Chapter Fourteen
Jessie took her place, keeping her eyes down even after the heat of the spotlight hit her. Even after several weeks of singing, she still couldn’t calm the stampede of elephants in her belly. Until the first notes of her song rang out. Each note seemed to chase away a little more of her fear and by the time the introduction blended into the opening notes of the song, she was fully ready to let loose.
She opened her mouth and sang, filling her diaphragm and letting her voice carry through every corner of the speakeasy. Her body swayed in time to the music and Jessie let the tempo dictate her movements. It was a fun song, a bit cheeky. The singer sang it with a playful, kittenish voice. But not Jessie.
Jessie had the band slow the music down. Her voice was deeper, richer, and made the lyrics somehow less flirty and infinitely more naughty. She swayed her shoulders and shook her hips as the song dictated, but with the slower rhythm, her movements were borderline indecent. And she reveled in it. She never stepped out of line in her real life. So for the few moments she was on stage, it was wickedly fun to vamp it up.
Her eyes roved over the crowd as she sang. Until they came to rest on Tony.
He stood at the back of the room, leaning against the bar with a tumbler of rum in his hand, his eyes locked onto hers. All the other patrons disappeared. It was only her and him in the room, her voice meant only for him. When she sang the line about letting someone take a kiss, Tony’s teeth scraped along his lower lip. The sight of him biting his lip sent a wave of heat through her that almost turned her knees to jelly, and she no longer needed to put on an act to sell the song to her audience. Every word of it was the truth. The riot of sensation rocking through her body lent a rasping sultriness to her voice that had her audience mesmerized. But she had eyes for only Tony.
He put his glass down on the bar, walked slowly around the outskirts of the tables, across the dance floor where a few couples were moving together in time to the song. Jessie kept him in her sights, her eyes following him as he moved closer to her.
Jessie’s voice lingered on the last notes, making sure Tony’s eyes were riveted on hers. Her hands glided down her body until they hung straight at her side. For one more moment, the magic of the song encapsulated her and Tony. And then the applause rang out from the audience, shattering the illusion.
Jessie stared out at her new, adoring fans and tried not to panic. She’d acted like a complete tart! Though they seemed to love her for it, she was embarrassed at how carried away she’d let herself get.
One of the men from the audience jumped up, whistling and hooting so loudly his drunken companions were practically rolling on the floor with their laughter.
“Sing another one, baby!”
Maybe it was time for a break. Jessie eyed the man warily, her stomach doing a queasy flip. She took another little bow and stepped away from the microphone. The man took several lurching steps toward the stage. Jessie looked around, trying to find Tony, but with the spotlight in her face she couldn’t see anything but the hulking drunkard coming toward her.
“Where you goin’?” he slurred. “Sing another one for me!”
He stumbled up onto the stage, his big meaty paw swiping at her. Jessie jumped back, a startled squeak all she could muster past the panic that squeezed at her throat. He got ahold of her wrist and dragged her up against him. A mingled chorus of boos and catcalls rose from the audience.
“Hey now!” Louis said, coming to her rescue. The man brushed him off, shoving him back, and the other band members marched forward.
“You can be bad with me anytime, baby,” he said, his rum-laden breath making her stomach turn as it wafted over her. “Why don’t we go somewhere a little more priv—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Tony’s hand clamped to the back of his collar and he hauled him off her. He swung the drunkard around, right into the waiting arms of the club’s burly bouncer. It only took a matter of seconds, but Jessie was shaking like a newborn kitten.
Tony wrapped an arm around her waist. He turned a smiling face to the audience, though Jessie noticed that it didn’t match his eyes. His entire body was rigid with rage.
“Jessie Harlan, ladies and gentleman!”
The applause rang out again and Tony stood back a little, though he didn’t let her go, and let the audience praise her.
Then he stepped back to the microphone. “Miss Harlan will be back in a few short minutes to continue the show. I’ll leave you in the capable hands of our band.”
Before Jessie could protest, Louis started a new song and Tony whisked her off to his office.
The second the door was closed he ran his hands over her, checking her for injuries. He brushed her hair back to look into her eyes. Then, with a frustrated groan, Tony dragged her to him and kissed her, his lips tenderly moving over hers until she trembled in his arms.
When he released her, she wasn’t sure if her limbs shook from the incident on the stage or from Tony’s soft, warm lips.
“Are you all right? You aren’t hurt, are you?” he asked, taking her hand and looking at her wrist.
Jessie blew out a tremulous breath, the fear thundering through her bloodstream slowly dissipating. “Yes, I’m fine. Thanks to you.”
“What did you think you were doing?”
“Excuse me?” She still floated in an overly sensitized haze, could still taste him on her lips, and his abrupt change of subject left her reeling. “I didn’t…I mean you were the one who…”
Tony paced to his desk, then back to her. Jessie frowned at him, thoroughly confused by his sudden change of mood.
“That song. The way you sang it.”
“You don’t like that song?”
“No, it’s not that… That song you sang. I’m not sure that was the best choice.”
“Haven’t we had this conversation before?”
Tony almost smiled and Jessie bit her lip to keep from smiling.
“Well, it appears you haven’t learned your lesson yet.” He pulled her against him and she sucked in a breath.
“That song is all the rage right now. I thought the crowd would like it.”
“They obviously did. Some more than others. That man could have hurt you if I hadn’t gotten there in time.”
