The second one went down just as easily as the first. Without another word, the bartender set a third drink on the bar and hustled off to help another customer. Jessa took the opportunity to grab a second look at him. He had blue eyes, tousled blonde hair with a touch of curl and a beautifully proportioned body. The guy was kind of hot. Not that it should matter, not that it did. Jessa wasn’t in the market for another man. She wasn’t even certain she was sorry she’d been dumped by the first one.
The colors around her swirled, glistening as her vision first hazed and then became sharper. The room noise began to blur and the first pangs of a good buzz slipped down her spine. More people entered the bar. The music seemed loud, but wasn’t. It took a moment for Jessa to realize that the pounding in her ears was the sound of blood pumping through her veins.
Safely tucked into a corner of the bar, she secretly reveled in the opportunity to observe everyone else. They looked comfortable, like regulars of some sort. Most were locked into the age-old dance of courting. They teased and flirted as if they had nothing else to do with their lives.
Several couples garnered immediate attention, one in particular. They were bolder than the rest and had managed to find an out-of-the-way corner. The woman was beautiful, her lithe body athletic with taut young breasts and a rounded backside. The guy seemed to appreciate it. His hands reached around to squeeze the globes of her ass, earning a gasping giggle. She nibbled her way up his neck, breathing in his ear and whispering something. Maybe an invitation?
They moved farther into the corner. Jessa shifted on her barstool, her eyes straining to follow every move. He transferred the girl from his bulging biceps onto one of the tables. Big hands settled on her thighs. Their lips molded together. His hands slid her miniskirt out of the way.
Heat flushed Jessa’s body from every pore. Bright red patches bloomed on her cheeks before creeping down her neck. She tried to turn her head and found she could not. Her eyes were glued to the scene, to the sight of his hands on the woman’s flesh as they slid closer and closer to the apex of her thighs.
The strap of the woman’s camisole top slid down. A shoulder and half her right breast slipped into view. One rose colored nipple peaked beneath the Lycra material before pushing its way into the open. The man’s mouth closed around the taut bud. His tongue slid lovingly over its delicately textured surface. Jessa’s own nipples beaded into hard little points beneath her silk blouse. The woman gasped again and Jessa inhaled sharply. Hot arousal pooled in Jessa’s belly as the woman’s hands fumbled with the man’s zipper and released his hard cock.
Jessa clenched her teeth to stifle a cry as the man spread his lover’s legs and positioned himself at her entrance. Was no one going to stop this display? How could these people fling propriety to the winds and fornicate in public?
A soft cry reached Jessa’s ears as the man buried his cock to the hilt in the woman’s body. Even from across the room their mutual tension was visible in their beaded sweat and facial expressions. The table squeaked, blatantly thumping against a tall column with each stroke. A low hum grew louder as the man gave voice to the intense pleasure of the joining.
Seconds later, the woman’s high pants joined his low baritone and the tension shifted. Awed, Jessa could only stare in rapt fascination as the man gave three final thrusts. Each brutal assault earned a broken cry from his lover’s lips until the woman wrapped her legs around his waist and flung herself back in what could only be the abandonment of climax.
He groaned, one hand braced against the table, no doubt pouring his seed into his lover’s welcoming body. The primal act sent chills racing down Jessa’s spine. Had she ever once seen such a display of basic instinct?
No. In that moment, Jessa’s third-party involvement had been far more consuming than any participation ever had been.
Jessa’s cheeks flamed crimson with embarrassment. The sense of epiphany was replaced almost instantly with total embarrassment. Was she the only once to notice the scene playing out in the dark corner? A furtive glance around didn’t reveal anybody else paying attention. But a lump settled in the pit of her stomach when her eyes locked with the doorman’s.
He knew. His blatant, sexy as hell stare said as much. The effect of that knowledge was devastating. Jessa’s body was already heavy with need from watching the couple screwing in the shadows. Her nipples were painfully hard beneath her shirt. An empty sensation radiated from between her legs and her own juices were soaking the sensible scrap of white cotton between her legs. She was fighting a completely inappropriate desire to slip her hand between her thighs and find relief in a swift orgasm. And he knew it.
