Passion Never Dies (11 page)

“Would you like a drink?” asked Jake, his lips brushing close to her ear.

Diana shook her head and he tugged her closer to him. She found herself flush against his back, his arms wrapped around her waist. She could feel the heat of his lower body as he bent his head and kissed the side of her neck. She bit back a moan as he kissed her nape softly.

“Mmm, you smell good,” Jake mumbled.

Diana squirmed against him, wanting to feel him closer. His cologne snared her senses and his hard body surrounded her smaller frame as he drew them both farther into the shadows of the nightclub. She turned in his arms, suddenly desperate for his kiss. He bent his head and kissed her voraciously, his tongue dueling with hers. He moaned as their tongues mated and he thrust his lower body forcefully against hers.

“Damn, you’re too hot tonight, Diana,” Jake said as he put his hands on her bottom and pulled her up and closer to his erection.

Diana groaned as she felt his hardness rub against her. He opened her mouth wider and plunged his tongue inside her mouth. He nipped and sucked at her lips and she eagerly met him, arching into his body. She whimpered as she felt one of his hands slide up her tight skirt and caress her soft thigh. Suddenly his fingers were at the juncture between her legs and he had swept aside her black lace thong and was gently rubbing her.

“Yes, please don’t stop,” she panted as he explored with his fingers.

“You’re so wet,” he mumbled against her breasts.

Diana moaned again as he continued to fondle her.

Suddenly, they both heard a man talking to them. Jake reluctantly took his hand out from beneath her skirt and glared at the bouncer who dared to interrupt his lovemaking.

“I’m sorry, sir,” said the tall bouncer clearing his throat, “but perhaps I can take you to a private place here at the club where you can continue what you were doing.”

Diana was embarrassed beyond belief. She looked at Jake, but he was more irritated at the bouncer than embarrassed.

“No, that won’t be necessary,” Jake said to the bouncer. “But thank you.”

The bouncer nodded and left immediately.

Jake smiled ruefully at Diana as she straightened out the skirt of her dress.

“Sorry about that. It seems that I always get carried away when I’m with you,” he said, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

“We both do,” said Diana shyly as he took her hand and kissed her palm gently. She felt herself melt at the tender gesture.

“Why don’t I show you around the club?”

Diana nodded. “I’d love that. I’ve never been here before.”

“One of my associates runs this club, so I’m quite familiar with it,” he said as he took her hand and led her up a flight of stairs.

In her black, three-inch heels, Diana was having a difficult time walking up the stairs, especially since she was unused to wearing such high heels. Jake slowed his pace and grinned at her.

“You look sexy in those heels, but not very comfortable,” he commented as he watched her.

Embarrassed by her slow pace, she grimaced as she climbed the stairs.

“I’m so used to wearing flats all the time. Now my feet are protesting.”

Jake took her elbow and gently guided her up the stairs until they reached the second floor. Diana was grateful when she finally made it up the landing. They looked down onto the dance floor below them. The crowd below was enjoying the music and the dance floor was rapidly filling up.

“Would you like a drink?” Jake asked.

“Maybe just some water,” Diana replied.

Jake took her hand and they walked over to the bar.

“What can I get you, sir?” asked the bartender when they reached the bar.

“I’ll have a martini and the lady will have water,” answered Jake.

Diana sat on a barstool and looked at Jake enquiringly.

“Why do I get the feeling that the people who work here know you?”

Jake sat on the barstool next to her and smiled.

“I’ve been here a few times,” he answered as he took one of her hands.

Diana inwardly squirmed as he stared at her and inspected her figure in her tight, black dress. When she sat down, the skirt of her dress had ridden up revealing much of her thighs.

“I love your dress,” he said huskily as his gaze wandered over to her silky thighs.

“Thank you,” she said, suddenly feeling tongue-tied. His blond hair gleamed richly underneath the disco lights and his chiseled features seemed more pronounced.

The bartender gave them their drinks and Diana took a sip of her water as she watched Jake drink his martini.

“I know I’ve been a bit distracted lately,” he said ruefully.

