“As always, you are patient and understanding, but I simply must insist on making up to you for my bad behavior this morning.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Room service. Your suite. Fifteen minutes?”
“Sounds perfect.” After hanging up with him, she called her assistant and rescheduled the next three hours of meetings. Then she raced toward the elevators and jabbed impatiently at the Up button.
Ten minutes later she’d ordered a steak dinner to be served in an hour, dabbed perfume in all the places JT enjoyed exploring and was waiting for him wearing a smile and a nightie that left just enough to the imagination.
Her approach had been perfect because two seconds after he shut her door, he whisked her into his arms and made straight for the bedroom. A half an hour later she sat astride his narrow hips, breathing heavily in the aftermath of a powerful orgasm, feeling him pulse inside her.
“I could get used to this,” he said, cupping her face and pulling her down for a long, slow kiss.
“Me on top?” She gave him a cheeky smile.
“You period.”
Her heart lurched. It was the closest he’d come to mentioning the future. She drew his lower lip between her teeth and sucked gently. Beneath her, his chest rose and fell unsteadily.
“No reason you can’t,” she murmured, showing him how much she had to offer.
“I guess it’s something we should talk about.”
In her head she was screaming, Please, can we discuss it now? What came out of her mouth was a restrained, “I’d like that.”
When the door chimed announcing their dinner, JT slipped on his pants and went to let in the waiter. Violet took a second to throw on a robe and run a comb through her disheveled hair. By the time she entered the living room, her small table had been set for an intimate dinner for two, complete with candles, crystal and china.
“It smells wonderful,” JT commented as he held her chair while she sat down.
Violet lifted the silver dish covers and set them aside. By now she knew JT liked his meat rare and his vegetables steamed seconds beyond crisp. “Sixty-day dry-aged steak straight from Fontaine Chic’s award-winning steakhouse,” she said. “With sides of potatoes rosti and asparagus with aged Parmesan and browned butter.”
“What are these?” JT pointed to three small bowls.
“Red wine sauce, Béarnaise and a truffle sauce that I haven’t yet tried.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
“Only the best for you.” And she meant it. “And for dessert—”
“You’re all the sweet I need.”
With her insides turned to mush, Violet finished, “Berries with cream.”
She watched JT put a piece of steak in his mouth and chew reverently. “This is amazing. There’s nothing to compare at Titanium.”
He was in such a good mood she hated to spoil it with the question that had plagued her all day: what was he going to do about the information Tiberius had dug up on George Barnes?
“I was lucky Chef Baron agreed to open his third restaurant with us,” Violet said, squashing her curiosity.
“I’m sure luck had nothing to do with it,” JT said. “You can be quite persuasive.”
The compliment warmed her faster than a July day on the strip. “When I know what I want, I go after it.”
“I’m very aware of that.” A lopsided grin tugged at his lips. “In fact, I’m amazed that you haven’t asked if I’ve decided to call Charity Rimes. I imagine you’re dying to know.”
“I’d be lying if I said it’s the furthest thing from my thoughts.” She carefully phrased her next words. “But I can’t imagine what a difficult choice you have to make.”
“If you’d found out Tiberius had done something terrible, what would you do?”
The question was fair, but it left Violet with a terrible conundrum. She’d always had faith in Tiberius. He’d taken her in and loved her like his daughter. Her faith in his honesty had never been shaken.
“I’d like to say that I’d turn him in and never doubt myself for doing so.” Violet gave JT’s hand a sympathetic squeeze. “But I don’t think I’d ever forgive myself for being disloyal.”
JT carried her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. “After dinner, let’s call Charity Rimes.”
“Okay.” Delighted that JT trusted her to help, Violet tucked into the meal with gusto. “I’m glad I didn’t order a heavy dessert,” she said as they dueled over the last berry. “I don’t remember the last time I ate so much.”
“Everything tasted so good, it was hard to stop.”