Holding My Breath

‘I do.’

‘And you’ve been operating right under my nose for how long?’

He gave her a hundred-watt smile that made her wonder how much it cost him. ‘Nick and I’ve worked together. Did you know that he moonlights at a hotel a couple of blocks from here? We’re not in direct competition, you see, so we can scratch each other’s backs from time to time.’

‘I know. Nick has no secrets once you put a scare into him, and he has a very large network of … people who do what you do, I’ve discovered.’

He lowered himself into the armchair and sat in a variation on his trademark pose from the bar, with legs stretched out and forearms propped against the chair’s arms. She wouldn’t call his appearance kingly, not with that rakish grin. He came off more like a usurper who had won his throne through treachery.

‘And here I am, ready to “do what I do” for you.’ He drew his hands up in front of him, fingers forming a steeple. ‘If you are interested in a threesome, I’m sure I can arrange for Nick to waive his fee. His shift is done at eleven, isn’t it?’

‘I’m not interested in Nick. Even if I was, I’m sure I could get him without you.’

‘Ah, so I’m special.’

He laughed. It was a wonderful, rolling sound, and contagious. The corners of her mouth twitched with wanting to join in.

She took one end of the sofa for herself. The conversation had rooted her a little. After the waiting and watching, to be at the doors of negotiation made her feel a little more empowered.

‘So now you have me, but whether I’m willing to take your money in exchange is something altogether different. I can assure you that barring the more extreme acts I won’t mention, there’s not much I’m willing to say no to.’ He tapped his fingers together and narrowed his eyes in study. ‘I don’t normally ask questions, it’s not good business, but my curiosity is starting to get to me: why am I here?’

‘We’re overdue for a chat, aren’t we?’

‘I don’t think so, Sonia.’ He paused, and followed his words with a rumbling chuckle. ‘You’re using an alias, aren’t you? Why would that be? You could have taken me to the bar. Instead you’re secreted away with me in the honeymoon suite.’

She leaned forward. ‘You think I want to fuck you?’

He looked at her like he knew it gave her a rush to say it, like he knew that, in spite of her business-like tone, she was getting wet just sitting there across from him.

‘I think your intentions are honest, that you’re here to tell me to fuck off and never set foot in your lobby again, but … you are thinking about it, aren’t you?’ He leaned forward, forearms across his knees, and clasped his hands together. Long fingers layered over those scarred knuckles, and yet there was something gentle about his hands that made his wolfish grin more bearable. ‘You could never afford me. I ought to know, I got my start working in hotels so I know how much you take home. It would cost you at least a paycheque for two hours. Still, no wedding ring, so you could have disposable income. Besides, if you were married you’d strike me as the type to have an angst-ridden affair over paying for sex. You’re also not thinking of me as your last big hurrah before walking down the aisle: women who are facing the grim prospect of only one cock for the rest of their lives are much more gleeful.

‘I think …’ he whispered with such a lovely rasp that it curled Molly’s toes, ‘I think that you’d be after something much more rich. You strike me as the type of woman who saves her pennies, but every so often there’s a little indulgence you can’t resist trying.’

‘Do you do this with everyone?’ she asked, choking on a slight hitch in her voice.

‘Do what?’

‘Try and mindfuck them before you get your cock out?’

Once more that wonderful laugh exploded in the atmosphere like fireworks. ‘Would you prefer it if I took my cock out while I mindfucked you?’

‘I’d prefer to get to the matter at hand.’

He held his hands out in surrender. ‘Consider me scolded. Now, offer me something from the minibar and tell me you want me to stay the hell out of your hotel so I can give you all the reasons why that’s a bad idea.’

‘You don’t have to tell me why it’s a bad idea. Some of our best clients use your services, and if you go, they’ll go – and you can get your own something from the minibar if you want it.’

She crossed one leg over the other, and a tickle ran through her as his gaze moved along what little thigh she had exposed. She couldn’t keep it hidden this time. She shuddered, and he pinned her back with a look.

