Page 46 of Personal Escort

“That sounds great,” I manage to growl, and Cara’s blush deepens.

I’m already counting the seconds until I get to explore just how far it extends beneath that dress.

CHAPTERTWENTY

CARA

TOBY DOESN’T SAY anything on the short drive to the Park Hyatt, just holds me close. Every muscle in his body is engaged, flexed, and ready for action.

Blush-inducing action that I can’t wait for.

I consider telling him we could go to my place, but then I remember my blanket-tossing fit that happened while looking for my phone. My bedroom looks like a bomb went off.

We can wait until tomorrow for Toby to discover his fake wife is a lousy housekeeper.

He holds my hand as we cross the lobby. When we get in the elevator, he presses me against the paneled wall and kisses me senseless. And then when we’re finally high above the city, he carries me, both of us laughing, over the threshold of the Algonquin Suite.

“Wow, this place is pretty,” I say breathlessly as he sets me down in the bedroom.

Bedroom. Ha. I think the private part of the suite is bigger than my entire apartment. I walk through a sitting area, decorated with incredible art. Off to the side I spy a massive bathroom, and then I stop. In front of me is an imposing four-poster king-sized bed.

“Pretty doesn’t really do it justice,” I add weakly. I should think of a better adjective to describe the suit, but all I can see is the bed, and all I can feel is my heart hammering in my chest.

“That’s how I feel about you,” Toby says, stopping behind me. His hands land on my hips, then squeeze up my waist. He drops a kiss on my shoulder. “Can I unzip you now?”

I twist, and wrap my arms around his neck. “Eager, Mr. Hunt?”

“Very, Mrs. Hunt.” The heat in his eyes underscores how serious he means that name.

“That’s not official,” I whisper.

“It is in all the ways that matter to me,” he murmurs back, lowering his mouth to cover mine.

“Should we talk?” I gasp the question as he kisses down my neck. “You know, before we do something foolish like fall in love in a doomed, Romeo and Juliet kind of way?”

“I’m not taking poison with you, Cara. And I’ve already fallen pretty hard.”

“Right.”

He licks a delicate line along my collarbone, then drifts lower again, kissing across the top of my breasts, making me moan for more. “Unzipping would allow me to keep going in this fashion.”

“But—”

He growls and picks me up, swinging me into his lap as he sits on the edge of the bed. He cups my cheek in his hand and gives me a stern look. “I love you. I haven’t missed that you haven’t said it back, so either you’re scared or not there yet. I’m fine with either. I’m there. Here. All the way in, however you need me. You want to go to Australia to do a PhD? I’ll visit as often as I can and we’ll become masters at cyber-sex. You want to come back to Stanford? I’d support that a thousand percent. You want to live in New York? We can make that work, too. I love you, Cara. I’ll give you the moon. But right now, I want to be inside you. I want to show you how goodthiscan be, too. I want to make love to you.”

“I haven’t said it because every time you say the l-word, my brain goes a bit fuzzy and my heart threatens to explode,” I whisper, pushing right up against him. “I didn’t even know this was possible until like two hours ago.”

“Right.” His eyes go glossy as I lean in, and he gives me a sloppy grin. “Like a good fuzzy?”

“The best kind. The full-of-joy kind.” I kiss the corner of his mouth. “I love you too. I. Love. You. And I have no doubtthiswill be good.”

He takes another kiss, this one plundering and deep, and when his hands slide back up my spine, I don’t stop him from unzipping me.

He spreads his legs wider beneath me as my dress puddles around my waist. His hands slide around my torso to cup my small breasts, leaving a restless trail of need on my skin. I lean into his touch, aching for more already.

“Let me see you,” he says, his voice coarse.

I shiver as I lean back, but the loss of his touch is more than made up for by the heat in his eyes.

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