Reese was right. From up here, I could see the entire ocean. I could get used to this. Shut up, Tessa. Don’t do that to yourself. Just enjoy the few days that you spend here and pretend that you are in a hotel. You can’t keep this. Remembering that this was only temporary sobered me up a bit. I didn’t want to admit that the thought also made me a bit sad.
I looked up to see that there were no treatments on the windows and turned to give Reese a questioning look with my eyebrow raised. “Oh, special glass. You can see out but not in. Even at night when it is dark outside and the lights are on in here.” That was all I needed to hear before I ran towards him, jumped, wrapped my arms and legs around him, and began kissing his amazing lips.
We were lying in his king-sized bed recovering from our midday romp when Reese said, “Ready to see the rest of the house now? If you tackle me in every room, this could take a while, so we might want to get a move on.”
I smacked his arm and got up to put my pants back on. We moved around the house, and I learned that it had four bedrooms, six baths, and a kitchen that would make Paula Deen’s panties wet. When Reese led me up another staircase to the roof, I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. Up here, above the street, higher than the surrounding buildings, was a private dreamland that spread across the entire roof. Reese said that we needed to go to dinner soon, so we didn’t have time to linger, but he promised we would come back and he’d show me how the firepit worked.
“Reese”
Tessa’s reaction to my home wasn’t like anything I had expected. I could see the awe in her that I’d first felt when I found this place a few years ago. I had just cashed out a lot of stock that had skyrocketed and needed something to the put the money into. I had also been outgrowing the personal space that I kept for myself at the shop and needed somewhere to put my projects. I had almost given up on finding anything, and I hadn’t been about to settle, considering the amount of money I had been prepared to spend when I got an early morning call from my real estate agent telling me that a new place was going to be put on the market and that she could get me in to see it before the listing went public. It had a five-car garage, so that had taken care of one of my requirements, but it hadn’t been until I’d stepped onto the roof that I’d known I had to have it.
That Tessa was as overwhelmed with it as I had been when I first saw it made me feel like I was on the right track. And I hadn’t felt that way in a long time. But I couldn’t get my hopes up too high. We still had a long way to go. I knew I’d feel better once tonight was over. Either I’d have the next two days to just enjoy Tessa or we’d be headed back to the airport sooner than originally planned.
We had just finished dinner at an Italian restaurant that provided family-style dining where you ordered dishes to share. I’d ordered about eight dishes too many, saying that I just wanted a little bit of each one. Some of them I hadn’t even touched. Tessa simply shook her head, asked the server to box up all of the leftovers, and then asked for directions to the nearest women’s shelter.
There it was. The reaction I had been waiting for. I knew right then that empty displays of excess wouldn’t sway Tessa. She lived in a world filled with booze, sex, and money, yet she remained untouched by the greed of it all. I hated putting her through these trials, but it had to be done. It was the only way I would know for certain.
I figured she had earned herself some of her beloved Tequila-O’s, so we climbed into a cab and headed to La Bête in downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. Tessa was stunning in a short yellow dress that only went up over one shoulder and hugged her amazing ass and black high heels with a strap around the ankle that made me want to fall to my knees.
“I’ve heard La Bête is amazing. They won the Best Nightclub Award this year,” Tessa said when I told the cabbie where we were headed.
“I think they are going on the fifth year in a row for that one. I went to college with the owner, Marcus Beaumont. I think he is in town this week, so we might run into him while we are there. It’ll be great to see him. It has been a while,” I said.
We pulled up to the club at around eleven and the line was already wrapped around the block. After we stepped out of the cab, Tessa looked from her feet to the long line and frowned down at her feet before she said, “I’m sure glad I wore my comfortable shoes tonight.”
I let out a chuckle, grabbed her hand, and led her to the front of the line where Bruno—I swear that was the name his parents had given him—was standing with his clipboard. The guy was built like a tank, and I was pretty sure that his shirt was in pain from having to stretch around his huge arms.
