by Locklyn Marx
“Cheeseburger and fries,” Kenley said, “with bacon. And some barbeque sauce on the side.”
Chad nodded his approval, then picked up the phone to order. Kenley walked behind the bar and started glancing through the bottles of wine.
After Chad got off the phone with room service, he walked over and joined her.
She was struggling with the wine opener, trying to get it into the cork of a bottle of red.
He took it out of her hand, and their fingers brushed. “Opus One,” he said, popping the cork and pouring it into two glasses. “Expensive tastes.”
“Did I pick the Opus One?” she asked innocently. “I didn’t notice.”
He shrugged, like it didn’t matter. Obviously this was all part of her plan. First she was pretending that she didn’t know who he was. And now she was taking it even further, opening expensive bottles of wine and acting like she hadn’t noticed.
He
took a sip and wondered if he should just put an end to the charade right now – if he should tell her that he knew that she worked at Expera and that it was time to drop the big game. But that would be giving up. And Chad hated to give up.
“So what do you do that you have this big room to yourself?” Kenley asked.
“What do I do?” He almost spit out his drink. It was one thing to pretend she didn’t know who he was, but to come right out and ask him what he did for a living? His first impression had been right – she really was bold. Well, whatever. She wasn’t going to break him. In fact, it would be fun to knock her down a peg or two.
“Yeah, are you here for business or something?” She cocked her head and looked at him. She had big blue eyes, and blonde curls that tumbled over her shoulders in loose waves. He had the sudden urge to reach over and push one of her curls off her forehead.
Her skin looked smooth and tan, the kind of skin you could spend hours exploring. He wondered if the rest of her body was just as tan and soft.
“Yes, I’m here for business,” he said.
“You don’t look like you’re in finance or anything,” she said. “You’re too relaxed.”
“Who said I was in finance?”
She blushed. “Sorry,” she said, “I just assumed since you’re staying in the penthouse…”
“That I must have tons of money?”
He moved closer to her now, hoping that he would be able to get her to admit what was really going on here. His leg pushed up against hers. He felt himself get hard and suddenly, he wanted to plunge his hands into her curls and pull her close, kissing her over and over again.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I just figured you must be in an industry that allowed you to live this kind of lifestyle.”
He moved even closer to her, telling himself he was doing it so that he could break her down, get her to admit that she knew who he was, and that he was scheduled to have a meeting with her tomorrow. But deep down he knew it was more that that — for some reason, he needed to be next to her, needed to get closer to her.
“I am in an industry like that.”
She turned her head, and cocked it to the side, giving him that same adorable look she’d given him a few minutes earlier. “Really?” she asked. “What industry?”
“I don’t really like to broadcast it,” he said, not wanting to be the one to blink first.
“Drugs?” she whispered, her eyes widening in mock surprise.
There was a witty comeback on the tip of his tongue, but he bit it back. Fuck it, he thought. If she was determined to pretend she didn’t know him, if that’s how this was going to go, then so be it. He would have his way with her in the bedroom, and that would be the way he won.
He put his hand on the back of her neck, pulled her toward him, and kissed her.
***
The kiss surprised Kenley, even though she’d been wanting him, almost begging him, in her mind to kiss her. He was getting so close to her while they were sitting there, and she could see the stubble on his chin, the small scar he had right over his lip, the way his tongue darted out and licked his lip when he looked at her.
Even so, she’d thought he’d been playing with her, teasing her, wanting her to want him. It was working, but when he finally went in and kissed her, she was surprised that he would be so forceful. So surprised that she tried to pull away, but his hand was in her hair, on the back of her neck, and he pulled her toward him, refusing to let go, pressing his lips into hers.
Finally, she surrendered to the kiss, letting his tongue into her mouth. Heat coursed through her body and settled, pulsing, between her legs. Chad’s tongue was on hers, and the next moment he was pulling back, teasing her, sucking on her bottom lip before returning and claiming her mouth again.
She’d never been kissed like this – it was taking over her whole body, and she prayed he would pick her up, take her over to the bed and continue what he started.
He stood up and swung her bar stool around until she was facing him, then pushed himself in between her legs, his mouth never leaving hers. She could feel his hardness against her. He pulled her even closer, and now his hands were in her hair, on the back of her neck, on her shoulders. His mouth moved down, tracing kisses over her collarbone, soft and quick, a contradiction to the hard, deep kisses he’d just been giving her, and she shivered.
He pulled back and looked at her. She could see the want in his dark eyes, and she could tell he was enjoying how much she wanted him.
“Hi,” he said softly, and rubbed his finger over her cheek.
“Hi,” she said, struggling to keep her voice even, to not let him see the affect he was having on her.
He just stayed there, looking into her eyes for a few more seconds, like he was deciding what to do with her next. She shivered again.
“Cold?” he asked, and ran his hands up her bare shoulders.
She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak.
“Me neither,” he said. He leaned back down toward her, and she tilted her chin up, praying he would kiss her like he was kissing her before. But just as his lips grazed hers, there was a knock on the door.
