I shake out the nerves.
I’m hard as fuck just thinking about her sex bucket list, but then, I think my dick responded in kind the moment I laid eyes on her. When she sat and the smell of flowers drifted across the table toward me, I couldn’t help but have my interest piqued no matter how much I was trying to give off theleave me alonevibe. She wasn’t having it.
And now, here we are, both of us breathing a little hard as we wait in awkward silence for the elevator to rise to the twenty-sixth floor.
“When I was a kid and got onto an empty elevator with my parents, we’d dance like fools and sing a little song. Bah-bah-bah-bah-bah-bah! Let’s party! Let’s party!” She dances around a little, and I can’t help but laugh.
She seems so carefree. It’s refreshing.
I’m burdened by so many cares all the time, so much so that I let it drag me down and turn me into something even I don’t always like being around. It’s no wonder Tatum left.
Maybe this woman can teach me a thing or two while we knock a few items off that very intriguing bucket list.
She doesn’t get me to dance with her, but the doors open to my floor, and I glance over at her. “Are you sure you’re okay with going into a stranger’s hotel room?”
She lifts a shoulder. “My bullshit meter is pretty strong after bartending the last few years, so I’m going to trust my gut that tells me you’re one of the good ones.”
I don’t know if that’s true, per se, but I’m not one of thebadones. At least I know I wouldn’t take advantage of a slightly drunk woman unless she was a fully willing participant.
“Besides,” she says, grabbing my hand as we step off the elevator, “we’re not strangers anymore. We’ve shared a meal, a few drinks, a laugh or two. This is just what comes next,right?”
The doors close behind us, and I whip her around and push her up against the wall where the call buttons are located, possibly pressing both up and down in the process, not that either of us would notice. My hips are pinning her there as my eyes meet hers. There’s a heat there, a strong and steady heat, and all I want to do is explore it.
I cup my palm around her neck, and she leans into my touch just the slightest bit, just enough to know that I’ve got her exactly where I want her. Her lips part, her chin tilts up, and her breath hitches.
I run my thumb over her lower lip, and she closes her eyes as I lean down closer. Instead of kissing her as she’s expecting at this moment, I whisper, “Tell me what you want me to do to you.”
She lets out a soft grunt of disapproval at my question. “I want you to make me feel something I haven’t felt in far too long.”
“How long has it been?” I ask.
“Is this really what you want to talk about right now?”
I can’t help a laugh. “Go with it. I’m building the anticipation.”
“Consider the anticipation built. My God, Archer. Just fucking kiss me already.”
I lower my mouth to hers, and as soon as my lips brush along hers, I can’t help but wonder what the fuck I was nervous about. The last woman I kissed was part of my history for over a decade. We didn’t kiss until we were in college, eight or so years ago, but she’s theonlywoman I’ve kissed for a whole lot of years. This feels like new territory.
It’s like riding a bike in some ways, only with a different person. Her sounds, her scent, her touch, her movements…they’re all different. New. Unfamiliar. Sexy. Jesus, so damn sexy.
I open my mouth to hers as the fire burns between us, around us, consuming us. Our tongues duel slowly, steadily, luxuriously.
Kissing her feels so damn good that I can’t imagine what’ll happen once our bodies are writhing together naked.
I shift my hips against hers, and she bucks hers against mine. She’s a little wild, a little uninhibited. Is that the Aperol Spritz, or is that just her? I may never know, but I like this version of her that I’m getting right now. A lot.
I don’t even know her, but I know we’re connecting on a deep, visceral level just through this kiss.
It’s only meant for tonight. One night. Maybe that’s what makes it so hot. A vacation hookup, something I’ve never had before. We can go our separate ways in the morning, no strings attached. We can both think back to that one night in Paradise with a fond memory.
It’s better than being with someone for seven years only to have it end. It’s better than the pain that comes with attachment.
I think this might just be the life for me.
I’m not sure how long we stand there kissing and getting lost in one another, but I hear voices coming from around the corner of the elevator nook. I reluctantly pull back, and her eyes are a little dazed as she holds onto my biceps. I hadn’t even realized she was doing that until I pulled back, but she’s gripping onto me like she might fall down if she lets go. I slip an arm around her waist, and we walk together toward my room, passing by the voices I heard coming nearer. Her lips are red and swollen, and I’m sure mine are, too.
I don’t care.
