But for some reason, the idea that some other man could have Randa, even if KT was off the market, rubbed him the wrong way. She should be his. A reward for hard work, perseverance, keeping himself out of trouble.
He had a feeling she would have a strong opinion on being his reward. And she’d look beautiful delivering it.
He had no idea how she thought the hotel she was planning would ever top this, but when she stretched back on the bed and folded her arms under her head, he decided he also did not give a damn. Not right now.
Right now he was itching to trace a finger from her elbow to her shoulder and along the edge of her tank to see if she was ticklish. Or to stretch out alongside her, close enough to kiss. Or maybe even to straddle her hips, hold her captive, and force her to confess the real reason she was here. So that he could then touch and kiss to his heart’s content without a single ounce of worry or regret. If she was a normal girl, he could’ve. Of course, a normal girl probably wouldn’t look like she posing for the world’s sexiest jeans ad.
“Not sure messing up a freshly made bed is on housekeeping’s to-do list. Consuela will insult our intelligence and then murder us without leaving a bit of evidence if she finds us.” Tony sat down, scooted back and then copied her pose.
He was trying to decide if the cloud painted on the horizon over the television was supposed to look like a centerfold striking a pose or if he just had bombshells on the brain.
None of the other clouds or the birds circling the boat seemed suspicious so he kept his mouth shut.
“I’m guessing this room’s inspired by Elvis’s sailboat. The one he used to traverse the mighty Mississippi. And it was named…” Randa twisted her head as she thought. “Sun… something.” She rolled her head to look at him. “How far off am I?”
Tony shook his head slowly. “Girls, Girls, Girls!”
Randa rolled her eyes. “Okay, so I don’t know trivia. You think I don’t know Elvis facts because I’m a girl? I’m surprised at you, Tony. I thought you were evolved.”
Tony tried to stifle the laugh but it would not stay down. It creaked out and then he coughed and said, “No, the movie. That’s the title. He was some kind of fisherman. There was a boat.”
Randa was quiet for a second then she let out a gusty laugh. “Oh, man, that’s funny.”
Tony felt the huge grin on his face as he listened to her giggle and the bed vibrated under him. He laughed once more and turned to look at her.
“How come there’s no poster?” Randa took a deep breath. “I mean, I thought there were posters to go with.”
Tony shook his head and sighed. “I’m guessing she didn’t want to mess up this décor.”
They were both quiet for a second as they pondered that.
“It’s very… nautical.” Randa wrinkled her nose. “But relaxing too. Romantic.”
“And woody.” Tony could feel her whip her head his direction. He pursed his lips. “Everyone loves wood.”
Randa rolled over to face him and propped her head on her hand. “Wood is a lovely thing.”
Tony frowned. “Are we talking about the same thing?”
Randa pursed her lips but didn’t answer.
He turned to face her and propped his chin on his hand. “Are you flirting with me now?”
Randa shook her head. “Nope. You’ve been kind of impossible to talk to today. Why would I flirt with you?”
“I’m always impossible.” It was like he’d forgotten how to be any different. Damn it.
Randa’s mouth twitched. “I thought we’d gotten past that yesterday. I mean, there were books. And burgers. And you know something about me that no one else does.”
Tony sighed. “I think it’s pretty ridiculous that glasses are such a big secret, Randa.”
“And I thought about it last night and decided you are right. See? You’ve been a positive influence on me. We have to be closer than mutters and grunts.”
“Closer than grunts, huh?” Tony indulged himself with a leisurely glance down her body.
Randa raised an eyebrow. “And now I have to ask if you’re flirting with me.”
“Hard to say. I’m not as good at it as you are.” Tony reached up to rub his hand down the length of her arm. He barely held back the grunt of satisfaction at the shiver that shook her and the goose bumps that followed the path of his stroke.
Randa closed her eyes for a second. “Maybe words aren’t your strong suit. You seem like more of a hands-on guy.”
