“You look crazy beautiful,” I answered.
I took the cell phone from his hand and closed it. I shut mine off and placed them both in my bag. I leaned in, placing my mouth very close to his right ear.
“There’ll be no need for phones tonight. I plan on engaging in a little personal, one-on-one communication, yes?” I kissed the spot right below his ear that I knew drove him out of his mind.
He groaned, hands coming up to pull me the rest of the way to him. He was already hard, and I moaned at the realization. “I missed you,” he growled, his hands on the small of my back, pressing his body against mine.
I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck. “George, you have no idea,” I said, kissing him greedily on his perfect lips.
“How fast can you eat dinner?” he asked between kisses.
“That depends, but pretty freaking fast. Why?” I asked, as he began to kiss my neck. My hands dug into his hair with wild abandon.
“Because as soon as we’re done with our dinner plans, I’m taking you straight to my hotel, taking everything off this glorious body, and ravaging you until you’re incoherent,” he said, licking the little hollow at the base of my neck.
I actually shook when his words met my ears and my brain processed what he’d just said. “Hell, love, all I really need are some crackers and a glass of water. Then we can have the hotel boom-boom,” I said, my eyes rolling back in my head as he began to unbutton my coat, his mouth never leaving my skin.
Then I became aware that we were standing in the middle of a very crowded sidewalk only blocks from a Time billboard. I knew this because Leslie and I walked three blocks out of our way to see it when went for coffee.
A crowded sidewalk, and I am making out with Jack Fucking Hamilton. I pulled away—his lips actually still attached to my neck, hands busily prying at the buttons on my coat. “No, no, Sweet Nuts. Dinner first, buttons later. Besides, isn’t Rebecca meeting us there?” I asked, struggling to maintain control. I could feel my resolve slip a little when he stuck two fingers between the buttons on my coat to graze my breast through the dress.
“Yes, she is. But she would understand. She knows how much I’ve been missing my Grace,” he whispered in my ear—in the Queen’s English for pity’s sake.
As much as my body wanted to simply have him ravage me up against the side of the car, my brain began to function just enough to pull away again and hold up one hand.
“Okay, pony boy. Listen up. We’ll drive to dinner, and we’ll have the dinner. We’ll hang with Rebecca. We’ll decline dessert, we’ll decline any after-dinner drinks, and then we’ll leave. We’ll go straight to your hotel, and I’ll let you begin to do things to me in the elevator on the way up to your room. Deal?” I watched his eyes light up as I came to the end of my sentence.
“Okay, deal. But no appetizers,” he said, holding open the door to the car.
“No appetizers,” I agreed, stepping in.
Once we were situated, he told the driver where to take us, then raised the divider, separating us from him.
“Grace?” he said, sliding closer to me on the leather seats. He smelled uncommonly good. The Hamilton would be hard to keep away tonight.
But who ever wanted to keep away the Hamilton? Certainly not this girl.
“Yes?” I answered, reaching out to stroke his cheek.
“You said nothing about the car ride to the restaurant and whether I can do things to you in here.” He grinned, smirk highly evident.
Damn.
“No, I suppose I didn’t.” I sighed resignedly, his hands already moving under my dress. My breath hitched as his fingers traced a circle on my upper thigh.
“We have about twenty-five blocks to play. Up for a little slap and tickle?” He smiled, watching my reaction as he eased his hand higher, closer.
“Oh hell, love, that’s something you literally never need to ask. Always yes. Yes to slap and tickle.” I kissed him deeply.
We may have been a little late for dinner.
Chapter 9
Rebecca and I had a blast getting caught up, and Jack just shook his head while we carried on over dinner. She told me all about the stalkers, the Time fans coming to his appearances, and the paparazzi trailing him constantly now. Because he had me otherwise occupied in the car, I’d failed to notice the car following us, carrying his new security guard. The guard now went out with Jack for high-profile events, and for not-so-high-profile events, like a simple dinner. That would take some getting used to.
We got to the restaurant rather quickly, so there was no chance for actual sexy times, just the promise of the sexy times. The panties had very nearly come off though, and I was now hypersexual. Everything was turning me on: the way he drank his wine, the way he twirled his pasta, the way he licked his lips to catch a plop of sauce. And was it me, or was he massaging that breadstick?
I had to excuse myself from the table. I needed some air. He was seriously driving me crazy. Rebecca followed me to the ladies room.
“Is he trying to make you self-combust?” she asked, raising an all-knowing eyebrow in the mirror.
“Jesus, yes! You noticed it too?”
“Oh shit, girl, he is on. He misses you so much. I almost feel dirty watching the display of table sexing going on…Almost. I’m still totally going to watch.” She laughed at my expression.
“He’s killing me. I almost can’t stand it,” I admitted, fanning myself.
“Grace, I have to tell you, he’s so in love with you,” she said, reapplying her lipstick.
I stopped fanning and looked at her.
“Why do you say that?” I asked, really interested in what she was going to say.
“I just know. He talks about you all the time. And he really misses you. You should’ve seen him in his interviews today. He was bouncing out of his seat, checking his watch. Ya know, he tries to play it so cool, but he’s just an idiot. Those fangirls think he’s all sexy scientist man, and really, he’s just a British goober who adores his girlfriend.”
I was so glad he had a friend like her. She really got him.
“He is kind of an idiot, isn’t he?” I laughed, thinking of him back at the table. Massaging his breadstick.
But he’s your idiot.
Yes, he really just is.
“Boys are idiots when they’re in blue-ball hell. You need to make sure he gets some tonight. I can barely contain myself with all the sex vibes being thrown around, and he’s like a brother to me!” She grimaced as we walked back to the table.
We arrived to find the security guard, Joe, talking quietly to Jack. I slid into my chair, grasping Jack’s hand on the way and kissing his knuckles as he curled his hand around mine.
“Hey, love. Miss me?” he asked quietly, winking.
“I did actually. Are we leaving soon?” I winked back and waggled my eyebrows suggestively.
He exchanged a glance with Joe, then looked back at me.
“Well, yes. Soon. But you should know there are a bunch of photographers outside. You okay with that?” His concern for me showed on his face.
I took a deep breath.
“Grace, it’s cool. You can walk out with me,” Rebecca said. “We’ll play this off. They don’t need to know you were here with the Jack Hamilton. Maybe you were just here with the slightly-less-well-known-but-equally-hot Rebecca Lake,” she said, fluffing her hair and striking a pose.
I took another deep breath.
This was going to happen eventually. It was shocking that it hadn’t happened yet. If I hadn’t moved to New York, I probably would’ve been identified long before now. But Rebecca was right. I could walk out with her, grab a cab, and meet Jack back at the hotel.
“It’s cool. I’ll do whatever you want, love. You know that.” I placed a finger over his lips as he started to comment on my very easily misinterpreted statement. “Obviously, for everyone involved, I think it’s probably better if I walk out with Rebecca, though, don’t you?” I giggled as he tried to nibble on my finger.