by Cari Quinn
Val frowned and took the handheld from the other woman. “Thanks, Tiff.” Into the phone, she said, “Hello?”
“Hey, Val?”
“Yes?” The male voice on the other end didn’t sound familiar at all. Wait, no. It was familiar, and it made her stomach flip eight different ways.
“It’s Darren.”
Duh. Like she wouldn’t know.
“Hey, did I leave my wallet at the table, by chance? I was looking for it, but I can’t seem to find it. That’s the last place I remember.”
She stroked the texture of the wallet in her hand. “Yeah, it’s here. I was going to put it in the safe for the night.”
“Oh, I kinda need it tomorrow.” He paused. “I don’t suppose… Could you bring it by the hotel tonight?
His hotel? Val’s heart thumped against her sternum, fireworks exploding through her nervous system. Normally, she didn’t go anywhere a customer would ask, but Darren was different, wasn’t he? They’d shared things she’d never have shared with another customer, like that kiss.
“I shouldn’t.” Her voice came out evenly, but her mouth was numb, like someone else was saying the same words.
“Oh. Well, I was hoping…” Darren trailed off, but disappointment laced the awkward silence.
Val sighed. “Is it far?”
She had some gas in her car, but it had to last her until next week. All her tips were earmarked for rent this week.
“Nah,” he said. “It’s five minutes. But I can pay you for gas.”
She hesitated, losing her voice for a panicky moment.
“Val?”
“I’ll drop it off at the front desk tonight.” As if she would do anything else.
“Actually, I’d rather you bring it up to me directly. Is that cool? The hotel staff is nice, but I’m kinda paranoid.”
Val paused. Darren’s hotel room? He probably stayed in one of those ritzy places. But she wasn’t going in. She was just dropping his wallet. It was no big deal. Except that it was.
Tell him no. Tell him you can’t do that.
She cleared her throat. “Yeah, I can do that.”
Idiot.
“Oh, you are awesome, Val. I can’t get on the plane on Thursday if I don’t have my wallet. Thank you! You are amazing.”
He gave her the hotel information, including his room number, and they said their goodbyes. Val stared at Darren’s wallet, feeling like it might grow teeth and bite her if she held on to it for too long.
She slipped the wallet into her apron pocket and went back to work.
* * *
Valerie stood outside the large hotel, her courage vanishing. She knew the hotel was ritzy, but she hadn’t expected anything quite like this. This hotel probably had food dishes that cost more than her weekly paycheck. The outside was smooth white cement, tinged tan by age. The glass doors glinted in the night lights, reflecting the neon signs around the building.
The fear collected into a solid lump in her throat, choking her. Her lips still tingled with the memory of Darren’s kiss all those weeks ago. She closed her eyes, remembered the feel of his lips against hers, all warmth and strength.
She opened her eyes and stared at the building.
She steeled her resolve and stepped up the front entrance to the lobby. She almost turned around when she saw the incredible chandelier hanging in the lobby. She felt the size of an ant in this place.
Her boots thumped loudly on the marble floor. Though no one paid her any attention, all eyes were on her, judging and wondering why someone like her was there. Not that she normally cared, but it was different tonight. In her work boots and tattered jeans, she felt a little bit like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when she was doing the morning walk of shame.
Except she didn’t have great sex the night before.
What seemed like years later, she reached the elevator. She pushed the button for the suite floor and leaned against the oak wood paneling of the elevator walls, careful not to leave prints on the spotless mirrors.
The elevator dinged. The hallway was carpeted, quieter than a library. She swore her boots echoed louder than thunder. She stopped before 2405, which was the number Darren had told her.
Her heart rate spiked. Panic filled her blood with ice, giving her goose bumps. Her skin flushed with heat, making an odd sensation like when someone put Ben-Gay on a pulled muscle.
The door opened a crack, and Valerie relaxed as she saw Darren’s familiar eyes. “Valerie? Hey.”
