty hot tears squeezed from my closed eyes and seeped down to my chin. He kissed some of my salty tears away before I was jolted to my senses.
I wrenched my mouth from his and wiped the back of my hand across my still tingling lips to remove his taste. My chest was heaving like I had just run a ten-mile marathon. My trembling hand reared back on its own accord and slapped Jason across his gloat-filled face.
He smirked before rubbing his jawline. He stood and threw several bills down on the table.
“I’ve proven my point,” he said with unreadable eyes. “You still want me as much as I want you.”
I stood quickly without a word, but my traitorous face said it all, before I marched out of the café with tear-filled eyes. I walked the short distance back to the hotel alone but I knew that he followed me at a distance to make sure that I arrived at our hotel safely. He knew to leave me alone at the moment. I was like a bomb ready to detonate and he would be in the line of fire.
I safely arrived in my room and was thankful that Jon hadn’t made it back to see me in this condition. I stared at myself in the mirror and cursed myself to no end. Jason had proven his point alright. I was not as strong as I thought I could be around him. I hated myself for my traitorous body but I hated Jason most of all.