Page 45 of 44.1644° North
“But…I mean, it’s notbad. In fact…”
“In fact?”
Rory met my eyes and smiled. “It’s pretty damned good, Professor.”
Chapter Eleven
When we got back to Rory’s hotel room, it was after ten, and we were both yawning.
We’d been relaxed and easy together all day, so I’m not sure why the mood suddenly shifted, but I was definitely feeling self-conscious and a little nervous as that pristine white door closed behind us with a discreetbang.
Who was I kidding? Of course I knew why I was suddenly self-conscious and nervous. We were about to share a bed. I was about to share the sheets with the first man I’d been interested in, in God knew how long, and I had no clue if we were going to just…sleep.
Rory unwrapped his scarf, unzipped his jacket, saying, “Did you want to watch TV or—?”
“Honestly, I’d love a shower.”
“Help yourself.”
I retreated to the bathroom, scrubbed myself top to bottom till I was a lovely parboiled pink, brushed my teeth, towel-dried my hair, and exited on a rolling cloud of shower-gel-scented steam.
“It’s all yours,” I announced.
Rory, sitting in bed, naked—or at least naked to his waist—smiled in welcome and held out his arm to me. “Thatsounds promising.”
I laughed.
It was that easy.
I joined him in the giant sleigh bed, Rory tugged me forward, I let myself go with it, off balance and falling into his arms. It was lovely being held by Rory, lovely being naked with Rory, the warmth and strength of his muscular arms around me, and the steady beat of his heart against mine.
He kissed me. I kissed him back and felt that bloom of discovery.So this is what you taste like…
His lips were surprisingly soft, and he tasted a bit like breath mints. I suspected the judicious application of peppermint ChapStick and Tic Tacs, which made me smile against his mouth.
Rory cupped my face in his hands, not pushing me back exactly, but so he could look into my eyes. “Ireallylike you, Skylar.”
“I really like you.” I was fervently hoping there wasn’t about to be abut.
“It’s funny because I didn’t want this assignment. We’re working some huge cases right now, and I thought,why me? Why amIbeing sent to Siberia?” He brushed his mouth gently against mine. “And now I’m thinking this is one of the best things that’s happened to me in a long time.”
“Same.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh yeah.” I dipped my head, nibbled his lower lip, which made him smile again. Rory smiled a lot, laughed easily. I really,reallyliked that about him. He was a pleasant, good-natured man in a job that was almost guaranteed to knock all the good-natured pleasantries out of you.
He pulled me close again, and it felt surprisingly like a hug, which caught me off-sides emotionally, made my eyes tear a little, because it was so genuinely affectionate. I hadn’t realized until then how much I missed affection in a relationship, how little affection there had been between Eric and me. There had been sex, and there had been love, but there hadn’t beenaffection. I suddenly understood how underrated affection was.
We hugged and kissed, and the kisses grew hotter, and our grip on each other changed and grew more exploratory, discovering each other’s little secrets through tongue and fingertips and pushes and thrusts, learning the small mysteries of hollows and crevices and peaks and valleys. Investigating the beauty of bare skin and soft hair and the dark and humid questions.
The questions to which Rory’s answer was alwaysyes. To which my answer was alwaysyes.
The flicker of eyelashes, the brush of noses, the tease of lips. We took our time in the tender, aureate glow of lamplight. We took our sweet, very sweet time.
Until the urgency began to build, and need turned caresses into torture.
“Oh God, I want you,” Rory panted between kisses.
