I turn over onto my side and snuggle my face deeper into the pillow. Everything is perfect.

Cracking open an eyelid, I take in the drawn curtains that stretch from nearly ceiling to floor. Next to them, a massive flat-screen TV is mounted on the wall and, underneath that, there’s a long table with more floral bouquets.

It’s definitely not my bedroom.

So it wasn’t a dream. I’m really here…in a fancy hotel in Macau…with the sexiest, most amazing man I’ve ever met.

Feeling the smile stretching across my face, I roll over, reach for Jay…and find his side of the bed empty. I sit up and rub my eyes. The double doors to the main room are open, revealing an empty suite.

Where is he? This is his hotel suite, but is it possible he…left? What if he wrote me a note saying ‘Had a nice time, good knowing you’ and then went out for the day, expecting me to be gone once he returned?

My heart hammers nervously in my chest as I climb out of bed. Realizing that I’m naked, I start a search for my dress, but it’s nowhere to be found. Not in the bedroom. Not in the main room. There are, however, a pair of men’s boxers and a deep V-neck T-shirt set out on the end of the bed. I pull them on just as the front door opens.

Jay walks in, looking fresh and clean in a white T-shirt. His tattoos are on display now, and I eye a red bird on his left bicep.

“You look good in my clothes,” he notes, smiling, stopping a few feet away from me.

“I couldn’t find my dress…”

“I sent it downstairs to be dry-cleaned.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

He steps forward and pulls me to him. His kiss is sweet and invigorating. As he moves his lips against mine, my fear of him walking out on me after one amazing night vanishes.

“What time is it?” I ask once he ends the kiss.

Jay sweeps some hair from my face. I must be a sight. I feel asleep with my makeup on and haven’t brushed my teeth in twenty-four hours. Jay doesn’t seem to notice, though. He gazes down at me as if I’m the sexiest woman on the planet.

“Huh?” he murmurs.

“What time is it?” I repeat around my chuckles.

“About ten.”

“Wow. I slept late.”

“We stayed up late.”

Memories of the night before wash over me and I bury my face in his shoulder. He’s showered, and the scent of his musky aftershave hits my nose.

“You don’t have to leave, do you?”

I pull back to look up at him. “No. Not until tomorrow.”

“Good,” he softly says, in that subdued yet intense way he has of talking. Jay speaks to me as if he’s using all of his strength not to tackle me and have his way with me. I love it. “Are you hungry?”

“Yeah, I am, but I really need a shower.”

He pecks me on the lips. “Go take a shower, and I’ll order some breakfast. There’s a toothbrush and other things in there, but if you need anything else, the front desk can send it up.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

The bathroom is gigantic, with a bathtub that is more like a hot tub, and a large walk-in shower with two seats and two shower heads. I turn on the water and experiment with the half-dozen different pressure settings before finally picking one and getting in.

The warm water is heaven on my skin. As it soaks my hair and runs over my shoulders and closed eyelids, I think back over yesterday.

I’ve been with my share of guys, but none of them were like Jay. They were all my age, first high school and then college guys. They were always either completely uncertain, or too cocky. The latter attitude was always because of an attempt to prove themselves. They weren’t comfortable with themselves the way Jay is.

Just thinking about him makes the muscles between my legs tighten. I reach for the loofah hanging nearby and lather it up with soap, then wash my arms faster. I can’t wait to get out of the shower and kiss him again.

I’ve hardly finished the thought when the shower door opens behind me. Before I can turn around, Jay is behind me, taking the loofah out of my hands.

His breath covers the back of my neck, even warmer than the water. I close my eyes and let my head fall back. Kisses press against my throat as he works the loofah up my belly and across my breasts.

I feel my nipples tightening at the roughness of his touch. A painful need shoots through my body and collects between my legs. I open my mouth to ask Jay to keep touching me, but there’s no need. He’s not stopping.

Dropping the loofah to the shower floor, he reaches around me and dips his hand between my thighs. His fingers graze across my clit and I shiver.

“Already wet,” he huskily comments.

All I can do is moan out a response. Jay gently strokes me, his fingers dancing across my clit and dipping between my folds. I push back against him, pressing my ass into his naked body. His cock is rock hard, pulsing with his own desire.

He pushes two fingers inside of me and I cry out as he sucks harshly on the side of my neck. I’m going to have a hickey there for days. But it doesn’t matter. I’ll wear that thing like a badge of honor.

Slowly, teasingly, Jay turns me around. Seizing my wrists, he lifts them above my head and walks me back into the shower wall. The spray is still coming down, hitting the side of my torso and filling the air with dense steam.

He presses my fingers against the wall above my head. I obediently gaze up at him and stay put. He must like the submissiveness, because he growls in pleasure.

Bending down, he takes one of my nipples in his mouth and swirls his tongue around it. Flicks turn into sucks, until he’s forcefully pulling my nipple between his teeth. It’s painful, but it’s also the best sensation in the world. Moans that I didn’t even think I could make leave my lips.

He moves his mouth from one nipple to the next, leaving the first one raw and red. He sucks just as heartily on the second, making me squirm and buck beneath him. Each time I twist, though, his grip on my wrists only tightens.

The need between my legs is so intense now it’s turned into a painful throb. I try to free my hands from Jay’s, eager to get my fingers on his length, but he has me locked tight to the wall.

