Chapter Ten

JONAH glanced over at the bar and saw that Adam had left. Amid pleas for him to stay, he extricated himself from the group of women he’d been teaching to dance. Several of them shoved bills into his hands, and he pocketed the money. Between the tips he made on the dives and the ones from dance nights, he might be able to afford his own place in town in a few months.

This thought led him to thoughts about Adam again. Stop it. There’s no future in this relationship. If you could even call what they had a relationship.

Relationships suck the life out of success. The words sounded like an echo in his mind. The voice that spoke them was his own.

A memory?

“Luis?”

The bartender smiled. “What can I get Casanova?”

Jonah snorted and shook his head. “Give me a shot of the reposado, smartass,” he told Luis, who just laughed and snagged a shot glass from a shelf.

Jonah drank the shot in two swallows and focused on relaxing the tension in his body.

“Better?” Luis asked and tilted his head to one side.

“Better. Thanks.”

“Maybe later you can teach me how to salsa, if you know what I mean,” Luis said as he waggled his eyebrows. Jonah sensed he was only partially joking.

“Maybe another time.” Jonah blew Luis a kiss and headed for the exit. More complications he didn’t need.

The lobby bar was nearly empty, since most of the guests were at the club. Adam sat on a couch near one of the open archways filled with exotic plants and flowers. Beyond it was a small courtyard where departing guests waited. Lulu, who doubled as a dancer for the Tuesday musical revue, played “Bésame Mucho” on the piano nearby.

Jonah stopped at the bar for a glass of seltzer with lime, then walked over to Adam and sat next to him. “I was hoping you’d stay,” Jonah said, “and we could dance again.”

“You looked busy.” Adam seemed uncomfortable. Was he jealous?

“Sorry about that.”

“No need to apologize. It’s your job.” Adam sipped his drink and leaned against the cushions.

Jonah glanced over at Lulu, then told Adam, “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere, okay?”

“I…. Sure.”

Jonah offered Adam a reassuring smile. He walked over to the piano and touched Lulu’s arm.

“What can I play for you, Jonah?” Lulu asked without stopping.

Jonah had taken to spending his evenings here, listening to her play. When there were few guests around, she often played classical pieces for him. She was quite good, and he told her so.

“If you don’t mind,” he said, “I was thinking something a little different tonight.”

ADAM watched Jonah as he spoke to the pianist. Charmed, just like the others. He didn’t mind it. Not really. But after nearly a week at Jonah’s side, he craved more of Jonah’s company. The dance had been wonderful, but it wasn’t enough. In two days he’d be headed home. And then what?

Jonah put a hand on his shoulder and leaned in. “Come with me?” he asked in a low voice that made Adam shiver.

“As if I’d say no.”

“You can leave your drink. We’ll be back for it later.” He took Adam’s hand and led him to a small courtyard adjacent to the bar. The place looked like it had been made just for them, with no other guest in sight. Overhead, stars shimmered through wisps of clouds. Music from the piano wafted out, soft and sweet. Another song Adam couldn’t name but whose melody he could hum.

“Alone at last?” he said as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He and Jonah had been alone many times, but somehow this felt different.

“Dance with me?” Jonah said as he extended his hand. As if on cue, the music changed.

Adam nodded and closed his eyes momentarily to better focus on the beat. “Tango,” he murmured. He hadn’t danced one in years, but as he took Jonah’s hand and their chests met, the steps came back to him.

“Mmm.” Jonah spun Adam and they came back together, bodies grinding. Adam’s pulse quickened as Jonah brushed a hand over his cheek, then caressed his arm before they separated once again. A drop of sweat tickled Adam’s neck, while another danced down between his shoulder blades.

Adam sighed as a breeze lifted the hair at his nape, cool on his skin. Then they were together again, no distance separating them. The scent of something citrusy rose as Adam ran fingers though Jonah’s wavy hair.

Jonah moaned and Adam realized they’d stopped moving. Jonah leaned in to Adam’s touch, stark hunger in his eyes. Adam drew Jonah closer, and the kiss blossomed red-hot, sending heat to Adam’s groin. They ground their hips together, Jonah as hard as Adam.

Adam had never wanted someone so much. The push and pull of their attraction had gone from slow burn to blast furnace over the past five days. Adam’s physical desire wasn’t the only thing that made him want Jonah so damn bad. He genuinely liked Jonah, and he enjoyed talking to him. There was far more to Jonah than met the eye.

“God, you taste good,” Jonah said as they came up for breath. He brushed his lips against Adam’s as he cradled his face in his hands. He pulled Adam’s shirt from his pants and traced a line up and down his spine with sensual fingers.

Adam released a long breath and sighed. “Jonah, I want—”

“I have to get back to the club.” Jonah glanced at his watch, then up at Adam. “I want this. I really do. But I want it to last.”

“Time for a cold shower.” Not that it would help.

“Tomorrow,” Jonah said, looking genuinely disappointed. “We can take our time. I’ve got nothing all day.”

Adam leaned his head on Jonah’s shoulder. “I might survive that long.”

“You could come dance at the club,” Jonah suggested.

“Nah. It’s just as well. I haven’t slept all that well the last few nights.”

“Nervous about what’s waiting at home?”

“Yeah.” That, and the realization that this wonderful fantasy would soon be over and he’d be back to cold reality and the San Francisco dating scene had left Adam wishing this could last just a little longer.

“We have the entire day together tomorrow,” Jonah repeated. “No work, no interruptions.”

Jonah was right. They could wait. If they were going to do this, Adam wanted to take his time. If all he would have of Jonah when he left were memories, he would do his best to make the most of the time they spent together.

“We’ll have a great time tomorrow. I promise.” Jonah kissed Adam, then sighed. “Back to the grind,” he said as he took Jonah’s hand and led him through the archway and back to the bar. “Eight tomorrow?”

“Perfect.”

Jonah walked down the long breezeway, glancing back at him and smiling.

Tomorrow couldn’t come too soon.