A sob tore from her throat and hot tears rolled down her cheeks. Damn it. She hated it when he saw her cry. Hated it when anybody saw her cry. For years people had thought she was weak. Well, she wasn’t weak. Just because she wore her heart on her sleeve sometimes didn’t mean she had a weakness. She had come up against a lot over the past year. Maybe she hadn’t figured everything out, but she knew one thing: Even if nobody trusted her anymore, she trusted herself.
His hand slid down, his thumb brushing against her cheeks to wipe her tears away. “You don’t have to forgive me, but I’ll do whatever it takes to win your forgiveness if you want to try.”
She closed her eyes, letting the sensation of his hand on her face warm her down to her toes. This was it. The time to make her own choices. To stop letting other people run her life. For too long she had been a passenger in her own life, not the driver.
Her stomach fluttered, and the embarrassment melted away. All she was now was a burning need.
“I want you, Simon,” she said, her voice husky with a desire she had been suppressing for weeks. “I want you to take me. Now.”
He cupped her face and stared into her eyes. The heat in his gaze was so intense that she let the towel she had been clutching slip away from her. It slid down her body until it pooled at her feet, the soft fabric caressing her skin.
“You’re sure?” he asked. “I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret.”
She shook her head. “I won’t regret this.”
Their lips met suddenly, his mouth pressing hard against hers. The place between her legs clenched as she was swept away in his passionate kiss. Greedy for more she parted her lips, inviting him in. They hadn’t kissed in so long she was already melting against him, desperate for more.
He let out a low groan as his tongue darted into her mouth. There was nothing innocent about this kiss. Simon was tormenting her with his tongue. Tasting her. No, feasting on her like nothing else in the world could ever sustain him.
Her fingers dug into the fabric of his shirt as she held tightly to him. As his tongue stroked hers, a tingle crept down her spine and she was suddenly wet with arousal. This was what she had desired but suppressed for so long. But now, with his demanding mouth on hers, she felt freer than she ever had. Freer to do whatever she desired. Freer to be herself. Not the shy, docile version of herself who always quietly followed the rules and put everyone but herself first. Now, in the privacy of this hotel room, she could give in to the wanton side of her she had kept locked away. Now she was free to be the woman who was willing to risk it all for one more night with her boss.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, a voice screamed at her to stop heading down this destructive path. With each expert stroke of his wicked tongue, the voice grew fainter and fainter until all she heard was the desperate beating of her own heart and the roar of the blood rushing in her head.
His hands wandered down her back until he stopped to cup her ass. He pressed against her gently, silently instructing her to wrap herself around him. She took his cue and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, pulling herself up until he helped lift her up off the floor, her legs wrapped around his waist.
They hadn’t broken their kiss, and with their lips still locked together and her legs wrapped around him he walked across the room. She felt the hard length of him, straining against his jeans. Clearly, he wanted her as desperately as she wanted him.
When he got to the bed he broke the kiss to set her down. She sat up and propped herself up on her elbows to get a better look at him, excited about what was going to happen next.
He stared down at her, his gaze sweeping up and down her naked body. His gaze was so stark it was like a caress making its way across her exposed skin.
“Tell me you have condoms,” she gasped out, not caring if he heard the desperation in her voice.
Simon leaned down to kiss her lips. “I’ll be right back.” He disappeared from the bedroom and returned several moments later, a condom in hand.
Her eyes widened. “Were you expecting to get lucky?”
“I’ve stayed here before, so I know these are provided by the hotel.” He laughed. “I hoped this would happen, believe me, but I couldn’t bring myself to be that arrogant.”