“Room service,” Chad said. He kissed her again, softly on the lips, then took a step back. “I’ll be right back.”
Kenley bit back the groan that was in her throat, and tried to calm her beating heart. She couldn’t believe how easily Chad just moved away from her, walking confidently toward the door like he could take her or leave her.
“Hey, man,” she heard him tell the bellboy. “No need to bring the cart in, I got it.”
She watched as he pushed the food into the room. Her heart was still beating, and she took a couple of more deep breaths.
“So,” Chad said, stopping a few feet in front of her. “You hungry?”
She swallowed. She was hungry. But not for what he was talking about. Chad picked up the dome from one of the room service plates and popped a fry into his mouth.
“I’m sorry,” Kenley said, standing up. “I’m sorry, I just… I have to go.” She readjusted her clothes. Her heart was starting to return to its normal rate now and she was starting to feel a little panicked. What had she just been about to do?
“What?” Chad looked confused. “But we –”
“I’m sorry,” she said again, and rushed out of the room.
Chapter Four
Chad watched Kenley leave the room, every inch of him telling him to go after her. She seemed nervous or worried, like she was afraid something had been about to happen between them.
Which was understandable. Something had been about to happen between them.
That kiss! It had taken every ounce of his self-control to pull away from her. He still wasn’t sure how he’d done it. He’d never wanted someone so badly in his life.
Just let her go, he told himself. If she wanted to be here, she would have stayed.
And if she didn’t, then he didn’t want to be responsible for making her do something she was going to regret. She seemed like
a nice girl, a nice person, despite the fact that she was obviously messing with him about the whole Expera thing. He didn’t want to be responsible for causing her any kind of heartache, for sleeping with her just to prove to himself that he could, to mess with her just because she was messing with him. But still.
That kiss.
He looked at the hamburgers and fries on the tray in front of him, and realized he didn’t want to eat without Kenley. And before he could stop himself, he was out of the room, and rushing down the hall, determined to get her and bring her back.
She hadn’t gotten far – in fact, she wasn’t even at the elevator yet.
“Kenley!” he called, and she turned around. Her blonde hair was messed up from the kissing, and her cheeks were flushed. God, she was beautiful. He wanted to take her in his arms, to scoop her up and pull her close. They could lie in bed all night, they didn’t even have to do anything — he would just hold her if that’s what she wanted. He crossed the hall in a few long strides. “Hey,” he said when he got to her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” But she looked down at the carpet.
“Okay.” Now what? He didn’t know what to do. Usually women weren’t running away from him. And if they were, it was part of some game they were playing.
“Um, do you want to come back in?” he tried. “I mean, we got that food and everything.” He gave her a warm smile.
“I don’t think that would be the best idea,” she said. She looked up at him and pushed her hair back from her face.
“Why not?”
“Because.”
He waited for her to elaborate, but she didn’t say anything else, just stood there, staring at him with those big blue eyes. The urge to reach over and pull her close flowed through him again, but he held himself in check, because he knew right now touching her wouldn’t get him what he wanted. And what he wanted was to be back in bed with her.
He tried to clear his thoughts, to figure out what else to say, what he could do to get her to come back to the room. Finally, he decided it would be better to just go for the truth. Tell her that he knew she worked for Expera, and that he wasn’t expecting anything, that they could just talk, eat, hang out. It would take every fiber of strength not to try to get her clothes off, but he’d do it if it meant spending more time with her.
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK CLICK!
Before he could figure out exactly what to say, a clicking sound echoed through the hall. It was a sound he knew well, because for the past five years, he’d been trying to dodge it. A camera. A flash. A paparazzi.
He whirled around, looking for the offender, wondering how they’d gotten up to the penthouse when you needed a room key to use the elevators. It was probably some beefy looking guy from TMZ, or maybe a skinny, young twenty-something trying to break in to the business by getting a picture of the Brooklyn Heat’s first baseman.
But all he saw was that dumb kid from downstairs – the bartender. Which explained how he’d gotten up here – it probably wasn’t too hard for an employee to swipe a room key from somewhere. What a little fucker. If he’d wanted a picture, all he’d had to do was ask when Chad had been sitting at the bar.
“Hey,” Chad said, deciding to try to be friendly. You catch more bees with honey and all that bullshit. He moved toward the guy. “You want a picture with me, boss?”
“I’m not your boss,” the kid said, rolling his eyes. Then he tilted his head to the side, considering. “Although maybe I’m about to be.” He laughed uproariously then snapped another picture.
“What’s going on?” Kenley asked. She put her hand up to shield her eyes from the flash. This seemed to egg the bartender on, and he started snapping faster. He had one of those cameras that the real paparazzi had. Probably borrowed it from someone.
What a fucking tool.
“What’s your name?” Chad asked, struggling to keep his tone light.
“Louis,” the kid said. Which was completely stupid of him. He shouldn’t have offered his name up. Chad decided after all this was over, he was going to get him fired.
“Do you want an autograph, Louis?” Chad asked. “A picture with me for your facebook?” He gave the smile he used on people when he wanted something. It had about a ninety-nine percent success rate, and only failed when its intended victim was batshit crazy.