Lifting an eyebrow, Diana set her glass of water down and looked at him, holding her breath. She braced herself for whatever he was going to say. His interest in her since arriving at the club had kept her fears at bay, but now she was feeling nervous again.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking the last few days,” he said, an inscrutable expression in his eyes.

“Oh?” Diana didn’t know what to make of his statement. “Thinking about what?” She desperately needed clarification.

Jake set his martini down and took her hand. He led her to a private alcove marked VIP a few feet away. The bouncer nodded his head to him and let them pass into the red velvet covered lounge. Jake indicated for her to sit and he sat close to her.

“Somehow, you’ve gotten under my skin,” Jake said, his eyes piercingly intent on her hers. “That doesn’t make me feel totally comfortable,” he confessed.

Diana’s eyes widened. This was the last thing she had expected to hear from him.

“Normally, I like to play the game. With women, it’s all about games with me. But you’re different, Diana. You always have been,” Jake said a bit gruffly. He reached out and stroked her silky hair.

“I’m confused, Jake,” said Diana hesitantly. “What do you mean?”

Jake let out a long sigh as he brushed her soft cheek with his thumb gently.

“I don’t really know myself,” he answered hesitantly.

“So, we’re at an impasse,” she laughed shakily, unnerved by his intent gaze.

“I want you. That’s all I know,” Jake said before he bent his head and kissed her gently. Diana opened her mouth willingly as she met his eager tongue. They kissed without reservation, their mouths hungrily stroking one another. She lost all track of time as he wrapped his arms around her and she pressed into his hard body. Finally, he released her lips and she was able to take a breath.

“I can’t concentrate on anything when I’m around you, Diana,” Jake said as he held her close.

“Ditto,” she answered as she felt him lift her and place her on his lap. But she still wanted answers. He had left her feeling bereft the last few nights during their short phone conversations. She needed to know why.

“Jake, what’s happening between us is something I’ve never experienced before. Is it the same for you?” she asked carefully.

Jake paused and looked at her for a long, silent moment before answering.

“I’ve never been the kind of man who wanted commitment,” he warned her. Her heart took a nose dive at his statement, but she refused to let him see her disappointment. He took a strand of her hair and twirled it around one of his fingers.

“I don’t know where we’re going with this, Diana, but I do know I don’t want it to end,” he said before he bent down to kiss her again. Diana placed her hands on his chest to stop him. She wasn’t satisfied with his cryptic answers - they left her too confused.

“Jake, I haven’t asked you for commitment,” she said. In fact, she wasn’t sure what she was asking of him, but she didn’t want to scare him away either.

“I know,” he sighed heavily, his arms still wrapped around her. “Let’s just take this one day at a time.”

Diana nodded. She knew that he was going to return to New York at the end of the summer and already the days were flying by. She also suspected that this romance might probably end in heartbreak for her, but her normally cautious self didn’t care. If this summer was all she had with him, then she was going to throw caution to the wind and have a fling to remember.

“Or one night at a time,” she said teasingly. She wanted to keep their conversation light for the rest of the night. It was time to enjoy herself and being on Jake’s lap was the best place to do it.

Jake’s eyes widened slightly at her titillating words, his eyes searching hers.

“That’s right, sweetheart,” he said slowly before he bent his head to kiss her. “Just you and me - that’s all that matters.”

Diana watched his lips descend down onto hers with anticipation.

“Excuse me, sir,” interrupted the bouncer, snapping Diana and Jake’s heads up.

“This group said they reserved this lounge,” the bouncer said apologetically. “We can get you other VIP seating.”

Diana blushed as she noticed a large group of men and women staring at them from behind the bouncer. She immediately stood and was joined by Jake, who bristled in irritation next to her.

“That’s all right. We’ll be leaving now,” Jake said briskly as he took Diana’s hand and led them out of the lounge.

“It’s quite coincidental that we kept getting interrupted, don’t you think?” asked Diana as she walked next to Jake toward the stairs.

“Finding privacy in a nightclub is almost impossible,” he grumbled.

