The Lover’s Secret (No Exceptions #1)(6)
Author: J.C. Reed

Holy cow.

He knew how to woo a woman. No need to beat around the bush.

I squealed as he slapped my backside playfully, and followed him. As we breezed through the door, I stopped to stare. Ever so slowly, my mouth dropped open.

Calling it a hotel room would have been a major understatement. Jett’s accommodations looked much more like a presidential suite, with at least four luxurious bedrooms and adjoining bathrooms. The living room was decorated in gold and cashew hues. It was furnished with a marble fireplace, a huge plasma TV, three large couches, and various cabinets and side tables. A black piano adorned the far east corner, right next to the floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a majestic, panoramic view of the city, which would invite any overnight guest to stare for hours.

I would have gawked a little longer if it weren’t for my date insisting we move on to the library and a spa room. Opposite the spa room was the master bathroom. Everything—from the walls to the ceiling to the sinks and even the huge bathtub—was made of polished marble that glistened and sparkled under the bright lights.

“Wow.” I let my gaze brush the expensive furniture and décor before settling on Jett’s majestic body. He fit right in, like a king in his castle.

“And there’s the master bedroom.” He pointed to the closed door at the end of the hall, and I assumed he’d saved it for last with a good reason. He cocked an eyebrow and flashed me a grin, in case I missed the insinuation dripping from his voice. “I’d say this is the main attraction.”

No shit.

My smile matched his grin. “You might just be spot on about that.” I looked at the closed door and wondered just what kind of amusement I’d find on the other side.

This was it—the reason I came here.

With my heart pounding hard, like a marching band in my chest, I opened the door and walked into the dimly lit room. Just like the living room, it offered stunning views of the skyline. I tried hard not to look too impressed by the ivory silk-covered bed and lush furniture or the hundreds of twinkling ceiling lights above the bed. It was hard not to imagine our bodies tangled in silk, panting and moaning while the soft fabric caressed our senses. It was even more difficult to control my breathing when those fantastic, flashy pictures of us naked entered my mind. I could see myself lying on the covers, touching him, his mouth on mine, my legs wrapping around his narrow waist, pulling him deeper inside me as my hips moved in accord with his. Or maybe we could do it on the floor, where the thick, fluffy carpet would tickle our backs as our hands roamed free, and I could gaze up at those starry lights and—

“Like it?” he whispered in my ear.

For a moment, I couldn’t tell whether he was talking about the room or the movie playing in my dirty mind. His deep voice nearly made me jump, and almost caused me to take a step back to put some distance between us.

“Try…love it,” I said breathlessly.

“Good. I’ve booked it for two nights. I know you said one night only, no strings attached, but I figured you can’t possibly get enough of me in one night.”

Ah, the magnitude of his ego. How the heck could he possibly squeeze it through the door?

I turned to face him, my skin prickling.

Two days? No way.

“This place is too expensive, Jett. Besides, I thought you were going for an average hotel room, not the Taj Mahal. Why would you book a place like this? A normal room would have been just as fine. We didn’t need a suite.”

“Why not? What’s wrong with it if I can?” Jett laughed. “This is a special occasion, Brooke. We deserve a special room for a special woman like you.”

His hand began to trace the contour of my arm, then settled on the small of my back. His touch was light, making my skin tingle, yet it defined the moment as if he thought he had a claim on me. And maybe he did. Just not yet.

I was going to play hard-to-get.

“It’s just money,” he continued.

Just money? Sure. If you’ve got it, why not spend it, right?

I had to laugh at how easily it came to him.

“What?” He shrugged. “I want us to have a good time.” The hairs on my skin rose as he leaned forward until I could feel his warm breath against my neck. “Besides, it’s not a suite,” he whispered, pointing toward a door I hadn’t noticed before. “It’s a penthouse—the largest they have. And I intend to make love to you in each and every room…twice.”

It was my turn to shake my head. “Now there’s a lofty goal,” I said.

Men and their impossible ambitions.

Maybe the guy had enough money to keep him afloat forever, but my bank account was in desperate need of a cash infusion. For weeks, Jett and I had been working together to expand and rebuild his company, all on a tight budget and under new management. I would have been game if it weren’t for my new job and the fact that I, as the project manager at Mayfield Realities, was on a schedule and crazy busy. After we put a huge scandal behind us, the company was slowly but surely gaining a reputation for excellence, and new clients were flooding in by the day.

Unlike Jett, I hadn’t been born into wealth. I had been taught from an early age about the value and importance of working hard and living frugal. He didn’t know what it meant to be poor, though, so there was no point in sharing my ideas about how to save money, one of which was not to throw cash out of the huge windows by booking the most expensive suite, the largest penthouse, in a hotel. Still, I knew he meant well, and I was ready to let him give us a good time.

“Ready to see the rest?” His face was still unfazed, but there was the slightest hint of impatience in his voice, the kind of voice that told me to get moving so we could get on to the more important things.

We walked into another, larger living room, where there was a second black piano and a huge terrace that overlooked the twinkling city lights. The room was different. Its red wallpaper screamed sex, power, and sin. A modern, round sofa faced a fire in the middle of the generous open space, like a small gladiator arena. The rug looked soft, and there was plenty of room to make love on the floor, right between the fire and the sofa.

Hungry flames leapt at the thick log, illuminating the entire room and mirroring the inferno that was burning inside me. In the silence, I watched how Jett’s sexy body moved across the room, confident and enigmatic, as he made his way to a side table and retrieved a bottle of champagne from an ice bucket. He poured a glass for each of us and handed one to me before we snuggled on the sofa. He raised his glass for a toast. “To a special night together.”