Speakeasy (True North #5)(35)

Seems like he’s getting a little local competition. No wonder he was wearing that frown.

I find a fluffy velour robe exactly where he said it would be, and I strip off my clothes, folding them neatly onto a chair, tucking my panties under my jeans in a way that seems prim given my intentions.

It’s been a while since my hookup days. A long while. I don’t remember the protocol.

Pulling the robe around my body, I tiptoe across those wood floors back to the terrace door. The cold is a shock when I open the door and step onto the freezing deck boards.

Alec has relocated to a spot in the tub that’s facing away from me. “Okay girlie,” he says. “Strip fast and jump in. If you overthink it, your feet will freeze.”

I can’t help but laugh. Alec is a hoot. “This is like the polar bear’s club,” I point out.

“No ma’am.” He shakes his head. “It’s warm in here. The longer you stand there the colder you’ll get.”

I toss the robe just inside the door and now I’m stark naked on the terrace. After closing the door, I hurry over to the side of the tub, my boobs bouncing. I’m laughing even as I throw a leg over the side. I sink into the hot water until I’m submerged up to my shoulders in bubbling warmth. “Wow,” I gasp as the heat envelops me.

“Pretty great, right?”

“Thanks for not watching that awkward scramble.”

“Babydoll, I watched the whole thing in my cup.”

“What?”

He raises the stainless steel tumbler that’s holding his drink. “These don’t break. And they have an excellent reflective surface.” He turns toward me, letting his gaze roam across the tops of my breasts where they meet the water line. “I don’t want to miss a thing, Shipley. Been thinking dirty thoughts about you for days.”

Oh, my. The hot look in his eye makes my girl parts quiver. “Funny, I haven’t thought about you once.”

The corners of his mouth quirk. “You are such a liar.”

“Yeah, fine. Busted.” I give him a little splash, and then stare like a zombie at the water droplets clinging to his chest. I have the sudden urge to lick them off.

“What are you doing all the way over there, anyway? Here—sip?” He offers me his tumbler.

“Depends what’s in it,” I have to say, and it brings me right back down to earth. In the months before we broke up, Daniela used to refer to me as her girlfriend “who doesn’t drink because she’s no fun.” She said that aloud. More than once. And I didn’t walk out.

Alec clears his throat, and I look up into his big brown eyes. “Everything okay over there?”

“Sure.” I really don’t need to think about Daniela when I’m naked in a hot tub with Alec.

He extends the glass. “Coke and lime. I’m not going to hand you a shot of rum. I still feel stupid that I offered it to you that one time.”

“You didn’t know.” I take the Coke and enjoy a sip. “Can’t be expected to read minds, Rossi.”

When I offer him the tumbler, he takes it and then tags my hand, too. With practiced ease, he sets the drink on the ledge and then tows me closer to him. Big hands scoop me up, and I end up sitting across his lap, my nipples poking above the waterline like headlights.

He makes a low growl in his chest, and I shiver—half from the cold and half from excitement.

“Holy shit,” he says, and I realize he’s spotted the tattoo on my back. “This is incredible.”

“I guess you missed that during explosive truck sex.” I guess he’s the kind of guy who doesn’t like tattoos on a woman.

Alec groans and kisses the back of my neck as his hands trace the shape of the gnarled apple tree on my back. “You amaze me.”

“I didn’t draw it, though.” I close my eyes as his fingertips follow the lines of the branches. I’m naked in his lap and his erection is poking me in the back.

My evenings haven’t been this exciting in a long time.

“Although…” He pauses again to tongue the back of my neck, and goosebumps rise all over my body. “You’re not easy to read.” He hums as strong arms wrap around my slippery body. “You’re half good girl, half vixen. The brainy lawyer with the killer tattoo.” He hugs me against his chest, lowering me into the hot water again, keeping me warm. “Glad to see you,” he says, his breath tickling my ear. “Thought you might bail on me tonight.”

“What, you think I’m chicken?”

“Didn’t say that.” He places one kiss on my neck, and it’s a struggle not to shiver from the contact. His whiskers scratch me in a pleasant way. “But you were embarrassed about last week. Thought you might not go slumming a second time.”

“Slumming?” I turn to catch his eye, and I can’t even tell if he’s kidding. “With the clean-cut business owner in the nicest apartment in Vermont. Maybe in the world?”

His shrug is noncommittal. “A smarter man wouldn’t have invested so much in the apartment. But whatever.” He sighs. “Sorry. I’m in a funky mood.”

I recall the news article he was reading on his phone. “Is that Giltmaker brewpub going to be a problem for you?”

“Maybe. Depends where they put it. Even without it, I’ll need to invest more in the Gin Mill. If I were serving food, that would help with the traffic. But I don’t have a kitchen yet.”