Phoenix Rising (4 page)

He jerked his head toward a help-wanted sign on the mirror behind the bar. “We’re shorthanded.”

“I need a job.” The words were out before she could rethink the urge to say them.

“Seriously?”

Jessa nodded.

“You ever wait tables before?”

“In a bar? No.”

He looked disappointed.

“In a restaurant with a bar? Yes.”

“You’re hired.”

She blinked in semi drunken surprise. “Don’t you have to ask your boss or something first?”

Alex shrugged. “Connor!”

The world slowed to a crawl as Jessa watched the doorman turn around. He glanced at her for several seconds before heading in their direction.

“What’s up?” His deep voice rolled like distant thunder.

“I hired a waitress.”

“Really.”

Not a statement. Not a question. Connor’s eyes roved over Jessa as if he were removing every stitch of clothing from her body. Her skin heated, tingled, and then caught fire. Creamy juice instantly flooded Jessa’s crotch and she practically panted with sexual frustration she hadn’t realized she possessed.

“Yeah,” Alex turned to Jessa. “Sorry…I didn’t catch your name.”

“Jessa,” Connor said before she could stammer an answer.

The name dripped off his tongue as it had before. He couldn’t have gotten more of a visceral reaction from her if he’d reached down and fingered her vagina right there in front of Alex. Jessa wanted him to yank her panties to her knees, throw her against the bar and fuck her senseless.

A wave of mortification hit her hard. What had happened to sweet Jessa Kincaid? In one afternoon she’d shopped at a porn store, drunk car bombs in a dirty bar in the middle of the afternoon, watched a lewd display of public indecency, and now she was lusting after a dangerous-looking man she didn’t know. If looks portrayed anything, he was probably nothing more than a common thug.

“All right, Connor?” Alex prodded.

Connor’s eyes roved over her body again, lingering over hips and breasts. “S’okay with me. Start tomorrow; we open up around noon.”

Jessa managed to nod her head, but nothing more. She practically melted into a puddle on the floor before Connor swung his big body around and gracefully headed back to his post.

What kind of man was he? Never in her life had she met someone so utterly confident. Jessa hadn’t known that earthbound males were born with that kind of charisma. It was as if Connor were some otherworldly entity. A fallen angel, perhaps?

“He takes some getting used to,” Alex offered. “But he’s a great friend, and a good boss.”

“Sure,” she managed hoarsely.

“Plus, he’s intimidating as hell at the door.”

“So, he’s the…owner?”

“Yep.”

Jessa blinked several times in quick succession, trying to come up with another question to keep Alex talking about Connor. Common thugs didn’t typically masquerade as small business owners. It made for an intriguing combination.

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll be in good hands with us, Jessa.”

Her fuzzy mind concocted all sorts of meanings for that particular promise.

Alex sat a tall mug of Guinness down on the bar. “Now, let’s see if you can drink it solo.”

“You are trying to get me drunk, aren’t you?”

“Nah, I’ve just got to see what my waitress is made of.”

“Right.”

The mug was cool against her warm hands. She inhaled the earthy essence of the Guinness and pondered the merits of forgetting all her troubles for at least one evening. It wasn’t as if Will were spending his evening lamenting the change in their marital status. Why should she?

* * *

The smooth surface of the mahogany bar was cool beneath Jessa’s cheek. Her head felt strangely light, as if gravity had been momentarily shut off. A few experimental blinks proved Jessa still had eyes. But the soft interior lighting seemed harsh after the pitch black of her eyelids. The music had wound down to a lazy country western tune about guys who leave their wives. It was disgustingly apropos. Perhaps that was when you knew you had hit rock bottom, when your life could be summed up in one cheesy western ballad.

The whisk of a terry cloth bar towel alerted Jessa to Alex’s presence a few feet away. The drone of the jukebox drowned out any other bar noise. Peanuts mingled with the scent of beer and cigarette smoke. All were underscored by something strangely familiar.

Both invigorating and seductive, it was vaguely enticing to her addled senses. Wood smoke, sandalwood, cinnamon spice, whiskey and something so intensely male that it sent a quick shot of adrenaline into her sluggish bloodstream.

