The door to our hotel room closes behind us, falling shut with a sound of finality. Isaac turns on the lights. Theyâre set for the evening and cast a dimmed shine over the tastefully decorated room. Minimalist and comfortable.
I step out of my heels and watch as he opens the door to the minibar. âWe havenât tried the spa area yet,â I say. My throat feels dry.
He closes the door again. âIs that what you want to do?â
âNo, not really.â
His mouth curves. âMe neither.â
âWeâll have time for that tomorrow.â
âPlenty of it,â he agrees.
âAre you making a drink?â
âLooking at the options,â he says. âBut Iâm not sure if more alcohol is the best route for us now.â
âWell, itâs been known to⦠ease the way.â
âDo you think we need it?â he asks. âThe last thing I want to be tonight is too buzzed to savor you properly.â
My stomach tightens. âOh.â
His mouth tips up again into that smile, the one so unlike the professional ones Iâve seen him exploit in meetings, at conferences. It makes it hard to breathe.
âToo much?â he asks.
I shake my head and sit down on the edge of the bed, bracing my hands against the soft cover. It takes me a few breaths to speak. âIsaac,â I say.
âYes?â Heâs watching me like heâs been from the very beginning. Sometimes casually, sometimes intensely, across his hotel lobby and conference rooms and suites. And now I finally understand what his gaze means, and the weight of it is delicious.
âDo you feel like having a shower?â I say.
âYou know what, I wouldnât mind one, if youâre in it.â
âMe neither.â I get up off the bed, nerves and adrenaline pounding through me. The world feels slightly off-balance. âItâs best to be thorough, you know, in evaluating the hotel.â
He reaches out, curving a hand around my waist. âSophia,â he murmurs.
I rest my hands on the lapels of his suit jacket. The solidity of him is reassuring, anchoring, bringing me back to earth. âYes?â
âAre you okay?â he says. âWe donât have to do this.â
I shake my head. âItâs not that.â
âThen what is it? Talk to me.â
I shake my head again. The words flashing through my mind arenât ones I want to share. That it has been a year, that the last person was Percy, and only Percy. That I know he was never faithful, but I always was, and this feels like Iâm leaving him behind, finally. And that I want that so badly, but Iâm also scared of it.
But I donât say that because I donât want Percy anywhere close to this hotel room.
âJust the past,â I say and slide my hands up to wrap around his neck. âBut it belongs right where I left it.â
His eyes are hard to read, thoughtful and intent on mine. He runs a hand along my jaw and slowly tips my head back. âYou donât need to pretend around me.â
âI know,â I say, because I do. âThat goes both ways.â
He kisses me. Itâs slow, a brush of lips against mine. Another step in the conversation weâre having.
âI know,â he murmurs. âIt always has with you and me.â
I tug at his lapels, and Isaac shrugs out of the suit jacket, letting it drop to the ground. Then, his hand is back, cupping the side of my face, and he kisses me again.
This time, his mouth slants over mine, and I sigh into the warmth, my lips parting. Heâs there with a sweep of his tongue, and heat spreads from the touch. Itâs heady and liquid, softening my muscles, and I sink into the embrace.
Isaacâs fingers find the zipper of my dress. Slowly, inch by inch, he pulls it down my side. The touch of his skin follows, his hand slipping into the hole to touch the bare skin of my back.
âYou have no idea,â he says, âhow long Iâve been thinking about this.â
âYou have?â
âYes.â His hand fits itself under the strap of my bra. âThe shower was just an appetizer.â
I chuckle, feeling drunk on the scent of himâhis cologne and clean, warm man. âI was offering you the main course on Saturday, you know.â
Isaac makes a sound, somewhere between a growl and a groan. âLeaving you in that bathroom was the hardest thing Iâve ever done.â
He tugs down the shoulder straps of my dress. The fabric cascades down my body, and I shimmy my hips to let it fall to the floor.
Isaac looks down. âNo shorts this time.â
âNo.â I feel naked, in only my black bra and lacy panties. And I feel beautiful, vulnerable yet strong, choosing to do this again with a man I know understands me.
His hands trace the shape of my body. Thereâs such heat in his gaze, it burns. âThe shower,â he says, âlet me look. But I didnât get the chance to linger.â
I take a step toward the bed, but Isaac has a different goal in mind. He sits down in one of the armchairs and pulls me on top of him. I brace a leg on either side of him, gripping his shoulders for support.
âAnd lingering,â he says and pulls down one of my bra straps, âis my favorite part.â
He peels the bra off me. Strap by strap, and then cup by cup, until Iâm bared to his gaze⦠and his touch.
He leans in, mouth closing over a nipple. His dark hair is a stark contrast against my skin, and I weave my fingers through it, trying to breathe through the building heat. His body is beneath me, separated only by fabric, a few insubstantial layers.
He bites down on one of my nipples. âOh,â I say. âOh.â
He chuckles softly, his hands gripping my hips. I start rolling them into his hands, pushing my lower body against him in a slow grind until I feel the hard outline beneath me.
âSophia,â he mutters. His thumbs dig in sharply at my hipbones as if torn between slowing down my movements and egging me on.
I find the buttons of his shirt and open them one by one until I can rest my palms against the warm skin of his chest. âYouâre so gorgeous,â he says, dark eyes nearly black.
âTell me,â I say. âTell me how long youâve wanted this.â
A smile cuts through the tension on his face. âYou like praise, sweetheart?â
My cheeks flare with embarrassment. The sentence had just slipped out of me, and now I canât take it back.
