Sweetness (20 page)

I turn on the water and pour some bath salts into
the tub. I strip my clothes and emerge into the hot water,
shoving away any naughty thoughts that don’t have
Dominic in them. I can’t wait to see him in the morning.
I contemplate making an early night of it just so time will
pass quicker. My mind wonders to all the different things
we can do together. It feels like an eternity since I’ve seen
him.

I don’t know how long I have been in the tub but
the water is now colder. I get out and put on the hotel
bathrobe after drying off. While I am in my room
unpacking there is a knock at the door. No way in hell I
am answering the door in my bathrobe. There is enough
sexual tension between us as it is.

“Emma,” Gabe calls through the door.
“Yes… give me…give me a minute. I am getting
dressed.” I rip clothes out of my bag to get as decent as
possible before I open the door.
“You don’t have to open the door, just listen. An
associate of mine has just informed me that there is a
band playing at a nearby club. She is interested in hiring
our firm since she has heard such good things about us,
including our role in the Lost tour. I was wondering if
you would join me.”
“Um…sure. Of course. I will be ready in about a
half an hour.”
“Ok, great. I am going to order room service first.
Can I get you anything?”
“Uhhh…cheeseburger, cooked medium, fries, and
a diet Coke.”
“You got it. See you in a bit,” he answers, his tone
relaxed and friendly. Perhaps if I can get a drink or two
in me I’ll feel more relaxed as well.
A half hour later I am dressed in black skinny
jeans, a white camisole, a loose fitting, dark gray, shirt
that is cut wide at the shoulders so it lays off the one side,
and black leather high heeled ankle boots. I twist my hair
up and cinch it with a lobster clip with a few stray
strands hanging off my face. I put on just a hint of
makeup and look at my watch to see that I am right on
time. When I exit my room, I see Gabe signing for our
food order. He turns around and gives me a once over
visually critiquing my clothes, again.
“Glad to see you didn’t opt for leather and lace
again,” he grins.
“Well sir,” my words dripping in sarcasm, “I
didn’t think it was appropriate for work.”
“Are you mocking me?” He says with a smile, his
bourbon colored eyes twinkling.
“Me, sir?” I put my hand to my chest and fake my
distain, “I would never be so bold.”
“Yeah, ok,” he puffs out, chest heaving. “The band
should be going on in about an hour or so. We have to
get going shortly.”
He pulls out my chair and motions for me to sit,
gentlemen Gabe is back. We eat in almost silence except
for some small talk about the band we are going to see.
Apparently we are seeing some Indie rock band. So at
least the music will be good, I hope.

Once we are at the club
Gabe throws his name around to
get the VIP treatment right through the front door and
into a private area where there is already a bottle of
campaign on ice. We sit facing the stage off to the side so
we can observe without being in the mix of it all. I see a
tall, leggy, redhead eyeing us up from the corner of the
bar. Gabe nods to her before she saunters toward out
table like a cougar stalking her prey. She is all tits and
ass. Her tight black dress fits her like a second skin. Her
short red hair is cut into a sleek bob and her Lisa Loeb
style glasses make her sexy, nerd girl look complete.

“Mr. Hernandez, nice to see you in something
other then a suite and tie.” The redhead holds out her
hand, palm side down as if she wants him to kiss her
knuckles. Instead Gabe grasps her hand firmly and
shakes it as if the offer was lost on him.

I peek at him from the corner of my eye,
bewildered. Why wouldn’t he jump all over the
opportunity to indulge her? This woman is attractive
enough. Hummm…as a matter of fact he doesn’t give
any woman the time of day. I have seen at least a half
dozen woman throw themselves at him today alone, but
he doesn’t seem the least bit interested.

Maybe he’s gay? There’s a thought. Maybe that is
why he enjoys teasing me with all the sexual tension.
That’s it. That’s got to be it. He isn’t interested in me; he
is just toying with me. It all makes sense now.

I relax a bit more and internally laugh at myself
for being so worried about the events of today. The plane
ride incident probably just embarrassed him. A woman
falling on his lap all breathy and nervous probably just
isn’t what he’s in to. That’s got to be it. It is the only thing
that makes sense. Clearly, Mia had it wrong. My father
probably doesn’t even know he is gay. I don’t think he
would have an issue with it but Gabe doesn’t strike me as
the type of guy who allows people into his personal life.
This gives me hope that we may be able to have a
friendship without me acting like a bumbling mess after
all. I can’t ask him outright about it, it would be highly
inappropriate. I will have to be on the lookout for more
clues.

