Tempt Me: A First Class Romance Collection

by Hawkins, Jessica

  Leave it to Remi to find a karaoke bar in walking distance of the gala. I’m sitting in a round vinyl booth in a dim-lit, brick-walled cellar, and he’s onstage belting out “She Believes in Me.”

  He’s singing it with gusto, clutching his chest and going down on one knee for the final words, and I can’t stop laughing. It helps I’ve had several more glasses of wine.

  Stephen is across from me grimacing, and when Remi returns to the table, he complains loudly. “That song is the musical equivalent of a Lifetime movie.”

  “It’s Ruby’s favorite Kenny Rogers song.” He slides in beside me, kissing me long and hard on the mouth.

  He even pushes my lips apart and goes for a little tongue action, which elicits more groaning from our companion.

  “Time to call it a night.” Stephen stands, tossing some bills on the table and pointing at Remi. “I remember when you could hold your liquor.”

  “I’m holding my liquor.” Remi grabs me by the waist and hoists me out of the booth. “You’re right, though. We have an early flight tomorrow. Time to head back to the hotel and get busy.”

  “Oh my God,” I gasp a laugh.

  “Good work tonight.” Stephen grasps him by the shoulder. “Glad to have you back in the game.”

  They clasp hands, and we say goodnight, heading out to hail a cab. Remi dismissed the limo when we took off on foot to the hall. It takes a little time to maneuver the traffic all the way to Midtown, and I wish I’d worn walking shoes.

  It’s a lie. I love these heels and this dress and Remi in a tux. I feel like a true Cinderella.

  In the elevator, Remi holds me by the waist. “You’re sleeping over at my place again. Don’t argue with me.” He gives me a little tug, and I grin.

  “Okay, but don’t get used to it. Starting tomorrow, it’s back to business. You’re my boss. I’m Lillie’s nanny.”

  “You know, banging the hot nanny is a very popular male fantasy.” He leans in to kiss my neck.

  His breath tickles my skin, sending goosebumps flying down my arms. “Are you saying that’s why you hired me?”

  “Not exactly.”

  The bell rings, and we stumble out at the top floor. He clasps my hand, leading me across the marble tiles and into the elaborate suite. He’s fiddling with his phone, and we’re out on the balcony as music begins to play over the speakers hidden in the eaves.

  Reaching out, he takes my hands and pulls me into a slow dance.

  My face is right at his cheek. “Not exactly means partly.”

  Exhaling, he kisses my temple. “I was attracted to you the first time I ever saw you.”

  “That night in the bar?”

  “That day on the church lawn when Drew introduced us. Lillie was squirming all over me, and you took one look and walked away.”

  He extends his arm, moving me away from him in an impromptu dance, still holding my hand.

  “I told you that wasn’t me.”

  A sexy smile curls his lips, and have I mentioned how much I love that dimple?

  “It was you.” He pulls me back into his arms, looking deep into my eyes. “Oakville isn’t big enough for two insanely sexy, smart, stubborn, irresistible, half-Korean beauties like you. Why deny it?”

  “I was in a really bad head space back then.” My voice is quiet, and he rocks us side to side in time with the song. “I was using these silly dating apps, and they kept matching me with losers. I was pretty miserable. Way too far up my own butt.”

  “I’d like to be far up your butt.”

  My eyes widen. “Hello!”

  We both start to laugh, but just as fast, his brow lowers. His face grows playfully stern, possessive. “I won’t lie and say I’m happy to hear about you dating other guys—”

  “Trust me, the dates didn’t last very long. I usually sneaked out.”

  “Good.” Leaning down, he kisses my lips. “So to answer your question, attraction might have had a little to do with your job offer.”

  My hands are on his neck, and I gaze into his eyes. Here, on the balcony overlooking all of Manhattan, under a sky filled with stars, I’m sure I’ve found something money can’t buy.

  “Don’t think for one minute attraction had nothing to do with me saying yes.” Rising on my toes, I meet his mouth, lips parted, tongues curling together.

  His fingers tug on the strings holding my dress up, and I allow him to lead me into the suite, into the bedroom, into another night of heaven in his arms.