Tony leaned forward to press his lips against hers and she reached up to cover her mouth at the last minute. He frowned and leaned back.
“I like that you’re jealous, Tony.”
He snorted. “Know how I could tell? You flirted with him to bring it on.”
Randa fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. “Maybe. But KT doesn’t affect me the way you do.”
And then he wasn’t irritated any more. Instead, he felt pretty damn good.
“And I know a girl like you should probably be aiming for somebody more like KT. But while you’re here, I’d like to… I don’t know. Kiss you again. At least.” Tony ran his hand down her arm again. He had no idea where they were headed but he wanted to stay right here with her until they got there. “What do I get for answering?”
“A girl like me? Because he’s got money?” Randa shifted away from him.
“Well, I meant because he’s… a movie star or whatever. Women love him. And you’re so damn beautiful…” Tony heaved a sigh. “With a guy like KT, things would be easy. And never once in the time he’s been hanging around here like a bedbug that won’t die, have I ever been jealous of him, not his money or his way with women. Maybe I envied KT and Laura together, but when you two were flirting, I wanted to convince him to step back. Forcefully. You should have your choice in men, but… I don’t like that you might not choose me. That’s all.” And then he wanted to bang his head on something. “Not that there should be any choosing anyway because…” He didn’t want to bring up the fact that he knew she wasn’t telling the truth.
Randa blinked her eyelids rapidly while she rubbed her nose, and Tony watched her for a minute, worried she was about to cry. Eventually she said, “Beautiful, huh? Not too skinny?”
Tony shrugged a shoulder. “Well, too skinny, sure, but like a model.”
Before he knew what was happening, Randa’s arms were wrapped around his neck, her breasts rested on his chest, and her lips were pressed to his. And all of a sudden, he was glad she was no ordinary girl.
RANDA IGNORED THE annoying voice in her head that insisted on reminding her that this was not the plan. She’d been up entirely too late again. Thinking about Tony again. And the hotel. And a little bit about Misty, but mostly the hotel.
She’d decided that she was going to stick with the plan. Send off her report. Confess the truth. Spend the rest of her time here at the hotel with Tony. Everyone would get what they wanted. Except maybe Willodean. And Tony, who probably liked his job. And Misty, who obviously liked the hotel lobby floor.
But here they were. In a sailboat with a comfy bed, and she’d been anxious to get back the other Tony. Maybe he hadn’t used many more words yesterday, but she’d felt connected to him.
Today he’d been grim. He looked tired. He was as quiet as the first time she’d met him. She wanted to cheer him up or help him with whatever was weighing him down or maybe even… maybe she just wanted to know he was still watching her, considering her, thinking about her. All day long she’d been trying to make sure he still wanted her as much as she wanted him.
There was no better place than this one to accomplish that.
So she seized her chance.
And then Tony took over.
He did his flirting with his tongue, all right. First he teased and then he invaded her mouth. This kiss was rougher, more urgent, than their first kisses. Randa wanted more of him. He wrapped his arms tightly around the small of her back and pulled her closer, close enough that she coul
d feel the heat of his chest against hers through his polyester Hawaiian shirt and her flimsy tank. He pulled her over to rest on top of him and she slid one of her legs between his. His hard thigh pressed against her and each shift of their bodies sent spangles of heat through her.
Tony pulled back from the kiss, and they both gasped for air. When he slid his hands down over her hips to squeeze the cheeks of her rear, Randa jerked against him and they both moaned at the feeling of her hips rubbing against his.
Tony pressed hot, open-mouthed kisses down her neck before he dropped back against the bed. “I thought I loved these jeans. Now I’m not sure.”
Randa banged her head against his chest. Then reached up to rub it. Bad idea. His chest was hard. So deliciously hard. “What are you talking about? And why now?”
He laughed a creaky rumble. “They look damn good on you, but I’m not sure I can get them off without a can opener.” He let go of one cheek and tried to run a finger under the waistband.
