Jewel began to move. She was. So thirsty. This man had her hot.
At the bar she gave her order, and the bartender remembering his earlier order replaced his forgotten drink with a fresh one. He indicated to the bartender that he was taking the small booth beside the bar, and he led Jewel there. She slid in, and instead of sitting across from her, he surprised her by sliding in beside her. The bartender followed with their drinks and quickly disappeared. They now had some privacy in the crowded bar.
She had a moment of panic when his hip bumped hers, but she pushed over to make room for him. She felt trapped, and from this seat couldn’t even see her friends. Another moment of doubt crept in. Why was he pursuing her? These Sassacus men had reputations, she reminded herself. They were the love ’em and leave them types. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. The oldest, Jonathan, had recently married. But even the sisters were known to have been around the block a time or two, if the rumors being spread about were true.
“Don’t worry, I don’t bite.” He saw her nervousness as she toyed with her glass. “Unless you want me to,” he teased inching closer.
The wanton image of him biting one of her nipples before sucking it into his mouth gently came into her mind’s eye. Oh God! She realized she did want him to bite her. Badly. But could she handle this? A fling with Joseph Sassacus. She’d been dreaming of him lately. Ever since she had encountered him that one evening he had seen her packing her car with items to be delivered to the food bank. A fling? Could she? She’d never had a causal affair before. A one night hook up. She realized she very much wanted too. Her battery powered boyfriend of late was not as exciting as it used to be. But would there be repercussions? Could she handle that?
Joseph saw her mind working. She was smiling though and that was a good sign. He gave her the time she needed. He wasn’t into forcing himself on a woman, but he knew the signs. She was just as attracted to him as he was to her. And she was considering the possibilities. This was going to happen, he knew that. But it would be her choice. He watched her as she picked up her drink and took a sip of the sweet concoction, a mango flavored margarita. “Mmm, these are so good,” she murmured seductively. “Delicious.”
Joseph lifted his glass taking a cooling sip. He was sure the drink was good, but he had a thought something else might be even sweeter. He wanted to taste her. All of her. But he would settle for a kiss first. Setting his drink back down, he reached behind her and placed an arm along the back of the seat, and then lazily picked up a coil of her hair.
Jewel felt his fingers in her hair. First he lightly picked up a lock and tugged, and then his fingers were in her hair, at the nape of her neck. It sent electric shocks tingling along her spine. She felt it reach all the way down to her core and she had to clench her legs together to hold back the shudder that threatened to overtake her. Such a small move and she felt the intensity of it. The man was good, she would give him that. She gave him another shy glance but did not pull away from his touch, and he smiled at her, pleased with her reaction.
It encouraged him to do more. His hand swept across to her shoulder and he began to make lazy circles on it. And then he moved his hand down the length of her bare arm. When he leaned in to speak to her above the noise of the bar and music, his words continued to heighten her excitement just as his hands continued to play havoc with her senses.
“I want to kiss you.” He saw her nostrils flare. Her breathing hitched. “Ever since I’ve met you, I can’t stop thinking about you. I had to keep myself away from the kitchen.”
She was shocked, but encouraged by his pronouncement. He’d been thinking about her all month. She had been thinking about him too, but didn’t want to tell him that. Brushing it off quickly as a pick up line, which it probably was, she lowered her lashes and picked up her drink once more. Could she do this? She really wanted to. He was tempting.