Chapter Eleven
I
t was a slightly better hotel than he’d expected. One of a chain of moderate luxury hotels he’d been to once or twice before. Sam hefted his bag and made sure Emily was okay with her little rolling case. He’d offered to carry it for her but she was independent enough to want to do it herself. It wasn’t heavy, so he acquiesced.
When they got to the front desk, he found they’d reserved two bronze level rooms. This chain labeled their rooms bronze for the base level room, which was the least expensive, silver for mid-level, gold for what he would equate to business class, and it also had a few platinum level suites for the highest level of luxury they offered. Sam didn’t blink when Emily asked if they could have adjoining rooms, but a jolt went through him. She didn’t want him to be far away. He liked that.
Of course, it could be that she was still scared from her zombie encounter. Sam wasn’t above capitalizing on that. He’d keep her safe. And he wanted to keep her close too—as close as possible. So deciding, he stepped up to the desk, planting himself next to her.
“Can we nix the two bronze rooms and upgrade to platinum?” he asked the clerk. The young lady behind the counter smiled, looking from Emily to Sam and back again.
“Is that what you want, ma’am?” the helpful girl asked Emily.
Emily looked up at him and he felt his heart melting. Damn. Just that hopeful, cautious look in her eyes made him want to give her the moon, if he could.
“Is it possible?” Emily turned back to the clerk. “Do you have a gold suite available?”
“Platinum,” Sam corrected as he fished his credit card out of his wallet and passed it across the marble counter toward the clerk. The girl smiled and tapped the keys on her computer terminal.
“Yes, we have one platinum suite left.”
“Excellent.” Sam grinned and put one arm loosely around Emily’s shoulders.
She was tired. She had to be wiped out from the heinous events of the day. The sooner he could get her to the suite and in bed, the better. She deserved to be pampered and he was just the man to do it.
They got the key and rode the elevator up in silence. There was a lot to say, but most of it wasn’t suitable for public consumption. Discretion was the better part of valor in this case, even if the hotel seemed relatively quiet.
Sam kept his arm around her shoulders. He could feel the slight tremble. He figured she was due for a little breakdown considering what she’d seen that day. He’d pushed for the suite not only because he wanted to make love to her again. He definitely wanted that. He didn’t think she was up to it right now, though.
He’d wait. He’d wait for her as long as he had to. She was worth it.
That thought should have startled him. Instead, it felt comfortable. Lived in. Like part of him he wasn’t ever going to give up willingly.
Just like Emily.
Only he knew that was impossible. She didn’t belong to him and with all the crap that was going on in his screwed up wreck of a life lately, it would be cruel to ask her to be a part of it. All he could have was now. The mission. The moment. That’s all anyone ever had, after all.
But if he were going to fantasize about the perfect future, he’d have Emily in it. At his side. Sharing his life. Partners in the air and on the ground. For as long as they both shall live.
And didn’t that sound domestic. Sam nearly laughed at himself, but checked the impulse as the elevator whisked them to the platinum level. There were only a few suites up here at the apex of the building. Each of them had a rooftop patio, or so he believed.
They got off the elevator in silence and Sam guided Emily to their door. He swiped the key card and ushered her inside.
“Wait here.” He positioned her just inside the door and dropped his duffel next to the wall before he went to check out the suite.
He didn’t think anyone or anything was waiting in the suite for them, but it was best to be sure. Being careful saved lives.
“The room is safe,” he reported as he strode back to Emily a few minutes later. She’d stayed exactly where he’d left her and the look on her face was tragic.
“Is it safe to talk?” she asked in a whisper.
“Yes, Em.” He’d already checked with the small device he’d had in his pants pocket. She looked about ready to crumble, so he stepped up to her and took her in his arms. “Come here, sweetheart,” he whispered, pressing her head to his chest.
They stood like that for long, long minutes. Her trembling amplified as she let go. Her breathing became ragged though she seemed to be fighting the urge to cry. When she began to quiet down, he reached behind her and flipped the locks on the hotel door, never letting go of her small body.
“It’s okay, Emily,” he whispered against her hair, drawing her closer in his arms when he’d secured the door. He’d keep her safe. It was his duty and his honor.
“I’m sorry, Sam.” Her voice sounded choked, as if she was fighting strong emotion in addition to the tears.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart. I’m the one who dragged you into this. It’s me who should apologize. I know what you saw today had to be jarring.”
She laughed brokenly. “You can say that again.”
“You’re safe now.”
He patted her back and stroked her hair, offering what comfort he could. Little by little, he felt her trembling decrease until she was resting comfortably against him.
Then everything changed.
Emily made the first move this time. She raised her head, seeking his lips for the kiss she wanted deep in her soul. She needed his touch, his warmth, his reassuring presence, but more than that, she needed him. His lovemaking. His love.
She didn’t dare hope for that particular miracle. She’d gotten her hopes up before, but no man had ever declared his love for her—not seriously. She’d always been so focused on her career and following in her mother’s footsteps. There hadn’t been a lot of time for boyfriends, though she’d had her share. Just nothing serious.
She didn’t think she’d get that from Sam either, though the more she was around him, the more she wanted it. She wanted him to be the one. The man who would go down on one knee and ask her to be his bride. She may be a modern career woman, but she was an old fashioned girl at heart.
But tonight wasn’t about love. It wasn’t even about sex. It was about caring and reassurance. About his strength and protection making her feel safe and secure. She’d learned there were awful things in the world today. Things she never would have believed if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes.
