On the top floor of the hotel rested the suite Jonathan Grant had taken. It comprised of a sitting room, dining area, bedroom, and a bathroom complete with an oversized whirlpool tub. Tall French windows throughout provided a clear view of the city outside.
"Will there be anything else, Mr. Grant?" The room service waiter was a compact, well groomed man. His nameplate radiated with a brassy shine against his maroon uniform.
"No. I believe that will do it," Jonathan said, smiling wanly as he tipped the man and ushered him out of the suite.
Jonathan stood in the sitting room wearing one of the complimentary white bathrobes and slippers. "Okay Tami, he's gone. It's safe to come out now."
She entered the room also wearing a robe. She was squinting her eyes from the December sunrise streaming through the high windows after waking up with only a minor hangover, a small miracle itself.
Looking around the room she noticed her long, dark, wool overcoat draped over the back of the sofa in the sitting room. "I don't remember getting our coats last night."
"We didn't. I arranged to have them brought up here this morning," Jonathan explained.
She nodded, then noticed the trays arranged on the table in the dining area. "Do I smell coffee?"
"Yes. They serve a very good Jamaican blend here. It's a little pricy, but well worth it. Would you like a cup?"
"Please," she weakly smiled through the haze she was feeling in her head.
He poured and handed her a cup of the warm, invigorating elixir and then concentrated on his own morning Joe.
"I ordered a variety of breakfast foods, I wasn't sure what you'd like," he said after a few moments of mutual silence.
"I'm not really a big breakfast eater. I usually have some toast or fruit in the mornings with my coffee," she told him, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
Jonathan reached over and removed the lid from a tray revealing a variety of fresh cut fruits.
"Perfect," she said, sitting down, not the least bit concerned that her robe had fallen open enough to reveal a promising view of her shapely, smooth thighs. She didn't seem to mind that he'd noticed, his eyes raking over her legs.
"Did you find something to your liking?" She arched a graceful eyebrow as she sipped her coffee.
"I never apologize for my weaknesses."
"What would that be," she played along.
"I have a genuine admiration for exceptional beauty," he smiled.
"Oh really?"
Too much sarcasm, he'd laid it on pretty thick, but he was also completely serious.
"Yes, really," he said. "In case you haven't figured it out yet, I find you irresistibly beautiful Tami."
She met Jonathan's eyes over the rim of her coffee cup and studied him as she took another sip. "Thank you," she said with a beaming smile, searching his eyes, trying to discern how genuine his compliment was.
They ate breakfast together; Tami enjoyed the morning interaction with her lover. This is how it's supposed to be between two people who care for each other, she thought.
She looked at the time, almost nine o'clock. "I've got to be going soon," she announced. "I have to pick my kids up from my parents' house before ten."
"Well, I guess that means you get the shower first."
"We could share," she ventured as she stood from the table allowing her robe to slip from her naked body. As she walked toward the bath suite she gave Jonathan a seductive 'are you coming' look over her shoulder.
"That sounds like a plan," he said getting up from the table, dropping his own robe.
***************
"We've got to make this quick," she said as he turned on the water and adjusted it.
"Uh-huh." Jonathan splashed hot water onto her back and followed that with a squirt of liquid bath soap. He began rubbing the soap around her body, letting his hands roam free.
"Quickly," she reminded him as he cupped her breasts, rubbing soap onto the water slick flesh, bringing her nipples to full attention.
"Oh dear God," she moaned.
"Open your legs," he said.
***************
"Jesus Jonathan. Sometimes you push the pleasure until it's on the borderline of pain," Tami remarked when they were out of the shower, dried off and dressed.
"Are you complaining?"
"Oh, no. No complaints here," she said. "That was extremely satisfying."
"The trick is to administer the pleasure without crossing the line. There's a certain art to it," he explained.
"Well...I'd say that you've mastered the art," she relied as she kissed him. "I have to go, it's five to ten. I'm gonna be late."
***************
After Tami left, Jonathan sat on the sofa thinking about their relationship. He wanted to understand exactly what it was about her that kept working at the edges of his mind, refusing to let go.
He had a powerful desire to make love to her, it had nothing to do with her physical beauty. It wasn't just about the sex, although that aspect was great, he admitted. There was something else, something about her that promised a more profound satisfaction. He found Tami to be a strong, sweet, funny, passionate, sexy woman who brought a sense of vulnerability into the equation. He liked that she kept things real, but he wished she could be a little more assertive and finally get rid of that loser she was married to.
Jonathan shook his head, Tami had become his obsession.
***************
As she drove across town Tami thought about her relationship with Jonathan. She was concerned about being sexually involved with one man while legally being still married to another. The guilt was there. She unconsciously touched her wedding band. What was wrong with her? She couldn't keep herself from falling into bed with Jonathan yet she couldn't find the courage to finally end her failed marriage with Russ. For all intents and purposes Russ had already left her, so why couldn't she just tell him she wanted a divorce so she could finally resolve the guilt and begin to find true happiness with Jonathan?
Something had to give.
***************
For the remainder of the weekend she thought about her situation. Sunday night as she lay in bed, she worked through it again as she waited to go to sleep.
Tami closed her eyes. She wished that the images didn't pop up so easily. Despite her attempts to focus on something else, anything else, the memories came anyway, reeling over and over again in her mind. She seemed able to think of nothing else.
As she lay back on her pillow, the night she'd spent with Jonathan came back to her in clear, crisp sights, sounds, and sensations. His face, his body, his hands, his voice were all so easily retrieved from her memory bank. She could almost feel his body against hers, his hands and tongue playing over her naked, yearning flesh like some delicate instrument. He knew just where and when to touch her, sending her to places that she hadn't been in a long time, or had never been to.
The memories that scared her were those of her own urgency, her own hunger, how her own fingers and mouth had devoured him. The passion, the lust, and the desire of that night were incredible, but what was different for her, the thing that had hooked her on Jonathan Grant was his gentle caress, that he took the time to make sure that she felt the same pleasure, all of the same sensations that he was feeling, that it was important that they have a shared experience.
He had touched her so gently, so lovingly, despite his urgency and his insatiable passion. It was almost as if he felt something so much deeper than pleasure. He'd seemed so intent upon pleasing her.
Tami rolled onto her side, twisting her pillow and hugging it to her.
What was it about that man? Whenever she was with him she couldn't think straight. She also couldn't keep her clothes on.
She couldn't believe how comfortable she felt around him, yet at the same time she felt an unsettling restlessness around him. She knew that wanting to be with him but being unable at the moment to give herself completely to him were the reasons for these conflicting emotions. She needed to do something about that.
***************
Monday morning.
Tami arrived at work knowing she needed to speak with Jonathan. When she approached him in his office she didn't have a plan, she just knew that they needed to talk. Upon entering his office she told herself that she shouldn't be nearly so excited to see him.
"Hi. Can we talk?" Tami asked, quietly closing the door behind her.
"Sure. What about?" He asked as she sat down in a chair across the desk from him.
