Liaisons in Jubilee

It took all of Katie’s concentration not to glance at the clock on the wall. The meeting with the execs from New York was running late, they knew it was running late, and they knew Katie knew it was running late. None of them seemed to care. All three men were more interested in their bottom lines than their numb bottoms, and Katie was left smiling and making promises left and right about how this summer was going to be their biggest yet, no holds barred. If anyone noticed that her foot never stopped tapping beneath her chair, nobody said a word. Twenty minutes later, Katie rose to shake their hands as they prepared to file out. Her mouth felt like it was stuck in Miss America mode. “Good work, Katherine.” Smiling at Quentin Collins, her immediate superior, was far easier than dealing with the three men at the same time. He had been the one to recruit her from the Miami resort where she’d worked after graduating from USC, and it had been his influence that pulled her up through the ranks, until she was now the executive manager for the largest resort on the east coast. The holiday division of Jubilee Hotels was now in a position to become a major player in the international market. Katie Mayes wanted to be the reason they got vaulted to the big leagues. “I just want to get past the launch next weekend,” she said, squaring her folder against the conference-room table. “Hothouse and the Guild both start tomorrow, but as far as I’ve been able to find out, they’re not even half-booked.” “Which bodes well for us.” His weathered face creased even further as he maneuvered toward the open doorway. “Keep it up, and all the sacrifices you’ve made for the team the past few years will be worth it. I promise.” Her grateful response was ready on her tongue, but the sudden appearance of Rosaria, her assistant, poking her head inside the room cut her off. “Caleb’s on the phone again,” she said. “He got me to admit you didn’t have any meetings after this one, and now he’s insisting he needs to see you for dinner to discuss the launch entertainment program.” All the good will accrued from Quentin’s comments vanished in the space of a heartbeat. Of all the people Rosaria could mention, it had to be Caleb Beckett. To everybody else, Caleb was just the Entertainment Director for the resort. Quentin knew the truth, though. He knew that Katie had indulged in an affair with Caleb for the three previous summers running, torrid four-month flings that ended as soon as the resort closed, only to resume as soon as the staff reconvened the next year. But it was also Quentin who had pulled her aside the week before she’d flown to Atlantic City. “I know about you and Beckett,” he said without preamble. When her mouth opened to try and explain, he shook his head. “Don’t. I’m doing this now because I like you, Katherine. I think you’ve got a tremendous future with Jubilee. But you’re a manager and Beckett’s your subordinate. You know better than anyone that company policy forbids your involvement with him.” She did. That’s why she and Caleb had agreed to keep the affair secret. Well, that, and because it seemed to give their f*****g an added edge knowing what was at risk if they got caught. Which, apparently, now they had. “Nobody else knows,” Quentin continued. “So I’m giving you a choice. Your job or your relationship. You can’t have both.” As far as ultimatums went, it had been a fair one. That was why she’d deliberately avoided any but the barest of contact with Caleb since arriving at the hotel a month earlier. They saw each other in passing, or in meetings, or when she had to check on something in Entertainment, but every time he attempted to initiate something more private, Katie blew him off. Just like she was going to do now. “Find out what he wants and offer him a ten-minute block in Monday’s staff meeting,” she told Rosaria. “If he takes it, amend the agenda.” Rosaria nodded, scurrying off to leave them alone again. Out of the corner of her eye, Katie saw Quentin smile, though he didn’t say a word as he headed for the doorway. Inwardly, she sighed. It was a good thing she was done for the day. She was going to need a stiff drink to get over the headache blossoming behind her eyes. * * * * The night was sweltering by the time Katie was able to slip away. Neon painted the boardwalk in dancing red and yellow lights, and tourists were thick along the paths as they strolled along, clogging the way for those who had an actual destination in mind. In her low-slung jeans and silk camisole, Katie melted into the crowd, indiscernible even to locals as the sharp-suited executive manager at the Jubilee. She’d left the updo back at the hotel too. Her pale blonde hair hung in layers past her shoulders, highlighting the classical angles of her face even more effectively than her natural makeup and sheer pink lipstick. The combination made her look a good decade younger than her thirty-two years. It took ten minutes of brisk walking to reach the nightclub she had in mind. The Wooden Nickel was good for escaping the rigors of her structured