He opened the door more, giving her a view of his broad, muscled shoulders and sculpted chest.
“Uh…”
Breathe.
Icy panic poofed in the presence of another sensation of heat, her attraction stealing the air from her lungs. Darren’s sweatpants hung low on his hips. His torso looked like it had been chiseled out of marble.
This was such a mistake.
“What’s wrong?” His inquisitive tone snapped her from her thoughts.
“You left your wallet.” She blurted and shoved the leather billfold at him. A blush crept up the back of her neck, the fine baby hairs standing on edge. Of course he knew that. How did being near him zap her brain power like that?
“That’s why you came, right?” He took the wallet from her and opened it, an almost unconscious assurance, it looked like. “I didn’t even realize I’d left it until I was already here.” He flashed a crooked grin at her. “Thanks for bringing it. I appreciate it.”
Her heart warmed at his smile. “I thought you might need it. Your trip tomorrow and all.”
“Yeah, I guess I would.” He stepped out of the doorway and gestured inside. “I was just relaxing and having a beer. You should come in and have one with me.”
He didn’t look like he wanted her to, she thought. Actually, he looked miserable as hell that she was there at all. She bit her lip. She’d done what she came to do. There was no reason to stay. She should turn and leave. Yet, she couldn’t make her feet work to move her away from the door.
* * *
Darren’s spirits sank when she shook her head, her curly hair falling over her shoulders. He’d been doing his own pity party before she’d showed. Seeing her put him in a better mood. He wasn’t ready for her to leave.
“I shouldn’t. It’s late, and you look… ready for bed.” Her eyes fell from his. Was that a blush on her cheeks? He grinned. Rosy red was a good color on her.
The change in her appearance was startling too. He was used to seeing Valerie at work, with her hair up in a ponytail, and her demeanor all bubbly and happy. This Val, with her hair down, was a completely different story.
“Not quite ready.” He held out his hand to her. “I was about to sit and have a beer. Relax a little. Come have one with me. You look wore out.”
Dark crescents colored under her eyes and she wore a giant purple TCU hoodie over the black tank top she’d had for work, hiding her breasts from his view. Her hair was loose and flowing, a soft crimp where the ponytail had been held together, much like that first night when he’d kissed her over frozen yogurt.
She laughed, and he thought maybe he heard a hint of nervousness in her voice. “You’re drinking a beer? You were just at the bar.”
“It’s more relaxing to drink here. And I don’t have to drive home.” He waved her in. “Come in.”
“I shouldn’t. I really just came to give you your wallet. I don’t want to intrude.” A frown creased her pretty forehead.
“It’s not an intrusion. I’m telling you to come in.”
She played with her fingernails, clicking them together three times before she switched hands and did the same thing three times. He wasn’t sure she even realized that she did it. Every single one of her nervous little ticks drove him up a wall with arousal.
“Come on.”
He took her hand in his, surprised at the cool touch of her fingertips, considering the Texas heat outside. But the hotel’s air was cooler than he preferred. He pulled her gently into his suite, gi
ving her plenty of time to protest or pull away.
Her eyes widened as she took in her new surroundings. The living area was probably eighty percent of the suite, and included the large oak desk in the office area over near the corner of the room. Trying to consider how to make her less uncomfortable, he thought a tour of the suite would help her.
He reassured her with a smile, keeping her hand in his. Seeing Val unsettled should have bothered him. But really, it made her that much more attractive to him. It made her human. In his head, she was superwoman with everything she did. He caressed the back of her hand with his thumb before releasing her and maneuvering her against the oak desk.
He placed his palms on either side of her, leaning on them so he was nice and close to her, smelling the vanilla of her perfume. “Shiner okay with you?”
She nodded, not taking her eyes off him. He stepped clear of her. He was pushing her boundaries, sure. Tonight, he was just buzzed enough off her vanilla scent and the nearness of her body to play with those boundaries, to push buttons he hadn’t been ready to push a month ago.
