by Amber Page
He was right. Telling herself it was no different than letting a man see her in her swimsuit, she nodded.
“Fine. Can you help me …?” She motioned to the zipper that ran down the back of her dress. “I can’t reach.”
“I’d be happy to,” he growled.
She closed her eyes and breathed deep, trying to tell herself not to feel anything as his knuckles brushed against her skin. But as he slowly tugged the zipper down she felt herself trembling, her body flooding with heat. Who knew such a simple act could be so erotic?
At long last he unzipped the last teeth and her dress gaped open. She shimmied out of it and with a deep breath, turned to face him.
“Ta-dah!” she said, throwing in some jazz hands.
His eyes devoured her body, seeming to see right through the black velvet strapless bra and lacy thong that were all she was wearing. The hunger in his eyes when he returned his gaze to her face took her breath away.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, his voice barely more than a growl.
“Yes, but there are plenty of beautiful women in New York,” she said, still striving for nonchalance.
“Not as beautiful as you,” he said, moving toward her.
Jessie knew she should back up, or look away—or something. But her feet rooted her to the spot. She wanted him to touch her so very badly …
“How’s everything going in there?” Tina called—and just like that the moment passed.
Jessie threw the Spandex dress over her head. “Perfect,” she said as she pulled it down over her butt, not daring to look at Nick. “We’re going to rock this thing.”
“Well, let me see ‘em!” called Tina.
Jessie glanced up at Nick, who nodded, seemingly unruffled.
Throwing open the dressing room curtain, she said, “What do you think?”
Tina whistled. “Now, that’s the hottie I know. Want me to hold on to your dress-up clothes for you?”
“Absolutely,” Jessie said. “If you can put them in the backroom I’ll come get them tomorrow. Right now we’ve got a trip to the eighties to make.”
Nick couldn’t help but grin as he looked at the crowd around him. There were women with net shirts, satin gloves, and insanely teased hair. Men with acid wash jeans and neon muscle shirts. He even saw a few Mohawks.
“It’s like the eighties threw up in here,” he said, but Jessie didn’t hear him over the din of the retro dance tunes that blasted over the loudspeakers.
She seemed to be in her element. Everyone knew her, from the bouncer at the door to the DJ in the booth. She’d been trying to lead them to a table since the moment they’d stepped inside, but people stopped her every thirty seconds to say hello or give her a hug.
Nick was just beginning to wonder if she’d even notice if he left when she turned around and smiled apologetically. She stood on tiptoe so she could reach his ear and shouted, “Forget the table. I think we’d better just go dance.”
“Dance?”
“Yeah—you know. Out there—on that big flat thing with the strobe lights?”
“I don’t know …”
“I do. Now, come on,” she said, and proceeded to drag him by the hand out on to the dance floor.
Damn it. Ballroom dancing was one thing. But he hadn’t had much time for clubbing in recent years. He was more than a little rusty.
Before he could formulate an excuse they hit the center of the dance floor and Jessie started moving to the pounding beat.
Reluctantly, he started to shuffle and sway, trying his best to look interested without actually moving much.
Jessie rolled her eyes. “Come on, now. I know you’ve got more rhythm than that. You’re not even trying. Show me your moves, Casanova!”
Seeing the challenge in her eyes, he decided to go for broke. Roughly, he pulled her close, then set his hips working in a dirty dancing move he remembered from the eighties movies his nanny had liked to watch.
Her eyes gleamed as she picked up his rhythm, her hips rolling right along with his. Seeing her grin, he decided to push it a little farther, and before long her head was thrown back as she moved with a wild abandon that made him long to rip the neon green tube off her and work her body for real.
As if sensing his mood, she wriggled in close and hooked one leg around his hips, grinding against him in a move that was only one degree removed from sex.
His brain exploded with raw need as he kept the dance going, his breathing growing rough and broken. She looked up at him and he saw what he was feeling reflected in the deep blue of her eyes.
