Melodie took her last swallow of coffee, but struggled to get it down without choking as she realized this really was it. The end.
“Will you do something for me?” he asked, not letting on what was going on behind his aloof expression. “Will you come up and let me show you something in my room?”
“Etchings?” she guessed facetiously. “I really should get to the airport. I’ll be flying standby, so...”
“Please.” He stood and shouldered her travel bag.
“You can’t just tell me what it is?” She followed him to the elevator where she studied his enigmatic expression the whole way to the top floor. “You’re being very mysterious,” she said when he slid his key card into the reader.
“I’m really not,” he said with a disparaging smirk, leaving her bag just inside the door. Moving to the bedroom, he jerked his chin at the bed.
“What?” She stood beside him to look at the rumpled sheets and indented pillows.
“We’re both exhausted.” He turned his head to give her a somnolent look. “Let’s not make any decisions right now. I’m not asking for sex. I just can’t think when I’m this tired. I become very one track, and all I know is that I want you there.” He pointed at the bed.
“You really aren’t mysterious, are you?” she said, struck by a wave of emotion that maybe came from tiredness, but also from what sounded like an oddly revealing statement from him.
She was tired. Stupid Trenton had waited for her to check out before cutting her loose, so she couldn’t go back to her room and her own bed. She’d already been dreading the wait at the airport, trying to stay awake to hear if she’d been given a flight... It all began to look too overwhelming to face when there was a comfortable bed right there and a man peeling his shirt from his powerful chest.
She opened the button on her jacket, glanced at him with a small scold.
He said, “Thank you,” in a quiet voice that was strangely soothing. She removed her jacket, gave it a shake, then folded it and laid it over the back of a chair. The rest of her clothes went neatly folded onto the seat. She kept on her underpants, but shed her bra, never comfortable sleeping in one. Instead, she picked up his shirt from where he’d dropped it on the floor and slid her arms into it.
“Do you mind?”
“Not a bit.”
Closing a couple of buttons, she rounded the bed as he got in the other side. He held up the covers and she slid in beside him, feeling his arms close around her very comfortingly. Their bare legs braided together, and his lips nuzzled her hairline before he stole the clip from her hair and tossed it off the side of the bed.
Feeling secure and warm, Melodie let out a deep sigh. Roman’s arms grew heavier on her, and that was all she remembered.
* * *
She woke to feel his erection straining the front of his shorts and pressing into her stomach. He was still asleep, but she couldn’t help tracing the shape of him, already feeling liquid heat pooling between her legs in anticipation.
With a long inhale, Roman rolled onto his back, eyes opening to catch her gaze. They flashed with surprise and immediate desire.
“Come here,” he said in a sleep-rasped voice, lifting his hips to push his boxers down and off before drawing her to straddle his thighs.
She removed her underwear and leaned for the condom herself before straddling his hips and covering him.
His hand came to the back of her neck and urged her down for a kiss. They rocked in ever-deepening caresses, wriggling and adjusting until he was penetrating, making her moan with indulgence. For a long time they barely moved, just kissed and enjoyed the sensation of being joined. She sat up to throw off his shirt and he starfished his hands over her breasts, letting her lean into his grip as she searched for a rhythm that made them both happy. It was good, so good, and lasted for a deliciously long time.
He was the one who said, “I’m going to explode,” and slid his hand to her hip, thumb dipping inward to circle and incite.
The sharp sensation made her buck and seek more, so she moved urgently, flying them to a swift and sudden culmination that ended with him rolling her beneath him and kissing her deeply while the aftershocks played out.
Then came the reckoning. She didn’t know how to leave after that. It had been too good.
He rolled away to dispose of the condom and she asked, “What time is it?” It came off sounding as though she had a train to catch. Funny, he’d made it sound as though a solid sleep would help her think more clearly, but she was more conflicted than ever now.
“Two.” He rolled back and caught her hand, bringing her fingertip to the gentle bite of his teeth. “Our body clocks are going to be a real mess when we get to France.”