“Miss Wright, this is my assistant, Emma Hill.
Emma Hill this is Angela Wright, the bands manager,”
Gabe says in his CEO voice.

“Nice to meet you Miss Wright.” We shake hands
and I smile politely.
“Miss Hill, nice to meet you as well. Mr.
Hernandez has told me you are doing a great job with
Lost. I look forward to working with you in the future.”
She looks back at Gabe. “If I play my cards right that is.”
She shoots him a wink before excusing herself backstage.
We sit back down and Gabe pours me a glass of
the expensive Champaign that was chilling in the bucket.
“You know she was flirting with you don’t you.”
“I know,” he flinches.
“You do? Could have fooled me.” I take a large sip
from my glass, staring at him over the top.
“Emma, I don’t mix business with pleasure,” Gabe
exhales. I nod my head slightly and shrug my shoulders.
I’ll leave it be for now. He is going to be a tough nut to
crack. He is always so damn serious.
The band comes on and we sit and tap our feet in
our seats. They are pretty good. The lead singer is kind of
homely looking with his long, greasy hair and terrible
wardrobe of tight skinny jeans and oversized t-shirt. I
make a mental note to take care of that first if we are
going to represent them. Total makeover for the band is a
must. After two hours we get up to leave, we’ve seen
enough to know they have potential. When we approach
the bar area Gabe spots Angela waiving him over.
“I will be back in a minute. Wait here,” he says
directly in my ear before walking off toward Angela.
Fighting my way to the bar I order two beers and
wait for him to return. Within five minutes Gabe is back
and I hand him his beer. We discuss the pros and cons of
this particular group. Gabe agrees that they need a major
overhaul in the appearance department and the lead
singer is much stronger then the rest of the group. An
inebriated blond tries pushing past me to get to the bar.
She bumps my shoulder as she attempts to further
squeeze between us. I glare back at her waiting for an
apology but it never comes.
Gabe watches me stare her down and interjects.
“Ready to go?”
“Sure give me a few minutes, I want to use the
ladies room first.” He points to the far left corner of the
bar area and I see the long line of woman waiting to use
the restroom. Why is it that there is always such a long
line for the ladies room and the men’s room is always
empty?
After what feels like forever I use the bathroom
and walk back to where I left Gabe. I see the drunken
blond hanging on him and he doesn’t seem to be
enjoying her company. From afar I watch him. He’s
annoyed, sitting on a bar stool looking away, toward the
dance floor. She is very close to him and I can see him
politely smiling and nodding as she continues to talk too
close to his face. He spots me, his eyes pleading for help.
Watching the scene play out in front of me I stand with
my hand on my hip and bite my lower lip to repress a
laugh. He narrows his eyes at me. I decide helping him is
the least I can do.
I clear my throat, stand up straight, and strut
toward him. His eyes are thin slits by the time I
approach. I sidle up right next to him and lace my fingers
together before placing them on his shoulder. I run my
finger down the side of his face and give him a very
sweet kiss on the cheek. The girl pulls her head back and
scrunches her face at me.
“Ready to go baby? I think its time for you to take
me home now.” I say sweetly but loud enough for his
new friend to hear me. I brush my nose against his cheek
and down his neck, sniffing his masculine scent as my
face fills the void in the crook of his neck.
“Yup, lets get out of here,” he wraps his arm
around my waist and gracefully eases off the stool
holding me close placing a small kiss on the side of my
head. The girl turns in a huff and curses as she walks
away. Once she is out of earshot we both break out into a
fit of laughter as he pulls me through the crowd. We get
halfway across the dance floor and Gabe stops in his
tracks while releasing his hold on my waist. I look up
confused by his actions to see Dominic standing in front
of us with sad and very angry eyes.
“Dominic!” I say, excited to see him. I step toward
him but takes a step back and puts up his hand for me to
stop. He is looking at me, disappointed and angry.
Definitely angry! But why? “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” he shouts, “Seriously Emma!”
He turns around and double times it toward the front
door, carefully dodging the other patrons of the club.
I look back at Gabe for answers. I shrug my
shoulders with wide eyes in his direction. What the hell
is going on? Why is he mad?
Gabe thins his lips to a tight apologetic smile and
shakes his head. “Perhaps he saw your little show and
thought we were being serious.”