But Isaac doesnât miss a beat. âWhen you walked into that conference room,â he says and tweaks one of my nipples, âthe first thing I imagined was how good your body would feel against mine.â
My breath is coming fast. âOh.â
âI knew it was inappropriate, of course. But thatâs where my mind went on its own. And when I saw you on the tennis court in that skirt and ponytail?â He trails his hand over my hip and rests it between my legs, his hand cupping me over the lace. âMy first thought was what you looked like beneath it.â
âNot winning?â I ask. The words sound breathless.
He curls his fingers, brushing them against sensitive flesh. âYou know I love to win.â
âMm-hmm,â I say. âSo do I.â
âBut I wanted you more,â he says and tugs the lace of my panties aside. His fingers brush against my bare skin, and he gives a hoarse groan. âThis still feels like victory, though.â
Heâs touching me like he had been in the shower, only now heâs watching me as he does it, his eyes roaming between mine and the movement of his fingers.
Itâs intimate in a way the shower hadnât been.
His fingers circle, finding the spot heâd so expertly manipulated last weekend. âThatâs it,â he murmurs. âGod, youâre so soft.â
I roll my hips against his hand. He taunts and teases, sends me rising. Lingering, as he put it, until I canât take the teasing hands anymore. I reach between us for the belt on his pants.
He lets me undo it, his hands drifting up to my hips.
âYou wouldnât let me take off your shorts last weekend,â I say.
He groans when I pull the zipper down over the distinct hardness beneath. âNo, because condom or no condom, I wouldâve wanted to get inside you if you had.â
I run my nails over the bulge in his boxer briefs. âYouâve teased me a lot,â I say.
âOnly fair,â he murmurs.
I slide down from the chair between his splayed legs. My hands have a goal, and he must be anxious to help because it takes us less than five seconds to tug at his pants, to pull the elastic down, and then heâs there.
Bobbing hard and big in front of me.
âSophia, Iââ
His words end when I start to stroke, and when I close my lips around him, he draws a sharp breath. From the corner of my eye I see his hands curving around the armrests of the chair, the knuckles turning white.
Excitement races through me at the sight.
Knowing heâs coming undone by me, because of me, is thrilling. Losing control, being vulnerable⦠I know without asking him thatâs not something he allows himself often.
His hand runs over my head, strokes over my bare shoulder. It tightens over my skin when I add fluttering strokes of my tongue.
âFuck. Okay, youâre too good at this,â he says. âLike you are at everything.â
I want to smile. I want to laugh, I want to live in this moment forever, but I sheath my teeth and grip him tighter instead.
He groans, and his hips flex, involuntarily, beneath me. âNo more,â he breathes, and hands beneath my arms tug me upwards with too much strength to resist. âCome, I need⦠here, sit on me. Let meââ Then his hands pause on my waist. âFuck, the condom.â
I chuckle. âNot again.â
He sighs like a man settling down to a task, hard and cumbersome, and stands with me in his arms. âWaiting,â he mutters, âfor a good thing is getting old.â
I brush his hair back as he carries me to the bed. âWhere is it?â
âMy wallet,â he says. I stretch out on the bed and luxuriate in the heat of his eyes. He barely looks away from me as he fishes the wallet out of his back pocket and shucks his pants off entirely.
His eyes trace every part of me. The modest size of my breasts, the stomach I can never quite get flat, and my long legs. While he takes me in, I watch as he rolls on the condom. Thereâs not a single trace of hesitation in his movements.
Isaac gives himself two slow strokes before he climbs onto the bed. âFinally,â I say. Itâs meant to be half-teasing, half-sincere.
But the look on his face takes all the amusement out of me. Need, so sharp itâs almost painful, marks his stark features. He pushes my leg to the side and lifts the other up along his chest.
We both watch as he takes himself in hand and aligns us. He pushes in slowly, disappearing inch by inch inside of me. The view is delicious and the stretch even more so. We both exhale in relief when heâs fully in.
He grips my hip. âFinally,â he breathes and starts to move.
The need has been building inside of me since we entered the hotel room, and longer still, lingering from the shower last weekend. Itâs been heightened by the dinner and the knowledge that heâs here, with me, without time restraints or pretense. Anticipation has kept my body in a constant state of readiness for just this moment.
Isaac rolls his hips in deep, steady movements, and his hands never stop touching me. I canât look away from his eyes, and it doesnât take me long to hover on the edge of an orgasm. I feel full, and half-sated, half-needy.
âYouâre close,â he mutters.
I nod. My breath is coming fast, and Iâm holding on to the sheet, to him, to anything I can grab. His eyes glint, and then he sits up, spreading me wider, and his hand speeds up its tight, small circles between my legs. It takes me four more seconds to explode. My back arches up off the bed, and I stare unseeing at the ceiling while pleasure flares out from the spot where we connect.
Isaac groans at the feeling of my body convulsing around his. He lowers himself down, arms resting on either side of my head. It takes him a few more thrusts, and then heâs there, too, his hips sharp against my inner thighs when he explodes.
I close my eyes and luxuriate beneath the delicious weight of him. Only one weekend, I think and tighten my legs around him. I have to remember every detail.
He lifts himself onto an elbow. Dark hair falls mussed over his forehead, now unlined, his brows unfurrowed.
âHello,â I whisper.
Isaac smiles. âHi.â