Randa leaned up. “Why do you think you’ll be taking them off?”
Tony shook his head. “I’m a dreamer. What can I say?”
Randa laughed and they both gasped as she shifted against him. She bit her lip and tried to calm her breathing. “When they need to come off, I won’t have any trouble, Tony. Promise. I have a long history of taking off my clothes.”
Tony frowned. “Maybe I ought to know a little bit more about that.”
Randa shook her head. “You know what I mean.”
Tony pulled her down again and reclaimed her lips. He gave up on the waistband of her jeans. One hand was tangled in her hair and the other wrapped around her thigh. Each convulsive squeeze of his fingers, so close to the ache between her thighs, raised her temperature, and Randa was ready to take off the damn jeans just so she could feel the cool air on her skin. Spontaneous combustion was starting to look like a real possibility.
When they were both gasping for breath, Tony stretched under her, and her leg slid against his erection. With a strangled groan, he urged her back on the bed and raised himself on one elbow to stare down at her.
“We should stop.”
She wasn’t sure she heard him correctly. It took everything Randa had to arrange the words in the proper order in her head. She wanted to stay right here in this third-floor sailboat. With him. Just like this. And he didn’t really want to stop. Now she was learning to read his expressions. He might look dangerous or stern but he was focused. His eyes were hot as they locked on her parted, swollen lips. He watched his fingers rub a strand of her hair like he wanted to remember the way it felt and looked. He leaned down to nip her neck and his tongue was a hot brand against her skin. The intensity of his regard made her feel beautiful. Like with Tony, she was the hottest woman in the world. And there was no way to tell a lie with that face. She could see his desire. And she wanted to give him the truth back. All of it.
But not yet.
She also didn’t want to stop. Maybe she was lying to him but she had no intention of lying to herself. No matter how this turned out, she wanted him. She wanted this like she’d never wanted anything. And what she wanted, she usually got. She wrapped her arms around him and kneaded the muscles of his back as she shifted against the leg resting between hers. “Do we have to?”
Tony nodded. But he didn’t move.
Randa huffed out a shaky laugh. “But there’s no need to rush.”
Tony slid his hand under her shirt and Randa couldn’t contain the gasp that escaped at the feel of his hand on the bare skin of her stomach.
He cursed under his breath. “Why can’t you be a normal girl?”
Randa laughed. “What does that mean?” But she understood very well what he meant. She’d wanted the same thing. Tony knew there was something different about her, something inside that didn’t match the outside. And he didn’t like it.
Here and now, she didn’t either. She hated it. She wished she was a normal girl with a normal job and a family that made her crazy but left her to her own devices. She was glad making her own decisions had landed her here in this bed in Memphis, but she wished they’d met… somewhere, anywhere else.
She felt a little sad as she failed to come up with a single everyday place where her path might have crossed with Tony’s. The truth was, without her father and the broken engagement and the family business and this kooky, wonderful hotel, they would never have met.
They’d been given a chance to connect. She wasn’t going to let him waste it, normal girl or not.
He shook his head. “It means I know there’s something other than Elvis drawing you here.” He watched her face, waiting to see if she’d confess it all there.
She had the idea that even her best poker face would fail here, but she had to try. She was stuck. She couldn’t force herself to lie to Tony, but she couldn’t let go of the responsibility she felt to do her job well. She’d spent so long doing everything she could to measure up that it was almost impossible to imagine doing anything differently, even if she wished her parents could change or that her life was about more than spending her father’s money and renovating hotels for other people to run.
“I can’t imagine what you’re talking about.” She trailed a hand down his back to scrape her nails over his right butt cheek. “Could we talk about it later?”
She leaned up and kissed him hard before she yanked the tank up over her head. When she stretched back out beside him, Tony’s eyes were hot. She raised an eyebrow and said, “What do you think?” She traced one finger over the curves of her very expensive and very lacy pink bra. “Come on, Tony. This is what you might call a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You. Me. A nice hotel bed. And I can’t imagine there’s another hotel room like this in the world.” And that was the truth. Staying at the Rock’n’Rolla Hotel was all about once-in-a-lifetime experiences. It was no wonder it was such a popular place. Once the Whitmores got a hold of it, all the magic would be gone.