All that had stood between her and horrific death today had been Sam. He’d proven equal to the task and given her the gift of his protection and skill. Tonight she’d give him her thanks in the most basic, earthy way. It was his reward—her reward too. She needed to feel alive tonight after learning so much about the most awful death she could imagine. She needed to feel Sam. His strong, protective presence over her, on her . . . in her. She needed him like she needed her next breath.
So she kissed him and he didn’t disappoint. No hesitation. No questions. He took her invitation and kissed her back with all his might. Just what she needed.
She wanted it fast and hard. She wanted it raw and elemental. What she’d been through had thrown her world off its foundations and she needed something to nudge her back toward sanity.
She knew, without a doubt, Sam could do that for her. He’d rocked her world the last time they’d been together. Emily wanted that same earthy energy now. Needed it. Needed him.
“Now, Sam. I don’t want to wait,” she panted when he released her lips.
His hot mouth slid down her neck, his fingers doing away with the fastening of her pants, letting them drop to the floor even as he pushed her back against the wall near the door. His fingers went to the buttons on her blouse next, releasing them in a frenzy as her need climbed higher. His impatience matched hers.
She pushed at his T-shirt, rubbing it up and over his rippling abdomen and rock hard pecs. He eased away for just a moment to rid himself of the stretchy fabric, flinging it over his head while she worked on the closure of his pants. A moment later, he was hot and hard in her hand.
Emily met his gaze as she squeezed him, daring him with her eyes to take what he wanted. What she wanted to give. What she wanted to take in return from him. There was no waiting. No need for further preliminaries.
“I need you now, Sam.”
“Are you sure?” He seemed surprised but willing. She could feel just how willing in the palm of her hand.
“Get a condom.” Sanity prevailed in one tiny part of her mind, thank goodness. Sam reached for his wallet.
She shucked her panties and kicked her shoes off and the fabric away while he covered himself. What should have been an awkward moment was nothing of the kind. It was a moment filled with unbridled need and desperate yearning, waiting for him to claim her.
He came back to her in seconds. His muscled arms lifted her up, against the wall, holding her in place while his covered cock slid along her cleft. He pinned her against the wall with his body weight, coaxing her thighs around his hips while he used one hand to test her readiness.
“Eager little thing, aren’t you?” he teased as his hand came away wet, trailing up her torso to the lacy white bra she still wore. He pulled one cup downward, baring her nipple, then circled it with that wet finger, watching it peak for him.
She shivered in his arms, making a sound in the back of her throat that surprised her. It was needy and demanding. Almost desperate. The way she felt about him was all those things in that moment. All that, and so much more.
She began to slip down the wall a little, prompting him to plant both of his big palms on her butt, hoisting her higher. His head bent to her other breast and he used his teeth to pull the cup down. Then his mouth was on her, his moist breath bathing the peak of her breast with heat that started a lightning fire that raced from that point, straight to her core. Her stomach contracted, even as he lowered her fractionally, impaling her on his rigid member.
Finally. She moaned as he slid deeper, biting her lower lip to keep from screaming when he pushed all the way inside.
His mouth covered hers, making her open for him. When he drew back, he stilled, catching and holding her gaze.
“Don’t hide from me, Em. Don’t hold in those sexy sounds you make when I’m inside you. I want to hear it all.”
“I can’t,” she breathed, scandalized by the idea that someone might hear through the thin walls of the hotel. Scandalized, she realized, but also titillated a tiny bit at the naughty idea.
“Yes you can, sweetheart.” He gave her an audacious wink. “Do it for me.”
His muscles tightened as he held himself in check. She saw a muscle ticking on the side of his firm jaw. She stretched upward and kissed him there, working her way downward over his sexily stubbly cheek until she reached his lips. Hovering, she rubbed her lips over his.
“I love this, Sam, but if you don’t start moving your ass right now, I’ll scream all right and you won’t like it at all.”
He laughed outright at her threat, breaking the tension. The sparkle of something that looked like joy in his eyes moved her. She closed the short distance between their mouths and kissed him deeply as he began a sure, steady rhythm with his hips.
“As you wish, my lady.” His tone was playful and powerful at the same time. Perfect. Everything about his possession was perfect.
Powerful thrusts pushed her against the wall. The width of his cock rubbed her most sensitive spots, compelling her toward a peak higher than any she’d ever known.
He started out strong and soon spiraled higher. The steady rhythm turned into something more erratic as they raced together toward a precipice. His loving was hard and fast. Within moments she was moaning, unable to hold back, just as he’d wanted. She’d give him her cries of passion. She’d give him her sounds of pleasure. She’d give him anything he wanted in that moment, if only he’d keep doing what he was doing to her pleasure starved body.
“Sam!” she screamed his name as her peak neared.
Her short fingernails dug into the hard muscles of his back, holding on for dear life as her body rode up the wall and slid back down again with each sweaty thrust.
“Come for me now, Em,” he ordered harshly, his breathing as jagged as hers.
He rode her hard and fast right up into the sky, hurtling them both toward the distant stars, each one a new and exciting pop of pleasure that took Emily by surprise. She almost forgot to breathe for a minute as the most amazing orgasm broke over her, making her numb to any discomfort and blind to anything but the intense pleasure that flooded through her.
“Sam,” she whispered against the side of his neck. He clutched her close, supporting her through the storm that quaked her entire body.
“I’ve got you, Em,” he whispered back after a moment.