Maid to Crave (Man Maid #2) (21 page)

He spent Thursday enrolling and signing up for classes and then packing for his weekend trip. Staying busy still wasn’t enough to keep his mind off of Tori, especially while they were living under the same roof. By the time he was ready to head out of town on Friday morning, he needed to put some space between himself and Tori before he said to hell with it and acted out one of the fantasies on repeat in his head.

Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he headed up the stairs to let her know he was leaving and found her looking out the kitchen window.

When she heard him, she turned away and swiped at a tear before saying, “So you’ll be back on Sunday?”

It would probably be a mistake, but he set his bag on the floor, approached her from behind and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He pulled her back against his chest to rest his chin on the top of her head.

She curled her hands around his arm. “Did I do something wrong, Seth?”

“Not at all. I just can’t be with you while you’re with him. Regardless of the fact that you see this engagement of yours as temporary, I just can’t do it. I don’t share well…temporarily or otherwise,” he said.

“I put out a few résumés this week for other positions, but until I’m moved to a permanent assignment or land a different job…I
need
this one. Without it, I can’t keep this house and Zach absolutely loves you guys being here. I love you being here, too,” she finished in a whisper. “I just thought you didn’t want me anymore
like that
, and that’s why you’ve been so tense around me the past couple of days. You don’t have to be with me in order to stay here, but I don’t want this tension between us. I want my
friend
back.”

“I told you, I will
always
be your friend, but right now I feel…I feel so possessive of you. I know you are doing what you think is best, but I am jealous as hell. I’m sorry I’ve been taking out my personal drama on you…and Caleb, too. When I get back on Sunday we’ll do something fun. I’ll make it up to you,” he replied.

She turned in his arms and his eyes dipped to her mouth. He wanted to kiss her more than anything and show her she
was
a friend—and so much more. Instead, he only smiled and held out his hand to shake hers. “Friends?”

“Friends,” she said with a smile and a laugh of her own as she shook his hand.

Eddie picked him up a few minutes later and though the drive was long, it wasn’t as bad as it would have been if he hadn’t taken the time to patch things up with Tori first. He’d known things were different between them this past week. Saturday at the fight and during the party afterward, things had been great, but after dancing that night and being smacked with reality, he’d crawled back into his hole. She was right, though. He had been so busy preparing for rejection, he’d forgotten his promise to be her friend.

As he entered his motel room, his cell phone rang. Pulling it out, he noticed Ian’s number on the display and answered.

“Seth, it’s me, Jess. Hey, I believe your little girlfriend is in a meeting with my dad this very afternoon and I would expect that things will be different for her come next week,” she said with a smile and a song in her voice.

“Your dad? What does he have to do with anything? You were supposed to help me set up Tim Silver so Tori would know firsthand what an ass he is and never give him a second thought,” he replied.

“Well, actually, I didn’t need to go to all that trouble. See, my dad is your girlfriend’s boss and also Tim Silver’s boss. When you said Tim’s name at the fight, I knew that your Tori was the same Tori my dad raves about. Anyway, when I stopped by for dinner with my parents on Wednesday evening, I let slip what was going on with Tim and Tori. Not surprisingly, my dad was disgusted by the whole thing. From what I gathered between my dad’s endless stream of profanities was that it was Tim’s position they were looking to cut, but he told them that if they eliminated his position, Tori would likely follow him elsewhere,” she said. “My dad felt obligated to call Tori into the office today to tell her personally that she need not fear losing her position…regardless of what happens with Tim professionally or personally. He also intends to let her know that Tim’s position is being eliminated primarily because it isn’t needed and secondly because his recent
behavior
is a negative reflection on the company.”

“That is so great, Jess! I could just kiss you! Thank you. This is huge. Without him holding her job over her head, it gives her the freedom to choose who she wants to be with,” he said.

Would she pick him?
Seth might be a stripper, but he was working on a career change. He wouldn’t be young forever and quite honestly, he didn’t like being out of town, away from Tori and Zach. He didn’t have a criminal record and he didn’t pick up prostitutes. A chance was all he’d asked for, all he’d wanted, and Jess had effectively given him that. The problem now was that he was due on stage in two hours and again tomorrow night, so all he could do was wait for Tori to call him.

“Now don’t forget, we had a deal. I fix Tori’s issue and you dance for Courtney’s party. I’m pretty sure this will be the first and possibly only baby shower you’ll ever dance at so…I will take care of the costume and I’ll send you the musical selections. I’ll let you know when and where. All you have to do is show up,” Jess said with a laugh.

His gut told him this would be a far cry from anything else he’d ever done—and anything he was likely to do in the future—and Jess’s laughter confirmed his hunch. If things worked out with Tori, it would be worth an evening’s entertainment. He wished he hadn’t promised Eddie he would do these two shows so he could turn around and head back to Dayton now. Not one to break his word, though, he instead called Caleb and confirmed that Tori had indeed gone to a meeting. He left his motel information and room number in case either one of them needed anything.

By the end of the evening when Tori still hadn’t called, he began to worry that perhaps she wasn’t choosing him after all. Perhaps she wasn’t going to choose him or Tim. Maybe this was her chance to find someone
truly
worthy of her. She was a great mom, a hard worker, an excellent friend and a firecracker in bed. Another man, a smarter man than him, would see that much faster. A worthy man would not say something stupid and start off in last place right out of the gate.

During the drive back to the hotel after the show, he did the math in his head for how long it would take to drive back to Dayton and then back here for the show tomorrow night. Maybe Eddie would let him borrow his car.… It would take too much time, though, and it was too late now to call her. She would be sleeping. Hopefully alone, and missing him as much as he missed her.