life. Nobody knew her here; for the most part, it catered to out-of-town college kids. Even better, it had a dance floor that spilled out onto the beach, and in the rising summer heat, it was better to be writhing under a clear, starry sky, than jammed into a small square with a hundred other bodies trying to do the same thing. The club was already packed by the time Katie arrived. The air pulsated, the driving bass booming over the speakers, but she ignored the call of the music to head straight for the bar. She wanted a beer first. Something to get the juices flowing. Then she’d pick out her partner of the night and get the party started right. It happened as she leaned over the counter to give the bartender her drink order. Sweat dripped between her breasts, but it was the distinct prickle on the back of her neck that made Katie stiffen. Somebody was watching her. More than one set of eyes had followed her in, but this was different. This was watching with purpose. Easing back onto her stool as casually as possible, she tilted her head in the vague direction she’d sensed it. Nobody was there. Nobody she knew, anyway. Then she lifted her gaze upward to the balcony railing that overlooked the beach. Eyes like dark chocolate regarded her from beneath heavy lids. Dark brown hair he always wore too long for company policy—that he only got away with because he played on a regular basis with the bands he booked—was pushed back off his structured features, and some time over the past few weeks he’d grown a moustache and goatee that framed his succulent mouth perfectly. He even wore the dark suit and jewelry that typified his attire when he was onstage. Only Caleb Beckett had the aplomb and style to pull off such an ensemble in a college bar. Katie’s stomach alternated between constant fluttering and utter stillness. Damn it. She didn’t need this tonight. If she had half a brain, she’d forget her drink, walk out of the club and go back to Jubilee. It took everything she had to turn back to the bartender when he set her beer down in front of her. One drink. Then she’d leave. She drank her beer quickly, the cold liquid temporarily soothing her parched throat, the alcohol going straight to her head. But it wasn’t fast enough. She felt him at her back, even though he wasn’t quite touching her. “Come here to dance?” It didn’t matter if Caleb was speaking or singing. There was a velvet lilt to his voice that always sent a rush of warm electricity down the back of her neck. It might have been weeks since she’d felt him so close, months since she’d had him even closer, but the absence did nothing to lessen her body’s reaction to his presence. If anything, it seemed to have made it stronger. Her p***y clenched, and her skin heated, and she had to fight not to lean back against the hard wall of his body right then and there. Caleb still hadn’t moved by the time she set down her empty bottle. “Brilliant deduction,” she said, twisting around on her stool. He only moved enough not to get knocked over by her long legs, but it was still too close for Katie’s comfort. Resting her elbows against the bar, she looked anywhere but at his hungry eyes. “The crowd looks lively tonight. Lucky for me.” Caleb never looked away from her. She could almost feel the weight of his eyes. “Do you think anybody here could keep up with you?” “Does it matter?” She risked a glance back at him, only to get caught by the sight of his full mouth. How many times had she lost herself while kissing him? Too many to count. The sudden thought of what his newly acquired facial hair would feel like against her inner thigh made her cheeks flame, and Katie jerked her attention back to the thrashing crowd. “It’s just dancing. It’s not like I’m taking the guy home to f**k his brains out.” “Oh, it’s never just dancing with you, Katie.” He leaned forward. “But if that’s what you want, I’ll give you a few turns around the floor.” Caleb smiled, managing to look charming and not at all lecherous. “Maybe you’ll change your mind about the second part.” She faltered for a fraction of a second. It was tempting—so tempting. She’d never known a man to move like Caleb, in and out of bed, and after all, it was just a dance, no matter what he might profess. Except there was her job to consider, and she was his boss, and any concession now had the possibility of being disastrous later. Katie slid off the stool and met his gaze without wavering. “I’m not going to change my mind,” she said. He stood so close that their bodies brushed against each other as she headed for the dance floor. She didn’t need to find a partner before she got there. Experience told her she wouldn’t be alone for long once she started moving. She watched Caleb from the corner of her eye as he slipped onto the dance floor. She tried to avoid him, but he adjusted his body, weaving with the rhythm and sliding between the writhing bodies that surrounded her. He positioned himself behind her, gripping her hips lightly. It felt like the air had been sucked out of her lungs. Though her first instinct was to push him