Seeing no point in denying the effect he had on her, she laughed. ‘You are good. I’ve only seen it from afar.’

‘It’s all in the details, isn’t it?’ He looked at the bottle she had abandoned, and got to his feet. ‘Everything is made up of little details. Everything. When I first meet a woman, I’m taking in everything about her and trying to work her out. You call it mindfucking, but it’s how I figure out what she wants me to be. I can get a sense of how she sees herself as soon as she comes off the elevator, and I engage her in the bar so I can strip her down before I take her to bed.’

He grasped her bottle, turned and studied her for a moment before pressing his lips to its mouth. She didn’t think this was intentional, but she couldn’t deny how erotic it was to see him with his head tilted back, eyes half-closed, and his throat pulsing as he drank.

When he had finished, he licked his lips and returned to the sofa.

‘It’s a little bit like going down on a woman,’ he went on. ‘She’ll tell you what she wants, but she won’t use words. She’ll use her body. It’ll be a look, a touch, a sound, or all of the above. She gets hot and starts to fidget, and you know it’s just right there, hidden just beneath the surface: all her secrets and desires. Then, like a veil being lifted, you’ve unlocked her.’ He leaned back and draped his arms over the back of the sofa, his expression smug. ‘It’s a skill not every man possesses, and it can’t be taught. It’s why I’m so good at what I do.’

‘As I’ve said, I think it’s time we discuss the matter at hand,’ she said, though she barely heard her own words through the thump of her heart beating.

‘I’d rather do it in a more comfortable setting, if you don’t mind.’

He didn’t need to say what he meant, and it took everything she had not to slide her gaze towards the bedroom.

Molly cocked her head to one side and smirked. ‘I can’t afford you.’

‘Well, here’s the thing, Sonia, the longer I sit here across from you and the more you fidget, the more inclined I am to waive my fee.’

‘Oh, I do have money for you.’

She got to her feet and tried to ignore the ticklish urge to shiver that ran across her shoulders as she moved to the table at the end of the sofa. The interest with which he watched her was so unnerving. Her back to him, she lifted her purse and took the few seconds she had with her face out of reach of his gaze to suck in a deep breath through puckered lips.

‘I booked your time and I’ll pay for it – or, rather, the company will – and we’ll hash this out.’

‘It’s a complicated matter. Are you sure you don’t want to at least take your shoes off?’

She glanced over her shoulder, enough to be sure he was still in his seat, enough to be sure he saw the lack of amusement on her face.

‘Last year, Barry REIT purchased our hotel from Taureau-Werner. Their brand is much different. Their focus is less on corporate clients and more on families. Maybe you’ve noticed that the pool has been closed for the past few weeks. When it reopens, the athletic pool will be gone and in its place will be an egg-shaped abomination with a water-slide. The lounge is next. Forget about spiced olives and venison carpaccio; it’ll be chicken fingers and personal pizzas.’

‘You don’t sound happy about the changes.’

‘I’m not,’ she admitted, shaking her purse and drawing its maw wide open. ‘I’ve been working here since I was sixteen years old. I stayed here because I liked the atmosphere. So, here’s my suggestion for you. You take your business elsewhere, to the Radisson or the Marriott or wherever. For the time being, anyway, Nick will continue his referrals, but you won’t return to the property.’

She caught movement from the corner of her eye, and jumped as he settled his hands on her hips. He had moved so quietly. She hadn’t even heard the sofa creak as he rose.

‘I have a counter offer.’

‘Take your hands off of me,’ she said in a shaky breath.

‘Just a moment. Just … settle.’

‘Don’t tell me to settle. If you don’t take your hands off of me, I’ll start screaming.’

He gave a low, rumbling laugh that danced over her shoulders. ‘Just hear me out. Give me until New Year’s Eve. Just another month and change, and that’s all.’

His breath beat against her cheek. She could feel it penetrate the skin and soak into her. It wasn’t as though he had any sort of grip on her; she could have moved aside and just evaded him, but it was as though that hand on her hip was an anchor he used to keep her against him.