Taking things further would definitely be a bad idea, but he was feeling too turned on to care.
“Want to get out of here?” he asked.
She pulled back and stared for a moment, as if trying to figure out what he meant by that. He pushed his hard length against her and she gasped.
“Yes,” she said, “I most certainly do. But …”
“Don’t think about it,” he said. “Let’s just—”
Suddenly a spotlight clicked into life right over their heads.
“Let’s hear it for tonight’s dirtiest dancers—Jessie and her new man. I’ve seen Jessie doing a lot of different moves, but none this hot!”
Jessie looked as shocked as he felt, but relaxed when she heard the friendly cheers from the crowd echoing around her. Laughing, she held her middle finger up to the man in the DJ booth. “Thanks a lot, Derek.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” the voice boomed. “And since no one can possibly hope to beat your moves, it’s time to bring on the night’s next entertainment … karaoke, eighties-style!”
With his announcement, the glittery curtains at the end of the room were pulled back to reveal a small stage, with three microphones and a karaoke screen.
“Jessie, will you do us the honor of going first?”
Jessie held out her hands in front of her as she shook her head. “No way. I’m not here to sing tonight.”
“Aw, come on. Ladies and gentlemen—help me convince Jessie to give it a try!”
Soon a chant of, “Jessie! Jessie! Jessie!” filled the small club.
She looked at him, her expression a mix of embarrassment and eagerness. “Do you mind?” she asked. “It’s kind of what I’m known for around here.”
Feeling equal parts fascinated and disappointed by the sudden turn of events, he shook his head. “Go ahead. I can’t wait to see what you do.”
“Thanks,” she said, and kissed him on the cheek.
Then she made her way toward the DJ’s booth as the crowd roared with approval. Nick left the dance floor and headed for a table at the corner of the stage. When a cocktail waitress appeared, he asked for two beers and two doubles of whiskey. He was certainly thirsty, and he was sure Jessie would be too when she was done on stage.
Then he sat back to watch.
Jessie had left the DJ’s booth and was now moving things around on the stage. A few seconds later the lights went down and Jessie was bathed in the pink glow of a single spotlight. Her head was bent, her long red locks hiding her face. When the first chords of an eighties anthem sounded she threw her hair back, a look of wanton desire on her face.
She launched into the lyrics, her smoky soprano voice and writhing dance moves giving new life to the tired words. When she got to the chorus she went down on her knees and crawled across the stage, still singing as she headed for his corner. The crowd went wild, egging her on, and then she was crawling onto Nick’s lap, making love to the microphone all the while.
By the time the song ended she was straddling him, and it was all he could do not to pick her up and carry her to some dark corner where he could peel her clothes off. Finally it was over, and the spotlight left her in the dark.
“And that’s the way we do karaoke here, folks! Anybody want to challenge the unbeatable Jessie?” the DJ called.
The crowd surged toward the stage as Jessie and Nick stared at each other. He felt paralyzed with want, wi
th every fiber of his being begging him to kiss her. But before he could move she swooped down and claimed his lips with her own.
There was nothing soft or unsure about her kiss. It was hard, and demanding, and raw with need. He answered in kind, threading his hand through her red mane and pulling her even closer as his tongue teased her lips open. She groaned as she gave way, and soon their tongues battled for control. He plunged deeper and deeper into the warm cavern of her mouth, suddenly desperate to have as much of her as he could manage.
If only they were somewhere a little more private …
As if sensing his thoughts, she broke away, her body shaking.
“Take me home. Now.”
“I thought you’d never ask.” Grabbing his phone, he sent a quick text to his driver, and was pleased when he got an immediate response. “We’ve got five minutes to get ourselves to the front door.”
She didn’t need to be told twice. Quickly, she slid off his lap and led him into the dark shadows on the fringes of the club.
“Let’s go this way. That way no one will stop us,” she said, guiding him out through a fire door.
