He brushes a piece of hair out of my face. “I’m not gonna hurt you, Paige.”
I shiver. “Or I could hurt you.”
His thumb traces the neck of my dress. “So don’t.”
“But—”
“Paige.” He tilts my chin so that I’m looking at him. “I won’t hurt you.”
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and lean into his touch, closing my eyes as his hand cradles my cheek.
“What do you need?” he murmurs.
I twist my head to press my lips to his palm, and once I start, I can’t stop. I want to get lost in him, just for a moment. I want to forget about everything else. I trail my mouth down the side of his hand and then across his wrist. I hear him take a sharp breath, and I gasp when his other hand finds the small of my back.
“I want to be close to you,” I say against his skin.
I don’t just mean his body. I want to be close to who is. I want to prove that what we are is stronger than all my fear.
“Please,” I rasp before I wrap my lips around his thumb.
He swears under his breath, and the hand on my back slides up to grip my hair. “God, Paige.”
I lick the pad of his thumb and then give it a gentle scrape with my teeth. My scalp twinges when he gives my hair a sharp tug.
“Fuck. Sorry,” he says, his voice strained. “I just...Fuck.”
I open my eyes just a fraction of the way. “It’s okay. I liked it.”
He swears again, and then we’re kissing. He’s so careful of my bad arm, even when we’re clawing at each other like animals, and the tenderness just makes me want him even more. His suit jacket slides off my shoulders, and I’m moaning into his mouth with my legs slung across his lap by the time we come to our senses.
“Paige, you’re...God, I just...” His hand strokes up and down my bare thigh as he shakes his head, giving up on words.
I will myself to find my own.
“Can we...Could you take me to your room?”
His hand freezes, and he shudders like he’s straining to control himself. “You want that?”
I don’t want to wait for this anymore. This night has been a lot, and right now, I need it to be just us.
Just him and me.
I nod, my face just an inch from his. “Yes. If you do.”
He lets out a shaky breath. “I want that so bad I can’t even breathe.”
I don’t really register the minutes it takes us to reach his room. All I’m aware of is his hand in mine, tugging me through the reception room and lobby, then into the elevator and down the hall. He doesn’t even get his room’s door open before he has my back up against it.
“Paige.” His hands are on my waist, his lips on my neck. “Tell me if I should slow down, okay?”
My nerves are gone now. I just need him—now. I run my fingers through his hair and pull. He groans.
“I think you should open the door, Youssef.”
After some fumbling with the key card, we finally make it inside. It’s pitch black, and I stand in the doorway while Youssef stumbles around bumping into things before the bedside lamp clicks on.
He turns to face me and freezes. “Wow.”