He looked up just in time to see us approach. “Well well, if it isn’t Reese Nichols!” he laughed. “Where the fuck have you been, man? We haven’t seen you in months!” he said while giving me a manly half hug.
I pulled Tessa up next to me to introduce her. “Bruno, this is Tessa. Tessa, this asshole is Bruno.” She reached out her hand to shake his, but he pulled her into a tight hug instead. That’s right—big bad Bruno was a hugger.
When he released her and both of her feet were safely back on the ground, Tessa said, “Nice to meet you, Bruno. You have big muscles.” Her hand went up to cover her mouth as Bruno and I looked at each other and then both doubled over laughing. She slapped my arm. “Shut up! They are big!”
When Bruno and I had composed ourselves, he gave us each one last hug and opened the rope to allow us access into the club. Marcus sure knew what he was doing. As soon as we walked through the door, our senses were taken over. The club was dark with macabre lights flashing every few seconds, and the haunting voice of Marilyn Manson’s Sweet Dreams was being piped through the speakers. When we got to the balcony overlooking the main dance floor, we looked down to a sea of black leather, chains, and sweat-slicked body parts. The bodies crash into each other like waves in the middle of a dark storm.
I looked back up to see Tessa standing next to me. Her bright yellow dress a stark contrast against the darkness of the club, she lit up the room like a lighthouse calling fishermen safely home. Knowing that there was plenty of time for us to make our way to the dance floor, I led her around the balcony to the bar, where I was happy to see Marcus serving up drinks.
“Hey, Tessa. See that guy tending bar? That’s Marcus, one of my oldest friends. Do me a favor and order your favorite drink,” I said with a wink.
Her lips curled up into a playful smile as she walked up to an open spot at the bar a few feet away from Marcus with me standing right behind her. She slammed her hand down as hard as she could while yelling, “I want a Tequila-O!”
Marcus’s head whipped around so fast that I thought he was going to break his neck, and Tessa burst out laughing. I stepped up to the bar, and when Marcus saw me, I said, “Well you heard the lady. Don’t just stand there with your mouth open. Give her what she wants.”
When Marcus had recovered from Tessa’s outrageous demand, he grabbed a bottle of Patron from the shelf and walked over to us.
Tessa caught his hand before he could pour the expensive tequila into the glass. “Um, do you have Jose? I like my Tequila-O’s down and dirty.”
Marcus smiled a big grin, put the Patron out of the way, and poured her the perfect double of Jose with salt on the rim and a lime on the side. She took the shot like a champ and slipped the lime in her mouth while letting her eyes close and her head fall back, enjoying the shudder coursing through her body. My cock stirred to life. Fuck, she was beautiful.
While Tessa was working on the second shot Marcus had poured for her, he grabbed me for a hug above the bar. “Where the fuck you been, man?”
“Out of town opening another shop up in the mountains. I had to pull Myles in to help me with this one because I couldn’t give it all the attention it needed,” I said while tipping my head toward Tessa, who seemed oblivious to our conversation, lost in her third Tequila-O.
Marcus nodded. “Looks like you’ve got your hands full there. Nice to see you, man. Don’t be a stranger.” And with that, he was off to help the rest of the waiting customers piled up along the bar.
“That was fun! Did you see his face when I slammed my hand down on the bar? Priceless!” Tessa laughed, her smile made my cock stir to life. Then she put her hand in my front pocket and gave it a little tug. “I want to dance.”
She didn’t have to tell me twice. I took her hand and led her downstairs to the main dance floor, which was still covered in bodies. Rob Zombie was playing and I could hear the moaning of a woman’s pleasure on the track. Knowing that being on the outside wasn’t going to satisfy Tessa, I moved her in front of me so that I could keep a good hold on her hips while I pushed us into the middle of the crashing sea. When we had been swallowed by the crowd, Tessa turned around and wrapped her arms around my neck, her entire body lining up to mine like they were made to fit together.