The idea of renovating away the magic of this space made her sad. No matter what happened with the hotel or with Tony, this was a place she’d never forget. She wanted to have this memory too.
She glanced down at the tattoo on his arm. Randa wrapped her hand around his wrist then followed the winding script up his arm before she reached for the first button on his Hawaiian shirt.
She had three unbuttoned before he said, “We are going to talk about this later, Randa.” He watched her unbutton the rest of the buttons and groaned when she leaned forward to place three hot, open-mouthed kisses down the center of his chest. She slid her hands inside his shirt and did her best to memorize his hard abdomen, the cut of each sharp line of muscle.
Before she was satisfied, Tony unhooked her bra and smoothed it down her arms. He pushed the bra out of the way and wrapped his hands around her breasts.
“So pretty.” The rough rumble of his voice made her shift restlessly. Randa felt the heat of his hands against her and the teasing brushes of his thumbs against her nipples before Tony leaned down to suck one hard nipple in his mouth. Randa struggled to get closer to him.
He shifted sides and Randa’s back bowed as each lick and suck and nip sent a flash of fire through her.
Randa was damning the skinny jeans at that point. More than anything she wanted to be naked against him. But she didn’t want to let him go. Didn’t want him to stop. Tony leaned back to stare long and hard at her breasts. Randa bit her lip to stop the plea that bubbled there. He kissed a trail down her neck and over her chest before he returned to her nipples and as he did, he slipped one hand between her legs to cup her through the jeans.
His happy groan joined her whimper as he rubbed the spot she needed him to the most. Randa wanted to beg him to stop so she could shimmy out of the jeans. But she didn’t want him to stop. His hand was hard and hot and each shift increased the tension in her body. The muscles in her legs were tight as she worked to get closer, go higher.
“God, Tony, that’s… I think I’m going to…” She g
asped for air and couldn’t finish the thought. Her legs tightened around him and she pulled him closer as she gasped against his shoulder.
Tony held her. Hard. He buried his head in her shoulder and took deep, shaky breaths. Then he eased back.
“No, wait, don’t stop.” Randa was afraid she could hear desperation in her voice but it didn’t matter very much to her. Not right now.
Randa felt the iron bands of his arms around her slowly loosen and she sighed as he shifted against her, his erection hard against her hip. She shook her head. “That wasn’t… I mean, I had no…” Tony’s laugh rumbled against her sensitive breasts and she said, “Please tell me you have a condom in your wallet.”
He smiled down at her and she had to catch her breath all over again. The Tony she’d met before had been handsome enough, but Tony with a smile on his face, a happy, open smile, was devastating.
“You look… happier than I’d think a man in your particular position would.” Randa’s voice was husky as she stretched against him.
Tony reached back to yank his wallet out. “Two reasons. I do have a condom. And I’m damn glad I remembered how to do that.”
“Me too.” Randa kissed his collarbone. “And, God, me too.” She wanted to ask him why it had been a while. In fact, she had a million questions. How long? Why? Why her? When could they do it again? Or for the first time? What was the holdup with that condom?
She opened her mouth to ask the last one, but someone rapped on the door. “Mr. Tony? Are you in there?”
Randa and Tony froze. Instead of pulling a condom out, Tony rolled over on the bed and rubbed his face with both hands. Consuela knocked again. “Mr. Tony?”
Randa whispered, “Answer her! She’ll use her key if you don’t.”
“Hey, yeah, Consuela, we’re just about finished with this room.” Tony grimaced as he moved to a sitting position and started to button his shirt. Randa wanted to cry as she watched the chest that she’d barely gotten to touch disappear behind dancing palm trees on polyester.
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