I heard myself speak. “Me too,” I said, and the next thing I knew, I’d kissed her—my lips on hers, leaning across the table and capturing her in a soft kiss that had her somehow seem to tense and relax at the same time, melting into the kiss even though her hand grew taut on mine.
“Right here?” she whispered when I pulled back with my heart pounding. “I mean, I’d do it with you anywhere, but, uh, I think we’d get kicked out…”
I’d just been kissing her without thinking about it. I really was off the deep end. “Let’s book a room,” I said, and she went wide-eyed at me.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. It’s not too expensive here… and it’s not like either of us have clock-in times we need to worry about being back for tomorrow. And it’s nice. I don’t often get the chance to enjoy something like this.” I was talking too quickly, running my mouth. “If you’d rather get back to a familiar bed tonight, though, that’s understandable. I’m happy to pay for the room. I have a good payout coming from the freelance work done well ahead of schedule.”
She smiled wider, eyes sparkling. I think she knew I was nervous. Did she know why I was nervous?Ididn’t know why I was nervous. “That sounds great,” she said. “I don’t feel like driving all the way back. But I can split the cost on the room.”
“You drove us.”
“You bought hot chocolate.”
“That’s not equivalent to—”
She kissed me, and I shut up. “I’ll ask about a room,” she said, sliding out of her seat, and I nodded mostly just to myself as I sat back and let her approach the counter. Was she getting a double, or a single bed? We hadn’t actually slept in the same bed… a thin line I’d drawn to pretend nothing was happening.
But then we wound up before long in a room with wood paneling, a thick rug under my feet, a beautiful view out the window with the curtains drawn back, a skinny Christmas tree in the corner dressed in handmade ornaments, and a single big four-poster bed. Bridget shed her coat when we got inside, hung it up, undid her boots, and I’d barely gotten out of my coat before she was pressed up against my front, pulling me into a long, slow kiss, her hands tangling in my hair. And when she pulled back, she looked at me like we were the only two people in the world.
“Victoria?” she said, and my name in that soft whisper gave me shivers.
“Yes?”
“You’re beautiful.”
I swallowed hard. “Well, I suppose I’m happy to know you haven’t settled for messy sex sessions with someone ugly.”
She laughed, caressing her fingers over my jaw. “I want you.”
“I… well, I want that too. I mean, it’s a beautiful room. It would probably make for a good photoshoot or something too. Or maybe if you want to record—”
“I want this just for the two of us, Victoria.”
“Oh.” I was in over my head. “I… that sounds nice… to me.” I had to make it less romantic. I blanked for a second before I said, “So, should I wear a strap and dick you down now?”
She smiled serenely. “If that’s what you want, it’s what I want too.”
Oh, god. My heart was hammering. She looked so beautiful in the low light like this… I was not developing feelings for Bridget. I could not. “Well, I doubt they have any just hanging out handy here,” I said. “Maybe if we ask at reception?”
“Power to you if you want to try, but I’ve got one in my car.”
“Oh. You do?”
“Yeah, in the, uh, the side glove compartment.”
I paused. “Is that why you snapped it shut in front of me when I—”
“Yep.”
I pointed to the door, my face hot. “I’ll just… I’ve still got my boots on, so I’ll go, uh, grab it.”
“Mm. I’ll be waiting for you, baby,” she whispered, running her hands over my front, and I spiked with heat and desire and a million other things I shouldn’t have been feeling.
“Yeah. Well. I’m, uh, going,” I said, and I kissed her one more time before I turned to the door, and when I had my hand on the handle, she said,
“Victoria?”
