Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
He called me two or three minutes later and said, “Thanks for the warning. I’d been just about to pull into the parking lot when I got your text.”
“Where are you now?”
“I thought it was best to leave the park, so I’m on Fulton Street, at Eighteenth.”
“Stay there. I’ll come to you.”
After we disconnected the call, I took off running. It seemed to take forever to cut across the park, but in reality it was just a few minutes until I emerged onto the street.
The rented black sports car was right where he said it’d be. I climbed into the passenger seat, and when I grabbed Marcus in a hug, he murmured, “Baby, you’re shaking.”
“That was such a close call. I really thought we’d be okay there, because no one I knew would come to the lake. But I was totally wrong.”
“It’s alright now,” he said, as he rubbed my back.
“But we can’t come back here. It doesn’t feel safe anymore.”
“Then we’ll figure something else out. For right now though, where can I take you?”
“Your hotel. Maybe I’m getting paranoid, but I feel exposed sitting out here like this.” He nodded before starting the engine.
Marcus was staying in a contemporary high rise hotel near the financial district. Since I was already rattled, the fact that it was crowded and hectic set my nerves on edge. “It’s not usually like this,” he told me, as he put a protective arm around my shoulders and guided me through the bustling lobby. There was a sign near the elevators welcoming some sort of convention, which probably explained the chaos.
It was a relief when we reached his suite. As soon as the door shut behind us, I buried my face in his chest, and he put his arms around me and asked, “What do you need, Romy?”
“First, I’d like to get cleaned up.” The sweat had cooled on my skin, making me shiver. “But we have to make a plan, Marcus. We can’t—”
“One thing at a time. Go take a nice, long shower, and I’ll meet you on the couch when you’re done.”
I made my way to the bathroom and stripped down quickly before stepping under a stream of very hot water. As it ran over my back and shoulders, I braced my hands against the white tile wall and worked on letting myself relax.
Afterwards, I dried off and put on the fluffy white bathrobe that was hanging on the back of the door. The feeling of the soft terrycloth against my skin caused a déjà vu sensation, momentarily transporting me back to the week we’d spent together in San Diego.
But so much had changed since then. Over the past month, we’d built trust and really gotten to know each other. A solid relationship had developed.
And along the way, I’d fallen deeply in love with Marcus.
Not that I’d said those words to him—not yet, anyway. I told myself it was a timing thing, that I was worried he’d think it was too soon. Things were going so well, and I didn’t want to mess it up. But really, my fear was that he wasn’t there yet. What if I told him I loved him and just got a thank you in return? It was scary to put myself out there, so I’d been holding back.
I sighed at my reflection in the mirror above the sink. Even though I’d been working on building my confidence, I clearly still had a way to go.
After quickly finger-combing my hair, I left the bathroom and went to find Marcus. He was right where he said he’d be—waiting for me on the couch in the sleek black and tan living room. I climbed onto his lap as he said, “If you want anything, I could order room service. Would you like some tea? Or…soup? I don’t know what would make you feel better.”
“I’m okay, but thank you for wanting to take care of me.”
“I don’t really know what I’m doing,” he admitted. “It’s not like I have a lot of experience with this kind of thing.”
When I told him, “You’re doing great,” that definitely made him happy. “What about you, Marcus? Do you need anything?”
“Just you.”
“You’ve already got me.”
A smile spread across his handsome face. “Yeah?”
I grinned and nodded. “So, what are you going to do with me?”
“If it was up to me, I’d take you to bed and make love to you for hours. But like you said, we need to make some plans, and—”
I cut him off with a deep kiss before saying, “The plans can wait.” Just in case that was too subtle, I untied the sash and let the robe slip off my shoulders. That caused a sigh of pleasure, and he slid his hands up my back as he kissed my neck.
Everything happened very quickly after that. He carried me to the bedroom, and as soon as we were both naked he began to feast on me. There was no other way to describe it. He worked me into a frenzy with his mouth and tongue and fingers, until I was writhing on the mattress and begging him to fuck me.