Page 63 of Kiss Away Your Pain (Wounded Hearts 2)

Room service arrives before he’s out of the bathroom. I wheel the cart into the bedroom and turn on the TV. When he comes out of the bathroom, he helps me put the plates on the bed for our feast. Leaving the chocolate cake on the cart, we climb onto the bed and sit cross-legged, angled toward each other.

“This is unacceptable, you know,” he says.

“What’s unacceptable?” I ask, taking a bite of my burger.

“You didn’t come.”

“I know. I don’t usually come. That night at Destiny’s.” I shake my head and widen my eyes, recalling the wild night. “I don’t know what happened to me. You had me out of my mind. That rarely happens.”

“Well, you’d better get used to that happening. Next time, you’re mine. You’re going to see how attentive I am.” His words move through me with the promise of seduction, flooding me with a rush of anticipation. “Tonight wasn’t at all what I expected. I kind of thought you were going to kick me out. That was —” He bugs out his eyes and cocks his head. “Something else. You’re like…a goddess.”

My cheeks heat at the compliment. “I’ll have to take your word for that.” I put a few fries in my mouth.

“So, you don’t date, but you’re on the pill?”

“Yeah, I have cysts and fibroids in my uterus and the pill helps keep them minimized.”

“Jeez, I’m sorry. Do they hurt?” he asks, putting his burger on his plate and focusing on me.

“They used to, but the pill helps.”

“Okay. I don’t want to hurt you.” His compassion blows me away.

We finish our meals and get our pieces of chocolate cake. He pours champagne into our glasses and we climb back onto the bed.

“This may not have been how I pictured my first Gucci gig going, but I still want to celebrate.” I hold up my glass. “To Gucci.”

He clinks my glass. “To Gucci.”

“You know, we’re not far from Greece. I was only heading home. I don’t know if you were, but what do you think about rearranging our plans and going there tomorrow? Maybe we can find your mom.” I glance over to see his expression, hoping I’m not being too bold with my suggestion.

His eyes open wide and his head draws back. “Uh…uh.” He lifts his hand to his chin and rubs the scruff. “I, uh, um. I hadn’t, uh, thought about that,” he stammers.

Obviously, I’ve caught him off guard. Maybe that’s too much for him. “We don’t have to. I just thought, we’re so close, you know?”

“No, yeah,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “Wow, um. You have me a little tongue-tied here.” Discomfort fringes his aura.

“I’m sorry. There’s no pressure,” I say gently. “I just thought that, we’re here together and, I could go with you. You know, moral support if you need it.”

He sits quietly, rubbing his finger across the top of his lip, his thumb anchored into his cheek. Then he looks at me. “If there’s anyone I’d want by my side to do that, it’s you.” He locks his eyes on mine as he breathes me in. “Okay,” he says hesitantly, and nods his head slightly.

“Okay.” I reach out my hand and squeeze his hand tenderly.

“Let’s finish this cake and look up flights.”

---