“Welcome back.”

Violently aware that the voice did not belong to Alex, Jessa rose quickly. Her head popped up from the bar like a jack in the box. She was immediately sorry, so sorry. Her vision swam while her stomach simultaneously lurched up and down.

“Easy there. Move around too quickly and I’ll be mopping the floor again.”

Swallowing the bitter taste in her mouth, Jessa forced her bleary eyes to focus on Connor. He’d draped a bar towel casually over one shoulder. One big hand used a damp corner of the towel to wipe out the inside of a shot glass.

Even in her semi-lethargic state Jessa noted how his hands dwarfed the tiny glass. He handled it carefully, expertly, light dancing off the beveled edges and casting strange patterns on the muted blue of his shirt.

“Alex?” Her voice was rough.

Connor wordlessly flipped a clean beer mug upright and filled it with cool water. He deftly placed it before Jessa and nodded that she should drink.

The heat from Connor’s hands lingered on the smooth surface of the glass. It seeped into Jessa’s hands and sent shimmering waves dancing through her body. Cool water slid over her tongue. Though it washed away the thick furriness in her mouth, it did nothing to quell the strange urges Connor’s nearness instigated.

“Where’s Alex?” Jessa asked softly when she could trust her voice not to betray her unruly thoughts.

Obviously a man of few words, Connor jerked his chin toward the back of the dim room. His black eyes never left Jessa’s body. It was as if he were anticipating her reaction to what she was about to see. As if he knew he was enticing her to the edge.

Unable to resist, she followed his gesture, eyes taking a moment to adjust to the low lighting. What she saw made her womb clench and her nerves catch fire. Blood rushed to her vagina, plumping her pussy lips and calling forth a rush of sweet cream that left her aching for something she couldn’t name.

Every prim and proper bone inside Jessa’s body was demanding she turn on her heel and leave. But it wasn’t possible.

Alex’s shirt lay pooled on the floor beneath what appeared to be a lacy satin camisole top and black miniskirt. Just beyond that, Alex and the lady in question were locked together in the ageless ritual of hot, sweaty sex.

It occurred to Jessa that no lady would’ve been caught dead in such a compromising position. If ladies engaged in sex, they did so in a private bedroom setting with their husbands. And they never let themselves get so…carried away.

Further reflection suggested that might be why so many marriages failed. Ladylike sex had never been all that satisfying. What was happening between Alex and his lover looked like a whole other activity. And neither of them was in danger of walking away unsatisfied.

Alex had his gorgeous partner bent over a bar table before him. Her naked breasts were smashed against the cool surface and her face showed nothing but complete exhilaration. The arch of her back lifted the smooth curve of her bare ass. Alex stood behind her, slamming his cock into her as if nothing else in the world mattered. His hands shifted from the flare of her hips. One palm stroked her backside before tweaking the thong Jessa could now see he held at bay with one hooked thumb. He leaned over and murmured something low into her ear. She arched harder and his name was mingled with a deep moan torn from her throat. Whatever he’d said was what she wanted to hear.

Did Jessa even have words like that in her vocabulary? What would it be like to hear the rasp of a hot, sweaty man’s voice in her ear while he brought her such uninhibited pleasure?

Jessa gradually became aware of Connor’s searing black gaze. It was intensely sexual and fused with his personal brand of wild desire. She shifted her gaze away from the fornicating couple and focused on the bar.

A suffocating wave of guilt crashed over Jessa. She forced her brain to concentrate on the intricate grain of the wood. But it was torture to pretend not to hear the guttural groans and primal wailing coming from the lovers across the room.

“It’s okay to watch.” Connor’s voice rasped across her conscience. “If they didn’t want to be watched, they’d have gone to the back room.”

The mere idea that the pair of lovers didn’t want privacy for their interlude was equal parts shocking and intriguing.

Jessa lifted her gaze to meet his onyx stare. Her skin temperature soared out of control. Blood pumped furiously to her extremities before focusing intensely on the already heavy ache between her legs. The sensual heat in her crotch was fueled by another rush of creamy juice. She’d never been this turned on before,
never
.