  26

  Remi

  My daughter climbs Ruby like a tree as soon as we walk through the door. I’d be hurt, but watching Ruby scoop her up and carry her into the house fills me with such calm.

  I don’t even mind being left alone to manage our luggage. I shake my head, grinning as I tip the limo driver and throw our hanging bags over my shoulder.

  Eleanor meets me in the foyer with a stern expression as always. “I trust you had a successful trip?”

  “More than successful. I landed the developer I was after and got leads on two more.” It has me feeling generous. “Thank you for keeping an eye on Lillie while I was away.”

  “She’s my granddaughter.” She says it as if it’s an unwritten decree. “I’ll do anything to keep her safe and be sure she’s cared for.”

  “Good to know.” I have all the bags, and it doesn’t take long to have them deposited where they belong.

  Dropping off Ruby’s things in her room, I hear her and Lillie in my daughter’s bedroom chattering as if they’re old friends who’ve been separated for months.

  “There’s a new girl?” Ruby’s voice is surprised.

  “Yes, and Louie tried to make her eat dirt just like he did me.” My daughter is very adult sounding—full of righteous indignation. “I marched over there, and in my most serious voice, I told him, ‘You’d better watch it, Mister.’”

  “Then what happened?” Ruby sounds on the edge of her seat. I put my hand over my mouth so I don’t laugh.

  “Bunny came with me and we played Mulan the rest of recess.”

  “I see.”

  Peeking my head in, I smile when I see them both in the middle of Lillie’s princess bed. “I hate to interrupt the party, but are we having penny cakes for lunch?”

  “Daddy!” Lillie takes off running to me, and I scoop her up in my arms. “Penny cakes! Penny cakes!”

  She pumps her little hand in the air like it’s a football game and I just scored the winning touchdown.

  The rest of the day passes so fast. Even dinner with Eleanor doesn’t feel like a chore.

  Perhaps I’m different, or maybe I’m seeing Ruby differently. She does her best to avoid conflict with Lillie’s grandmother, to compliment the dishes, and to guide my daughter’s manners, then she exits the scene as soon as possible. Eleanor doesn’t appear miffed when I tell her goodnight, which is a relief.

  The temperatures are falling outside. The days are getting shorter, and the house is so quiet with everyone in their rooms. After spending a few hours at my desk following up with Stellan and the two potentials, I’m lying in my bed alone, wishing we were back in that penthouse suite. I glance at the clock, and It’s almost eleven.

  Turning onto my stomach, I try to quell the heat smoldering inside me. Fire is in my belly, and it feels like it’s radiating through my pelvis, up my spine, and to my brain.

  I can’t sleep like this.

  I have to find her. I need to touch her face, kiss her one more time.

  Just to tell her goodnight.

  Ruby said she can’t sleep with me here in this house, with me as her boss. I have to respect her wishes.

  In my mind, I assure myself I won’t push her to do more than she’s comfortable with as I climb the stairs to the third floor, quietly padding in my bare feet to her room.

  A light shines from under her door, and I rest my forehead against the wood straining my ears to hear any noise. I’m breathing so fast, I only hear myself. My shoulders rise and fall rapidly.
In my fevered haste to get here, I didn’t even think to grab a shirt. I’m only wearing pajama pants.

  This doesn’t look good for my “no pressure” approach.

  I brace my palm against the door, trying to convince myself I’m okay with simply knowing she’s there, knowing this thin strip of wood separates me from the woman I suddenly can’t seem to live without.

  I’m midway through my pep-talk when the door opens in front of me. A soft gasp draws my eyes upwards. Ruby stands there in her short green robe. Her hair is tied in a low ponytail, and it hangs in shining waves over her shoulder, down her breast. Her face is fresh, as it always is before bed. She’s so fucking beautiful.

  “Remi?” Her voice is breathless, rushed. “I thought I heard a noise. I—”

  “I didn’t mean to disturb you.” I imagine what I must look like standing here, feverish, driven, going out of my mind with need for her. “I was in bed, and I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I…”

  I can’t finish that sentence.