Jessie waved him off. “Louis was right there, and so was your bouncer. I would have been fine.”
“Jessie…”
She couldn’t keep from smiling. “You seemed to enjoy it well enough.”
He stared at her, his irritation melting into something much more sensual. His smile grew and he pressed closer, showing her exactly how well he enjoyed it. “Is this what you had in mind, Miss Harlan, when you sang that song to me?”
He nipped at her lip and Jessie’s breath caught in her throat.
“Yes. I mean, no,” she said when he chuckled, the low, rumbling laugh full of virile male pride and heat. “I…I wasn’t singing to you, I just…”
He brushed his lips along hers, then deepened the kiss until all Jessie could feel and think about was his mouth against hers, the taste of the rum on his tongue, the silky softness of his hair sliding through her fingers.
“Is this what you want, Jessie?”
His voice had grown husky and sent shivers down her spine. Or maybe it was his lips trailing down her neck that was doing that? Or the way he nibbled at the pulse jumping in her throat?
Oh yes, this was exactly what she wanted.
His lips covered hers before she had half a second to think and he kissed her with a vigor that shocked her. She’d wanted to torment him, but she’d never dreamed she’d be quite so successful. Her surprise melted into desire as his onslaught continued and she kissed him back, pouring into it every ounce of passion, desire, fear, and anxiety that had been tumbling around inside her for the past few weeks.
His hand came up to cup her face, his thumb stroking down along her jaw, gently pressing on her chin until she opened to him. He explored her mouth until only his hard body pressed against hers kept her from slumping to the floor on legs that no longer wanted to hold her.
He leaned his forehead against hers and she was happy to find that she wasn’t the only one breathing as though she’d just run up a flight of stairs. He pulled away, his eyes burning into hers, and waited. She knew what he was doing. Giving her the chance to stop, to walk away. And she knew she should. But it would have been easier to cut off her own leg than walk away from him.
Instead, Jessie ran her hands up Tony’s chest, over the lapels of his suit, up the rock hard column of his neck where his pulse beat against her hand as though it would burst from his skin. She smiled, loving that his heart pounded for her. Then she slipped her fingers into his hair and pulled him back to her, drawing his tongue inside her mouth, tasting every inch of him, until their slow and steady kiss was no longer enough for either of them.
Tony’s hand dragged up her thigh, hiking her dress up with it, and the first brush of his hand on her bare skin had Jessie gasping his name. She brought her leg up to wrap around his waist and he bent, lifting her into his arms so she could wrap the other around him as well.
He pressed her back against the wall, letting the full hardness of his body rock against her aching core, and she arched into him with a moan. He covered her mouth with his own, swallowing down her cries as he kissed her. She yanked at his bow tie, tore at the buttons on his shirt, wanting, needing, to feel his skin against hers.
Jessie didn’t know where this frantic desire came from that had to be met before she went insane. She knew she should stop. She knew it would bring her nothing but trouble. But every brush of Tony’s lips against her skin made her care less and less.
She had never felt like this with Mario. Had never felt this instant rush of fire that ignited every inch of her body. There had been excitement, and enough heat to lead her to do things she wasn’t ready for. But nothing like this inferno that threatened to consume her. She whimpered, clutching at Tony, not even sure what she wanted, only knowing he was the only one who could give it to her.
The pounding of someone’s fist on the door startled them both into awareness of their surroundings. Tony let her slide down the length of his body, setting her dress to rights while they both struggled to catch their breath.
Someone knocked again. “Boss? You in there?”
“Yeah, whaddya want?” Tony growled.
“The crowd’s getting a little restless. Will Miss Harlan be going back on tonight?”
Tony glanced at her and Jessie gave him a small nod. “She’ll be out in a few.”
“All right, boss. I’ll tell the band.”
Jessie leaned her head against Tony’s chest, both relieved and disappointed that they’d been interrupted. She’d been ready to let him take her right there against the wall in his office. She couldn’t imagine what he must think of her. And yet, with every nerve ending still on fire and begging for his touch, she didn’t regret her actions. Only that they’d been interrupted.
Tony straightened her dress, brushed her hair back from her face, and then pulled her gently into his arms, pressing a kiss to her forehead before his lips moved lower, kissing each cheek, trailing to her neck, to the hollow behind her ear. The tension built again, an aching burn that begged to be inflamed.
But reality had intruded and as much as she hated it, she knew she had to be smart and keep her head about her. She wanted Tony. More than she’d ever wanted any other man in her life. But now wasn’t the time. Not when all their secrets hung over their heads. It took more effort than she cared to admit, but she gently pushed him away.
“This isn’t a good idea, Tony.”
Tony wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her back against him, leaning down so he could whisper in her ear. “We might have to agree to disagree on that point, Jessie. But I’ll give you a fair warning. Unless you want to spend a lot more of your time in this office with me…” He ran a hand up her back, tangling his fingers in her hair. “Then you might want to be more careful with your song choices.”
Oh, yes. They’d definitely had this conversation before. Only she hadn’t really taken his warning to heart. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to this time. Still, she answered, “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You do that.” Tony leaned down, tugging on her hair enough that she had to tilt her head up to keep it from pulling. His mouth descended and he kissed her again until she was almost sobbing for more.
Someone pounded on the door again. “Hey boss. Got a situation out here.”
Tony growled and let her go. He yanked the door open, leaving her trembling against the wall.
She brought her hand up to her mouth and smiled. She would certainly keep that in mind.