Ace just happened to be looking through the maintenance closet for a set of Allen wrenches. The closet just happened to be across from Sailor’s office. She just happened to have the office door cracked open, which meant he had just happened to overhear her conversation with Gabby, even though he’d already found the Allen wrenches about two minutes earlier.
Call him the Grinch, but his heart swelled a few sizes at Sailor’s generosity. He had wondered at first whether she had it in her, but he should have known better when she had bandaged him up. Women like her didn’t handle bloody wounds. They either passed out or called for help. But Sailor had taken it in stride, like she’d done it all her life. And then she touched his scars. And then they kissed.
Shit, he had enjoyed that entirely too much. The both of them must have been high on adrenaline and not in their right minds. Strike that. Ace wanted her even when he wasn’t wounded. And she’d said she wanted it. Shit, what the fuck was he thinking, letting himself fall for his boss?
Footsteps came toward the door. He hustled back to the jukebox to start fixing it before they caught him eavesdropping.
“Thank you, Sailor,” Gabby was saying.
Sailor called from her office, “Stop, seriously. Let’s get back to work. No need to keep bringing it up.”
Gabby emerged into the barroom, a relieved smile stretched across her face. On his knees, Ace worked on getting the front panel off and pretended to be clueless as she came up beside him.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Hey Ace, we’re about to open, but would you mind walking me to the bank so I can deposit a check?”
“Sure. I’d be ha-” He stood and brought his voice down to a more somber tone. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yes,” she said with a breathless smile and a glance toward the short hall that led to Sailor’s office.
****
The rest of the evening and night passed with no incidents for a change. The imposing presence of Mendel and Dov probably had something to do with that. Ace noticed a few suspicious characters that looked like they wanted to start something, but with the Chasidim staring them down, they seemed to think better of it.
Ace sure wouldn’t want to make enemies of those two. They wore good-natured grins, but they also knew how to beat the shit out of a man without leaving any evidence the police could trace to them. At least their presence had freed him up enough to get the jukebox working again. The musicians only stayed until ten o’clock, and the TVs were all muted according to regulation and to keep noise down so folks could talk. But that left the bar too quiet, a problem which the jukebox could fix, if only for his own pleasure. It was the old-fashioned kind, with actual records. Sailor had found it in an auction, and even though it stood out like a sore thumb against the ultra-modern bar interior, she had bought it anyway. It reminded Ace of JJ’s Pool Room back home, where he could fire up the jukebox, enjoy a greasy hamburger, fries and beer before he beat his buddies at 8-ball.
“Aha!” Ace finally stumbled across the fuse that had blown in the jukebox. After a little more tinkering, he fired it up. Leaning against it, since his wound and back were angry now from his handyman efforts, he chose a random song, and waited for the record to spin.
The Spice Girls belted out If You Wanna be My Lover. Mendel gave him a stoic thumbs up.
Ace chuckled. “Just testing it.”
“Sure,” Dov said with a curt nod and a wink at Mendel. “Just testing.”
“You guys should do karaoke. You’d make a great Blues Brothers.”
They glanced at each other then shook their heads at him.
Closing time finally came around. Sailor had spent much of the night in her office, and he’d given her some space. The chairs were turned upside down on the tables, the floor still glistening from a fresh mopping. Everyone else had left. He wanted to wait for Sailor so he could take her home. If she wouldn’t ride his motorcycle, then he’d walk her home. He hated the thought of her walking alone anywhere this time of night.
Sailor finally emerged, went silently behind the bar, and made herself a martini. She came around to a bar stool and sat, slumped, while sipping her drink. She looked exhausted. Defeated. But still utterly gorgeous, with a loose cashmere sweater she'd changed into earlier. The wide neck had slid down one shoulder, exposing her smooth, ivory skin. Her black leggings fit the contours of her shapely legs perfectly. Even her feet in her black strappy heels were adorable, her toes painted red. God, he wanted her. They needed to finish the business so they could explore each other – unless Sailor came to her senses and called it off.
He stood by the jukebox, stuck there with his doubt and his ice water until she finally looked over at him and lifted her drink. “Want some?”
“No thanks.” The quiet stretched between them for a few uncomfortable seconds. He could fix that. Ace fired up the jukebox, scrolled through the selections until he found just the right one. He watched the needle come down and shortly after, Hank Williams' legendary voice sang “Lovesick Blues.”
He came over to the bar and sat his glass down. “Care to dance?”
“Seriously?” She slid her gaze to him. He couldn’t read her expression. Was that revulsion or temptation? “I’m not much of a dancer.”
“Why don’t you just let go of work for once and do something crazy?”
