Moonlighter (The Company, #1)(43)

“Well?” I ask as the bill lands in front of me.

“What about finishing your beer?” she asks.

“There are other things I need to finish.” I give her a wink as I scribble a tip onto the bill, along with our room number. “If you think a cold beer is enough to slow me down, you haven’t figured me out yet.” I slip a hand under the bar and palm her bare knee.

Her knee moves imperceptibly closer to my hand. “I don’t usually do this.”

“Do what?”

“Have a fling that can’t lead anywhere.”

“I have them all the time,” I admit. “I never hear complaints. And I feel no shame.”

Alex gets quiet. She’s watching me, and I can almost hear the gears turning in her head. Last night I led her somewhere she wasn’t planning to go. She likes it, but she’s wary.

I, however, am not. So I slide my fingers up her thigh, and I smile when she shivers. “Don’t overthink it.”

“That’s easy for you to say. A little more thinking this past year would have served me well.”

“I understand,” I tell her. “But with me, there won’t be repercussions. I can’t change your life, and I am not going to suddenly turn into an asshole you’ll regret.”

Her expression softens. “I know that. I hope we stay friends.”

“Count on it,” I tell her. Then I lean in and give her a soft kiss. Just a quick one. “Now, finish your smoothie and take me upstairs. Quick, before some other mysterious gentleman shows up to claim your time. I get very jealous, you see. I’m needy.”

She laughs. “Oh, please. You’re ridiculous.”

“Uh huh. But part of me is needy. The part in my pants.”

“Quiet! What did we just talk about?” She lifts her drink and drains it thoroughly.

“How can you do that without getting an ice-cream headache?”

“It’s my special superpower. We can’t all lift three hundred and fifteen pounds.”

“Usually I’m up in the four hundreds. But the gym here sucks.” I slide off the barstool, take one last gulp of beer, and abandon the rest. I take Alex’s hand and lead her away from the bar.

“Tonight feels like a vacation,” she says. “Thank you for that. I often travel to beautiful destinations but see nothing beyond the hotel and the boardroom.”

“I’m familiar with the problem.” I squeeze her hand. “I visit thirty cities a year and see only the rink and the hotel.” We reach the elevator, and it opens immediately. “You know what else feels like a vacation?”

“Fruity drinks?”

“Hotel sex.” I back her up against the elevator wall as the doors slide shut. “Lots and lots of hotel sex.” My kiss doesn’t ask permission. My tongue is in her mouth before the elevator begins to rise. She tastes like cool strawberries and good times.

“Eric,” she whispers beneath me.

“Mmm?”

“You really are a fun date. You make me feel like I’m borrowing someone else’s life for a few days. Some fun person’s.”

I chuckle against her mouth. “Baby, it’s all you.” The doors open behind me, and I take her hand, marching her out and toward the suite. I flash my key, and the door opens easily.

Once inside, I lift my middle finger and aim it right at the pillow camera.

Alex laughs. “Arm the doors, would you?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

By the time I’m done locking us in for the night, Alex is finished brushing her teeth in the bathroom. I help myself to the zipper on her dress, easing it down and off her body. Then I kiss the back of her neck.

She makes a happy sound that tells me she likes that, so I unhook her bra, too. Then I reach around, cupping her breasts. Our eyes lock in the mirror, and I give her nipples twin pinches. “L-lets go to bed?” she asks quietly.

“What if we stayed here?” I run my hands down her sides, then I slide a palm across her belly and downward, claiming her mound, fitting my hand between her legs in an unmistakably possessive maneuver. “Don’t you want to watch me fuck you?”

Her eyes are saucers. “I…guess?”

“She guesses.” I laugh then turn her around. “Sit up here.” I boost her onto the counter. “Now, unbutton my shirt.”

She immediately does as I ask. And while she’s busy, I kiss her neck, and her jaw. “Did you think about me today?” I whisper against her skin.

“Y-yes,” she whispers, her fingers stumbling.

“Did your pussy get wet right in the middle of your meeting?”

She moans.

“It’s going to be worse tomorrow,” I mutter, kissing the corner of her mouth. “You’re going to be sitting there talking about superconductors—”

“Semiconductors,” she corrects in a breathy voice.

“Whatever. The point is it doesn’t matter what you’re supposed to be talking about because you’re going to picture me bending you over this countertop.” I straighten up and remove my shirt. “Now, unzip me and take out my cock.”

Alex makes a shocked noise but then gets right to work. I dive in for a real kiss, and it doesn’t even slow her down. A moment later, smooth hands greet my cockhead, which is already engorged, and grip my shaft. I groan into her mouth. “Good girl.”