“Do you need help cleaning up?” I asked, looking around at the balloons and confetti on the floor, the overflowing trash can, and the empty jello shot containers left all over the bar.
“No, it’s fine,” she said, waving a hand dismissively. “I paid extra for a clean-up crew to come in and take care of all this. I knew we wouldn’t want to be bothered with it tonight.”
“You’re a genius.”
“I take my partying very seriously.” She winked, then picked up the box of leftover condoms from our game. It was still half-full. “But here, you can take these. Don’t want them to go to waste.”
I started to shake my head, prepared to tell her that I had no use for them, but then Bowen’s face popped into my mind, his sexy smirk in place. I’d been thinking about the kiss we shared yesterday afternoon throughout the entire party, the erotic theme of the games keeping him at the forefront of my mind. I hadn’t seen him at all today, no chance run-ins even though I’d kept my eyes open for him every time I left my room. I couldn’t help myself. I wanted him so badly that I felt like I was going crazy.
Did I dare to do something about it?
Maybe it was the small amount of alcohol I had that made me brave. Or it could have just been the sexual tension that had been building between us over the past few days. I wasn’t sure what drove me to do it, but I tucked the condoms into my purse and left the banquet hall. When I got on the elevator alone, I didn’t push the button for the eighth floor. I headed for the penthouse suites.
We hadn’t exchanged phone numbers yet, despite spending so much time together over the last two days, so that made this decision even more risky. I was truly going to surprise him. It was just after midnight, so I hoped it was well-received.
Arriving on the top floor, I stepped out of the elevator and quickly realized that I had no idea what Bowen’s room number was. The suites up here were so massive that there were only four rooms on this floor. Looking at the layout, I tried to guess which one could be his, but all I had to go on was his comment about seeing the ocean from his balcony. That would mean the room was on the west side of the hotel.
With my options narrowed down to two doors, I knew that I’d have to just pick one at random. Trying to ignore the little voice in the back of my head that told me this was completely crazy, I walked up to the door that was closest to the elevator and knocked.
I held my breath as I heard footsteps approaching. The door was pulled open, and I found myself staring at a complete stranger.
“Can I help you?” he asked, flashing me a wicked grin. He looked familiar, and I suspected that he might be here for the wedding too, but I hadn’t been introduced to him.
“Uh...I’m sorry to bother you,” I said with an apologetic wince. “I know you probably don’t want a stranger knocking on your door this late at night.”
“We don’t have to be strangers. You’re a friend of Faith’s right? I’m Cole.”
I took a small step back as I recognized that heated look in his eyes. This guy was attractive enough, but he couldn’t compare to the man I was looking for.
“I’m really sorry,” I apologized again, wondering if I made a huge mistake by coming up here at all. “I was looking for—”
The door behind me opened, distracting me mid-sentence. I craned my neck to see Bowen standing in the doorway. Unlike the fully dressed man in front of me, he was wearing only a pair of flannel pajama pants. My train of thought completely derailed as I stared at his bare chest on display. Smooth skin stretched over taught muscle that created a pulsing need in my core. Suddenly, all of my doubts about coming up here disappeared. It was worth embarrassing myself by knocking on a stranger’s door.
“Looking for me?” Bowen asked, folding his arms across his chest and leaning against the doorframe with amusement dancing in his eyes.
“Uh, yeah,” I said, tucking my hair behind my ear and nibbling on my bottom lip as I pivoted my body toward him, Cole all but forgotten.
“Then, come on in.”
I heard Cole close his door as I took a step toward Bowen, and I hoped I hadn’t disrupted him too much. I stepped into Bowen’s suite and looked around. It was massive, probably bigger than my apartment back in Brooklyn. There was a kitchenette to my right and a sitting area just ahead. I spotted the glass sliding doors leading to the balcony he told me about. It was too dark out to see anything, but I was willing to bet that he had one hell of a view of the ocean.
Bowen shut the door behind me, and I turned at the sound. His blue eyes burned into mine as he stepped closer, the scent of his cologne enveloping me in spice and sandalwood.
“What are you doing here, Marlee?”
I could see the desire in his eyes, and felt that instantaneous connection that we shared. It was too strong to ignore, so I made a decision to throw caution to the wind. Dropping my purse to the floor, I leapt into his arms.
Bowen caught me easily, as if I weighed nothing. He sucked in a sharp breath as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his in a searing kiss.
It was time to take what I wanted.
CHAPTER10
Bowen
Marlee’s kiss ignited a fire inside of me, a hunger that was all-consuming. My hands went to her ass, kneading the flesh there. I wasn’t expecting her to come by tonight, but it was a welcome surprise. I was awake when I thought I heard her voice out in the hallway. At first, I wasn’t sure if it was real, since my lack of sleep was because I couldn’t get thoughts of the tempting brunette out of my head.
And jerking off wasn’t doing it for me anymore.