“I’m not-”
Ace held out his hand, smiling softly, beckoning her with every ounce of his being. If she rejected him, it would take him a while to get over it. He felt a lot more than physical desire for Sailor Kingston, though he’d tried his best not to.
She set her martini down and sighed, her shoulders relaxing. She unfolded her legs from where they were crossed and turned toward him on the stool. After a few breathless seconds, she finally took his hand. Relief flooded through him and straight into his groin, making him rock hard.
He led her onto the empty floor, wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. She looked up into his eyes, hers wide and imploring. Then he swayed with her gently, pressing his cheek against hers. He sang along with Hank quietly, feeling her melt closer with every word. It felt right, with her in his arms like this, so close he could smell her perfume, her skin, her hair. He might have been just a poor country boy, but he wanted this city girl more than anyone he’d ever been with before.
“I’ve never met anyone like you,” he said.
“Ditto.”
“I heard what you did for Gabby.”
She stiffened in his arms a bit.
“I’m so proud of you.”
She flinched as though caught off guard. “No one’s ever told me that before.”
“I know.”
Pulling away slightly, she looked up at him. A tear rolled from the corner of her eye. He kissed it away. Another one fell from her other eye. He kissed it away, too, tasted the salty wetness. His lips followed an instinctual path to hers, and when they met, his resistance faded into nothing. He devoured her lips with breathless desperation. She responded as hungrily as he did, lips moving in waves, tongues flicking, exploring. She tasted like vodka and pure woman. His hands found her ass, squeezed it. She took the hem of his shirt and lifted. He stepped back long enough to remove it and toss it aside. Her sweater joined his shirt on the floor a second later. After a moment of admiring her lacy red bra and the full breasts it held, he took her in his arms again. Her hair, still bound tightly in a ponytail, needed to be freed. He gently pulled her ponytail thingy off and watched her blonde locks fall over her shoulders. Before he could taste her lips again, she found some scars and kissed them, traced a path up his chest and his neck. At his pulse she paused, licking and sucking gently.
He growled. “Woman, you’re killing me.” Sex in a public place had been one of those fantasies he’d held onto, but would never have acted upon. Now, in an empty bar, window shades closed, doors locked, fantasy could become reality.
Their lips met again while her fingers found his belt buckle and attempted to unfasten it. He finished the job, whipped it off, and flung it behind him.
This was happening. He didn’t have time to marvel over the fact, but simply put her arms around his neck and lifted her legs until she straddled his waist. Carrying her over to a bar stool, he winced at the pain in his side, but ignored it. She was worth it.
He set her gently on the stool. She lifted her hips, telling him with her eyes what to do next. He took hold of the waist of her leggings and peeled them away slowly, revealing her flat and gorgeous abs, the bare-shaven v between her legs, and pulled them down and off until she was free of all clothing. Except for her bra and heels.
God, a naked Sailor in black heels…he almost came right then and there. Especially when she opened her legs and lifted one brow with a ‘what-are-you-gonna-do-now’ look. He knew exactly what he wanted to do, but would she be a willing subject?
When he dropped to his knees, she propped her legs on his shoulders. He grinned. That answered his question. He dove right in, gently licking then spreading the tender folds apart for better access. Sailor’s head fell back with a gentle moan. Then he found the swollen bundle of nerves he knew would drive her wild and teased it.
“Oh God,” she groaned.
He smiled and sucked gently. Sailor bucked against him, so much so that he almost lost his rhythm, but then she went stiff for a moment until her entire body quaked. Her hands gripped the bar and the stool while she uttered unintelligible curses. The best part was tasting her as she came.
As soon as he got to his feet, Sailor started unfastening his jeans.
“Wait,” he said, his excitement fading as he remembered an essential, but inconvenient item. “I don’t have any protection.”
“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “Will I catch anything?”
“No, but…”
Sailor put a finger on his lips, pulled down his jeans and spent a moment admiring his erection. Then she slid off the stool, squatted, and took him deep into her mouth, glided her lips back to the tip and took him in again. All the while, she stared up at him with her gorgeous blue eyes. He was on the verge when she stood and wiped her chin with those articulate, beautiful fingers.
“Can’t finish?” he whispered, his breath ragged.
“I have a better idea.” She wiggled her hips. “You told me I need to let go and do something crazy. I want to have sex in my bar.”
“I don’t have any protection on me.”
“Oh. Neither do I.” Her pout was rather adorable. Damn.
They stared at each other for a few tense seconds, then they both had a light bulb moment.
“Vending machine!” they cried.
Ace scrambled for his jeans, searched frantically through the pockets. “Damn it, no quarters.”
“Register!”
Sailor ran around the bar, her bare feet slapping against the floorboards and skidded to a stop at the register. “Shit, I need my key. Where’s the key?”
“Office?”
