Page 31 of Starting Back
None of this was home or would last past a matter of hours, but I was diving in headfirst anyway.
“Spend the night with me.” I grabbed his face, the words falling from my lips like a desperate plea. “This is all fucking crazy, but I don’t—”
His lips crashed into mine, impatience and desperation igniting the kiss even more. Leo groaned into my mouth as he gripped the inside of my thigh.
“Yeah, it’s all fucking crazy,” he said between kisses. “But I don’t want it to end either. I already hate thinking about it.”
“Me too,” I whispered as he kissed down my neck.
“I did promise I’d give you everything while I had you.”
A chuckle slipped out of me, despite the anticipation pumping through my veins. I was dizzy enough to almost forget the dread over how I’d feel when this was all over, but I pushed that as far out of my mind as I could.
This moment was too short not to enjoy every second.
“So I’ll take you to that big” —he kissed my jaw before running his lips down my neck— “messy bed.” I felt his smile against my skin as he trailed his tongue along my collarbone. “The minute you close the door, I’m peeling this dress off you and giving you all the fucking attention you deserve.”
He leaned his forehead against mine, clenching his eyes shut.
“And when I’m done, you’re going to feel me all the way back to New York.”
We fell into another kiss. What the hell was my life these past twenty-four hours? I had no doubt I’d feel him all the way to New York, and that whatever would happen tonight would live rent-free in my head for a long time to come.
Vacation was supposed to be an escape from reality, but this was a realm in another dimension.
I wanted Leo in every way I could have him, and I couldn’t care less about any consequences or regrets because I was too busy reveling in the here and now.
“I’m ready, let’s go.” I broke away from his hold and almost leaped out of his truck, grasping the door handle for purchase as I climbed out on shaky legs. I grabbed his hand when he made his way to my side and almost jogged to the path to the suites, not looking back for fear of breaking the spell or in case reason and logic wanted to creep into my head.
I had no time or interest in either.
As cocky and distant as he played himself off to be, Leo seemed lost. We were both searching for different things without ever expecting to find them, and although fleeting and temporary, whatever this was between us felt exactly like what we both needed.
Even if we’d have to give it back.
TWELVE
KRISTINA
Ialmost tripped over my flip-flops as I kept stepping out of them on the sprint back to my suite. I didn’t turn around as I pulled Leo behind me, not wanting to risk the temptation of chickening out or spotting the looks we’d get from the people he worked with at Turtle Bay when they noticed a strange woman dragging him somewhere.
I fished the keycard out of my purse, my gaze still straight ahead as I swiped it over the door handle until it beeped.
“I didn’t know we were running a race,” Leo said, his deep chuckle reverberating through me as he shut the door behind him. The suite was silent other than the faint buzz of the air conditioner.
I exhaled for the first time since stepping out of his truck as I kicked off my flip-flops and finally turned to face him.
“I…” I started, raking a hand through my hair, the sweat on my forehead dampening my already clammy palm. “I both wanted to get here as soon as possible and was afraid I’d lose my nerve.”
His wide grin shrank as he nodded.
“I get it, and listen,” he said, framing my face. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to—”
“Oh, I do. Trust me.” I slid my hands up his arms until they met at the back of his neck. “It’s all I’ve thought about since last night. I almost pulled you inside then.”
“You have no idea how hard it was to leave.” He glided his hands down my back, his touch making me shiver and burn up at the same time. “I had to fight the urge to come back here at the crack of dawn this morning, but I didn’t want to scare you off.”
His eyes were dark, boring into mine with a feral gaze as if he was holding himself back and losing the battle for control.