  I want to kiss her beautiful body. I want to put my hands all over her and sink my cock deep between her thighs. I want to relive the two nights I spent in heaven less than twenty-four hours ago. I can’t stop thinking how much I need her.

  But I can’t violate her wishes.

  “I should go.”

  “Wait…” She steps forward, placing her hand on my bare chest, and it’s almost too much. I capture her in my arms, pulling her against me.

  Her mouth finds mine, and our lips part, our tongues unite, chasing. Hands are everywhere, grabbing, pushing clothes aside. We’re ravenous, kissing, biting, sucking every bit of skin we can find. Through the fog of desire, I close the door, fumbling with her in my arms to the bed.

  Her robe is gone, leaving only a thin scrap of cotton between her beautiful breasts and me. It’s torn like a tissue. She pushes at the waist of my pants, and I pause to shove them off impatiently before joining her in the bed.

  We’re under the blankets, and I pull her naked body flush against mine. We both groan as we slide together. I kiss her shoulder, moving to her center. I run my teeth along her collar bone before dipping lower to capture a hardened nipple between my lips.

  She moans, and I can’t get enough of the taste, the feel, the smell of her body.

  Her fingers are in my hair, threading and drawing me closer to her. Her legs part, and I roll her onto her back, moving between them. My arms are under her shoulder blades, holding her firmly against my chest, and I lift my chin, finding her eyes.

  They’re hooded, and she nods, leaning up to meet my lips as I rise higher, thrusting deep and burying myself to the hilt in her hot, slippery depths. Again we groan as our bodies unite. We’re wild, grasping and holding, rocking together so fast. Her hips rise to meet mine, and our mouths fuse.

  I’ve lost track of time, place, everything except the sensation of her body around me, pulling, milking, the growing orgasm tightening in my pelvis. She arches up, moaning and scratching her fingernails down my skin, and I can’t hold back. I’m pulsing and filling her, holding her as my only anchor to this world.

  My heart beats frantically, and I blink my eyes open slowly, regaining my bearings, realizing I probably left her behind that time.

  “Are you okay?” I’m propped on my elbows, holding my weight from crushing her.

  Her hands touch my cheeks, and she smiles. “I’m pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve been devoured.”

  She’s absolutely gorgeous, and I start to laugh. She laughs, and I slip out of her. She makes a little pouty face, and I move to my side, gathering her to me.

  “I’m pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve gone crazy wanting to devour someone.”

  Her finger circles lightly on my chest. “I was going a little crazy myself. I couldn’t decide if it would make me a total slut if I showed up at your door. Then I couldn’t decide if I cared.”

  “You can always show up at my door. I will never judge you.”

  She laughs again, burying her face in my chest and inhaling deeply. “You smell so good.”

  I take a deep breath at the top of her hair—fresh roses and jasmine. “I love the scent of you all around me.”

  “We might have a problem, Mr. Key.”

  “I can’t see a single problem anywhere.”

  We lie together in the darkness, me tracing my fingers along the soft skin of her back, her tracing her finger along the line of my bicep. After a while our breathing slows, and I start to fall asleep. The last thing I remember is the press of her lips against my skin. It’s possible I’m dreaming, but it seems like she agrees with me.

  Not a problem in sight…

  “Lillie, No! Oh my God—NO!” The scream snaps me out of the most divine slumber.

  Ruby jumps off my chest and starts grabbing clothes. For a moment, I can’t get my bearings. Then it hits me like a sledgehammer. I slept all night in Ruby’s bedroom, naked in her bed, and now Eleanor is screaming.

  Her voice is coming from down the hall where Lillie’s room is.

  “Shit!” I fall out of bed, searching for my clothes.

  Ruby is wearing a tee and jerking pink sweatpants over her naked body as she yells. “Eleanor! What’s wrong? What’s happening?”

  She flies out of the room, and I follow her, quickly shoving my legs into my pajama pants, panic rising faster than my breath.

  I’m nearly blind by the time I burst into my daughter’s room, and what I see there almost sends me slamming to the wall.

  Lillie is sitting in her bed crying. Her face, her arms, her sheets, her entire bed is covered in splatters of deep red liquid. It looks like blood.