“Check my sweater!”
Ace found her sweater on the floor. He dug around until he found the key, pinned to the inside under the hem. His fingers fumbled until he unpinned it, then tossed it to her. She caught it, then stuck it in the keyhole, jiggling it because it tended to stick.
“Shit!”
“What?”
“It broke off in there.”
“I’ll fix it later.” He could break into a condom dispenser easily enough though, so Ace headed for the bathroom. Something shiny on the floor near the janitor’s closet caught his eye.
“Found a quarter!”
“They’re seventy-five cents!”
“Shit! Do you have a key for the condom machine?”
“No, Axl does, I think. Or Gabby. I don’t really handle that.”
Ace was ready to rip the condom dispenser off the bathroom wall at this point, but then his brain finally pitched in to help. “Get me three paperclips!”
“On it!” Sailor ran past him and into her office. She almost ripped out one of the desk drawers, then rummaged through it, grabbed some pins and ran out. Pressing them into Ace’s palm, she opened her mouth as though to ask a question, but he darted into the bathroom. With a few quick twists, Ace made a tension wrench with two of the paperclips. The third, he shaped into a pick.
Breathing slowly to calm himself, he drew upon his years of unlocking car trunks and safes to find drug stashes. He stuck the tension wrench in, then the pick and tried to find the tumblers.
“Is it working? What are you doing?” Sailor called from the hallway.
He chuckled. “One sec!” Why she didn’t just come in the bathroom, he didn’t know. Finally, the tumblers turned. Ace yanked open the door and paused for only a moment before choosing a ‘ribbed for her pleasure’ one. He quickly checked the date. It wasn’t expired. Hallelujah!
Ace ran out holding the condom up as a trophy. Sailor flashed a smile. She grabbed his hand and dragged him into her office. With one swipe of her arm, she cleared papers, a penholder, sticky notes and a planner off the desk and hopped up on it.
“Want me to-?” she began, but Ace was already sliding the condom over his dick.
Sailor grinned, then leaned back, legs wide. Ace moved in and tackled her lips with a furious kiss. She clung to him, caressing his back. Hands on her waist, he looked down just a moment to admire the treasure he was about to enter. And enter he did, in one smooth thrust. Sailor's nails scratched across his back.
Ace paused and groaned. Sailor released her grip and broke free from the kiss. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He thrust himself deep, smiled at her sharp intake of breath at his ear.
“Stop,” she whispered.
He did, but so did his erection. Surely she hadn’t had second thoughts this far into it.
Sailor smiled, then pushed him back gently and slid off the desk. Then she spun around and leaned over the desk, presenting her glorious, shapely ass. His erection stood firm once again.
“Well?” She looked over her shoulder.
Ace muttered something unintelligible before he grabbed her hips and found that sweet spot. He drove himself inside her, deeper than before, as far as he could go. Then he just let go and fucked her. Sailor arched her back, gave him even more access, not to mention an amazing view of her ass.
His release exploded from deep within like a volcano that had lain dormant for far too long. He growled, gripped her hips and pulled them into sync to his every thrust. Sailor cried out, tightened around him, her body quaking to the beat of her orgasm. He imagined coming inside her with no condom between them, which kept him hard long enough to ride it out.
Finally her body relaxed. Ace withdrew slowly as she stood and faced him. There wasn’t a hint of regret on her flushed face, only pure satisfaction, laced with relief.
He gathered her in his arms. Then she nuzzled her head beneath his chin and stroked his back as they held one another.
“Want me to take you home?” he asked when the room stopped spinning.
“Like, on your motorcycle? I don’t have a helmet.”
“I have an extra.”
“I’ve never ridden one before.”
“I’ll keep you safe. Do you trust me?”
“With my life. Let’s go.”
Within a few minutes, they were dressed and on his motorcycle. He could feel her trembling as she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight while they rolled down the quiet post-midnight streets of Brooklyn. No matter what happened from here on out, one thing was for certain. He loved Sailor Kingston. Hard. Like the no turning back kind. He’d never go back to Kentucky unless she went, too.
He escorted her into the brownstone and to her apartment door, then kissed her. “I better go.”
“No. Stay.”
“But all my stuff’s at the new place. Remember, I moved in there a couple of days ago.”
“There's a convenience store across the street that sells condoms."
"Okay, so..."
"I’m not done with you yet.”
His dick made up his mind for him. “Then, yes, ma’am. What the lady wants, the lady gets.” Ace turned and ran across the street to the store, pulling out his wallet as he yanked open the door.
And damn, what a night. They went through three condoms before they finally gave out, curled up together in Sailor’s king size bed. As Ace drifted off to sleep, Sailor whispered, “Don’t leave.”
“I won’t.”