“Is this your hotel?” he asked without moving his gaze away from her face and it almost pained Kerry to turn away to look at where they were.
“Yes, it is.”
“Me too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” he said almost shyly. “I can walk you to the elevator and we can take a separate one.”
Kerry didn’t reply but followed him through the entrance and to the hallway where a bank of elevators waited for boarding. Their night was ending and Kerry wasn’t ready. She wanted more time with him, more conversation, more. . .everything. But the shy girl she had been as a young child resurfaced and she didn’t know how to ask for what she wanted. Kerry hesitated as they stood in front of the call buttons. She was in agony trying to figure out how to say goodbye to this man she met only a few hours prior.
“Can I kiss you?” Landon asked as he turned her body to face him.
Kerry’s breath hitched at the thought of feeling his lips against hers. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t seem to get them out. Instead, she nodded as she slid her free hand up his bicep, reveling in the shiver of his body at her touch.
Landon didn’t hesitate as he leaned down, ducking his head beneath the brim of her hat, and brushing his lips against hers. It was the slightest of touches, almost like a sigh, but it was more potent than any kiss she had ever experienced. Kerry parted her lips, just the hint of an opening where her tongue peeked through to lick at his upper lip. At that moment, Landon growled against her lips as the elevator doors opened.
“You take this one,” he growled and she wondered if he was struggling as much as she was to keep herself in check.
Boldly Kerry slid her hand to Landon’s chest, lifted onto the tips of her toes, and nibbled on the lobe of his ear as she whispered, “Come with me.”
“Fuck, are you serious?” he rumbled as he stuck out a hand to keep the elevator doors from closing.
“I can honestly say I have never asked a more serious question in my entire life.”
Silently he tugged her into the car and spun her until she faced him. His large hands reached up and cradled her face as he leaned forward until there was barely an inch separating their faces.
“No regrets?”
“Not a single one. I promise.”
“God damn,” he snarled as he used his strength to bring her mouth to his in a kiss that seared her lips. His tongue plunged into her open mouth and twisted around her own. It was fast and furious and precisely what she wanted, but it was over far too quickly for her liking.
“What floor?” he barked as he pulled away, leaving more than a foot between their bodies.
“Four,” she huffed out, sounding as if she had run up four flights of stairs.
Luckily the trip was short and the elevator dinged as the car stopped. Gripping her hand, Landon tugged her out of the elevator and waited for her to guide him to her room.
Her nerves began to build into tidal waves as they got closer to their destination.
“I just want you to know that I can be a gentleman and drop you off right here, Kerry.”
Stopping in front of the door, Kerry turned to face him with her key card in hand.
“That’s not what I want. I want you, Landon.”
“Fuck, this may be one of the best days of my life.”
Kerry understood his sentiment because somewhere deep inside her, she knew that it would be hers too.
Chapter Three
Landon didn’t know if it was karma paying him back for the years he spent behind bars or if it was simply fated like he had told Kerry, but he had never been so thrilled to find himself in Chelsea’s bar that night. This woman that looked like she belonged on a movie screen, and with the same class as Grace Kelly, she had invited him back to her hotel. And, wouldn’t you know, it happened to be the same hotel he frequented whenever he was in Asheville.
He didn’t know much about her, nor did she learn much about him. Their conversation at dinner steered clear of any personal topics, focusing on easier subjects instead.
But it didn’t matter to Landon. He knew Kerry. Something inside of him felt as if he had known this woman his entire life. His heart sputtered in his chest with the phrase “Anam Cara” flitting through his mind. It was something his mother used to say before she was taken from him. She wanted him to find his Anam Cara – his soulmate. And his heart was certain that it was this blonde-haired beauty.