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MOLLY WASN’T LOOKINGforward to the weekend. For the first time in ages, she wanted to go home, hide in her apartment, and eat ice cream. Fat chance of that. She was stuck in Phoenix for another week.
She tried not to linger on thoughts of Brandon, struggling with every ounce of willpower to convince herself he’d only been a fling. The problem was she didn’t believe her own denial. The connection she felt to him was so much more than a one-time deal.
Cool air blasted her skin, when she stepped through the hotel front doors, shoving away most of the heat. She stopped just inside the entrance, legs refusing to move, when her gaze landed on the lobby.No way.
Her heart skipped. Her brain screamed that this was going to hurt again, and she told it to shut the hell up. Brandon sat in one of the chairs, half-turned toward the door, his attention on a book.
He looked up, grin threatening to split his face when his gaze met hers. He was on his feet and crossing the room in an instant. He stopped before he reached her.
Was she relieved or disappointed at the distance between them?
He held up a generic white paper bag, full of something. “Italian sub, no onions,”
Her favorite food. She couldn’t help her smile. She nodded.
“Tomorrow, I’m picking. That is, if you’ve got a few hours to spend getting to know each other.”
She closed the remaining space, threw her arms around his neck, and pressed her lips to his. For the first time today, she welcomed the heat. He rested his free hand against the small of her back. He returned the kiss with a hungry growl, tongue diving in to probe her mouth.
She broke the kiss but didn’t pull away. She’d missed this feeling so much. But she wouldn’t let it be a repeat of the last two times. “You wanted to talk?”
He nipped her bottom lip. “Yes. I know you have to work next week, but I’m between gigs and cons, so I was hoping you’d let me stick around.”
He was there. He’d tracked her down and offered what she asked for. Maybe she was dreaming. She tugged him toward the elevators. “I would love that.”
The moment the doors closed behind them, he pressed her against the far wall of the car and kissed her again. His solid frame pinned her to the wood paneling, and her pulse raced. She ran her fingers up his arms, burning every sensation into her memory.
The elevator jerked to a stop at her floor, and he pulled back with a gasp. He grasped her fingers and tugged her into the hallway.
She led the way, her thoughts still trying to wrap themselves around the situation. He let go of her the moment they were in the room, set the food on the table by the door, and stepped away from her.
That was a little disappointing.
His fingers twitched at his side.
When she stepped closer, he moved out of reach. She raised her eyebrows in question.
His shoulders slumped. “It’s taking all of my restraint not to strip you down, toss you on the bed, and ravage you until you’re too worn out to move.”
Shedidlike the sound of that. “Okay?”
“But”—he tapped his foot, maintaining his distance—“I want to make this work, and I need you to be happy with it long term. So we have to set some ground rules first.”
“Like what?”
“I couldn’t handle being away from you for two weeks. We weren’t talking, and that made it infinitely worse, but you’re right; long-distance is going to be tough.”
She nodded. The way he spoke directly to her doubts, instead of brushing them under the rug, made hope blossom inside.
He grabbed her fingers again and pulled her toward the bed. He sat down and prompted her to do the same, their hips and arms touching. “So I want to know everything about you, or as much as we can fill a weekend with. And I want to see you as often as possible. I want to give us a real chance.”
It wouldn’t fix things right away, but he recognized that. She liked the solution, and adored that he came up with it. She leaned her head on his shoulder. “And then you’ll strip me down and have your way with me?”
He chuckled. “I might do that in between, but not unless you tell me one or two more ways to make you scream loud enough our neighbors know what we’re up to.”
Heat spread across her cheeks. “You just have to ask the right questions.”
He slid from the bed and knelt at her feet. A pleasant tremor traveled through her when he ran his palms up her calves and back down again. He pulled off one shoe and then the other, and set them aside.