This was where most of my past relationships had ended before they had really even started. None of them made it much further past this point. There was something about Tessa that made her different, that made me think I’d finally found what I had been looking for. I closed my eyes and memorized the way her body felt against mine.
We began moving to the music, and within minutes, a light sheen of sweat covered our bodies, our breathing had quickened, and our hearts were pounding. Tessa turned around and shoved her amazing ass into my hips, pressing up against my hardening erection. I wanted nothing more than to lift up her dress and claim her by pounding into her right here on the dance floor, not caring that we were surrounded by strangers. Watching her dance on stage had taken my breath away. When she had ground down on my cock in the private room with me unable to touch her, it had been sweet torture. But here, in this dark club, she was mine. I didn’t have to play by the rules or watch from the shadows.
My hands moved from her hips up her lean body to curl around her breasts, her nipples hard beneath the thin material of her dress. Knowing what she needed, I kept my left hand just under her breast and moved my right one slowly down, traveling over her stomach. When my hand was just below her navel, I pulled her hard against me to make sure she knew exactly what she did to me and continued to move my hand down lower. Her head had fallen back against my shoulder and I could see that her eyes had closed.
I put my lips to her ear and growled, “I’m going to touch you now. I’m going to feel you come.”
With her trapped against me, I continued my path down her body until I reached the top of her short dress, slipping my fingers underneath until I found the wetness between her legs. The sexy gasp she let out was almost enough to make me come in my pants. Slipping my hand under the thin material of her barely there panties, I pinched her clit between my index and middle finger and began to rub slow circles. She arched her back and pressed herself against my hand until we found the pressure she needed.
It felt as though the dance floor had become even more crowded, but at the same time it was like we were the only two people there. Her legs began to shake and her pussy lips were swollen with need. I felt her body tighten like she was fighting her release.
I sped up the tempo and said, “Just let go.” And as if it were on command, my fingers were coated with hot liquid as she came.
“Tessa”
Once again, I didn’t remember how I’d gotten into bed the night before, but when I woke up, I was nice and naked and tangled up with Reese’s body. I tried to quietly untangle my body from his without waking him but it was no use.
Keeping his eyes closed, he grumbled, “Just where do you think you’re going?” and pulled me so that my back was pressed against his chest.
“Reese,” I said while squirming. “Um, hello, I gotta pee!” That got him to let go quickly and I made a mad dash to the bathroom.
When I came back out, he was stretched out across the bed, his tan body an amazing contrast against the white sheets, and he was snoring. I picked up the sheet that had fallen to the floor, wrapped it around me, and walked over to the windows. Staring out of the clear glass, watching the morning waves move across the ocean, I let my mind drift, recounting the past few weeks since Reese had walked into my life.
I had been happy with my life before, hadn’t I? I mean, I’d like to think I had been. I loved my job, I was healthy, and I had a great social life. I had read somewhere recently that someone’s social life was the number one indicator of if they were living a good life. What more could I want, right? I had everything I needed. Fuck. I didn’t know if that was true anymore.
The only thing that I knew for sure was that I had at most a month left to spend with Reese and I wasn’t going to waste a minute of it. Wrapping the sheet around me more securely, I walked back over to the bed. Being careful to not make the bed move much, I got into position, standing over Reese with one foot on each side of his hips. I let myself look at him for a few minutes, trying to commit everything about him to memory. Speaking of committing, I probably looked like a crazy person right now with my sheet wrapped around me and my hair a mess. I stopped myself from laughing before I woke him up. I’d be laughing soon enough. This was going to be fucking funny.
I bent my knees to give myself the necessary momentum to pull this off, counted to three, and then started jumping as high as I could, yelling, “WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP!”
The look of terror on his face was priceless! My late nights of watching pranking shows paid off! When I saw his expression darken though, I knew I was in for it. The heat that crept into his gaze was exactly what I was looking for. He caught both of my feet mid-jump and pulled them out from under me. Before I could make a move to run, the sheet had been ripped from my body and I was on my back. Then Reese was pushing my knees apart, spreading me completely open.