Everett gives him his room number, slips him a few bills, then stands, offering me his hand.
I let him escort me out of the restaurant. Quickly.
I’m giggling by the time we get to the elevator.
We step inside, and as the door slides shut, Everett turns to me with a predatory look. “You find this funny?”
“No.” I shake my head and step close, sliding my arms around his neck. “I’m just happy and can’t contain it.”
The heated look in his eyes doesn’t dim, but his lips turn up in a smile. “You have from this moment until we step off the elevator to change your mind. Once we are in my suite, I’m not letting you go ’til morning. Maybe not even then.”
I tip my head back, offering my mouth. “I hope not even then,” I say softly.
He slides his hand up the side of my neck to cup my face, gazing at me with a mix of wonder, love, and desire so obvious it nearly buckles my knees.
“This won’t get you out of my system.” His voice is rough. “You’re not just in my system. You’re in my bones, Ginger. You’re in my cells. You’re in mysoul.”
A shiver of pleasure and joy goes through me.
“I’ve been stupid to think that I could resist this,” I admit. “In the beginning, I really thought I could. By the end of Thanksgiving, if I’d been honest, I would’ve realized I was agoner. Definitely by the time you left after Christmas. I’m sorry I made us wait.”
The elevator arrives on the top floor, sliding to a smooth stop, and the doors glide open.
A sly look replaces his softer expression. “Make it up to me now.”
Oh, I intend to.
I step out of the elevator, catching his fingers and tugging him after me. Not that I expected he would be anywhere but right on my heels.
The way this man is clearly as obsessed with me as I am with him is empowering, while it’s also humbling.
This is really the difference. I realize now that the other men in my life didn’t put me first because they didn’t love me more than anything else.
I believe Everett does. He’s an intense person who has had a life that seems full of luxury because of his parents' status and money, then his own. But he’s done without a lot of very important things. Things money can’t buy. And he realizes that and appreciates what he has now: Friends. Family. Stability and foundation. People he can trust. A future whereheis in control of his happiness.
And I believe him when he says that I am a part of that.
Because I have always had all of those things from my family and friends, including unconditional love and support, I can recognize them from Everett. And trust it all.
Tonight’s meeting with the Albrights sealed it.
Everett let me talk. He looked just as impressed as they did. But he was also proud of me. He let me shine. He didn’t add to anything I said. He didn’t take away from any of my ideas or proposals. He didn’t try to prep me beyond the information I asked about the brothers. It was clear, to me and to the othermen, that he trusted me completely. We were the perfect team for this meeting.
And I know we’ll be the perfect team for everything else in life.
He loves my family and friends, and they love him. He values roots as I do. IES is important to him for the same reasons I’m passionate about it.
And I’ve never met a man who can make me so hot with a simple look or touch.
He lets us into the massive suite, but I don’t even pause to take in the artwork, or the gorgeous furnishings, or the view. I don’t stop walking until we are next to the gigantic bed. In this room, we’re surrounded on two sides by windows filled with New York City lights and I don’t even bother to turn on a light beyond the soft glow from the one bedside lamp.
This suite doesn’t have rose petals, champagne, or chocolate-covered strawberries. But we don’t need any of that. All Everett and I need is each other.
I turn to face him at the foot of the bed and drop his hand. I shrug out of my blazer, tossing it onto the armchair near the armoire.
I bend over and unzip both boots, toeing them off and kicking them aside. Then I straighten, lifting the skirt of my dress and reaching for the top of my stockings, slowly rolling them down.
I watch Everett watching me. His jaw is tight, his eyes hot. He’s barely blinking. I’m not sure he’s breathing. The way he looks at me makes me almost as hot as when he’s touching me. Almost. I am dying to get his hands on me.
