Page 103 of Too Good to Be True

After she parked, he took their bags from the back seat and followed her into the hotel lobby. The young female hotel clerk greeted them with a friendly smile, which lingered a little too long on Nick. Having already experienced this, Stacy no longer felt threatened. Instead, she felt a sense of pride knowing he was just as wonderful on the inside as he looked on the outside.

“Would you like one key or two?” the clerk asked.

“Just one. I don’t plan on letting her out of my sight,” Nick said.

The clerk’s eyes sparkled with delight, and Stacy stifled a laugh. He sounded like a book hero come to life, but he was real, and he was hers. At least for now.

“Here you go. We offer a continental breakfast in the lobby from six to nine a.m. We also have an indoor pool and hot tub. Enjoy your stay!”

“Oh, we will,” Nick said. Picking up both of their bags in one hand, he slipped his free hand around her waist as they walked away.

When they stepped into the elevator, she glanced at the hotel desk and waved at the clerk, who was watching them with an envious expression.

After the elevator doors closed, she smiled up at him. “Is this going to happen everywhere we go?”

“What?” he asked, sounding genuinely confused.

“All these women gawking at you.”

“The only woman I want is you.”

She suddenly felt lightheaded, and it wasn’t from not eating. She leaned into him as the doors opened on the top floor. They walked quietly down the hall until they found their room, and she unlocked the door.

The room was dark, but the curtains were open, and she went over to the window to admire the view of Lake Huron, with the lights on Mackinac Island twinkling in the distance. She heard him set down their bags, and then he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

She leaned her head against his chest and covered his hands with hers. For a while, they stayed just like that, enjoying the view and each other. In the dark, she was acutely aware of his body pressing into her back, the steady sound of his breathing, and the warmth of his hands.

Slowly she rotated to face him, and when their eyes met, she saw everything she wanted to see.

“So beautiful,” he whispered.

“It is, isn’t it?”

“Not it. You.”

She slid her hands up his chest and twined them around his neck. The words were right on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed them. Was it too soon? Would he want to hear them?

“Stacy…” He looked like he wanted to say more, but instead, he dipped his head down and gently kissed her lips.

She’d been waiting for this all day. Wanting him. Needing him. She didn’t want to wait any longer.

Moaning against his lips, she buried her hands in the hair at his nape and deepened the kiss. His mouth tasted like the best chocolate shake she’d ever had, and since they’d shared one at dinner, it wasn’t her imagination.

As they kissed, his hands roamed down her back and cupped her bottom. Her hips immediately sought his, and when she rubbed against his erection, she sighed. Then he lifted her, and she wrapped her arms and legs around him as he backed up to the bed and sat down on it.

Straddling his lap, they resumed kissing, softly at first and then more insistently. He slid his hands under the back of her sweatshirt, his warm palms caressing her back and sending a tingle down her spine.

She rocked forward, seeking to relieve the ache between her legs. In the meantime, he deftly unhooked her bra and then moved his hands underneath the material to palm her breasts.

A wave of heat rushed over her, but she knew it was way too soon to be having hot flashes. He did this to her, made her body pulse with desire, and it was unlike anything she’d experienced before.

“Nick…” she pleaded as he tugged on her nipples.

He pulled back to look at her.

“We need to get naked.”

“Gladly.”