After a heated make out and not-so-innocently exploring each other's bodies with our hands, Erica had knocked on my door, startling us apart and making both of us very thankful for that connecting door. Jesse had escaped into his room just as I was opening my door to let Erica inside.

"I thought I heard voices," she commented with a funny look on her face, glancing around my room.

I shrugged like it was nothing. "Oh, I was on the phone."

"Ah." Erica walked over to the balcony and scanned the scenery outside. "Ugh. I just love this view! Isn't it gorgeous?"

I beamed with pride, taking her words as confirmation that I'd booked the perfect hotel by her standards.

From my terrace, you could see just about every bit of scenery you'd want to have a view of in Los Angeles. The Hollywood sign was off in the distance to the left. A hazy panorama of the downtown skyline was to the right; the U.S. Bank Tower and Wilshire Grand Center rising to prominence above their neighboring skyscrapers. Somewhere in the middle, I was pretty sure I could spot Griffith Observatory and a slightly obstructed visual of the unique Capitol Records building. The only view I think I would've liked better would've been if I could see the ocean, but that was in the opposite direction.

She turned back to face me with a smile. "I was just coming to ask if you and Jesse would like to join me for dinner. I couldn't seem to catch him, though. Maybe he's gone down to the gym."

Or maybe he's taking care of that incredibly stiff lump in his slacks, I thought.

My anxious heart was thumping away with every word she said. I was crossing my fingers behind my back that she wouldn't get suspicious. As far as I could tell, she wasn't – so far.

"Maybe so," I said in a tone that I hoped sounded unremarkable to her. "But I would love to join you. Actually, I hadn't realized until you mentioned it, I'm kind of starving."

She patted my shoulder, passing me on her way back to the door. "It's the jetlag. That happens to me every time. Do you have any idea of where you'd like to eat?"

Jesse appeared in the hallway just as Erica was opening the door again and she grinned when she spotted him.

"There you are! I was looking for you!"

He seemed unfazed by the two of us almost getting caught moments prior. His body language was very relaxed – a complete one-eighty from my racing pulse – and he was flashing his usual breathtaking smile, probably knowing exactly what that gorgeous grin did to the butterflies occupying my stomach. I already wanted to kiss him again, and the little voice in the back of my head was just bitching away that I would have to wait until later.

"I was in the bathroom," he said simply, but I could see the smoldering glimmer in his eyes, and it was confirming my suspicions that he was, ahem, taking care of himself.

"We figured as much," Erica teased, rolling her eyes. "I was just asking Vanessa if she wanted to join me for dinner. Do you want to tag along?"

He put his pointer finger to his chin and tilted his head as if he was heavily contemplating the idea. "Hmm... Is there a medium rare steak involved?"

Erica rolled her eyes once more, sharing a humorous look with me. Men.

"They do have steak on the hotel menus."

"Then fuck yes, I want to go," Jesse grinned. "Lead the way, ladies."

None of us felt like going out for dinner, so between the various dining options at the hotel that Erica told us about, we chose The Rooftop by J.G. – J.G. being the world renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. I had never heard of him before, but both Jesse and Erica raved that his cuisine was to die for, so I was excited to give it a try.

The Rooftop sat twelve stories high with jaw dropping views of both Beverly Hills and Hollywood, the city lights twinkling like stars all around. Cozy chairs surrounded perfectly styled tables, each one covered by a large umbrella. It was a beautiful and relaxing setting, but not too fancy for a late post-flight dinner.

Upon reaching our table, Erica sat directly across from me and Jesse sat between us to my left. There wasn't a ton of foot room under the table and Jesse's and my shoes kept rubbing against each other, which was a simple nothing at first, but quickly turned into a juvenile game of footsy and the occasional giggle under our breaths. Thankfully, Erica didn't appear to be paying any attention to us as she scanned her menu.

"What sounds good to you, Vanessa?" she asked, looking up from the list of dishes she was holding.

I wasn't sure. I'd been looking at my menu, but not really paying attention, having been way too distracted by my game with Jesse and how great his cologne smelled. There was a light breeze that was bringing the lovely scent right to me, and I couldn't help but think dirty thoughts because of it.

"Um..." I pursed my lips, glancing over the options in front of me, and I nearly shit myself when I got a good look at the prices. "Holy shit. I did not realize how expensive this was going to be. Wow."

I wondered if Jesse had noticed the $230.00 steak. Surely, he wouldn't spend that much money on a chunk of meat...

Erica giggled at my surprise. "You'll get used to it. You should see some of the prices at Jesse's dad's restaurants. Bella Vita is out of this world."

She raised a judgmental eyebrow to him and he rolled his eyes with a heavenly sounding chuckle.

"I'm not the one who decides cost, Mrs. Hernandez."

She waved him off, smiling, and about the same time, our waitress arrived with a cheery personality. She was young and spunky enough, I wondered if she was a high school cheerleader.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked in a delightful voice.

We all said yes, although I still had yet to really eye my menu. I quickly made a decision while Erica was ordering tofu pad Thai and a hummus appetizer for the three of us to share. Jesse, being a gentleman, gestured for me to order before him, and I opted for char grilled chicken. Much to my budget-concerned heart's relief, Jesse chose reasonably priced sashimi over that sky-high expensive steak.

The waitress disappeared with our orders and quickly returned with our drinks. While Jesse took a few enthusiastic gulps of his beer, I took the opportunity to get to know Erica better.

