He continued between kisses, his voice rough. “There was something else I wanted to do tonight.”
“Oh?” I was quickly losing focus, and I knew I was close to letting him have whatever he wanted.
“Mmm.”
Fingers dipped under my shirt, stretching the material until the knot came undone, his hands now free to explore underneath.
His exploration continued down, rounding my hips and cupping my ass.
Knowing what he would find there, I bit back a smirk, anticipating the moment he felt it and having the pleasure of seeing the exact moment he did. Confusion, then curiosity flashed across his face, his fingers now working deftly to remove my skirt so he could get a better look.
“You weren’t wrong about wearing something special, damn.” His fingers traced along the edge of the lace against my hip, following it down to where the small string of pearls began. I had never worn open underwear before and never even knew that they existed, but once I’d seen them online, well, it was the fastest I’d ever purchased anything. And boy, was it worth it for how sexy I felt right now. “Is this what you wear to work every day?”
“Are you kidding me? They’re great, but I hardly think I’d get any work done.”
“Too distracting?”
“Too uncomfortable.” I laughed. “If I’m going to get this launch right, I need all my wits about me. I can’t be spending ten hours running to the bathroom every few minutes to unpick a pearl wedgie.”
His head tipped back as he laughed. “Point taken. How is the launch coming?”
“Good, I think. I’ve never been more stressed about anything before, but I wouldn’t give it up, you know? It feels so good to be in charge of my own life finally. And I want to make David proud. I really want this to go well.”
“It’s going to be great.”
“Thanks. I just want it to be special. Did I tell you that one of the founders used to be a carpenter? He made all kinds of furniture and one-off pieces, then got commissioned to start making oak barrels for a local whiskey distillery. He made more on those barrels than he did on his other pieces but still kept up the side stuff because he loved it so much. Then his friend, the one making whiskey, was talking to him about getting into the whiskey business and mentioned that they needed to sell the barrels after they aged the liquor because the law states you can only age whiskey in new oak, right? Well, Jeff sees an opportunity. He buys back his own barrels after they’ve used them, at a pretty good rate, and starts making rum instead, using the second-hand barrels to age the rum, and he basically makes a profit twice over.”
“Once on the barrels, then on the rum. Smart man.”
“Isn’t he! It’s why I love what we do so much. Being able to support local businesses, but more than that, being able to celebrate them, the people behind them, and their love for what they do … It’s so much more fulfilling than just making money.”
“You’re really cute when you’re protecting the little man.”
I buried my smile into his chest, leaning into the warmth of his arms, stupidly content just to stay here forever.
“So I had an interesting call today. From Addison Michaels.” I couldn’t see his face, but he sounded happy, so I could only assume it was good news.
“That’s the writer of the movie you wanted, right?”
“And director. He, uh, he called to offer me the role.”
“Holy shit. Please tell me you said yes.”
“No, actually, I turned him down.”
“What?” I narrowed my eyes. “Jerk.”
“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.” He laughed.
“Why the hell are you just telling me now?” I asked playfully.
“I had more important things to talk to you about,” He said, pinning me with a look so earnest and hopeful that my chest ached.
25
Jackson
The hotel was incredible, full of rich deep colors, an over-abundance of lounges, drapes, and the kind of stuffiness that was both reminiscent of its gentleman’s club roots while also being completely fabricated.