His big body was tense. Corded muscle rippled beneath soft caramel toned skin. A massive erection strained against the soft black material of his pants. Sweat beaded on his full upper lip. As if reading her thoughts, he pulled his lip into his mouth, sucking off the moisture. Jessa’s pussy clenched tightly and the primal urge to mate became almost too much to bear.
His gaze never wavered. Eyes blacker than a night in hell held hers until she was certain some kind of electromagnetic energy flowed between them.
“You’ve still got a drink there in front of you.”
Forcing a bright smile to her face, Jessa tried to remember that she was not a common whore out for a night on the town.
“I’m sorry,” she cleared her throat and forcefully reined in her lusty thoughts. “I was just taking a break. I didn’t want to fall asleep right here at the bar.”
He laughed. “I’m Alex Dalesio, by the way. Don’t worry about falling asleep. I’ll keep an eye out for you and wake you before the night is through.”
Alex grabbed a couple of draft beers for another customer and then headed back in her direction. It was almost as if he were hitting on her. The thought was flattering.
“You’re busy awfully early tonight, even for a Friday,” Jessa commented, looking around.
He jerked his head toward a help-wanted sign on the mirror behind the bar. “We’re shorthanded.”
“I need a job.” The words were out before she could rethink the urge to say them.
“Seriously?”
Jessa nodded.
“You ever wait tables before?”
“In a bar? No.”
He looked disappointed.
“In a restaurant with a bar? Yes.”
“You’re hired.”
She blinked in semi drunken surprise. “Don’t you have to ask your boss or something first?”
Alex shrugged. “Connor!”
The world slowed to a crawl as Jessa watched the doorman turn around. He glanced at her for several seconds before heading in their direction.
“What’s up?” His deep voice rolled like distant thunder.
“I hired a waitress.”
“Really.”
Not a statement. Not a question. Connor’s eyes roved over Jessa as if he were removing every stitch of clothing from her body. Her skin heated, tingled, and then caught fire. Creamy juice instantly flooded Jessa’s crotch and she practically panted with sexual frustration she hadn’t realized she possessed.
“Yeah,” Alex turned to Jessa. “Sorry…I didn’t catch your name.”
“Jessa,” Connor said before she could stammer an answer.
The name dripped off his tongue as it had before. He couldn’t have gotten more of a visceral reaction from her if he’d reached down and fingered her vagina right there in front of Alex. Jessa wanted him to yank her panties to her knees, throw her against the bar and fuck her senseless.
A wave of mortification hit her hard. What had happened to sweet Jessa Kincaid? In one afternoon she’d shopped at a porn store, drunk car bombs in a dirty bar in the middle of the afternoon, watched a lewd display of public indecency, and now she was lusting after a dangerous-looking man she didn’t know. If looks portrayed anything, he was probably nothing more than a common thug.
“All right, Connor?” Alex prodded.
Connor’s e
yes roved over her body again, lingering over hips and breasts. “S’okay with me. Start tomorrow; we open up around noon.”
Jessa managed to nod her head, but nothing more. She practically melted into a puddle on the floor before Connor swung his big body around and gracefully headed back to his post.
What kind of man was he? Never in her life had she met someone so utterly confident. Jessa hadn’t known that earthbound males were born with that kind of charisma. It was as if Connor were some otherworldly entity. A fallen angel, perhaps?
“He takes some getting used to,” Alex offered. “But he’s a great friend, and a good boss.”
“Sure,” she managed hoarsely.
“Plus, he’s intimidating as hell at the door.”
“So, he’s the…owner?”
“Yep.”
Jessa blinked several times in quick succession, trying to come up with another question to keep Alex talking about Connor. Common thugs didn’t typically masquerade as small business owners. It made for an intriguing combination.