away, Katie knew that would start a scene she wasn’t prepared to follow through with. Coming to the Wooden Nickel might give her a measure of anonymity, but if she got involved in a commotion, it would spread along the boardwalk faster than wildfire. And she knew Caleb. He wouldn’t let something like attracting attention stop him. Hell, he was a performer at heart. He’d take that attention and use it to his advantage. So she went with it. She didn’t have a choice. Within seconds, though, the heat of the room and the throb of the music and the buzz from the beer made her initial concerns dissolve away. Her arm coiled up and around to caress Caleb’s neck, her eyes fluttering shut so that she could focus on the pure physical pleasure suffusing her body. Caleb knew exactly how to fit against her, and somehow, knowing they were his hands holding her against him just spurred Katie to grind her ass back into his burgeoning erection. Caleb followed her lead on the floor, and to her surprise, kept his hands firmly on her hips, instead of allowing them to wander over her curves. His body was so hot against hers and it was impossible not to let her mind drift to the very thing she said she wasn’t going to do. But for the moment, she was happy to dance with him, to feel the rhythm of his hips, to feel the life pulsing from him with each step. The music shifted from the upbeat tempo to something slow and sensual. Caleb tightened his grip and began directing her, leading her into the new tempo. Gradually, Katie became aware of the other guys drifting away, and she opened her eyes to the swirling lights, wondering what in hell she was doing. So what if Caleb moved like liquid fire against her? So what if she felt like she was going to explode just from the firm caress of his hands? She was asking to get burned by letting him do this. Twisting in his arms, Katie meant to walk away, but his searing gaze kept her pinned against his chest, just as effectively as his hard hands. She leaned forward, her breasts crushing to him with a familiar ache, and settled her mouth at his ear. It took a moment to say the words. His scent made her mouth go dry and she had to swallow more than once in order to find her voice again. “Quentin knows,” she breathed. “So? Is he the jealous sort?” Caleb joked. When she didn’t smile, the light in his eyes dimmed, and he managed to look like he might be taking this seriously. “What did he say to you?” “He gave me an ultimatum. You or my job.” She couldn’t resist. It only took turning her head the scantest of inches to trail her mouth along his jaw. “You think anything else could’ve kept me away?” Caleb wrapped his arm around her, rotating his hips and grinding against her. His other hand slid between her thighs to brush along her p***y, before moving up again to cup her ass and hold her closer to him. Tilting his head, he brushed his lips over her neck and said, “That’s a very serious threat. Maybe you should go.” “Maybe I should.” But now that his arms were around her and it wasn’t just his hands holding her in place, Katie was having a hard time remembering why she couldn’t at least enjoy the dance with him. His body was strong and warm, his mouth sinful, and following his lead was as easy as breathing. She closed her eyes to let the music wash over them, her fingers threading through the long strands of his hair, and when she felt him kiss her neck again, Katie shivered. “Miss me?” she murmured. “Yes.” He kissed a trail along her jaw. “I missed your mouth, and I missed your ass, and I missed the way you shout my name.” He rested his lips on the corner of her mouth. They swayed to the music, not even an inch separating their bodies. “I think about you, think about holding you like this. Do you think about me?” “Maybe.” Yes. “Maybe there’s nights when I get done with work and my feet start heading for your place before I can tell them to stop.” Maybe I get to your door before I talk myself into turning around. “And maybe when I’m lying in my bed at night, the only way for me to come using my vibe is to pretend it’s you.” The music stopped, but Katie didn’t move. His breath fanned across her cheek, and she parted her lips to let her tongue dart out and taste the texture of his skin. The soft rasp of his moustache tickled, making her mouth water, and she exhaled, long and soft and slow as the need for him shuddered through her. “Maybe I should tell Quentin to mind his own f*****g business.” Caleb began guiding her off the dance floor, but not quickly. “I think that’s exactly what you should tell him. Come up to the balcony with me. I think we can find a private spot there.” She couldn’t delude herself into thinking that staying at the club would keep her hands off him, but at the very least, it would keep their f*****g to a minimum. And really, she hadn’t sought Caleb out. She couldn’t be blamed for it. They were colleagues who had run into each other in a public place, and if they were seen together, it was easily explained as coincidence. But she was going to make sure they weren’t seen. And maybe this would slake