She was home.
After only the slightest pause, he felt her respond, coming to life in his arms as her lips met his, moving against him and matching his intensity as they clung to one another. When he slipped his tongue between her silky lips, she parted for him, tilting her head to give him better access. She tasted like heaven, sweet and warm. Her tongue met his and Jack lost all sense of time and place as his universe all came down to that contact of his lips on hers, their tongues tangling.
When she reached out for him, her arms circling his neck, pulling him closer, he groaned softly. This was everything he’d wanted from the moment she’d stepped foot in his bar. Her in his arms. This connection, solid and real.
He moved his hands down so they were circling her waist and tugged her closer, so she was pressed against him. Holy hell, she felt amazing. Her lithe body was warm and soft against his. She made a soft whimpering noise as she pressed against him even closer.
It was the sound of her desire that cut to his heart and brought him back to reality.
Gently, he pulled away. Not far, just enough so he could gather his senses. He leaned his forehead against hers and they both struggled for air. It took every ounce of strength he had to keep himself from reaching out for her again.
But he couldn’t. Not now. Not like this.
What kind of hypocrite would he be if he took advantage of her while she was vulnerable? Worse, what kind of man would he be if he let this go any further without being honest with her?
Hardening his resolve and swallowing down a groan of misery at the thought of what he had to do, he pulled back the rest of the way so they were no longer touching. She blinked up at him, her eyes glazed over with desire. Christ, this was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do.
Reaching out, he stroked back a lock of hair that had fallen into her eyes. “I want…” He had to clear his throat and start again. He wanted her. But not tonight, not like this. “I want to take this slow,” he said.
She stared blankly for a minute before falling back against the couch cushions with a sigh that echoed his own frustration.
“It’s not that I don’t want—” he started, but she cut him off with a shake of her head.
He saw the telltale color coming into his cheeks and wanted to kick himself. Shit, he hadn’t meant to embarrass her. He was trying to do the right thing here.
“I should, uh…” She started moving away from him, getting ready to bolt.
He reached out a hand and grabbed hers, trying to ignore the fireworks that simple touch set off. “Don’t go. Not yet.”
She glanced over, her eyes wide with surprise, and he hurried on. “I want this. More than anything in the world, I want to keep kissing you.”
The color in her cheeks grew darker and her eyes darted away from his before coming back and meeting his gaze.
“I just want this to be right,” he said. “When I kiss you next, I want it to be you and me. No memories of boyfriends past, no secrets between us, no confusion over what’s going on.”
Her eyes widened even further at that and he realized just how intense he sounded. But he couldn’t help it, dammit. He liked her. For the first time in forever, he’d found an honest to God, genuine connection. It was everything he’d been looking for—the exact opposite of what he’d had with his ex.
“I want to take you out on a date,” he said suddenly. “Tomorrow night. You and me. A real date.”
He heard her quick inhale and for a moment he was afraid she’d say no outright. He knew she wasn’t excited about the idea of dating again, but she had to feel this too. He let out a pent up breath of air when she said, “I have to work tomorrow night.”
Right. He should have remembered that. “The next night.” He didn’t phrase it as a question but he waited in tense silence before she finally gave him a quick, short nod. “The next night,” she repeated.
Happiness shot through him like a flame and he pulled her into his arms without thinking. Not to kiss, this time, but to hold her against his side. After a second of remaining tense, she let herself relax against his side, her head resting against his chest.
“What secrets?” Her soft question threw him off guard. “You said, not when there are secrets between us,” she reminded him. “What secrets?”
Crap, why had he mentioned secrets? Now was not the time. He would explain everything on their date.
He shrugged, wrapping a protective arm around her and holding her close. “I just meant, we don’t know everything about each other yet. I want you to know me better before…” His voice trailed off. Before what? They slept together? She decided if she liked him? He didn’t know what he meant himself so he let it hang out there unfinished. All he knew was that he would be the jerk of the century if he treated her like every other guy in her life and took advantage of her innocence. Or, in this sense, her ignorance.
She twisted in his arms so she was looking up at him and the temptation to lean over and kiss her again was almost too much to hold out against.
Her eyes were narrowed slightly. “What don’t I know about you?”
He let out a soft laugh at her persistence. Not now. Not when they were drunk and sleepy and fighting an epic battle with desire. So instead of answering seriously, he let out a loud sigh as if he was surrendering. “You caught me. Here’s what you don’t know…..”
She raised her brows in question as he paused for dramatic effect.
“I’m a notorious Costco Casanova.”
She gave a little snort of laughter that made her nose wrinkle up in an adorable grin.
“I’m serious. It’s my M.O. Ask any of my friends. I woo all the ladies by taking them to Costco….one look at those oversized portions and they’re putty in my hands.”
She let her head drop against his chest again as she laughed. “I guess I’m just another victim then. God, I feel so used.”
He grinned down at the top of her head before dropping a light kiss on her hair. His body still ached for more, so much more, but he made himself focus on their date. He had two days to prepare to sweep his dream woman off her feet.
Game on.