When they parked in front of his motel room, he spotted Tori’s car and his heart nearly burst from his chest. She closed her door as he got out of Eddie’s car. She waited nervously as he quickly made his way over to her. Eddie made a beeline for his own room.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I came because I need to know that you don’t hate me for faking an engagement to another man and to let you know I have since broken things off with that man. I couldn’t sleep and I figured that we do some of our best talking when one of us is next to naked and the other is fully clothed,” she said shyly.

Glancing down at her hand, he noticed the dreaded engagement ring was gone. When her eyes finally made it from the ground to meet his gaze, he smiled at her. “So who strips and who keeps their clothes on?”

“I was thinking maybe we could talk first…and that we might both end up naked this time,” she said quietly.

Chapter Thirteen

He unlocked the door to his motel room and Tori followed him inside. She set her purse on the small table near the door and turned to where he stood. Green eyes watched her every move and she could feel them like a caress. As much as she wanted to tell him that in the space of an afternoon her world had been righted again, she wanted to touch him even more. She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to one of the large chairs near the table, then pushed on his chest until he sat down. She could do this.

Walking over to her purse, she dug out her cell phone and scrolled through the menu settings until she found the music she had downloaded. After adjusting the volume, she set the phone on the table and turned back to where he sat, still watching her every move. Unlike him, she was not a professional, so she wasn’t nearly as good at dancing as he was. Would he still appreciate her efforts? Her gaze finally made it to his and she saw encouragement in his expression. He was daring her. Mostly she realized he was just Seth…
her
Seth.

She touched his cheek with the tips of her fingers and then stroked her hand down the side of his neck to the first button of his shirt. One by one, she undid each button, glancing at his eyes every couple of buttons until the shirt gapped open. Then she slid her hands over his chest to his shoulders and then guided the shirt down his muscular arms until he shrugged out of it. His hands found her hips. She kicked out of her shoes and began to dance for him.

The passion in his eyes and the tension between them built with each article of clothing she removed. When she danced before him in nothing but one of the sexy pairs of panties she’d purchased on her shopping excursion, she reached down and unbuttoned his jeans. The catch in his breathing made her want to kiss him and never stop. Instead, she straddled his lap, forcing him to lean back as she moved against him the way he had taught her that day in her room. The feel of his arms as they slid up the outside of her thighs nearly made her lose focus.

Holding onto one of his shoulders, she leaned back as far as she could and ground herself against him. Then she raised her stomach and hips using her grip on him for balance. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close so that her breasts were level with his face. He released his hold on her and she felt him kick off his shoes. He arched his hips and slid off his pants. He tried to pull her panties to the side and guide her down to him, but she stopped him with pressure on his shoulders. His head fell back against the chair and he groaned.

“Damn, you got really good at this. You must’ve had a good teacher,” he said.

Leaning forward, she kissed his neck and whispered, “I had a
great
teacher. He taught me that the secret to giving a good lap dance is to build tension, anticipation and desire. The best way to do that is not to rush it. Time equals money, is what he said, but you want to know what I think?”

“What do you think, Tori?” he asked in a hoarse whisper.

“I think in this case, time will equal pleasure,” she said quietly before biting his shoulder. He smelled so good and his hands on her thighs were burning her skin. “What do you think?”

“I think the teacher has become the student. You are teaching me a lesson on seduction I won’t soon forget.” He removed his hands from her thighs and then threaded his fingers into her hair to pull her mouth down to his.

His kisses were enough to make her whole body tingle. So she forced herself to break the kiss and pull back from him. She got off his lap and knelt down in front of him. Seeing him in all his naked glory, she finally understood the allure of magazines depicting nude men. He would make a perfect model for one. He was beautiful. His usual grin faded when he saw her position and a serious look crossed his face before his head again fell back against the chair.

“Put your mouth on me, Tori. Please…” he groaned.

Having a man ask for what he wanted was something she’d never experienced before. It kicked her own excitement up to a level she could barely control and made it hard to breathe. Taking him in her hand, she covered him with her mouth as he had requested. One of his hands found its way into her hair and he whispered what he wanted from her until his sexy mouth hung open and an expression of exquisite pleasure showed on his face.

After a few minutes, he pulled her hair, forcing her to stop and release him. “Okay, no more. There is a condom in my wallet…back pocket,” he choked out.

She fumbled around and managed to open the foil packet and cover him with it before looking up at him expectantly. With one hand in her hair, he guided her to stand back up. After releasing her completely, he said, “Take off your panties.”

Once she removed her last barrier of clothing, he rubbed his fingers against her heated core. Obviously pleased with the dampness he had caused, he released a groan. Then he grabbed her hip, pulling her back onto his lap with one hand and guiding his erection into her with his other.

His large hands wrapped around her hips and showed her how to pleasure him. Their bodies moved together in a sensual dance while his firm lips and deft fingers provided a tingle against her skin that gave way to the pleasure he was so easily able to provide. Throwing her head back, she just enjoyed the explosion this time because Seth was there enjoying it with her.

When they finally stopped moving and the only sounds in the room were the music and their mingled breathing, he pulled back and said, “That felt so good. I want to do it again and then we can talk.”

Holding her tighter, he sat forward and stood up. He carried her into the bathroom where he gently disengaged their bodies, stood her on her feet and turned on the shower. After disposing of the condom and checking the temperature of the water, he pulled her under the warm spray with him. Sometime later they made it out and even managed to comb out and dry their hair before finding themselves in bed again. At some point, they must have fallen asleep still wrapped around each other because the next thing she knew, it was morning and she awoke lying nearly on top of him.

She felt the moment he awoke, too, because he pulled her to him and then rubbed his hand down her back. “So are you finally ready to tell me what you came here to say?”

“I thought I did last night.…” she said, unable to contain the giggle that escaped. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

“That was showing me. Now I want to hear about it,” he said.