Chapter 15 Brooke
brOOKE
Oh, wow. Wow. I couldn’t believe he’d said that. As the interview wrapped up and we bid everyone goodbye, I could feel Jace watching me. We headed straight to the hotel afterward, and I was having a hard time keeping my eyes off Jace.
“Who’s hungry?” Andrew asked after everyone checked in.
The team answered in a chorus of “Me!” Sometimes I forgot they burned—and needed—more calories than the average person.
I had been counting down the minutes until the moment I’d be alone in my room.
I planned to nap right until I had to take the boys to the bar.
But instead, I whipped out my phone and said, “What do you want to eat? I can call and make you reservations.”
Everyone started talking at the same time, but I got the message: they all wanted different things.
Jace pulled me a little further away from the group.
“Brooke, we can get our own food. You’ve been running around all day. Get some rest. Want me to buy something for you?”
“Thanks, but I’m not hungry. If I change my mind, I’ll buy something later.”
Jace nodded. “Hats off for the way you put everything together today. It was honestly one of the best-organized interviews I’ve had.”
“Thanks.”
I was exhausted when I reached my room. So of course, the second my head hit the pillow, instead of falling into a dreamless sleep, adrenaline kicked in.
I was in New York. What was I doing wasting my time sleeping?
I could rest back home. So instead of having the beauty sleep I’d been fantasizing about for the past two hours, I slipped on jeans, a T-shirt, and sneakers.
As I fixed the belt on my jeans, I glanced at the little black dress for tonight.
I regretted now bringing that vanilla outfit.
The boys wouldn’t have judged me if I showed up wearing something more edgy.
Why had I been so hard on myself? On the bright side, I now had the perfect excuse for shopping.
Honestly, I was glad the players had gone out without me. I needed a few hours to myself.
Once I stepped out of the hotel, I closed my eyes for a few seconds, smiling from ear to ear. Traffic and honks were part of my daily life in LA as well, but I could swear New York sounded different.
Where to go first? I was only three subway stations away from my favorite shopping area.
As an intern, I’d been on a tight budget, so cabs had been out of the question.
I didn’t see the need to waste money on one now either.
I slurped an iced coffee and people watched in the subway until I reached my station.
Then I skidded up the stairs and into shopping heaven: Macy’s.
Again, being an underpaid intern at a fashion magazine in New York had taught me a valuable skill: shopping on a budget. I had a knack for finding treasures. Three hours later, I had two bags full of clothes I didn’t need (but absolutely couldn’t resist), yet still no outfit for tonight.
I stopped at the sight of a red dress. Hmm… I already had the right shoes for it. With the right belt, it would look fantastic. Ten minutes later, I was whirling around in the changing room, admiring the dress from all angles. Jace was going to swallow his tongue when he saw me.
I couldn’t wait to see his reaction. I also bought a sexy corset to wear underneath it.
I was bursting with excitement while handing the cashier my credit card. Now I was ready for the evening.
By the time I returned to the hotel, my feet were killing me. But did I rest? No. Instead, I went on to the next level of preparation: hair and makeup. Since I was wearing a dress with personality now, I needed a matching hairdo, so I got to work.
I smiled at my reflection in the mirror before leaving the room.
I’d slicked a sheer gloss on my lips, and put all my efforts into highlighting my eyes.
I’d used a mascara that promised extravagantly long lashes.
The product had more than fulfilled its promise, especially because I’d also used an eyelash curler.
My hair was pulled back in an updo that looked naturally messy, but had taken forty minutes to get right.
The elevator was packed, as was the lobby. The bar was in the underground of the hotel, and those who hadn’t made a reservation had to line up in front of the entrance.
I glimpsed the team right away, tucked away in a corner of the lobby, and waved at them.
Andrew gestured to the rest of the boys to head toward me.
Jace had been typing on his phone but looked up at Andrew’s nudge.
Even from this distance, I didn’t miss the appreciative once-over he gave me.
As the two approached, Jace seemed to be undressing me with his gaze.
Well, hell. I was already fanning myself. How was I supposed to get through tonight?
We all headed together inside the bar. I told the hostess our name, and she walked us to our private area. Andrew took the lead. Jace and I were at the rear.
“Just a warning, I’m gonna spend the entire evening next to you,” he whispered.
“Why?” I asked, mystified.
“Because someone’s bound to hit on you if I leave you alone, and then I’m going to do something that will blow our cover.”
“Jace, no one’s going to hit on me.”
“See? You can’t even tell how beautiful you are. You definitely need me as a bodyguard. And chatting with you on work nights isn’t against the agreement.”