Chapter Four
Later that night, Tabitha tossed and turned in bed, trying desperately to fall asleep and stop replaying the night and that kiss. That kiss.
There was no turning it off. The memory played in a loop, tormenting her. She couldn’t remember a kiss that had affected her so deeply. The chemistry was through the roof, but it had been more than that. It had felt like coming home. Like after years of being at sea, she’d found her port in the storm.
She shook her head as she stared at the ceiling. That was ridiculous. She was being melodramatic. But there was no denying the sensations that his kiss had given her…even if they were extreme.
If she was being honest with herself, it wasn’t just the kiss that had knocked her off her feet. It was his words earlier too. The way he’d spoken about her dream man. About finding someone deserving, someone who treated her right.
Had he been speaking about himself?
She threw a pillow over her face and groaned. Did it matter? He could consider himself the Queen of Sheba and it wouldn’t change the fact that he was exactly the type of guy she’d sworn to avoid. And now she was kind of working with the guy, temporarily living with him, and had just spent one of the best days she could remember with him, laughing and flirting like they were on a date.
She’d had one vow—one! And she was failing miserably.
Glancing at her nightstand clock, she cursed out loud. It was too late to call Elise or Katerina and what she really needed was some good, solid advice from the two people who knew her best.
Although, she knew them well enough to be able to guess what they’d say. Elise would probably tell her to go for it. She’d say that he wasn’t like all the others. She’d point out how thoughtful he’d been, how sweet and charming. She’d probably tell her to give him a chance, see where things went.
&nb
sp; Katerina, on the other hand, she’d be sensible. She’d weigh the pros and cons. Pro? He’d already proven himself more reliable than Will financially, at least—he had come through on his promise to pay for the room upfront, after all. Con? She didn’t know him very well. He’d said it himself, there were things she didn’t know about him. But, then again, he was the one who’d pointed that out. He was the one who’d slowed things down so they could get to know each other.
Tabitha stared up at the ceiling in shock as she realized that both of her friends would probably give her the thumbs up to go on this date.
Which was good, since she’d already said yes.
Clasping her hands together in front of her chest, she said a silent prayer that she wasn’t making the biggest mistake of her life.
She woke the next morning feeling unrested but much more sure of her decision. It was just a date, and he’d promised to take things slow.
He was out of the apartment when she woke and aside from a texted offer to drive her to her catering gig that night—which she declined—she didn’t hear from him. Which was for the best, most likely. He was giving her some space and it was appreciated.
Except that she kind of missed having him around. He managed to make everything more fun.
But perspective was key, she reminded herself as she hopped into the car with the other staff who were carpooling to the Upper East Side Halloween shindig. She would be pleasantly distracted by work all night tonight and by the time their date rolled around tomorrow, she’d be firmly in control of her emotions….and her hormones. A girl could hope, at least.
The uptown apartment building was the epitome of opulence and one of the waiters let out a low whistle that echoed off the marble walls of the foyer. A doorman took one look at their uniforms and the trays they were carrying and nodded toward the service elevator.
The next hour was a blur of preparation and soon enough the party was underway.
“Dude, I swear to God, some of those costumes cost more than my rent this month,” one of the other servers said to her as she was about to head through the swinging doors to the main room where the partygoers were gathered.
For Tabitha, the funniest part about catering gigs was how she instantly turned invisible. Whether it was a down-home backyard barbecue or a swanky party on the Upper East Side, that was the one common denominator. And she liked it that way. It was kind of nice to be invisible in a crowd, especially on a night like tonight when her mind was elsewhere. Namely, trying not to obsess over a certain temporary roommate or the kiss that they’d shared. She weaved through the crowd with a tray poised at her shoulder and let herself revel in the anonymous, mindless task.
Maybe that was why she was so ridiculously aware of eyes on her when she turned a corner, heading back to the kitchen to refill her tray. Someone was watching her. She swung around quickly and saw someone with a gorilla mask standing there and sure enough—he was staring. Then, in an instant, the gorilla turned around as if to head in the opposite direction, but was stopped by a small group clustered in the doorway.
Weird. She knew she hadn’t been imagining the feeling of being watched. She was about to turn around and continue heading to the kitchen but her eyes were caught by a flash of red.
It was the gorilla’s shoes.
Her heart picked up its pace as she slowly neared the gorilla who was still trying to edge past the crowd. It couldn’t be….
But when she was directly behind it, she saw them—the little ink doodles that lined the shoes. Jack’s shoes.
She gasped loudly enough that the gorilla turned to face her. What the hell was he doing? Questions raced through her brain but more than anything, she had the urgent need to get him out of there.
Grabbing him by the arm, she pulled him back toward the kitchen, where no other partygoers were around. “What are you doing here?”
But of course, it was obvious. He was crashing the party. “How did you know the address?” she asked as she watched him wiggle out of the head mask.
She was tempted to shove it back on his head. What if the hostess came over and saw some strange grunge kid hanging out with the catering staff? She would be in so much trouble. Sneaking friends in to swanky parties was beyond off limits—it was a fireable offense.