“Won’t the alarm …?”
“Don’t worry. It’s disabled.”
He nodded, letting out a groan of relief when the cool night air hit his overheated skin. “That feels amazing.”
She kissed him again. “No, you feel amazing. Let’s go grab our taxi before someone else steals it.”
“Oh, we don’t have to take a taxi. I called Bob.”
“Bob?”
“My driver,” he said.
“Oh …” she replied, a frown wrinkling her brow.
“Is something the matter?”
“What? No. Of course not.”
Jessie let Nick lead her to the limo waiting in front of the club.
“Hi, Bob,” he said to the uniformed man holding the door open.
“Hi, yourself. Where are you two headed?”
Nick motioned for her to slide in. “My place.”
The driver nodded. “Very well,” he said, slamming the door shut before going to take his place behind the wheel.
Jessie shivered—and only partly from the cold. Now that they were out of the club and back in Nick’s world she couldn’t stop thinking that this—that they—were all wrong.
She wasn’t afraid to have casual sex with someone she was attracted to, but sleeping with Nick would be a mistake.
After all, just a few hours ago he had reminded her that he wouldn’t hesitate to crush her agency if he got the chance. Giving in to whatever this was between them would only make their real lives more difficult.
Leaning forward, she knocked on the glass that separated them from the driver.
He slid it open. “Yes?”
“Actually, Bob, I’d like you to take me home. Do you remember where that is?”
“Of course, miss. I couldn’t forget that pink brownstone of yours if I tried.”
“Thanks, Bob,” she said, then turned to look at Nick.
“I can’t do this.”
“Oh, come on, Jessie,” he said, leaning over to trail kisses on her neck. “You know you want to. Come home with me. I promise you won’t regret it.”
She gasped as his lips brushed the pulse-point at the base of her throat, sending a spike of desire straight into her gut. Maybe he was right. There was no reason this had to be any different than any other late-night hookup.
But then she remembered who he was.
Groaning, she pulled away.
“No. It’s a bad idea. I have to go home.”
He reached for her hand, frowning when she pulled it away. “Why the change of heart?”
“You’re Nicholas Thornton—second in command at of one of the biggest ad agencies in the world. And I’m Jessie—owner of the digital upstart that stole a big chunk of your business. I can’t sleep with you now, knowing I’ll be seeing you in the boardroom in a few days. And that you’ll be trying to ruin me when we’re there.”
Nick shook his head. “You are not Roar. I don’t want to ruin you.”
“It doesn’t matter. The end result is the same.”
Nick’s cocky smile was back. “I know an easy way to fix the problem. Just tell Phyllis that you don’t think Roar is capable of handling the launch alone.”
Jessie threw her hands up in the air. “And now we’re back to that. Bob, why don’t you just let me out here?”
“Nonsense, miss. We’ll see you home. My mother would have my hide if I let a woman like you walk home alone.”
“He’s right,” Nick said. “There’s no way you’re getting out of this car. We’ll take you home.”
She sighed. “Fine. Have it your way.”
The rest of the ride passed in awkward silence. Jessie spent the time silently listing all the reasons why having sex with Nick was a bad idea and trying not to inhale the spicy deliciousness that was his scent. Finally the limo slowed and the driver got out.
“Thank you for a wonderful evening,” she said.
“You’re sure you won’t change your mind?”
She squeezed his hand. “I’m sure.”
He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the sensitive skin on her inner wrist. “And I am sure that there will soon come a night when you will.”
She laughed to cover up the hunger his kisses awoke in her. “Don’t count on it.”
The car door opened and Bob stood waiting.
“Too late. I already am,” said Nick as she slid out into the cool night air.
Unable to think of an appropriate reply, she shook her head and fled up the steps to her house. She couldn’t help but notice that the limo stayed until the door was closed firmly behind her. Nick might be dangerous, but he was still a gentleman.
“What a night,” she said to herself as she kicked off her shoes and headed up the old wooden staircase to her apartment.