Holy shit!
“Hell. I’m sorry Mr. Hernandez. I am going to talk
to him. I will see you back at the hotel.” He nods and
wishes me a very insincere ‘good luck’.
I run out of the club and look left then look right. I
see Dominic cross the street at the corner heading back in
the direction toward the hotel. Good thing it’s only a few
blocks away. I sprint after him as fast as I can in heals but
he is walking too fast. I call his name but he doesn’t turn
back. I run across the street and I am nearly taken out by
a cab that screeches to a halt in front of me. Dominic
stops, turns to see that I am ok, than continues to walk
away. I pick up the pace once I am safely on the sidewalk
and continue to yell his name as I close the gap between
us. The humidity and the heat make it hard to breath as I
run in these god-forsaken shoes. When I’m about 15 feet
behind him I scream louder, catching the attention of
people all around us who are now staring at me like I’m
crazy.
“DOMINIC! STOP! PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!” He
stops but doesn’t turn around. I slow down to a teetering
stroll. Thank fuck. These heals are not made for running.
I step in front of him and I notice his fists are balled up at
his side and his face is beet red.
“Baby, please talk to me. What’s wrong? What did
I do?”
“What did you do? You tell me Emma. What DID
you do? Did you happen to fuck your boss while I was
gone? Did you do that, Emma? Because it sure looked
like that’s what was about to happen when I saw you.”
His words were coming out fast and harsh. His face
reddens and his eyes are filled with rage.
“No! No! No! What you saw…that was an act.
There was some girl hitting on him-“
“And what? You were jealous that someone was
hitting on your…Jesus, Emma, he is your boss for fucks
sake.”
“Listen to me! There was some drunk girl hitting
on him at the bar so I pretended to be his date so he
could get away from her.” My heart is pounding and my
dry mouth is preventing me from saying too much. I
don’t want him to be mad at me.
“Pretended to be his date! Well then, Emma, I
think you missed your calling as an actress, because from
where I was standing you were pretty damn
convincing,” he growls.
I reach my hand up to his face and he steps back.
When our eyes lock I notice his are shiny. “Dominic, I
swear I am telling the truth. I have never slept with Gabe.
I am not even sure Gabe is straight to tell you the truth.”
Dominic’s shoulders relax a little. I take a step toward
him and his eyes never leave mine as I cup his cheeks
forcing him to look at me. He snaps his head back and
my hands fall to my sides.
“Dom, its only you. I’ve missed you.” I put my
hands on his waist but he doesn’t move. He takes a deep
breath and closes his eyes as if he is silently composing
himself. When he exhales, his strong arms wrap around
me.
I can feel him smelling my hair as he pulls me in
closer. “I’m sorry. Baby, I swear. I am sorry that I made
you jealous. I didn’t expect you until tomorrow. I am so
glad you’re here.”
“I have missed you so much and seeing you
hanging on him and laughing…I just lost it. I thought
that you decided you didn’t want to see me after all.” He
cocks his head to one side after pulling back slightly.
“I checked with the hotel and they don’t have an
Emma Hill staying there,” “however there is a Mr. and
Mrs. Gabe Hernandez staying in a suite. The hotel
doorman told me Gabe was headed this way so I thought
I might seek him out to ask him where you were.
Imagine my surprise when I saw your PDA.” He looks at
me with a raised brow. Shit, this is not going to sound
good. Especially now.
A take a step back and nervously fidget with my
hands. “Umm. The reason, uhhh…how do I say this. The
hotel thinks, I. Am. Mrs. Hernandez,” I say as slowly and
timidly as I can manage knowing full well this is going to
go over like a ton of bricks.
“What? Why?” He shouts taking his own step
back.
“Gabe an I are sharing the suite. And when-“
“What the fuck do you mean you are sharing a
suite? Emma, I am trying to trust you but damn it, you
are making this difficult.” He cuts me off as I try to rush
out my explanation as if saying it faster will make more
sense.
“There are two bedrooms in the suite. I have my
own room. When we checked in, the girl at the front desk
thought we were married for whatever reason. We didn’t
see a reason to correct her so we took our room keys and
walked away. Gabe even gave me the master bedroom
because he said that he understood you would probably
want to stay in my room and he thought we could use
more space.” Dominic is clenching his jaw as he looks
over the top of my head with his hand on his hip. He
shakes his head erratically, as if he is trying to throw an
image out of his head.
