Page 46 of Tease Me

She touched my arm. “Nothing has changed. Jane’s still safe. Jeez, I didn’t even recognize you—there’sno way he would have.”

That was true.

“Just carry on like nothing happened and see what he does about it.”

She was right, and when I started to nod, she clutched me around the shoulders again. “There you go.Allbetter again. Now, want a champagne?”

I shook my head. “I just want some sleep.”

“I’m not surprised, you horny little bitch.” She roared with laughter, and as I giggledalong with her, my final threads of tension melted away.

By the timeshe dropped me back at the hotel, wearing yet another one of her ridiculously tiny outfits, it was nearly midday.I waved her goodbye, breathed in deeply, planted a smileon my face, and strode up the front steps like Inormallywould.

The gods were on my side because Needledick was not only serving someone, but he also had eight people hovering around, waiting for their turn. It was checkout time, and I made a mental note to utilize that more often. I arrived at my apartment without incident.

I showered, put on my winter PJs, had a bite to eat, brushed my teeth, pulled back the covers of my bed, and wriggled in. Sitting with my diary on my lap, I turned to the 5th of August, and at the top, I wrote,Mason Cole, Room 37.

I didn’t bother writing about Needledick and the disasterthat had happenedafter; instead, I wrote about Mason and the incredible sex I’d had with the confused bass guitarist.

As I thought about his dilemma and how easy it would be to agree to marry someone just because you’d been with them for a long time, I vowed that I would never do that.

I made a promise that the man I married would be the one I truly loved, deep down in my soul. Our love would be so strong it would be a living, breathing thing, making our hearts ache when we were apart and piecing them together every timewe were clutchedin each other’s arms.

With that thought, I wrote,Passionate Promisesbeneath the guitarist’s name.

I closed the diary, slid down the bed, and rolled onto my side. My body was weary, but my mind flippedaroundfrom one crazy thought to another.

I shut my eyes and forced myself to think about a man holding me, our hearts beating as one as we shared the rest of our livestogether.

Provided Needledick doesn’t have me arrested, that is.

And I spend the rest of my life crying myself to sleep.

Chapter Fourteen

It was Wednesday.Yay.My favorite day of the week and my only day off work. I didn’t have huge plans for today.In fact,I had no plans at all. But that was fine with me. I wasactuallylooking forward to a day of lazing around my apartment.

Even though it was still dark outside, I grabbed my cup of green tea and strolledfrom receptionout the sliding glass doors.I was surprised to see it was raining.

I eased onto the seat and inhaled the freshness in the air. It was like cleansing my soul, which, considering mycrazy, unconventional life, was a miracle.

Other than the downpour, there wasvery littlemovement outside. I sipped my tea and watched the sun gradually illuminate the horizon. Spears of light shot up from the waterline to pierce the black clouds, offering some hope for a sunny day.

I’d nearly finished my tea, and the sun still struggled against the black clouds when a taxi pulled into the drop-off zone. Both the driver and another man climbed out and met at the trunk. Assuming they were removing the passenger’s luggage, I returned to my desk and grabbed the check-in cards.

The doors slid open, and a man walked in wearing jeans and a knitted sweater that opened at the collar to show hints of a checkered flannel shirt beneath. He dragged a small suitcase across the marble tiles toward me with his eyes lowered as ifhe wereassessing each step. The poor guy looked as if he’d come from a funeral or something just as depressing.

“Good morning, welcome to the Hot Horizon Hotel.”

“Thank you. I’m Cameron Jax, checking in.”

I shuffled through the cards, looking for his name. “Sorry about the weather.”

He huffed. “Yeah, I hope it’s not like this tomorrow.” His dark eyes intensified, becoming almost black.

“Oh? What’s on tomorrow?”

“A sunrise beach wedding.”

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