“What kind of place is this?” Jessa managed to whisper.

He set aside the shot glass and towel. Placing his huge hands flat on the bar, Connor leaned forward until his face was only inches from Jessa’s. He exhaled slowly. Sweet peppermint breath whispered over her. Jessa couldn’t help but notice the finely arched eyebrows and the perfect bow in his upper lip. His eyes were the color of moonless midnight.

When he finally spoke, his breath bathed her face and chest with warmth and Jessa found it hard not to writhe against the bar and beg him to make her his then and there.

“It’s the kind of place you belong.” He quirked an eyebrow, “Even if you can’t admit it yet.”

Chapter Four

Connor was awakened at the ungodly hour of ten a.m. by one of Alex’s favorite songs playing loudly on the sound system in the bar below his apartment. He spent an additional ten minutes trying to muffle the sound with a pillow before emitting a low growl and sitting up.

The tiny bedroom was barely big enough to accommodate the queen-sized bed, a nightstand, and dresser. The bedroom, a small attached bathroom, and the kitchen/living room made up his 750 sq. ft. apartment. The fact that his living space was located above the bar made it convenient. And in Connor’s book, convenience took precedence over comfort any day.

Connor swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He stretched his six-and-a-half-foot frame until his back popped in protest and the tension knotting his spine slowly began to ease.

“Another day, another dollar,” he murmured.

But then, this was not just another day. This day would be different.

“Jessa.”

The feel of her name crossing his lips brought on another kind of tension entirely. The blood rushed to his groin and his cock began to thicken and swell.

Bringing his thoughts forcefully under control, Connor dropped to the floor and immersed himself in his morning routine of pushups, crunches, and stretches. The short but sometimes brutal habit kept his body honed. His job kept his reflexes in order. He had no time for distractions. An occasional fuck, absolutely. Someone like Jessa? Too much involvement.

But no matter how hard he pushed himself physically, he could not get the picture of her out of his mind. From the straight mass of silken honey-colored hair to her hooded greenish-brown gaze, she’d demanded his attention without even trying.

Even almost ten hours later, he could remember the exact shape of her delectable breasts and the soft flare of her ample hips. To a man who’d spent too much time around women who looked as if he could break them in two with his bare hands, her classic build was manna from heaven or temptation from hell. Take your pick.

Connor paused, calf muscles screaming as he stretched his big body to the limits. She would be such a challenge. Such curiosity and uncultivated passion kept so tightly leashed, he could practically smell her internal frustration. Given the right man and the right handling, she was a wildcat waiting to happen.

But there was something else. Some sadness hid behind her eyes. As if she suffered an aching loneliness that made her unable to decide whether to reach out or lash out. And that was what made her dangerous. Connor didn’t need shades of grey like her in his black and white existence.

The moment she’d stepped inside his bar and gazed up at him with her beguiling hazel eyes, he’d sensed something different. It made him want to cram her in his pocket and protect her from whatever it was that was so determined to beat her down.

“Connor?”

“In here.”

Alex appeared and balanced lightly against the doorjamb. “Aren’t you done yet?”

“Just finishing up.”

Connor managed to avoid Alex’s probing gaze while he stood and rummaged for a fresh shirt and pants.

“Something bothering you?”

Connor shrugged a shirt over his broad shoulders. “No, why?”

“Just a feeling.”

“You been watching Dr. Phil again? You’re sounding awfully in touch with your feminine side.”

Alex snorted. “I’ve known you long enough that sometimes I feel like we’re married.”

“You could’ve kept that little detail to yourself.”

There was a brief pause. Connor settled his black trousers on the tilt of his hips and ran a hand over the stubble on his head. It was the same routine every morning when he had to decide if he needed a shave or not.

“It’ll be nice to have another set of hands around the bar tonight, hmm?”

“Guess so.”

“She seems nice enough.”

Connor grunted, refusing to let Alex bait him into saying anything about their new waitress.

“Great ass, too. Wouldn’t you say?”

Unable to stop himself, Connor’s gaze jerked upward and locked on Alex. The beast that lay just beneath Connor’s civil exterior howled and rattled the bars on its cage. His heart hammered in his chest and blood pounded in his ears.

