Warmth filled me. I reached over and took one of his hands in mine. “Tony’s right. You are good people.”
There was that cute-as-fuck blush again. He squeezed my hand. “Thank you.”
I pulled my hand away and picked up my fork and knife. “Eat up. After we finish dinner, we can walk on the boardwalk, get some ice cream, and watch the moon rise over the ocean.”
“That sounds wonderful.”
EIGHTEEN
JEREMY
It was a beautiful night. The full moon shone brightly on the water from a nearly cloudless sky. The air was chilly, as was the metal bar beneath my hands, but Sean’s body surrounded me, his solid chest against my back, his strong arms around my waist, and I was warm and content. I had been wined and dined at the most exclusive restaurants in some of the most famous cities in the world, and yet, a simple meal in a small shore town meant more to me than all those other meals combined.
Sean nuzzled his nose into my neck and tightened his arms around me. “You smell so good.” He pressed warm lips to my skin. “You taste good too.”
I leaned back against him. “Thank you for a wonderful evening.”
“It was my pleasure.” He pulled one arm from around me and took his cell phone out of his pocket. He grunted in discontent. “It’s closing in on ten-thirty. I need to get back to the hotel.”
I turned in his arms so I was facing him. “A kiss first.”
He hummed softly. “Any time.” His kiss was warm and tender until he slid his hands down to cup my ass, slipped his knee between my legs, and pushed me up against the metal railing. Then our kiss became a hot and dirty grind until someone shouted, “Get a room!”
Sean chuckled and stepped away, his breath coming in short pants. He rested his forehead against mine. “Lucky for us, you already have one.” He sighed softly. “Time to go.”
He took my hand, but then I remembered something. “Wait. I need a picture of us standing here to send to Evan.” I pulled out my cell phone, set it to night mode, and we both leaned back against the railing. The camera showed the two of us with the beach behind us and the moonlight shining on the ocean. I even managed to pick up the corner of Convention Hall. I took a bunch so I was sure to get a good one, then we walked back to Sean’s car.
Michael was sitting in the hotel lobby when we got back, laptop open, fingers flying over his keyboard. His head shot up when he heard us come in, and a huge grin lit up his face. He carefully put the laptop on the coffee table in front of him and rose with his arms outstretched. “Jeremy!” He pulled me into a hug, then stepped back and looked me up and down. “You look great. Way better than the last time I saw you.”
“Last time, my arm was in a sling, and I’d lost twenty pounds.”
“Like I said, way better.”
I had to laugh. Michael was a great guy. He’d helped me a lot when I had the problem with the stalker. He was scary smart and good-looking too. He had Tony’s height but not his bulk. He had more of a runner’s body—long and lean. He had the same dark hair and eyes as all his siblings, but his hair was always an unruly mess because he constantly dragged his hands through it. I drew Sean forward. “Michael, this is Sean O’Neil, the owner of the hotel.”
Michael’s gaze heated when he got a look at Sean, and I felt a twinge of possessiveness, which was ridiculous because I barely knew Sean. I certainly didn’t have any claim on him. Sean held out his hand. “Hey, Michael. Thanks for coming by so late. I really appreciate it.”
Michael shook his hand. “No problem. Any friend of Jeremy’s is a friend of mine.” He gestured toward his laptop. “I was just getting the lay of the land, so to speak. We’ll need to give your router a stronger password and set up some more protections.”
Like everyone else who talked computers with Michael, Sean looked a little lost. “Uh, I guess we should go to my office. The router’s in there.” He missed Michael’s indulgent smirk when he turned to me, pulled me into his arms, and kissed me. “I don’t know how long I’ll be,” he said quietly. “Can I meet you in your room after?”
I threaded my fingers through his shoulder-length hair and got a brief image of him on his knees, sucking my cock. My jeans got tighter, and I wanted to tell Michael to go away and come back tomorrow. Instead, I kissed Sean again and said, “Look for me in the dining room first. I’m going to get my music and do a final run-through on the piece I wrote for Evan’s wedding.”
He gave me another quick hug and said, “Sounds good. I’ll let Michael into my office and turn the lights on for you.”
I decided to change into more comfortable clothes before going back down to the dining room. Tight, skinny jeans were fine for showing off my…um…assets but not so great when playing the piano. I put on sweats, a T-shirt, and the hoodie I…ahem…borrowed from Sean, grabbed my sheet music, and headed back downstairs.
Like Sean promised, the dining room lights were on. The doors between the dining room and the bar were closed, and I could see a few people still sitting around the small tables and at the bar. It didn’t occur to me that there would be people at the bar, but it was Friday night. I thought about going back upstairs and waiting until the morning, but then I shook my head. I had to get used to people being around when I played. The only way to do that was to do it.
I opened the piano and set my music on the rack. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out to see a text from Evan with a single word:Pictures?I smiled and rolled my eyes.
Me:Shouldn’t you be out partying with your man?
Evan:We’re in between. We just got out of a cabaret show in The Village and decided to go to Stonewall since it’s not far.
Me:Sounds like fun.
Evan:It is. Pictures!
