Page 29 of Room 810

He struggled to get control of himself, his shoulders heaving. He finally took a shaky breath and looked up at me, his eyes red-rimmed and puffy. “Gods, you look like shit,” he said, making me laugh.

“Yeah, well, Ifeellike shit too,” I admitted, smoothing his hair back as an excuse to keep touching him. “I just spent the past two days trying to get back here. From Paris, I jumped on the first available flight headed in the right direction, and I ended up in Suriname. I had to wait at the airport there until I could grab a flight closer, to Aruba, then finally here. It would’ve been faster if I had just waited for a more direct flight, but I panicked.”

I was underplaying exactly how awful it was. I’d been in such a state that I left half my belongings back at the hotel, ran halfway to the airport on foot when I couldn’t find a cab, then yelled at the poor woman at the ticket counter, demanding she get me there yesterday (I did apologize after the fact, but I still felt awful. I really needed to send her flowers or something). I barely slept a wink for the entire two days, rocking back and forth in my seat, until I ended up collapsed in a corner of the airport in Paramaribo, crashing for a few hours that was more like a temporary coma than actual sleep.

It was all worth it, though, the moment I saw Toby standing on this beach.

“But if you feel so awful, then why are you smiling?” he asked.

“Because I'm here with you. And you,” I added, looking down and placing a palm over his abdomen.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d heard me or not,” he whispered. “The call cut out at the worst possible moment. And then you didn’t answer your phone, so I thought maybe… you didn’t want to talk to me anymore.”

I gave a little growl, gripping the back of his neck. “Of course I still want to talk to you. I would gladly talk to youeverydayif you’d let me.” I thought of what that woman had told me.You’ll never know if you don’t try. I took a deep breath, bracing myself for the worst but hoping for the best. I couldn’t look him in the eye, so I stared down at my hand on his stomach. “It-it’s okay if the baby isn’t mine, you know. I don’t care. I just want you… and me… and us…” My throat seemed to close as I fought to get the words out.

He gasped. “Of course the baby is yours!” he said firmly, and I whipped his head up to meet his steady gaze. “Why would you think otherwise?”

The way he was looking at me now, so fierce and blazing and full of emotion, it made my insides squirm with guilt. How had I doubted how he felt about me? I shrugged awkwardly. “I don’t know. You’re just so… sexy and outgoing. I see the way alphas look at you.” He frowned, and I struggled to explain. “The longer I was away, the more I wondered if I had imagined the whole thing. Like, maybe you didn’t actually feel anything for me. That maybe it was one-sided… That I’d missed my chance. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, you sweet alpha,” he said, cradling my face between his palms, then he tipped up onto his toes and kissed me gently.

It was better than I remembered it. His lips tasted like the sweetest fruit, and while I wanted nothing more than to deepen this kiss and remind myself of our physical chemistry, I was nearly dead on my feet.

“Come with me. You’re exhausted, you need some sleep.”

We walked hand in hand back down the beach, the sand shifting under me and throwing off my balance. I was too tired for this. We found where I’d dropped my bags, then we headed down the path to Toby’s place.

I missed this little hut of his. All the windows were open, letting the fresh breeze blow through. I nearly tripped over the doorsill, but Toby was there to catch me, an arm hooked through mine, keeping me upright—or at least until we got to the bedroom, where I tipped sideways onto the mattress. My eyes might’ve been closed before my head even hit the pillow.

When I awoke, the room was nearly full dark, which meant at least twelve hours had passed. I was still lying in the same position, fully clothed on top of the blankets. I rolled over and saw Toby was in bed beside me, reading a book by the light of a small lamp.

“Hey,” I grunted, my voice gravelly. I licked my parched lips. It wasn’t just sleep I’d neglected—I also hadn’t consumed enough food or water. “What time is it?”

“Almost 8pm.” Toby smiled at me then moved his bookmark between the pages and set his book aside. He shifted so he could lie down beside me, face to face. “You broke your rule, you know. You told me you would never see me again, that you never stay at the same resort a second time.”

I smiled sleepily, inching closer. “No, I’m not breaking the rule. See, there’s a loophole.”

“A loophole?” he parroted with a smirk, raising a brow, reaching out a fingertip to trace a lazy pattern over the back of my hand.

“Mm. I’m not actually staying at the resort,” I explained, feeling goosebumps marching up my arm from that point of contact between us. I wanted more, and I moved my hand to his hip. “This is different. This time, I’m coming home.”

“But you could be anywhere in the world. Why would you choose my little island over luxury hotels?”

“I don’t want luxury. I want you. I love you, Toby.” Saying it out loud left me fully exposed, and I held my breath.

“You do?” Tears began to collect on his lashes. “Damn hormones,” he blubbered, hiding his face in the pillow. His voice was muffled, but I could still make out the words when he said, “I love you too.”

I squeezed his hip then nudged his shoulder. “Hey, Toby, look at me.” He finally peeked up at me, and I felt like I was meeting a whole new side of him. I’d seen him confident and determined, playful and flirty. Now I realized he was masking his uncertainty, his fear. “Say it again? Please?” I pleaded, tracing his lower lip with my thumb.

“I love you. I really do.” He sniffled then seemed to come to a decision, and he got up on his hands and knees and crawled over me. I rolled to my back, and Toby lowered himself onto me, his knees bracketing my hips, his body weight pinning me to the mattress. This was no dream, and it wasn’t my imagination. He was real.

His lips tasted salty from his tears, but I delved deeper into his mouth, searching out the flavor that I knew was all his. As he murmured, my cock hardened, and I arched up, grinding against him. I wrapped my arms around him, sneaking my hands up under his shirt. His skin felt cool, even with the heavier sweater he was wearing. Maybe it was just the fall weather approaching, or maybe it was because of the pregnancy, but either way, I missed his robes. And he was wearing pants! This was just torture!

With one hand down the back of his pants, fingers slipping along his crack, I tried to coax his shirt up with the other hand. I could feel his erection thick and hard against my stomach. Groaning, he sat up. “Ireallyhate to stop you there, but we have somewhere to be.”

“What? We do? But I just got here.”

“I know, and I’m sorry, but you’re the guest of honor. It would be rude not to show up.”

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