her thirst for him, at least temporarily. Lacing her fingers through Caleb’s, Katie shot him a wicked grin when he glanced down at their hands. “Someplace dark,” she agreed, hoping he would take the hint. “I’ll let you lead the way.” It seemed that everybody at the Wooden Nickel was there to dance. The balcony was virtually empty. They wound through the tables and chairs, moving farther into the shadows and farther from the bustling crowd. As soon as they were alone in a secluded corner, Caleb pushed her against the wall and claimed her mouth. His hands immediately sought her skin, pushing beneath her camisole to cup her breasts. Katie smiled into the rough caress of his kiss, her hands finding their own paths to touch his enflamed skin. “You act like you’ve never had me alone before,” she taunted, sliding her hands beneath his jacket to pull the white T-shirt he wore under it free of his waistband. She traced around to his belt buckle, letting her nails scrape along the way. “Better slow down. This time’s going to have to last the both of us.” Caleb hissed, his palms rough against her n*****s. His mouth was frantic and hungry, going from her lips, to her jaw, to her neck and back again, like he couldn’t taste enough of her. “For a few minutes until I get you home?” The raw desire in his voice made Katie cocky. Palming his c**k through his pants, she whispered against his mouth, “Who said I was going home with you?” “Did you say you weren’t?” Caleb unbuttoned her jeans, pushing his fingers between her thighs. His sigh was full of satisfaction as he came in contact with her hot flesh. “Because I don’t remember hearing anything like that.” He brushed across her c**t, making her muscles flutter, her hips jerk forward. Katie’s hand flew to his shoulder, using him as a brace to keep from swaying as her knees threatened to give out beneath her. Though he was hot everywhere else, his fingertips felt cool against her heated skin, and she hooked a foot through the back of a nearby chair, yanking it toward them. It enabled her to rest her sandal on it, spreading her legs farther to allow Caleb room to explore. “And here I thought you were one of those creative types who didn’t need everything spelled out for him. I should’ve walked away the second I saw you tonight.” “There’s still time to walk away,” Caleb pointed out, sliding his fingers into her p***y. He curled his fingers against her walls, stroking her flesh as he jerked his wrist. “Just say the word.” The only word that came to Katie’s mind at that minute was more. She didn’t even realize she’d said it out loud until she heard him chuckle. “Son of a b***h,” she muttered. She yanked at his belt, pushing the zipper out of her way in order to find his throbbing length, the tip already wet with pre-come. Thank God they didn’t have to worry about condoms. She’d long ago trusted Caleb to be straight with her about testing, and birth-control pills had been her best friend since she’d been in high school. “My life would be a hell of a lot simpler if I’d never met you.” Caleb laughed. “Oh, Katie, you don’t mean that.” He pulled his hand away from her and reached for his c**k, his hand covering hers as he guided his head to her heat. He paused just before entering her. “Do you?” The question took her by surprise. From the beginning, their relationship had been about s*x, a carnal lust determined not to be dismissed when they were in each other’s company. Certainly, they had fun together; Caleb was eloquent and charming with a direct wit that always made her laugh. And he was easy to work with, accepting decisions with little argument and possessing an uncanny eye for talent that drew crowds. But that was it. They never strayed to conversations that could in any way be construed as serious. This query, however, broke that unspoken tenet. Liquid eyes gazed at her in heavy-lidded expectation, and Katie felt her stomach clench. “Simpler doesn’t mean better,” she conceded. Bracing against the wall, she coiled her arms over his shoulders in order to pull his lips to hers. Their kiss left her breathless. “God, I’ve missed you.” “Missed you too,” Caleb gasped as he finally pushed into her. He moved slowly, each thrust deliberate and torturous. She tried to push for something more, but he resisted all her efforts, as though he was taking her earlier warning very seriously. His languorous pace was set to torture her, she was sure of it. He was forcing her to experience every thick inch of him, to feel how he stretched her, filled her, glanced over her g-spot as he slid inside. Katie’s lips parted against his, swallowing his shallow breaths, and she clung to him until her c**t ground against the base of his c**k. Then she wrapped a long leg around his hips, refusing him the space to move, as she devoured his mouth in a kiss that made her head spin. If this was all she was going to get, she wanted to make it last. It would have to fuel fantasies for weeks to come. Caleb snuck his hands under her, gripping her ass, and deepened the kiss. He kissed her like he wanted to feel every bit of her, wanted