He opened the mini-fridge and took out two beer bottles, handing one to her. He studied her for a moment, watching her lean against the desk and look around the room. Seeing her chest rising and falling made him want to bend her back over the desk and kiss the hell out of her. Why hadn’t he ever seen her like this before? His cock was aching, hardening with every second he looked at her. His balls were heavy, and getting heavier with every graceful move she made from the rise and fall of her chest, to the way she slid her finger across her forehead to get her hair out of the way.
Darren grabbed a bottle opener and popped the top of her beer, the cap clattering on the wood floor. Hesitantly, her lips turned up in a soft smile. “Not bad. You’d make a decent bartender.”
“I spend enough time watching you.” He laughed nervously then nearly cursed. What a creep. “I mean… I’m up there a lot… at the bar,” he muttered. Stalker, much?
Her slender fingers were white at the knuckles as she held on to the bottle. Her thumb smoothed over part of the label that was peeling off, over and over. Her eyes scanned the room, looking everywhere but at him.
When she finally took a drink, lifting the bottle to her lips, it exposed her throat. The muscles in her neck worked to swallow the liquid and he swore his entire body flushed hot at the sight. His erection tented his sweatpants and he tried to make a quick adjustment to keep her from seeing., but where could he really hide it in sweatpants?
She cleared her throat. “Give me the tour.”
“Of the hotel room?” he asked her, overjoyed that his voice didn’t crack like a pre-pubescent boy.
“Yeah.”
He couldn’t read her expression. It seemed to be a mix of anxiety and arousal. He took her hand and pulled her behind him. The cold beer had done nothing for the temperature of her fingers.
He skipped the bedroom, thinking that might give off the wrong impression, even though that’s the only place he wanted to take her. Really, he needed a distraction. The only thing his body wanted to acknowledge were the smooth curves of Valerie’s body and how much he wanted to touch them all.
The bedroom door was open. He hurried them past and hoped she hadn’t seen his pile of dirty underwear in the corner. Instead, he started with the large bathroom with the Jacuzzi.
He walked around to the other side of the Jacuzzi and leaned against the side. “So, this is the Jacuzzi.”
“Obviously,” she replied dryly.
“Wanna try it?” he joked. His cock jerked at the idea. Fuck, would that thing ever give him a break?
She shook her head. “Uh, no.” She seemed to have a permanent rosy color on her cheeks as he showed her the rest of the suite.
The main room was at least three rooms in one, which didn’t escape her notice. “I bet you get lost in this place all the time.” She had a wry smile on her face.
“You’re making fun of me.” He pretended to be hurt, pushing out his bottom lip in a sullen pout.
She laughed and strolled over to the desk, leaning against it. Running her fingers along the edge of the desk, she turned to look at him. “So what do you do here?”
“I work on the computer. Isn’t that what people do in offices?”
“And what do you do on the computer?” The smirk on her face derailed him. How did she do that? She was nervous a minute before, and all of a sudden, she’d turned it on him and made him feel like a child having his first wet dream.
He chuckled. “What does anyone do on the computer?”
“Email?”
“Sometimes.”
“Porn?”
His eyes shot to hers.
Amusement danced around her irises. His body strung itself tight, threatening to break free of the iron control that was slowly rusting and eroding away. Whether she knew it or not, she took a defensive step backward as he replied, “Definitely porn.”
“Now what would you need porn for? I would think you’d have girls all over the place.” She glanced at him through half-hooded eyes. “I mean, your friends usually do, and you’re single now.”
“Women are complicated. I’m not really looking to repeat my fantastic marital experience any time soon. I’m done with drama. And those girls the guys hang around? They’re like Angela. I don’t want that.” He took another step toward her, enjoying when she backed into the desk. She gripped the desk like it was a safety net. “Do you think less of me now that you know I suck at relationships?”
“No,” she said quietly. “Sometimes, people just aren’t meant to be together.”
