You don't choose when.
You don't choose where.
And you don't get to choose who you fall in love with.
The minute he opened his sexy mouth, Holliday Hughes should have known Jack Dalton was trouble. His smooth pickup lines, broad shoulders, and ridiculously handsome face charmed her right out of her clothes. She gave into her desires, the instant attraction blinding her to the obvious.
One night. That was all it took for Holliday’s world to be flipped on its axis. Jack Dalton was cocky. Smug. Volatile. Demanding. He ignited something deep inside her like no other, but there was something more to this brooding bad boy. There was a dark side to him she couldn't help but be drawn to.
Torn between what she knew about him and a mysterious side he tried to hide, could she walk away or was he simply too hard to resist?
Wait. Don’t go. Stay.
Whether we have sex or not, I just want your company.” His expression appears
sincere, but he seems to have several sides to him.
With my back against the
door, I keep my eyes on his. “Look. I don’t sleep around… much. But I have
slept with someone just because it was Wednesday.” I shrug. “So I’m not
innocent over here, but I work hard and I have a pretty crappy social life
because of it. Sometimes it’s nice to feel a warm touch that vibrates with
excitement instead of a cold one that’s battery-operated.” I step forward as if
I owe him more, more of an explanation, or more of me, I’m not sure. “Judge me
if you must, but I’m in Vegas and now officially on vacation. And despite what
you may think, I’ve only had the one drink so far today, so I’m not drunk. I’m
a grown woman who appreciates a handsome face and the artistry of a tattoo that
has meaning to the person wearing it. I actually thought we’d have dinner and a
good time. All that came from somewhere pure, somewhere that now feels dirty, a
little tainted. So I’m going now and if one day you find yourself not so lost
in Los Angeles, you know my information.”
I don’t wait for a response
or apology. I don’t know Dalton well enough to know if he’d offer one anyway.
So I go without looking back, passing the room service waiter on the way, and
hop in an elevator that’s for the exclusive use of the two penthouses.
Half expecting to hear him
call after me, my finger hovers over the Lobby button, but I count to ten and
when I don’t hear anything, I push it. The doors start to close when a hand
reaches in, stopping them. Dalton peeks around the corner with a big smile in
place, and says, “Can we start over? Stay for dinner?”
“Why?”
“Because I like you. I like
your honesty and I don’t get much honesty in my line of work.”
“You’re an undercover narc.
Of course you don’t get much honesty. Isn’t that why you got into the
business?”
A sly smile crosses his
face, revealing a small dimple in his cheek. A light sparks from within,
reflecting in his eyes, and with a nod of his head, he says, “Come back. I’ll
feed you and give you the sex you came up here for. Because it’s a Friday and
while Friday may not be hump day, it’s still a damn good day of the week.”
My mouth drops open. “The
sex? You’ll give me the sex because it’s Friday?” I roll my eyes while huffing,
and then push the lobby button twice.
Stepping inside, he blocks
the doors from closing and a buzz is heard from overhead. With his arms
stretched wide, he looks into my eyes. “No. I mean, if you want the food that’s
currently getting cold inside, you can have it. If you want to have sex, let’s
fuck. You can have anything you want.”
The elevator starts buzzing
even louder, escalating its level of warning. Dalton spreads his feet apart to
hold the doors open and reaches for me. “I’ll even call you Holli since that’s
what you prefer.”
He’s sexy and when he’s
flirting with me, even sexier. I can’t give in too easily though. I should make
a few ground rules, or at least one. “I’ll only come back on one condition.”
“Name it.”
Live music shows, harvesting jalapenos and eating homemade guacamole are her obsessions she calls hobbies.
Scott lives in the beautiful Texas hill country of Austin with her husband, two young sons, two Papillons and a bowl full of Sea Monkeys.
Her novels include Naturally, Charlie, Good Vibrations, and A Prior Engagement.
She welcomes your notes at sl@slscottauthor.com.
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