Chapter 1 #3
Tentative, testing. A question. Until his hand curved around my shoulder and he turned me against the wall, pushed closer and pressed in, mouth parting over mine.
Fuck, yes—an answer. Heat snaked under my skin, concrete rough against my shoulders and the city noise blending with the rush in my ears.
Smoke and sugar, a hint of floral bitterness.
He made a small sound, not quite a word, and I pressed closer.
When we broke apart, I felt short of breath even as I filled my lungs with sticky air. Jesse searched my face, hesitating, clearly looking for something only he knew. “Okay,” he said then, more of an exhalation. “Yes.”
Stupid triumph flooded me, like I’d won an argument I couldn’t define. As if all the guys who’d come up to me in the bar—they mattered nothing compared to this one yes. Take that, Travis.
“My hotel’s two blocks,” I managed.
“Lead the way.”
We set off, close but not touching, trading glances that felt brighter than any neon sign. He’d shoved his hands into his pockets, a hint of uncertainty in the set of his shoulders as he shot me another look. “So what is the rate? Three hundred, yes or no?”
As a surgical resident in New York? Some eighteen bucks an hour—and that was based on forty-hour weeks, which, hilarious.
Not what Jesse expected to hear, though.
And while I wouldn’t take his cash, well, this was…
Jesus Christ. It was different. Hot. Partly because I could tell this wasn’t his usual style.
He could have had just about anyone in that bar. Somehow, he’d picked me.
“How much’ve you got?” I asked.
“In cash?” He paused. “Maybe ninety or so. Is there an ATM on the way?”
Fuck, I really should tell him. Especially because I didn’t know how much I was supposed to charge—I’d improvised on the spot, just the first number that had come to mind. Based on Jesse’s tone, he didn’t find it outrageous. Quick, think.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “First-contact discount, remember? And if you want to extend, I take cards.”
Holy shit, really—“I take cards?” I needed to quit while I was ahead.
He slid me a look that was slightly amused, with a shade of surprise. “Pretty confident I’ll hit ‘subscribe,’ are you?”
The confession hovered on my tongue, ready to stumble out into the busy night. But my hotel was just up ahead, and really, I was already treading ethically questionable water—might as well commit. It was just a game anyway, something borrowed for the night. He’d be gone come morning.
So I shot him a smile and let my knuckles brush the side of his thigh. “I guess we’ll see.”
The hotel doors whooshed open in front of us.
A lone desk clerk spared us barely a glance as we crossed the lobby and called an elevator, standing a carefully measured distance apart.
Even so, I was aware of him—just a little taller than me, sharp cheekbones and a strong mouth, how he projected confidence that seemed natural, nothing like the one that I’d donned like an ill-fitting cloak.
He wasn’t cranked like some of the guys I knew back home, but it was clear he worked out.
The way he’d grabbed me earlier, walked me back against the wall…
Well. I’d never quite had that before. Turned out I liked it.
Mirrored elevator. I swiped my card for the third floor, and when I looked up, Jesse was suddenly right in my space, hand in my hair and mouth on mine. Yes.
Corridor. Faded carpet. Key card.
He shoved me into the room—not rough but urgent, kicking the door shut behind us. And then he stopped.
I turned, halfway to the bed. “What?” I asked, too low.
“So.” In the secondhand light of the nighttime city, his eyes seemed nearly black. “How does this work?”
Right. Another chance to quit or double down. I took a breath and felt desire flutter in my chest. “Pretty simple, actually—safe, sane, no bruises. Other than that, you call the shots.” I smiled, gravity settling in my belly, steady and reassuring. “I reserve the right to say no.”
He smiled back and took a step toward me. “Fair terms.”
“I’d like to think so.”
Enough talking. I bridged the space between us and flattened a hand against his stomach, felt warmth beneath the cotton.
When I kissed him again, the tentative edges melted away, and he met me in kind—open, fierce.
My back hit the wall next to the bed, his thigh slotting between mine. Sparks dusted my vision.
Scrape of stubble, his fingers skimming the hem of my shirt. Slide of silk along my spine. I reached for his belt, and he caught my wrist, firm and sure yet not unkind. “Finn.”
I stilled. “Yeah?”
He moved back, leaving me slumped against the wall as he sat down on the bed, thighs spread and one casual hand between his legs, cupping himself through his jeans. “Get naked.”
Heat flashed in my gut. I swallowed against dizzy arousal and held his eyes, liquid courage like the surge of blood in my veins. God, yeah.
Breathe. Act like you’ve done this before. Don’t give the game away.
I tipped up my chin, fingers skimming buttons. Didn’t look away as I undid the first one and the second, Jesse’s gaze tracking the motion with focused appreciation, adrenaline a heady rush in my ears.
Just for tonight.