Page 6 of Wait for Him

“Whiskey on the rocks, please,” he tells Brandon first, which I appreciate. Then the full weight of those blue eyes lands on me for the first time in person. “Hello, Rosepetal.”

“Hello, Jackoftrades.”

I take my time, letting my gaze move over him and making absolutely no apology for it. The jawline. The shoulders. The mouth. Everything the profile promised and then some.

I cross my legs and tilt my head. “Are you staying at the hotel, or are you here to pick up women?”

His mouth opens.

I lean forward and press one finger against his lips before he gets a word out.

“And don't lie to me.”

His breath catches.

Interesting.

Up close, he is even more infuriatingly handsome, and the way those blue eyes drop to my finger against his mouth for just a fraction of a second before finding mine again feels like he’s trying to decide if this is actually happening.

It is, sweetheart.

“I’m not staying at the hotel.” He says it like it was forced out of him. Like honesty is a muscle that he doesn’t usually have to flex this early in the evening.

I’ll reward him for that later.

“Go reserve a room.” I reach into my clutch and produce my credit card. “I’ll finish my drink.”

“I can take care of—”

I raise one hand and glare at him.

“Do as you’re told,” I say, “or this isn’t going to work out tonight.”

His throat works. Whatever he was going to say dissolves somewhere between his chest and his mouth. He just nods and takes the card from my fingers.

“Good boy.”

His pupils flare. He liked that.

The corner of his mouth twitches like he's fighting the instinct to smile, but he doesn't challenge me. He simply turns and heads toward the front desk with my credit card in his hand.

I watch him go.

Partly because I want to make sure he actually follows the instructions.

Mostly because his ass deserves my undivided attention.

Jesus.

I take another sip of whiskey and settle back against the stool.

Technically, I already have a room upstairs. It's sitting empty right now, and Jade isn't coming back tonight unless something goes spectacularly wrong with Mr. Roller-Coaster Tongue.

But technically isn't good enough, and I don't want anyone coming back unannounced and finding me in a compromising position, and I plan to be in many a compromising position.

***

The elevator ride up is quiet and tense, both of us painfully aware of the other without acknowledging it.