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll be in good hands with us, Jessa.”
Her fuzzy mind concocted all sorts of meanings for that particular promise.
Alex sat a tall mug of Guinness down on the bar. “Now, let’s see if you can drink it solo.”
“You are trying to get me drunk, aren’t you?”
“Nah, I’ve just got to see what my waitress is made of.”
“Right.”
The mug was cool against her warm hands. She inhaled the earthy essence of the Guinness and pondered the merits of forgetting all her troubles for at least one evening. It wasn’t as if Will were spending his evening lamenting the change in their marital status. Why should she?
* * *
The smooth surface of the mahogany bar was cool beneath Jessa’s cheek. Her head felt strangely light, as if gravity had been momentarily shut off. A few experimental blinks proved Jessa still had eyes. But the soft interior lighting seemed harsh after the pitch black of her eyelids. The music had wound down to a lazy country western tune about guys who leave their wives. It was disgustingly apropos. Perhaps that was when you knew you had hit rock bottom, when your life could be summed up in one cheesy western ballad.
The whisk of a terry cloth bar towel alerted Jessa to Alex’s presence a few feet away. The drone of the jukebox drowned out any other bar noise. Peanuts mingled with the scent of beer and cigarette smoke. All were underscored by something strangely familiar.
Both invigorating and seductive, it was vaguely enticing to her addled senses. Wood smoke, sandalwood, cinnamon spice, whiskey and something so intensely male that it sent a quick shot of adrenaline into her sluggish bloodstream.
“Welcome back.”
Violently aware that the voice did not belong to Alex, Jessa rose quickly. Her head popped up from the bar like a jack in the box. She was immediately sorry, so sorry. Her vision swam while her stomach simultaneously lurched up and down.
“Easy there. Move around too quickly and I’ll be mopping the floor again.”
Swallowing the bitter taste in her mouth, Jessa forced her bleary eyes to focus on Connor. He’d draped a bar towel casually over one shoulder. One big hand used a damp corner of the towel to wipe out the inside of a shot glass.
Even in her semi-lethargic state Jessa noted how his hands dwarfed the tiny glass. He handled it carefully, expertly, light dancing off the beveled edges and casting strange patterns on the muted blue of his shirt.
“Alex?” Her voice was rough.
Connor wordlessly flipped a clean beer mug upright and filled it with cool water. He deftly placed it before Jessa and nodded that she should drink.
The heat from Connor’s hands lingered on the smooth surface of the glass. It seeped into Jessa’s hands and sent shimmering waves dancing through her body. Cool water slid over her tongue. Though it washed away the thick furriness in her mouth, it did nothing to quell the strange urges Connor’s nearness instigated.
“Where’s Alex?” Jessa asked softly when she could trust her voice not to betray her unruly thoughts.
Obviously a man of few words, Connor jerked his chin toward the back of the dim room. His black eyes never left Jessa’s body. It was as if he were anticipating her reaction to what she was about to see. As if he knew he was enticing her to the edge.
Unable to resist, she followed his gesture, eyes taking a moment to adjust to the low lighting. What she saw made her womb clench and her nerves catch fire. Blood rushed to her vagina, plumping her pussy lips and calling forth a rush of sweet cream that left her aching for something she couldn’t name.
Every prim and proper bone inside Jessa’s body was demanding she turn on her heel and leave. But it wasn’t possible.
Alex’s shirt lay pooled on the floor beneath what appeared to be a lacy satin camisole top and black miniskirt. Just beyond that, Alex and the lady in question were locked together in the ageless ritual of hot, sweaty sex.
It occurred to Jessa that no lady would’ve been caught dead in such a compromising position. If ladies engaged in sex, they did so in a private bedroom setting with their husbands. And they never let themselves get so…carried away.
Further reflection suggested that might be why so many marriages failed. Ladylike sex had never been all that satisfying. What was happening between Alex and his lover looked like a whole other activity. And neither of them was in danger of walking away unsatisfied.