“Whoa, that’s not what you were wearing when you left,” her sister said when she flopped down on the couch next to her.
“No, it’s definitely not. We stopped in at Tina’s.”
Gloria pulled a confused face. “How do you start at a charity ball and end up at Tina’s Thrift Shop?”
“I wanted to take him dancing at Happy Hour.”
“Okay, that makes sense. Not. You’d better start at the beginning.”
Jessie sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted. “Not until I have a glass of wine in my hand.”
“Red, white or bubbles?” her sister asked as she padded into the kitchen that opened off the living room.
“Red.”
Jessie heard the reassuring gurgle of wine being poured into a glass.
“Uh-oh. That means it ended badly. I was hoping for bubbles.”
“Not badly. Just realistically. Which is kind of the same thing in this case.”
“Okay,” Gloria said as she brought their wine glasses over. “Let’s start at the beginning. Was he Prince Charming or the evil stepbrother?”
Jessie took a slow sip before answering. “Charming.”
“Is he a suit or a player?”
“Neither.”
“Can he dance?”
An image of his rolling hips slid through her mind.
“Yes.”
“Did he make you laugh?”
“Yes.”
“You kissed, didn’t you?”
Jessie sighed. “Oh, yes.”
Gloria put her hand up for a high-five. “You’re shameless—you know that?”
Jessie could feel the smirk that turned up the corners of her lips. “What? It’s not like I slept with him.”
Gloria took a slow sip of her wine. “What stopped you?”
“You mean apart from the fact that he runs the agency whose biggest account we just stole?”
“Yes, apart from that. A couple of years ago that wouldn’t have stopped you.”
Jessie shrugged. “Nick lives in a different world. He’s filthy rich and he’s lived his entire life
around other filthy rich people. It’s almost obscene, the way those people throw around money.”
“Since when do you have an objection to being rich? I thought that was where we were trying to get with Roar.”
“I wouldn’t mind being rich. But I do mind being looked down upon because I’m not already.”
“Was he doing that?”
“No,” Jessie said, struggling to find a way to put what she was feeling into words. “Actually, he was wonderfully normal. I can’t remember the last time I had that much fun with a guy. If he was someone else I would have totally gone for it.”
Gloria gave her a pitying look. “I know what your problem is.”
“So do I. He’s the guy that wants to crush my agency. ‘Like a bug,’ he said.”
Gloria waved her hand carelessly. “Which is why the fact that you might actually feel something for this guy scares you.”
Jessie snorted. “Trust me. That’s not the problem.”
“Yes, it is. At least part of it. Somehow this one’s gotten under your skin.”
Jessie choked on her wine. “That’s ridiculous. You know as well as I do that love just isn’t in the cards for me.”
“That’s what you keep saying, sis,” Gloria answered, rolling her eyes. “But I don’t know why.”
“You saw what happened to Dad. That was all the proof I ever needed that love isn’t worth it. I never want to be that dependent on someone.”
Gloria’s eyes softened. “It doesn’t always end that way.”
“I know.”
But it didn’t matter. She’d seen the way her father had wasted away after her mother died. Nothing had mattered to him anymore—not even the two teenage daughters who’d needed him so much. It had taken him six months to have the heart attack that killed him, but he’d been as good as dead the moment they’d put his wife—their mother—in the ground.
She never wanted to know what that felt like.
“Listen. It’s late, and this conversation has gotten altogether too deep. I’m going to head off to bed, okay?”
Gloria nodded. “Sweet dreams.”
Jessie nodded back and shuffled off. But even as she put on her favorite flannel pajamas and snuggled deep under the covers she knew sleep would be a long time coming.
Her brain was determined to replay the night—and her conversation with Gloria. In her heart of hearts she was afraid Gloria was right. Nick hadn’t gotten to her yet, but there was a chance that he might. And even if it wasn’t for their business situation that would never do.