“Nope,” Louis said. He snapped another picture, then looked in the viewfinder, checking out his handiwork. “The Brooklyn Heat sucks ass.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” Chad said, his instinct being to defend his team no matter what the situation. “I mean, yeah, we’ve had our struggles, but it’s a building year.
Did you see that we just got Lawson from the Devil Rays?”
“Lawson sucks ass, too,” Louis reported. He was still looking at the pictures he’d taken on his camera. He shook his head sadly, then looked up at Kenley. “You’re not very photogenic,” he said.
“What’s going on?” Kenley asked again, taking a step forward. She reached out and grabbed the camera out of Louis’s hand.
He looked shocked, and then he grabbed it back. “That’s mine.”
“You took my picture,” she said, “without my permission.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “So give it me the camera or else I’m going to have to call my lawyer, you little shit.”
Chad was impressed. Obviously she’d never dealt with crazed fans or paparazzi before, because everyone knew that the first rule was not to engage them. But still. Just a minute before she’d seemed shy and nervous, like she needed him to protect her, and now here she was, willing to go head to head with this guy.
“Taking a picture of a public figure isn’t against the law,” Louis said.
“I’m not a public figure,” Kenley said, “and I’m calling the police.” She reached into her bag and pulled out her cell phone.
“No,” Louis said, “you’re not a public figure. But he is.”
Chad sighed, seeing where this was going. There was a time to play nice and a time to say fuck it. “Give it to me,” he said, and held his hand out for the camera. He made his voice sound menacing.
“No.” Louis shook his head and held the camera out of Chad’s reach. Chad just started, stunned. This was like something that would happen in seventh grade. And unfortunately, now he was going to have to kick this kid’s ass. Chad narrowed his eyes and started to reach for the camera, but before he could get it, Louis took off running down the hall. Chad raced after him, but even though he was faster, the kid had a head start, and the elevator doors closed before Chad could get there.
Shit. He thought about waiting for the next elevator, or maybe even rushing down the stairs and settling this in the lobby. But there would be people down there, an audience. And even if he could somehow get the camera back, someone else would take a picture of the altercation, or call in a tip to Page Six or something, which would defeat the whole purpose. Damn it.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, turning back to Kenley.
She was standing there, looking confused. “What did he mean?” she asked.
“About what?” He walked back down the hall toward her, still thinking about Louis. The manager – no, the owner — of the hotel was definitely going to be getting a call about this. And Chad was never staying here again.
“About you being a public figure,” Kenley said. “Are you really some kind of famous financial guy or something?”
Jesus, this chick had balls. Keeping up the charade even when the whole thing had been blown wide open. “Well, if we go back to my room, we can talk about it while we have our room service.” Now that he’d had a few minutes to calm down, to get his mind off how her skin felt, how her mouth had tasted when he was kissing her, he was able to be a little more charming.
“No.” She shook her head, and crossed her arms over her chest. Her blue eyes blazed. “Tell me now.”
He frowned. Either she was an amazing actress, or she really didn’t know. “You didn’t….Don’t you w
ork for Expera?”
“Expera?” She shook her head. “No.” A look of horror passed over her face.
“Wait, is that… are they some kind of escort service?”
“No,” he said. A feeling of dread was starting to blossom in his stomach.
“They’re not some kind of escort service. They’re a shoe company.”
She gave him a blank look. “You want to invest in shoes?”
“No, I don’t want to invest in shoes! You really don’t know what I’m talking about?”
She shook her head again.
“But you had a folder!” he said. “At the bar, you had an Expera folder.”
“That folder was just sitting there.” She shrugged. “The bartender found it and gave it to me.”
He closed his eyes. This was unbelievable. The whole time, she really hadn’t known who he was. And more importantly, she didn’t even work for Expera. What a colossal fucking mess.
“You better tell me what the hell is going on,” she said. Whatever had passed between them in his room, the softness she had, was gone. And now she was just angry.
So angry that Chad knew he had to be honest with her. He sighed. “I’m a baseball player,” he said. “I play for the Brooklyn Heat. I have a meeting here, tomorrow, with the executives at Expera about a possible endorsement deal.”
Her mouth dropped. “And you thought I worked there?”
“Yes,” he said, “but that wasn’t the reason I was trying to – “
“Get out of my way.”
“Kenley,” he said. “Please, don’t – “
But she pushed past him, storming angrily down the hall toward the elevators. He followed her. “Listen,” he said, “I thought you knew who I was! I thought it was just a game we were playing.”
“A game?” she repeated, and pushed the button for the elevator. “You sleep with me, and then what? I get a chance to have sex with a big football star? Fun fucking game!”
“Baseball.”
“What?”
“Baseball. The Brooklyn Heat is a baseball team.” Even as he was saying the words, he knew how completely ridiculous they sounded. Kenley stepped into the elevator. “Please, just come back to my room, let me explain.” He didn’t know what to say. He was completely out of his element, trying to convince a girl to stay. He had plenty of practice getting them to leave – but staying, that was something else altogether.