***

 

 The ride to our fourth-floor hotel room seemed to last approximately sixteen years, mostly because there were other people in the elevator with us. Had we been the only ones in there, I had no doubt we would be facing an indecent exposure charge just then. Now that we were here, now that this was finally happening, it couldn’t happen fast enough. I wanted her, and I wanted it to be right now. As it was, my fists were clenched, my short nails biting into my palms to keep me from reaching for her. To keep me from taking her right here in this elevator – audience or no.

I glanced at Sabine, who was once again pressed as close to me as she could be. She was already watching me when I turned my head, and her hooded eyes and lazy smile told me we were on the same page regarding elevator loving.

I took a deep, calming breath, taking a minute to try to talk myself down a bit. I tried reminding myself that we had friends in common, which meant we’d probably see each other again. Having intimate knowledge of each other would make any future encounters awkward. Really, it was a terrible idea for us to hook up at all.

But I couldn’t really bring myself to care about that, or any of the myriad other things my brain threw out to try to distract me. In fact, all I could think about at that moment was how perfect this goddess next to me was. Everything about her turned my crank. I loved her vintage, 1970s-inspired style, with her bell bottoms and crocheted halter top and platform sandals. I loved all those curls forming a corona around her face, her smooth chocolate skin, her eyes that sparkled with intelligence and humor. I loved her playful smile that told me she was up for anything.

God, I wanted her. I needed her.

The elevator finally opened onto our floor, and we stepped out onto the wave-patterned carpet. Sabine raised an eyebrow as she took in the slick, contemporary décor surrounding us.

“Not the style I thought you’d go for,” she quipped as I slid the electronic key home and opened the door for her. She turned to me as she stepped into the room, grabbing the wings of my tie and pulling me forward with a playful shimmy of her shoulders.

I smiled. “It’s got a mid-century flair that I don’t hate,” I replied as I tossed the key card onto a reproduction Eames chair.

She laughed as she kicked off her shoes, and I did the same, discovering she was still taller than me, even without the benefit of her heels. And I didn’t mind that one bit. Every part of her was amazing, and I wouldn’t want her to be any different just for the sake of my ego.

“Of course you don’t.” Her eyes traveled up and down my body. “You’ve probably never met a vintage thing you hated.”

“Old things have a story. They have history, and emotions. They have soul,” I countered, my voice husky with conviction.

And yeah, maybe a little lust. Because we were less than five feet from a horizontal surface, and most importantly, we were finally all alone.

At my words, her eyes flared with some emotion I couldn’t quite pinpoint. “That they do,” she agreed, her tone wistful.

It was the first time all night that the playful mask had slipped away, and I got a glimpse of the woman behind it. She looked sad and a little lost, like she’d fallen into her memories and couldn’t find her way back out.

In that moment, I just had to kiss her. I needed the connection, needed to feel what she was feeling. I leaned in and captured her mouth, my tongue sliding slowly against hers. She tasted like my beer and some earthy flavor that I decided must be hers and hers alone.

Oh, man. I could do this, could taste her, again and again. Night after night. No other woman had ever made me feel like this, like I was floating on a sea of pure need, and only she could throw me a buoy. No other woman had ever made me want to peel away her layers, made me want to figure out what made her tick, to know all her secrets and desires.

But she didn’t want that. She wanted one night of fun. And though every kiss, every touch made me want more, I couldn’t have it.

But God help me, I couldn’t stop now. So I kissed her. And as much as I wanted to take it slowly, to really savor her, my body was getting other ideas.

“I don’t want to talk anymore,” I rumbled, the words barely audible over the air conditioning streaming from the vent above our heads.

She yanked my bow tie once more. “I couldn’t agree more.”

We made our way over to the king-size bed in a flurry of kisses and wandering hands. She fell backward when her calves hit the mattress, pulling me down on top of her.

She giggled, but her laughter quickly died when I shifted my body until I was fully on top of her, my hardness cradled by her soft center.

“We’re wearing too many clothes,” she whispered, her voice breaking slightly as her agate eyes locked with mine.

I grinned, pulling myself to my knees. “Well, let’s change that.”

I pulled my tie loose, not even bothering to untie it before I yanked it over my head. Then I tugged my suspenders down over my shoulders, shoving them off as quickly as I could. I groaned as I thought about how many more layers of clothing there were between us. Cursing myself for my fastidious fashion sense for probably the first time ever, I started in on my shirt. But I fumbled with the buttons when her hands wandered down her soft tummy to her waist, making quick work of the button fly on her jeans. She lifted her generous hips, shimmying out of the denim and leaving her in nothing but that nearly see-through halter top and a pair of purple lace panties.

A groan escaped my throat at the sight of her. I needed to be naked – now. I hurried to remove my pants, stepping off the bed to be free of them. Then I grabbed the condoms I had stashed in my wallet, tossing them on the bed next to her. Finally, I took my glasses off and laid them on the desk behind me, leaving me in nothing but my underwear.

I took a deep breath as I stood at the foot of the bed, staring at her. I needed to slow it down, take my time. Make it good for her. And I really needed to keep her hands off me, or the whole thing would be over before it started.

Absently, I stroked a thumb across my chin as I formulated a plan. My eyes flicked to the headboard, which was a Danish modern-type thing with wooden slats running all the way up to the ceiling. The plan came together in an instant, and a grin spread slowly across my face. Perfect. I was just about to reach down for the last thing I needed when the sound of her voice stopped me.

“Well?” She looked up at me, her eyes alight with challenge. “What the fuck are you waiting for?”