Page 33 of Craving You

When the shuttle dropped them off at the front entrance to the hotel, Max took her hand and surprised her by casually strolling up to the registration desk.

“Um…Max?”

Glancing at her with a wicked grin, he murmured, “Patience. Remember how we calmly left the wedding reception? We were both completely chill as we made our way across the lobby and up to my room. And then…” Leaning in, he gently nipped at her earlobe. “It was all worth it as soon as we were alone, wasn’t it?”

A low moan escaped before she could stop it.

“Do you trust me?” he whispered, and all Hailey could do was nod.

They stepped up to the front desk and Max asked for a room, while Hailey was practically squirming beside him because she knew it must look odd for them to be checking in without luggage. “My bag’s out in the car,” she said quietly, and had to stifle a laugh at the shocked look on his face.

But he quickly turned the tables when he said, “So is mine.” He gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “We’ll get them later.”

Nodding, she was more than okay with it as they grabbed their key and headed for the elevator.

This wasn’t the way he thought the day was going to go, but he certainly didn’t hate it.

When he’d mentioned this possibility to Hailey over breakfast and she didn’t say yes, he was disappointed. So, hearing her admit that she’d put her bag in his car had been a total shock, and he had never been so eager to get someplace in his life.

As soon as the elevator doors closed behind them, Max hauled her into his arms and kissed her. Hailey wrapped herself around him and kissed him back with equal abandon, and it all happened so fast that he never even bothered to notice if they were alone or not.

“Hales, wait,” he said, panting. A quick look showed they were indeed alone, and he dove right back in for another taste of her. She was just as sweet as he remembered, and he couldn’t wait to get to their room so he could see if his memory was just as good on everything else.

It was madness of the best kind, and when the doors slid open onto their floor, they both quickly made their way out. Naturally, their room was at the end of the hall, and they were both laughing like naughty kids by the time they got there. He got the door open even though his hands were shaking, but as soon as they were in the room and the door slammed shut, they both seemed to stop.

Then, as if of one mind, they slowly moved across the room like in an orchestrated dance. When they were beside the bed, Max slid his hands under her sweater, gently cupping her breasts. Hailey hissed out a breath as she did the same to him. Her smooth hands felt so good on his skin, but he couldn’t fully focus on it because he needed to kiss her again. Breaking apart, they breathlessly smiled like a couple sharing a sexy secret—which they kind of were—before she whipped her sweater off and over her head.

“Damn,” Max whispered reverently. “Look at you.” Mimicking her move, he quickly pulled his sweatshirt off and threw it on the floor. Hailey was the sexiest woman he had ever seen—all smooth skin and soft curves—and he couldn’t wait to touch every inch of her.

Closing the miniscule distance between them, he caressed her from her waist to her jaw, marveling the entire time. For a month he’d been dreaming about the way he touched her, kissed her, loved her, and now that it was all within his reach, he was desperate to have all of it again.

“Max. Please.”

That was all she had to say. He gently lifted her into his arms and placed her on the bed before tugging her shoes, socks, and jeans off. Then he quickly got rid of the rest of his clothes. As soon as his body covered hers, Max swore he was going to memorize every second because they couldn’t let this part of their relationship interfere with all the things they needed to focus on. He wasn’t foolish enough to believe this was going to happen again anytime soon. They had hit pause on reality, so he was going to enjoy the hell out of it.

“I’ve thought about this—about you—so many times, I almost can’t believe this is happening. Or that you’re really here. Do you have any idea how much I want you?”

Big blue eyes stared up at him. “It’s the same for me. I never thought…I mean…I wanted to, but…”

Bracing himself above her, it was his turn to shake his head. “I know,” he whispered. “Me too. But we’re here now and we have all night to make up for lost time.”

She blushed as she nodded. “I want it all, Max. Please. Make me feel all the things I felt that weekend. Please.”

And for some reason, that was like hitting the launch button. Groaning, he lowered himself and claimed her lips in a brutal kiss that just went on and on until they were both breathless and panting. Her hands raked through his hair as he began to slowly move down her body—stopping in random spots to simply linger and savor the taste and feel of her before moving on to his next favorite spot. He had her writhing beneath him in no time, and Max realized just how much he enjoyed getting her so wild with need.

Hailey moaned his name as she gently tugged on his hair, as if telling him she wanted more—which was fine with him because he wasn’t sure he could wait much longer.

Moving back up until they were face to face, he grinned. “This one’s going to be fast, but I promise to make it up to you the second, third, and fourth time.”

Her smile was pure temptation. “Mighty confident, aren’t you?”

“You know it.” After that, he didn’t say another word—he couldn’t—because all he could do was feel.

And he already couldn’t wait to feel this way all through the night.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go down to the restaurant? It’s still relatively early.”

Hailey was lying all tousled in the bed with a very satisfied smile on her face. “I know it is, but I don’t think I could possibly get myself together enough to go down there. Besides, I’ve never ordered room service before. I’m kind of looking forward to it. And having you to myself.”

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