“You know who. The roadie who asked me for a blowjob.”
“No, Katie. You didn’t get anyone fired.”
“But youdidfire him?” I pressed, reading between the lines of that response.
His hand left my knee as he picked up his drink. “Doesn’t matter,” he said.
“Then you’re not gonna tell me?”
“Don’t worry about it, Katie. They won’t bother you again.”
They? Oh, man. He fired them both.
I’d been wondering since Jesse came off stage. After the show wrapped up, he’d showered and we’d set out with some of the crew to hit the club. There were a ton of people still working at the venue when we rolled out, tearing down the stage, but I didn’t see either of those roadies who propositioned me anywhere.
“Promised you my crew would look out for you while we’re on the road. You feel safe going to those guys for help, sugar?”
“Well, no.”
His jaw clenched, the same way it did backstage when I told him what that roadie said to me. He downed his drink, set the glass aside and reached for me, cupping my face. Then he leaned in and brushed his lips against mine. I didn’t move. I was pretty sure I stopped breathing. His lips were hot, velvety and tasted of bourbon. His mouth lingered over mine when he said, “Assholes had to go. Not your fault.” His lips dragged against mine again, hot, soft. His bottom lip caught on mine and for an instant the wet of the inside of his lip touched mine.
My pulse rammed through my body as he drew back, my breath coming shallow and fast as I licked the taste of Jesse Mayes from my lips. “Um, I just thought… maybe you could give them another chance.”
I watched as he took another round of drinks, delivered by a pretty cocktail waitress. She smiled at Jesse, her white teeth gleaming against her tan skin, but he didn’t seem to notice. He never took his eyes off me.
I took the drink he offered and reminded myself that I wasn’t getting drunk tonight, for good reason. My pulse was already slamming between my legs, Jesse’s nearness and that fierce, protective look on his face doing crazy things to my brain.
“I mean, they didn’tdoanything,” I went on. “They just propositioned me. That must happen all the time at rock concerts.”
“Don’t give a fuck,” he said. “They propositionedyou.”
Right. And I was Jesse Mayes’ girl… as far as everyone knew.
I watched in what felt like surreal slow-motion as his hand went to my knee again, this time smoothing right on upward. I could feel the guitar string callouses on his fingers, the slight roughness making me shiver. His gaze flicked to mine as his hand continued up beneath the hem of my dress. He gripped my thigh, his fingers digging into me as he drew my knee up onto his lap. His gaze caught on my lips and I almost choked on my nerves. Then he leaned in and kissed me again.
This time, it wasn’t just a brush of his lips against mine. He nudged my mouth open and lapped his tongue against mine in a long, firm stroke, then sucked my bottom lip into his mouth before breaking away.
I knew I was blushing but at least in the near-dark it would be hard to see. What wouldn’t be so hard to see were my eyes practically rolling back in my head when he pressed a kiss to my throat, just under my jaw. Then he lounged back, retrieving his drink from the table for a sip. He was still watching me, assessing me with his now-hooded molten eyes.
I sipped my drink, the booze and Jesse Mayes making me feel warm all over.
Too warm.
How the hell did I think I was getting through six weeks ofthis?
I would’ve squeezed my thighs together in an effort to get a little more comfortable and contain my rising excitement, but my knee was still drawn up over Jesse’s thigh. Right about now, I could understand why Devi advised me to pack my vibrator. I’d laughed, but didn’t pack it. Now, I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking. If this was my life for the next six weeks, I’d definitely needsomethingto take the edge off.
I sipped my drink again, trying to get my breathing under control, trying to keep from going all lust-faced with desire. According to Devi, I got “sex face” anytime I thought about getting it on, and right now, I couldn’t think about much else.
“So… what is it we’re doing here, exactly?” I asked when Jesse remained silent. “You know, me, you, hanging in a club?”
“We’re making out.” His mouth twitched in amusement. Then he licked his bottom lip, slowly, and said, “You taste like sunshine.”
I burst out laughing, partly because I was nervous, but partly because WTF? “What the hell does sunshine taste like?”
He grinned slowly. “Like Katie Bloom and that girlie shit you drink.”
I couldn’t remove the stupid grin from my face if I tried.