I step closer cautiously and he pulls me in close to
his chest, hugging me tight. “This is not how I wanted
this to go,” he mutters into my hair. His body still rigid
with tension.
“How exactly did you see this playing out?” I
smile into his chest then pull back to look at the face I
have been longing to see for so long. He traces my jaw
with his index finger down to the base of my throat. I let
out a small moan and his expression turns mischievous.
“I expected you to be in your room, naked,
waiting for me.” His mouth crashes into mine forcefully
and steals my breath. His tongue invades my mouth as
he grasps my ass with both hands to pull me closer. I can
feel his erection pressing into me. I pull my hands to the
back of his head, letting the short hair tickle my palms as
I deepen our kiss. He’s all over me like a feral animal
desperate for a meal.
I pull back breathlessly not yet able to open my
eyes. “Your wish is my command.” I step away from him
towards the street and hail a cab. As I raise my hand in
the air to flag one down I can feel Dominic behind me
holding onto my waist. He kisses my neck and I roll my
head back savoring his lips on my body. “You keep
doing that I am going to have to fuck you in the back of
the cab,” I whisper.
He turns me around and starts to kiss me again. I
nip his lower lip with my teeth. He grabs both of my
hands to pull me back toward he sidewalk. “Walking
may be faster.”
“After all the running I did in these heals, my feet
are killing me.”
“I’ll carry you,” he says seriously.
“You certainly will not,” I laugh. He lets out a
moan and steps back toward the street to urgently hail a
cab. Apparently if you simply step in front of one as it
passes, it will stop. Not something I would recommend
but it worked all the same.
The hotel is only a few blocks away, sex in a cab
would not be a good idea but teasing is never off the
table. He tells the driver where to go as I run my hand
up his thigh and cup his erection through his jeans. He
whips his head to me, shocked, and from the looks of it,
willing to play along. He puts one hand around my
shoulder and returns the favor while his lips kiss my
neck and jaw. He squeezes and kneads me through my
pants. The seam of my jeans is rubbing me through my
panties in just the right spot. Thank you lord for the
invention of denim. I am so fired up, he sets me off right
there in the back seat with just a few more tight squeezes
while we massage each other through our clothes. He
buries my face into his neck so the driver can’t hear my
cries of gratification. Just as I feel the tell tale pull of my
core I bite down on his shoulder.
“Ahh, Emma, easy,” he speaks so only I can hear
him.
The car comes to a stop and I look up to see him
watching me with a naughty smile on his face. “You’re so
damn cute. I could watch you forever.”
I take my hand off of him while he reaches for his
wallet to pay the driver. He opens the door and takes my
hand helping me out of the car. My legs are a bit wobbly
and it takes me a few steps to regain my footing. Dominic
smirks at me and puts his arm around my waist to hold
me steady. I put my arm around his waist and slip my
hand into his back pocket. He moves his arm up to my
shoulder and pulls me into him tighter so he can kiss my
forehead.
When we walk through the lobby, I see the same
brunette, who checked Gabe and I in earlier. She looks up
at me from her computer. I stop dead in my tracks,
pulling Dominic back a step. He looks confused by this
and I motion with my eyes over to the front desk. He
puts one arm around my waist and the other hand
behind the nape of my neck. This is becoming our
signature move ever since I told him I want him to hold
me like he does his mic stand. He pulls me in for a
passionate kiss as I run my hands up his back until my
hands grip his shoulders. After a few seconds he pulls
back and smiles sweetly before glancing at the
receptionist, giving her a sexy wink. Miss Flirty
receptionist is shocked and gapes at us trying in vein to
regaining her composure.
We both laugh and head toward he elevators
before we can no longer control ourselves and decide the
lobby floor is good enough for a reunion romp. I press
the button and see Gabe walking through the lobby and
over toward the front desk. The same woman behind the
desk looks at him then glances over towards us
nervously. Dominic and I laugh harder as we enter the
empty elevator, pressing the door close button before
anyone, especially Gabe, climbs in.
“Well that little scene should keep her guessing,” I
giggle. “Can you believe even after she assumed Gabe
and I were married, she continued to flirt with him.”
Dominic shakes his head and turns toward me. He
brushes the back of his fingers against my cheek and
stares into my eyes.