“Hey.” Careful not to spill my drink, I gave him a hug. “Mmm, you smell good.”
“I should smell like you. I stole your body wash when I showered.” He held me around my waist, his calloused hands pressing against my bare skin. “That way I can wear you like a second skin.”
“Lemme see.” I buried my face in the crook of his neck and sucked at his skin. He trembled, and I licked up the strong muscle to his jaw. “Uh-uh. You still smell like you. I like how you smell. And taste.”
“Frankie.”
At the sound of James’s voice, I spun around. “Oh. Hi. I was just—”
James lifted his hand. “Frankie, stop. How long have you been here now? Over a year?” At my nod, he continued. “And have I ever had a problem with you taking a break? Or criticized you for not working?”
“N-no. But I don’t want you thinking I’m slacking.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” James wrinkled his nose, and he looked so funny, I had to bite back a smile. “You’re workingtoohard. There’s no need to run yourself into the ground and make yourself sick. I’m glad Aaron is here now. Why don’t you two go to your room and take a break? You’ve been working nonstop for an hour with that table and could use a little time for yourself. Morgan and Cort are working the room, and Tristan has the stage covered. Go on.”
He made shooing motions, and I shrugged and took Aaron’s hand in mine. “I ain’t one to tell the boss no. Thanks. Let’s go.” I tugged Aaron along with me, and we walked to the back, where the private rooms were located. I stopped before the door to my assigned room and unlocked it, then pulled Aaron inside and shut the door on the outside world. It had been a long time since I’d been here for a private dance, and it felt odd.
“This is nice. Do you always have this set-up back here?”
I scanned the table, seeing a platter of sandwiches and fresh fruit set up along with bottles of sparkling water.
James. It had to be him.
I was so lucky to have such good people in my life. “No. Only for special people. Are you hungry?”
“Uh, yeah, I wouldn’t mind something. Had a busy day.”
“Tell me.” We sat, and I picked out half a roast-beef sandwich and curled up next to him.
“I fertilized all the flower beds at your grandmother’s house and pruned her roses. That was after I put in the new bathroom tiles on the first and second floor bathrooms.”
“Babe, that is a lot. Don’t overdo it.” I set my untouched sandwich aside.
“I don’t mind. Keeps me from thinkin’ too hard about shit.”
“Like what? Not that asshole who fired you?”
Irrationally, I’d wanted to go to the Terminal Market where he used to work and tip over all their flowers and bushes. When I told Aaron that, he laughed at me before giving me a hug and saying,“What’re you, twelve? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Nah, I don’t care about Lennie no more. It’s just…” He leaned back, looking at the ceiling. “Here I am, almost thirty years old, and I got nothin’ to show for it. No job, no place of my own…I thought by this time I’d have been able to save some money and start to look for my little sisters, ya know? But I can’t. Not without no job.”
“You got me.” I straddled his lap and framed his face in my hands, forcing him to look directly into my eyes. “I’ll do whatever I can to help. You know that.”
“Babe, I love you, but you got too much on your plate as it is. I know you’re trying to hide it, but you’re so exhausted, even your tired is tired.” A familiar fire smoldered in his eyes. “And now that we’re alone here, why don’t you let me…” His mouth covered mine, and his heated breath and firm lips sent me spinning into an oblivion I willingly surrendered to. As always, that delicious, languorous feeling stole through me whenever he touched me. “…take care of you.”
He flipped me over so that I lay under him, and without waiting for a response, tugged off my slinky purple shorts to reveal the gold jock I wore underneath. His dark eyes sparked from smoldering flames to all-out fire.
“This is all I ever wanted. You and me. Together. Mine. You’re mine.”
“I love you.”
Nothing turned me on more than a growly and possessive Aaron, and my dick swelled under his probing stare. He blew a stream of hot air across my bare stomach.
“Say it. Tell me again.”
For all he appeared strong and capable, inside Aaron remained broken. A lost man searching for acceptance. A man who only wanted to be loved. His powerful arms rested on either side of me, and he bent to torment my aching nipples with his lips and tongue, leaving me a panting, writhing mess beneath him.
“Say it.” His mouth moved against my heaving chest.