“She’s just a woman, Connor.” Alex said quietly.

“I know that.”

“So keep your perspective.”

Connor didn’t bother to acknowledge that bit of advice.

Alex seemed to understand that the topic was closed. “Selena is downstairs.”

“Probably wants her paycheck.”

Alex chuckled, “I think she wants more compensation than that.”

There was an unmistakable smirk on his face when Alex left the doorway. Connor made certain his pants were fastened before following Alex. Encounters that often seemed a wonderful way to start the day had a habit of reaching around to bite you in the ass when you least expected it.

* * *

“Come to get your last check, Selena?” Connor rumbled as he eased into his desk chair.

From the corner of his eye, Connor could see her prop one of her svelte legs on the edge of his desk. In the not-so-distant past, he would’ve considered the leg a welcome invitation. But at that moment it was more annoyance than anything else.

Connor chalked it up to his being annoyed that Selena would walk off the job with no notice. He refused to admit that Jessa’s sudden, earth-shattering appearance in his life had anything to do with this phenomenon.

“Have you missed me, Connor?”

“No. We already hired someone else.”

There was a brief silence in which Connor tried to gauge whether or not Selena was going to take offense to his admission. But she smiled instead. “I can’t imagine she’d replace me in…everything.”

Connor ground his teeth together to keep from giving her the satisfaction of a response.

The long leg disappeared and was replaced by Selena’s rounded ass. She settled herself on the cluttered desktop, legs propped on the filing cabinet. Selena wore one of her trademark sinfully short skirts with no pantyhose. Connor could’ve seen up her skirt all the way to her slit by shifting his gaze an inch to the left. But he didn’t. And the ramifications of that hit him harder than anything else. Any other day, he would’ve reached over and run a hand up the inside of her thigh until his fingers brushed the dewy curls surrounding her cunt. He’d have finger fucked her until she begged him for his cock. Then Connor would’ve spread her wide on his desk and given her exactly what she asked for.

Her mannerism, the way she was dressed, and the sultry look in her eyes all tagged her a highly fuckable woman, begging like a bitch in heat. It was a wide-open invitation to a man like Connor, to any man. He couldn’t take the bait. He couldn’t even muster the urge. A pair of wide hazel eyes haunted him.

“Here’s your check, Selena. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.”

Connor stood, setting his jaw in an aggressive jut before stalking out of his office. Behind him, Selena’s mouth opened in astonishment.

Connor didn’t look back, couldn’t look back. He kept going straight past the walk-in freezer and the cases of liquor stacked to the ceiling. When he reached the bar, he opened the cash register and began to count.

Seconds later, Selena appeared and walked out the front door. She didn’t look back, either. Apparently, she understood his message all too clearly. Connor only wished it were half as clear to him.

“That was different.” Alex commented when the front door shut with a muffled thump.

“Don’t start.”

“Oh, I wasn’t going to.”

Connor grunted.

“But you’d have been a helluva lot more pleasant company if you’d have let off some steam in her pussy.”

“Not interested.”

“Since when?”

Connor didn’t miss a beat, “Since now.”

Alex remained silent for an entire five-minute span of time. “If you’d have given Selena a quick fuck, you’d be able to charm your way under Jessa’s skirt, Connor. With this attitude you’re going to have to use a caveman club to get between her thighs.”

“What makes you think I’m interested in the new waitress?” Connor deliberately avoided using her name.

“You can’t even say her name, mate.”

Connor shoved the fives back in the drawer and pulled out a huge wad of ones. He started to count. But he couldn’t even remember what number he was on. “Jessa. Her name’s Jessa. Happy now?”

“Sure, whatever.”

Connor threw the ones back in the drawer and slammed it shut so hard the machine gave a jarring ring. “Don’t use that tone with me,” he snapped.

“What tone?”

“The one that says you don’t believe a word I say!”

Alex stowed a bottle of Stolichnaya on the shelf and turned toward Connor. “Look, you’re the one with the rules. Me? I fuck whatever walks through that door and enjoy them all the same.”

