Not until I’m sure he’s really mine.
Chapter 38
Leighton
A winding pool wraps around a lush garden.
Behind it, the sun casts a sparkly glow over the azure ocean.
The guy at the counter smiles as he takes Ryan’s credit card and presents us with orchid leis. Actual orchid leis made out of actual flowers.
Ryan’s smile widens as he picks up a lei and hangs it around my neck.
I do the same to him.
He slides his arm around my waist. Laughs at the attendant’s joke.
His fingers curl around the set of keys.
Mine curl around my giant pink suitcase’s handle.
Ryan presses his palm against my lower back to lead me through the hotel lobby, past the cafe that smells of coffee, the gift shop overflowing with sarongs, the wide courtyard glowing in the sun.
The elevators are to the right.
Shiny silver doors pull apart. Three kids in swimsuits run onto the concrete. A middle-aged dad chases after them. He’s wearing a wedding ring. He’s happy.
I step inside the elevator. Lean against the mirrored wall.
Ryan follows.
The doors slide together.
The rest of the world disappears as his lips meet mine. He sucks on my bottom lip. Soft. Then harder. Then he’s scraping his teeth against my flesh.
He shifts his hips to pin me to the wall.
My fingers curl into his t-shirt. I tug at the cotton. Pull him closer. Kiss him deeper.
Yes. I need this. I need his love and affection pouring into me. He can’t say it. But I can feel it.
When he kisses me like this, I can feel it.
He keeps me pinned to the wall as his tongue slips into my mouth.
I groan against his lips. Bring my other hand to his hair to hold his head against mine.
He kisses me until the elevator dings.
The doors pull open.
Ryan releases me.
My knees knock together. I nearly crumble onto the floor. I need him so badly. I need this—the two of us, in our own world—so badly.
I need to believe in that.
In him being mine.