  “Jesus, what happened? Lillie?” I try to get to her.

  My daughter is wailing and Eleanor is ripping back blankets and sheets. The scene is utter chaos.

  “Lillie!” Eleanor stands over her, grasping her arms and searching her body for wounds. Lillie’s face is beet read, and she’s bawling.

  Ruby pushes right in the middle of the melee, snatching my daughter’s arm from her grandmother. Then she does the unthinkable. She lifts it to her face and touches it with her tongue.

  “Ruby, no!” I shout watching her taste what looks like blood. My throat closes, and I think I might vomit.

  “It’s okay!” Ruby holds up her hands, her face melting into relief. Lillie is still crying, but Ruby scoops her out of the messy bed. “It’s ketchup! It’s only ketchup.”

  “Ketchup?” I collapse against the wall trying to get my heart started again.

  “Thank the Lord… Lillian Alexandra, you almost gave me a heart attack!”

  The sheets are a red-stained mess, and only then do I notice the three little white foil packets in the middle of the nightmare. Fucking ketchup?

  “I don’t understand.” My voice is ragged. I feel like I’ve run a marathon. “How did she get them—”

  Unfortunately, it’s at that very moment Eleanor sees what I’m wearing and seems to connect the dots. “Were you just…” She looks from me to the door then back at me again. “Did you just come from Ruby’s bedroom?”

  “Eleanor, I can explain.”

  “No.” Her hands go up in a halting motion, and she shakes her head violently. “No no no. This will not go on in my presence.”

  “If you’ll just let me explain.” Actually, I’m not sure what I’m explaining. It’s my fucking house.

  Her rant continues. “I will not live this way, Remington. I draw the line here. I will not live in a house of sin. If this is what goes on, we are going to have to find another deal. You cannot have sex with an employee.”

  I hope the noise of the running faucet drowns out what she’s saying. Eleanor is ranting and storming around the room with her hands in the air.

  Just then the water shuts off, and I hear Ruby speaking gently. “Stop crying now. Use that cloth and wash all the ketchup off your face. I’ll be back to wash your hair.”

  She enters the room and goes to
the dresser. She doesn’t even look at Eleanor, who’s now glaring holes in her back as if she were the Whore of Babylon.

  “I’ll wash her hair then start these sheets first thing in the morning. She can sleep with me tonight.” Ruby holds up little girl panties and a nightgown. “Good thing we had a waterproof mattress cover on the bed. I’m afraid we’ll probably have to toss these. Ketchup stains never wash out…”

  Her voice dies when she finally looks up and sees Eleanor’s glaring eyes about to pop out of her head.

  Ruby looks from her to me. “What’s happening now?”

  To her credit, my mother in law steps closer and lowers her voice. “Was Remington sleeping in your bedroom just now?”

  Ruby’s mouth drops open, and her cheeks blaze red.

  I’ve had enough of the theatrics. “That’s really none of your business. What Ruby and I do on our own time is our concern.”

  Lillie’s grandmother stiffens her back, tugging on the front of her robe. “Ruby is your employee. She lives in this house. I will not have this… this… fornication going on just steps from my granddaughter.”

  “Jesus, take the wheel.” Ruby exhales, putting her hands on her forehead. Her eyes squeeze shut, and she shakes her head rapidly. “You know what? You’re right, Eleanor. You’re absolutely right.”

  “Wait, what?” I step forward, not liking this turn of events one bit. “Ruby, what are you saying?”

  “I was going to tell you in New York, but we were having such a good time—”

  My shoulders are tight. “Tell me what?”

  “I put a deposit on a house. It’s right near the entrance of Oakville Estates, walking distance from here. Not that I would walk. Dagwood Magee’s aunt actually owns it, and she said I could move in as soon as I’m ready.”

  “You’re moving out?” I feel my control slipping.

  “Good.” Eleanor crosses her arms. “I’ll help you pack.”

  “That won’t be necessary.” Ruby’s eyes are fire until she turns to me.

  When her eyes meet mine, they change to pleading. “I can’t stay here, Remi. You know I’m right.”