to f**k her and devour her and know every inch of her. Katie understood. She felt the same sort of hunger whenever they were together, and nobody could satisfy it like he could. She knew they didn’t have much time up there—somebody could discover them at any moment—but she was sure he wasn’t going to rush things. She loosened her leg around him, and he shocked her by pulling back as much as he could and slamming forward. It drove the air from her lungs. Stifling her instinct to cry out, Katie brought her mouth back to his, losing herself in the waves of pleasure ricocheting from c**t to tit and back again. She was going to come quickly, and she was likely to come more than once, but there was no way she could stop rocking with his forceful strokes, or squeezing around his thick shaft, or sweeping her tongue inside his mouth to taste every last inch of him. “f**k, I was so wrong,” she muttered between kisses. “Wrong about what?” he asked, his voice tight. “When I saw you up here. Earlier. I thought…” Another powerful thrust hit her c**t in just the right way, and Katie clamped down around his c**k as her orgasm burned through her in a fresh wave of fire. She had to wait until the quaking began to calm, until she’d sucked down enough air to speak again, to finish the thought. “…I thought I didn’t need to see you tonight, that it would be more trouble than it’s worth.” Her trembling mouth brushed over his. “I was wrong.” “I’m glad you changed your mind,” Caleb murmured before deepening the kiss. He continued to thrust into her, but his body was taut and trembling against her sweaty skin, like he might shatter against her. “I won’t be able to stay away from you.” His words made her smile, but she hid it from him by licking a path along his jaw, nibbling at his neck as she tugged his shirt up and out of her way. She wanted to feel his hard muscles, feel his slick skin sliding across hers, but that wouldn’t be possible here at the Wooden Nickel or even at one of their places. That was inviting getting caught, and if she was going to have one last night with Caleb, she didn’t want it tainted with worry. Katie pulled back to meet his dark eyes. “How badly do you want this to continue tonight?” The air whistled between Caleb’s teeth as he inhaled sharply. “What do I have to do to show you how bad I want it?” “Help me sneak into the executive bungalow. The bigwigs went back to the city instead of spending the night, so it’s all empty and lonely until next weekend.” She ran her tongue over her bottom lip. “And you have to stay naked with me the whole night to make up for lost time.” Anybody else might have balked at the suggestion of using the executive bungalow, but he didn’t miss a beat. “Absolutely. Do you have the keys, or are we staging an old-fashioned breaking and entering?” “That depends.” She traced a flat n****e before flicking the hard tip with her fingernail. “You want to waste time waiting for me to go all the way back to my office to get the key, and then all the way out to the bungalow? Or do you want to get straight to having your wicked way with me on every flat surface we can find?” Katie didn’t know if it was her sinful promise, or the scrape of her finger across his n****e, but he shuddered against her, a low moan escaping his mouth as he thrust into her one final time, slamming against her c**t. The sudden pressure sent sharp pleasure through her, and she curled her nails into his skin as her second orgasm overwhelmed her. He clamped his hand over her mouth as she opened it, muffling her shout of pleasure. His breath was hot against her face as he silently gulped for air, his mouth so close to her cheek that it almost felt like he was kissing her. When he spoke, she could hear the smile in his voice. “I can get us in without a key.” She leaned into the caress, nuzzling against the rasp of his hair. “Of course you can,” she whispered with a laugh. “You, Caleb Beckett, are a man of astonishing talents.” “Including several I intend to reacquaint you with tonight.” “Is that a promise?” “Or a threat. But it’s all the same in the end, isn’t it?” Caleb said, finally disentangling himself. He zipped up his pants, but made no other effort to straighten his clothes or hide the fact that he had just f****d her against the wall. Using the wall for support, Katie did her jeans back up, her eyes never leaving Caleb’s. She wasn’t sure what game he was playing at, but this entire encounter had already shattered every rule she’d ever given herself in regards to him. At least she was giving their affair the send-off it deserved. They had started with an explosive bang; it made sense that it end the same way. Tomorrow. “I think there’s a door out there, waiting for you to break your way in,” she teased. She ran her fingers along the lapel of his suit, then curled the fabric into her grasp in order to pull him flush again with her body. “Ready to go tear it down?” “Tear it down?” He kissed the corner of her mouth. “I think you know I work with a bit more finesse than that.” She smiled and kissed him back. “I’m counting on it.”