Page 63 of Forbidden

The hotel was a contemporary building with brown brick and a swooping, wave-like white canopy over the entrance. As the automatic doors opened, I pulled my phone out and sent a quick text.

I’m in the lobby.

I slippedmy cell back into my pocket, then wiped the sweat from my palms. At the front desk, a clean-shaven young man in his early twenties with thick, wavy, chin-length blond hair stared at a computer screen. His appearance was more of a surfer dude, with his hair and a shadow of fuzz on his cheek than the crisp black suit and purple tie he was wearing portrayed.

“Good morning, miss, how can I help you?” he asked with a friendly smile. The name tag on his lapel said Frankie.

I opened my mouth, ready to speak, when I realized I wasn’t sure what to say. My nerves were beginning to get the best of me, making me look like a flustered mess with me wringing my hands together. What am I doing here? I took a deep breath before I started to speak.

“I’m umm, I don’t think I’m checking in,” I said, trying to peek at his computer screen, then looking down the long counter before I finally looked back at him. “He’s already checked in, I just need a room key.”

“No problem,” he said. “What’s the name of your party?”

I gave him my name and replayed everything I just told him. Even as the words spilled out of my mouth, I realized how dirty they sounded. I was here, at a hotel, to get a room key for a room where a man was waiting for me. I wondered how many other people did this at such a nice hotel and looked around to see if anyone else looked as nervous as I felt.

What was taking so long? What is he typing into the computer?

The only thing standing between me and that room was Frankie, and the seconds were feeling like minutes as I stood there. Eventually Frankie pulled a small envelope out of a container in front of him, wrote a number on it, and slipped the plastic room card into it.

“You’re in room 217. Follow the pathway past the convention room and you’ll see the elevators at the end of the hall. The restaurant is open until 11pm if you get hungry.” He put his hand out for me to shake. “My name is Frankie if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” I said as I took the key and started down the hall.

The back of the elevator had a wide mirror over the upper half of the wall. I pressed the button and waited for the doors to close before I turned to the mirror and tried to tame my hair. I pulled my hair into a tight bun, hoping there was enough time for my hair to smooth out a little and not look so wild. Then I ran the tips of my middle fingers gently under my eyeliner to clean it up a little before reaching into my purse to put on lipstick.

As the elevator announced my floor, I took one quick last look at myself in my favorite black leggings, a tank top, and oversized grey t-shirt, and shrugged.

“That’ll have to do,” I said to my reflection.

The elevator opened to a balcony that opened up to the five-story atrium adjacent to the lobby. I looked out at the way I had come from the front desk when my phone buzzed again.

Where are you? Are you flirting with Frankie? You are, aren’t you? Cougar. The door is open.

Laughing,I double-checked the room number before slipping the envelope and my cell back into my purse. The room was halfway down the hall and had the hinged security lock propping the door open. I pushed the door open and slid the lock out of the way so the door would close. The steam from the open bathroom door greeted me, bringing me briefly back in time.

He was standing less than ten feet away from me, in front of the bed. I was paralyzed by the sight of him. The water dripping down his body was mesmerizing. I followed the drips cascading down his body to the towel he had wrapped around his waist. He cleared his throat, and my eyes shot up and met his as my cheeks grew hot.

“Eyes up here, missy,” he said as he used two fingers to point to his green eyes. “You really are a cougar, you know.”

“Stop it. We’re the same age.”

“Not anymore,” Shane said with a laugh as he walked over to me. “Happy birthday, Rosalie.”

His hand softly caressed my cheek before sliding into my hair as his lips gently touched mine. With his other hand on the small of my back, he pulled me closer to him as his kiss grew more demanding. I put my arms around his shoulders, partly to feel his bare skin, but also to support myself. It didn’t matter how many years we had been together, he still made my knees weak.

Shane took my hand and kissed my palm as his eyes were locked onto mine. His eyes had a bit of playfulness, in them and I knew it wasn’t from his teasing that I was now older than him. I narrowed my eyes at him but couldn’t keep myself from smiling.

“What is it?” I asked.

“You were nervous coming here,” he said, sliding my hoodie off my shoulders, then tossing it onto a nearby chair. “I can tell.” He lifted my hand, then turned it over and kissed the top of it.

I laughed. “You know my palms get sweaty. I was thinking about meeting a man in a hotel—”

“You were working!” He laughed and stepped away from me. “I was here waiting for you, I got into the shower for you too because I know how much you like that. And you were busy imagining something for your book.” He shook his head with mock distain.

The corners of my mouth were pulled up into a smile. I was happy. I was really happy, but as Shane teased me and acted like absolutely nothing was wrong, I realized I couldn’t push aside my conversation with Denny. I looked at my shoes while I thought about what to say to Shane.

“Hey,” he said softly, stepping back over to me and lifting my chin with his finger. “What just happened? Did I say something wrong?” His eyes searched mine. “Talk to me, Rosalie.”

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