Rules! His damn rules again. He’d lived by the rules for years and years, since prison and the hell-bitch that’d put him there. It was the reason he couldn’t look at Jessa. Couldn’t get attached, couldn’t give a shit what it was that tortured her on her off hours.

“Why the hell did you hire her, anyway?”

Alex looked miffed. “She’s a hottie in disguise, man. I sure as hell wasn’t going to let her walk away when she said she was looking for a job. I figured she might be up for a quick fuck after hours. You know, the usual way we do things around here.”

“I don’t want you to fucking touch her,” Connor growled.

Alex lifted his hands in surrender, “Told you, man. You gotta keep your perspective. Go calm down. Get a grip on your temper and maybe you can find a way to get her out of your system before you have a breakdown or something.”

Connor didn’t comment on Alex’s ridiculous suggestion. But he left the bar before he said something he would really regret later on. No matter how badly Alex ran his mouth, he was still Connor’s oldest friend. In fact, he was probably Connor’s only friend. They’d known each other since grade school, long enough that Alex knew all Connor’s secrets, even the one he kept hidden from everyone.

His feet carried him back up the narrow staircase. He hadn’t eaten, but the kitchen wasn’t his destination. The clock on his bedside table said ten minutes until eleven. He’d told her to arrive around noon. Just a little over an hour and she’d be there again, in his bar, working for him.

What
was
it with her? The why of it completely escaped him. Connor had felt such intense attraction only once before in his life. It had brought him nothing but trouble and eventually led him to disaster. Since then he’d been cool, the definition of detached. He was known throughout the city as someone who knew how to show women a good time. He could make them so hot that they begged him on hands and knees to sink his cock deep inside their warm bodies. But the lust went one direction. They wanted him. Connor did not slip the leash on his self-control or his insatiable lust.

So what’s the deal with Jessa?

He strode to the narrow window and looked out. But a view of the cobbled downtown street wasn’t what he sought. Somewhere out there she was getting ready. Perhaps taking a shower and choosing her clothes while wearing nothing at all. The thought gave him a raging hard on that threatened to burst from his pants.

Reaching down, Connor unzipped his fly and freed his cock. It lay hot and hard in his palm. Gripping his shaft tightly in one hand he tried not to focus so intently on the mental picture of a naked Jessa. He tried and failed.

Connor’s hips bucked as his hand slid up and down his hard shaft. A tiny drop of pre cum beaded on the head of his cock. Sliding one thumb through the hot liquid, he spread its silky warmth over the crown. His brain conjured up the image of Jessa. He wanted nothing more than to feel her tongue lapping at the bead of moisture. Her mouth sliding down his shaft as the crown of his cock disappeared into her throat.

Someone groaned. Had it been him? The muscles in his belly clenched as his balls tightened. His other hand gently cupped them. He used his fingers to knead their straining weight while he tightly gripped his shaft. Connor’s feet shifted further apart to give his imagined lover better access to his body.

Did she want him? Did her body crave his as he did hers? What strange thing had happened between them? From the first time Connor had laid eyes on her curvaceous figure he’d wanted to strip her naked and taste every inch of her with his tongue.

Connor’s thoughts intensified, willing her to think of him. To imagine his hands upon her body, his mouth suckling her breasts, lapping the sweet cream of her pussy and spreading her cunt wide before he pressed deep inside and buried his cock balls-deep in her heat.

His cock pulsed as he pumped it quickly with long smooth strokes. His black eyes drifted shut. Balls drawn up tightly, his hips convulsed as a thick stream of white cum shot upward. It smeared across his belly and bathed his hand in semen, but he didn’t stop. The silkiness of his own cum mimicked the imagined feel of Jessa’s hot pussy. His pace increased and his legs went rigid in order to keep his body vertical. Each thrust brought another pulse of hot cum.

Would she want what he wanted? Would she taste his skin, lap up the residue of his cum and then hold him in her hot little hand until he was ready to do it all over again? Uptight and reserved, but ready for so much more. Connor couldn’t have explained it, but he knew that she would suck him dry and demand more. And he’d give it to her. Give her anything she asked, because he would never be able to refuse her.