Taking both of my wrists in one of his hands, he reaches down and guides his cock closer to me. It pierces me with the sweetest sensation ever, and then he slides all of the way in.

Slowly, he fucks me up against the wall, making something primal feel almost sweet. My legs shake and my breath comes out ragged. Jay kisses me deeply, and I melt even more. I’d collapse onto the tiles if it weren’t for him holding me up.

Warmth collects deep in my core, and faster than it’s ever happened before, I explode. The orgasm shakes me and I bite down on Jay’s lip. He responds by nipping at my mouth in turn.

With the waves of pleasure subsiding, he finally lets go of my wrists. I drop my arms to my sides in relief, but he’s not done with me. Picking me up, he carefully steps out of the shower. Leaving a trail of water in his wake, he carries me to the bed and lies down next to me.

Unable to keep myself off him for longer than a few seconds, I flop right onto his chest. His mouth meets mine right away, and he holds my face gently as we kiss.

“Ride me,” he whispers against my lips.

I uncertainly lean back. I’m don’t have much experience with what he’s requesting. The few times I’ve tried it, I’m pretty sure I just ended up embarrassing myself.

There’s a passion in Jay’s eyes, though, that makes me not want to back down. It makes me what to do whatever he asks of me, and more. Walk through fire? Sure. No problem. As long as Jay Hammond is waiting on the other side of the flames.

I situate myself above him and slide his warm length into me. He fills me to the brim, taking up each available inch of space and stretching me wide. Gently taking my hips, Jay guides me back and forth, showing me how to rock on him.

Looking down into his eyes, I see a calm passion there. I push a little harder, and Jay groans in pleasure. My own good sensations are back. Before long, I’m riding him with abandon, our labored breathing becoming music to my ears.

Once again, the tension coils deep inside of me and releases as if a button has been pushed. I orgasm for a second time, pleasure flying all the way into my toes and fingers. Jay calls my name and grabs my ass as he drives me against him. Moving fast, he lifts me off him and reclaims his spot on top. I’m locked down again on the bed, trapped beneath him and loving it. Our hands are everywhere, our mouths unstoppable. Jay pummels deep into me and then pulls out, his hot release splattering across my stomach.

With a thick gasp, he buries his head against my shoulder. I turn my face into his hair and take in the scent of his sweat. After showering, it took us all of ten minutes to become dirty again.

There’s a sharp knock on the door. I start, and move to sit up. Jay rolls away from me with a laugh.

“Room service. Talk about perfect timing.”

He jumps out of bed and snatches up a bathrobe before putting it on and closing the double doors behind him. From somewhere nearby, a phone buzzes. I sit up and look for the source, finding my purse on a small chair in the corner. Opening it up, I discover a text from Willow.

How’s it going there? Are you still planning to come back, or has the Far East stolen you?

“If you only knew,” I mutter.

Staying is tempting, I write back. I had a big fight with my parents.

The little dots on the screen dance as Willow types her reply.

What else is new? Are they trying to marry you off to a Chinese businessman now?

I laugh aloud. Thankfully, my parents have never really meddled in my dating life, but if they were to meet a rich man who had an interest in me, I’m sure they’d at least try to get me to go out on a date with him.

No, I respond. We just had yet another argument about my future. Are your parents ready to adopt me yet?

Once again, she responds right away.

Girl, you know life here isn’t as good as it looks… Enjoy your trip. Miss you!

I start to type another text, and then stop. I was going to tell her about Jay, but I’m not quite ready to yet. This relationship, whatever it is, has existed in a bubble. I’m not ready to let it pop and allow others in.

Hearing from Willow has me thinking about what things are going to be like when I’m back in New York. I remember that Jay told me he doesn’t really have a home. So, really, being from the same country has no bearing on us ever seeing each other again. Just because we grew up relatively close to each other doesn’t mean we’ll find our way back to the same proximity.

My heart rate picks up and I swallow hard. I’m still standing naked, holding my cellphone in my hands, but I can’t stop staring into space.

What is going to happen between Jay and me? Last night was amazing…this morning was amazing…so how am I going to be able to let that go? Are we really going to keep in touch? Would he be able to visit me when he’s in New York? Will I fly out to see him in other cities? Will he even want to do those things?

I’ve always been a relationship type of girl. One night stands have never been my thing.

Suddenly, I feel like an idiot. How could I just fall into bed with Jay without thinking about how it would make me feel afterward? I hoped that it would be amazing, yet I also knew that the more amazing it was, the harder it would be to let him go when I step on that ferry to Hong Kong. For a long-term kind of person like me, it’s a catch-22.

I know that I should just relax. I should enjoy whatever time I get to have with Jay, and then let it go. I’m lucky to be here with him.

But the way he touches me, the way he kisses me…the way he looks at me like everything I say is important. I don’t want to let those things go. I’d be crazy to let those things go.

And I don’t think I should have to.

The double doors open, and I drop my phone on the chair. Jay comes in carrying a tray loaded with croissants, a bowl of fruit, and a French press filled with coffee.

“Is that what you’re wearing today? If so, I like it.”

I look down at myself and realize I’m still naked. Even though I’m standing in front of a guy who’s already seen me completely nude, I still blush.

He sets the breakfast tray down on the end of the bed and comes over to me. The warmth of his smile and gaze draw me in, even before his arms do.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispers into my hair. “Damn, you’re beautiful.”

I close my eyes and inhale deep, wishing there really was a way to make one moment last forever.