I glared at him, but far from backpedaling, Jace looked as if he was very close to pinning me against the nearest wall and kissing me senseless.
“Well, bodyguard. Let’s take a look around.”
I could immediately tell why the place was so coveted.
The diffuse lighting cast the place in a slick and elegant glow.
Everything was decorated in shades of warm brown.
The space was divided in several smaller booths, with wood paneling displaying a lace pattern dividing them, stopping the sound from propagating across the room.
A small dance floor was wedged between the booths.
I planned to ignore it the entire evening, as I wasn’t much of a dancer.
Our booth was close to the bar, but it turned out I needn’t have nagged Ryan so much to give us one of the ultra-VIP spots, because the players were out and about the entire time, mingling with others.
I, on the other hand, planned to take full advantage of the cozy booth.
It was comfortable and relatively quiet.
I gulped down the complementary peanuts and almonds before the waitress even came to take my drink order.
Now I was debating ordering everything there was to eat on the menu.
In all my excitement to shop and get ready, I’d forgotten to eat.
I ordered grilled prawns to start with but was still lost in the menu when the couch caved next to me. I knew it was Jace before I even glanced sideways. No one else would be cocky enough to lean into me the way he did.
“Do me a favor and keep me from ordering the entire menu before they bring my order,” I said.
“Will do.”
“How do you like the bar?”
“Gives me an excuse to sit right next to you, so I love it. You look incredible.”
Clearly, Jace wasn’t going to turn the flirting down. Maybe it was time to switch tactics. As he took the menu from me and started flipping through it, I said nonchalantly, “This shirt is perfect on you. The only way you could look hotter is if you took it off.”
He stopped in the act of turning the page, his eyes bulging.
“What’s the matter, Mr. Connor? Can’t win at your own flirting game? Good to know I can render you speechless after all.”
He did look incredible, wearing jeans and a black shirt with long sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The dark color contrasted with his green eyes.
My grilled prawns arrived before Jace could reply, and I dug right in.
“Oh, God, I’m so hungry. Completely forgot to eat.”
“What did you do today?”
“Went shopping. You?”
“Ate a steak with Andrew, then hit some stores. Milo asked me for some Knicks memorabilia. He wanted a specific shirt from the seventies. Didn’t find it, but I got him a few other shirts instead.”
“Oh, no. I actually know a store that sells vintage memorabilia,” I said after swallowing half a prawn. I loved that Jace had gone shopping for his nephew when he could have simply sent someone to do that for him.
“We could go together tomorrow.”
“Of course.”
He looked down between us, then placed his hand over mine on the couch. “We haven’t spent much time together lately. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
He snapped his gaze back up, looking at me with hope, interlacing our fingers. “Spend the entire day with me tomorrow?”
“But you have tickets to the basketball game early in the afternoon.”
“I don’t really give a fuck. I just want to be with you.”
It was amazing how such simple words could affect me so much. His flirty side never got to me the way his sweet side did.
“One day. Just us.” He watched me with an intensity that simply demanded from me to say yes. We were leaving very late in the evening tomorrow. One whole day with Jace? Hell, yes.
“Okay.”
When the waitress came by to ask if we wanted to drink something, I ordered a Martinez cocktail
Jace cocked a brow.
“What? I have a bodyguard. I can go wild.”
I only drank that one cocktail, but the atmosphere around us made me lower my guard, and inhibitions. Away from the Lords offices, I felt more relaxed than I had in the months since I’d started working there. Jace and I talked the whole night and we were among the last ones to leave.
We happened to reach the elevators at the same time as a large group of partygoers, so we squished like sardines inside. I managed to wedge my hand between two women to push the button to my floor, as well as Jace’s. I knew the team was three floors above mine.
Jace was holding an arm on my waist, glaring at the guy in front of me, who was openly leering at me.
I looked up at Jace at the precise moment he glanced down and noticed my corset.
His palm, which had been resting on my back, curled, his fingers pressing into the fabric of my dress as if he wanted to yank it away right this second.
I’d never got aroused so fast in my life. The ache between my thighs only intensified when Jace let go of my waist to take my hand. Oh, God. He was checking the room number on the card cover I was holding, then looked up at the display showing on which floor we were.
Desire slammed into me, wiping away every other thought.
His shaky breath landed on my temple. When the elevator came to a stop, the entire group got out, leaving us alone.
Jace flipped me to face him as soon as the doors closed, and then his mouth was on mine and his hands were touching me desperately.
He only stopped kissing me long enough to growl, “Your room. Now.”