Alex had his gorgeous partner bent over a bar table before him. Her naked breasts were smashed against the cool surface and her face showed nothing but complete exhilaration. The arch of her back lifted the smooth curve of her bare ass. Alex stood behind her, slamming his cock into her as if nothing else in the world mattered. His hands shifted from the flare of her hips. One palm stroked her backside before tweaking the thong Jessa could now see he held at bay with one hooked thumb. He leaned over and murmured something low into her ear. She arched harder and his name was mingled with a deep moan torn from her throat. Whatever he’d said was what she wanted to hear.
Did Jessa even have words like that in her vocabulary? What would it be like to hear the rasp of a hot, sweaty man’s voice in her ear while he brought her such uninhibited pleasure?
Jessa gradually became aware of Connor’s searing black gaze. It was intensely sexual and fused with his personal brand of wild desire. She shifted her gaze away from the fornicating couple and focused on the bar.
A suffocating wave of guilt crashed over Jessa. She forced her brain to concentrate on the intricate grain of the wood. But it was torture to pretend not to hear the guttural groans and primal wailing coming from the lovers across the room.
“It’s okay to watch.” Connor’s voice rasped across her conscience. “If they didn’t want to be watched, they’d have gone to the back room.”
The mere idea that the pair of lovers didn’t want privacy for their interlude was equal parts shocking and intriguing.
Jessa lifted her gaze to meet his onyx stare. Her skin temperature soared out of control. Blood pumped furiously to her extremities before focusing intensely on the already heavy ache between her legs. The sensual heat in her crotch was fueled by another rush of creamy juice. She’d never been this turned on before, never.
“What kind of place is this?” Jessa managed to whisper.
He set aside the shot glass and towel. Placing his huge hands flat on the bar, Connor leaned forward until his face was only inches from Jessa’s. He exhaled slowly. Sweet peppermint breath whispered over her. Jessa couldn’t help but notice the finely arched eyebrows and the perfect bow in his upper lip. His eyes were the color of moonless midnight.
When he finally spoke, his breath bathed her face and chest with warmth and Jessa found it hard not to writhe against the bar and beg him to make her his then and there.
“It’s the kind of place you belong.” He quirked an eyebrow, “Even if you can’t admit it yet.”
Chapter Four
&nbs
p; Connor was awakened at the ungodly hour of ten a.m. by one of Alex’s favorite songs playing loudly on the sound system in the bar below his apartment. He spent an additional ten minutes trying to muffle the sound with a pillow before emitting a low growl and sitting up.
The tiny bedroom was barely big enough to accommodate the queen-sized bed, a nightstand, and dresser. The bedroom, a small attached bathroom, and the kitchen/living room made up his 750 sq. ft. apartment. The fact that his living space was located above the bar made it convenient. And in Connor’s book, convenience took precedence over comfort any day.
Connor swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He stretched his six-and-a-half-foot frame until his back popped in protest and the tension knotting his spine slowly began to ease.
“Another day, another dollar,” he murmured.
But then, this was not just another day. This day would be different.
“Jessa.”
The feel of her name crossing his lips brought on another kind of tension entirely. The blood rushed to his groin and his cock began to thicken and swell.
Bringing his thoughts forcefully under control, Connor dropped to the floor and immersed himself in his morning routine of pushups, crunches, and stretches. The short but sometimes brutal habit kept his body honed. His job kept his reflexes in order. He had no time for distractions. An occasional fuck, absolutely. Someone like Jessa? Too much involvement.
But no matter how hard he pushed himself physically, he could not get the picture of her out of his mind. From the straight mass of silken honey-colored hair to her hooded greenish-brown gaze, she’d demanded his attention without even trying.
Even almost ten hours later, he could remember the exact shape of her delectable breasts and the soft flare of her ample hips. To a man who’d spent too much time around women who looked as if he could break them in two with his bare hands, her classic build was manna from heaven or temptation from hell. Take your pick.
Phoenix Rising Page 3