He indicated that they go down the stairs and led her to the crowded dance floor. She found herself drawn tightly into his arms as they danced to a sensual song. He held her close as their bodies swayed with the music and Diana felt herself melting against him.

“Hmm, this is more like it,” he mumbled against her ear.

Diana felt one of his hands drift lower to her bottom as his lips nibbled at her ear.

“You’re being naughty,” she said as she felt him cup her bottom. The dance floor was crowded and other couples were being even more uninhibited around them, but she still felt embarrassed by their public display.

“And you’re not being naughty enough,” he teased back.

“Two can play this game, mister,” she answered as she writhed sensuously against him.

Jake grinned and held her even tighter against him.

“Keep doing that and we’ll give this club something to talk about,” he warned huskily.

The dance was over before they knew it, causing her over-heated body to seek refreshment. Jake led her off the dance floor and they headed toward the bar together.

“I need to go to the restroom,” Diana said.

“I’ll wait for you over there,” Jake said, indicating the long bar at one side of the dance club.

Diana smiled and walked away, feeling heady after being wrapped in Jake’s arms. She had not even cared that they had attracted the looks of more than one envious woman on the dance floor. He was hers and she wasn’t letting him go.

~

Jake watched Diana walk away and experienced the same feeling he had a few days ago when he had watched her in her classroom. Diana made him feel needy and wanting, something that normally only his partners had felt for him not vice versa. He satisfied his urges with women and then moved on. It had been simple and uncomplicated...until now.

The bartender asked him if he needed a drink and he asked for a rum and coke. He was aware of the beautiful, sexy ladies in scanty clothing surrounding him at the bar, but he only had eyes for one woman - a brown-eyed brunette who held him captivated and had done so since the first time he had seen her at a beach nine years ago.

As Jake took a sip of his drink, he wondered what would have happened if they had never lost touch. Would he have married her and be a father by now? The thought shocked him. He had always been the “love them and leave them” kind of guy, but now everything had changed. He wanted to keep Diana and never leave, but that was impossible. He had a business to run in Manhattan and was leaving Vegas in a few months. He honestly didn’t know what to do, but for now, all he knew was that Diana was important to him and he wasn’t about to let her go any time soon.

~

Diana left the restroom and spied Jake surrounded by beautiful women at the bar. Standing not too far away, but far enough not to be seen by Jake, she observed him talking to two beautiful blonde women in extremely short skirts and barely there glittery tops. He towered over them, his handsome good looks and athletic, muscular body attracting women like moths to a flame. She frowned as the women flirted shamelessly with him. From her vantage point, she couldn’t really see his facial expression, but his body language didn’t indicate that he was flirting back. Still, it made her feel insecure knowing that strange women easily approached him and it put her teeth on edge.

Diana watched as one of the lovely blonde women placed her hand on Jake’s arm. She saw Jake take a step back, but the woman kept advancing until her body was a hair’s breath away from touching Jake’s. Rooted to the spot, Diana couldn’t seem to move forward - she needed to know what Jake would do. Jake didn’t move and this time, the woman placed her hand on his chest. She saw him shake his head and turn away. Diana felt herself being able to breathe again, but the scene had intensified the gnawing insecurity she felt regarding how he felt about her. If he could have that stunning beauty, why did he choose her?

~

“There you are,” Jake said as he saw Diana walking toward him. “I was beginning to think you got lost,” he added teasingly.

“This place is big, but it’s not that big,” said Diana lightly, but she was still a bit rattled about what she had seen. The blonde who had been flirting with Jake had promptly disappeared at her appearance.

“Were you having fun without me?” she asked innocently.

Jake looked down into her deep brown eyes and shook his head.

“Hardly,” he answered, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

The one-word answer somehow comforted Diana.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Jake said, taking her hand and leading her to the exit of the club.

“What? Why? Don’t you want to stay longer?” asked Diana, confused.

“It’s too loud and crowded in here.”

Jake held her hand firmly as they walked out of the club together. Outside at the entrance, there was a long line of people waiting to get into the club. The bouncers nodded their head at Jake in respectful acknowledgement as they passed by. Suddenly, Jake’s iPhone rang and he answered it with a frown.