“Goodthing I have you around to set me straight on these things.” Hemoves the plant from one hand to the other before gripping it bythe ribbon tied at the top and dangling it between us. “I wanted tokiss you on the SkyWheel, but lost my nerve. Guess I need somemistletoe for courage. How would you feel about a goodnight kissbefore I hit the road?”
My stomach sinks.I knew there was no avoiding this moment, but I wish we didn’t haveto part ways so soon. What if this is it? What if we never see eachother again? What if our birthday/Christmas/whatever kind of magicthis is runs out after tonight and there’s no third time’s thecharm serendipity scenario for us?
“Wedon’t have to,” he says at the same time I say, “Spend the nightwith me, Cole.”
His eyes go wide.“Come again?”
“Spendthe night with me,” I repeat. “I know you have to get back toToronto, but…I’m not ready to say goodbye yet. I know spending thenight together would complicate things, but—”
The rest of mywords are cut off as Cole covers my mouth with his. My body meltsagainst him, and he takes that as a cue to wrap his arms around meand pull me closer. I grip his shoulders and push up on my tiptoes,wanting to be as close to him as possible. He tastes like beer andchocolate and he smells like heaven. His warm body against mine inthe cold night makes me shiver.
He wrenches hislips from mine, his hands moving to my hips to steady me. “Where’syour hotel?”
I stammer out afew nonsense words as I attempt to get my bearings. I find the tallhotel on the skyline and point. “Right there.”
“Let’sgo.” He grabs my hand and we break into a fast walk. Giddy laughterrolls out of me as lights and people pass in a blur of color andmotion. We pause a few times to kiss in the middle of the sidewalkbefore carrying on, our steps faster each time until we’repractically running. I haven’t felt this way—excited, nervous,bubbly, light as air—in far too long. Maybe ever.
We burst throughthe front door of the hotel and rush through the lobby to theelevators. We’re both practically bouncing on our toes as I stabthe button and we wait. And wait.
“Screwthis,” Cole says, tugging my hand. “The stairs are right there.What floor are you on?”
“Thetwentieth.”
We’re halfway tothe stairwell when Cole freezes and turns back. “Elevator isit.”
I laughbreathlessly. The elevator finally arrives and Cole waits all oftwo seconds to make sure no one is exiting before he dashes inside,pulling me along with him, and jabbing the button for my floor. Hismouth is on mine in the next second, his fingers working the zipperof my coat and yanking it down. He reaches inside and grips mywaist, fingers digging into my skin over my shirt as if he’s tryinghard not to let his hands wander.
His lips leavemine to trail along my jaw. He pauses at my ear, his hot breathsending a zing of lust straight to my center as he tugs at myearlobe with his teeth. His thigh is between my legs, and it takesall my effort not to grind against him.
“Sincethis is a fancy hotel, I’m guessing there are cameras in thiselevator?” he whispers.
“I’dassume so.”
He places a chastekiss on my cheek before squeezing my waist and releasing me. Atthis point, I’m so turned on I wouldn’t mind giving some randomsecurity guard or night manager a little show, but I suppose it’s agood thing for at least one of us to be thinkingstraight.
Theelevator arrives on the twentieth floor with a mutedding. We step into theplushly-carpeted hallway, and Cole asks which room I’m in. Thenumber is barely out of my mouth before we’re flying down the hall.We’ve reached the door before I can even fish out the key card inmy purse. By the time I find it, my hands are shaking so much, ittakes three tries to get the light to flash green.
When the doorfinally opens, we stumble into the room, a tangle of limbs. Colepushes me against the closed door, cradling the back of my head soI don’t hit it. That small, thoughtful gesture warms my heart, asdoes the way he smiles at me before leaning in. I expect him tokiss me again, but he rests his forehead on my shoulder. The soundof his labored breath makes me realize how hard I’m breathingtoo.
I slide my handsinside his open coat and put my arms around him, running my handsup and down his back as we both catch our breath. After a moment, Ifree my arms and slide his coat off, catching it before it hits thefloor. He lifts his head from my shoulder and I step around him,tossing his coat on the desk chair before removing mine and doingthe same.
He joins me at thedesk, gripping my hips from behind. He slowly unwinds the scarffrom around my neck, pressing kisses against the skin he reveals. Itilt my head, enjoying the mixed sensations of his soft lips andrough stubble against the sensitive skin of my neck. His teethcatch my earlobe again, eliciting a gasp from me. He releases meand shuffles around behind me; a quick glance shows him removinghis boots, so I do the same before spinning around and covering hismouth with mine again. My hands fist in the front of his shirt as Ipush him toward the bed.
We stop abruptlywhen his knees hit the edge of the mattress.
“Areyou sure about this?” he asks.
Yes.No.Yes.Theaftermath is probably going to hurt like hell, but that’s a problemfor Future Sylvie to deal with. Instead of answering with words, Ipush him onto the bed and follow immediately, straddling his hipsand bringing my mouth back to his. His lips against mine and hiswarm hands sliding under my shirt push every thought and worry frommy mind. All that matters is right here and now.
Cole pulls awaywith a quiet gasp. “Wait, Sylvie, wait. Let’s slowdown.”
Iattempt to straighten, to put some distance between us, but hegrips my arms and holds me in place as his eyes search my face.“I’m not having second thoughts, if that’s what you’re thinking.Not at all.” With a smile bordering on a smirk, he arches againstme so there’s no way I can miss his erection. His face softens, thesmile slipping to something almost bittersweet. “We might only havethis one night together, you know? I want to savor it. Savoryou.”
Oh. Well. On onehand his words have a sobering effect, while on the other hand I’meven more turned on. And, if I’m honest, Cole’s words make me fallfor him a little bit more. It would have been easy for us to comein here, rip each other’s clothes off, give in to blind passion,and then go our separate ways. In some ways, that might be easiersince my body would be so busy, my mind wouldn’t have a chance tooverthink things. Like it is now.
Cole eases me backand sits up with me. With his eyes on mine, he kisses me lightlyand reaches for the hem of my top, giving me a questioning look. Atmy nod, he lifts the shirt over my head and tosses it toward theedge of the bed. His gaze sweeps over me, lingering on my chest.His fingers trace the lacy red cups of my bra. “Very festive,” hesays, leaning in to kiss the swell of my breasts.
“I liketo keep things on brand,” I tell him. He chuckles, his warm breathmaking goosebumps race across my skin. “Just FYI, my pantiesmatch.”
