Page 42 of Charming the Cowboy
The girl behind the front desk – very young, clearly, in spite of the fact that she was dressed in a gray blazer and skirt, with makeup and hairstyle that were supposed to help her look a little bit older – tried to look at Cooper without blushing. “Yes, sir, we do have a couple of rooms available. We have a king room with an ocean view and a steam shower. And then we have the deluxe suite, which has a library, a king bed, a jet tub, and an ocean view.”
“We’ll take the suite.”
He took his wallet out and gave the girl his credit card, and Eliana didn’t quite know what she was waiting for at that point.For the card to decline? For the room to suddenly be booked? For an earthquake to slide the entire hotel into the sea? None of those things happened.
And when he got the key, her heart began to beat even harder. Was this actually going to happen?
Not just her finally getting to have sex, but with Cooper?
She took a deep breath and followed him to the gilded elevator, which took them up to the fourth floor. Her hands were shaking as they walked down the hall.
They were alone there, and he turned to her, gripping her chin and kissing her hard.
She felt dizzy. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and kissed her and kissed her. Like they were the only two people in the world. Like there was nothing else. Like she was special. Like this was special.
And she was pretty sure that she was going to die.
Because nothing else had ever been half so wonderful. Half so amazing.
In the past, when she tried to do this, it was mainly just so she could get it over and done with. But that wasn’t what this was. She was enjoying every moment of it. Every sensation. The way that he touched her, the way that he tasted. She could kiss him forever. She could kiss him forever and be happy about it. Even if kissing wasn’t all she wanted. But it did something to calm her galloping pulse. Her racing thoughts.
Oh God. This was it. This was it.
“I want you,” he growled.
“I want you. I have I… for me, it’s always been you.”
The words choked her. And she almost didn’t want to say them. It was too much. Too emotional. Too everything.
Then he took her hand and led her all the way to the end of the hallway. They used the key card to open up the door, and the suite before them was glorious. Incredible.
When it was light outside, she knew that there would be a view, but right now, he was the only view that she needed. He closed the door behind them and flipped the deadbolt over.
She clutched her overnight bag, her heart pounding wildly.
She was a spontaneous girly. And in the past, when she had done these things, it had been spontaneous. No real anticipation.
But this was years’ worth of anticipation, unfolding before her, and he didn’t seem in any particular hurry to make it go faster.
He stood there, assessing her. Looking at her like he was appraising a piece of art that he was trying to understand.
They had always been opposites. She would’ve said that her older brother’s stoic best friend didn’t want her, but she’d been wrong. So, where the hell was her deep knowing where that was concerned? There had been none.
She hadn’t seen him coming.
Maybe because it had felt impossible, or she had needed it to be. Maybe her own feelings on the matter had gotten tangled up in it. Maybe they had made it so that she couldn’t see it clearly.
But whatever she had thought before, she’d been wrong. He did want her. That realization sent a scorching heat through her. Power. She didn’t feel afraid. Not right now. She looked into his eyes, those glorious, blue eyes, and she realized that if any man could power through that curse, it was him.
He was the man who could change the prophecy.
No. Don’t get in too deep. Don’t make it like that.
Maybe she didn’t need to, but she was having those feelings nonetheless. And then, he moved toward her. He ripped her overnight bag out of her hand and pulled her up against his body. It was like all his patience suddenly ran out. Like there had been sand running in an hourglass that she couldn’t see, and the last grain had just dropped. He kissed her with all thefierce passion that she had only ever read about, and never dared dream about. He kissed her like she was a revelation. He kissed her like she mattered.
He kissed her like she wasn’t wrong or cursed or weird, even though she absolutely knew that he thought she was weird. But maybe it didn’t matter. Maybe he wanted her anyway. Or maybe it was part of why he wanted her.
He kissed her, and she felt lit up inside like a Christmas tree. Like everything was brighter. Hopeful. And she pushed away all her worries. All her fears.