“I’m glad.” He rested his arms on either side of her. He really loved the way she shrunk away from him. Not because he wanted her to fight him or fear him, but because it was clear she responded to him, like maybe she wanted him, but maybe didn’t want to. It tempted him to sin. Sin all over her body. “I always find the women I have no business being with.”
Not that Valerie Chase was one of those. She was perfect.
“Darren…” Her body shuddered as he ran his fingers down her neck. The soft twitches of her muscles spasming under his fingers delighted him. He loved how smooth her skin was. Soft and feminine.
“Val, you fascinate me.” He took her beer and set it down on the desk. He ran his hand up her arm. He craved touching her. He couldn’t get enough of her. He wanted to do so much more than just touch, but he tested the waters. So far, she wasn’t saying no.
“Fascinate you?” she squeaked out.
“Yeah.” He said, concentrating on her hoodie’s zipper. “Are you hot?”
She gulped. “No. I’m fine.”
“Your face is red.” He liked the blush on her cheeks as he slowly unzipped her hoodie. Her chest rose and fell deeply.
“Darren, this isn’t… I mean, we shouldn’t—”
He leaned forward and captured her lips with his. Her mouth tasted of bubblegum and Shiner, an odd mixture, but the velvety interior made him forget everything else. He pressed his body against hers, keeping her trapped between his arms. There was no mistaking his intentions now, not with his erection pressing into her pelvis, and his tongue down her throat.
His body greedily begged him to bend her over the desk and fuck her into oblivion. But he was not an animal, and she was pushing back against his chest. Reluctantly, he pulled back from her.
Val’s lips were red and full, and her eyes were on fire. “Stop.”
“Val—”
“I’m sorry.” Her breath was rough and uneven. “I-I can’t… This isn’t right for me.”
Disappointed, he nodded and stepped back. Goosebumps peppered his body as he stepped back and cool air he hadn’t known he was missing hit his overheated torso. “I thought you enjoyed it. I mean, you seemed to.”
“I did, but—” Frustration emanated from her. “I just don’t think—” She groaned and pulled her hoodie tighter around herself. “I should go.”
Damn it. He’d gone too
fast. There was an interest there, or at least he thought there was. Why was she fighting it? He took her hand carefully. “Val, I’m sorry.”
“We made a mistake.”
“We haven’t done anything.” Darren studied her for a moment in silence. What was she afraid of? He decided to try a different strategy. “We’ll just pretend this didn’t happen if that’s what you’d prefer.”
She swallowed and stared at his hand covering hers. “You would do that?”
“In a heartbeat.” Doing it might give him a permanent case of the blue balls, but he could. “I’d have to break in a new waitress otherwise, and they are so hard to train.” He made it sound dramatic so she would giggle, and he was glad when she did. It diffused the tense blanket covering them.
She pulled her hand away and swatted his shoulder. “Jerk.”
He shrugged. “Hey, I like well-trained waitresses. They’re so prompt with my beer.”
She giggled but soon her face turned serious. “I still need to go. It’s late.”
“You’re not mad at me, are you?” he asked her.
“Nah,” she said. “I thought—never mind. It’s not important.”
His cock ached, begging to possess her, but he refused to let his dick rule him. He wanted her so badly, enough to tackle her right there as he watched her. That kiss wasn’t enough, not by far. His cock begged to take her hard between her thighs. He needed to hear her moans of ecstasy when she climaxed. But she’d said no, and he would respect that. It didn’t mean he had to like that he couldn’t touch her.
Chapter Five
It was beyond time for her to leave. Darren had gotten his wallet back, which was the point of the trip. The kiss had been a mistake of epic proportions, and if she stayed, she was sure she’d make another one. She couldn’t handle relationships right now.
“I’m not with Angela anymore, Val,” Darren said, holding his hand on the door knob.
“I understand that, Darren.” She smiled. “I just… I have to get up early tomorrow.” Big Fat Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire, she scolded herself. She just couldn’t take him looking at her like that anymore, seeing the heat in his eyes and knowing she could lose control over herself at any time.