In a few minutes' time, I'd learned that she'd grown up in Greenwich, Connecticut with four older brothers, each of them being football players and one becoming a professional who played for the Miami Dolphins. Being around that much testosterone, she'd felt a need to prove her toughness and ended up playing ice hockey for six years before leaving for college. She'd met her husband, Carlos, while they were both studying at Princeton, but they lost touch when Erica went to Cornell for her Master's. As fate would have it, the pair bumped into each other – literally – a few years later in the middle of a Midtown crosswalk, and they'd been inseparable ever since, having tied the knot about seven months ago. She said they were thinking about trying to have a baby within the next year and they'd already started coming up with names.

Erica was a real talker once you got her going, but I was really enjoying learning more about her. We talked a little bit about Jesse and Erica's friendship, and I found out that Erica was best friends with Jesse's sister, Lillian, who sounded like an absolute angel, based on their description of her.

Jesse wasn't nearly as chatty as Erica throughout our dinner. He'd made brief commentary in between her longer spiels, but he'd been pretty quiet overall, and I was beginning to tire of it not just being the two of us. I adored Erica, but I was, admittedly, ready for her to call it a night – especially when I felt the soft pads of Jesse's fingers dancing along the hem of my slacks.

I looked up from my food to discover a rich, lustful darkness to Jesse's eyes. It felt like he was staring a hole through my body, though it had only been a quick glance.

A scalding heat begun to make its way up my back, spreading to my neck and then causing my cheeks to flush. It was like a searing domino effect, cascading along every contour of my body, and it was all because of the way Jesse's hand was sliding up my thigh. His touch was slow and steady, but the action sent a blaze straight to my core. I was finding it rather difficult not to start panting or to shiver.

I stole another glance at the man beside me. The top three buttons on his silk shirt were undone, making me crave kissing that sexy dip in his collarbone. Actually, if I'm being totally honest, I had completely zoned out of Erica's and my conversation, and instead, I was enjoying an obscenely graphic daydream of climbing on top of Jesse in that chair and rocking my hips against his until I had him completely coming apart with desire.

Erica eventually grew tired of telling her life story and asked Jesse what his thoughts were on the meeting with Integrity. He spent a few minutes talking about his expectations and how he appreciated my dedication to our two companies reaching an agreement that would bode especially well for Advantage Republic. Despite his concentration on the conversation, he hadn't lost focus on the way he'd been touching me. His hand was still firmly planted on my thigh, only now, it had slid further inward and his thumb was rubbing amorous circles against my inner thigh, causing a paramount ache between my legs.

"Vanessa, are you feeling alright?" Erica piped up, looking a bit concerned. "Your face is pretty red."

I felt feverish. I felt so hot that I was pretty sure my skin could dissolve ice upon contact if it was held against my cheeks.

I cleared my throat awkwardly and brushed Jesse's hand away. "I think the jetlag is getting to me. I should probably head to bed soon."

I held up my hand to get the waitress's attention so I could pay for my meal, but Jesse stopped me.

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it," he said sweetly and then seemed to remember that it wasn't just the two of us. "Dinner's on me tonight, ladies."

"You don't have to-"

He dismissed my words before I could finish. "I insist."

There was no sense in arguing, so I thanked him and bid the two of them a good night, retreating back downstairs to my suite.

Upon returning to my room, it occurred to me just how gross I felt after being in a stuffy airplane most of the day, and I decided then was a great time to take a shower.

I fished through my luggage for a bralette and matching underwear, laying the garments on the bathroom counter beside my toothbrush and other toiletries while I waited for the water to heat up in the shower. The hotel provided luxurious bath robes that felt like heaven against my skin and I was looking forward to wearing one for a while before I would head to bed.

Pretty soon, I was finally rinsing away the tension of a long day. I usually took fast showers, but I figured I owed it to myself to take my time and relax, especially in such an extravagant bathroom.

I found myself thinking about Jesse again while I washed the shampoo out of my hair. It started out innocent at first, just picturing his face and replaying the wonderful sound of his laugh in my head, but then my thoughts turned darker, dirtier...

In my mind, Jesse was in the shower with me. His skillful hands were exploring my body, touching me in the most intimate places. The water was raining down over us as we kissed passionately, urgently, like we couldn't get enough of each other.

My fantasy came to an abrupt halt when I heard a knock at my door, and I could tell the sound was coming from the door joining Jesse's and my rooms, not the door to the hallway. For a millisecond, I panicked, hurrying to rinse the rest of the soap from my body. But then I got another idea.

Stepping out of the shower, I dried off and put on my lingerie and the hotel bath robe. My hair was drenched, though I'd squeezed out a good amount of water, but I didn't care. I was partially wet and mostly naked beneath my robe. No man could complain about that.

Barefoot, I padded out of the bathroom and over to the door. It had been a few minutes since he'd knocked and I was sure he'd walked away to get ready for bed. I rapped my knuckles against the door a couple times and waited, hearing footsteps as he came to answer.

The door opened with a squeak to reveal my boss still wearing his slacks and button-up, but now his shirt was completely unbuttoned, hanging open with a teasing glimpse of his chest and stomach, and his belt was unbuckled, loosely clinging to his hips. Jesse did a double take as soon as he saw me and I watched the muscles in his throat move as he swallowed harshly. His eyes trailed slowly down my frame and I think he was about to say something when I grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled him into my room.