“Hmm, I see.” He said softly, his deep baritone voice travelling across the little distance between us, making my heart jolt and stirring something else, something hotter, deeper, and naughtier, within me.
“I’m so sorry.” I clasped my hands together in front of me, blinking, hoping that my sincerity shined through much more than the unholy thoughts I was currently having, “I was in such a hurry to attend that conference that I didn’t even wait when I was told that the keys I took were not mine. It was not the receptionist’s fault. I shouldn’t have taken the keys out of here in the first place. I was so out of it and—”
I stopped, noting the faint signs of mirth spreading across his face. His grey eyes, naturally so arresting, seemed to be smiling and he clenched his teeth, the corners of his lips slightly going up. He was trying to hide his laughter.
Oh great. Now he thinks I’m a comedian?
“Pardon me,” He coughed, taking yet another step towards me. My breath hitched. “But you apologize way too much. It’s a coincidence since our initials both happen to be R.I., and the receptionist already solved the mystery of the keys. It’s fine now,” He lowered his voice, looking into my eyes, “You don’t have to worry anymore.”
Why do I feel like he’s suddenly talking about something else?
“Uh…” I stammered, my heartbeat going faster than my brain can keep up. I didn’t know what to say to him. I, Rachel Ivy, a Stanford Graduate student, was suddenly turned to dust in the presence of this enigmatic stranger. And what did I know of him?
Let’s see… His name is Richard; I’ve never met him before.
And let’s not forget the fact that I took his keys earlier, locking him out of his room for hours.
“I can’t just let it go like that.” I finally said, reaching up a hand to tuck in a strand of my blond hair which had somehow managed to escape from my head wrap, “I need to make it up to you somehow.”
He quirked an eyebrow at that, his eyes once again shimmering as if they found something particularly funny. Smirking, he dug a hand into his jeans pocket just as the elevator dinged, signaling that it had finally reached the twentieth floor.
“Be careful what you say, Miss.”
“This is my stop.” I said, hurriedly stepping out. But then I found him walking out after me and paused, wondering if he was somehow planning to follow me.
Then it hit me that his room was also on this floor. Pink with another bout of embarrassment, my cheeks fired up and I clenched my fingers, finally taking the wise decision to keep my lips tightly clamped shut.
But he remained strangely silent, his eyes still fixed on me.
“You know,” He began, walking so close that I could smell the deep musky scent coming off of him, “There is one way you can make it up to me. It’s only a matter of how willing you are.”
“W-what are you talking about?” He towered over my meager five-foot-two frame and I had to raise my head to look at him. This put me in a position where I had no choice but to stare deep into those eyes of his, my heartbeat racing.
He smiled, slowly, and raised his hand, softly brushing it against my cheek. The contact sent a jolt of electricity through me and I gasped, shocked, my eyelids fluttering.
“Spend the weekend with me.”
I widened my eyes, the haze of seduction around me loosening a bit. Taking a step back, I exclaimed, “What? Why? I-”
“Shh,” He softly shushed me, stepping forward as he brought his hand to my face once more, “You can’t tell me I’m the only one who feels the sparks here.” The rough pad of his thumb slinked down my cheeks and rested on my upper lip, “It’s only for one weekend and only if you want to. Say the word and I’ll go away.”
“But we barely know each other.” At this point, my chest was on fire, and that deep-seated monster of desire reared its head within me, making my voice so breathless it was nearly inaudible.
“True.” He came closer still, his warm breath fanning my face, “But that’s another reason to spend the weekend together… getting to know each other.”
Anyone who knew me would call me nothing short of a bookworm. Heck, I’d blazed through high-school, college, and most other points in my life with barely a care for anything but my academics. I even missed prom because I was preparing for a national competition. Still, the satisfaction of achieving my dreams couldn’t blot out that hole that grew wider through the years – the gnawing desire to be free and do reckless, silly, even stupid things.
And now, in the most unthinkable ways, fate brought me to this stranger – a man who made me heart stop with just a smile.
What would it be like to say yes? To not think about anything, but seeing more of him, tasting of this forbidden jar he placed so readily before me.
He seemed to take my consent as agreement because he lowered his head and brought our lips… together.
It was a contact so electrifying it made my knees weak. I gasped, leaning against him and he deepened the kiss, his strong muscular arms coming around me, trapping me in a cocoon so warm I never wanted to be free of it.
Sliding his hands up, he caressed my body clad in the winter garb, bringing it up to my neck and digging the fingers into my hair. He whispered something about his room being a few steps away and I nodded, my hands already waging a war with the buttons on his coat.
Shuffling across the hallway, our mouths still connected, we came to a door. Not bothering to look