“Seriously, Jack,” she hissed. “You are going to get me in so much trouble.”
He had the good grace to look ashamed, his blue eyes looking at the ground as he shuffled his feet and rubbed the back of his neck. “Tabby, we need to talk. There’s something I meant to tell you—”
Before he could get any further, Tabitha’s worst nightmare came true. The hostess came through the kitchen doors and headed straight toward them. She smiled at Tabitha, a fake, overly pleasant smile.
Tabitha straightened, waiting to see what instructions the hostess was coming to give her and saying a little prayer that she didn’t pay attention to Jack.
When she drew close, the hostess’s gaze switched from Tabitha to Jack. “Jonathan, there you are. The Delacroys were asking about you, why don’t you go say hello.”
Tabitha’s mouth opened and then shut again, her eyes flickering between her hostess, who no longer seemed to notice Tabitha existed, and Jack….or Jonathan?
Jack ducked his head and scratched the back of his neck in his aw-shucks move that she was starting to know well. “Yeah, I’ll go find them in a sec.”
Some of the shock wore off and she stared at Jack. He knew the hostess? And the Delacroys, whoever they were? More importantly….who the hell was Jonathan?
It was clear from Jack—er, Jonathan’s—posture and words that he wanted the hostess to leave. He glanced up from the floor long enough to give Tabitha a quick, pleading look.
What the hell?
The hostess looked between the two of them, her expression questioning but her smile never fading. “Jonathan, do you know this girl?”
This girl. There was the anonymity Tabitha typically loved, but now? Now she felt at a severe disadvantage.
“Yeah,” Jack said, his voice little more than a mumble. “Mom, this is Tabitha, she works at the club.”
Tabitha stared at Jack as he spoke, the words hitting her like mini punches. Mom. Thwack. She works at the club. Oof.
The hostess—aka Mom, apparently—turned to Tabitha with an even brighter smile, if that was even possible. Her straight white teeth gleamed in the dim light of the hallway. “Well, what a small world!”
Tabitha forced what she hoped was a smile. Isn’t it though?
The older woman reached out, placed a hand on her arm, and lowered her voice as if they were having a confidential conversation. “You have to tell me, what’s it like to work for my son?”
Work for him? The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place so quickly it hurt. Jonathan—that was the name of the owner of the bar. The one she’d been looking for that first day when she’d met Jack….and he’d told her the owner wasn’t coming in.
A stab of pain at that realization had her shooting a glare in Jack’s direction. She saw him flinch but he kept quiet.
She mumbled something to his mother about him being a good boss, hardly aware of what she was saying as the rest of the puzzle pieces came into focus and she saw the whole picture. Will had told her about the owner—a rich kid, he’d said. Gone on to make big money doing something with computers, Will hadn’t known what exactly, and then he’d opened a bunch of music venues for fun.
Jack. Jack was the owner. Jack was the rich kid who was some sort of tech success story.
Jack was the liar who’d been living with her….kissing her….
Jack was an asshole.
She had to get out of there—away from Jack and away from his mother’s watchful gaze. No, not just his mother. The client. Shit, she couldn’t lose it here and now, no matter how much she wanted to curse out Jack. Or cry. One or the other. Neither outburst would scream “professional” and there was no way she could afford to lose her job.
She’d barely made it through the swinging doors when she heard Jack’s voice behind her. “Tabitha, wait. Let me explain.”
The eyes of the other caterers in the kitchen were on her as they hustled to restock trays and fill puff pastries. She headed toward a counter filled with canapes to restock her own tray, hoping her silence would be enough to send Jack on his way.
No such luck.
She could feel him at her elbow, though he kept his voice quiet to avoid drawing any more attention from their audience.
“I can explain.”
Do not engage. Ignore, ignore, ignore. But despite her internal pep talk, the anger and hurt that had been brewing in her gut came gushing up like acid. “Can you?” she bit out between clenched teeth. “I’d love to hear that.”
“Tab,” he started.
She shook her head and met his gaze for the first time since she’d discovered his lies. She immediately wished she hadn’t. Those brilliant blue eyes were creased with concern and filled with pain. Ugh. No. She would not feel sorry for him. His words from the night before came back to torment her. He’d made her honestly believe that there were guys out there who wouldn’t take advantage. Not just any ‘guys’ but one in particular. One who’d made her laugh, and made her see herself in a different light. One whose kisses made the rest of the world disappear.
God, she was such an idiot.
“Tabby, please let me explain,” he said.
She shook her head and kept her eyes focused on the pastries in front of her as if her very life depended on staring down cream puffs. “Not now.” Dammit, her voice came out choked. Like she was trying not to cry. Tears started to burn the back of her eyes. No, no, no. She would not lose it here.
“Please,” she said, with as much dignity as she could muster, her face hidden behind her long hair. “We can talk later but I need this job.” Especially since I just lost my waitressing job at the club. She didn’t say that out loud. She’d give her notice at another time. Right now she just had to make it through this party without losing her shit.
Sweet Tricks: A Love Bites Novella Page 5